Adam Gase – September 14, 2016
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Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On how much work did WR DeVante Parker do today at practice) – “A good amount. We got him out there quite a bit in team periods. Individual, he went through that whole thing. For every two reps somebody takes he might take one. We’re trying to just make sure we’re good. We’re going to have a progression through this week to make sure everything’s going to be alright. The biggest thing for us is to just make sure if he feels anything, we know as soon as it happens. We really don’t want to mess around with having any setbacks. We’re constantly communicating with him as far as how he feels.”
(On what WR DeVante Parker brings to the offense) – “Obviously he’s a three-level guy. Like I said earlier, I think after the Dallas game, he kind of surprised me as far as you throw a slip screen to him, and he really went through there and didn’t seem like he minded contact. He was aggressive underneath and then seeing him at that intermediate level, and then down the field, obviously he’s a threat. When you got a guy like that, that can really cover the whole field, it just adds another dimension and another guy that you have to account for. Obviously, we’d love it if we could get all those guys up there together just to see how it looks.”
(On the DT Earl Mitchell roster move) – “Any time that you have a veteran player like Earl (Mitchell), where you lose him at this point, so early in the season, I’m more frustrated for him than anybody because you worked really hard to get back and for that to happen right out the gate. We’ll see how this whole thing plays out. I’m just frustrated for him. Just seeing the amount of time he put in there, I felt for him.”
(On RB Arian Foster not being out at practice today) – “Yes. It’s probably going to be a weekly thing with him. (We’re) going to be smart as far as how we handle him from, as far as a practice standpoint, going full pads. I don’t think he really is a guy that needs contact more than what he’s going to get on Sunday. There’ll be certain things that we want to make sure that we cover between a Thursday, Friday (and) Saturday standpoint. A lot of the stuff that we do on Wednesdays, since we’re in full pads, it’s a lot of running the football. He knows our scheme well enough. If there’s something that we needed to practice with him on a Thursday or Friday, we can get that in.”
(On not seeing LB Jelani Jenkins at practice today) – “There are a couple of guys that are still a little sore from the game and a couple of guys that, right at the end, got banged up a little bit. We just have to be smart. When guys can go, they’re going. If it’s to the point where it can affect them for the entire week, or we can have some kind of setback from their recovery that we’ve had on Monday and Tuesday … Plus, I’m sure the (long) trip (to Seattle) didn’t help us as far as speeding up the recovery factor, getting on the plane and getting back here so late in a limited time. So we’re just trying to make sure. The biggest thing for us is getting him back by Sunday.”
(On facing LB Donald Butler quite a bit in during his time Denver and what can he bring to the defense) – “Well, he was always a guy that seemed to be reliable for them and was in the right spot a lot of the times. I know that he was a problem for us, especially the times that we faced them really early in his career. He would fly around and make a lot of plays against us. It was interesting just to have him in the building, just having a guy that’s been around for a minute. That’s always comforting as a coach. You always love experience coming into the building that’s played in a lot of games, been in playoff-type atmospheres and been in a division that was very competitive. For him to come here and have an opportunity to help us out, that was very intriguing for us.”
(On if it was encouraging to have DE Mario Williams outside) – “Yes. It’s the concussion protocol as far as he’s going through those steps. As coaches, it’s just one of those things where we back away. There’s a process in place that the NFL has and we just follow those. If he makes it to the game, that means he’s been cleared through all those processes. If it takes longer than that, then that’s what it is.”
(On if he held his breath when he saw the hit QB Ryan Tannehill took from Seattle S Earl Thomas) – “A little bit. When you see how he got hit … He’ll tell you if he felt something pretty violent; but sometimes it looks worse than what it is. He didn’t seem to be bothered by it. I know there was one shot he got where he took under the chin. That was probably one that he felt a little more than that one.”
(On was he pleased with the number of hits the Seahawks had on QB Ryan Tannehill) – “Yes, we got caught on a couple of things as far as we had some actual schematic break-downs. That’s the part we need to clean up more than anything, to where we either misidentified somebody or we didn’t get to the right guy. Those are the things where, if we clean those up, I can live with the fact that if we get beat because that was a good defense we were playing, they had very good defensive linemen, they had a very good scheme as far as how their ‘backers blitz and how they play off of each other. I can live with that. But when we just flat out bust, that’s when it becomes concerning as far as a coach, because you’re going, ‘This is what we’ve been doing sense basically OTAs. We should at least be able to get to the right guy.’ We had a few of those that we busted on and we’ve got to clean that stuff up. The more that happens, the more he’s going to get hit. If we can clean those up, he will get hit less.”
(On the offensive issues on third down) – “I think a lot of it has to do with it being one of those games where it seemed like I was one-off on some of those calls. (Seattle Defensive Coordinator) Kris (Richard) did a great job as far as mixing up some of his calls and coming up with some new blitz schemes that caught us a couple of times. We had a couple of busts and at the same time, it was just a flat out bad call. As a guy calling the plays, I’ve got to do a better job of putting our guys in position to where he at least has an opportunity to get the ball to an open receiver. There were a couple of times where he just didn’t have time and he tried to put it out there and give our guys a chance to catch the ball. It seemed like, if it wasn’t the play call, then we would have a bust and we didn’t quite get the ball off on time or in the right location; or somebody didn’t run the right route or we didn’t have a sense of urgency on something. We were all taking turns on that one. The hardest thing to go against those guys is that you have to be perfect, as far as the details in every little thing that you do. If you’re not, you’re going to get burned by it because they are going to take advantage of it.”
(On if there are things QB Ryan Tannehill can see that a coach doesn’t see during the course of a game) – “Absolutely. When you’re out there and you can feel how everybody’s moving around, and you have a situation like we did in that game where things weren’t going real smooth for us, and he is telling me to get to something and I’m trying to think through some things. I was probably a couple of series off as far as what we ended up going to on that last drive. That was comforting for me because, I’m like, ‘Next time he says something, I’m going with it.’ Because, he had a good feel for what was going on and he was telling me the right information. I just have to go with it. That’s kind of that relationship you develop as you play games. It’s trying to get used to everybody as a play caller and they’re trying to get used to how I do it. It takes a second sometimes. Obviously with that happening in the first game, that was good for me because I know the next time he suggests something, there’s not going to be a hesitation. We are just going to go do it.”
(On what QB Ryan Tannehill suggested during the game) – “Just basically what we ended up going to that last series. He said it two series before that. I did a poor job as far as just listening to what he was saying and going to it.”
(On how much responsibility goes to T Branden Albert and T Ja’Wuan James with C Mike Pouncey out) – “I think all of those guys have done a good job as far as trying to step up as far as what’s going on. (With) communication, (Anthony) Steen has done a great job with that aspect of it. But those guys, keeping that huddle together and keep pushing forward. That d-line, that was … You talk about out of the gate playing a good d-line, that was it right there. For those guys to keep plugging away at that thing, you saw the excitement when we did get a chance, when we did go ahead late in the game. Those guys were fired up, because they knew they were a part of that. They helped change the momentum of the game by putting a drive together there. Those guys – especially those two guys at tackle – they’ve been around here for a little bit and they’re trying to make those (other) guys (Jermon Bushrod and Laremy Tunsil) feel at home, because they’re playing new positions – right guard and left guard. They’ve never done that before, and they’re keeping that confidence going of, ‘We’re going to get into this thing. We’re going to figure out a way to make sure we’re in this thing at the end.’”
(On whether it was an easy decision to call DT Chris Jones and sign him) – “I think so. For us, that was a tough one to begin with as far as letting him go in the first place. He was a guy that constantly does right. You never hear any of the coaches ever say, ‘He had this many mental errors,’ or, ‘He didn’t know what to do here. He wasn’t hustling.’ You never have to worry about anything. The thing was, (Julius) Warmsley, it was obvious to everybody, he played really well in the preseason. He legitimately earned his spot. Being able to bring Chris back, it worked out for us. The biggest thing for us is we lose Earl (Mitchell). But Chris is a guy that I think a lot of us have faith in, and we feel good about him coming back here and being able to contribute.”
(On whether QB Brandon Doughty is a practice squad candidate) – “We’ll see how it goes. Obviously, with the whole (waiver wire system), who knows what happens after that comes out on the waiver wire and stuff like that. It’s a wait-and-see deal right now.”
(On whether the defense will scout Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo or their offensive tendencies) – “I think you try to do the best you can as far as the information you have. The thing that makes it tough playing this team is (Patriots Offensive Coordinator) Josh (McDaniels). He’ll do a great job. He’ll figure out a way that’s best for them this week. He’s not going to do something that either the quarterback or somebody else can’t do. That’s what makes them so tough to go against, no matter who is playing on Sunday. They’re going to adjust to their personnel and figure out what’s best for that team and for that opponent they’re playing.”
(On how different the Patriots offense is without TE Rob Gronkowski) – “It’s hard, because it takes a different shape. They’ve figured out when they have him, there are certain things they really focus on doing and when they don’t, then they go to something else. To me, they don’t look at it like, ‘This is one guy, and we have to focus everything on this.’ They try to make it tough on you, because they’ll say, ‘You’re trying to take ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski) away, so we’re going to do this.’ When he’s not there, now they can play around with some other things. That’s what makes playing these guys as tough as it is. You never know how they’re going to approach you in the game. They’re very good at adjusting in game, too. That’s another thing: you think you’ve taken something away, and they figure out a way to free that guy up. That’s the biggest challenge we have is, once we get into this game, we have to be ready to adjust with them. They start making moves, we have to make moves. It’s a constant 60-minute cat-and-mouse game.”
(On how he explains New England’s successful run that nobody has been able to duplicate) – “I think they do a great job as far as every guy they seem to bring in, they maximize what that guy has. They adjust to who’s on their roster. There’s not really a, ‘Here’s our scheme and you guys, if you don’t fit in, we’re going to get rid of you.’ They figure out … They get their guys in the building. They make their roster adjustments, and they do what’s best for them for that week. When you have a team that is that chameleon, where you’re not really sure what you’re going to get, it makes it tough. I’ve been in a few games against these guys where all of a sudden, you show up and a completely different front or coverage (happens), and something pops in there and you didn’t expect it. You have to be on your toes and ready to go. (It’s the) same thing on their offensive side. We played them in 2011 and all of a sudden, they have a tight end back there running outside zone. I remember we didn’t do that in scout team. (Laughter) It’s one of those things where when you get to the game, you better be on your toes, because they’re going to find a weakness. They’re going to expose it, and they’re going to go after it if you don’t crack it.”
(On where Gillette Stadium ranks in terms of being a tough place to play after playing at Seattle last week) – “It’s pretty close. They’re both tough places to play. When you go up (to New England), you bring your A game. Both of those teams, I don’t think there’s a lot of losses in Seattle in the past six years, and in New England the last 15 or 16 years, or whatever it’s been. You just have to go in there and the one way you can put yourself in a good position is you have to execute what your game plan is. You can’t get caught up in what’s going on outside of the field. You have to focus on the details of what your job is and you have to push through. When there are rough spots, you can’t worry about what happened. You have to keep pushing forward.”
(On if his experiences working with Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban help him face a Bill Belichick team) – “I’m not sure. When I was with Nick, I was so young. When he was with Coach Belichick, that was like in ’94. So I was with (Saban) in 2000. I’m sure Coach Saban evolved from his time with Coach Belichick and I don’t know how much that really would help me. I just know for us, we’ll put our game plan together and we’ve got to go up there and execute the best we can.”
(On if his time with New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Josh McDaniels will help him this week) – “It’s hard. I wish I could go in there and say, ‘Hey, this is what he’s going to do,’ but Josh, that’s what he does. He evolves. One time you look up and there’s three or four wide receivers on the field. One time you look up and there’s a fullback and two tight ends. He’s going to find out what the weakness is. What can he do to you and what can he take advantage of? That’s what he has done so well over his career and that’s why, as a young guy, he elevated, because he could figure out the matchups and expose them.”
(On DE Mario Williams’ status being a mystery and what that puts on the rest of the defensive ends and the depth for this week’s game) – “Obviously, him playing (would be) nice. You hope for the best but at the same time, that’s what this league is. If you get shorthanded in one area because you lose a couple guys to injuries, you’ve got to make adjustments and you have to have some plans put in place to where if something else happens in the game, you better be able to go forward because I know nobody is going to stop the game and be like, ‘Well, you guys are short on people.’ You’ve got to have something figured out and you better have a plan. That’s what our guys have to do. They’ve got to make sure that if something comes up, we’ve got to have a plan for it.”
(On what he would like to see RB Jay Ajayi do) – “Just what he is doing right now. Just what I’m seeing since we’ve been back. He’s been engaged in meetings. The thing about him that I know is really good is that he knows exactly what to do. He came out here today and he practiced hard. He’s trying to get the little details of things right. That’s all we’re asking from our players. Let’s come out here and let’s work and let’s find a way to get better for this day.”
