Adam Gase – September 2, 2018
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Sunday, September 2, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What was the thought process behind keeping three quarterbacks?) – “I kind of hinted at it for the last nine months, but we didn’t pick up on it. (laughter) Really, at the end of the day, we talk about that being one of the most important positions in professional football. Our thought process is we’re going to try to develop guys and get them ready to go and if we ever have any situation where we need the next guy to get up, we want to make sure we have the right guy. We’re going to keep working with the two guys we’ve got.”
(Do you anticipate keeping all three quarterbacks all year?) – “Yes.”
(When you look at the 53-man roster, what do you see now?) – “Kind of what we envisioned. We got to this point fairly healthy. We had a couple (of injuries). Losing Mike for a little bit – Hull – that kind of stings us. We had a good plan going into training camp with him, to make sure he stayed healthy. We were getting him ready for a big year of special teams and just having him ready at linebacker. Losing him in that preseason game, that stung a little bit because he’s an impact player for us on special teams. For the most part, we’re going into the season healthy and I like where our team’s at right now.”
(Who is the player yesterday that you really just had to grit your teeth and let him go even though you didn’t want to.) – “It’s hard on all of them. Every guy you talk to. It’s not a fun part of the job.”
(Is there a particular guy though, talent-wise or personnel-wise that fits…) – “It’s hard to think like that, at that point. You know that those guys have been working here since April, even longer. Some guys have been here multiple years. It just makes it really hard.”
(I guess we’ll see when you release the depth chart but do you have a No. 2 and a No. 3 in mind at quarterback?) – “We’ll kind of see. It might be an ‘or.’ We’ll see.”
(The decision between CB Tony Lippett and CB Cornell Armstrong, what went into the thought process there?) – “That one was, we went off of basically what we felt like the performance was this training camp. Some people might disagree. We felt like that’s where we were at right now. We wanted to keep those guys. Maybe it was time for us to part ways with Tony. That wasn’t fun, just because of history, being here together and being a Michigan State guys as well, I’m always going to be pulling for him. If he ends up back here at some point, I’m all for it. That’s where we’re at.”
(How close is it between QB Brock Osweiler and QB David Fales in your mind?) – “It’s day-to-day. I feel like it goes back and forth. It’s one of those things where, who has the best protection on that particular night? It seems like that guy has a good night in preseason. That’s what is always going to make it tough about who’s the backup? Because you’re guessing a little bit.”
(Is that good? Or is it bad for you?) – “It makes it hard. If it was easy, more people would do it, I guess.”
(What did G Isaac Asiata not do?) – “He’s a young player. There are some things … If he ends up back here (on the) practice squad, who knows, in two weeks maybe he’s up. I mean, you never know. I think we made some strides; but this year the numbers that we kept and having two tackles that we feel good about and one we feel can play guard if we needed to, that was kind of the direction we went. I think he’s getting better. I do think he got better during this preseason and this training camp. It’s just the numbers got tight.”
(The decision to go five wide receivers, is there one close to making that sixth spot or was it pretty clear?) – “I mean it’s always close. You just have to look at the big picture; but I think the five guys we’ve got, I like that group.”
(With WR Leonte Carroo and his time here, is there anything that comes to mind with why he fell short here?) – “You just never know how the rest of this is going to play out, especially with how practice squad is nowadays. You have those exemptions to where guys who have actually played can be back. I think it was just a tough room to crack. I mean those guys that we have right now, I think Jakeem (Grant) has really found something to where he’s contributing on offense and we really like him at the spot he’s been playing. I think moving him outside last year was huge for us and for him, and he feels comfortable. Those corners are not happy to see him because of his speed and he’s making plays and he’s getting better at catching the ball consistently. I think that makes it tough. Before it was three guys and we were always looking for that fourth and fifth. Now it’s legit. You’ve got five guys that you feel really good about.”
(How do you feel about this team and what the strengths are at this point?) – “I like our team. I like the fact that we’re a team. That’s the best part about what we have going on right now, is that locker room. I like where those guys are at. I’m not really worried about what anybody else thinks about that because when you’re not there every day and around these guys and watching them work, watching them at meetings, watching them practice, you don’t know. You look at a piece of paper. That’s why they play the games.”
(How likely is it that WR DeVante Parker and WR Jakeem Grant will practice this week?) – “I don’t know. I’m not there yet.”
(With C/G Ted Larsen’s injury, what is his status?) – “He’ll be alright.”
(So C/G Ted Larsen is cleared to play?) – “Yes. We’ll be good. We’re good there. We probably got scared more than anything. I know it looked bad the way he went down. I know I was sitting there (thinking) this is perfect about this time of year, where it’s the last day and you have one of those kinds of injuries; but as he said, it’s a good thing he has tree trunks for legs. (laughter)”
(Do you anticipate LB Mike Hull and C Jake Brendel moving to IR?) – “We’ll get to that here in a few hours.”
(You mentioned the respect that DL Kendall Langford has in the building. Was there anything he could have done? Or was it just numbers?) – “I think it’s tough because I think Vincent (Taylor) is playing really well. You guys have probably noticed him a lot. It seems like he is in the mix so much. For d-tackles, sometimes it’s hard to notice (them) and I feel like he shows up a lot. It was a tough ask of (Langford), coming in preseason (week) two, getting thrown into a game and trying to battle as hard as he could for two weeks. It was just one of those situations where I wish we had him in the spring and started from there, to where he could learn all of the techniques and what they were asking of him on defense. I think the timing was just not great for him and everything was so fast. Then all of a sudden, we’re cutting the team.”
(So is C/G Ted Larsen the backup center?) – “We’ve got a couple options. You just have to watch at practice. (laughter)”
(Speaking of which, when are you practicing?) – “Wednesday.”
(At tight end, has TE Mike Gesicki come far enough? Is Mike reliable now to start? Or if not start, whatever…) – “He’s going to play. We’re going to have a mix of packages and things that we’re going to do. We have a plan. This isn’t a hobby. We’re not just going to throw it out there. We’ve got an idea what we’re doing. (laughter)”
(But has TE Mike Gesicki come far enough that you trust him in those spots?) – “Yes. I trust him a lot.”
(Did having two rookie tight ends impact you in going with four at that position?) – “No. That was the plan the whole way, the whole time.”
(With RB Senorise Perry, what did he do to sort of solidify his standing with the team?) – “He’s an outstanding special teams player. He’s one of those guys (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren) Rizzi is glad he has, and he has been as consistent as I’ve ever seen him at running back. He doesn’t make many mistakes. He runs hard. He can do every phase that we’re asking him to do, whether it’s pass pro, receiving, running the ball. He has a great grasp of the offense right now. It’s great for me to see three years in this offense and he’s gotten better and better. Just getting to see him develop, I’m happy for him and I love the fact that he’s an impact player for us on special teams.”
(Can you talk about what it’s like with 1,100 players released, it must be mind-boggling to go through each one. I know the scouting department and personnel department, but you’ve got to look at each one and say, is he better than the guy I have at that position?) – “The good thing is our pro guys do a great job of keeping up throughout spring, summer, training camp … I mean, they listen to everything everybody is saying. Everybody’s got different teams and they kind of are able to project and if somebody gets cut free, it’s flagged and we have an idea. It just kind of shortens everything up for us instead of going through it that night. There’s a little bit of a progression there to where those guys prepare. It moves quick. They do a great job to where right away when everything starts coming out, they’re in your office like, ‘All right, this guy, this guy or this guy for this spot.’ And you start talking options. Everything moves real quick. Time goes fast, though. I know that. Next thing you know, it’s really late at night and you’ve blinked your eyes.”
(I asked you going into the Carolina preseason game, did you have an identity? Do you have an offensive identity? Now you’re headed into the regular season, what is this team’s identity?) – “I think it’s going to take the progression of the season to really … to label it. I mean, you’re going to have to play games – real games, meaningful games – to really figure it out. I have an idea, but that doesn’t mean anything until we’re really playing games that matter and you get behind and you have adversity. That’s when you’re going to really find out who you are as a team. Like I said, I have an idea of what I think we are and who we are, but really we have to prove it.”
(Does it mean anything to you that you kind of led the league in rushing most of the preseason?) – “I’m all for anything good when it comes to running (and) penalties. I’m fired up about that. I know that seemed to be a topic of conversation all training camp. I know it’s probably my fault, but I’m glad the guys responded to that. We had a great point of emphasis on certain things. I thought the guys did a great job, and now we have to go into the season and we have to make sure that we continue some of the things we were doing.”
(So today there are 32 coaches who like their teams, including you. Did you like your team on the first day after cut-down day last year? And so, what’s the difference?) – “I wish I could remember that day.”
(Did you have a hint?) – “I don’t exactly remember what I truly felt at that moment because I know we were dealing with a lot of things between Ryan (Tannehill), Ted (Larsen), and I think we were just informed that there was a possibility a hurricane could hit. I just feel like there were a lot of other things that were going on besides just us cutting down our team. It’s a different feel for me, I think, in Year 3, because you’ve experienced so many … It feels like a lot of things have happened over the last two years. Good or bad, it’s been great learning experiences for everybody in the organization and I feel like this year, we have a really good understanding of who we are, what our locker room is, our players. I like where our health is. I feel like it puts us in good position to start moving towards this season and kind of see what happens.”
