Adam Gase – September 20, 2017 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase (Conference Call with N.Y. Jets media)
(Maybe you can start off by making the LB Lawrence Timmons decision and how you arrived at that and how you replace him.) – “Really, we’re going to … We’re keeping everything in-house as far as the details of anything. Obviously, it’s public knowledge that he’s suspended indefinitely right now. We’re really going to leave it at that. We’ll make adjustments that we need to make and wait until Sunday to really show what we’re doing.”
(When you turn on the film and you look at the Jets, what are your early takeaways and assessment of their play thus far?) – “I coached Josh McCown and Matt Forte at different points of their career. Watching Josh over time, he has really developed an ability to really get rid of the ball quick and cause some issues. He can be aggressive down the field and he’s not afraid to take shots on third down and try to push it and take advantage of the coverage you’re in. Matt is still … When I watch him and see how patient he still is and able to hit the hole and get those chunk plays, – just looking at his average per carry – he just does such a good job. His vision is so good. He’s a tough guy to defend because you have to understand if you’re not sound in your defense, he’s going to cause you a lot of problems.”
(What have you noticed from QB Jay Cutler in the time that you’ve had him so far?) – “Things are going well at the time. We’re still evolving as much as we can as quick as we can. He came in late and (we are) trying to get him caught up to speed with everybody else as fast as possible. He has done a good job as of now. We’re just going keep – each week – keep trying to build on the week before.”
(How challenging is this stretch for your team where you’re practicing in Los Angeles last week and now you’re away again, and then in London next week?) – “I think our guys are used to things like this. Last year, we had back-to-back West Coast games. We went to Seattle the first week of the season, followed up with New England. This is just kind of what we do.”
(When QB Ryan Tannehill got hurt and you showed interest in QB Jay Cutler, did it take a sell job on your part to get him to come out of retirement?) – “Not really. I just asked him if he was interested. He said, ‘Yes.’ Really, I think his biggest (thing was) – kind of taking a step back at the time because everything happened so fast – was just to make sure he felt like he could really come back without a spring and a training camp. That was the one thing. He was like, ‘I’m not really sure how fast my pocket feel will come back. I haven’t done it since last October,’ I think it was. I didn’t feel like I was really selling anything. It was just more of how comfortable he felt coming in with a group of guys that had been together with me – that was our second year; but that skill group has been together for three or four years now. I think he was just trying to feel out if he’d fit that group well.”
(The first couple of games, the Jets run defense has been pretty bad. What are you seeing on film in terms of what their problems are?) – “Every game is different. When I see them, I see a division game that you’ve got a couple guys on the back end that are fairly young. I’ve played (Jets Head) Coach (Todd) Bowles quite a few times and I don’t remember really ever having an easy time running the football. He has always caused me a lot of problems. I just know that that’s a good coaching staff. When you’re going through this process of the season, it’s about getting better every week. I know their focus is going to be on making us one dimensional and trying to do a good job to put us in a position to where we can’t run the ball. Last year they were able to do that. Both games, really, they really hammered us pretty good, and it was really hard for us to run the ball that first game. I feel like the numbers really don’t tell the story of the game. We got two big runs at the end of the game. They held us at bay. It’s going to be a challenge for us, partially because the scheme he runs makes it very difficult. I just know those guys are going to get better every week.”
(When you see them on film, what do you think of their pass rush?) – “It depends what scheme they’re running. Sometimes they’re in a position to where they’re more focused on the coverage and it’s more about pushing the pocket. Then there will be sometimes where they’ll pressure you and find different ways to shake some guys free, which on third down can become problematic, because they do some different things that are tough for offenses to pick up. Sometimes they’ll let those guys go and they’ll rush the passer. The biggest problem for us is what they’re going to do against us and what’s their theme going to be? What are they going to try to do against us? Because every game has been a little bit different. I still feel like there are a few guys they’re still trying to get a feel for, that are young players. As time goes on, it’s going to evolve during the season. Us being their third game, we’re probably going to see some different things.”
