Adam Gase – September 26, 2018
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Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(With defensive end, where do you think you are now with the three veterans and then adding DE Jonathan Woodard?) – “We’ll get through this week of practice and see who is going to be available and go from there.”
(What made DE Jonathan Woodard stand out from what you’ve seen in preseason, training camp and practice?) – “That’s why we keep guys on the practice squad and keep working with guys and keep developing them. So, when we have a situation like we do, where we got pretty banged up last game, we can elevate somebody. Those guys know he’s a part of the group and he has been and he knows what to expect.”
(We didn’t see DE Cameron Wake out there today. Is he injured or resting?) – “He’s one of the guys that got banged up, so it’s just one day at a time for us with him.”
(Do you have any feeling on S Reshad Jones on whether he’ll play?) – “He practiced today, so that’s a good sign for us. We’ll just keep evaluating him after every practice and see how he feels. Once we get closer to the game, we’ll have a better idea.”
(Was S Reshad Jones close last week? What ended up happening to where he didn’t play?) – “Yeah, it’s just that first week with the injury he had. He was really sore and didn’t have the strength he needed. Knowing who we were playing that game, him and Marshawn (Lynch), they find each other. He needed to be closer to full strength than where he was. It was more my call, because if it probably were up to him, he would’ve given it a go. We were in one of those situations where we had to make a decision.”
(I understand the Patriots are always dangerous, but how much more dangerous do you think they are coming home after two straight road losses?) – “Any time you play them at their place, it’s a challenge. That’s why they’re one of the best teams. If you look at just the last three years. I think they are number two or three as far as home record. If you look at the last 15 years, it’s ridiculous how well they do at home compared to everybody else. Anytime they play at home, it’s a tough place to play. It’s a great environment. The crowd is extremely loud and it’s a tough environment to play in.”
(The linebacker situation with LB Chase Allen down and LB Martrell Spaight being signed, how do you feel about your backups? I know LB Stephone Anthony got in last game. How do you feel about those?) – “We’re good. This is that part of the season. You hit that fourth game where you lose some guys and some guys get banged up. We’re not the only team in the league like this right now. It’s pretty much 32 teams. That’s just kind of par for the course, the way that training camp is and preseason and how business is done now, to where everybody around the league is in the same spot.”
(The fact that you haven’t injected a veteran tight end with TE A.J. Derby’s status, does that show confidence that TE Mike Gesicki and TE Durham Smythe have improved?) – “We’ll have a good plan as far as what we’re going to do. We’ve got some options if we need to. We’re just where we’re at right now and we’ll see how the rest of the week goes.”
(I asked you about LB Kiko Alonso on Monday. Is it safe to say he’s the anchor of that young linebacker group?) – “Yes, he has the most experience. He’s had the most production over his career. I think he sets the tempo for everything. He doesn’t say much, but the way he operates and the way he goes about it on a daily basis, it’s really impressive. He’s a pro. He prepares the right way, he practices the right way. Whatever he has on game day, he gives it all.”
(LB Kiko Alonso is off to his best start would you say, for his two plus seasons here?) – “I don’t know. His 2016 season was pretty impressive. We’re so early in the season, we’ll just kind of see how it goes. I love the fact that he’s making as many plays as he has and I feel like he’s trying to be one of the guys on defense that’s making plays and being a game changer.”
(What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned coaching against Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick?) – “I think that over the years, just know that there’s going to be things that you haven’t seen before. There’s going to be something to take away what you do well and how are you going to adjust to it? Every time we’ve played them, it’s been different. That’s just kind of the way it is. They do a good job of executing their game plan. They’ve done a good job the last two years against us of really making us work for every yard we get.”
(Don’t you think similarly about your offense? Isn’t that kind of the idea to make something that’s unpredictable week to week?) – “You try to do that. It doesn’t always work out in the game. The flow of the game sometimes and the amount of plays they have can kind of throw it off a little bit. The more plays you get, the more you can be multiple and get more guys involved and really show a good range of things the defensive coaches have to prepare for leading up to the game. We’ve had a little bit of that this year, but hopefully we can increase our play count and keep getting guys more involved throughout the game.”
(Did you view WR DeVante Parker’s game Sunday as full capacity for him or was it more like getting his feet wet?) – “I think every week is going to be different. I think a different guy is going to be the guy we’re talking about the next week as far as having a good game or statistically having a good game. I thought he did a really good job in the game. He didn’t make any errors, he was where he was supposed to be, the ball went to him, he caught it. It was good considering that was his first go at it. He’s in really good shape. He didn’t get tired in the game. He was playing fast.”
(Is there one specific key to defending TE Rob Gronkowski? Is it at the line of scrimmage or the first man has to hold on?) – “If I knew that, I mean if anybody knew that … He’s a tough guy to stop. It’s hard to stop elite players. You do everything you can to keep them from making those game-changing plays. It’s just when you’re that big and your hands are that good and you’re able to do everything you need to do as a tight end, whether it be in pass protection, blocking, run blocking, route-running, catching the ball in a crowded area. It doesn’t matter what he’s doing, he does it well.”
(What’s the one place you think QB Ryan Tannehill has improved the most since he’s been back to health?) – “Probably just the pocket presence feel for not being in there for a while. I think he’s really accelerated his growth this season. He looks comfortable. He’s moving around well. It’s good to see him take off and run a couple of times and make some really big plays for us in situations where they had a good defense called versus what we had called. He made a positive play for us and got us first downs. I think that’s really been a big plus for us this year.”
(Is there something that WR Danny Amendola can give you given his experience with New England that he knows about their defense?) – “I think it’s just with the change they had with the coordinators. I think it’s a little bit different then what it’s been the last few years. I don’t know how much he can really tell us. I’m sure what they saw at practice compared to what is going on right now is just different.”
(Did you get any hint that WR Danny Amendola will be particularly emotional for this game?) – “I haven’t sensed that from him or Brandon (Bolden). I feel like those guys are … They’re professionals. It’s been business as usual for us. I think guys are doing a good job of just locking in because they know this is the next game. We keep talking about this and they have been since the first week of the season, that all of our focus needs to be on our opponent that week. We can’t look ahead; we can’t worry about what happened in the past. All of our energy needs to go into focusing on what we’re doing to prepare.”
(We talked to you the other day about DE William Hayes injury trying to keep his weight off of the quarterback. Did you find that challenging to try to teach that technique to your players this past offseason?) – “I think (Defensive Line Coach) Kris (Kocurek) has done a good job of trying to teach what they want. I know Jordan (Phillips) had one where he was coming down and he rolled off and made sure he didn’t put weight on the quarterback. The game happens fast and sometimes those guys … They’ve been doing it the same way for a long time. They are trying to adjust. As long as our guys are trying to use the techniques we’re asking them to do … He just got caught in a weird position.”
(Do you anticipate having DE Andre Branch this week?) – “I would say that’s highly unlikely.”
