Adam Gase – September 5, 2016
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Monday, September 5, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On RB Arian Foster starting over RB Jay Ajayi) – “I think a little bit of the reason is experience; but at the same time I think Arian (Foster), from the time he’s gotten here, has really shown that, that is the correct spot for him to be in. He had a really good camp. He did everything we asked him to do as far as what we wanted to see in the preseason and he’s been very consistent in his knowledge of the offense in the short period of time that he was here – it was impressive to watch him (and) how quickly he picked it up.”
(On DT Earl Mitchell listed as a starter when they did not see a lot of him in training camp or preseason) – “Obviously when you put the depth chart in, that’s kind of where we saw it. Things change from the spring to training camp to after training camp. Obviously this is the first game where you put another depth chart out. It kind of shows you where you’re at. That by no means, means that’s how it’s going to stay for 16 weeks. We’ll kind of see how this thing plays out.”
(On what was his thought process with CB Xavien Howard being listed as a starter after one preseason game) – “I think in the time that we saw him practice in the spring, we were feeling that’s where it was headed. He really did show the skill set that we thought he had when we drafted him. The injury really set him back as far as just being able to showcase that, really on the field more than anything. I think in the limited time he’s been back, he’s really shown that he didn’t fall off from the time he missed. Mentally he knows exactly what’s going on. I don’t know if sometimes, maybe for those rookies, when they can sit back and they can’t actually practice but they’re able to watch and learn from others mistakes, or what somebody else has done well. He did a good job of making sure he stayed up with everything so when he got a chance to get out there, it wasn’t like he was starting over again.”
(On why practice ended 20 minutes early today and C Mike Pouncey’s ability to start) – “One, I think we had it scheduled … We kind of changed the times of how some of our periods were going so we left a little time for ourselves. It went a little quicker as far as the tempo was really good. We didn’t have any repeats so that always helps. I think when we practiced the first time when we went (into the plan for) Atlanta, we had multiple times where we had repeats and it slowed down practice quite a bit. So we kind of built in some time there thinking, ‘Okay, if that happens, lets have some extra time.’ We didn’t have that today. And then we shortened one period which was a three-play period basically. Obviously we’re still kind of trying to get our times down with some of this stuff. We’ll go back and adjust those so we’ll have a better sense of that. As far as Mike (Pouncey) goes, like I said, he’s week to week. We’re in the evaluation stage. He’s doing a lot of things rehab-wise. As the week goes on, then I’ll have a better idea of what we think we will be able to do going into the game.”
(On the decision to keep five running backs) – “Yes. I almost wanted to keep six. Those five guys we ended up keeping, they earned spots. They all showed something. I think the unique situation we actually have is we’ve got guys that can actually play special teams. So you look at that situation where they’re kind of taking the spots of some of those linebacker-type bodies. When you’ve got an offensive player that can do that, I think it’s rare to have this many guys that can actually contribute on special teams in that room.”
(On what went into the decision to keep three quarterbacks and to keep QB Brandon Doughty over QB Zac Dysert) – “I think it was pretty tight as far as what that evaluation process was. Really, (we) probably could’ve gone either way. We felt like, for right now, that we thought Brandon was the right decision for us. Obviously, we want him to keep competing. We want him to keep getting better. Obviously (with) that third spot, to keep that, you have to keep working. You’ve got to keep showing up every day. That’s why we like the way we do practice. It’s competitive, especially these first two days of practice. It’s the scout team quarterback’s job to try to beat the defense. It’s an opportunity for those guys to get better. They’re consistently competing, even though it’s not our offense. But we go back; we evaluate it. That’s part of the position coach’s job.”
(On the feedback he has received from Wide Receivers Coach Shawn Jefferson on WR Justin Hunter) – “I think we were just a little bit surprised that we’d have an opportunity to get (Justin Hunter). (Shawn Jefferson) had nothing but great things to say about him. I myself kind of went back and looked at my evaluation of him, because I did remember him coming out (of college), and we were doing a lot of work on wide receivers that year. That was helpful to have an idea of what his skill set was. We felt like he fit into what we were looking for. We got one big guy (DeVante Parker), but it’s always nice to have a couple guys with some good size. The more we can keep making our receiving corps – our skill positions – kind of like a basketball team (with) a whole bunch of different type of body types (and) skill sets, that’s what we’re looking for. We thought this was an opportunity to help us really improve that group.”
(On who will replace WR DeVante Parker as the third receiver if he does not play) – “We’re still working through that. I know, right now, if he doesn’t go, we’re going to have to make a decision obviously as far as how we want to do that. We’re trying to rep the rest of those guys in there and then obviously personnel groupings go into effect as well. With the two tight ends that we have right now, that gives us some flexibility as far as guys that have played more. I know having three though, that helps. That gives us some depth there. We’re going to have to go through a little bit of an evaluation stage this week and make sure our young guys are where they need to be and understand what their role will be in this game and understand the environment they’re going into.”
(On whether WR Jakeem Grant is ready to handle a slot receiver role) – “I think we’re still working through that. There are certain things that he has done well, and there are certain things he has struggled at. We’re trying to get him caught up to speed more. It’s just one of those things where sometimes with receivers, it takes a minute. When you have to focus on what he has had to focus on as far as trying to become that returner for us, that’s a lot of pressure. That’s not an easy job. Really, you’re trying to do two different jobs. Sometimes it doesn’t all happen in one training camp, and we’re going to keep bringing him along and try to make sure that we have a … We know what he knows, and those are the type of things you’d have to lean on if he’s the guy that has to go in the game.”
(On whether it has been the same hamstring affecting WR DeVante Parker) – “It has been – one time it’s right, one time it’s left. It’s two different spots. It has never been something that we can say, ‘It has always been the same thing.’ We keep working with him. I know he’s trying to make steps to do things better outside of the football field, which as you guys all know in this profession, it’s not just a nine-to-five deal. This is full time, every day, year-round. If you slip up slightly, it’s going to affect you on the field.”
(On the thinking behind the guard situation on the depth chart and what G/T Laremy Tunsil did to earn the job) – “I think Tunsil did earn it. I mean we made it hard on him. Obviously you guys … we talked about it so much. But he did; he earned it. He earned being in that spot. I think ‘Bush’ (Bushrod) came in and did a good job. He’s still learning the position obviously. It’s a completely different animal for him; but when you have a veteran player like him and he’s played in some really big games, he knows how to handle the type of situation that we’re going to be going into on Sunday.”
(On if there is an advantage to going to Seattle Week 1 instead of halfway through the season) – “I don’t know if there’s ever an advantage when you go up there. I think you have to go up there and you have to have your mind right and you better be ready to execute. I know that.”
(On if there is any benefit to Week 1 being the first time a team will really be able to see his offense because they don’t have a great film breakdown of what this offense is going to do) – “Well, there’s some history. Obviously there’s a few things that have probably stayed the same that they’ll look at and kind of recognize, and then there will probably be some things that are different. Obviously there’s always going to be things that we’re working through to see if it’s worth bringing to the game. It’s always nice to go in when you don’t have the full menu out there; but at the same time, with what they do, they’re not going to overcomplicate themselves. They’re going to play fast, they’re going to do what they do and they’re going to do it aggressively. That’s their mentality and I don’t think they’re really going to worry about what we’re doing. They’re going to worry about themselves.”
(On if he is optimistic about LB Jelani Jenkins playing this week) – “I don’t want to jinx myself. (Laughter) I think he’s on a good track right now. I know he’s been working really hard. It seems like he’s around here a lot because he doesn’t want to miss that first game. I think all of those guys that are really kind of on the sideline right now are itching to get out at practice. They do not want to miss an opportunity to go play this team because this is a really good team. This is a great organization that’s been very consistent; especially since (Head) Coach (Pete) Carroll has gotten there. I think these guys know that this is a good team and they want to showcase what their talents are.”
(On how he feels personally about going into his first regular season game as a head coach) – “Everything has been moving pretty quick. I haven’t really sat back and thought about it because we went from that Thursday game and you jump right back into it. Like me, personally, thinking about anything… I’m just moving on to the next day. We’ve got to do our thing tomorrow so I don’t have time to really think about any of that stuff.”
(On if the Seahawks always do the same thing game-after-game, year-after-year) – “I think they have a core belief of what they want to do and they have the players to do it. They have a lot of experience with that group. There are a lot of familiar faces from two or three years ago. When you’re able to keep that core together – especially on the defensive side of the ball –that’s very valuable because it allows you to play basically free. You don’t have to think; you just react. That’s what this group does. They play with physicality and speed. That’s what they’ve built there and being able to keep those guys together as long as they have is a very impressive thing to have happen now in the NFL today.”
