Alec Ingold – December 31, 2024
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Tuesday, December 31, 2024
FB Alec Ingold
(What was the difference that you noticed in QB Tyler Huntley’s orchestration of the offense from when he first came in to how he operated on Sunday in Cleveland?) – “He was having fun, man. I think we’re all having fun. It was cool to see him off-schedule, being able to play football, you know what I’m saying? Like bringing his personality to the game, to the huddle, a little bit more comfortable with the ins and outs, I think it was fun to see him do that – either in the huddle or on the sidelines, just kind of playing ball, man. It was fun to see, good to be a part of. He was scrambling a lot. I was running around, trying to figure out how I could stay in somebody’s way on some of those routes, but it was fun, for sure.”
(Another topic. You know the scenarios; you need a win and to have the Chiefs beat the Broncos. Any scoreboard watching for you on Sunday at MetLife or does that take away from the focus on the game?) – “That’s a great question. I think you know my answer is going to be I’m going to be worried about who I got to block, what the assignment is, what my alignment is, all that good stuff. We’re going to let that Chiefs-Broncos game do what it does, but I’m sure there’s going to be whispers and murmurs in the stadium. So the more awareness that we got with all that will be good, but yeah, we’ll stay locked in. I think it’s going to be a good test to kind of have those reset buttons throughout the game, controlling what you can. I mean I can’t imagine the amount of regret that would go on the field if you miss an assignment, you miss a block because you’re up there peaking at a scoreboard, you know what I’m saying? That’s not professional and I don’t think that’s what we should be doing.”
(I’m doing something on the grind that you guys go through at this time last year. And I recall two years ago, you win the Ed Block Courage Award, you’ve got pins in your thumb and Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville says that you told him on Tuesday there’s no way you’re taking the field in Buffalo without me. You see what QB Tua Tagovailoa is going through. You see what T Terron Armstead is going through. Talk to me about all of that, what you went through, Tua, Armstead and how much guys do to get on the field at this time of year.) – “That’s a great question. I’ve been in the training room quite a bit, the trainers and I are on a first name basis, obviously as soon as you show up to the facility. They’re doing a great job with everybody, making sure that we have the best care. They’ve been first class in everything that they do. I think a lot of guys are spending the time taking care of their bodies, but it’s the toll of the season, man and every single season has a little different thing. Sometimes it’s thumbs, sometimes it’s ankles, it could be whatever it is. I think it’s all about understanding what we’re pushing ourselves and the limits of our bodies to be able to do and execute. I know those guys, a couple of those captains that you named, are doing absolutely everything in their power with a great staff to be able to be out there and be available. It’s just that daily discipline, showing up early, staying late. That’s the grind that you’re talking about late in the season, for sure.”
(Kind of on that same tip, how does practice change in December? Obviously, this is potentially the last week of practice of the year, how does – and LB Jordyn Brooks talked about making this the best week of practice – how does that look and how does that kind of differ from previous weeks?) – “It’s intentional effort. It’s intentional focus. It’s really dialing into your details and putting yourself into the game. Visualizing, watching the tape when we’re in a meeting room and putting yourself in that game atmosphere on the practice field. While you might not be going full speed, well you got a full week to try and get your body feeling ready for Sunday again, all that stuff. It’s about being a pro, and I think that’s something I’ve learned a lot from ‘T-Stead’ (Terron Armstead) and how he approaches a week, how he’s able to do his work throughout a week and then go out and perform unbelievably, All-Pro levels for the past few years now. I think that’s a great example to follow. A lot of the younger guys looking at those types of people – hopefully I’m one of those guys right now that’s able to make every single rep count during the week. Like really putting yourself in there, visualizing it, believing it, seeing it, so then on Sunday it feels like you’ve already done it before. I think that’s how you put as much as you possibly can into this week of work.”
(You mentioned T Terron Armstead, and obviously we don’t get to see a lot of the stuff that happens with him, but when you have a younger guy, how do you kind of communicate that? Like look at the ‘T-Steads’, look at someone – obviously, you’re not “look at me” – how do you communicate that to the younger guys?) – “That’s a great question. I think the specific position rooms, they kind of embody the personalities of some of those leaders, some of the older guys. So being able to have those one-on-one conversations – I think it happens in the lunchroom, I think it happens in the training room, in the weight room. Those are the one-on-one conversations we’re able to kind of build trust, build relationships so that those types of, ‘Hey, pay attention to what this dude’s doing,’ right? He’s all bandaged up, he’s got this elbow brace, whatever it might be and he’s still out there working, he’s still out there grinding. Those are the types of things where you can point to a number of different ways throughout the week and that’s the power of relationships. That’s the power of building trust and having those conversations more so than just nodding your head and saying what’s up and moving on.”
(If the Dolphins win on Sunday, the organization would have a winning record for five straight seasons – which is actually kind of rare in the NFL. What do you think that might say about the state of the organization?) – “That’s a good question. I haven’t really thought of that, honestly. I’ve been – 2-6 to 6-2 and we’re just one week at a time. You look back at the last five years, having winning records, I think it speaks a lot to consistency. I think that winning is a habit and obviously, early on in the season, it was very uncomfortable, very frustrating because we weren’t holding up to the standard that we set for ourselves, that everybody had for us, all that. I think that discomfort, the strain, the standard, the way that we pushed ourselves throughout this season, I think that’s kind of – it’s in the walls a little bit – like, ‘this isn’t enough, this isn’t good enough. We need to continue pressing forward. We need to find more, we need to dig deeper,’ whatever it is to be able to have the product and the execution that we are expecting and what people have seen the last four years, five years. I think consistency, a high standard is something that we’re consistently trying to elevate.”
(What have you said, or would you say to QB Tua Tagovailoa as a young guy, I think he’s about 26 years old, who’s unfortunately had to deal with a number of injuries already in his career? What have you said, or would you say and certainly what are your hopes for him and the longevity of his promising career?) – “It’s a good question. I wouldn’t give him advice on how to take care of his body and his approach to things. He’s a professional; he’s got his kids and his wife, and I’m going to be as uplifting, as positive as I possibly can be. I’m going to be a friend, I’m going to be a teammate, but when it comes to the injury talk and those discussions, I trust him. I trust his judgement; I wouldn’t want to put my two cents into his approach because I completely trust and believe in his approach and how he comes to work every day. So anything I would say is positivity, uplifting, being a friend, being a great teammate and letting him know that we all support him and believe in him.”
