Alec Ingold – October 10, 2022
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Monday, October 10, 2022
FB Alec Ingold
(Let’s start with QB Teddy Bridgewater. How much did you see? Did you see a stumble? Do you think that was a legitimate reason to pull him from the game?) – “I mean that’s not my job. That’s the first thing you could say. We were all really bummed how Teddy went out that first play. Obviously somebody saw something and we’re all competitors. We’re all going to try to strap up. We’re all going to try to play. That’s just the nature of the beast. There are people out there looking for us and a lot of hindsight from ex-players and people in those positions. As much as it hurts in the short term, there are people looking out and being extra cautious and safe. It’s definitely a double-edged sword. It was really tough to see Teddy go out like that, just knowing how he prepared and it was his moment. We’re really fighting for him.”
(How good was it to see RB Raheem Mostert and the running game get going? It seemed like he got loose really for the first time this season.) – “Raheem is a speed demon and it’s just so smooth when you watch him work, week in week out, day in day out. I think that’s kind of the whole message we’ve had as a running back room is we’re just going to stay on this process, we’re going to keep working at it, the running game is going to click, we’re inches away here, there or whatever. It was just a lot of guys staying on the details. The offensive line, myself, quarterback, running back, just kind of being able to put it all together. The wide receivers were blocking on the edge. We saw that jet sweep and you had Trent Sherfield and River Cracraft locking guys up over on the edge. It literally takes all 11 to make the run game work. I think that’s just the epitome of our team. Guys are going to work. We’re going to consistently play to our standard and I think the run game, you’ve just got to keep fighting and stay consistent with that work, and things will hit.”
(How close are you paying attention to what the Raiders are doing?) – “I talk to my guys over there, for sure. I talk to Foster (Moreau), Hunter (Renfrow), Josh (Jacobs), AJ Cole. I definitely have some friends over there that I check in on. I know they’re playing tonight. They’re playing the Chiefs. It will be a fun Monday Night Football, for sure.”
(What did you think of QB Skylar Thompson going in and just the contingency plans now if he has to go in again?) – “I think Skylar did awesome. A seventh-round quarterback, a rookie, having to step up immediately after that, going out to New York, a division game, ‘gotta have it’ type of game, to see him show up and play poised and have a guy like that who is – how old is he? He’s 25? He’s almost as old as I am. Shoot. (laughter) But he plays like that. He has confidence. He has composure and conviction. We trust him in this room. It’s cool to see a guy like that step up when you need him to. I think a lot of guys in our offense and the team in general really need to step up, for sure.”
(How does the team feel after the two losses from the standpoint you did so many good things in the first three games and injuries didn’t seem to bother you. How much of this are you attributing to injury and how much is this being beat by better teams?) – “You can have any excuse, any reason for any loss that you want and I think being a professional football player and being a guy in the locker room, you know the talent’s there. You know the coaches are there. You know the pieces of the puzzle are there. We’ve proven that, like you said. It’s just about us coming together as a team, finding our formula to win, having a standard and sticking to it. I feel like those are all simple answers that you can give but it’s really hard to do on a week-to-week basis. That’s what separates good teams from great. I think we’ve got a really good opportunity to show guys that want to be coachable, want to get better, want to have a long season – 17, 18, 19, 20 weeks – and that’s what we’re facing right now. There’s a lot of guys that have to look in the mirror and be accountable whether you thought you did good or it’s that reason or that circumstance. Let’s just get better. Let’s just keep working. I think that’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
(How much does the locker room believe in that?) – “I think you have to. I don’t think there’s any other option. When you get 53 guys pushing in the same direction, I think that’s where power is. I think that’s where a team can come together. I think that’s where an identity comes out of. And it comes with work. We can talk at a press conference and you can answer these questions and sound cool and like we believe it, but it’s going to start on Wednesday’s practice. And then it’s going to follow up with Thursday’s padded practice. How are we going to respond? Friday, Saturday, then let’s put it on tape Sunday. Whether the result – win, loss or draw, whatever that is – the way we go about our work and the way we consistently push this wheel and push this whole thing to move in the same direction, that’s what it’s all about. You look at a guy to your left and your right, do you trust him? Is he playing for you and not playing for himself? I could play for a coach, I could play for Raheem (Mostert), I could play for Chase (Edmonds), I could play for all of these guys and that’s where power comes in. That’s where you come together as a team and that’s what we need to do.”
(As a guy who takes a lot of hits – I’m just going back to QB Teddy Bridgewater for a moment – what are your thoughts on the addition of the new rule and just kind of taking that extra step to protect players?) – “Like I said earlier, it’s a double-edged sword. We’re all competitors. We want to be out there. We want to be out there. We want to play for our brothers. We want to play for the organization, the team, the coaches. You put so much, you sacrifice so much, for these limited opportunities. You get 17 opportunities. So as a player in the heat of battle, you’re always going to try and get up. You’re always going to try and play for the people next to you. For the organization, the NFLPA and the NFL to come in and protect us from ourselves a little bit and be able to say we’re going to protect you from injuring yourself further, for your family and playing with your grandkids one day, I think they have a lot of insight there too. I know I want to play with my grandkids. I’m going to play as hard as I can for my guys right now for all of these limited opportunities. You just have to trust the people in charge that they have the best interest for you.”
(Just being from Wisconsin, is there any extra giddy-up this week knowing that it’s the Vikings, with you being a football fan growing up?) – “I grew up and watched the Vikings twice a year very closely – the NFC North. I definitely know what that’s all about. I played up there my rookie year. I do think this is a week and an opportunity to play for these guys and play for the room, play for the organization. Any of that extra jazz, you can kind of leave to the side right now. We have enough to worry about right now.”
(Does this offense have an identity right now? Is it a big-play offense? Or is the identity still evolving?) – “It’s still evolving and it probably always will be. I think that’s power in having so many playmakers on offense. You’ve got ‘Cheetah’ (Tyreek Hill), you’ve got (Jaylen) Waddle. You’ve got all of the guys that can make the big splash plays. But then it’s the guys up front in the trenches too. I think the offense that we have and the personnel that we have, being able to step up when your number is called is huge. Whether that’s a run-first game, a pass-first game, a big-play game, a grind-it-out type of game, an ugly game, good weather, bad weather, whatever – I think being able to be a Dolphin and being able to win and be in any type of game that you need to be in, I think that’s where teams can get dangerous.”
(Do you think the run game scheme can kind of mask some of those injuries along the offensive line?) – “I think when you talk about a run game scheme, it really is like earlier when I talked about all 11 playing together. That’s where you have power in guys stepping up. So when you have injuries, when you have guys that are going down, when you have tight ends that can learn multiple positions, wide receivers that can take ownership of the playbook, running backs and fullbacks able to be adjustable, be football players and understand the whole concept and be able to give defenses different looks, I think that’s where there’s a little bit of power in the run game and the concepts that we run. It’s just a lot of guys taking ownership and just buying in and getting a little bit better every single day. We’ll put some good stuff on tape.”
(Considering it was QB Skylar Thompson’s first start yesterday, how much more importance did that give to you guys to finally get the running game going to take some weight off his shoulders a bit?) – “I think it was close for a while. Just being there with Skylar, seeing him call plays in the huddle, you know we had confidence in him from a great preseason and a great training camp. It’s great to see it in the regular season come to life. A lot of things that the players, coaches and the organization have been preaching, it really did – there were some good things to take out of it, especially from the run game. You’ve just got to keep building on that and keep pushing.”
