Cameron Wake – September 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Postgame – Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake
(It was nice to see the young guys get their turn and do things like CB Xavien Howard did today. What did you say to him in the locker room?) – “We have a thing. The left side corner’s best friend is a pass rusher. A pass rusher’s best friend is a corner. So I think that he understands that. He made good plays today. Some of the guys up front are doing their best to try to get pressure on the quarterback to maybe throw an errant pass and he picked it off. He did his job and vice versa. The quarterback tried to make that read, he doesn’t have time, we get a sack. So playing hand in hand, I mean, obviously, nothing to take away from him; but I think working together creates plays for everybody all over the field.
(What kind of challenge was it out there today with rotations just down to three ends and three defensive tackles and it’s hot?) – “Well, welcome to South Florida. That’s part of the business. In this game that we love, injuries are a big part of it. It’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when it’s going to happen. I think you’ve got to take your hat off to the guys, the way we train out there in the heat day-in and day-out, when it’s not so much fun; but those are the times that it pays off. I think, we all spoke about it, if we hadn’t gone through some of the things we went through over the course of camp, OTAs, those long days, hot, struggling through it, maybe we wouldn’t have had the tolerance to fight through a game like today. So again, my hat goes off to those guys who are out there literally getting down deep in your soul and going to a dark place and pulling out whatever you could to make sure you finish this game. And those guys did so, me included. So I think it’s a tribute to the coaching staff and the way we practice and the way we play and it paid off today.”
(After you got your sack and DT Akeem Spence was ejected, how important was it for you guys to hold them to a field goal on that drive?) – “We do our best not to clock watch or scoreboard watch, but you’ve got to stay in the game moment to moment. Every play, you’ve got to go out there and do your best to keep points off the board. That’s our job. Like you said, we shot ourselves in the foot and made some mistakes we made as far as extending drives. We just had to go out there and say, listen, we’ve got to put an end to this. Whatever it takes. Like I said earlier, it doesn’t matter how many guys we got, it doesn’t matter if you’re tired or hurt, nobody cares. Go out there and get your job done and we did today.
(From a defensive player’s perspective from the gadget plays that went for touchdowns, how did that look from your point of view?) – “Well, we have seen then already. (laughter) So it was a surprise to you guys but we have but we have been seeing them all week. But it’s another one of those things where it’s a little bit leery as far as what’s going to happen, especially having seen them already. I don’t know if they worked perfectly but they worked and it’s definitely a lot of fun watching guys run down the sideline untouched, high-fiving and going in the end zone and scoring. That was a treat for sure.”
(Do you wish they would stay on the field longer, so you could have got some rest?) – “(laughter) No, no, we like getting points on the board. So we’ll take our chances when we go out there.”
(There’s been some unsportsmanlike penalties by some members of the defense the last couple games. What is it that you kind of say to your teammates so you don’t shoot yourself in the foot?) – “Well, I mean, I don’t even know what happened. I would love to go back and see the video; but regardless of what it is, you’ve got to do your best to kind of stay focused and look at the big picture. You may lose the battle, win the war. That sometimes may be the case. Again, I didn’t see the play. I have no clue what happened. It sounds like it could have been called either way, I don’t know. I’m sure you guys will go over the film, but things are as they are. You’ve got to be mindful of that.”
(How did G/T Jesse Davis do on the defensive line today?) – “I’ve got to watch that film too, but it was a bit of a surprise coming in seeing him in. (laughter) I thought something was mixed up. ‘What are you? Okay. Let’s get down in a four point and do exactly what you don’t like us doing when we’re going against you.’ He did a good job.”
(In all seriousness. Did you recognize G/T Jesse Davis right away?) – “Well, I knew the situation. I think … We didn’t have enough guys, so again, whatever it takes and sometimes it takes an o-lineman to go in there and be a defender. I’m sure he had fun with that as well.”
(When are we going to see you on the offensive line?) – “I’m going to have to go talk to ‘Coach Wash’ (Offensive Line Coach Jeremiah Washburn) and see if we can get some plays called. That would be interesting, I’m sure. (laughter)”
(3-0, what does that mean for this football team right now and what is your mindset as you move forward?) – “I hope it’s something that builds confidence in the guys. If you look at our team the way it’s built and games like the first home game, the longest game in history, and games like the past game where it could have gone either way and we had to fight and scratch and claw and do whatever it took to get that W. I hope … I mean it builds character, regardless of what else goes on. It wasn’t pretty but whatever it took to win, guys did it. And 3-0 feels good. It definitely feels good, but at the same time, you’ve got to wipe the slate clean. Enjoy it for the next 24 hours or so, pat yourself on the back and get in there tomorrow and fix the things that we didn’t do so well and erase the board and let’s move on. We’ve got to be 1-0 after next week.”
(After the 24 hours, you look up to New England. That’s a team that you guys need to try to unseat and that’s what you guys want to do, that’s what you have an opportunity to do, go up there and try to beat a good football team in their backyard. They’ve had a lot of success when you guys go up there. How much will you think about that and how much will you try to just get everyone on the same page and get that job done?) – “Well I think that, like you said, for the next few hours we’ll enjoy this one; but quickly we’ll be moving on. I don’t think the narrative is going to change. You’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to do whatever, especially on defense. Read your keys, play what’s shown, be where you’re supposed to be for the entire game. It can’t be ‘Alright, four or five plays I missed out,’ because good teams will capitalize on that. It’s no different than any other week. You’ve got to go in there and we’ve got to wipe the slate clean, 0-0 and be 1-0 when the week’s over with.”
(When the team was practicing way back in the day, the wildcat. LB Joey Porter I remember said ‘Really, this is what it has come to?’ When you see the trick plays that you’ve been practicing in front of you for the last two weeks, you thought what?) – “I hope it works. (laughter) I mean, trick play … I mean, it’s offense. They motion, they’ve got different sets, it’s part of the game. And as a defender, whatever your keys are, you read your keys and you have to do your best to make the play. And whether it’s a reverse, throw back, whatever it is. I’m sure they have keys that they’re supposed to read and I guess somebody dropped the ball. Again, as I spoke earlier, one play can either make you or break you. You can’t have – on defense – you can’t have one mistake, two mistakes. That’s two touchdowns and you lose the game. Offense, they can have a couple series and not work out so well and go on and hit a 70-yard touchdown and they’re back in business. So as it stands for us on defense, it’s every play, 60 minutes, no matter what.”
