Dowell Loggains – September 13, 2018
Download PDF version
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains
(Do you ever use paper? Is everything computerized now or do you ever pull out a piece of paper and draw a ball play?) – “Actually, today, the little prep sheet (the communications staff) gave me, there’s plays drawn up all over it.”
(Can we see them?) – “No. (laughter) This time next week.”
(When the pistol offense – you’re starting to get in it – when is it used, what’s the pros and cons to its usage and why is it a right fit for these two backs?) – “Sometimes it helps hide run-pass. There are some things in shotgun that are hard to do. Sometimes the pistol give you advantage in some of the play-action passes that tie into the running game.”
(What pleased you most about what you saw on offense Sunday?) – “Number one was getting the victory. I think to some extent, the delays hurt us, because as we started building a little bit of momentum here and there, the game kind of felt choppy. Even offensively at times, I felt like we were a little bit choppy. Right when I feel like … And you could feel it in (Head) Coach (Adam Gase). In the play calling, he would be aggressive, felt like we had a good feel for the game and how the thing was going to go and then the delay started a little bit. The thing that was really pleasing was how the guys persevered. It was resilient. There were a lot of things going on that were weird and had to get cooled down, you had to get loose again, you cool down, you get loose again. There was no complaining. They handled adjustments. When you give coaches that much time, all of a sudden we’re drawing up ball plays to do in the second half with that much down time. They handled all of the adjustments really well.”
(You guys were drawing up plays during the break?) – “There was that much time. We were sitting around going through what had happened the first half and started making adjustments. You know hoe coaches are, you give us a lot of time to sit around and we’re going to think of stuff to do and just trying to help our guys put into better situations.”
(Was there one that you can share with us that worked?) – “There were some that worked and some that didn’t work.”
(Any one in particular that stands out to you?) – “No. I thought they handled all the adjustments well. There were a couple things that came up. Obviously, the touchdown pass – the 75-yarder to Stills – we felt like we had a pretty good beat on when we could get them into that coverage. Coach (Gase) called it at the right time.”
(Do you think you would’ve been as likely to call that then if you hadn’t had all the time to think and analyze what had happened?) – “I think we would’ve gotten to it, but you’re just sitting around thinking about, ‘How are they playing us? We’ve run these plays, what can we come back off of it?’
(What’s your role on Sundays? What do you do?) – “My role is to fulfill the vision of the head coach and give advice when asked.”
(Anything in specific you can share as to what you do?) – “It’s a unique role, because we have a play-calling head coach. As the offensive coordinator, I’m there to … When he’s talking to defense … And obviously there’s a lot of back and forth between Adam (Gase) and I on the headset, and between the quarterbacks, obviously. I play a big role with Ryan (Tannehill) on game day and I’m filling in wherever I need to fill in.”
(Do you remind him of stuff you guys have talked about earlier in the week that he wanted to get to and may not have at that point?) – “We go back and forth throughout the series, throughout, as the series is going, between series, what they’re doing, the adjustments we need to make.”
(In terms of the blocking and physicality you got from TE MarQueis Gray, do you have that yet with TE Durham Smythe or any of your tight ends on the roster, I guess? TE A.J. Derby. Or is Durham just not at the point yet in his maturation process where he’s able to do for you what Gray could?) – “He’s going to get there. It’s early in the season. We’ve played one game. He’s working really hard at it. He understands the role that he has to fill on this offense and he’s doing a good job with it.”
(Where is TE A.J. Derby in terms of contribution and level of play at all phases a tight end has to play?) – “He’s doing a good job doing what we’re asking him to do. He’s playing some at Y, which is at the point of attack, and he’s playing some as the F as the pass catcher. He’s going to continue to fulfill that role and there will be plays we have him in for him each week that we think that he’s better than the other two guys. There are plays Mike (Gesicki) is going to have that we feel utilize his strengths more.”
(You guys always plan to have everybody play a different, varying role. How does the change with TE MarQueis Gray being sidelined?) – “It didn’t change much, because we planned on those guys, all four of them playing and being part of this offense. We just shifted around who plays more. As the game goes, we’ll continue to make adjustments. As the weekly matchups continue to change, we’ll continue to game plan and figure out what those guys do well that week.”
(You said when you were hired – you said this recently – but thinking back to when you were hired and took stock of the speed that they have, that these were becoming your players now. What was specifically your initial impression of WR DeVante Parker and what you saw him possibly developing into?) – “We did a lot of work on him when he came out. That was the year when we were in Chicago and we drafted Kevin White. Obviously, he was in that conversation of guys. You just saw a good football player that’s got length and size. That’s the thing that we don’t have right now, as he hadn’t played last week, was he’s got size and length and that’s different than the group we have right now. The thing that we’re excited about is hopefully when he’s back ready (is) putting him in position like we do with all the guys and do things that he does well in our opinion.”
(When you have a question mark on the offensive line with G Josh Sitton’s injury, I’m sure it doesn’t change your game plan completely, but are there tendencies you might run with Josh that would be different with C/G Ted Larsen or vice versa?) – “If there was something where we weren’t going to have Josh or any of our guys, we’ll look at what the other guys do well and try to put them in situations to be successful. Obviously, New York has good inside players. And some weeks the matchup would be different, if it was a tackle or a center, however it is. Does it change things? Absolutely. If you didn’t have someone at any position, you look to (say), ‘How is this matchup going to affect us in the game?’”
(Can you describe the sense of appreciation for what RB Frank Gore is as a running back changes when you get to see him live on your team as opposed to on TV or when you’re coaching the other team?) – “I think I probably feel the same way that you guys feel for the last 14 years. He’s been a prominent player in this league. He’s an unselfish player. He’s a team-first player. The way he goes about his business in a professional manner and works. He wants to practice every day and our guys have done a really good job managing him and giving him reps when he needed or take a day off when he needed. But to see him go out there and be unselfish and play … He plays hard, he plays physical and he brings that element to our offense that we expect and that’s why we signed him is to bring that element, the downhill runs. He has the ability to run outside and go off tackles as well, but he definitely has a presence. The one thing that Frank you have a great appreciation for is when you run powers and inside stuff, he has this unique ability to get skinny and find a way through a hole that you don’t think any human can fit through and then all of a sudden Frank shoots out for like a 6-yard gain.”
(What do you like about QB Luke Falk?) – “He’s one of the guys that we brought him into Miami during the pre-visit, the pre-draft visit stuff. He’s got a unique personality. He’s got like a swagger to him that you really like. He’s an accurate guy, throws with anticipation, put up really good numbers in college. When we had him here, you could just feel how smart he was in the pre-draft visit process. It’s been fun to work with him. He works really hard. We do stuff every day with him. We’re really trying to figure out right now what he can and can’t do and his strengths and where we got to improve as Ryan (Tannehill) plays and we get to develop another young player.”
