Transcripts

Search Transcripts
Jake Brendel – November 28, 2018

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

C Jake Brendel

(How meaningful was it for you last week that C/G Ted Larsen was back and you still got the start?) – “I don’t really think of it like that. I feel like we were kind of rolling right from the Packers game into last week. I feel like that was the reason why. I feel like our focus now should just be on this week’s opponent.”

(How difficult is the transition in game to go from left guard to center?) – “It’s not as drastic as going from left guard to right guard. Luckily I’ve played a lot for center, so I can kind of fall back to the already ingrained technique that I’ve had at that position. I feel like it wasn’t that bad of a transition.”

(How are things falling together as in you do have a few moving pieces on the offensive line and then the guy behind you QB Ryan Tannehill is sort of new but not new. How do you feel about how the way all of these moving pieces are coming together?) – “Tannehill is definitely not new. Even when he wasn’t playing, he still was a very big part of this team. That for sure wasn’t a new component. I feel like we, as an offensive line, act as a unit no matter who’s in there is kind of a big deal. Just be all on the same page and make – especially at the center position – make your calls and make the right adjustment depending on what the defense does.”

(You’ve had quite an interesting season starting on injured reserve and then getting activated and now in the starting lineup. How would you describe the ride?) – “You just have to trust the process. It was kind of unfortunate what happened to me in training camp; but luckily the Dolphins believed in me and believed in me as a player, so I worked as hard as I could to get back. I did exactly what the training staff and the weight room staff told me to do and it worked. Now I’m back and I’m healthier than ever, so I’m ready to work.”

(You showed what you could do obviously in the second half of the Falcons game last year. You’ve played well your two game. Has it changed for you as far as going from I just want to be an NFL player to I’d like to prove that I can be an NFL starter at some point. Has it gone from that to that?) – “Starting has always been a goal. It’s always been something that I’ve worked towards. I just made sure I was available at every single interior position on the offensive line. Really, it was just waiting for the opportunity and making sure to work in the offseason and make sure you work at practice.”

(As you mentioned what happened to you with the injury stuff – and the wide receiver group – the next-man-up mentality is the buzz phrase in the NFL. How difficult is it to embrace the mechanisms of actually doing it versus just saying it?) – “What’s really helped me was just watching the guys ahead of me. Last season I watched (Mike) Pouncey and this season I watched Dan (Kilgore), and just Ted (Larsen) and the older leaders on the offensive line. You just kind of try and emulate what they are doing as much as you can because obviously what they do works. As back-up guy, you have to wait and see what happens, but you also have to make sure  that you trust in the coaching staff and make sure you go out there and practice. Even if you get in a game, you have to make sure that you show them that you can compete.”

Search Transcripts

Weekly Archives