Jay Ajayi – November 2, 2016
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Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Running Back Jay Ajayi
(The Dolphins are going to play the Saints in London next year. What’s your reaction to that?) – “It’s exciting knowing that next year we’ll get an opportunity to go over there. It’s pretty cool.”
(What was your reaction … it must have hurt last time when you weren’t able to play with the Dolphins playing at Wembley Stadium.) – “It was tough for me, just being on injury at the time. I wanted to play in front of friends and family. Hopefully next year, that’ll be the case.”
(How did you spend your time off?) – “Just (stayed) here for a little bit. I went to New York on Friday and hung out with some of my boys that play for the Giants, because they were on a bye too, and came back on Sunday.”
(Did you go through New York unrecognized? Or did people start to …) – “I think a couple of people at the hotel maybe, but I’m still just me, I guess.”
(The Jets are a team that likes to load the box. They play eight men every now and then. Are you a running back that gets excited when you see that eighth man in the box because you know that everyone is on one level and all you have to do is beat that guy?) – “There are definitely different ways of looking at it, as a respect thing if the defense packs the box, and stuff like that. However they line up, it’ll be interesting to see what they try to do. Like you said, when you do pack the box like that, it does leave the second level open if you’re able to break through the first initial wave of defenders and stuff. It’s all about, really, what we do – being physical at the line of scrimmage and just running hard and making plays.”
(Nobody has ever gotten 200 yards three times in a row. What would that mean for you?) – “To have that for ourselves, the o-line – myself included – I think it would be a great accomplishment. At the same time, that’s not our main priority and focus. We want to win the game. We know that as our running game goes, so does our offense. Our priority is just like it’s always been, set the tone at the line of scrimmage, be physical upfront and just run hard. At the end of the game, we’ll see what the stats are.”
(How about the effectiveness of the blocking, not only at the line at the point of attack but downfield by the receivers and how that has contributed to the last couple of games for you) – “That’s been huge. Just talking with the receivers and talking with Coach ‘Jeff’ (Shawn Jefferson), the receivers coach, we’ve been talking about it through practice – how we’re going to work on finishing runs, how they’re going to make it a big emphasis to finish their blocks and get me to the second level and the other running backs. We all know that we all work together as a team on offense. As our running game goes, we can also open up the passing game. As much as everyone is doing their job and working together, we can have a really good day on Sunday and that’s our goal.”
(How much are you getting recognized in South Florida?) – “It’s growing. It’s definitely growing. I just want to keep putting together good performances.”
(This is out in public, like the grocery store and such?) – “Yes, like I’ll start to get recognized a little bit more.”
(What’s your reaction to it? Are you surprised still or does it seem strange?) – “It’s cool because it kind of just tells you that you’re doing the right thing. People obviously are noticing you for good performance so just keep putting good performances together.”
(Do you have any funny stories like that, like you’re just trying to eat your meal or buy some apples and somebody comes up to you?) – “No, no funny stories.”
(How formidable is the challenge this week with the No. 1 rush defense facing you?) – “Yes, we’re playing a good team. The Jets, they have a really good front up there with their defensive line and those linebackers. We know we’re going to have a good challenge ahead of us. At the same time, we’re not worried about anybody else. We’re worried about ourselves. If we do our jobs and we go out there like we know we can play, I think we’re going to have a good day.”
(The last two weeks have obviously upped your stats. You’re over 500 yards rushing now. Is leading the league in rushing something within your grasp?) – “Down the line, maybe. Right now I’m just taking it game by game. I know I haven’t played as many games as the rest of everyone else, so I don’t even know how close I am to doing that. It would be something cool to strive for as the season’s getting close to ending and you see that; but right now I’m just focused on the Jets and playing a great game against them.”
(With the success of the run game, what are some of the things you guys can continue to do to keep defenses honest?) – “I think that just making sure that we have good balance on offense – everyone doing their jobs, at the same time executing and doing the little details. I think that’s what’s going to set us apart from what we’ve been doing so far, and just let us go to the next level. I think if we can add that to our game, cut out the stupid mistakes, the penalties, fix the little details and execute, I think we’ll be alright.”
(Can personnel groupings help?) – “Definitely. I think that we have a lot of variety on our team, versatility here and there, so we can do a lot of different personnel groups. I think that we can use that to our advantage as well.”
(If we had asked you six months ago – would you have thought it was possible for anybody to run for 200 yards three weeks in a row?) – “I know in the NFL, it’s hard to get 100 yards so for us to have done back-to-back 200 yard games is credit to the hard work that we’ve all put in – the o-line, the receivers, everyone including myself. If it does happen again, that’s going to be an amazing thing, an incredible thing, and we’ll just see what happens.”
(Is there anything about being a back-to-back 200 yard rusher that is not fun, that has become a pain in the neck?) – “No, because I think if we’re doing that, I think we’ll be hard to beat. I know it’s not logical to say you can rush for 200 yards every game, but if our run game is being as dominant as it has been these past couple of weeks, and if we can just keep playing like that, and adding that balance, and helping our defense out, I think we’ll be alright. I don’t see nothing wrong with having great performances like that over and over again.”
(Did you notice the difference physically with that amount of carries? Because you’ve never had close to that amount of carries.) – “Yes, I mean you’re a little bit more sore; because you’re taking more hits. But that’s what doing the right things during the week, regeneration and things like that, to make sure you get back on the field as quick as possible.”
(With the bye, do you feel that much pressure?) – “I feel that the bye came at a good time for a lot of us – a lot of our injured guys are getting back healthy, so I think we’ll be good.”
(Do you have a hyperbaric chamber or anything like that?) – “I have an ice machine at home and I’m planning on getting the Game Ready stuff. One of my boys had that thing and he told me it works so maybe this offseason I’ll look into getting one of those.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said that even when things weren’t going great for you, you went to him and said ‘If you let me run these plays, I’ll get you yards. I’ll get you guaranteed.’ What in your mind gave you the impetus to go ahead and tell the head coach that when you haven’t proven it?) – “I felt like he didn’t really understand what I was best at yet, because we were still getting to know how we will work in this offense during the preseason and everyone was kind of getting in the grove of things. I kind of felt like he still didn’t know what my favorite kind of runs in the scheme are and the things that I can be productive (at). I felt like I wanted to let him know (that) given the opportunity, whenever you decide, if you decide to put me in there, these are the plays that I feel like I’ll be most successful at.”
(When you left that meeting, did you feel that at least you’ve gotten it across and off your chest?) – “Yes, he was very receptive and took notes down. That’s one thing about (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase, when it comes to our offense, he’s always receptive to advice (and) things that we’re saying, because we’re out there on the field and we know what’s going on. I just made an effort to reach out to him and let him know.”
(It’s working right?) – “Yes, it’s been good.”
(The understanding between you two must be better than ever, right?) – “Yes, it’s improved definitely from the beginning of the year. I’m happy about it.”
