Kenny Stills – December 14, 2017
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Thursday, December 14, 2017
WR Kenny Stills
(You and WR Jarvis Landry have combined for 14 receiving touchdowns. You could be one of three Dolphins duos to record 20 or more receiving touchdowns up there with WR Mark Duper and WR Mark Clayton. Does it feel that you guys have had a successful season from that standpoint, from touchdown standpoint?) – “I don’t really think that’s something that we think about or talk about. We are trying to focus on winning games and we’re in a tough race right now, so that’s where our focus is.”
(How do you think you’ve done as a duo because both of you guys are approaching … You can approach career bests in certain categories? How do you feel you and WR Jarvis Landry have been as a receiving duo?) — “I mean off the top of my head, I couldn’t really tell you. What you just told me stats wise, I guess it sounds good; but like I said, we’re focused on winning games and the individual stats and stuff don’t matter if we’re not winning.”
(On the field, what about your season? You’ve been through the back injury. You’ve been through the hand injury. You’ve been out there. You’ve been productive. What can you say about what you’ve done so far?) – “I mean I’ve made some improvement on my game from last year. I still think about that game in Seattle. I’m really just focused on making big catches and catching everything, trying to make some plays with the ball in my hands after the catch. I feel like I’m doing my best to improve my game; but there’s always more room to improve.”
(You still think about the game last year in Seattle?) – “Yes.”
(The season opener from last year?) – “Yes.”
(Why?) – “I think about that because …”
(Why do you let it stick with you?) – “It’s not that it sticks with me. It’s just a reminder of something that you don’t want happen. I mean I think about a game when I was a sophomore in high school and I dropped a ball in the rain for our team not to go to the state championship. Those are just things that you use as reminders to motivate yourself, just like I have the guys that got drafted in front of me in my locker too. It’s just a reminder for those days when you might not be feeling it. Anyone can play on Sundays but it’s a grind during the week.”
(So when you say you think about that game, the opener from last year, you mean like before a practice you think about that and you think about how much you never want that to happen again or it just kind of comes to you here and there?) – “I mean, yes.”
(Like you watch a video clip of it to get yourself …?) – “No. No. It’s just something that, you never forget moments like that. Those are motivating things for you.”
(I’m curious what was going through your mind when you saw shots of the weather in Buffalo last week knowing that that’s where you’re playing this Sunday?) – “I think that’s fun. I talked about just right now a game when I was in high school. We played in like one of the rainiest games in San Diego history when I was in high school. There wasn’t much offense but you’re out there having fun and so it’s an important game for us. We need to go out there and play well and we want to win; but you try not to think about the weather or those types of things. You just go out there and execute and try to find a way to get a victory.”
(Have you ever played in a blizzard?) – “I have not.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase, I think he might have been half joking about the game film from the Buffalo game last week was kind of useless. I mean it was difficult to watch for one because it’s kind of grainy, because the view was kind of obscure; but also because unless you get a game like that, that’s not how either team’s going to play.” – “No, I haven’t had a chance to watch that game specifically. I’ve watched a couple of their games from earlier in the season, so I don’t know what that’s like; but just from seeing on TV it looked like it was difficult to see.”
(From a play design and play calling standpoint, when you think about all the things that went right on Monday, what did Head Coach Adam Gase do well?) – “I think we just … I mean that’s tough. That’s a tough question to answer without giving away our little secrets. I think he found a way to get players out there to put points on the board and those players got out there and they played. He’s good at what he does and I feel like he was in a rhythm.”
(The last six weeks, the offense has averaged 24 points a game. Why do you think the scoring has gone up?) – “Well, two weeks ago the defense put some points on the board. We had a blocked punt. We’re just playing complementary football – offense, defense and special teams – and when we can do that and eliminate the penalties and turnovers and stuff, we can be a pretty good team, and we’ve known that from the beginning of the year. So that’s something that we focus on every week.”
(WR Jarvis Landry mentioned the penalties. I think three times in the last six weeks you guys have had over 100 yards in penalties but you’re still 24 points a game. I know … Why have you been able to overcome those penalties?) – “We talk about adversity a lot on this team and things that we’ve been through from the beginning all the way to now, and so we try and really just weather the storm when those type of things come. So we know that we can do it, but we try to eliminate those things all together.”
(You’re the guy in the receiving room. You’re kind of the captain of that group. What do you tell WR DeVante Parker or what’s your approach with DeVante when he’s struggled like he has in the last few weeks?) – “I think you guys put a lot of pressure on DeVante, saying that he’s struggling; but he’s doing what he’s been asked to do. I think when the ball comes his way, he makes plays. I know he had a drop last week early in the game and that just happens. We come back to work every week and we encourage him. He’s a hard worker and we know he can get the job done. We just continue to encourage him and push him in the right direction and know that when the ball comes his way, he’s going to go out there and make a play.”
