Mike McDaniel – August 26, 2024
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Monday, August 26, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Opening statement) – “The elephant in the room is that tomorrow, we are adjusting our roster size significantly, right? I’ll do my best to answer questions today that I’m able to, but there’s some stuff I won’t be able to. So if you just bear with me, we’ll do our best to all do our jobs, because you guys want me to do my job as the head coach by the organization and the players, right? You do, right? All right. So then I am going to do my best to do what you’re asking me for.”
(Is anybody going to stay on PUP or go to injured reserve that you can tell us right now?) – “Oh, OK. All right, I feel like roster Kris Kringle right here. There’s Isaiah Wynn, Cam Goode and Bradley Chubb will start on PUP. Boom, teammate.”
(So no WR Odell Beckham Jr. starting on PUP?) – “TBD. TBD, more information to acquire. Yeah, right? See we’re starting pretty good, right?”
(Regarding QB Skylar Thompson, I talked to him after the Washington game and he said among the things that he worked on in the offseason and training camp were accuracy, quick reads, getting the ball out of his hand quickly, which are things that QB Tua Tagovailoa excels in with this offense. So my question is, did that occur to QB Skylar Thompson organically? Or did you guys tell him? Or his private quarterback coach told him? How did he know to work on that and how did he do to that end?) – “He asked Jeeves. Does that age me? Does that still exist? Oh man, I just aged myself. (laughter) It’s a cool process with Skylar (Thompson) because I think it’s a lot easier to – well Tua’s development is put on display because he’s out there all the time and you can tangibly see how he improves. Much as the life of a No. 2 or a No. 3 quarterback is, Skylar has also progressed in that same fashion. It was a situation where he was able to get a little bit more reps this camp and all of the things that are mechanical, as well as he’s a very smart dude that sometimes as a young quarterback just in the system as a rookie, his mental speed is really fast and we were trying to catch his body up to it and I think that’s something he’s been working on diligently. And I think the proof is in the pudding, he came in day-in, day-out at practice and ultimately was able to win the job. So I think the same types of things in terms of growing at your position and growing in your game that Tua has experienced, there’s multiple things within Skylar’s game that he’s progressed that I see a better quarterback now than I did at the beginning of camp or last year or the year before.”
(I assume you’ll want a third arm now on this roster – this person serving in the QB3 behind QB Skylar Thompson as solidified QB2.) – “Yeah, I would imagine Chris Grier and the boys are – there’s a lot of things that go on in the next 24 hours in particular, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a third quarterback, whether what type of roster spot that is, that’s another TBD.”
(What are you looking for? I don’t know if I’ve ever asked you that.) – “I think for – ironically, that’s a question that I haven’t really answered, but I do have an answer for that. I think one thing that for quarterbacks that’s important to the way we play is their accuracy and ball placement, for sure. There’s a command of a huddle that your teammates have to believe that you’re the guy that can facilitate the offense and orchestrate it and make the decisions necessary for the team to be successful. And then one finer layer that I’m looking for is mechanically, is the quarterback able to do it? There’s a specific ability to be able to throw with a base and be able to throw in a phonebooth that is a skill that not everybody has, and you have to be adept to that in the National Football League because of the pass rush, as well as really hone in on quarterbacks that there’s a skill to throw a ball to someone. And then how accurate can you be? And then another level is can you look at defenders and see defenders and still throw to moving targets? Do you have to see only your offensive player to make a throw, or can you see the defense for reasons of throwing into windows, anticipation, as well as zone manipulation.”
(Do you prefer a veteran as the third or a young guy? Is it all individually based?) – “I understand the value in all quarterbacks. I think our two particular quarterbacks we have on the roster allow us to be open-minded and not stringent, just because I do think the maturation at the quarterback position, both those guys had to go through that in their own orchestration. Now Skylar (Thompson) having a lot less game experience – there’s always value in experience, but I don’t think in this particular room we have to stick to, ‘We have to have an experienced guy.’ If there’s some young player with talent that we feel good about, where his game is at now and see a high ceiling, we could go that direction as well. I think you do have to adjust your room to fit the needs of the room and the needs of the team. That’s case by case, and I think this particular quarterback room we can go with a young guy, old guy, just a good guy.”
(With LB Bradley Chubb and LB Cameron Goode out for a month, you’re going to have to rely on some of your young guys, rookies it seems like, at edge rusher. What do they, LB Chop Robinson and LB Mohamed Kamara in particular, show you that gives you the confidence that you’ve got enough?) – “Well I think where there is adversity, there’s an opportunity. I think we’ve had much talked about, I mean it’s been pretty obvious, the injuries that we’ve gone through at that particular position. So really at this stage, whether it’s a rookie or a young player at that position, I know a lot more than I usually would in terms of where they’re at with their game, and they’ve got to learn a lot of things that come with playing defense in the NFL and all the different layers that comes with that and how to learn the playbook. I think the biggest thing is that you want to see continued progression without halt because there’s so much ground to gain, and I’ve seen a ton of that. There’s been days that all of our young guys have, as they would say it, not a good day, and those are irrelevant to me if and only if things are improved upon. I’ve seen that consistent progression with the whole group, and that’s super important because that’s what you end up having to do during the season. During the season you’re going to do stuff well Week 1 and you’re going to do stuff poorly Week 1. And guess what? Week 2, in this case will happen in just a couple days, and then you’ll have to do that. The idea is that in the National Football League if you don’t do something well, teams will take advantage of it, especially if you put it on tape. So you have to get stuff fixed which has been so monumental for watching these guys get these reps is I’m not just saying I need to see progression. I need to because the second we are able to adjust something in your game, or identify something is lacking and needs improvement, you better fix it, otherwise the whole defense will feel – listen, if you’re not on the backside run chasing appropriately, you’ll turn the page and you’ll get three bootlegs on you. And then you play the next week, you got to show that you’ll stop the boot with that same guy or they’re going to keep running it and they’ll test you early. That’s just the nature of football. So all those guys, I’m happy with them because that’s what I’m evaluating, I already know what’s coming. Good and bad plays regardless, how are you able to adjust your game as the scheme necessitates each day, and that’s what I’m really pumped about with that group.”
(What went into your decision-making process in choosing QB Skylar Thompson over QB Mike White’s experience given kind of what we saw in camp of him playing in maybe adverse situations?) – “I think you just – for me, my stress comes in not allowing guys to compete on the field and to have unknowns. As a coaching staff, we really tried to create an environment that had a little more connectivity to the adversity that is natural to a backup quarterback. And in that, we got a ton of evaluation pieces that a lot of which were like how do you respond to adversity and how do you make a play when maybe one isn’t there. And doing that over the entirety of the camp, I thought what I saw in practice, I wasn’t surprised by what I saw in the game from Skylar (Thompson) – that was the culmination. But you find out a lot if you keep the competition open to the last game, there’s your last opportunity and Skylar regresses with his technique and fundamentals and decision-making. What I saw was a guy that came in during the second quarter and took absolutely full advantage of every opportunity, and I saw teammates respond to him. I saw teammates believe in him, and I saw teammates get off the bench during the drive and start getting close to the white. Those are all the things that for me, is what I’m evaluating because just going back to what is the actual job of your backup, and I thought it was a cool moment. Skylar got to play as a rookie; played in a playoff game, did pretty well in that playoff game. He made some plays during the season, and then played some preseason last year and hadn’t seen the field for a while. A lot of times that can be a player’s worst enemy. I think it says a lot about Skylar Thompson that his game continued to progress and in the final preseason game, he got to put it all together and kind of show who he is.”
Regarding your depth, I think it’s been pretty good the past two years. I think it’s helped you guys make the playoffs, not led you there but kept the train on the tracks. What have you thought about the role your depth has played in your success the last two years? What do you foresee about your depth this year?) – “I think it’s paramount. You want to talk about the 69-man roster, OK? Not 53, the 69-man roster has been crucial. You don’t necessarily know at what positions, but it’s kind of changed the way that I look at that number and what that squad is. Going into Year 3, I thought that Chris (Grier) and I have made sure that regardless of the decisions that are made between one player to the next, that 69-man roster would be one group moving in one direction and understood the finer details of what we’re trying to do. Because the one thing I do know – there is a stat out there, in football, there is a 100% injury rate. Just really think about that. Every player at one point in time gets hurt, every single player. Much of the entire league is doing your best to minimize what those injury rates are, but then also having plans of action in case whomever goes down. You try to tool yourself so that the ship can keep moving in one direction and minimize the effect of every lost player, fully understanding that there is a reason those players are starters. How do you minimize that, how do you have a stronger group that when those inevitable things occur, there is less turbulence. I think that has been steady on our minds the entire process.”
(What is your level of confident that OL Aaron Brewer is going to be available Week 1?) – “I’m a very confident person, however I’m also a very principled person and pretty much I exhaust everybody in my life, including you guys with my principles. So you say that – I’m a confident person and I’m very confident in (Aaron) Brewer in general, however, I do not want to make players worse. And if they think that I’m expecting them to be ready for anything, I run the risk of them wishing it into existence and then hindsight is 20/20 and something happens. Regardless of my level of confidence in Brewer, I literally am not worried about things if we worry about one day at a time. If that puts him ready for Week 1, awesome. If that’s Week 2, sweet. We do have a team for a reason. You have to adjust and have to learn the players strengths, and when people are out of the lineup, you adjust how you play. But that’s art of football teams and coaching and roster building and all that. So I’m very happy with where he’s at. Since my last update, I would be more happy because there’s been more individual days stacked with no regression and continued progression.”
(Do you have any kind of update on DT Brandon Pili and his injury?) – “He’s probably going to be working through a little discomfort today, but he should be fine and out there sweating right next to me.”
(With WR Odell Beckham Jr., obviously QB Tua Tagovailoa expressed concern that he had not thrown a route to him. WR Odell Beckham Jr. is a veteran, so he’s been in multiple offenses, one similar to yours. Where do you feel he would be inserted into the offense in Week 1 without ever practicing?) – “There’s not a scenario where he’s going to just jump out there with a cape on without practicing at all. I think for me, it’s like every other player; you make sure that they progress and you get them back on the field as fast as their body allows them to, and then you allow the comfort level of the player to dictate when he plays. So are we going to play football with Tua and Odell being uncomfortable with their connectivity in a real game? Absolutely not. So the measures that we’ll take, we’re trying to make sure that when he’s on the field, that he’s done absolutely everything to minimize how long it takes for him to be live action. So it’s just step by step, and you can rest assured there won’t be discomfort in Miami Gardens when we’re playing in the stadium at Hard Rock or anywhere else.”
(Beyond a confident person, you’re always an optimistic person, and now you’re about to set your roster. Coupled with the last couple of years, anything in particular you latch onto this season that says why you’re optimistic or more optimistic?) – “Well because every season, you just get tooled with an unbelievable amount of lessons if you’re willing to learn. I think from a leadership standpoint, the way I try to lead, the way Chris (Grier) tries to lead is through a lens of humility where you really open your eyes to any possible way you can get better. I think in Year 3, with the way that we’ve been able to make adjustments in the roster, where guys are at from a comfort level, understanding who they are and really leaning into the lessons of past years, I feel like this team, more than any team that I’ve been on since I’ve been here, is able to handle the things that come your way at the end of the season. And in both scenarios, I’m looking squarely at the two previous seasons and then on top of that, all the other seasons that I’ve been a part of in the National Football League, and with that where guys are at and what type of locker room can come out the gate. You want to start fast and then you want to build and maintain and peak, and you learn a lot in that process when that’s your motives. I couldn’t be – I’ve just never had so much return on whatever objective I’ve given the team, day-in, day-out. It’s a team that I try to earn trust day-in and day-out. I think this team really regards that and cherishes that, and so having the ability to move in one direction I think is absolutely of paramount importance in a high stakes game like we play. That’s why I’m so excited about all the pieces, is because I feel a stronger connection this day than then I did the two previous years, and I felt pretty good at those at those junctures.”
