Mike McDaniel – December 13, 2024
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Friday, December 13, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(A lot to get to, I was going to start with two of your marquee guys. If you are optimistic about T Terron Armstead for this week and do you think LB Bradley Chubb is more likely for next week than this week?) – “I think generally – you guys know my philosophy with Terron (Armstead) – I am a little pessimistic about it this week and we’ve planned accordingly, but we’ll see how the next 48 hours go. Then with Bradley (Chubb), each day is so important that again, it’s the watch, evaluate, then have conversations and then see how you feel the next day with the ultimate goal of having him completely convicted and confident in his play, and that’s important for everyone involved. So time will tell, I’m more ready for the next week in terms of where I’ll kind of put my attention, but we’ll see how today plays out and move forward accordingly.”
(WR Odell Beckham Jr. being waived, did he come to you guys? Was it a mutual agreement as was reported?) – “Yeah, conversations led us to determining that it was the best for both parties. I think we’ve been – Odell (Beckham Jr.) and I have been very communicative since he’s been here. He had a tough start in terms of having to rehab his way into the season and then just looking at it as simple as, all right, what’s the best for both him and the team moving forward? And we just thought it was a good time to go that direction. That was the motivation behind it. That’s all.”
(Did it initiate – if you’re able to share this – with WR Odell Beckham Jr. coming to you or General Manager Chris Grier or his representation saying it might be best for us to initiate something?) – “No, it was just our professional communication. He’s a professional that has diligently chopped wood and I know his expectations, and so when you communicate transparently, I can kind of know where he’s at. Normal communication that just kind of led us that direction for the best for both parties, really.”
(One final thing just to clarify this. Wednesday, Thursday – were those excused absences for him to just clear his mind or decide what he was going to do?) – “I think I don’t really need to get into the timelines or nuances of it. We discussed and we’re both on the same page. I wish him the best and we’ll be rooting for him.”
(As far as fifth receiver, if you have one on the 53 this weekend – obviously, no WR Dee Eskridge – so if you decide to have someone besides WR Malik Washington and WR River Cracraft as backup receivers, is WR Grant DuBose ready after just three days, two days of limited practice?) – “I think Grant (DuBose) is ready, but there’s other things at play so we’ll sift through that. But I was very happy with him meeting what my expectation was throughout the week.”
(You got a chance to see T Patrick Paul for extended period of time on Sunday. I thought he played pretty well. I’m curious, in your opinion, how his development maybe was helped out by the fact that he could sit and wait, and get those reps on Wednesday and Thursday as opposed to playing in games all season long?) – “That was a tremendous help. I think it’s really helped some of the unintended consequences of having some guys go through some things has helped both sides, our depth and the players there, younger players that are working their way through the system. I think it’s played out really beneficial for Patrick (Paul) specifically because he’s gotten a ton of reps. He’s also got some opportunities in games, and you can get yourself up to the speed because it’s a different ball game from college to the pros. So I think that not only just the actual reps, but the aid that guys like Terron (Armstead) and Kendall Lamm can give him are monumental for him to attack game day the way he wants to. So it’s worked out. You feel fortunate that guys with limited experience on our team, particularly a rookie, gets experience in a real way, not just on scout team. It’s a game changer to operate within the group.”
(Going back to WR Odell Beckham Jr. for a second, I know every move is not going to work out in the NFL. Do you have any regrets about signing Odell or good move, just kicked the tires?) – “No regrets. My only regrets are that we’re not talking more about the Texans. (laughter)”
(And speaking of the Texans, it helps to have many good offensive linemen as you can against that front. Do you think T Kendall Lamm is up for the job physically? We know he’s a trooper.) – “He’s going to practice today and we’ll see how that works out so I feel optimistic based upon that, but we’ll see how today goes.”
(So this isn’t about the Texans, but it’s from left field. You might like it. It’s the 30th anniversary of “Ace Ventura,” the movie, and I was told that you were in an interview, and you said it was your favorite movie. That might have been exaggerating?) – “At a time it was my favorite movie, for sure.”
(An 11-year-old Mike McDaniel?) – “I just have more movies at my disposal in my catalog of viewership. But no, it was my favorite movie for probably a five or six-year period. Something that I still have the quotes – ‘laces out, Dan’ I think was one of the first things I said to Dan Marino when I met him and… wow, you’re aging me. Thirty years?”
(Yeah, 30 years. That aged everybody.) – “Gosh. I still use some of the vernacular in the movie in play calls once in a while too. It was a really cool movie in terms of what I’ve heard since I’ve got to meet Mr. Marino himself and kind of the level of method acting almost that Jim Carey went to. I think the story goes that when Dan (Marino) went to go I think first meet or read a script or something, that Jim Carey showed up in the insane asylum, tutu outfit and stayed in character. So the legend of that movie grows for me.”
(When you say vernacular in a play call, you mean you actually use it in play calls today?) – “Yeah, oh yeah. And when referencing something, if there’s a change in a concept and you want to alter it a little bit and have guys remember it, maybe you just call it ‘Flipper,’ I don’t know. There’s ‘Einhorn’ or ‘Finkle.’”
(These are in the Dolphins play book?) – “Perhaps. They might show up this week. They might be a code word at the line of scrimmage, who knows.”
(How does Dan Marino respond to a stranger for the first time meeting him saying, “Laces out Dan,”?) – “I think he was prepared for the unexpected so you’d have to ask him, but he played right along with it. I was kind of offended he didn’t have Isotoners on at the time when I met him. He’s a great sport about it.”
(I wanted to ask about the mood of the team. Just in the locker room there’s a lot of smiles, everyone seems loose just in comparison to the Buffalo Bills week. Obviously, it’s a very high stakes game, but what’s been the mood of your team?) – “I’ve noticed the mood as well and it’s important to me because I know how important the season and this game is to our locker room, but I think there is a level of comfort in establishing exactly what to focus on. I think our team has been extremely focused in the nuts and bolts of the gameplan and within that comes some confidence that I think when push comes to shove at this stage of the season, you know the stakes and all you want is teammates’ conviction and ownership of what the plan is, what you’re doing. I think the locker room is feeling the totality of that. We’ve grinded through a lot of the season, learned a lot of lessons, had some success, had some failures that lead to the ability to, case in point, win last game on the heels of some plays made in all three phases. I think over the totality of the season, the team is really fired up in the moment of truth to be able to be prepared going into it. They love playing football, and the stressors of playing well can be taken care of in one way and that’s preparation. I think we had good meetings and good practice for two-thirds of the week, we’ll see what today offers.”
(A question about WR Malik Washington’s toughness. I see him blocking down on the goal line. I thought I saw him knock Jets LB Haason Reddick to the ground form the slot, I thought I saw him do that in the Green Bay game. We’ve seen him take big hits and pop back up. What can you say about this guy’s toughness?) – “One of the reasons we felt so good about adding him to the team and one of the reasons we felt confident that he was ready for an NFL game is simply by his play style. He might have the best balance on the team. He’s right there with De’Von (Achane) in that where he utilizes his low center of gravity and he’s a fearless player. He showed that over his college tape. He had a crazy high percentage of targets at two different collegiate schools. When you have those high percentage of targets, you have a bullseye on your back and you get the best from each opponent and he never blinked. So we kind of forecasted that, but he utilizes that week-in, week-out and it’s one of the reasons he’s able to contribute to us in a multitude of ways, both in the run and pass and special teams. It’s cool that people are starting to take notice of something that was the reason he was here in the first place.”
(Are you optimistic about RB Raheem Mostert being able to play this week? Should we be concerned with LB Jordyn Brooks’ rib injury as it popped up this week?) – “I’m optimistic in Raheem’s participation, and you should not be concerned with Jordyn Brooks’ ribs.”
(When it comes to RB Jaylen Wright, how ready do you think he is to make routine contributions to this offense, especially as you guys are trying to wake the run game back up?) – “I think he’s ready to make plays. He’s gotten a nice comfort zone; I want to say right around the New England game. It’s been more about the flow of the game and the plays being made at the position. I think at any time, in any given game, it could be a situation where he could have not just one or two but he could have several plays made for the team. I think it speaks to the depth of the room and how things have been executed that we have multiple playmakers that we’re always trying to challenge the defense and utilize. The most important thing is for him not worry about what plays he’s making or not, just to be ready for when your number is called because the opportunity will be there. It’s not if, but it’s when.”
