Mike McDaniel – January 3, 2024
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Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(I wanted to touch on the one guy we didn’t get to Monday, WR Jaylen Waddle. Will he practice this week? Is there any sort of realistic chance he would play, or do you need to rest him another week, realistically do you think?) – “There’s a little time. We just got done with walkthrough, which he participated in. Then we’ll take it step by step. He’ll be working with the training staff today, to make sure there’s no setbacks and see where he’s at. If all signs are a go, then we’ll give some practice reps a try, see how he responds to that. With steady communication with everyone involved, we’ll come to a decision on that. The team’s prepared to play without him, but the team would also love to play with him, so we’ll see how his ankle decides.”
(Is LB Jerome Baker getting his practice window open and if so, is he at a point where he’s potentially close where he can come back within this week?) – “He will be practicing today. It will be the first time that he’s practiced since I think November something. It’s January, I believe. So what does that mean as far as the game? Time will tell. You can’t just go there and say ‘hey, yes, you’re going to play,’ or ‘no, you’re not.’ We have to get him out there and see how he responds with that and then how he feels and how convicted his body is allowing him to play, so that he can do right by himself and the team.”
(A couple days ago when asked about your concern or lack thereof for QB Tua Tagovailoa’s shoulder injury, you said some things that he does on his own time or with Head Athletic Trainer Kyle Johnston kind of inspire confidence within you. Could you maybe specify or go further into that? What kind of things does Tua do to protect his body in the season and make sure he’s right for Sunday?) – “Well, he doesn’t have office hours relative to what needs to be done with his body or his mind. If he’s working out a contusion on his leg, however long that process needs to take, he’s not inching his way out of the door. He’s coming early, staying late. If a gameplan, if he didn’t like the way that he executed some plays or if he didn’t like his ownership of the plays, there’s been times that I see his car in the parking lot well after its dark. His nature is to say to me that he’s fine. However, our relationship is too connected where I’m like, ‘What? You’re just saying nonsensical words now. Let’s have a conversation about it.’ And then he’ll tell me. But in that process, you can see a person trying to will himself to, this is not an issue, I need to focus on the matter at hand. He just is relentless with that stuff. It’s a big deal for a football team when we have the leader that has the ball every play is in the same and he’s toughing out things. Really at this stage of the season, a lot of guys aren’t feeling what you’d call 100 percent just with the game of football. So if you want people to strain and separate, I guess, something that hurts versus an injury, I think as a leader, as a captain, you lead by example. I know he knows that. He tries to exude toughness in any opportune time and he’s really willing to do whatever it takes. I mean, case in point, he had issues with hitting his head on the ground, so he took jiu-jitsu and spent a lot of hours of his life training so that he could be proactive and preventative. Not everyone’s doing that. Not everyone would do that. Anything that he can control, he tries to take in his hands. He’s my guy, man.”
(A couple weeks ago, we were talking about how the team had learned from its various losses. You said that the Bills loss forced you guys to change how you practice. I was curious what specifically changed after that loss in terms of your practice, maybe regimen or routine?) – “Communication and focused, deliberate intent. I think practice, there’s a lot of them. Hundreds. It’s every athlete’s human nature – not every athlete, but a majority of them – to not look at it as though it’s the game, because it’s practice. However, if you get yourself as close to that mindset of the game in practice, you’re getting more reps at how to act and react in a game. I think from a team-wide perspective, I saw it wasn’t that a bunch of people were telling me, I got it. It was that I see better than I hear. There was more communication, more game-like attention to detail, all the way to the little things of how you break the huddle, how you strain within the play. You’re as good in the game as you’re able to execute your assignments in practice and I think guys have started to understand what that really means, how you can use practice instead of letting practice use you.”
(You were talking a little bit ago about QB Tua Tagovailoa’s progress. I know a big question was his availability going into the offseason. He’s about to play his 17th game. I’m curious what the significance is for that for you?) – “It’s significant for the organization, but more importantly, it’s significant for the player. I really gravitate to the human experience of each individual player. And I can relate to ‘you can’t’. I think he’s understood in a much better manner. You don’t need to be mad at any sort of narrative. You have to understand it, and you have to understand that you shouldn’t be entitled for this, that, or the other. The fact of that matter is he hadn’t stayed healthy for a whole season. So what he did was try to take control of everything that he could control and made that a goal. That’s a big deal to me when people are winning, in that sense, where you’re taking head on something that you can’t control and doing your best to control all things and just being at peace with what it is. Alright, if I want people to say that I have the ability to stay healthy, then I need to do everything in my power to try and do that. And then there’s things that are outside of your control that if you do, you’re at peace with it. That’s the ultimate test of what really pretty much every person has to go through. You have to decide what is said or how you’re perceived. You have to decide if you’re ok with that. And if you’re not, are you going to blame people for saying that? Or are you going to do something about it? So, that’s a big deal. Much like a lot of the feats that numerous individuals on this team. It’s why I’m so connected with all the people that they said ‘you couldn’t’. We talk about it a lot with the offensive line and Raheem (Mostert)’s story and Alec Ingold, etc. That’s a big deal because you have to focus on what you can control. It’s a hard thing to do.”
(A couple of weeks ago you had DT Ndamukong Suh in for a workout. I know DE Frank Clark’s out there as well. Was there any consideration after LB Bradley Chubb’s injury of signing one this week? And if so, why did you decide against it?) – “You consider all things. But we’re considering it under the veil of we know and are very happy and can depend on the guys we have. I know (Emmanuel) Ogbah and ‘Mel’ (Melvin Ingram) are thirsty for the challenge. The whole room is. They’re very much connected. That’s what their teammate would want . And that’s what they want to deliver for their teammate and the team. I think we might have acted differently if we didn’t have so much firsthand fact that we’ve witnessed day in, day out, that we know the team’s in good hands with that group. So, that’s kind of how it rested.”
(Was DE Emmanuel Ogbah a healthy scratch?) – “There’s a lot of nuances to it. He was eager, as eager as really anybody, to force his hand with a soft tissue injury. So he was inactive one week and then the following week on the heels of do we press it? Do we allow him to get fully healthy? Because he was letting everyone know what his mindset was. Then, we felt with the practice reps that went on in the individual week that was best served for the whole team and him, to have him down. We’ve depended on him and he’s come through in a bunch of ways all season and he’s tough minded and I think he’s got his energy focused in the right direction, which is, ‘okay, well, this opportunity is the only opportunity.’ This game – just in general, we’ve been talking about what type of team we want to be and you have an opportunity to win the division and that’s important to us. So the only way you can and should win the division is beating division opponents. That’s where his focus is at, as the rest of team’s.”
(With WR Tyreek Hill, it seems like since the ankle injury against Tennessee, we’ve seen him do un-Tyreek things like go down after making a catch, pounding on the ground in pain, limping to the sidelines. What have you seen from his ankle injury? How has it affected the offense?) – “I’ve seen a warrior. He takes that ‘C’ on his chest very serious. So from the team’s perspective, he’s doing everything he can. Generally, he can will himself to do pretty much anything and most of the time, he does. But the team knows that. He’s done some inspiring things, making sure he’s on the field. And he’s a fast guy that cuts very violently, so I don’t think people can totally understand the amount of toughness it takes to do what he does. That’s just physics and science. He can’t tip-toe around in his game, nor does he. He’s done everything that the team could ask for and more. And I think that’s kind of helping guys really commit to each other because that’s what you need down the stretch of the season, specifically in January.”
(The Bills have won 10-of-11 against the Dolphins. You’ve only been part of that equation. Is there a mental hurdle that you have to overcome when a team has had a number for several seasons going into a game like this?) – “I can’t speak for other teams. This team, I think does a pretty good job of understanding that each game is won in itself. I think the expectations, I’ve never – that’s just not part of the equation, I think it’s one of the reasons this team has been able to minimize losing streaks to one loss all season is you understand that this is a tough game in an unbelievable league, and you have to earn everything you get. Then sometimes you are naturally humbled, but in that process, I haven’t seen anybody literally waver or blink. They have full expectations to put their best foot forward for this game, whatever day that is. Today is Wednesday, it’s the only day that exists.”
(We were talking to the players on Monday, and they feel like they’re a completely different team than they were when you saw the Bills in Week 4. From a coach’s perspective, what do you see different about your unit?) – “I would totally agree with that. I think it was in all three phases, it felt like at that point in the season, maybe the players were running the system that we have in each phase. Now it feels like they’re owning the system, and there’s an incredible power to that. When we’re at our best, that’s what you’re seeing. It’s not anybody’s plays, play calls, systems – it’s theirs, which I firmly believe because they are painters. They’re doing all the stuff. We give advice. We give every tool that we can possibly give in preparation and then we try to put players in the best position to succeed. But they’re the ones that are out there doing all of it, the doing part. I think everything that we’ve – all 11 wins have been an orchestration of that. I think they’re proud of that and they take pride in their work, because this is their art, their craft and they’re not speaking a second language anymore. And that happens every year as you evolve, it’s not just in Year 1 or (Year) 2 of a scheme. You have to have true ownership for you to be able to evolve. We’ve been talking about December and January all year, and they’ve taken it upon themselves to work at developing their craft. Along the way it’s not always easy, but that’s what makes you who you are. You don’t get that much better from all high fives. You need to go through stuff together to become closer to have the intangibles that it takes to move the needle when you’re going to have good teams every time you’re on the field that want every bit as bad to win that game as you do. So when push comes to shove, something’s got to give. It’s all that that you compile for these moments, which is what you work for, what you play for. We’re in the moment now, and it’s cool to see guys really take ownership of their moment knowing that it’s going to be a fun product Sunday night, but until then we have a lot of work to do.”
(What do you see as the value or advantage that you get to play Sunday night at home for the offense in particular?) – “Home field advantage, you take all the knowns, the controls of the situation and you try to own them and have nothing reside as an excuse. You want to win every single game, but in the process, in terms of communication and how things are orchestrated, how you can communicate with one another and just all the natural things that come with being able to hear, those things prove beneficial to a degree. But it’s also, what ends up happening is teams that don’t worry about home or away, you end up getting better in both. I think this team has earned confidence at home, but I know that the Bills probably don’t care about that. It’s a football game that we’ve played this team the last three times in Orchard Park, which is a little unique. It feels like a lifetime ago that we played here at home against them. I guess in a sense, it’s just odd to play three road games against one team in a year, so that’s kind of unique. But they just want to play and beat an opponent after not being able to sleep or harboring all the things that come with a collective experience like that. We’re eager to press forward and do something that we feel very fortunate to do, which is compete for a division and something that has been on our mind since we started this in April.”
