Jaylen Waddle – October 30, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 30, 2022
Postgame – Detroit
WR Jaylen Waddle
(On what it was like in the first half to have both teams driving up and down the field) – “It was a great atmosphere out there. I think the fans came out and showed support. It was electric. We knew it was going to be a battle. Detroit (is) a great team and great organization, so we knew it was going to be a battle coming into the game.”
(On what contributed to the offense’s success) – “I think us playing together, all on one page. We had a good week of preparation, so that always translates good to Sundays. You have to keep stacking them up. It’s all about being consistent, not just being electric one week and then falling off.”
(On the offensive play calling) – “We’re seeing what we like. I think (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) did a good job of calling the plays, getting us into position to make plays. It goes hand in hand. The O-line stood up, and Tua (Tagovailoa) delivered. It’s not just us out there making plays, it’s a team effort, for sure.”
(On if they feel unstoppable) – “I mean, we kind of go in confident. I wouldn’t say unstoppable, but we felt good. Like I said, we had a good week of preparation. That kind of always translates.”
(On what he saw from WR Tyreek Hill today) – “Come on, he’s a baller. Nothing new – we’ve been seeing that all season.”
(On what play stood out to him) – “Probably Tua’s (Tagovailoa) scramble – I’m surprised he slid. I was just proud of him, he slid.”
(On the confidence in this offense) – “I feel like we’re confident enough to know nothing is out of reach with the type of offense that we have and the offensive weapons that we have. We’re confident that we can come back, and it’s finally going to click.”
(On if they felt like they had to score every time they were on the field) – “We try to score every time we’re out there, believe it or not.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa: “What were your thoughts on that one play where you scored, I think it was your second touchdown? (laughter) What were your thoughts on that play?”) – “You know, it was a decent pass. It was OK. You know, it was OK. (laughter)”
Tyreek Hill – October 30, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 30, 2022
Postgame – Detroit
WR Tyreek Hill
(Is this more like the offense you all envisioned for this season?) – “Yeah, but I feel like we can be lightyears better, and that starts with me being the leader of this young receiver group, preaching to the guys that we’ve got to get in and out of the huddle faster. We’ve got to do the small things right. We all want to make plays, we all want to be in the spotlight, but we’ve got to make sure that we do the small things by getting out of the huddle (and) making sure that we’re set, so Tua (Tagovailoa) can go through all of his reads. So once we get that clear, we start working on those small things, I feel like we’ll be exactly where we want to be.”
(On what he saw in the coverage from the Lions) – “I can say that. The Detroit Lions, they’re a great team, great defensive team, great young team, who fly around the football field with some great premier guys on the outside. And for us, it’s all about scheme and timing. So (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) and the offensive coaches, they did a great job of putting this scheme together, allowing us, to get off coverage. It was great job by the coaches this week.”
(On his sunglasses) – “Oh, yeah, man. And also, I’m just trying to promote my brand a little bit – shout out to Soul Runner for life. Appreciate it.”
(Do you guys feel unstoppable?) – “Always. Always, that’s all – I mean, that’s all of our mindsets. As a competitor in this league, as one of those teams who has a chance to go the distance, you’ve got to have that mindset, because if not your opponent, they will dominate you.”
(You now have six games with over 160 yards receiving. Does this surpass maybe what you expected?) – “No. No, man. I expect that from myself every time, so do my parents, so do my kids know, so does everybody that knows me. Everybody knows me as a workaholic – all I do is just think about ball. I live, sleep and I die on this hill of playing football, man. The way that I approach every week is I’m going to work my tail off regardless, so I’m not surprised at all. I can see if I was not putting in the work, not doing everything that I wasn’t supposed to do, but my mindset is different. My grandparents, they raised a different breed. So I feel like I’ve got to use these God given talents, or I wouldn’t be doing God due diligence for giving me what he’s gifted me with. So every chance I get to step on the field, even if it’s practice, walkthrough, whatever the case, I’m going 110 miles per hour.”
(On the coverage he saw on the third-and-long on the first drive of the game) – “Oh yeah, that’s just Tua (Tagovailoa) just picking a guy and just trusting him down the field. Like I said, being in practice gaining that trust with him, in a big moment of the game, he just put it in there and then I was able to make a play.”
(Was the tempo of the first half with both teams just going up and down the field, was that kind of what you look for? Is that what you drive on?) – “I mean, that’s what this league wants, man. It’s offensive game. That’s why people want to view the game, because scoring, long drives, scoring points, fast players, touchdown celebrations and all that, man. As offense, we love being on the field. We love moving the ball up and down the field. It was just fun.”
Tua Tagovailoa – October 30, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 30, 2022
Postgame – Detroit
QB Tua Tagovailoa (transcribed by the Detroit Lions)
(On the offensive gameplan today) – “I think (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) did a good job calling plays today. He put us in a really good position to get yards after catch on plays, trying to move the spot for the defenders (and) D-linemen getting it back there. I think for as much as we passed with, what, maybe two sacks that we had? That’s a really good job upfront. I think a lot of things married with routes, action passes within the run game, so I think we felt really comfortable. After moving the ball the first series, second series, started feeling really comfortable just going with the gameplan.”
(On if he feels the offense is unstoppable) – “We feel like the only guys that can stop us are ourselves. We did have some miscues on guys misaligned at some points and guys kind of moving their feet when we have motions going on. Those are all things that are correctable, so we’ll look at the tape and we’ll move on from there.”
(On if the offense is how they envisioned it would be) – “Yeah, this is sort of what I envisioned. The greatest thing about this game is that you can never get content. You have to continue to keep growing. We’ll go and watch the film and look at things that we could’ve done better. So, that’s the best part about it.”
(On if the offense is where they want it to be) – “I wouldn’t say so. Not yet. Not yet. Too early still.”
(On both teams moving the ball up and down the field in the first half) – “Well, it can be fun if you are moving the ball down the field and you’re the opposing team, first off. But I would say I have a lot of trust in the guys that we have on our side of the ball, that in any scenario, in any situation, we’ll be able to do what’s enough to help us win games.”
(On FB Alec Ingold’s block that set up a big run for him) – “Yeah, that was big. As you can tell, I’m not a runner. But with that block, if anyone else was running behind Alec (Ingold), it could’ve been a lot bigger. It could have been a score. Who knows? But, knowing me, Alec blocks the guy and almost pancakes him, and I run right into the guy for the tackle. (laughter) If it was any other person, it probably would have been a lot bigger.”
(On his decision to slide today) – “Oh yeah, I slid today. I know my coaches, my teammates – my teammates were definitely proud of me. I came to the sideline, (and) everyone was happy that I slid. I was kind of happy that I slid, too.”
(On if the Ravens game influenced their approach towards the Lions) – “I would say none of that played a factor in us playing this game. These guys, they’re not the Ravens. They’re the Detroit Lions. We’ve got to take these guys on the same way we take everyone on, just have to focus on whatever that play entails for us and execute one play at a time. So, we’re not trying to force anything or do anything that is without the boundaries of the play.”
(On if he’s concerned about the amount of penalties they were called for today) – “Yeah, I would say there is some level of concern, but there is also a lot of things going on with that as well – communication with the play call, communication with the personnel. Sometimes it gets to a point in the game where the full play call isn’t called, so I have to kind of adlib at times. So I kind of put our guys in a bad situation, knowing where to line up on plays and whatnot, and not really giving them time to think before they’re going out because of how fast I am getting the play-call out. So that’s why we have practice, and it will be good for us to work on that throughout this week.”
(On the process of hearing the play call from the sideline) – “Yeah, so you hear the play and then once that 15 (-second mark) hits, you have to start adlibbing. “
(On the offense’s ability to flip the field today) – “Yeah, I think the key to that is, like I said, we continue to play within the boundaries of what that play entails. So with whatever coverage we’re getting, this is the side I am working. If they play this certain coverage, I’m going opposite. Things like that, and if they take it away then, hey you have to chuck it down, live to play another down and hopefully flip field position, get some yards back.”
(On what play stood out to him today) – “Yeah, the one I really liked I would say was Trent Sherfield’s – I think they took away his touchdown. I think they took that one away. (laughter) Do we agree? So, Trent there’s about like six people and 12 people raised their hands to say yes.”
(On why the completion to WR Trent Sherfield stood out to him) – “Well for one, that play when I ranked it, I did not like that play. I did not want to run that play. I told (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel), ‘Don’t run that play.’ But Mike being Mike, we ran the play, and I just had to read it out. I thought it would have been something really special for Trent (Sherfield), too. Every time you see Trent in there, the guy’s pretty much blocking, running across the field, running back on motions, and he never necessarily gets opportunities, so I really wanted that opportunity for him.”
(On the direction the play-call went on WR Trent Sherfield’s completion at the goal line) “No it was dealer’s choice – I could have worked either side. But it looked like they were doubling No. 2 (Chase Edmonds) inside, and Trent (Sherfield) was open. I just really wanted that touchdown for him.”
Mike McDaniel – October 28, 2022
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Friday, October 28, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Let me ask you about the trade deadline. Do you occasionally talk to your players about the trade deadline? And if they see their name in rumors, do you talk to them or do you just kind of trust that…?) – “I address it if their name’s out there, because for the most part – like I’ve said before, when I’m talking about trade stuff is, the reason why there’s a head coach and a general manager is because that’s how much stuff is going on. The head coach has to worry about the football. The general manager is talking to other teams incessantly about how to make the roster the very best from a business standpoint. It’s misleading when people’s names are out there because there’s a lot of discussions about stuff. But when that does occur, generally it’s not – for the most part, there’s a lot of stuff that isn’t real. So I’ll be forthright with players in that regard, but outside of that, I think the players understand that it’s a business as well, and that is viable unless they have a no-trade clause. So that’s kind of how I proceed. I don’t try to – when someone comes to me and says that stuff’s out there, I address it then.”
(Your run defense, you guys are I think eighth in the league and the next three weeks you’re playing three of the top seven rushing teams. It’s kind of a might against might type of thing, but what makes your rushing defense effective this year? I mean, DT Christian Wilkins, I think has been very effective. But what has made your rushing defense successful?) – “Well collectively, it’s been our commitment to getting better. That there’s pride in that. And from the onset, since I got – really when we started in the offseason program, I thought our defensive line was very, very good run defenders. They play with great technique and they really force offensive lines to be sound. And then as it’s progressed, I’ve seen the rest of the unit start early in the season to kind of match their intensity and vigor. And then as the season has progressed, I think we’ve gotten better and better executing in that phase. I think that’s a collection of players and coaches. It started with the defensive line, but the only way you can be good in this league at anything is if all 11 are committed to a purpose and I’m starting to see a lot of really good run play from the linebackers, safeties and … corners.”
(When you try to – S Brandon Jones is not there anymore obviously – when you try to match system with talent, how closely can you, I guess, play the same style that you did with Brandon Jones as without him?) – “When you have really good players that you lose, you don’t replace them by one player. You utilize other players on your roster and then you cater your scheme to what they do well, so the whole point and everyone on the defense knows is that we have to step up for his lost production. But that’s not one person. That’s the collection of Miami Dolphins defenders. Different players, different skill sets and you’re trying to utilize those to the best of their ability to put them in position to succeed.”
(I have a trivia question for you.) – “Wait, what?”
(It’s more so – do you know who Mr. Universe was in 1981 and 1982? Because you were born in 1983.) – “That would be freaking unbelievable if I knew that. I mean, I can confidently and comfortably saying say I have no idea and do not feel guilty that I don’t.”
(That was John Brown. John Brown is the father of Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown.) – “Oh, okay, I did know that from – I guess I didn’t attach it to the years, but I did know that from the dudes coming out. And they were obviously really good at working out as well as being good players. So I was aware of that one.”
(You face them Week 8. Obviously they get him back – Amon-Ra St. Brown – but how do you all plan to I guess, focus in on the secondary, making sure that they step up to the occasion for this week?) – “It’s the same process that you enter in every week. You try on Wednesday to – I view it as my job is to plant the seed and start with the entire team on showing the opponent and kind of what they are, defining what they are and where their strengths and weaknesses are, and what our plan is. And then Josh (Boyer) takes that immediately after. That’s something that we’re working together on to kind of figure out what calls are going in and all of that stuff. But that’s something that every position has to really enter in each and every week, because in this league, people are always good at something. So this week, the Detroit Lions are very good at getting yards in the pass game and in the run game. They challenge you with committing to stuff that possibly isn’t on tape, and you have to be sound but play to your style and not let things get you off balance. Or if they get an explosive here, don’t overcorrect. Continue to play your responsibilities. And if we do it together, we have a shot. But it’s the same way that we address every skilled unit that comes in or that you end up playing because whether it’s offense, defense or special teams, typically in the NFL, they’re always good at something. So you try to identify that and then identify how we’re going to slow it down.”
(I apologize for a long-winded wind-up to this question. I remember Andrew Hawkins talking about how you had cut ups of Allen Iverson to kind of illustrate to wide receivers maybe how to like get off the line and get off the line of scrimmage. I was talking to RB Raheem Mostert about his surfing background and how he kind of finds some similarities between that and kind of like working as a running back trying to find the hole and working with the offensive line. I was curious in your history of teaching players, teaching running backs; do you have any unique analogies and kind of illustrations, examples, for running backs when they’re learning this wide zone scheme?) – “I think one of the most powerful communicative skills is through the use of analogies in general, so I heavily use analogies and I try to make them as random as possible because what you’re trying to do is connect thoughts. And if there’s a like thought that you might be able to describe to a player that can paint a picture in a certain way, that’s as good as gold. So for running backs in general, you do use the basketball player crossover stuff and some route stuff. Talking about pad level and things of that nature, you can use sumo wrestling. They usually don’t really do that, but just leverage in general. And really, I use analogies so often in organic speech that I can’t even keep track of them because I learned that probably – I think I learned it, I probably have a teacher say that I learned it in high school, but I remember it in college – just that attachment to memory and how you can really be powerful in your message if you can draw analogies on to whatever you’re discussing. I live in the analogous world.”
(With RB Raheem Mostert, how have you seen him the past couple of weeks really take on that workload and respond from that? Obviously, he’s a year from that injury now, and it seems like you guys are just putting more on his plate as the weeks go on.) – “He’s hungry, and I forgot that you brought up the analogies to Raheem Mostert. We say, ‘press every run one gap at a time,’ and it’s kind of like riding a wave – surfing. Because you’re taking it right there and then all of a sudden you go downhill, but then the wave takes you back out. Analogies. (laughter) But he’s handled it great because he’s hungry. He’s been a guy that – you want to talk about living in adversity and overcoming? It’s one of the reasons he is who he is and where he’s at today, and as he continues to be very productive for us on every touch he gets, guys feed off of it and you end up getting more touches. So he’s handled it awesome. He’s always been one of the best teammates that I’ve ever been around, coming from his whole background where he got cut 900 times. He’s never one to do anything but embrace productivity from other people in his room. He’s a great teammate in that regard. So guys definitely appreciate that and get really excited when he’s able to make plays, which is what he does. He is capable of doing any and everything, really, when he’s healthy. He’s done a great job keeping himself healthy, and we will keep pressing forward hoping for that to continue.”
(You cut your penalty numbers way down in that game against Pittsburgh and no turnovers. I remember you had spoken after the Minnesota game about you taking it in the eyes as the head coach to get the team to fix some of the mistakes. Was there a particular message – you talk about your teaching methods – that you think got across to them? And how do you keep that going, moving forward?) – “That’s why football is so cool because it is a team accomplishment, through and through. So that’s one of the reasons I don’t look at – I look at my job as I’m supposed to set vision and motivate and I have all that stuff going on, but it doesn’t matter if you have all the great stuff to say if players don’t do it. So whether that’s the messaging that was that good, (or) me – my knee jerk emphasized it and the players did something about it. To me, we have a great group of individual players that collectively respond to points of emphasis. So it was a point of emphasis, but it was just run of the mill English with some examples. Really, the people that deserve credit are the players that said, ‘OK, I agree with you. I’m going to do something about it.’ You watch how Jaylen Waddle, for instance, was running in space against the Steelers, that lesson from the game before didn’t fall on deaf ears for him. We saw people really prioritize it. Even on the other side of the ball, the defense went after it, too. I think guys were – the players were sick of hurting ourselves with penalties, so we were fortunately able to have a cleaner game. But it’s as simple as the players took it upon themselves to make sure it didn’t happen on the field. And that’s what good teams do, is they fix problems. They don’t let them linger.”
(You had 16 players listed as limited yesterday on the injury report. That’s such a big number. I’m curious, at what point does that number become so big that it not only affects those players ability to prepare for Sunday’s game, but the entire team’s?) – “You hit it dead on the head, and that’s why I like you. It’s not just because you have alliteration in your name, which I am fond of, too. (laughter) But it affects everyone, not just the players that are hurt. So with a list like that, you have to address how you’re practicing. That was the reason on Wednesday. We adjusted kind of our format of practice for the first time on a Wednesday to react to that so there wouldn’t be trickle down to the players that were able to practice. Those are the things that are very common. They fluctuate. They’re common in that there will be a fluctuation during a season of a ton of guys that have dings on them. So it’s important that you have a team that is capable of adjusting their schedule to the needs of what the players need but can handle it appropriately, so that, ‘Hey, if you tone down Period 2 or maybe tone down an entire day,’ and it goes from full speed to maybe jog-through, that there is not a give in the attention to detail or the intensity. As a matter of fact, there’s an uptick in how focused you are, knowing that this exercise is much more mental than physical. Those are the things that, talking to the team, that we have to be capable of doing for situations like this. I think they’ve handled this particular one very, very well. I’ll always adjust things, and as the season goes, you take reps off. (If) there’s too many guys down at a position then you adjust a period. But I don’t – like you guys know, nothing is absolute for me, so always adjusting.”
(Do you know anyone at this early stage that is either doubtful or out for Sunday?) – “Do I? I don’t think I do.”
(Is P Thomas Morstead back today, by the way?) – “He’s going to be – this is classic, I feel like the team is morphing into the coach where nothing is absolute. So we have a bunch of guys that really want to play together – that is as genuine as I can explain it. And that do everything in their power to try to play which leaves a ton of questionables at the end of the week. So that’s kind of the reason. It’s because there’s a lot of guys working through injuries that we’re just made up – credit to the individual players, the locker room and (General Manager) Chris Grier, for having a collection of guys that want to play football with each other and not just collect the check. As far as we’re concerned, Fridays, Saturdays, deciding the who’s going to be up, it is kind of cumbersome because you’re adjusting having backup plans all over the board. But at this point, we don’t have any really anybody that is out out. There’s some varying degrees of questionability. So we’ll press forward there.”
Terron Armstead – October 27, 2022
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Thursday, October 27, 2022
T Terron Armstead
(It seemed like pass protection and run blocking were better last week when you returned. How much of a difference can one man make as far as communication and performance easing the burden on everybody?) – “I mean that is all a testament of the work that has been put in, really locking in on our technique, fundamentals and execution. We’re looking to get better every day. It’s definitely not one thing. There’s a ton of things that go into productive line play. And then being able to do it over and over and over, that’s the hard part. “
(How did you do last week? We didn’t hear LB Alex Highsmith’s name a whole lot. How do you think you performed?) – “That’s a really good young player, for sure. High motor. He has a lot of attributes and then he gets to the quarterback at a high level. I think we did a really good job trying to keep him quiet and not disrupting the game. My performance, I feel like I did some things well. I definitely want to continue to improve and get better in the run game and pass pro.”
(Are players putting a lot of attention on DE Aidan Hutchinson because he is a high draft pick? You might face him. What have you seen from him?) – “I mean, you see his draft position. You see why he was he was drafted so high. The talent and abilities jump off the film – athleticism, get off. They got a relentless group. I’m a huge Dan Campbell fan. And he was always one of the coaches for me that I would run through the wall for. And those guys play like that.”
(Can you elaborate on what made you love Dan Campbell?) – “He’s genuine. He’s sincere. You can tell that he cares about his players. He’s passionate about the game. He wouldn’t put anything above his players. Just somebody that you would love to play well for.”
(When Dan Campbell was hired by Detroit, I don’t know if you saw his opening news conference, but he was talking about we’re going to bite you in the knee cap and all of this kind of stuff. Do you have any favorite stories that kind of relate to that kind of attitude?) – “Probably none that I can share on camera. (laughter) Dan is a really intense guy. So in New Orleans, he was the assistant head coach, so sometimes he would run a team meeting. And he just had a unique way of motivating and getting guys ready to play. It could be graphic at times and vulgar, but he knew what he was doing.”
(Dan Campbell was the interim head coach here. But, in New Orleans, could you sense that this was a guy who’s going to be a head coach?) – “Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, he’ll be a head coach for a long time. And Aaron Glenn too. He’ll be a head coach sometime soon. He’s a phenomenal coach. He’s another guy that you really want to play for. So it’d be great to see them guys after the game.”
Raheem Mostert – October 27, 2022
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Thursday, October 27, 2022
RB Raheem Mostert
(The learning curve element, the patience element, the evolution element, especially with a new scheme, I know you’re a good person to shed some additional perspective on that line of thinking. What are your thoughts on all that?) – “I mean, (Offensive Coordinator) Frank (Smith) hit it on the nail – it takes a lot of time to get your feet settled, and that’s what you’ve got to do, especially in this offense. It’s not easy, especially at the o-line position and then even the skill position, it demands a lot of us. So, once you start getting into that groove, then it starts to become a little bit easier, but even then, you still have to go back to your base foundation of the offense and then go ahead and look at the defense as well and what they’re given us. So a lot of variables go into it, but in the grand scheme of things, you want to be accountable for not only your position but as a whole, because as you could tell, one guy out of position could almost ruin a whole play. But one guy could actually help the play – it all depends on, like I said, the different variables that go with it.”
(What gives you the biggest cause for optimism relative to the offense as a whole over the last few games and moving forward?) – “I mean, just look at how we’re moving the ball. Then it does help when you have Tua (Tagovailoa) back. That’s the guy that we started out with during training camp and preseason and just carrying over. But all the guys even, Teddy (Bridgewater) and even Skylar (Thompson) can come in and fit that role. That’s why they’re on the team. It’s just all about who do we have, who we had to work with, and let’s try to improve as best as possible leading up until the game.”
(T Terron Armstead’s presence, what’s his impact on the run game being able to run behind him?) – “I mean, he’s a savvy vet. The guys on the front line are a little bit younger. You’ve got Connor (Williams) who’s in the middle right there and then you’ve got Terron (Armstead) who’s the vet of the group. So, for him to come back and be able to do things he’s been able to do thus far in the offense, it just shows you the type of leadership that he has. Continuing moving forward, that’s the type of leadership that we need.”
(The yards per carry have improved in recent weeks, not just for you, in the running game. What are some of the specific things that you see getting better?) – “Getting on people, covering guys up, that’s what the offense is all about, especially in the run game. How can we get to that second (or) third level? And then it’s up to us as a running back group to find those holes and get big chunks out of it. So we’ve been able to capitalize. I know I left a lot of yards out there, me personally. I’ve got to do better with my eyes, and that’s what practice is for.”
(The previous two games the last week, the penalty numbers were fairly high. Is part of that the scheme as well?) – “Honestly, that’s – it’s a little bit of both. When you go on and see the penalties that we’ve had, like you said, two games prior, it was very high and that’s just not acceptable. That’s on both sides of the ball, too. So we’ve just got to eliminate those as best as possible, and that’s what practice is for, honestly. (laughter) I know everything is simulated off of practice, but that’s why we play the game – to get better each and every day, each and every week and then moving forward, try to capitalize as best as possible in a game.”
(So was there something different either in the week at practice or maybe that game? Or is it just a matter of…) – “Yeah, it’s just a matter of what the defense is throwing at us and what the offense is throwing at our defense and the challenges that come along with that. Some of those penalties are self-inflicted. It’s not so much a holding here or pass interference. It’s more so false starts and trying to get off the ball. So we’ve just got to get those detailed and ironed out.”
Matt Applebaum – October 27, 2022
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Thursday, October 27, 2022
Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum
(Can you tell me about OL Connor Williams’ physical skillset and why it has translated well to the center position?) – “I think he’s a very well-rounded player for the position. There’s a lot of guys in the league (who) play that position that maybe have the lateral quickness that you need, or maybe they don’t have a lateral quickness, but they have the size and they play to their scheme, whatever scheme maybe their team is playing. I think Connor (Williams) has both. That would be the first thing physically, he’s just a very well-rounded player. He doesn’t have any obvious deficiencies or anything like that. Then he’s a really smart, articulate guy and he’s works really hard at it. So he’s able to handle all the mental part of it, too. I think he’s a really well-rounded player for the position.”
(What did T Terron Armstead do for the offensive line and what did he do for the team last week?) – “I mean, Terron (Armstead) brings an impact to the offensive line every single day. I don’t know if there’d be something specific other than his really good play. He’s a leader out there. He gets his job done at a very high level. I think he’s a guy that day-in and day-out brings a lot to the table. So whether that be leadership, his approach, just everything – he’s a very, very good player who knows how to handle the ups and downs of the season. He’s really good with the room and helping those guys along.”
(OL Brandon Shell, can you speak to how far he’s come along since he first came in and just how much more comfort did he show on the right side where he had played exclusively previously as opposed to when he played on the left?) – “Yeah, ‘B. Shell’ (Brandon Shell) has been awesome. The guy is a professional in his approach. I thought he had good tape at Seattle. So we were fortunate to be able to get him when we did. Obviously, when he first got here, he needed to get in shape and do some of those things. And, to his credit, he’s done everything we’ve asked. He got in shape rather quickly. He’s really smart and works at it and picked up our offense rather quickly. And then to your second question, certainly, the guy – sometimes people make it out to be way easier than it is to switch sides, especially for a guy who’s played way more on one side than the other (and) hasn’t been consistently switching sides over the course of his career. So he certainly was more comfortable playing right tackle than left tackle. But to me, for him to go out there and give us what he gave us at left tackle against New York Jets, that’s super impressive to me. Not just the production, but the willingness to go out there and lay it on the line at a position he’s not comfortable at and give us a chance to win. So, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about that guy.”
(Naturally, DE Aidan Hutchinson, a high draft pick, is going to get a lot of attention. What do you see out of him as a young player?) – “I think he’s a really good player amongst other really good players. I think Detroit has a really good defense. They’re aggressive. They’re physical. They try to get after you every single play. I’m really impressed with their tape and how hard they play, how physical they play. But he’s a really good player. I think he’s got a really bright future in the league. You can see for a young player that he’s rather advanced in terms of how he plays the game, and it’ll be a challenge for us.”
(Can you speak to where OL Liam Eichenberg is at this stage in his second season?) – “Again, just like other times, I’m not going to comment too much on previous before we all got here. I think Liam (Eichenberg) is getting better every day. I think Liam had honestly one of his better games last game against what I would consider a really, really good player in (Cam) Heyward. I know he had a couple plays that are going to stand out as negatives, and that’s the nature of our position that those plays get focused on, and he understands that some of that stuff can happen. But he comes to work every day. I think he’s gotten better and like I said, I thought he went out there and really competed against what I consider an excellent player in this league.”
Ty McKenzie – October 27, 2022
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Thursday, October 27, 2022
Outside Linebackers Coach Ty McKenzie
(We were just talking to Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer and Head Coach Mike McDaniel over the past couple days about LB Jaelan Phillips and just him starting to stack a couple of games, and just the motor that he showed last Sunday. What have you seen start to click from him in recent weeks?) – “It’s a day-to-day thing with him and the rest of the players – the OLBs. We strive for daily improvement, daily excellence. If we just keep focusing on those two things, then everything will be alright. We’re just kind of taking it day-by-day with him and taking it day-by-day with other guys just trying to focus on what we’ve got to task. So today’s third-down day.”
(As a pass rusher for LB Jaelan Phillips, when you don’t see the early sacks, and you know maybe the pressure and hits, what is your message to somebody that’s in that position?) – “Oh, just keep working. I mean, that’s the great thing about is that early in the year, you saw a ton of pressures and he was like – or what I was hearing is he was like top in the NFL in pressure rates and all this other stuff. And then all of a sudden, he started to get a couple of sacks. I mean, it’s really just keep your head down, keep working and control the controllables. And what you can do is you can have a great get off, you can have a plan, you can execute the rush plan, and the quarterback may get the ball out or you may get there before he does.”
(Just sticking with LB Jaelan Phillips, what’s the hardest thing for a pass rusher or edge rusher to accomplish in year two? I guess, as offenses start to figure out, ‘okay, he’s got this move and this counter,’ what’s difficult? What kind of challenges do you face as a sophomore here?) – “I would say just keep developing. I mean, most of the time you get these guys from college and they’re just raw with their pass rush and their ability just to get off the ball. The get off is elite. And then those guys are typically like bowling balls just running into guys and shed and all of a sudden make a play, or the offense messes it up somehow and messes up and protection. Just growing and developing your pass rush skills, your speed to power, your stab club, whatever it may be – just growing those and developing those and then feeling really confident with it. I mean, look at a guy like Rob Quinn. Rob Quinn does a touch and go pretty much all the time. And then once they start to catch up on him with that, then he switches it up with something else. So the same thing with Jaelen is like, here’s what we’re going to do, here’s what you feel confident with, all right let’s start to develop these other things as well.”
(It sounds like chess.) – “Yeah. It is chess. It’s kind of the same thing as calling a game. We’re trying to get the perfect call, they’re trying to get the perfect call. We may have a perfect call for them and all of a sudden, it’s a big run, it’s a play over our head or whatever it may be.”
(LB Andrew Van Ginkel is a guy who, his stock seems to be rising, and he hops a little bit more each week. What is he doing well against the pass? What is he doing well against the run?) – “Yeah, ‘Gink’s’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) been great. I mean, that’s what I was telling you guys before is during OTAs and during training camp, he was ascending, he was getting better and all this. Then all of a sudden, then he had surgery. Your heart breaks for a guy like that. So for him to get out here and get healthy and being out there and helping us in different roles is a tribute to him, to his work ethic, originally, when we first started rolling in OTAs and then going into training camp, and then now, him getting back, ready to go, playing football and being locked into meetings. It’s exciting.”
(What was that process like the past several weeks, almost two months of getting LB Andrew Van Ginkel back from when he had that procedure?) – “It really goes back to there’s a lot of different intricate details to it. But the easiest way that I can sum it up is daily improvement, daily excellence. And that’s something that we strive to do. If we get it done, we get the outcome we want.”
(On I think Monday, Head Coach Mike McDaniel had mentioned LB Jaelen Phillips, and LB Andrew Van Ginkel’s effort on the last couple of drives there. And I was just curious, is that purely an inherent trait? Can you coach it? And if you can, how do you coach effort?) – “Here for the Miami Dolphins, you know, starting with Coach Mike (McDaniel) to Coach Josh (Boyer), and to everybody on the staff on defense and offense, we coach strain. Strain to really push yourself to as far as you can, and then as soon as you think that’s as far as you can go, try and go a little bit more. And then you kind of build it up. It starts with practice and the way that we practice and those guys from our first OTA practice with Coach Mike. He wants everybody to run to the ball, he wants us to run with our hair on fire. But I’d say one of the best things about it is that when you got a guy that’s prepared his tail off by practicing hard and then also knowing what to do, I mean, you can’t run as fast as you can if you don’t know where you’re going. And so looking at a guy like ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) and ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips), making those splash plays, they knew where they needed go, and then they ran full tilt all the way to the whistle.”
(On that note, LB Duke Riley was telling me after the game in the locker room that LB Jaelan Phillips’ work ethic is crazy. Like he’s here very early. On those moments, is that where that kind of comes to fruition? Do you guys notice how much work he puts in prior to whatever you guys are doing?) – “Yeah. I mean, I think you notice as a coach, because you always want to make sure your players are doing everything. You don’t like a guy that shows up in the building two minutes before the meeting starts because you never know what can happen. So you always try and strive for those guys to try to be the best that they can be, and their best is all we need. And so, Jaelen (Phillips), ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel), ‘Mel’ (Melvin Ingram), Cam Goode, all those guys are just doing whatever they can to prepare themselves to play. So it’s a tribute to not just Jaelen, but everybody for the work that they put in and preparation so they can play fast and run to the ball with their hair on fire and make plays and help us out as a team.”
(There was a play maybe in the fourth quarter, where LB Melvin Ingram is covering a slot receivers. I’m wondering, did they catch you guys in something? And if they did, what is your reaction? Are you kind of holding on?) – “Melvin covering a slot receiver in the fourth quarter?”
(I think it might have been. It might have been earlier than that) – “What was the outcome of the play?”
(I have to go back to my All 22. They didn’t pass to the guy that was… I think it was a pass to the outside receiver?) – “Was that the sprint out? Because that was a single receiver, on that side over there.”
(No, no it was a slot receiver.) – “We didn’t have one in the game. I can’t recall. And I have a really good memory too that’s why I’m trying – I take pride in that. I take pride in that. (laughter)”
(I was wondering if they caught you in something and if so, when you see that alignment, what is your reaction?) – “My reaction is that he’s prepared to get the job done. So everybody on the field, no matter what the situation is, no matter whatever personnel, we try to strive as a staff to make sure that we rep those things and in practice. When the guys are out there, whatever 11 guys are out there, we have full confidence that they’re going to get the job done at the highest level. So my reaction was, let’s go play ball. But I got to find that play because that’s going to bug me now. (laughter)”
