Mike McDaniel – November 13, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 13, 2022
Postgame – Cleveland
Head Coach Mike McDaniel (Transcribed by ASAP Sports)
Q. What was the key for the season-high rushing output that you guys had out there today?
MIKE McDANIEL: There’s no shortcut around it. It’s something that you are very proud of as a coach because this entire group really dedicated themselves to the craft. It’s tough. You come here. There was a lot of talk about our run game and just because of the past successes that I’ve been fortunate enough to have myself, and guys were excited about the system. When you don’t have immediate results, you get to learn a lot about people. And in this particular circumstance we have a bunch of guys really working at the craft at a level that you need to really attack something when you are playing an opponent at the National Football League. So it was awesome to see that collective effort really bear fruit. That’s a team accomplishment. It doesn’t just involve the offensive players. You’re talking about a lot of effort that goes in on the defensive side of the ball to give us the type of looks so that we can really hone in on the specifics to the defense. I was just happy with how everyone kept their head down and was grinding to, you know, earn that result because that’s something that you can be proud of for the right way. You don’t fall into that. That’s months and months of strain and deliberate practice that you can be fortunate enough to have a day like that.
Q. The first half of the season we have seen Tua really having heavily target Jaylen and Tyreek. This was a game where Tua had eight different pass catchers. He threw touchdown passes to Alec Ingold and Trent Sherfield. What did you like about the way he kind of was able to distribute the ball to all of your offensive personnel?
MIKE McDANIEL: No, we’ve been waiting for a game like that. I think, first of all, Tua is playing very, very high-level football. It’s phenomenal to watch him commit to the process. It’s the third game in a row where I didn’t feel a high or a low from him. He was just trying to execute each and every play. But it was rewarding and exciting because you can ask Tyreek and Waddle themselves. It’s about a team and all of their production has to do with a team working in concert so that they can get those numbers. You play a defense that’s bound and determined to make sure that those two individuals don’t get as many targets; that leaves opportunities for everybody else. I was very happy that really the – it seems like the only in-house people really understand we have a good team, a good offense, a good defense, a good special teams. It’s not just names. Hopefully you got to experience a little bit of what we’ve been witnessing inside of practice and out that we have a lot of players that can make plays. And when they’re asked to step up and make a play, you saw a ton of examples of guys doing that, which we knew they were very capable of.
Q. Justin Bethel, he came in late in the game. What was your thoughts on his production on the back-to-back plays that he had?
MIKE McDANIEL: I can’t say enough about that kid. Here’s a guy that has been known in the National Football League as a special teams player, a very good one. All he has done since he has been here is do his thing on special teams and then make plays every time he is asked. We’ve had some injuries, given some opportunities, and he has stepped up to the plate and been around the ball. He competes, and he does a great job for us, so very, very glad that he is on our team.
Q. The defensive front, you all limited Nick Chubb and forced him to have his first fumble of the year. What’s your thoughts on that frontline?
MIKE McDANIEL: That’s something that we’re pretty confident in, is our run defense regardless of what the stats say. There’s been some games where we’ve had some quarterback runs really, really hurt us, but when you cut on the tape and when we’re really looking at ourselves in a critical fashion, I feel like that’s one of our strengths. It was a tremendous challenge. They do an unbelievable job in Cleveland to really dominate the time of possession and utilize one of if not the best runner in the league. So it was cool to watch our team rally behind that. They knew the challenge that was in front of them. They knew the thing about a good running team is you either have to stop them or you’re going to have to deal with the consequences and it’s a slow, slow death. There’s no way around it. You can’t hide. For them to have that effort and get after it, I was very proud of that.
Q. When you look at Tua’s body of work over the last three games with nine touchdowns and no interceptions, 30 points scored for the team in each game, what is something that he is doing that maybe isn’t so obvious to us or fans? What is he doing now?
MIKE McDANIEL: He is really seeing the field well. I think sometimes how fast he is playing and how fast he is processing, you cut the tape on it, it looks like he might be throwing to No. 1 or 2, but he is progressing through eligibles 1 through 5 in his progression with lightning speed. That’s really making it frustrating for a defensive front. You’re in pass rush mode and you can’t get to them; that can wear on you. So he is doing a lot of things visually, manipulating defenders, making really good throws and getting the ball out. And when he is throwing into contested situations from time to time, he is putting outstanding ball placement, so I don’t think we’ve had — it’s probably, like, what, 90 pass attempts roughly in three games, and I don’t think there’s been a close interception or turnover. So you are talking about being able to have an aggressive style of football play where you can feel comfortable as an offense and as a coach to call a pass play and know you’re not going to give the defense it back. Those are just some of the things. Then the biggest thing for me with Tua specifically is it would be impossible to see on game tape, but the whole team in the last month has taken an unbelievable jump in accountability, how they prepare and how they just go about doing their jobs. He is one of the main reasons that that is occurring. He has really come into his own skin in regards to being a leader at the quarterback position. Guys are rallying around him. He is demanding a standard and holding himself at a tremendous high standard himself. So those are just a couple of things. We could have a Tua press conference if you wanted. Very happy with him.
Q. Going back to August, probably the most questioned area of the team might have been the offensive line. Clearly that’s come together, and they’ve played well, culminated by a great performance today. Can you talk about how the offensive line as a whole has come together this season and really played quite well?
MIKE McDANIEL: We felt pretty good in training camp. You’re going against one defensive style when you are making your assessments. Really OTAs and training camp we felt good about the progression. Then I felt that once we started playing the season, the adaptation to the different nuances of defensive front play and structures and adjusting week by week with your concepts and such, I thought we showed our youth. What’s been tremendous, led by the coaching staff, specifically Frank Smith and (Matt) Applebaum and (Mike) Person and ‘Lem’ (Lemuel Jeanpierre) really is you’ve gotten into a groove of how to properly prepare for the specifics of what a defense can present, but then most importantly above all else – that’s all good and fun, but you’ve seen an offensive line group that has made the decision to be all in and really own the techniques and fundamentals that are necessary to win. It’s a beautiful process when you talk about players getting better during the course of the season because it’s so hard. And so when you see players and groups of players coming together and getting better during the course of the season, to me that’s what the name of the game is. It’s the hardest thing, but it’s the most important thing when you are talking about an entire season.
Q. Tua was asked about you and how you have helped this team become successful. He says you’re the man of the people. What does that mean to you that this team has bought in week by week to what you have brought to the table?
MIKE McDANIEL: Everything, you know? It’s them that are choosing to buy in. I think you can do a ton of really cool things in the National Football League if you can somehow get an entire building, an entire roster, to move in one direction. And that is way, way easier said than done. It doesn’t matter what my messaging would be or what my beliefs were. It doesn’t matter if they were really awesome or really terrible. It doesn’t matter if a bunch of individuals decide to be all in on it. They have to choose that they want to hear it and then they have to choose that they want to listen to it. So it goes back to the fact that you have incredible, young, hungry individuals that collectively are getting the taste of the fruits that bear when you sacrifice together and are able to accomplish a common goal. So I think that it means everything to me because I know that’s the formula for any sort of success that you’re chasing, but it also makes me feel unbelievably indebted to those players because I know that that is not something that any one person can force people to do. They have to choose that they want to go a certain direction. Once they make that choice, if there’s enough people involved, can you do some pretty cool things because it’s hard to win in this league and you can have some games where you can win and against a very good team that had a good game plan on both sides of the ball. You can be able to win comfortably earned in the fourth quarter. But I’m just very, very happy with the captains, the leadership council and just really all the players for committing to a cause that they’re starting to see how worth it it is.
Q. The previous two weeks you had to win in shoot-outs. You had earlier games where the defense had to pick up the offense. How gratifying was it to have this type of complete performance?
MIKE McDANIEL: It was nice. This being our seventh win, I think it was hard to get comfortable in the previous six. There’s a reason for that. It’s the parity of the National Football League and how good teams are and how you can’t sleep on any opponent. It just takes an incredible amount of detailed work to be able to as a team be able to beat a team at home like this that was coming off a bye. They were not sleeping on us whatsoever, and they really wanted to get after our team and build on that last one they had against Cincinnati. So it’s what it’s about. You want to bottle that because have you that type of commitment and effort throughout the week. You’ll have a chance versus anybody regardless who you play if you have an entire locker room, coaching staff, and organization committed in the way that they were this past week.
Trent Sherfield – November 13, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 13, 2022
Postgame – Cleveland
WR Trent Sherfield
(You finally got in the end zone. How did that one feel? You went up and got that one.) – “Well, this is my second time getting in the end zone. (laughter) It was great. It was honestly really a blessing. I just really give credit and glory all to God. Being able to be in this position is really humbling, and I’m really excited to be a part of this team. Just like I said, taking it day by day, week by week and just continuing to build and continue to be a great player for this team.”
(How much fun is this offense when it seems like everybody has a hand in it?) – “I think it’s a lot of fun, because you have some offenses where the ball is not coming to you and you know that. But with a guy like Tua (Tagovailoa) and the offense and how he understands the offense and the way that he’s able to spread the ball around, you always have to be prepared. He’s going to get you the ball. It’s just a matter of if you’re prepared. If you’re not prepared for your opportunity, then that’s on you. It’s a lot of fun, because any given moment when you’re out there, this could be the play. It could be anybody. As a receiver, we take a lot of pride in that day-in and day-out. We know that we all have to be alert, because know Tua can have one read and he’ll see something, and he’ll throw it and we’ll have to be ready. It’s a lot of fun.”
(It was quite a throw by QB Tua Tagovailoa and then quite the catch by you in the end zone. Just walk us through what you saw.) – “Like I said, just being alert – you always have to be alert when Tua (Tagovailoa) is in the game. That ball wasn’t even supposed to come to me. I just knew reading the corner, seeing that he kind of came down on Tyreek (Hill), I knew that the ball was going to be in the air. So I just looked straight up in the air, and I just knew it was there. Tua trusted in me to go make a play. It was a great ball – beautiful ball. I had no choice but to catch it. Major props to Tua for that ball.”
Tua Tagovailoa – November 13, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 13, 2022
Postgame – Cleveland
QB Tua Tagovailoa (Transcribed by ASAP Sports)
Q: You had a touchdown pass to Trent Sherfield. It looked like one of those money throws. I guess just describe the connection that you have been building with your receivers, especially Trent this year so far.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I think on that particular play it looked like a palms look where if Tyreek broke out, they could play cover 2, and if not, they would play cover 4. So it really helped so that Tyreek was also in the slot on that side, so we didn’t know if they were going to double or cloud it or play 4. So I did my footwork, looked at Tyreek, and was trying to feel through Tyreek with the corner. I felt like he was squatting, so I gave Trent an opportunity, and Trent made a big play for us in that instance. So I’m really happy that he finally got a touchdown as a Dolphin.
Q: I’m gathering you heard the “MVP” chants from the crowd. Did you hear that? What do you think when you hear that the fans are chanting “MVP?”
TUA TAGOVAILOA: There’s no doubt I heard that. I could hear that when it was a TV timeout, when we were walking back into the tunnel. You know, it’s flattering. But what we came to do and what we came to accomplish, it’s not accomplished yet. So it would be cool, but we have bigger goals and aspirations on what we want to do as a team.
Q: You guys had a season high performance on the ground game. I know all the talking has been about the passing game, but how do you think maybe that success through the air kind of opened things up today for the running game?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think with the speed that we can have outside, it definitely helps. But, then again, you can’t discredit our guys up front. Our guys are protecting their ass off. Had zero sacks. I had a clean pocket. When I took my shoulder pads off, Anne made a comment. She said, ‘Wow, your jersey is so clean.’ Well, it’s because of our guys up front. Our running backs with Raheem (Mostert) and Jeff (Wilson), I mean, I’ve never seen a duo like this, and I’ve never been a part of a back field like that before, so this is cool. Outside of the college realm of backs in the NFL.
Q: Three consecutive games with three touchdowns, no interceptions, very efficient. Do you feel yourself playing your most consistent ball of your pro career right now?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I do, and I think it’s a testament to the work that we all put in day in and day out. From after a game like this, you know, coming in tomorrow. On a day like Monday getting together as an offensive group, talking about the things that we need to improve on, and then carrying that over to Wednesday and then all the way leading to Sunday. So it’s really an effort for everyone as to why we’re all having success.
Q: What do you do during an off week?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I’ll be training, but I don’t know. I haven’t really thought. For me all the years are different, so I don’t know what I’ll do yet.
Q: Having four players with four players with four or five catches, what’s the benefit when you were able to kind of spread it around on a game like today?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I think the benefit is those guys on the opposing team have to cover everyone on the field. It’s not just Tyreek (Hill) or Jaylen (Waddle) or Mike (Gesicki) or our backs. You’ve got to cover everyone and if someone is not accounted for, then hopefully we can find them and get them the ball and force their team to tackle them. I think that’s also something that’s frustrating for defenses. It’s within the progression of my read, so regardless of who it is, if he is open, I’ll try to find a way to get him the ball.
Q: You said you’re not done obviously with what you want to do, but did you ever envision this kind of environment surrounding you with the crowd chanting “MVP” for you and on the streak you’re on right now? Did you ever envision all of this coming together like this?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: No, I didn’t. I would say I didn’t because a lot of the hard work that we’ve put in, like, we’re just so focused on how we can win games and what that entails. For our backs to have long touchdowns, explosive touchdowns, one each, and then being able to throw to three different guys, touchdowns; you’re just in the moment and you’re just enjoying that and you don’t necessarily think outside of any of that. I’m really proud of our team. Our defense gave us a lot of opportunities to go out there and try to put those guys away, but a lot of respect to their team as well. They came out. They fought. And shoutout to my boy Jacoby Brissett. He fought hard as well.
Q: How would you describe the — seems kind of obvious, but you’re the best person to ask. How would you describe the role that Head Coach Mike McDaniel has played in the team’s 7-3 record and success through 10 games?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think just his personality. Just him being himself. Not changing up the schedule. Or if it is being changed, he gets the captains together or he gets the leadership meeting together and kind of gets the feel of what the players in the locker room are saying about certain things, if they like the schedule, if they don’t like the schedule, what do we need to change. I would say he is a man of the people. He has no ego, no ego towards what he believes is right or wrong. But then again, it’s ‘our team’ is what he will tell you. I think just him being himself is really what helps us be able to be ourselves as well. We don’t have to be anyone we’re not.
Q: It’s kind of unprecedented, the leap you’ve made this year from your first two years. Can you address where you are at confident-wise compared to maybe the end of last year?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I think you look at those, and they’re two different seasons, two different offensive-minded OCs, play callers, whatever you want to say about that. So schematically it’s totally different than what I’ve been used to at Alabama and my first two years in the NFL. Really just the guys that I’m surrounded with. I’m not able to make the plays that I’m able to do if we don’t have the guys up front blocking and the running backs with the run game, Jaylen and Tyreek and all these other guys. It’s really just everyone making me look good… one more question? You guys don’t have anymore questions?
Q: What would you ask?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I don’t know what I would ask. I’m just really proud of our guys. They fought hard today and played really good complementary football. I’m just so happy that we won, too. One more question? No more questions?
Q: It was the most distributed tickets today since Hard Rock was refurbished. What does that tell you about the fan support?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Wow. I didn’t know that. That’s a cool stat. It just shows you the belief that our fans have in our team and kind of the resurrection of the organization for us. We’re going to try to keep this going after this bye week, and we’ll see you guys in about two weeks.
Mike McDaniel – November 11, 2022
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Friday, November 11, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(So I was wondering this year, obviously you’ve talked about Josh Boyer being the head coach of the defense. I’m just curious the role you’ve taken defensively. Do you give Josh some thoughts on a sheet of paper? Do you meet with him and give your opinion on things that you should or shouldn’t be doing? Or have you just left him to himself basically, as far as game plan strategy and personnel decisions?) – “That’s another layer of Chris Grier and Tom Garfinkel’s genius, and whoever made this building, is that our offices are 10 yards away. So that’s constant communication when we’re coming up with game plans. For sure, he resources me just like I resource him with various thoughts. And then we have conversations about different packages, what players are doing, all sorts of things all week, so that the bottom line is that we can all do whatever it takes to put the best foot forward on Sunday. That is the fun part of being a head coach is your involvement, your connections with the defensive players, things that you don’t get as much when you’re on one side of the ball, and being able to talk to those guys, watch those guys grow, watch the players develop within the scheme. All of that stuff has been very fun and rewarding.”
(With the bye week on the other side, do you feel you have to do anything to keep guys from looking ahead to it and looking past the Browns? And excuse me if the question itself combats that.) – “When is the bye week? Our team, the Miami Dolphins, know Sunday is a game versus the Cleveland Browns. But more importantly, they know Friday practice. The best way to avoid people looking ahead is to act like it doesn’t exist. I think the best way to go into any week is learning from your mistakes after a win. So that would hold true with the bye week, I think. But we will learn a hard lesson very fast with a team coming off their bye week, going all in for a game to do right by their talent and their hard-working coaches and their organization to try to get a win. And if you think about anything else, you’ll learn how to lose fast. So literally how I approach it is the most extreme way possible and that’s act like it does not exist.”
(I have a question about your relationship with referees. Is that a valuable business relationship and something that you always seek to talk to the refs before the game?) – “I was hoping you didn’t put me on the spot, but it’s not monogamous, my relationship with them. (laughter) Especially your first go-around as a head coach, you’re meeting a lot of guys for the first time. Just philosophically, I kind of approach officials like most people, and I just treat them like human beings that deserve respect. I think you have to recognize that officials are doing everything they can to do their job the best. They are held accountable for things that they get wrong. They are positively reinforced when they get stuff right by way of playoffs and Super Bowl opportunities. And so although I value and prioritize treating officials like human beings, I don’t really think it has – either way, if I’m that way or the polar opposite, and don’t treat them like human beings, I think they’re going to make calls the way that they might calls because they’re trying to do their job. And it’s a hard job, like a lot of people’s on game day in the National Football League.”
(I guess then you don’t encourage your players either?) – “I do. I do make sure – I make it very clear that from my experiences in the National Football League that it’s not their job to critique their calls. Like it’s not their job, the officials, to critique their play mid-game. Like, ‘Hey, you should have caught that.’ That’s the equivalent. So if there’s things that are happening, that need to be brought to their attention, or anything beyond that, I instruct the players and coaches to go through me and I try to be the lone vessel that speaks with those guys, so they can not have extra crowd noise while they’re trying to do their job.”
(I’d like to do a two-for-one…) – “Because you’re a huge fan of Tuuuuuua. (laughter)”
(With OL Austin Jackson, it would seem like he probably will need at least another week of not playing. I was going to check if that was correct. And then also, I know Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith was asked yesterday about if there was any possibility that he could come back at a different position like left guard. Have you and Frank and Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum decided in your mind that barring injuries, you want OL Austin Jackson right tackle the rest of the year? Or could how OL Rob Jones and OL Brandon Shell play over the next two weeks impact that decision?) – “I’ve seen Austin progress his way back. I see Austin as our starting right tackle. However, just because I’m annoying, we’ll play him at whatever position best serves us at the given moment to win the game. And we will not compromise his progress for the long haul to put him out there before we feel as confident as we possibly can that he won’t regress. We’ll always look to think in terms of what gives us the best chance to win. Certainly, the play of B-Shell (Brandon Shell) lends us the opportunity to utilize him in other positions because his play has been so strong. But I still without a shadow of doubt, haven’t strayed away at all from my feelings of Austin being the starting right tackle because of what he showed me coming back, as he progresses, getting back, showing things, showing improvement in detail and execution of certain things from when he was in the group before he got hurt. So nothing’s changed with that. He’ll be back there when it’s ready. And we’ll adjust him if it’s the best thing for the team, which there’s a lot of variables involved with that.”
(DE Emmanuel Ogbah obviously has dealt with injuries throughout the season, but just hasn’t had the same level of production as he has in the past. Just kind of what have you seen from him? What do you think, good things you could do that could lead to more potential production and stuff like that?) – “I’m not worried at all about the distinction and any sort of production because of what he’s shown me in preparation, as he’s gotten back from getting healthy. Right when he had progressed this season, I thought he was playing his best ball and the stat sheet was going to start filling up. He had an injury setback that he’s worked his way back from. The good news is I’m seeing some of the best stuff that I’ve seen, including the stuff from last year. I’m seeing it in practice. I’m seeing him get back into full health and full confidence. So it doesn’t bother me because I can see that the level of stat sheet production is a matter of time because of how he’s going about doing his job on a day-in and day-out basis.”
(What are your thoughts on RB Nick Chubb?) – “You’d be hard-pressed not to call him the best back in the league, simply because of what I talked to players all the time about. I see better than I hear, and the tape shows me that he’s playing at a level that – you can’t stamp that he’s the best because you haven’t been combing every player at the position throughout the league. That’s kind of irresponsible. But I’d be surprised if there’s a higher level of play simply because he’s hard to tackle, and they hand him the ball and you’re trying to stop the ball. That by itself – when you require – I don’t know what the analytics would be on it, but I bet it’d be pretty crazy on how often the first tackler brings him down. That’s where I see him at a level in his game better than any back that I’ve seen this season, because of how hard he strains, how fast he is, his balance. He forces defenders to tackle him every play. And if you let up at all, he’ll have one of those rugby scrum explosives, where he’ll all of a sudden bust out. So we’ve been very forthright with showing the players his best runs of really his entire professional career and to let the guys know what they’re in store for, because what you don’t want to do – any team can handle any opposing player, if everyone does their job and is contributing in the right way. But if you’re surprised on Sunday by a player like that because you weren’t prepared for his type of play, yeah you have no chance and he’s going to have one of those days that stick out on the stat sheet for the entire year. So he deserves a lot of respect. They do a lot of great things schematically and you can tell their offense understands how good of a player he is because they block hard for him, knowing that he at any given time can break a big one.”
(Your rotation since S Brandon Jones has been out. What do you like about each one of those guys, whether it’s S Eric Rowe, S Verone McKinley III, S Clayton Fejedelem or even DB Elijah Campbell?) – “What I like is that they give us versatility for different sorts of packages week-in and week-out, kind of like I look at offensive personnels where you are can utilize specific skillsets for given matchups. I love that – Brandon (Jones) is a great player that you don’t replace by one player. I think they’ve all understood that, and you’re seeing different elements of people’s game just rise up. One of the guys that I was most proud of in the entire game, on both sides of the ball, was Eric Rowe. He played his butt off, and not only was he making some plays in space on some offensive players, but he was trying to get turnovers as well, aggressively going after the ball. It was an example of what you’ve seen this season from this locker room, which is guys recognizing opportunities and then trying to take their game to the next level to do right by the locker room, so that our level of play doesn’t fall off. The whole room in general, each individual safety has different skills that we can utilize, but they’re all understanding that it is their job to make sure that we continue to get better on defense, even though Brandon is not there.”
(You have two guys, T Terron Armstead and CB Xavien Howard, who it seems like can take almost anybody in the league one on one. I’m wondering, is it that simple when you draw up a gameplan? Can you just say, “’X’ has got him, Terron has got him?” When they do that, is it mostly desire that makes them succeed? Or is it technique? Talent? Why are they successful at winning matchups?) – “Sometimes, there is a time and place for that and it does happen. Really, within every gameplan, you end up saying, ‘Alright, well we’re going to do this thing for the reason to play to our strength,’ one of our strengths being Terron (Armstead) or ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) on both sides of the ball. It’s interesting you said that because you’re exactly right. Players that are able to do that, it isn’t necessarily their flat-out talent, even though for confidence reasons, they love to think that it’s just their talent. But both competitors have this thing called competitive greatness that I see. I think that’s a John Wooden (quote), but it’s being at your best when your best is required. There are certain people when the adrenaline is high, when the moment is large, there are certain people that get nervous and worry about failure. Then there are certain people that only see the rewards reaped from success. Those types of people, when you’re around, you can feel and you rely on those people, and you want as many of those people in the building as possible. I think Terron and ‘X’ are both prime examples of that.”
(We’re about 94 days away from the Super Bowl.) – “About? (laughter)”
(But I’m still kind of disappointed that you still didn’t get your crystal ball fixed yet.) – “I know, man. It’s the worst. It would be so much easier if I could just shine that up and be like, ‘Hang on – answer.’”
(As far as complementary football, what the offense and the defense are doing as we look at dominating games, how do you feel you guys are getting close to that point, as far as complete domination from start to finish?) – “Well, complete domination is kind of how you see it. There’s no complete domination in the NFL. I think you can have a very good game on all three phases, but like you said, I don’t think we – we haven’t yet had that game that you’re shooting for where you feel like each phase has played to its capability the entire game. Now I believe we’re close, and why I believe that has to do with not just the box score and the flat-out numbers, but you talk about football being a game of a collection of human beings that have to handle emotion, that are all trying to get the same thing done. We’ve had numerous games, this last game in particular, where obviously the offense was having some success and there were times in the game, however, that the defense wasn’t living up to what they have for themselves as expectations. And even though our defense was really – gave up two explosive (plays) and then did pretty well, then couldn’t get off the field on third down with a scrambling quarterback. All of that being said, in the final 11 minutes of the game, they got two stops and (allowed) no points. The game was 35-32 with 11 (minutes) and change left, and that was the score at the end of the game. So that also, by happenstance, I think offensively, we punted one time. But this is the NFL. It’s hard to have success in either phase the entire game – they get paid too. But when the offense didn’t get points, the defense didn’t allow it. It’s happened on multiple occasions. Shoot, the Baltimore comeback everyone talks about. Well, all those points we scored, that was in the face of the fourth quarter where they didn’t allow any. Then vice versa – the offense scored seven points, I believe, the first game of the season, and we won 20-7 with a defensive touchdown and two field goals. So we scored one touchdown and the defense took over. The defense hasn’t allowed two touchdowns – there were two consecutive second halves that they didn’t allow a score. There’s complementary football within it. It’s just going through the entire game that you feel it that yes, that’s what we’re striving for, for sure. But along the way, we’re learning these great lessons, and that’s why I’m getting excited about the team and how we’re getting better each week. That’s what I hope for this week with the Cleveland Browns. I want to see continued growth in ways that aren’t maybe as obvious as just the straight up box score, but we are learning how to step up in big moments. The more you do that, the more you have a chance to have that game where everyone is high-fiving at the end and acknowledging that their best game was played.”
(Can you speak to the overall team health? It seems like this is about as healthy as you’ve been all season.) – “It really is. You have your ebbs and flows of injury situations during the course of the year, but you get to learn a lot about people because it is a different form of adversity. You get to learn a lot about how people step up in place of injuries. You get to learn about players who are injured, how hard they work to get back. All of those things are very valuable, and you can hopefully bear the fruits of that when everyone is starting to get back and get healthy. I think there’s a little bit of every season, I forget the exact statistics, but I think the amount of injuries relative to the whole season, that first four games is where players are most vulnerable, because you’re getting the callus built. So I think around the league there’s a lot of injuries, but you keep pressing forward. As long as people keep taking care of their bodies, which the players are doing, that you can hopefully get health and continue to grow as a team as more and more – now, you just have a team that has a lot of people that have had more opportunities to contribute, and hopefully, your team is better moving forward.”
Austin Jackson – November 10, 2022
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Thursday, November 10, 2022
T Austin Jackson
(How does it feel to just be back on the practice field? You’re working some days and not others.) – “Yeah, it feels good. I’m really excited to be back out there doing my job. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a long time, obviously, as you know. I’m just glad that everything is working out the way it should be.”
(Can you take us through what the process has been like? You returned to practice and then kind of didn’t practice for a while and then came back. So what was the whole process?) – “Yeah, so I went down Week 1 in the first game. Just a long process. Some things unforeseen kind of came up, in terms of battling back, but the Dolphins did everything in their power to take care of me and I’m just trusting their plan. We’re just going from there.”
(Do you foresee when you’ll be able to suit up for the next game?) – “I have no idea. Yeah, I’m just taking it day-by-day. Today was my first day really back out at practice. So that’s a start. I’ve been asking to get back for – who knows. But I’m glad I’m at the point in my recovery where I can do what I did today.”
(Where do you feel you’re at right now?) – “I feel pretty good. I feel pretty good. I definitely feel healthy.”
(When you do eventually come back. Do you feel like – it’s the middle of the year, do you feel like the team may be getting a little bit healthier and you can provide a little extra juice on that offensive line?) – “Oh, yeah, for sure. I definitely look to play and lead by my style of play – being tenacious, being on point with assignments, and just being a spark for my team. I want to be that that pop that you hear and everyone’s like, What’s that?’ Just keep contributing in every way I can.”
(Have they told you, ‘Get healthy, we’ll put you in the lineup?’ Or conversely, ‘Get healthy and you’ll compete for a position?’ Has there been clear messaging?) – “No. It’s been, ‘this is what you’re doing today.’ The Dolphins have my best interest in mind. I believe that. They’ve told me, they’ve shown it to me, and I’ll do everything in my power to be ready for whatever. Whatever they see is right is whatever is going to happen. But it’s going to be a day-by-day thing.”
(Was it a high ankle sprain?) – “Yes.”
(Which can be as bad as a break they say.) – “It felt like it.”
(Is it important for you to return to the right tackle position? Or do you want to wherever there’s a spot?) – “Yeah, it’s definitely not ideal to switch positions out of the blue for any football player. But I’m definitely looking to play right tackle or wherever I can fit, just because that’s where I was at last time. There’s no plans of me switching that I know of.”
(What do you think of how OL Brandon Shell has done at right tackle in recent weeks?) – “He’s done a great job. He’s done a great job at right tackle. I love having a guy who’s come in and has experience in the league, so I can kind of pick his brain too, talk about how I see things, how he sees things. He is a great dude and a great football player. I think he really fits in with our room.”
Tyreek Hill – November 10, 2022
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Thursday, November 10, 2022
WR Tyreek Hill
(You talk about leadership a lot. Have you always been that way, like in Kansas City? Or was there a point in Kansas City where you felt comfortable taking on that leadership role or do you think you’ve always been like that?) – “I’ve always been that dude. I’ve always been – every team I’ve been on. I may not have been as vocal on every team I’ve been on, but I feel like I’ve always been a leader, no matter what. Leaders can lead in different type of ways. So I feel like I’ve had that role my whole entire life, because all of my career, people hold me to a standard. I even hold myself to a standard too, though. I wouldn’t say people – I wouldn’t say I’m doing it for people, but I’m doing it for myself because I have too much pride in this game.”
(What have you liked about how this offense has utilized you the first half of the year?) – “They’ve been doing a great job. Coach McDaniel, Tua (Tagovailoa) finding me in lanes, even Teddy (Bridgewater) and Skylar (Thompson) stepped in, doing their thing. I’m just happy to be a part of this offense. I’m an extremely blessed man and thank God for this opportunity.”
(I know you’re super competitive, but how much do you enjoy your teammates success on the field as well?) – “It’s fun, man. I feel like a guy like Jaylen Waddle doesn’t get enough credit for what he truly does, kind of similar like me early on in my career. So just to see him succeed and just to see guys like Tua (Tagovailoa) succeeding in this league and just the whole offensive line doing their thing, man, it makes me smile. I’m just happy to be able to witness it all.”
(You mentioned an enjoyment that we see with the backfield, too. Is that just part of who you are?) – “Yeah, that’s just me, dawg. That’s just me. Just having fun, doing what I love, I feel like I’m playing America’s sport. So just having fun with the game, man.”
(The backflip was new though. We haven’t seen that one this season.) – “I was about to say, I’ve been doing a backflip my whole career, baby. That’s what I do, man. (laughter) But I haven’t really had an opportunity to do a backflip, because against the Ravens when I scored, we were down like two touchdowns. So I had to save my energy a little bit. In Chicago, it was the right moment, man. I feel like we either went up or we tied the game, so I was feeling the energy. The juices were nice and flowing there.”
(Are you surprised about the memes? I’ve seen different memes of you flipping, flying through the air that people put on social media. If you have, what do you think of them?) – “The memes been crazy, man. My family, they’ve been doing a great job of keeping me aware of all the memes – the Shawn Michaels memes, the dolphin memes, me jumping out of planes memes, so it’s great. I feel like I can use those to my leverage. I really enjoyed that.”
(Was there one that you liked that really stood out to you, one of the memes?) – “Definitely the Randy Orton, the RKO one – I liked that one a lot, because I’m a Randy Orton fan. So, really enjoyed that one.”
(You mentioned that competitiveness before. Now you’re on pace for potentially a record for a season. Does that come up in trying to get that record? Do you even think about it? How do you approach that?) – “My job each and every week is just to focus on the next game. So I can’t look forward – as bad as I want to sit here and say, ‘Hey, I want to break the record,’ that would be real selfish of me. I know my job as one of the leaders on this team is just to make sure we’re doing the right thing and I’m also doing the right thing, and that’s focusing on the next week, which is the Cleveland Browns and just hoping we go out and just be victorious.”
(I heard you on the radio promoting your charity event tomorrow. The question was brought up about QB Tua Tagovailoa and the confidence that you have in him. What I heard you say was that you’ve believed in him from the first day you saw him and working with him, and you said, “People should start pulling up a chair to the table and apologizing to him.”) – “That’s it. That’s it. It’s easy, man. That’s all people got to do, man – just set their pride aside. Everybody isn’t blessed to come into certain situations. Unfortunately, Tua, he came into a difficult situation. Obviously, two years down the road, he got ‘J-Dub,’ which is Jaylen Waddle, to help him out a little bit. But some guys don’t come into great situations, so I feel like once he got a coach who truly believed in who he is as a person, who he is as a player, this organization got around him, look at the talent now he’s got around him. A lot of people can begin to grab their chairs – we’ve got enough room at the table, man. So media people, I’m saying this to y’all – y’all can apologize now.”
(What can you tell us about your charity event?) – “I’m really looking forward to it. I tell people all the time, the event is going to be great, raising money for charity, raising money for mental health (and) bringing awareness to that. But for me, just being a father, for me to be where I’m at in my life, I’ve had to sacrifice so much time away from my family and my kids. So I really get a chance to just hang out with my kids, hang out my family. That’s really like what I’m looking forward to, seeing my kids dress up, because I’m really missing key parts of their life. So for me to have my kids there is like, really important to me and is really huge for me. I’m really excited about tomorrow, man.”
(Is it important also because you’re such a recognizable player on this team that you’re the one who stands out? The other players do charities as well, but for you personally, why is that so important? Because people recognize who you are.) – “I’ve always been that guy, man. Receive a blessing, give a blessing. My grandparents and my parents, they raised me – I feel like they raised me the right way. I’m in a great position to be a role model to many. I’m in a great position to inspire a lot of people, maybe not the whole world, but inspire a lot of people, so why not use your platform? I feel like a lot of guys take this opportunity for granted and they don’t use it. So here I am, I’m going to try to use my platform to raise as much money as I can for mental health (and) learn a little bit more about mental health, because we all go through it. That’s what I’m about, man.”
(Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker said not a lot of receiving leaders are blocking the way you do. What do you think you’re doing in that aspect of the game?) – “You’ve got to be physical, man. I feel like for a smaller guy like me, I really can make my statement and like slow DBs down, whether it’s corners or free safeties, if I come down and I’m able to ear-hole them or knock them on the ground. I can use that to my advantage. So for me being able to block those guys, slow those guys down a little bit and just give them a different change of pace, a different tempo is something that I definitely had to add to my game. I’ve been doing it my whole career, so it’s nothing new.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel was talking about your competitiveness, he referenced how one time, this guy named WR Braylon Sanders ran the fastest and you came out and broke the record the next day on the GPS. Do you remember that? And do you have the fastest current Dolphins history time recorded?) – “Come on, now. Come on, now. My name wouldn’t be Cheetah for no reason – that’s what I do. (laughter) But yeah, I feel like my whole entire life, I’m not a sore loser – I just love to win, man. I just love to compete. Just like today at practice, me and a few of the DBs got into it, because those guys do a good job of challenging us each and every week and getting us ready for our opponents. I kind of got triggered by that, like ‘Oh, you caught me by surprise today.’ So me being me, I didn’t take that too lightly and we were going back and forth. Today was a fun day at practice. The DBs, they won a lot of reps, and the receivers won a lot of reps, so it was a great day.”
Jevon Holland – November 10, 2022
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Thursday, November 10, 2022
S Jevon Holland
(You guys have the Browns this week. I know they’ve got a really good running game, but you also have a little bit of familiarity with QB Jacoby Brissett. What do you see out of that offense?) – “It’s an electric offense. They’ve got plenty of tools. Very dynamic. It’s a big week for us, especially for our defense, and I’m looking forward to it. Jacoby is a good guy and I’m looking forward to seeing out there, playing against him.”
(Are you excited to get home after the way you’ve been able to stack a couple wins here on the road and just kind of be back in that atmosphere again?) – “Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I love playing at home. It’s awesome and we’ve been away, like you said. But I’m glad to be back and finally back in the mix of Miami, for sure.”
(We were talking to Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer today and he said the one thing he wants to really hone-in the second half of the season is getting off the field on third down. What’s the key to that? What’s maybe not been clicking for the defense?) – “Just playing technique honestly. Just doing what the coaches say and going out there and executing. There’s nothing really else to it, no secret sauce or nothing like that. You’ve just got to play the down for what it is and execute.”
(I was wondering within like practice, how do you as a defensive player and as a captain, kind of look at the defense? Because on paper you might not be top of the league in a lot of stats, but when the games matter, you guys are making stops.) – “Yeah, we’re just a one-play-at-a-time organization and you’ve just got to attack it for what it is and that’s really how we see it on both sides of the ball. Next play kind of thing. If you mess up, you mess up. You’ve just got to keep on going. The game gets tough. You’re taking some punches and whatnot. They get you in the first half; it is what it is, but as long as you finish the game with one more point than the other team, then you win the game. So that’s what really matters.”
(I have to ask because I saw you dancing out there. Are you the best dancer on this team?) – “I would probably say yes. Absolutely, 100 percent. I mean, it’s up for debate, but if you ask me, then I’m definitely the best dancer on the team for sure.”
(Just last week you were ranking the best celebrations. What’s your assessment of WR Tyreek Hill’s backflip?) – “I didn’t see it in person, but I have to give it No. 1 just because of all the memes that they’ve been posting. Those have been pretty funny, so I think it’s up there for sure.”
(I wanted to ask you about being in close games. What do you think is the biggest key at the end of the game, closing those games out?) – “Honestly, having a peaceful mind. Sometimes you can let emotions get the best of you. It’s a big game and you kind of get besides yourself or even the moment itself. It can get too big, but really just kind of staying within your keys, understanding that it’s just another down regardless of it’s the game to win a Super Bowl or if it’s the game to just win one game in the regular season. You’ve just got to play it for what it is and go out there and execute.”
(Do you think that’s what separates good and great teams in this league, is being able to close out and finish and come on top of those tight games?) – “Yeah, what separates good and great teams is being able to dominate game-in and game-out and cause turnovers and whatnot and just completely nullify an offense both mentally and physically. But I think that is definitely a part of it, being able to finish and being able to secure those games when it does fall on the defense.”
Josh Boyer – November 10, 2022
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Thursday, November 10, 2022
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(I know you’re looking ahead to Cleveland, but just to wrap up one thing on Chicago – do you exit, and I know you give a lot of thought to things, but do you end that game thinking next time we face a running quarterback, maybe we do something differently in terms of a spy every play or something different?) – “I think the things that we look at are, okay, obviously, we could have done a better job. And that starts with me. I’ve got to put the players in better position. And then how you detail what you’re doing with a guy even though a guy is responsible for him; how everybody else and their play affects the guy that’s responsible for him. I think you go back and you detail that in that manner. Obviously we need to do better. Again, I think that comes down to me just putting the guys in better position and I think that when you look at it, you always reflect and go, ‘Okay, if this comes up again, this is probably the route to go.’”
(I know you said a couple weeks ago you’re not really focused on any particular like stat or number or anything. But if there’s one just facet of the defense that you’d really like to hone in on and improve on the second half of the season, what would that be?) – “Get off the field on third down. There were a lot of good things in last week’s game, and I think we had plenty of, call it, ample opportunities to get off the field. And when you do that, it kills drives, it kills points. It gives you an opportunity to play complementary football, get the ball back to your offense, put them up in a good field position, gives you an opportunity to rush a punt. So I would say that’s the thing that sticks out to me, that we have a really good opportunity. Especially when you’re putting yourself in those situations and you’re talking manageable third downs. You’re not talking third-and-1, third-and-2. I mean, you’re talking third-and-5, third-and-8, third-and-10. I think those and really just tying the rush and the coverage together and making sure that we kind of get those things. Obviously that will be a point of emphasis, and like I said, there’s a lot of good things that are going on there and there’s a lot of encouraging things from the game. And then there’s obviously like you mentioned, there’s things that you reflect on and you want to get better at. But you definitely want to build on the things that are good and then take advantage of when you put yourself in good positions to get off the field. Definitely take advantage of those.”
(All-encompassing question here. The acquisition of LB Bradley Chubb, what does it do on the field? What does it do off the field? What does it do for you? What’s the message from the front office to you and the players?) – “Yeah, I think obviously we’re very excited to have a player of his caliber. I think kind of what he did for us last week was commendable. He flew back from London, flew from the West Coast out here, was able – I think he played like, 54 snaps in the game, if I’m not mistaken. He took a lot of snaps for us. He’s still learning some things and nuances. And there’s obviously some things that you put him in a situation that you’re just kind of relying on him to know and understand from playing the game and kind of how it relates to what we’re doing. I think he’s getting a better grasp of it. He’s an extremely hard worker. Like he’s in here early, leaves late. It’s important to him. He’s a phenomenal person, too. I mean, like, immediately I would say he’s a charismatic individual immediately. Guys in the locker room, he just has that that demeanor about him. Love everything about what he’s been since he’s been here and then obviously we’re working very hard to put him in positions that he can succeed.”
(How do you overall view the effectiveness of the running game when, for the most part, it’s been really good. But there also have been some long runs like Lamar Jackson, Justin Fields and then Dalvin Cook as well?) – “So obviously the Lamar (Jackson) and the Justin Fields runs; so they had five designed quarterback runs in that last week game, and then there was 21, call it, early-down runs or traditional runs with the back and stuff. Obviously we feel good about a lot of those. The Dalvin Cook – the 53-yarder was kind of an outlier of, it was a call that we’ve been in many times, a good run call for us, but we just didn’t really execute it the way that we needed to. And it was a good run by him. I don’t want to take any credit away from Justin Fields, Lamar Jackson, Dalvin Cook. Those are three premier players in the league and you really have to be all 11 in-tune to make things happen. We’re going to have a huge challenge this week. I would say Cleveland’s as good as anybody, call it, on traditional runs with the back. They’ve got two really good backs. Obviously, Chubb’s their lead back and I would say he’s an exceptional or premier talent. And then Kareem Hunt does a phenomenal job, too, as well. And they are extremely well-coached. And I mean, you just look at their staff. Obviously with Coach (Kevin) Stefanski and then Alex Van Pelt who’s their coordinator. Bill Callahan does an awesome job as the offensive line coach and scheming runs and has for a long time in this league. And obviously, they got Chad O’Shea on staff who’s a phenomenal coach and I spent a lot of time with Chad, when I was coaching DBs in New England. He was coaching receivers. They’re going to be well-coached and they got good players. They got good scheme. So it’s going to be a big challenge for us. We do feel like that the traditional run game is something that we’re doing well, that we can build on. And obviously when there are breakdowns, there’s usually, either we’re out of our gap or there’s a missed tackle or there’s something of that nature. But I would say, and it really starts with our guys up front which I think those guys have done a pretty good job all year. There’s just other things that we need to handle within the game that can allow us to be the defense that we want to be and if we get that done, I think we’re all going to like the results there, but we have a huge challenge. We know that this will be a very competitive game this week. These guys are coming off a bye and they’ll be ready.”
(So it’s interesting because quarterback scrambles are, they go against your run defense stats, but they’re unique in that you start in a pass defense on most of those? So what are some of the concepts and teaching points that are constant when you’re going against traditional run game as opposed to scrambles and what’s different as far as what you have lay out?) – “Scrambles, there’s a lot of variables that go into that. One, are you in a traditional, call it, four-man rush defense? And then it’s going to come down to rush lanes. Obviously, there’s a lot of variables that go into the scrambles. Is it a traditional drop back? Is it a play-action where they’re moving the pocket? Are you dealing with a, call it, scrambling quarterback, a running quarterback? There’s a lot of different things that go involved into that as compared to, call it, early-down run defense. So sometimes it goes hand in hand, sometimes it really doesn’t, because a lot of those scramble plays, you’re probably more often than not set up to defend the pass than you are the run. And then some of them that occur off of play-action, there can be displacement based on the offense doing misdirection or move the pocket. So there is going to be a little bit of space. And then obviously it all comes back to the transition, rush lanes, if you’re in zone coverage, everybody’s got zone vision on it. So there’s a lot of different variables, I think that go into that.”
(I was thinking about DE Emmanuel Ogbah and CB Xavien Howard – two guys who throughout their career have put up big sack numbers, pressure numbers, turnover numbers, better metrics, in pass coverage. Not as good in the first half of the season. Maybe injuries, some other factors as both those guys playing through some stuff. Do you have cause for belief that there’ll be more of a regression to the mean and production performance of those two players in the second half of the season?) – “I have a very good cause to believe that we’re going to get better and we’re going to improve. And not just those two individuals. I think there’s some things that if we get done as a group, like I said, I firmly believe, because there’s a lot of good plays – and again, how everybody wants to look at stats, this, that. There was two plays over 20 yards in our last game, and one of them was a DPI penalty for 28 yards. The other one was obviously the 61-yard scramble, which that’s on third-and-5, and you don’t want to give that up in that situation. So there are good things that we’re building on there. But I just think as a whole, we have an opportunity to be a very good defense. There’s just some things that we got to get cleaned up. And I have the utmost belief in our players because they don’t flinch in big situations. I mean, I don’t remember what the time was on the clock, but sitting there at 35-32, and there’s no points for the rest of the game. So when you need them the most – give up 27 points in a half to Detroit, they don’t give up any points in the second half. You need an interception at Pittsburgh. So our guys are comfortable playing in those situations and we get some of our best ball at that. We just kind of need to put it all together and then obviously, I would say my job of putting these guys in better position to make plays or finish drives, that falls on me. And we’re all working very hard to do that. So I have great reason to believe that we’re going to get production from all of our guys. In particular 91 (Emmanuel Ogbah) and 25 (Xavien Howard), I feel very good about them. They’re working very hard. It’s important to them. They care about it. They’re team oriented, just like our other guys are. It’s no different than Jerome Baker or Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler. They’re all kind of built the same way. I have great reason to believe and the fact that the work that we put in week-in and week-out leads me to believe that if we get things corrected that we need to get corrected and get it fixed, we’re all going to like the results.”
(You had mentioned earlier about LB Bradley Chubb that he played 54 snaps on defense, and yet he hit the ground here Wednesday morning. Can you kind of take us through a little bit of how you got him prepared in those few days? What was that crash course like for you and for him?) – “Well, I think it started with kind of, call it, game plan. Like how we were going to use him, what we’re going to use him for. And then I think obviously credit our coaching staff. Obviously Ty (McKenzie) spent probably the most time with him, being his position coach. And it’s a credit to the player that it was that important to him to get caught up and then again, you get here in the middle of the week, you had all those flights, there’s probably a little bit, call it, anxiety. New team, you want to do well, and we’re putting you in a situation where you’re out there playing. And then I think you learn as a coaching staff, you kind of learn and see, okay, this is this is what this is, we can build on this, maybe not put him in this. You’re buying information. It’s no different than if you’re a player out on the field, especially because defense is pretty much reactionary. A lot of it is. All your alignments, your stance, everything is to read your keys, and all you’re doing in that is buying information. It’s really no different as a coaching staff. When you see guys out there and they’re playing, you’re going ‘okay, we’re just buying information.’ And the key is as long as you can string wins together as you’re doing that and you have guys that are going to put in the work and continue to strive to get better, there’s always the belief in purpose that all right, we’re going to get to where we want to be.”
(You mentioned the caliber of player that Browns RB Nick Chubb is on the other side of the football. What’s the messaging this week to the defense about getting him to the ground for a player that I think leads the league in missed tackles forced and yards after contact?) – “We need to get everybody to the ball. We need to get everybody to the ball. This won’t be a one-man show. I would say Nick Chubb has proven time and time again. You can see there’s many instances when you watch him on film that somebody has him in the backfield and he’s able to break that and then he stiff arms the next guy and then he keeps moving. So we need to get everybody to the ball and I would say whether it’s the run or the pass game, hitting him on a check down or whatever route that they’re running. It’s definitely going to be important for us to get everybody to the ball.”
(What are the numbers, the statistics that you look at to gauge the defense’s health or performance or how they’re doing, how they’re playing?) – “Yeah, I think the first the first thing you look at is probably – I guess you start with wins. And then what situations are you doing well? Okay, and then what things do you need to work on? And then obviously to me, it comes down to really how are you doing on early downs? Is it a run issue? Is it a pass issue? Are you committing one way to defend something? Then you go to third downs. What are we doing on the third downs? And then a lot of times in the third downs based on what you’re getting from the offense or the down-and-distance, the distance on the third down kind of dictates a little bit of what you’re seeing and what you’re facing. Then you look at red zone and then you look really at two-minute. So I think when you look at all those things, it’s all-encompassing of self-scout. It’s really what you’re doing defensively, what people are trying to do to you, how they’re trying to attack you and then what they do offensively. Like I said probably a week or two ago, I’m not very good with math, so a lot of the numbers, they kind of run by me. Certain plays obviously stick out that you remember the yardage on those, but I think it’s really situationally that you look at and how you can get better at that whether it’s early downs, third down, red area, two minute and I think you kind of put them all in those buckets.”
(I wanted to ask you your assessment of the different safeties that have been used as S Brandon Jones went down whether it be S Eric Rowe last game, S Verone McKinley, we’ve seen some S Clayton Fejedelem and even DB Elijah Campbell as well.) – “Again, like we talked about when we lost Brandon (Jones), we felt like he was getting better. We thought he was a good player. He was a big part of what we were doing defensively. I think anytime you lose somebody whether it’s Brandon or Nik (Needham), you’re always going to be filling. It’s not usually just, ‘hey, this is the next guy,’ because everybody, again, if you try to highlight what guys do well, you try to put them in situations that are going to come up that you feel pretty good that they’re going to do well in those situations. And then again, like we talked about, I know Barry’s always asking me about (Andrew) Van Ginkel. (laughter) There’s always a special teams element, a roster element. There’s a roster management element that goes into each week of – we’d like to have every player available to you and sometimes there’s guys that aren’t available to us that if they were available, we would probably play them. You just pick and choose based on your matchup and you try to highlight what those guys do well and knowing that because there’s three phases of the game that – like, again, nobody wants to go to the game with one running back. Nobody wants to go to the game with two corners. There’s a roster (element) and then you got to have guys that play the kicking game. So I think that’s all part of it and I think we’re working very hard in individual. I’d give Steve (Gregory) and Pat (Surtain) a lot of credit. They’re working with those guys. They’re getting them up to speed on things that we’re asking them to do, and I thought when (Verone) McKinley was in there, I thought he did well. When Eric (Rowe) was in there, I thought he did well. I think Elijah (Campbell) is getting caught up to speed on some things. And then obviously ‘Fej’ (Clayton Fejedelem) when we’ve used him, I think those guys have – and again, it goes back to the type of people that we have on the defense, is it’s very important them. They work very hard at it. They care about the team. They care about the defense and they’re working very hard to get things right.”
