Tua Tagovailoa – December 14, 2023
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Thursday, December 14, 2023
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Upon reviewing the tape, were there things you noticed about the offense with and without WR Tyreek Hill?) – “Yeah, I think we got a little out of sorts with how we went about our drives. I think one of the biggest things that happened, that I think personally had something to do with the game, was when Connor (Williams) went down as well. But this is how the league works. You pray that you can have healthy seasons and you can stay healthy for as long as possible. But it’s a physical sport, and things like that happen. So, when those things do happen, how do we as a team come out and just not let our foot off the gas.”
(Obviously physically a short week like this is tough, but emotionally are there some advantages to it? There’s no choice, you’re getting out on that game field again. There’s not enough time to wallow about this stuff.) – “Yeah. I think for a lot of the guys that came in on Tuesday, we had our corrections. We understood we had the game right there in our hands and it was really a full team effort as to why we didn’t come out with a win. It’s something we talked about. We had a great team meeting about it as well. We’ll be better for it and we’ll learn from that and move forward to the Jets this week.”
(When you look back at your football playing career, not just here, when you think back to any defeats that really were crushing-type defeats, what do you see is the best recipe for overcoming that? Is it coming out and breathing fire next week or is it just forgetting what happened? How do you regroup and recover from such a loss?) – “Yeah, I think that the thing for us as a team to regroup from something like this is not to be emotional about it. We don’t want to come into the game thinking we need to this, we need to do that. We just need to play within the rules and principles of what that play entails for us to do. And we have to go out there and execute. That’s all we should be worried about. Literally taking it one play at a time and just playing each play within the merit of that. That’s how I think of it. That’s my approach to it. We’ll get better from that last game.”
(I don’t think any quarterback wants pressured. They want a clean pocket and all that. You as a quarterback, how can you be better when it’s kind of messy up front?) – “Well, I think the thing that I can do better is let each play stand on its own merit. That was a good rep for me last week because it took from Week 1 all the way to whatever week this is or whatever week last week was to get that rep. I’m actually really glad I got to get that. You can only get better from that.”
(Is pressure different when its coming from up the middle in the interior as opposed to off the edge for you as a quarterback?) – “Brother, pressure is pressure. Whether it comes inside, goes outside, you got to get the ball out. You have to make quicker decisions. You got to know where you’re hot from. You got to play. Just have to go out and play.”
(I know there were a lot of issues on the offensive line, but most people took that game as this is what the offense looked like without WR Tyreek Hill. Obviously we don’t know what his status is, but what’s the challenge to the rest of the unit in terms of having to step up if Tyreek isn’t available?) – “Yeah, if ‘Reek isn’t available, I think Jaylen (Waddle) understands his role with stepping up. I think everyone else understands their role as well. It’s tough not having someone like Tyreek out there when sort of the entirety of the offseason was built around him and also Jaylen, and now you take away one of those pieces and guys can double Jaylen and leave other guys one-on-one. It gives other guys opportunities that can really do something special for us.”
(OL Liam Eichenberg is also dealing with something too. The team brought in two centers. I was curious if you already started working with them? And maybe what are some of the intricacies of the timing of the snap that you’re going to have to fix?) – “Yeah, I’ve been able to work with the new guys. The thing with that is exactly what you said. Just hearing the cadence, understanding that a lot of the things we do is based on timing within the emotion and snap points of the offense. So, it’s been a little different for those guys with where they’ve been and the cadences that they’ve heard. Just like anything, you need reps with them.”
(Do you like being under center or in the gun more?) – “It doesn’t matter to me, honestly.”
(What opens up when you’re under center as far as what you guys can do that maybe you can do out of the gun?) – “Action game. Play-action. When you’re in the pistol, it also helps as well. Just with what the ‘backers are looking at with their read keys. You don’t know if he’s going right, if he’s going left. It’s basically being in the I (formation).”
(What are the things you picked up from the Jets from the first meeting?) – “Yeah, I mean they have a good defense. But what we got to do is we can’t be shooting ourselves in the foot this game. We have to go out there, take what they give us, and just play our game.”
(What’s been the difference in red zone execution? I think through the first six weeks of the season you guys were like 80 percent converting red zone trips into touchdowns. Now it’s dropped a little bit, especially the goal-to-go efficiency. What’s been the difference between maybe the first half of the season and now not being as efficient?) – “Yeah, I think that’s something that I have to take because when we were down in the red area, there were some calls that I made that didn’t help us. There were some decisions that I made as well that didn’t help us. We had opportunities down there and in games like that here in December, you have to execute those. I think we only had two field goals down there. We had one blocked and we came out with six points while we were in the red area. We had a fumble as well on the first drive. Can’t end it like that. Can’t do that.”
(It’s always a familiarity playing an opponent you play twice a year, but playing an opponent twice in four weeks, how is that different than like the Buffalo schedule, where it is Week 4 and Week 18, so far apart. How difficult is it to get ready for a team that you saw four weeks ago?) – “I wouldn’t say it’s difficult. You kind of still have in mind what they played. You still have your notes on what they did. That’s fresh in your mind when you played them however long ago, two, three weeks ago. But I think the tough thing about it is they kind of got a gist of things we run. We also got a gist of what they sort of like to run. It’s sort of like cat and mouse. Whoever calls the wrong play at the wrong time or at the right time, whatever that might look like, it could come down to something like that.”
(With some of the red zone stuff that you were talking about, what’s the communication like in the trial-and-error understanding something that is or isn’t successful and to apply that to another opponent?) – “Yeah, well, every week is different with how we prepare for teams. Last week, what the Titans did is different than what the Jets do defensively. I think the thing that I have to do better is help our team score down there within the passing game. I think we’ve done a really good job down there in the run game, but in the passing game, if things aren’t there, just try to extend plays down there in the red area.”
(Tyreek Hill says you should be the team’s MVP. I don’t think we’ve ever asked your opinion. Who do you think is the Dolphins MVP?) – “I would say Tyreek. But I could care less for myself to be any of that right now. I know a lot of the guys could care less. I’m sure they’d be happy if one of our guys had it, but we just want to win games, and we want to win a Super Bowl here.”
(In the deep red zone, you guys have thrown fade balls and I don’t think you’ve converted a successful fade ball since Week 1 on the game winner. Is that more so, the decision to throw a fade ball, a low percentage pass I guess, is that more so about the defense crowding the middle of the field or the matchup?) – “It’s more about the matchup. It’s moreso the matchup with who we like out there and the speed that we have off the line.”
(You slipped a couple times. Did you have a cleat issue?) – “No, I mean that’s just on me. It stinks. It’s just on me.”
Mike McDaniel – December 14, 2023
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Thursday, December 14, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Two guys who finished the game Monday, but we saw them on the injury report yesterday that they wouldn’t have been able to practice, are RB De’Von Achane and CB Xavien Howard. Do you feel like they’re going to be able to play on Sunday or is that in question now?) – “Yeah, we’re setting a PR here for my tenure. It’s really just unknowns because for us, we’re orchestrating two walkthroughs today. That’s where my mind’s been wrapped up. I know there’s a lot of people really, really pushing themselves in terms of rehab. There’s a lot of people that really, really want to go work the taste out of their mouth this week. There are a lot of question marks. One thing I am not questioning is the gusto with which whoever is playing on Sunday will be providing. We have a very focused team on the New York Jets and there’s a lot of moving parts, but we’ll be able to handle it.”
(I guess another way to put it is who do you expect to practice that wouldn’t have yesterday?) – “I don’t know, honestly. You’re talking about, today was Monday, Wednesday and now Thursday in NFL terms, so it’s hard to say. On a short week, approaching a walk-through, there will be a good amount of guys that will be walking through that may not have been able to practice. If it would have been a full week, I probably would have done a walkthrough on Wednesday anyway. It’s kind of that stage of the season and when you play with effort and strain like our guys do, that comes at a cost, so you have to balance it out. But I’m hard-pressed to even say – literally I’m a terrible person to ask right now because I’ve been focused on getting guys who are possibly available for the game and that I know are available for the game, the resources necessary to be prepared to play this one.”
(OL Jonotthan Harrison has a lot of NFL experience at center but he hasn’t played in a game in I think four calendar years. How did you guys sort through that fact and what role did it play in considering whether to not to sign him?) – “There’s a lot of due diligence amongst our pro staff on top of that with the coaches. Just personnel and coaches working together. You come up with a list. You make sure that you resource all of your league-wide connections who have experience just to understand the human being that you’re dealing with. We have pro scouts that write reports on everyone and have opinions. Then you orchestrate a workout and then put your heads together. That’s not the first time I think in my career that that’s happened. Especially late in the season, this is kind of commonplace. It’s a unique position sort of. That’s what all of us get paid to do is handle scenarios like this. I’m focused on what needs to be done, not what’s happening, necessarily. It’s just another thing to try to – you get an opportunity to see how efficiently you can coach and get guys up to speed. It takes all the coaches. Tt takes the players that are going to have to spend some time working with the quarterbacks, for sure, and getting up to speed. It’s a diligent process. We just have to keep you on your toes. (laughter)”
(How is WR Tyreek Hill and was the tackle that injured him either a horse-collar which is illegal or a hip-drop, which is legal? Or was it both?) – “It wasn’t flagged. I think guys do anything they can to try to tackle Tyreek because he’s hard to tackle. And it was one of those unfortunate things that I didn’t even really – again, it’s opportunity cost. So if I’m assessing how he was tackled, and whether or not that was legal, even though it wasn’t flagged, so therefore, it was legal; then that’s time that I’m not combing the last five years of centers. (laughter) It was unfortunate. His mind is – he’s at such a great spot, that he’s doing everything he can, knowing that he’s going to take care of what’s in his hands. He’s such an important part of our team that we’re going to make sure that when he’s on the field, he’s not at risk of further injuring himself. If it’s a situation where he can get to a point where he doesn’t have to worry about making something worse, football is football, so anything can happen. But in terms of outside of the normal, if he gets tackled in whatever fair or unfair way that he was tackled, again, he knows he’s always at risk of that. But we’re just going to be prudent and smart with him. He’s a competitor and he’s a captain of this team and he very much wants to dictate the terms. But he’s in a good place where he’s not going to do it at the cost of further progression of injury. I’m happy where he’s at.”
(When WR Tyreek Hill is off the field, how much do defensive coverages change?) – “It just depends on the defense. But for the most part, if all 11 defenders are aware of where he’s at on every snap, that’s what happens. Whether or not the calls change or not, he just has a huge impact on the game when he has the ball and when he doesn’t. It’s very much like any one of the best players in the league. It has nothing to do with anybody else. We have a lot of capable playmakers, a lot of really talented people on the team. But everybody knows that there’s someone that you can’t exactly replicate anywhere, let alone on this team. So he’s a special player for us and he will always have an impact on the game, even when he’s not catching the ball or doing those things. Just by his presence out there, you have to account for him. He takes it personal when people don’t.”
(What did you see from LB Melvin Ingram in working him out and how close is he to that player that was on the active roster last year?) – “It was awesome just to be around the guy. He’s a magnetic personality that he had a lot of teammates that were pumped to see him. He is Melvin Ingram. It’s what I would expect. I wouldn’t shortchange him and go zero to 60. We’re going to take it day by day. But the workout was what we needed to see, which is why he’s here. But then a workout is far different from a game. It kind of puts it on our shoulders not to put him out there until he can represent the whole reason he is who he is. What timetable that is? We first have to have a practice. I’m pretty sure he won’t get overly exerted today in a walkthrough, at least we hope. But then we’ll get our first piece of information tomorrow. He’s excited to be here. We’re excited to have him. I think his style of play very much fits how we as a defense really approach that position. I feel fortunate to add him at this point.”
(Could you take us into your relationship with Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio? Some coaches after what happened on Monday would really go after their DC. I imagine he doesn’t need that considering his resume and all that. What did you tell him after you saw him Monday night?) – “I’m not sure if it’s a silver lining or the positive part of going through stuff together as a team. Listen, any team that does anything worth anything goes through stuff together. It’s like a family. I would imagine siblings fight, and when you get through it, you’re stronger. Well, that was a fight for us, really for all three phases in terms of emotions. We put a lot into it and didn’t get the results at all. I very much am a person that looks at intent. I try to communicate as best as I can throughout the season. I’m very aware our defensive coordinator is one of, if not the best, defensive play callers that I’ve ever been around. You talk about timeliness of certain calls. Your job is to prepare players and put them in the best position to succeed. Within that, knowing the scheme and knowing the offense, each and every week, the last person I’m worried about doing everything they can for the team is Vic Fangio. With that, we’re teammates. There was no projection towards him. We talked through what we saw, why stuff happened, so that we can coach our players so that you learn from it. You have the choice however you handle anything. That can be a great experience for a team if approached the right way. So that’s where our mind has been at. When that happens, you approach your team and make sure you guys are all really taking in that pain the correct and appropriate way. We’ve moved on to the New York Jets because you can’t – on this day, if we would’ve won by 40 or lost by 40, what does that have to do with today? I know there’s a lot of feelings, as there should be, because people are invested, whether you’re on the team or a fan of it. But the bottom line is we are constantly looking at what we’re doing today for the next game. We can’t live in last game whether we won 70-20 or lost 28-27. Really, the same rep for us. I think the whole building feels the same and we are carpe diem on this (day).”
(The approach every day with energy that you have, how much this week is it more of the gas tank is here, I need you to dial it back so that gas tank is full on Sunday versus I need 100 percent today?) – “I just don’t like doing things half-hearted. Like I alluded to, we probably on a normal week would’ve walked through our first practice of the week. So what does that mean? What is a walkthrough to our team? A walkthrough to our team is a challenge because we have so many competitors that love competing. But then when you tell competitors that now the competition is focusing on the mundane details that go further than your opponent will, that’s kind of the idea. And collectively, guys hold each other accountable to that so you can walk through with purpose. There’s opportunities to communicate, to align, all the things that sound like coach speak but show up as the difference in winning and losing every week. So, you can save your body and get more prepared for the game. We had the same experience, the schedule is very much similar for us as the last time we played the Jets. No one cares on Sunday, absolutely no one cares if you’re tired, if work was hard. And I think our guys are clear on that. We’re very fortunate to have the opportunity to have a game to play each and every week, especially after things – there were some hard, hard lessons learned. That’s why you just focus on the Jets and it’s been really about the New York Football Jets all day.”
(Speaking of the Jets, the last time you guys played them, Black Friday, you had the electric S Jevon Holland pick-six. From reaction to walking through how the play was done, can you talk more about the play and your reaction?) – “If you look at the replays, I generally – you’re hard pressed and I think you guys have seen it even closer because I’m mic’d up every day of my life now, but I’m pretty composed generally. If you watch the replay of it, myself and Coach (Darren) Bevell were almost in the locker room after it, so I lost my mind. As a result of a team experience, where I’m looking at it the same way Coach Bevell is, the same way Tua (Tagovailoa) is. I’m thinking that I just called two consecutive interception plays that I know Tua is very capable of making unbelievable plays, so call a better play. Tua is thinking that. Coach Bevell is thinking that. So there was a lot of emotion there because of the timing of it. Now what was cool was on the sideline, the energy was, no one called it, but it was abnormally intent. You could feel the momentum, the player that caught the ball had purpose. You only get those types of plays when that happens and there’s no hesitation, no high-fiving. There was a mentality of specifically Christian Wilkins at the point of attack, I think Bradley Chubb and Jerome Baker, so all those things capture a moment that – it’s Jevon’s play, but it was all of our experience and it’s all of our play in that way. That was a cool momentum turn that I’m counting on every week. Not really. (laughter)”
(The last two possessions of the Tennessee game, if I’m not mistaken, you had DB Elijah Campbell and S Brandon Jones at safety. Not asking you to throw anybody under the bus, but that’s a big difference from S Jevon Holland and S DeShon Elliott. How does that affect strategy and what you do out there?) – “Well I think the difference is the reps. Those two have had a great season working together. So anytime you have those processes kind of interrupted, there’s communication. Don’t get it twisted. It was not their fault that we gave up a lot of yards. Really, from my vantage point, we’ve moved on because understand when you watch the tape, there was a lot of really good play in the course of the game by all those players and then there wasn’t. So we get down to why and we press forward to the New York Jets, which is where I’m at and where the rest of the team is at right now.”
Mike McDaniel – December 12, 2023
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Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Did the information you got on WR Tyreek Hill regarding scans and swelling suggest to you that it’s week-to-week or day-to-day with him? And is OL Connor Williams out for the season?) – “Day to day for Tyreek (Hill), Connor Williams out for the season, ACL.”
(Torn?) – “Yeah.”
(How do you try to replace OL Connor Williams?) – “You don’t directly replace it necessarily, and I’d love to take the time right now to speak on the regard that this team has for Connor Williams and what he was doing this year, playing some excellent ball. His journey, position switching and really finding some good footing, you don’t necessarily replace that directly. However you also prepare a lot for contingencies for these types of scenarios. Typically, we’ve been as prepared – hats have gone off to the offensive line and (Offensive Line Coach) Butch (Barry) and (Offensive Coordinator) Frank Smith, just everybody, for how we’ve been able to sustain multiple lineup changes. Then at some point, it gets a little challenging on everyone when you start talking about your double digits and people participating on your team, but along that journey, guys get much more equipped to do it, guys start playing better at those positions. I thought – Liam (Eichenberg) has had a really cool season to me, because he’s gone at a position, whether it’s right guard, left guard, center, and he’s played well enough for us to win, and then the next week, he comes back and plays even better. That momentum we’ll be counting on, along those lines. You might see us add somebody here in the near future at some point. We’ve been working Lester Cotton all year at center as well. Those are the types of things that teams all around the league are doing at some point during the season at various positions – it’s part of football. So you get tested in a multitude of ways, whether that’s mind, body or spirit. I’m confident in the way that we’ll progress with that in his loss.”
(You just mentioned that guys have done a good job this year piecing in when guys have been out on the o-line, but four guys at some point yesterday were not starters from the start of the season. Does it change how you can call an offensive game when it becomes maybe too much as far as turnover on that offensive line?) – “You just have to be realistic. It’s not just blind faith, it’s earned faith. So when guys are in positions that I’m used to them being in, as well as I know their matchups, and the defensive presentation and how they’re stressed, there’s a multitude of times it doesn’t change anything at all, just because of the inherent deliberate reps that we’ve observed. Then there’s also situations where this guy or that guy hasn’t been in the scenario or hasn’t worked with this person and the various defensive presentations, that can change things a little bit. Yesterday, there were probably a couple of directions that I felt would be most prudent and the most responsible as a result for this particular circumstance, not out of lack of faith but just out of being fair to you’re competing against an opponent that’s practiced what they’re doing and what strain does it put on your offense. So it does adjust things in certain situations, and I think yesterday it did to degree a little bit just because of the exact formula, but that’s part of football. You’re assessing matchups and deciding a multitude of things based upon those matchups. It makes it a little more challenging but nothing that that you shouldn’t be able to handle.”
(What is your outlook on the short week regarding OL Rob Hunt and T Terron Armstead, whether you might be able to have them back for the offensive line?) – “I think (Terron) Armstead is more conceivable. It will be day-to-day with him. It’s part of just knowing what type of game it’s going to be and then the games ahead, specifically one with a short week, I think it made it more difficult to play Armstead last night. I think Rob (Hunt) is proving to be a little more week to week. I would be very pleasantly surprised if Rob was available for the Jets, but again, I’m not going to say that he can’t. But that’d be more of a pleasant surprise.”
(Updated on S DeShon Elliott, S Brandon Jones and OL Liam Eichenberg health-wise?) – “DeShon Elliott cleared the UNC’s (unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant) assessment during the game, however later on in the game, in communication with our training staff, he reported some verbal symptoms, so he is now in concussion protocol, because once he verbalized some symptoms, we immediately took him out. Liam Eichenberg came out of the game with some – he got bumped and bruised along the journey of the game. He fought through it really well. I was very, very impressed with his toughness, but it’s just the football bumps and bruises is the best way to put it.”
(S Brandon Jones?) – “Yeah, Brandon Jones, he had some stitches on an open wound, but he should be good.”
(With WR Tyreek Hill, I wanted to get your thoughts on just the importance obviously he is to your offense, but do you have to kind of remind yourself at times to spread the ball around, get WR Jaylen Waddle involved? Obviously, we saw WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. last night get a bunch of targets as well.) – “I think that is kind of inherent, at least for me as a play-caller, is you’re trying to distribute the ball. There are times where there’s a glutton of opportunities that go Tyreek’s way – generally, that’s momentum based, but collectively we’re our strongest when you have to worry about everyone. So there’s always that type of mindset and wanting to involve people, and then you just don’t fight how the game presents a lot of times. When he’s a hot hand, just like when Jaylen (Waddle) is a hot hand, similar things happen. I know there was – I can’t remember which week it was, maybe it was three weeks ago against Vegas, but people attributed Tyreek being out to Waddle getting successive starts when it really wasn’t the case. It was that you’re paying attention as a play-caller to what’s happening on the field with a clear mind, with an idea of what you’re going to go to, but then when people noticeably – you can feel the momentum of a certain moment, or a drive, or whatever, you try to empower the offensive by getting the ball in those guys hands. But that’s always something that you’re trying to distribute the ball to various guys. When you’re one of the best players in the National Football League, regardless of positions, you’re always going to get your opportunities, but it’s important for us to always make sure players are involved in their strength, whatever that is. Sometimes a guy’s strength is being at the point of attack, removing defenders from the point of attack. Like Alec Ingold, for instance, is very involved in every game and doesn’t get a ton of targets, but he’s one of the reasons other people get successful targets, whether it be a clean pocket or identification on how to run a tricky route from the backfield or whatever. Same thing with Durham Smythe. But for the most part, we try to distribute the ball because that’s the best way to keep the defense on their heels.”
(Why no offensive snaps for a guy like WR Chase Claypool? Could he be a potential solution to some of the red zone issues?) – “Yeah, I think he provides – everybody has a different skillset. You’re letting the week progress and you have different opportunities. The way that guys play out during the week kind of dictates those terms. I think some of the opportunities that Chase (Claypool) would have gotten were kind of won during the week by Cedrick Wilson Jr. a little bit, but we have that up every week, and he’s in the conversation, for sure. But you’re also not predetermining, ‘Alright, well, the Gods have spoken to me, you will make the best play.’ You kind of put it in their hands. In our receiver room particularly, there are several guys that can make plays on top of Tyreek (Hill) and (Jaylen) Waddle. So we try to be equitable during the week and let those guys earn those opportunities and see where they can have advantages. There were some – we didn’t get to them. There were some plays featured for Chase in the regular field and in the red zone, but we didn’t end up getting to those.”
(You referenced WR Tyreek Hill. Would you consider yourself optimistic of his chances to play Sunday?) – “I’m optimistic about Tyreek (Hill) in general. I know if there’s a will, there’s a way. It’s a little early to be that confident. Either way, that was a painful ankle (injury) that he took the time to warm up, work and get to a point where he could feel like he could provide what we need him to provide. He’s given me only reason to be confident in his ability, but until he flat out tells me that there’s no doubt that he’s going to play, you always have to plan for everything, and I haven’t talked to him today.”
(As far as Monday, we obviously don’t hear anything. But on the sideline, we see WR Tyreek Hill kind of standing there. Then he kind of runs in. Is there communication between you and him? Does he tell you he’s not okay? Do you tell him, wait? I’m curious kind of what that process was.) – “It’s all depending on the time of the game and what’s going on. But really, there’s a trifecta of communication between myself, (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston) and (Wide Receivers Coach) Wes Welker. Wes Welker’s on the headset, so a lot of times I’m just pacing and he’ll be talking to me. There were points in the game – he doesn’t want to lead us astray. This particular injury, he was just trying to move it enough to get a feel for how it’d be like going full speed, but not aggravate it even more and was just kind of being cautious walking back and forth. It was pretty stiff on him and then he finally got it to a place where he could go. Sometimes those happen at the last second and generally that’s communicated to me right before the play when it is that last second. Other times it’s like alright, well, next series or don’t have him for this series. There’s just constant communication that goes on with a lot of players but specifically guys like that.”
(I wanted to ask you about the last drive. It seemed like twice that there was, I don’t know, clock issues. The first was the TE Durham Smythe catch, should the clock have stopped then when they figured out what was going on? And maybe I’m mistaken but certainly the RB De’Von Achane catch on the sideline, he was originally called out of bounds and the players had their back to the refs and someone came in and wound the clock.) – “There’s pros and cons for every type of invention that comes within our game. We have this, I think a very, very productive system of replay assist, that can happen live speed that can make sure calls are right. With that being a newer system and with stars having to align, like in those type of situations, it can be pretty tricky. I believe that’s what happened because you go off the signal of the referee or the linesman and so you’re thinking it’s a stopped clock. Then out of nowhere, oh, it’s a running clock. Oh, yeah, and it happens to be fourth down. Those can kind of be tricky, but that’s not because of anyone being shortsighted. I can totally understand the reason for the system. That is a little tricky that you’re just not totally used to, when something like that happens. I can promise you this, every time someone’s being tackled right around out of bounds in a two-minute situation, that’s a learned scenario that I won’t keep my eyes off that person, regardless of what the situation is, because that is tricky. But we also have systems where we can go on the line of scrimmage, immediately. It wasn’t ideal, but I can understand why it happened because when you look at the replay, De’Von’s knee was down in bounds.”
(At the expense of spoiling Hard Knocks tonight, what has been your overall message communicated to the team since the loss?) – “I haven’t spoken with them today. We’re on a short work week, and their main focus today was re-gen. The players kind of met on their own. But last night and today, kind of my message is and will be when I get in front of them again, is that especially games like that, there’s a tangible amount of emotion that is derived from that. The way the game happened, the 14-point deficit that’s closed in four minutes., all the different opportunities, that’s emotionally – it can really just take over. You go to bed with emotion, you wake up with emotion. I understand that and I think that’s very valid for a bunch of people that care. Just like I’m sure a lot of people were pretty irritated last night that are fans that woke up the same way. Having said that, the objective, the main point is that you have to take that emotion and at some point you have to put it over here. Then you have to look at what actually happened in the game. The point is to learn from it and get better. The point is to use it in some way, shape or form moving forward. We have to. Thus far the season. we have done a good job. Out of the 13 opportunities, we’ve won nine of them. Four we lost and the previous three, I felt like we got better from it. That will be 100 percent what we will be focusing on together as a team and just moving forward because this is what I see. Removing the emotion, there was, let’s call it 70 plays, arbitrarily. Maybe 50 of them, I was really, really happy about they were prepared and they were good team defense, offense, and special teams. Then 30 of those, people have to recognize that probably we aren’t making at the beginning of the season. That’s really good stuff. That being said, there was some really bad stuff, really bad stuff. You get in a situation where you’re the first team to lose a game up by 14 in the last three to four minutes since like, 2017. Yeah, that’s what it is, and you don’t run away from it. You don’t say, oh, everything’s all good. No, the point of this game, which you’re trying to accomplish things that are very hard that everyone else is trying to accomplish, is you have to be willing to look at the hard things and make sure they don’t define you. Make sure that you utilize that opportunity. That adversity is real and it either is what you are, or what is the reason you become something else. That I think is something that we’re used to, but there’s not a finer example. Especially like in the last month, we’ve said a ton, we want to play our best football in December. That game was in December, and that was not our best football. Well, we have two to three more games in December, then one in January promised to us. We better utilize all the things that we absolutely do not want to relive in the other games. Then it’s purposeful. Then you’re not defined as that, you’ve used it to define who you’re going to be. It’s not easy, but who said anything that any of our goals are easy. I’m very motivated for the team to work through undesirable circumstances to achieve their best selves and our best versions of the team. That takes work. That takes 100 percent commitment from everyone. It’s not for everybody, but what we’re trying to do isn’t anyway.”
(At risk of overstepping what’s my business, you sound fairly emotional today. You were just talking about emotion. Is that OL Connor Williams? Is that the loss? If that’s not my business, that’s fine.) – “I wouldn’t say emotional. I’m excited for the work in front of us. So I guess I’m convicted. If it’s coming across as emotion, I’m just generally an emotional guy. But there’s conviction in what I see from that tape from the game yesterday and I think that it’s as clear as day to me on what needs to be done with regard to handling a disappointment like that. The biggest thing is you have to work through all that stuff, get better from it, than focus on the Jets. It is that simple and easy, but very hard to do in practice and that’s kind of the direction I’m going. If you’re going to ask me not to be emotional, you’re going to have to ask me not to be me any day. You’ve been there. You say the right topic and I’ll go to half-tears in a heartbeat. It’s not a big deal. I’m pumped for the work week and the gains that our team can make.”
Austin Jackson – December 12, 2023
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Tuesday, December 12, 2023
OL Austin Jackson
(You guys have done such a great job on the offensive line despite shuffling on the line and having a lot of guys in and out. Did last night feel like a lot of that caught up to you guys, with four starters being out at one time, with you being the one guy in?) – “That played a factor. There is a lot of things that went wrong. I’ll take accountability for myself. The offensive line, I’d say there were things we could’ve done better to put ourselves in better situations. In terms of who was in there, and who was up, we all practice, we all put in the same hours a day, and a little more. We’re just going to be accountable with whoever is in there that we got to do the job.”
(What can you guys do better in the red zone?) – “We got to execute and then score, first and foremost. Getting down there and not scoring is unacceptable. That’s just a clear-cut execution on our part. We got to execute and handle things. Even if it’s little things, just handle things we need to do to score.”
(I don’t think there is enough appreciation for the job OL Connor Williams have done this year, and what he’s meant to this offensive line. I’m not going to ask you about an injury update, it’s not your place to give one. Just your conversations with him have been what? And if you’re going to have to go forward without him, what does that mean for your line?) – “The conversations with him have been to get better. He’s a hell of a player. We definitely would love to have him with us playing. It would hurt if he wasn’t able to come back. Either way it goes, we all have to show up and do our jobs. He’s a hell of a player I agree, and I think he’s very, very important to our offense.”
(When you’ve got four backups on the offensive line, it’s not ideal. But right now, not knowing what the situation is like for this week, how are you guys moving forward and tightening up that unit, and get it back to where you guys were before last night’s loss?) – “First things first, we already came in and watched the film together. We have to dissect what we did wrong and make it right, first and foremost. The guys that were in there getting those reps, we get to see the things they did well, which is good for confidence, and we get to see the things they get to work on, which can be good for confidence if you look at it the right way. You get another opportunity to go into the next week and get better. That’s just where we’re at. We’re just regrouping, staying present and focusing on the stuff we need to do to execute this offense.”
(From a positive standpoint, you guys had 101 rushing yards in the first half. Is that something you can build on?) – “Definitely, definitely. I think we take pride in the run game and making sure our assignments are correct. I don’t think we executed very well in the run game from an offensive line standpoint, in terms of some assignments and coaching plans we had made throughout the week. There were things we wanted to attack in their defense that we didn’t fully get done. We’ll just take full responsibility of that and get better.”
(I was going to ask you about the run game. I am surprised you said that because I thought you guys did very well and were very effective with 158 yards. What did you see in the run game? I still think it was a good run night, 158 yards. What does that mean for the offense? What does that mean for December football? So your assessment of last night and then the overall run game in December, how crucial is that?) – “First things first, we didn’t win. If you don’t win, there’s a lot of stuff you can do to win. Not winning makes you look at the past to see what you did wrong. It makes you look at the runs, even if for the most part they did well. You still look back and see what plays, ok this could’ve put us over the top even though we were struggling maybe in this section. So we just go back and analyze everything and be really critical.”
(What’s the importance of the run game? December football, Baltimore is the only cold locale you’re going to soon. But just having that element, how significant is that to the offense?) – “It’s huge. I think most, if not all, offenses need to stay balanced to a certain degree. It makes it harder on the defense. It keeps them guessing, thinking about more things. So I think going into December football, the more versatile you can be – run, pass, play action, all that stuff. If you’re able to execute on the majority, if not everything, then you’re in a great spot for December football, where you have to execute on every opportunity.”
(There’s a huge difference between the overall operation of the offense and QB Tua Tagovailoa’s play when Tua is kept clean versus when he’s pressured and hit a lot and sacked. Can you speak on the significance of that from this line?) – “We have to keep him clean, first and foremost. Heavy is the crown, and we love to wear it. That’s us. We have to be better. We have to make sure we’re on point with where we need to be with our techniques to keep him safe and clean in the pocket as best as we can, and execute at the end of the day.”
Cedrick Wilson Jr. – December 12, 2023
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Tuesday, December 12, 2023
WR Cedrick Wilson Jr.
(You saw WR Tyreek Hill go down last night. What was your reaction knowing you’d be taking on a larger role?) – “My immediate reaction is making sure my brother is ok and making sure he’s healthy and it’s not nothing serious. When you see guys get tackled like that, it usually ends up being very bad, so that was my first reaction. The second was just go in there and do my job, which is to go out there and catch the ball that is thrown to me and block my assignment.”
(This offense has been focused a lot on WR Tyreek Hill, but how do things change when he’s not in there, when he’s not on the field? How did that change for you guys in the game?) – “I just felt like we weren’t moving the ball. Whether it was run or pass, we just weren’t getting it done. There wasn’t much else to it.”
(Talk to me about the mentality of this team. You guys were good last year during the five-game losing streak. You seemed to bounce back very well this year. You haven’t had any back-to-back loses. What’s the locker room like today and what was it like last night, in your opinion?) – “I just feel like disappointment. A lot of anger just of what we left out there. Obviously we came out struggling a little bit and then we kind of got it together with the lead that we built up, and then we just didn’t finish it. The frustration of incompletion was what we had, and you could feel it throughout the guys. I wouldn’t say any guy strayed away from the overall goal but just frustration of incompletion.”
(I know missing personnel is part of the game. But the offensive line, you have all of that shuffling. You’re missing LB Jaelan Phillips, who won’t be back. S Jevon Holland and LB Jerome Baker are out. Is a legitimate explanation – not an excuse, but a legitimate explanation for what happened last night?) – “The explanation was not scoring enough points to win the game. That’s the overall explanation. When guys get hurt, the next guy has to come in and perform. I feel like the guys did that to the best of their abilities. I would say the only part that was difficult is the guys that were in obviously don’t get many reps in the game, so you got to get comfortable when you’re out there. That’s probably the only overall difference. Obviously the guys that you are naming are top guys in the league, and if you don’t have them in the game, there is going to be some different factors. But the guys that were in the game go out there, practice and try just as hard as those guys do. We just didn’t get the overall goal done.”
(When we saw QB Tua Tagovailoa kind of reload a lot, double clutch and then go through his second or third read, it would suggest that maybe sometimes they were doing a pretty good job not allowing separation. Is that what you saw today? Is separation something that could be improved upon, and if so, what did the Titans do to make that scenario?) – “I haven’t fully went over what Tua saw and what he didn’t see. That would have to be a question for him. I’m not going to answer for him. But knowing him, if he clutched, it couldn’t have been there because usually he hits people when they are open. You would have to ask him that question. They did their defensive scheme and they played it to the best of their ability. Just like we go out to practice, they go out to practice and they executed what they wanted to do.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel last night noted red zone inefficiencies. Missed opportunities in the red zone was the number one reason for the loss, along with several others. What wasn’t going well in the red zone, and in the same thought, could you speak to your fade on third-and-goal at the 2? Can you take us through that play too?) – “The red zone, we have to come out with points, where it’s field goals – most of the time we need touchdowns. That’s how you separate in the game. That’s definitely a failed opportunity. I feel like for us, our goal is always a touchdown. Three points or obviously zero are always a failure. You said third-and-2, that’s just a missed opportunity. Next time hopefully we get it done.”
(A lot of times we hear that teams when they are defending you guys, they try to make QB Tua Tagovailoa throw outside the numbers and take away the middle of the field. Was that part of Tennessee’s strategy last night? Is that what you saw?) – “Yeah. I definitely saw them have an alert player from inside the numbers just roaming around and trying to guess which in breakers we were running. But we definitely had some plays out there we wish we could have back. We just have to get the job done next time.”
Christian Wilkins – December 12, 2023
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Tuesday, December 12, 2023
DT Christian Wilkins
(After you got a chance to look at the tape, what do you think went wrong those last couple of drives in the fourth quarter?) – “The biggest thing is in those situations, we need to be a little more locked in and a little more focused, when we get into those situations where you gotta have it. I feel like other than maybe a drive or a few plays throughout the game, we were pretty solid. It’s just when those moments are a little bigger in the game, you need to be a little more locked in. That’s definitely important. You need to be ready to play your best ball in those situations.”
(I know LB Bradley Chubb mentioned in the locker room last night that he felt like maybe you guys took your foot off the gas a little bit up two scores. Did you feel that from that side of the ball?) – “Well obviously it’s a tough situation giving up that many points that late in the game. Like I said, we were pretty solid but we have to have a foot on the throat mentality and get the job done and finish it out. It’s never done. You have to be ready to play a full 60-minute ball game.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on the pass rush. We saw that there was one sack. I know you guys are without LB Jaelan Phillips and LB Jerome Baker. What did you think? I think you had eight quarterback hits. Did you think the pass rush was effective all game? What did you think of the pass rush on Tennessee’s final two possessions?) – “Yeah, I thought we were doing a decent job. Watching the tape, there’s things you can obviously clean up and make better. It’s like that every game, whether you have one sack or five sacks. There’s always more opportunities out there and things you can clean up. But I thought we were active all game. We were getting back there and had pressure in his face and different things like that. They did a good job of mixing things up with a few play-actions or getting the ball out quick. A lot of different things. But I thought we were solid there. And again, like I talked earlier just when the moment’s get a little bigger in the game, you just have to be better. I don’t think it was necessarily bad or anything. Just continuing on the trend of when those moments are bigger, we have to be at our best.”
(The run defense was really, really strong. You guys were very effective against RB Derrick Henry. How do you view the run defense last night?) – “Yeah, it was solid. There are still some things that we can be better at. Every play wasn’t perfect, but definitely solid. Just continue to build on it and move forward.
(We saw on Hard Knocks that Head Coach Mike McDaniel made a big emphasis on not repeating last December where one loss cascaded into three, four or five. As a leader, what’s your role in making sure that doesn’t happen?) – “The biggest thing is the 24-hour rule in the NFL. We all have to look in the mirror and be grown men about this. What happened last night, take it on the chin. The most important thing is beating the Jets now. We have to turn the page really fast, and even faster now with a short week. The longer we sit and think about this one, even though it’s a tough loss, that’s not going to do anything for everybody. The most important thing now is today. Focus on getting better today, watching the tape, doing what we need to and learning from us so that we have a good week on a short week.”
Duke Riley – December 12, 2023
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Tuesday, December 12, 2023
LB Duke Riley
(How did the whole operation go for you guys with you as the Mike linebacker and the green dot, just can you tell us how that all went down?) – “It went pretty well. A couple of third down calls, it got really loud in there so we kind of had to, I guess you could say signal some of the calls in, but I think it went pretty well. We all got it communicated. they started to do a little hurry-up towards the end of the game and at the end of the second half, I believe. It went well. It’s something I do every day so it’s not like I’m not prepared for it.”
(You mentioned some of the hurry-up late in the game. What do you think went into some of the missed communications that went down in the secondary late?) – “I got to go back and watch the tape. I’ve got to re-watch it again and watch it with my coach and we’ll go from there, but things happen. We’ve just got to be more detailed and have more focus. That’s really it, starting with myself.”
(The thing so far this season has kind of been you guys have beaten yourselves. You haven’t really gotten beat. Do you agree that that was the case last night and is that any better than being outplayed by the opponent?) – “There’s a lot of things that we’ve done to put ourselves in some situations in that game yesterday, but it happens in the NFL. No one’s perfect. I can tell you one thing, there’s no one on this team that wants to make a mistake and everyone wants to play well and do well for each other and we come to work every single day and we work hard. We focus on the day, like we always speak of, focus on the day that’s in front of us and I feel like we do a really good job of that. It’s just sometimes things happen. That’s life. We’re human. We’re not perfect and people make mistakes starting with (me) – I make some as well.”
(Tell me about the mentality of this team because it’s always seemed good. Even last year during the five-game losing streak you guys seemed to keep your heads up. How has it been this season? How was it last night? How is it today?) – “We’ve got a lot of good-character guys on this team so I know one thing, we’re going to learn from this game and it’s just only going to make us better. That’s just like everything we do in life, especially with the guys that we have and the leaders that we have and the captains and leadership that we have on this team. I know that we’re going to look at this game and only get better from it and only make corrections. It’s a blessing and a curse at the same time. No one wants to lose. I know for a fact no one wants to lose in this building. I hate losing. Everyone does. But I know one thing – you learn from every time make a mistake. We have a lot of grown men in this building and a lot of people, like I said, with good character and are going to come back to the drawing board and not point the finger, look at themselves and see what they can do better and improve on, just like myself.”
(What’s the challenge with Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense of having moving parts? You guys had a lot – you were one of them – of players that probably weren’t envisioned in the role that you maybe played last night. What’s it take to make it work when you have a bunch of guys that are the next man up?) – “I think a lot of guys have been playing ball their whole life, just like myself. And even when I’m not in that role of being an every-down guy like I was last night, I’m always prepared to be in it. I always look at myself like I’m in it. I don’t go to practice and be like, ‘hey, I’m not going to play this week.’ Something could happen at practice and we’ve seen it happen over and over on every team, so the last thing I do is prepare or go into a game thinking that I’m not going to play. I prepare like I’m a starter regardless of the situation and I think a lot of guys do that as well. At practice, we even rotate a lot of guys in just for moments like that. We always give guys reps. We always keep everyone involved and all of our meetings are pretty much – there’s a lot of communication going on, a lot of people make sure everybody’s on the same page. We always do call outs so everyone on the defense is on the same page. We do a lot of individual meetings with just the players and we all get together to make sure that we’re doing the right things and we’re all on the same page. So like I said, people make mistakes and I know one thing, we have the right group of men on this team that’s going to go back to the drawing board and make the corrections, including myself.”
(I’m wondering even when you’re not starting, how vocal of a guy are you with the team and then how much will you go at a time like this when your team maybe needs leaders stepping up and things like that?) – “I love the game so much that I’m probably one of the most – I mean, everyone can tell you I’m probably one of the most vocal guys on the team. I’m always speaking up and being loud and answering questions and standing in there every single day. At practice, I’m always – I learn plays that I see, things that I see. And yeah, it’s just ball, man. I love the game. It’s what I do and my favorite moment is being on the field so I have the most fun out there and communicating is something I’ve done really well throughout my life.”
(I know you guys don’t want to make any excuses for what happened last night, but is part of the explanation missing personnel – S Jevon Holland, LB Jaelan Phillips, LB Jerome Baker?) – “The building and the organization do a great job of selecting the guys that we get on the 53-man roster every year and it’s always next-man-up mentality. We know that. I feel like everyone on the team can make plays regardless. You just have to be out there. If you’re out there and you’re doing your job and you’re focused on the right and you’re detailed, the plays will come to you if you’re just doing your job. Everyone has to play fundamentally sound football and we didn’t do that as well on some plays yesterday and it came back, and as you can tell, we lost the game.”
(When you are missing personnel and the offensive line is probably the best example of this, how tough is it to adjust? You can speak to it on replacing LB Jerome Baker, but how tough is it? I know that’s part of your job, but there’s got to be a level of difficulty there, right?) – “Some guys play different, some guys see things different and they move different. Yeah, you get that. I can’t speak from an offensive perspective because o-line is a totally different thing that I’ve never done – but as a ‘backer, especially a Mike ‘backer, it’s just all about communication. The more you communicate, the better everyone plays and even if you make the wrong call or if you make a call that wasn’t called and everybody is on the right page, it still doesn’t mean that you’re wrong. If you make the wrong call and everybody is playing that play, then you’re not wrong. You just made a different call than you were supposed to. So I think that’s really all it’s about, just overcommunicating, especially when you don’t have the guys like Jevon Holland who is a great communicator in the back end, and (Jerome) Baker who is a great communicator like myself. Just stuff like that. In those situations, it’s all about overcommunicating, making sure that everyone is on the right page and the same page.”
(Last night, you guys for the most part, were able to keep them off the board until those last two drives and on those two drives, they were getting more than 10, 11 yards per play. Was fatigue a factor at that point, do you think?) – “I wouldn’t say fatigue. I would just say details and getting back to the fundamentals and doing what we do. Watching the tape, there’s a lot of things that we go over and talk about every single day. Like I said, it’s just during those moments, you just need to be more detailed and overcommunicate more than you’ve ever done. Starting with me, we have to get better with that.”
(And from the outside looking in, it seems like a kind of difficult loss to swallow. It was such a stunning fashion the way the game ended. Can you see how at least from the outside looking in how hard it might be for a team to get over a loss like this?) – “Yeah, I know from the outside looking in, but from the inside looking out, it’s tough. It was hard on everybody. We don’t expect to lose with the people we have on the field, regardless of who’s out there, to be honest with you. And in that game, it was like a surreal moment. It didn’t feel real, but it happened and at the end of the day, like I said, we have the right men. We’ve got grown men in this building who come to work and guys with great character who are going to get back to the drawing board and learn from everything that we’ve done wrong, and I know that for a fact. We’ve got another game, a division opponent,this weekend and we’re going to focus on each day and we’re going to get better as a team, like we always do.”
Jalen Ramsey – December 11, 2023 (Postgame)
Monday, Dec. 11, 2023
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey
(It seemed like there was a play where Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins caught a pass and there might have been like a miscommunication. I don’t know if you could tell us maybe what happened on that play. And one of those late fourth quarter drives looked like he was near you, but maybe not your guy, I don’t know if your guys were out of zone.) – “Dover route? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Another one of those execution things. We got to execute a little bit better. I just got to continue doing what I got to do. Maybe be a little bit tighter, squeeze it a little bit more. And I got to watch the play I didn’t really see, but maybe we’ll hope for a little underneath help on that. But I really got to watch the film to see exactly what happened. I didn’t even watch that play after I’m on the sideline, so I got to see exactly what went on”
( As a veteran, how do you handle a loss like this? Do you do extra work and all that, or do you just go back to your routine?) – “I work hard as hell. I work my ass off every single day, no matter win, lose, it don’t matter. I work my ass off regardless. That’s just the respect I have for the game. I feel that way about my teammates as well. It’s more so just fixing the little things. I keep going back to execution, fixing those things. Maybe that’s being a little bit more detailed in our work. And our communication, we did have a couple guys down. I don’t like to use excuses, but when you don’t get to practice with certain guys, that hurts a little bit sometimes. But regardless, it’s just football, man and we got to figure out a way to play better in those moments.”
