Mike McDaniel – August 23, 2022
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Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(We got the news about CB Mackensie Alexander going on IR. If you could just update us please on where you stand at corner. Are CB Nik Needham and DB Keion Crossen good to go this week? Are you guys looking for more veteran help with Mackensie now out?) – “Yeah, it’s been a long time since I first or after the game – and you know, there’s some medical undertakings that go in that process and so that was unfortunate. Really unfortunate for him, specifically, because you just feel like you just got him and he was doing some good work out there, so that was unfortunate. As far as Nik, he’s good to go. And then Keion is day to day just really, really trying to be proactive and not stress a guy that’s been really, really getting better, and doing good things. So as it stands right now, we are a week away from the final roster cuts around the league. Right now all that means is there’s some guys that have been getting opportunities that will continue to get some good opportunities. I feel pretty good about all the development that we’ve had at that position. And, you know, it’s kind of twofold. I’ve got the whole coaching staff really just focused on these guys taking advantage of their opportunities and making sure that they continue to progress and correct, which is the nuts and bolts of how you’re successful in this league. While you know Chris (Grier) and his staff are kind of preparing for who’s going to be out there in a week, so that we can make the best decisions for the 53 for the Miami Dolphins. This is the nature of NFL football and I would be a lot more concerned if I didn’t really like the guys that are on our roster that really did some good stuff on Saturday.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa when he was asked about the run game after the Raiders game, he mentioned that a lot of the plays were very basic. Things like that. Do you expect that to continue this week in joint practices leading up to the season finale or do you plan on switching it up?) – ”No, I would – again, like I told you I’m pretty well-versed in preseason football. And no, I look at it more like okay, what are we going against? How are they playing? And what should we do? Are things in the run game a product of three or four guys and how they’re operating? Or is it one player on each play? More than anything really this preseason, we haven’t got stuff going because it’s been one or two guys off, which I’m more concerned about the players, whether they learn from that are not. Joint practices generally you’re a little more comfortable doing not the one-on-one version of your run game, pass game, defense. But I wouldn’t see myself – again I look at a collection of things. I want stuff to be better from that Raiders game and I want I want us to run the ball well, but at the same time, I think our players are pretty confident and the coaching staff I know is, that we’re going to be fine moving forward. We just have to get better from stuff. That’s what I’m concerned about. So my philosophy’s not going to change. That’s something that’s par for the course in preseason sometimes. Depending on what the other team is trying to work on and do and what they’re concerned about, sometimes you have awesome – I think I’ve had 180-yard running games in seasons that you haven’t finished high in rushing yards and vice versa. So it’s just kind of par for the course.”
(Getting back to the cornerback position. Because things are so basic in preseason, when you’re evaluating guys, you want the guys that it comes easy to the basic stuff, right? You can work with the guy that does the basic stuff, right?) – “Right. And you’re also doing on both sides of the ball, you’re really trying to be basic for that sense because you want to see how they can perform without schematic help necessarily. Offensively and defensively, you call games different because you are trying to – there’s a portion of it that you’re really trying to not just hold back the stuff that you’re going to do in the regular season, but you’re also trying to put people in positions to prove themselves. We had a ton of man coverage in this past game, a ton of it for that reason, so that we could evaluate people at all positions. And that’s a very important thing. Now, we might show up at games and do the same thing. You know, who knows, but the purpose of doing it was just for the reason you’re talking about, because we’re trying to evaluate and see how people can do the fundamentals and technique that we talk about at length each and every day.”
(Do you find it easier to evaluate, analyze players in those specific situations you could put them in joint practices, as opposed to the big game format of preseason? And also, what are you looking forward to most in the final preseason game?) – “Yeah, the joint practices are easier because there’s a good majority that you can dictate the terms. You make sure you get a certain amount of plays, you can dictate how much run versus pass. Those things are kind of controlled, whereas in a game you can’t control whether or not you have multiple possessions in the first quarter, and you can’t really determine whether or not – people call games off of the momentum of it. So, you end up adjusting to what’s being called or trying to dictate the terms of what you call so it’s a lot easier there. And joint practices really, that is my favorite part of the preseason, in general, is when you do get those opportunities to practice against other people. It’s such a great opportunity for both sides of the ball to defend against and to run your offense against different techniques, coverages, alignments, assignments, all that stuff. That is what you have to do to be successful in the NFL season, is adjust. So it is really fun. It breaks stuff up. We’ve been doing this – I feel like I’ve been meeting you guys in this room for couple months now. Maybe it’s been one, but training camp does get monotonous to guys, and so it’s a great way to really break stuff up and make sure you keep that competitive nature. Going through the process and before you start preparing for your Week 1 opponent.”
(What did you guys think of Devonta Smith and/or Jalen Hurts when you kind of assessed them in your previous stop?) – “Yeah, both players were both very good players that I think that when we were evaluating him, we knew him as ‘Slim Reaper.’ That dude is awesome. I really respect his game, how he goes about his business. I’ve always had an intrigue with guys that can be on the slimmer side and play the game physically. He’s a cool player. And Jalen (Hurts), yeah, I’ve seen him coming out, know his path. I think he wasn’t a first-round draft pick and that bothered him. And he did the best thing that you can do as a player and that’s prove other teams wrong. I think he’s really developing in his pass game, like he’s always been able to throw real well, but as far as the timing and how he competes in that way. And then they do a great job featuring him in the run game as well. So both players – were very, very interested in when they came out. We just specifically, the ‘Slim Reaper,’ we knew we weren’t going to have an opportunity to draft him, but we thought it’d be cool if we could.”
(I know you have to be true to your process before…) – “Oh, the process. It’s always about the process…”
(Have you already made a decision on this week based on playing all the starters this past week?) – “No, I mean what I say with that. I have feelings that it’s impossible for you not to be like, ‘alright, well, I would anticipate X, Y or Z,’ but they are just feelings. I truly let each practice play itself out. And then where are individual players, and what does that trickle-down have to do with other players. So I would tell you my feeling, but I feel like that’d be irresponsible and weird, if I just came up here and told you my feelings all the time. (laughter) So we’re going let stuff play out a little bit and then address each and every player for what they need. And there’s also a lot of things that go on. There’s a lot of decisions to be made. We have a good amount of depth at a lot of positions. We have NFL players really scratching and clawing to make the roster so I do not want that decided anywhere but the field. So those guys have to get themselves in there, too. So a lot to do, a lot of exciting stuff for Miami Gardens this week, with the Philadelphia Eagles for every single player on the roster, because this is where everything comes to comes to fruition and you get to find out who your group of men are that you’re going to war with for the upcoming season.”
(So what are your feelings? If you were to not play most of your starters this week, you would be going into the regular season without seeing, “a dress rehearsal” for most guys, like for QB Tua Tagovailoa playing with WR Tyreek Hill and so forth. Would you be comfortable with that based on how they’ve looked in practice?) – “Yeah, I mean in theory, I could go – I really like where we’ve developed on both sides of the ball. In theory, you could – I think what you guys are seeing across the league is a bunch of organizations and coaching staffs and head coaches trying to adjust to three preseason games. Because there’s way more variance in the protocol. It was like clockwork when it was four preseason games, but it’s not just that it’s only three, it’s that there’s two weeks until the regular season begins. So those compounding variables make it kind of tricky. I believe the Super Bowl champions last year didn’t play anybody the entire preseason. I know Matthew Stafford didn’t, but then, philosophically, it kind of gears everything towards my belief anyway, which is it is case by case and I don’t like absolutes. I think there’s a lot of people in that same boat because there is not an exact formula. You’re trying to get guys to play together and you want those opportunities. Well, some guys, that’s not as big a deal for because they’re vested veterans that have done it, that have 100 games under their belts or whatever. Then you’re also trying to weigh the risk that everyone undertakes every time they’re on the football field. It’s really a maddening, non-perfect formula. But I feel very, I’m happy and I feel like I’m very lucky to be able to have that burden of decision on my plate, so that’s something that I don’t take lightly trying to figure out the best formula for the final product. But to do that, for me, I have to just let the process play out and ignore my feelings, which I don’t think you’re that interested in because right now I’m hungry. (laughter) Is that worth writing? Well, I am hungry, maybe I’ll explore more feelings moving forward.”
(How hopeful are you that when FB Alec Ingold is able to play in games, that he will have a positive impact in the run game? In what ways can he help?) – “The fullback position in general, is something that I believe does assist a lot of other players, not just his assignment, but how offensive linemen are able to execute their stuff. So I firmly believe in that. I guess – you know what, I’m just, I’m feeling in a great mood. My feeling is that Alec (Ingold) will get some time here Saturday, for that very reason. Boom, there we go. (laughter) But it is an asset that not just – that position in particular, ultimately affects really all the positions with how to do their job when you’re schematically setting up a play. So it’ll be exciting to see him get some joint work without a red jersey which is, by the way, one of the more confusing things – fullbacks and red jerseys (laughter) – but nothing we haven’t been able to handle. It’s just another obstacle we’ve had to climb this this offseason. But yeah, I think it will be cool to have him out on the field this week and hopefully everything goes well so that we can see a little bit of him on the game.
(We saw TE Hunter long get some pretty good run in the game on Saturday, how would you kind of measure his progress since you’ve been here?) – “Hunter Long had a very good week of practice in particular. He started off really, really good in OTAs and then I think if you even asked him himself, there was a little bit of time where he just kind of was out there and he wasn’t making that many plays in the run and pass game. And specifically, his position coach Jon Embree, had a heart-to-heart with him about a week ago just checking on him, and he really turned it up. So those are the things that I really, really look for, as a coach when you’re looking at players, is how do they handle any sort of adversity. So that being a light adversity, he had his best week of practice last week, and I thought he played very, very good in the game. One of the reasons that you call in the redzone, you go for it on fourth-and-7, is not because that’s your philosophy in the preseason, or just your philosophy in football. I was excited for a fourth-and-7 play to be called because I wanted to see what players would do what in a big moment. Alright, it’s fourth-and-7. Do they all of a sudden make stuff up and go rogue? Or do you see their best version of whatever route they’re running on the field and Hunter was in on that play, and he ran one of my favorite routes on the concept we ran that he’s ever run. That told me a lot. That was cool to see. And I’m excited for him joint practices to build upon specifically his last week of work, which I thought was outstanding.”
Melvin Ingram – August 23, 2022
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Tuesday, August 23, 2022
LB Melvin Ingram
(QB Tua Tagovailoa had mentioned that you, CB Xavien Howard, and some of the other veteran guys wanted to get out there, but Head Coach Mike McDaniel was being cautious there. From your vantage point, watching the defense, what did you like and what were your impressions?) – “A lot of guys flying around. I feel like we’ve got a chance to be special. There’s a lot of guys playing complementary football out there, flying around making plays, getting 11 hats to the ball. We did a good job of that.”
(What do you like about this defense as a whole?) – “It’s young. It’s young and it’s hungry, and that’s the key. When you have a young, hungry defense, you have a chance to be special for a long time.”
(Can you compare it to any other defense you’ve been on?) – “I don’t like doing that. This defense has its own unique style and it’s something special.”
(How do you feel where you’re at?) – “I feel great. I feel amazing. I’m sweating a little bit. (laughter)”
(These Miami Augusts are a little different, huh?) – “It’s cool. I’ve been down here a lot so I’m not tripping. It’s great weather. What other place would you rather be at?”
(Tomorrow you’re going to be facing the Philadelphia Eagles for a joint practice. How do you feel like the team is going to perform tomorrow?) – “We’re going to come out and step up to the challenge. We’re going to always do that no matter where we’re at. We’re going to come out and do it. We’re going to play football. It’s going to be another day. another day at the office. Put that hard hat on and go to work.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that in some cases, he kind of views the joint practices and overall training camp practices are more beneficial or more telling than a preseason game because you can dictate certain terms, whether it’s zone or third down.) – “Yeah, you get a chance to go against another opponent and it’s a practice style environment where you can do move the ball, run and you can control everything. It’s always good to do things like that. The preseason is always good too. You get to go out and fully tackle and see players do their thing. It’s always a good thing to go out and have joint practices.”
Salvon Ahmed – August 23, 2022
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Tuesday, August 23, 2022
RB Salvon Ahmed
(I know after the first two preseason games, a talking point has been you guys aren’t getting as many rushing yards as you would have hoped. What has been the message and focus on getting the run game going?) – “Just coming out here and getting better every single day. I think that’s the goal with everything with every part of the game – the run game, passing, blocking, everything. You want to get better in every part of the game. There’s no worry. You just come out here and try to get better. That’s what practice is for and that’s what we keep doing.”
(Where do you think you’ve grown the most in this outside zone running scheme? I know you had a 12-yarder on the concept last weekend.) – “Just growing up and maturing – maturing in the game. I think you feel that also in life but in the game. You just kind of understand things a little bit more. But yeah, I love being a part of it. It’s been fun.”
(I know we talked in the past couple of years about coming in as an undrafted guy and kind of having to compete again with this running back room. Do you feel like the past kind of better prepared you for this? If so, how?) – “It’s been a fun process. Every year is fun. I enjoy being out here every single year and being a part of this squad. There’s a lot to learn from each year. I’m just trying to learn as much possible, keep coming out here and keep getting better.”
Alec Ingold – August 23, 2022
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Tuesday, August 23, 2022
FB Alec Ingold
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that there’s one player he can reveal will be playing on Saturday. Guess who?) – “I shed the red jersey and now I can play? I can finally play.”
(How do you feel about that?) – “It’s been a long time coming. I love playing football. As a football player, you love playing football and I’ve spent way too long in film rooms and on practice fields. It’s time to go strap up with these guys, so I’m really excited.”
(Who was the last guy that wasn’t a Dolphin that you hit hard in a game?) – “I mean it was against the Chiefs my last game. That’s kind of how it is. Any time you step on the field, you have to strap up tight and you have to be ready to bite down on that mouth guard. Yeah, I’m really excited to play against the Eagles in the preseason, get everything rolling and get all greased up and ready to go for September.”
(What have you been watching in the run game and what does this run game need to do to get going?) – “I think it’s all about the details and I think we’ve got a lot of guys that are detail-oriented. A lot of talent. A lot of character. It’s just staying on schedule. It’s staying on all of these installs and not taking anything lightly. Every detail and every play we have on the practice field, you have to have all of the intent in the world to make it better, make it go and then it’s time to translate it onto the game field. It’s really exciting.”
(Talking about the speed, how quick do you have to get to where you’ve got to be before the guys ever…) – “I’m full speed all of the time because we’ve got some fast guys behind me. It’s a challenge to get out there in front of these guys and read quick. No hesitation. You’ve got to be able to (read your) pre-snap keys and then go play. It’s challenging but that’s why we’re here. That’s why we want to play ball here and run the ball well.”
(I asked Head Coach Mike McDaniel about how an effective fullback can help the running back. He always brings up things that I don’t think of. He said he can help the offensive linemen. Fill me in – how do you think a fullback can help an offensive line or lineman?) – “Lineman, they line up and they’re in the trenches. You’re nose to nose, face to face, facemask to facemask, and they’ve got those cages on. So they’re seeing things quick. As a fullback, I’ve got five yards to be able to read things, be able to see the defense. I have one of the best seats in the house. So any time there’s any late stems, any late rotation, in the backfield we can pick that up and we can adjust. Everyone is going to take responsibility for it but as a fullback, you definitely want to help the guys in front of you and then the guy behind you too.”
(On that catch, were you in?) – “Oh, yeah. Yeah, a little toe drag swag. No doubt. (laughter)”
(How does your approach and your skillset compare to the likes of WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle?) – “(laughter) They’re about polar opposites but I think that’s why opposites attract is what they say. I think we’re going to have a smashmouth, physical run game, and those guys are going to bring the speed and we’re going to mesh well. Hopefully I can open some things up for them. That’s why I’m here. I’m here to serve everybody else on this offense. Hopefully I can do that for the passing game as well.”
(Your injury was last November, right?) – “Yep, I had surgery on Thanksgiving.”
(So that’s like nine months. Where are you at at nine months?) – “We set up a schedule and everyone that’s been a part of this recovery – all of the staff, the surgeon, everyone included – this was the plan from the jump. So to be able to execute that, not have any hold-up and to be able to out here and perform and be with the boys, this is what you dream of. I’m really fortunate, blessed and thankful – all the synonyms you can think of.”
(How many snaps would you like on Saturday?) – “As many as I can get. As many as I can get. Throw me in there as long as I can go. I want to be on the field as much as possible, for sure.”
(Have you spoken to FB Kyle Juszczyk? Have you been able to text or talk with him? Or at least watch film?) – “I watch him every day. He’s like the best teach tape you can possibly get. In every single cut-up we have, it’s straight teach tape. You get 30 plays of ‘Juice’ (Kyle Juszczyk) going and blocking exactly how he was supposed to. It’s great film to watch and I’m learning on the fly as fast as I possibly can. Yeah, you’ve got the best highlight reel you can possibly ask for for a fullback.”
Mike McDaniel – August 21, 2022
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Sunday, August 21, 2022
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(l was going to ask you aside from CB Byron Jones, is there anyone on the team whose status must play out, is there anybody on the team whose status you think is in question for the regular season opener based on the injury information you’ve gotten?) – “I think all of the guys that we’ve discussed that are on the active roster, there’s no surprises at all. We’re working diligently to change that PUP to full go, and when that happens, we’ll have more information. But no, there’s not off the top my head any surprises. I try not to keep surprises from you guys.”
(I guess I’ll a little bit more specific. With CB Byron Jones, do you expect him this week to be able to practice?) – “With Byron, you really don’t have to worry about there being any secret agenda. It’s the same as it has been. The thing with him is you guys will know immediately when he’s able to practice because then he’ll be taken off PUP. There won’t be any surprise attacks with that.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle and T Terron Armstead, we saw Waddle miss a few practices. Armstead one and a half, kind of… and obviously didn’t play in the preseason game. How are they?) – “Both of them are doing real well. With (Terron) Armstead, that’s a guy that’s done it in the league at a high level and we’re trying to make sure that he’s ready to go Week 1. We evaluate that on a day-to-day basis. He’s been practicing but we’re trying not to overload him. He’s invested a good amount this offseason – more typically than he usually does. We’re just trying to be smart with that. I don’t have any concerns for Week 1 at all. The plan is that you guys will see him a little bit this week for sure. With Waddle, that’s just an exercise of restraint because I think I would probably be less cautious had he not come back from – out of any player on the team, his jump in the scheme from OTAs to training camp was the highest. He was doing well but kind of swimming in the playbook. I was very interested to see a second-year guy with his first offseason how he was going to come back for training camp. He exceeded my expectations and you guys know I have high expectations for him. So when we noticed something was a little tight, we really, really wanted to be preventative. We’ve been extra cautious with him just knowing where he’s at in his game within the offense and how well he’s doing. This week we plan to get him involved a little bit, but I plan to be very cautious with him as well just knowing what he means to the team and how we don’t want him to have any lingering setbacks. We want him full speed. We rely on him for a multitude of things and we want to make sure he’s comfortable and 100 percent full go. He’s starting to get pretty annoyed with how cautious we’re being, but I think it’s to his credit and I think it’s the best thing for the Dolphins and I think you guys would be mad at me if I wasn’t.”
(What goes in your process of selecting a guest speaker for the team at the team meetings? I know you all have different visitors throughout the course of this training camp, but what goes in your process of selecting?) – “Guys that have really achieved high things in whatever their walk is – football primarily. Out of all of the pool of guys, whoever says the strongest compliments to me and strokes my ego the most. (laughter) It all depends on what you’re trying to get across. We have so much access here in the city of Miami and then just the people involved in the organization to various people that have done such great things in their life whether it’s football or it’s MMA or whatever it is. It’s all about finding people that in one way, shape or form can help deliver and reiterate and give a new framing to the messaging that’s important for where our team is at. You look and see who maybe would inspire, maybe – they hear my voice every day so maybe a different voice hitting the same point at a different angle to just better hit home at things for the team to hear, as well as, I think there’s also something to be said about experiencing things together – a shared experience where you get someone who is elite at what they’re doing to come and speak and it’s pretty cool. Well, you’re sharing that with your teammates in that moment and that just kind of brings you together that much more with that shared common experience. I don’t trivialize the players’ time in the least. They know I put a lot of time into team meetings in general. So when someone is able to come into our close quarters and into our circle, it’s something they have high regard for and generally through our experience, it’s been pretty successful with getting the points across that we want to get across.”
(On the same topic I was curious what you took away from your visit with Erik Spoelstra last week and did he talk to the team?) – “That was awesome. He had some of his staff members there, too. His experience is just so unique in that he came in as a rookie head coach and I think he had pretty high expectations off the jump. Then to carry on success in different formulas – I’m not sure if this is true, but I think Boston had something going on but he’s one of the formula that’s pretty popular in the NBA now with three superstars – he had success in doing that. He also had success in different ways in maintaining one type of culture and being able to do it with a roster that was built – or really the production from the roster coming a little more spread out, seven, eight or nine people deep. We just talked really about the commonalities. It was interesting. He was pretty interested in YAC, which was a cool conversation because a lot of terms that we use for YAC, I kind of use basketball terms to kind of illustrate it. That was a cool conversation as well. It was more just can we get things from each other. Very different sports but very similar in that we’re all dealing with a time where the athletes are as athletic and finely-tuned as they ever have been in their lives. As a result, you have to train them differently. The days of – case in point – Larry Csonka and Don Shula four-a-days; those are things of the past. He even spoke about how things are a little bit different and how they approach things since 2010 and the physicality of practices and all those things. There wasa lot of commonality even though the sports are very different. It was just an awesome opportunity to have him around. I’m pretty sure that Tyreek jumped on the opportunity to land some courtside tickets in the process as well. He was grinding for that. When Tyreek first got here, he asked me for tickets to the Heat game and I said you’re talking to the wrong guy. I do not have a connection.”
(So when you’re talking basketball about spacing and ball movement and screens and picks, I’m not the biggest basketball fan and I’m not sure how much you watch. I’m sort of wondering how that relates to getting your receivers into open positions.) – “Oh you’ve got me going now. You’re dead right, though. We had the same conversation. I floated it out here because I don’t pretend to be an expert in basketball but in my experience and just generation, we’ve watched three-point percentages completely change, the range from where good shots are taken from, fast break three-pointers and just how the shooting range of players expands the defense. They have to guard more floor space, which theoretically and kind of the way we look at football specifically on offense is we’re trying to make a defense defend maximum amount of space. We do that with our principles of outside zone but also speed. One of the reasons you like speed is because now the defense has to defend more ground, so it’s kind of a similar philosophy of creating space. You do it in basketball with shooters so then you have to draw defenders out giving more space underneath and you do it in football with playing fast and having speed so that in the timing of the play defenders have to defend that much more area. Because in both sports, defenses are trying to do the same thing and that’s really, you’re really trying to compress the area that they have to defend. It was a really cool conversation. It’s something we couldn’t really forecast exactly where it was going to go but I think it was beneficial for both and I think there are some commonalities for sure in that.”
(Where do you stand on the possibility and maybe even recoil when I say this of using one roster spot out of 53 for a third-string quarterback?) – “Where do I stand? Well, as I stand behind this podium, I think the 53 is for the 53 best players. You’re open to whatever. You have to consider a lot of different things and sometimes that leaves you short or heavy in certain positions, but what I’ve found in my career is that you don’t pigeonhole yourself and make absolutes. You’d like to carry a certain amount of players and you’d like to have your cake and eat it, too, a lot of items. But when individuals’ performances merit it, you have to keep the 53 best players. I’ve done both in my career – I’ve had two, I’ve had three. There could be a scenario down the line some day that you’d want four and it might make sense. I’m not completely resistant to anything like that when we’re in the business of keeping good football players and you don’t always get to decide here they come from.”
(Your rookie class has been very productive so far the first two preseason games and I think according to the Jimmy Johnson draft chart you guys had the least amount of draft capital in that regard this year. How was that able to happen when you don’t have the draft capital, but they’re still producing at a high level?) – “You just know you can’t stop developing from the ground up so to speak on an NFL roster. So when you have limited resources – this wasn’t the first time I’ve been part of that – but you just know the stakes. The fact that you have limited resources means that you can spend more time in a given area projection of the draft. But it also puts pressure on you where you can’t afford to miss because then you have players under rookie contract – the way the CBA is written and the way the salary cap is, it catches up to you if you don’t have contributions from success of draft classes. It’s to the credit of Chris Grier and the scouting department, all of the position coaches and coordinators. When you have those limited resources, you know you need to get contribution from the class so you have to really dig your heels in and make sure that you’re not missing on those limited selections and opportunities.”
(Do you change the philosophy or practice plan from the first join practice against Tampa to the Eagles knowing you’re a little bit closer to the season?) – “I really, really test the entire building and organization with changes because it’s my philosophy to always change, to think through stuff – maybe it doesn’t change, but a lot of times you’re altering stuff depending on your exact situation. I think that’s more to do with the amount of reps that you can take and where your most depth is, the decisions you have to make in the pending future in those opportunities. Are you asking from a schematic (standpoint)?”
(Against Tampa we saw a lot of one-on-ones and high intensity stuff. Does that change or you take advantage of that now knowing you do have time off between, there’s like a week in between the last preseason game?) – “That’s the nature of joint practices. It’s hard. Guys are competitive and you plateau to a degree when you’re going against the same people all the time but then you get this random influx of different types of players and the competitor in each individual player – even if we tried to tone down in the intensity, it would be hard because they want to beat that guy across from them and prove it and they get more opportunities in joint practices where you can go a quarter as a receiver and maybe not catch man coverage or if you do catch man coverage, maybe the ball doesn’t go to you. Well, joint practice, you line up and how many one-on-one reps can I take? Because if I take six, I’m going to get six man-to-man opportunities and get the ball six times. So what I can I do with that? The only thing that we really would adjust is maybe the length of it, but the intensity and exactly what you’re doing, that’s hard to adjust and that kind of defeats the purpose of the joint practices.”
(There’s been a rising number of teams I guess in the last few years running similar variants of your offense. There’s always the offense catching up to defense, defense catching up to offense. I’m curious your early, I guess observations of how defenses are maybe adjusting to what you guys have at least shown in this point of preseason.) – “You’re exactly right. It is cyclical and people are always evolving because people are always working because there’s always competition within the coaching ranks of who can have the answers to the test. I do think that there are – the second people put something on tape that proves one way or the other on both sides of the ball to gives something problems, you’ll continue to see it again. That’s cyclical and you just kind of have to figure out how to take advantage of that because when you’re defending one thing, you’re not defending another thing. I think that started probably in 2018 – teams really started kind of showing up on game day against our offense and displaying stuff they hadn’t put on tape before. At that point in time was very concerning. It would just really rattle players and coaches alike because you just weren’t used to all of a sudden a defense showing up besides when you’d play the Patriots or something that teams were kind of what they were. But that has been something that through all those reps you kind of get used to and so it’s both the idea of having people come to game day and try stuff differently. I’ve become a lot more comfortable as the years have gone on as well as those little – it’s a copycat league so if you see edge pressure one week, you’re going to see it again and just like in the regular season it’s similar formula in the preseason because then defenses get the opportunity to say hey, well, this worked for this team. We don’t plan on doing this, so what have we got to lose? Let’s do it against this team in the preseason and throw their opponents off the scent and make them prepare for the stuff they just put in the preseason. So it’s a nice low-cost high-reward formula that fortunately – it was unfortunate at one time – but fortunately I’ve been used to and have a lot of reps at going through the years.”
QB Skylar Thompson – August 20, 2022 (Postgame)
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Saturday, August 20, 2022
Postgame – Las Vegas
QB Skylar Thompson (transcribed by Cade Tjomsland)
(You built off your performance against Tampa… Have the coaches noticed you – that maybe if they keep three quarterbacks, that you belong on that list?) – “That decision is out of my control. All I can do is focus on being the best teammate that I can possibly be every day, continue to grow and try to learn and get better. That’s really all I’m focused on right now, and everything else I know will take care of itself whichever way that may fold. This is out of my hands. I’m just here to be a good teammate – help the team the most whichever way I can.”
(What about WR Erik Ezukanma – the camp he’s had and your connection with him?) – “I came in with Erik, so we spent a lot of time together – learning the playbook and all that stuff when we first came in here. Really, we hit it off from the get-go in rookie minicamp. Erik’s always been my guy, so when the clock’s ticking and it’s time to go, I’m going to go to my guys that I trust and who are doing a good job, and he’s been doing a great job. All the guys out there with me tonight were making plays, doing the right thing, making plays for me. It makes my job a lot easier when I’ve got guys that go out there and do that. It’s up to Erik, Lynn (Bowden Jr.), Preston (Williams) and all these guys, too.”
(Did you learn anything this week, from opposed to starting, coming off the bench, (and) being able to watch a little bit from the sidelines?) – “It was definitely different. It’s hard to really simulate. You’ve got to kind of learn as you go. I just try to stay loose, stay warm, stay engaged in the game, and prepare like I’m going to be the starter again. Literally, nothing really changed at all other than that I actually did it, but my preparation and everything leading up to it was the same as it was last week.”
RB ZaQuandre White – August 20, 2022 (Postgame)
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Saturday, August 20, 2022
Postgame – Las Vegas
RB ZaQuandre White (transcribed by Joseph Squillace)
(Let’s start with that dance. Was that the “AB” Antonio Brown dance?) – “Yeah, that was the ‘AB’ (Antonio Brown) dance for sure.”
(Was that something the whole team has been working on together, or just something you busted out?) – “I just busted it out. I’ve been planning that for when I first score.”
(Could you walk us through that touchdown?) – “It was just a simple play-action pass play. I kind of figured Skylar (Thompson) was going to throw it to me. So when my opportunity came, I just had to do what I had to do.”
(Is catching balls out of the backfield something you feel is just one of your strengths?) – “I feel like that’s a strength for me. I feel like all (running) backs have got to have it nowadays because the quarterbacks throw a lot to the running backs.”
(To have that moment, knowing that a lot of guys are fighting for roster spots, the running back room is really crowded – to have that kind of moment where you stand out, how does that feel in this moment?) – “It just feels normal. Like I said, there’s a lot of (running) backs, so we’re all competing. So whenever my opportunity comes, I just go with it.”
Zach Sieler – August 20, 2022 (Postgame)
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Saturday, August 20, 2022
Postgame – Las Vegas
DT Zach Sieler (transcribed by Anthony Mozzott)
(Overall how did the first-team defense played today out there?) – “I think the defense as a whole did good. We have some things to clean up and learn from tomorrow, but we did good. We’ve just have to finished strong.”
(There was some injuries, little dings here and there in the secondary. X is out and Needham goes out. Does that put more pressure on you guys to make sure you are helping them out on the front end?) – “No, I think we always, no matter what, put as much as we can on us. Rush and coverage work together as some would always say. How we play up front is going to affect them and how they play is going to affect us. We have to help each other and be the best we can no matter what the situation.”
(How did it feel to get back in the backfield and get a sack tonight) – “It always feels good. Just finding the little things and working as a team rushing together up front and getting back to that is important.”
