Elandon Roberts – January 2, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, January 2, 2022
Postgame – Tennessee
LB Elandon Roberts (transcribed by Tennessee Titans)
(on the issues with the run game)
We have to tip our hats off to Tennessee. They came and played well offensively. We just have to watch this tape and really look at this one.
(on the state of the locker room)
Of course, with any loss, it’s emotions because week in and week out because it all goes into an opponent. We’re going to really look at this one, and we have another big opponent coming up next week and we’re going to put all our focus toward them.
Christian Wilkins – January 2, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, January 2, 2022
Postgame – Tennessee
DT Christian Wilkins (transcribed by Tennessee Titans)
(on the Dolphins’ difficulty defending the run today)
I think they kind of just figured us out. They were able to run the ball effectively, just stayed consistent with the run. A few yards here, a few yards there. They were able to pop some big ones, which is unfortunate because I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job with the run all year and we know what type of defense we are and what we can be. Tennessee’s a good team so hats off to them. They were just the better team today.
(on what the Titans did to neutralize the pressure)
Well, they ran the ball a lot for starters, so that takes away opportunities to rush the passer. They were able to run the ball effectively all game. Like I said, we just weren’t able – we just didn’t play well enough defensively and on early downs, especially stopping the run.
(on it being frustrating to have been two wins away from the playoffs before today’s game)
Not really, focused on what needs to happen. Just trying to take care of what we can take care of. We’re going to do what we’ve done all year together. Stick together. Come in tomorrow. Flush this loss. It’s definitely unfortunate though, because we’ve been experiencing a lot of winning lately, been doing a pretty good job. The recipe, the formula is still the same. 24-hour rule, flush this one. Get back to work tomorrow. Best seven days of the season yet.
Tua Tagovailoa – January 2, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 2, 2022
Postgame – Tennessee
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(When you kind of look back at some of the sloppy execution in terms of the fumble and obviously there was some rain and wind involved, how much did that play a role in some of the execution or lack of it and do you think that you were maybe prepared for that?) – “It played somewhat of a role but at the game, you got to go out there and you got to execute the plays regardless of the conditions, regardless of what it is. And, that, we just didn’t do enough of.”
(There are going to be a lot of people questioning right now if you are the quarterback who can put the Dolphins over the hump and take them to the playoffs. Why are people wrong to doubt you moving forward?) – “I think people have their own opinions. I’ve heard this the entire time I’ve been here so at the end of the day, I can control what I can control and that’s to be the best version of myself for this team. We’ve got to move on to the next game at this point. We’ll look at the mistakes that we’ve made, make some corrections and move on.”
(You mentioned the mistakes, I wanted to ask you this week as you always say, the coaches put a game plan in place and prepare you the best way possible. Leading up to this, things that worked did not work today. I know that you have to watch film but if you had to summarize, was it a miscue or mistakes out there overall by the offense?) – “If one person doesn’t do what they need to do, then it pretty much screws up the play. Whether it’s me making a certain throw, the running backs running and finding the right lane with the line blocking a certain way, the receivers’ routes. Everything matters, the little things matter. It was just poor execution on our part.”
(A key play when the game was still close and you guys drove into field goal range and then the third-down sack kind of pushed you back and then the long field goal came up just short. Can you take us through what broke down on that play?) – “Can’t take the sack. Obviously I tried to step up and fire it into Jaylen (Waddle), but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to so that’s what happened. I couldn’t execute that.”
(How would you describe the emotions for yourself and for your teammates?) – “It’s never a good feeling, losing. There’s been about seven games where we’ve been able to pull out and string some wins so, it’s tough. It’s tough to win on the road. You lose, it’s never a good feeling. It’s just back to the way we got to do things and move on to next week.”
(Specifically over the last three weeks, have you noticed any sort of difference in how defenses are playing you guys? Have they been figuring this offense out a little bit or just making a couple tweaks here and there? What’s been the difference that you’ve seen?) – “I think they really run with what they do well. There’s really not much game-planned unless it’s third down. They’ll bring some pressure here and there on normal down and distances, but other than that they stick to what they do and what they do really well. They just go out there and execute. We try to stick to what we do and try to execute, but obviously that wasn’t the case today.”
(Just to follow up do you feel like they’ve been – starting with that Jets game – do you feel like teams have been any more ready for this quick passing game, this kind of rhythm and timing passing game that you guys like to do on offense?) – “I’m not too sure as far as how they prepare for us. I think a lot of the teams that we’ve been playing, we know here within these last couple of weeks, they’re really good teams. They got veteran guys out there and their communication is at an all-time. We just got to do a better job of executing.”
(Is there a level of uncomfort playing from behind because over this winning streak you’ve been ahead for the most part?) – “No. It’s football. You’ve got to not worry about the score. You just keep your head down and you keep fighting and you try to string some good plays together to get some points on the board.”
(Your first pass was a deep pass. Second play was a pass. Was that just stuff you saw or was the game plan to come out attacking this defense? Strong defensive line obviously and what were you guys trying to do offensively today?) – “Offensively we wanted to try and push the ball downfield, get into some of the areas that we felt were going to be voided with the play-action game. We wanted to try to stay ahead of the sticks, be in manageable third downs, but that wasn’t the case with our first three series. We were third-and-9, I think third-and-10 and maybe another third-and-10. But yeah, you can’t go out there and not be able to execute on the road against a good team and expect the outcome to be good. Just needs to be better execution from us.”
Brian Flores – January 2, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 2, 2022
Postgame – Tennessee
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Obviously you expected to see a physical game, but they rushed for 198 yards on you. What happened from a defensive standpoint?) – “I think they did a good job. We’ve got to credit the Titans. They had a good plan. I thought we did some good things early and then they made some adjustments. We had some missed tackles. We had some guys out of gaps. They took advantage. We’ve got to do a better job.”
(Could you put into words the totality of what this team is feeling right now? Fighting all the way back into the playoff picture to now being on the brink of elimination?) – “Any time you don’t have the performance you’re looking for, you’re disappointed. But this group, they’re going to stick together, support one another, get back out there tomorrow, make the corrections tomorrow and prepare for another big game next week.”
(I’m curious what kind of impact do you think the weather conditions and the field conditions had on the outcome of this game? It looked like QB Tua Tagovailoa’s specifically ball security was a little, I guess less secure than usual?) – “I think there was rain, it was slick; but regardless of that we’ve got to do a good job of protecting the football and that’s always our No. 1 priority. We’ve got to do a better job protecting it. That’s always a top priority, and they had the same elements we had that we were dealing with, so even playing field from that standpoint. We’ve got to do a better job.”
(I actually wanted to ask you about Titans QB Ryan Tannehill and the blitzes. They weren’t necessarily effective against him or you guys didn’t utilize them as much. Was that the game plan? What were the Titans doing to neutralize the pressure?) – “The run game was a part of that. We’ve got to get them in situations where – we try to get people in situations where we believe it’s going to be a pass so obviously the run game and the success running it kind of neutralized some of that. I think they had a plan for a lot of it from a protection standpoint.”
(I wanted to ask you about the play where there appeared to be a fumble in Tennessee territory that DE Emmanuel Ogbah came out of the pile with. What was the explanation you received there and was that something you could challenge?) – “They said it came out of it a new ball.”
(G/T Austin Jackson was out quickly for a series. G Solomon Kindley and then Jackson came back in. What happened there?) – “Austin (Jackson) just had to come out for a series. Solomon (Kindley) obviously backs him up. He went back in when he was ready.”
(I’m curious did you get an explanation for the no pass interference call on WR DeVante Parker there I think on fourth-and-11?) – “He said he didn’t see a hook and that’s his call.”
(You come into this game with an opportunity to control your own playoff destiny. How much was that something that you guys were thinking about this week and then given the loss how discouraging is it to have an opportunity like this and then putting out a performance like that?) – “Every week we put our best foot forward to try to have a good performance. It was no different this week. I think our guys prepared the right way. I thought we had a good week of practice. The Titans are a good team. They had a good plan and we didn’t play well enough in any phase. And that starts with me. I didn’t coach it well enough either, so we’ll go back and make the corrections and try to play better next week.”
(You mentioned earlier about the missed tackles and you mentioned about just some of the mistakes. Is it the most frustrating thing as you prepare your team as you always do every week what happened today along those lines whether it being mistakes or miscues?) – “I think it always comes back to fundamentals and technique – tackling, breaking tackles, blocking guys, defeating blocks. We can come up with all the – we have a plan, but at the end of the day that’s really what football boils down to. So we’ve got to take care of those fundamentals and we had some miscommunication issues as well. It’s against a good team. Got to take care of all those little things or else they take advantage.”
(When the game was still within reach one of the offensive plays that stands out to me is a sack that was taken on third down that created a 53-yard field goal that was then missed. What was your perspective on that situation and that play?) – “I think it was a third-and-9 on the 50-yard line, but yeah, you don’t want a sack in that situation. Created a longer field goal which we ended up missing. Got to execute better. We’ve got to protect better. We’ve got to get open quicker. We weren’t able to do that. It led to a sack. Losing those couple of yards was the difference in the field goal, especially with the weather.”
Brian Flores – December 31, 2021
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Friday, December 31, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I believe since WR Albert Wilson and G Solomon Kindley were placed on the COVID list Sunday, I believe under the new five-day rules they can come out today unless I’m mistaken. Will they be at practice today?) – “Yes, both guys will be at practice.”
(I imagine Head Athletic Trainer Kyle Johnston is keeping in close contact with the guys on the COVID list. Without asking you anything about symptoms or how anyone is feeling, I will ask you this, with S Brandon Jones and DL Adam Butler, they are obviously eligible to come off tomorrow. Are you feeling optimistic that either or both will be available Sunday?) – “I’m not sure they’re eligible to come off tomorrow. My understanding is it’s potentially the next day. We’re just going to have to see how that goes. That close to the game, we’ll basically have to see how it goes. But we’ll take it day-to-day with those guys. If it was tomorrow, that would be different but it’s the day after for the earliest after the five-day deal.”
(You do have the option of what you did with S Jevon Holland, where you activate him just in case they are able to play Sunday, right? That’s an avenue that you have available.) – “Yeah, that’s obviously on the table.”
(I wanted to ask you about when you have a coordinator background from a defensive standpoint and when you have a body of work against a guy like QB Ryan Tannehill, do you keep files and notes on them or is it something that it just evolves and develops as the year progresses?) – “I think I try to take the approach that every week is different, every year is different and try to look at it with a blank slate. The players are different, the coaches are different, scheme is sometimes different, concepts are different. So I just try to look at it from that lens. We have different players, who we have up, who we have down. I just try to, it’s a blank slate across the board. When there is some familiarity with a particular player, you know their strengths and weaknesses from playing them in the past, then you have to get another look at it and see if what used to be something they struggle with, they’ve gotten better at. I think that’s certainly the case with a lot of players who develop and get better over the course of their careers. I would say that’s the case with weaknesses. Ryan has done a great job for those guys from a leadership standpoint, from a communication standpoint. He’s throwing the ball well, he runs it well, he’s a good runner. He’s got great command of the offense and he’s doing a really nice job for them.”
(I was just going to ask you about the dynamic of how fans think compared to how coaches and players think. I know fans and a lot of us are constantly thinking about “okay, what do you have to do to make the playoffs looking ahead?” You obviously and your players are solely focused on the next game. You’re not polluting your head with playoff thoughts, which takes great discipline, I would think. So I was sort of curious – do you have to train people in your life outside of the building not to look ahead with you? Like are there any close friends or family members who are tempted to ask you about the playoffs? Could you win out? And you have to train them not to ask you about stuff that goes beyond the next week’s opponent?) – “No, I understand that thought process and why those questions are asked. I think we all do. I also know that the fans and our family members, they’re not going to be out there trying to block Jeffery Simmons or trying to cover these receivers. That’s not in their future either, so they don’t need to spend all their energy on that. I think our guys do. I think when you look at it from that lens – you’re not the one out there blocking (Bud) Dupree or covering Julio (Jones). I think if we had to do that – if everyone else had to do that – I think they’d try to focus on that. They wouldn’t be looking kind of down the road. I think that’s pretty reasonable. So no, I don’t try to tell anyone ‘don’t talk about to me about this, don’t talk to me about that.’ I think my energy and my focus is where it is and other people’s energy can be where it wants to be. But I think people can respect and understand why we want to put our energy on the Titans and no one else, and we respect and understand why people are thinking differently or thinking past that.”
(I wanted to ask you also about S Eric Rowe – just the value of having him on your team. Obviously if you don’t have S Brandon Jones Sunday, he’s shown he can step in and play every down. Even if you do have him, he’ll play a lot, I’m sure. Just his value to your team over the last three years and now having someone like that to step in and play every snap if needed?) – “Yeah, Eric (Rowe) is obviously a big contributor to this team. He’s got leadership, experience, obviously talented, tackles well, game is important to him, he’s smart. So it’s great to have him on our team. He just wants to help us have success. He’s been great to the young guys and he’s done a nice job for us.”
(I wasn’t sure if you saw the bowl game last night in Nashville, but there were some players slipping on that playing surface and there’s supposed to be rain all weekend in Nashville. I know you’re a detailed guy. I was just curious how much attention does the playing surface of the upcoming game kind of get across your radar and is there anything that goes into that for you as far as how the playing surface for the game might be on Sunday?) – “Yeah, I think – I watched some clips from that game and saw that there were some guys slipping, so I made mention of that to our team. I think it’s more focus on shoulders over knees, knees over toes – those kind of base fundamentals that you’d hear in Pop Warner. Coming to balance, playing on the inside of your outside foot. Things like that. Just reminders and things we’ve got to pay attention to really on any surface, but definitely on a wet or slick surface. Those are just reminders that you give to your players. I think every coach is – when you’re dealing with a surface or elements like that – it’s something that you have to make mention to your team so they’re at least aware of it.”
Jerome Baker – December 30, 2021
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
LB Jerome Baker
(What was your reaction to finding out you were named AFC Defensive Player of the Month?) – “I was happy. I was in meetings and I was just sitting there and my phone just kept buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. I think Duke reposted it and I clicked his notification and that’s when I found out, so I was definitely happy though.”
(You had two sacks last game. It seems like you’ve had a run the last few games with getting these sacks. What does it feel like when you’re getting sent on blitzes and you’re getting home the way you’ve been I guess these last few weeks?) – “I think a lot of the time people don’t realize I’m not even blitzing. That’s the main thing. It’s our d-line. They cause havoc and I kind of just walk into a lot of blitzes, but it feels good. It feels good getting to the quarterback. It feels good making plays, but it feels really good when we’re winning so I’m definitely happy.”
(If I could follow up from that, you guys are obviously leading the league in sacks. What is it – I know for a while you guys felt like you had to – I don’t know if you knew that, but you guys are leading the league in sacks…) – “I didn’t know that. (laughter)”
(But I know for a while it seemed like you guys had to blitz to get home. Now a lot of your front – the front dudes – are being able to get home without blitzing. What does that help maybe the evolution of this defense and what you guys are able to do?) – “It helps us in ways – it helps us all around. It helps the DBs, it helps the safeties, it helps the linebackers. It helps our defense as a whole. We don’t have to bring an extra guy. We can use that guy to cover and now our front line is tearing it up. It just helps our defense as a whole and it’s a credit to our d-line. They’re confident and us as the back end, we believe in them and they’ve definitely been working and we’re definitely happy to see that.”
(So what’s the best reaction you’ve gotten regarding the award from a teammate, from your mom, from whoever?) – “It’s definitely been my mom and my dad. They might have texted me, like, a million times about it. They texted me, they called me, they DM’d me on social media. It’s like they just keep saying it so I know they’re proud and it’s kind of cool to see my high school. They keep reposting it and keep telling me about it. For me, it’s just happy to see everybody else happy. Happy just to get an award and bring attention to our defense, who definitely have been doing our thing this past month and it’s a credit to our defense.”
(I wanted to ask you about Titans QB Ryan Tannehill. They asked him if he was eager to squash Miami’s playoff hopes in this Sunday’s game. Do you still have a relationship with him or have you talked to him previous to this game and can you talk about how it’s going to be to face him? Now it’s a rival for a playoff spot.) – “I haven’t talked to him directly, but I’ve definitely been following him. When he was here, he was a guy that led by example. He always did the right thing. He’s a family man and I’ll never forget that. When he left, I was still just rooting for him to do well, but you know Sunday, it is what it is. You’ve got to turn the page and he’s on the other side now, but he definitely was always a great teammate, a great guy. Sunday, it’s just business is business.”
(I wanted to ask you this. Obviously it’s been – how many games – a couple games since Baltimore you’ve been kind of in an outside linebacker kind of role. Do you feel like that’s more of a home for you or I know you started there, but now that you’ve played both positions, what feels more natural to you?) – “I don’t know. It’s really a game plan thing. What our defense – sometimes when I’m on the outside linebacker role, it really feels like this is where I need to be in this week. Sometimes it’s inside or I need to be inside, but naturally, I don’t know, man. It’s one of those things where I just love being out there and playing ball. I love how versatile I can be. I love how they use me in this defense and I’m truly just out there having fun and just having a great time with the guys.”
(With this – you’ve been here for a while. You’ve been in situations where it’s right there within your reach. What will make, in your opinion, what will make this run different to get to the postseason?) – “What will make it different? Just actually getting there. (laughter) I think we’ve been close so many times, me being here in this organization, but just actually getting there – it would definitely be a blessing, but I think the one thing that we always lose focus on is worrying about what the future’s going to be. The most important thing is just going out there Sunday and winning. That’s all it’s about. We’re going up there to face a good team. It’s going to be a great atmosphere, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to go up there and just get a win. We don’t care how we get it, how many points we score, whatever. We’ve just got to at the end of the game just walk away as winners. That’s the main focus for us, is just go up there and just get a win. That’s all that matters and the rest will handle itself.”
(I was curious. This isn’t necessarily a Ryan Tannehill question, but for you guys when you’re lining up against an offense, what’s the biggest difference you notice when it’s a rookie quarterback as opposed to someone who’s been in the league a long time and kind of seen everything that defenses are trying to do?) – “I’d say it’s the confidence. Older quarterbacks, they have confidence. They expect the guys – the receivers – to run a certain route the way they practiced or however they have it. They just have that energy that they know exactly what’s going on on the field and they expect it to be how they expect it to be. I guess that’s the main thing. A lot of young quarterbacks – once you throw a lot of pressures and a lot of different looks at them – I’m not going to say they act strange, but their eyes start to wander a lot. They start to think they know everything, they’re trying to point everything out when sometimes it’s simple. But that just comes with any job. When you’re a young guy or you’re new to a job, it’s hard to compete with the older veterans. Over time, those young guys will grow up and they’ll figure it out.”
(So we could kind of see just watching the game that QB Ian Book had that sort of deer-in-the-headlights look as you guys sort of threw your different deceptions at him. And it seems that that’s when your defense is most effective, when you guys are lining up, pulling guys back, dropping guys, doing whatever it is to kind of confuse the quarterback. I’m curious from your perspective, what does it feel like when you know you’ve got him? When you know that the other quarterback doesn’t know what’s going on and you guys are about to eat?) – “I think I’ll speak for any defensive player – that’s the best time to play defense when the defense is dictating what’s going on. Not just our defense. Any defense ever – when you have a quarterback or offense on their toes, they don’t know what to do, that’s the best time to play defense. When you’re out there and everybody is making plays and just like everybody eats, that’s the best time to play and Monday, that was a good game. We all were out there having fun. We’ve just got to bring that same approach to Sunday and just go out there and have fun and just do what we’ve been doing. Playing together. I think that’s the most fun part about our defense. We all play together, we all have fun and we all enjoy each other.”
Jesse Davis – December 30, 2021
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
G/T Jesse Davis
(The front you’re going to see on Sunday, do you think it’s as good as any you’ll face this year?) – “Yeah. They have a good defensive front. I think every week it’s always the same song and dance when it comes to defensive fronts. I think they are really talented and we’ve got our hands full there.”
(It’s been a journey this season with the offensive line. But having this team in position to basically seal their playoff fate with two wins, how much are you guys talking about being that reliable consistent unit this team needs?) – “I think every week, we always try to figure out how we can be the best we can be. It comes down to daily stuff. It’s like what are we going to focus on today and what we’re going to focus on tomorrow. It’s never going to be, ‘are we going to be the future of this team?’ We just try to be the best we can be every week.”
(Have you seen teams rush you guys differently over the last few weeks than they did earlier in the season?) – “Everybody has their same gameplans. But stuff that pops up every week, whatever got us last week will probably pop up again.”
(I know he plays on the other side of the ball, but today LB Jerome Baker was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month. I’m just curious what it means for the offensive guys to see the defense get a little national shine?) – “Yeah, we’ve got a good defense. He’s a good player. He deserves it.”
(COVID-19 wiped out the entire backup offensive line last week. Is that something that you and other starters talked about, sort of breathing a sigh of relief? Because it’s odd the starters thankfully avoided it but none of the backups did.) – “Yeah, I don’t know how that worked out. It was kind of like every day someone else got it. Luckily the starters didn’t get it, so I’m thankful for that.”
(Not to say that the backups were careless at all. I’m not saying that. But have the starters been especially cautious? Have you noticed anything with you, G/T Austin Jackson, C/G Michael Deiter, G/T Liam Eichenberg, etc. how you’re handling being careful?) – “No, I don’t know. I’m kind of a homebody myself. I don’t know. I can’t speak for the other guys. You never know how you can get it, how you contract it.”
Duke Johnson – December 30, 2021
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Thursday, December 30, 2021
RB Duke Johnson
(What have you seen from this Titans defense and what it’s going to take to get yards on the ground against them?) – “It’s another strong defense. It plays well together, trusts each other, trusts each other’s technique, trusts each other. It’s another great defense we are going to play, just like last week. Just do what we can. We just have to fight for every yard, take what’s there and just do our job. Not try to do too much, just do anything within our means.”
(What do you think was the main difference between what the team was able to accomplish on the ground two weeks ago versus against the Saints?) – “The difference?”
(In terms of the execution and what went right against the Jets, what went wrong against the Saints.) – “I wouldn’t say nothing went wrong or right in either game. I think they both amounted to a win, which is the end goal. It doesn’t matter about how well or bad we run the ball as long as we do enough to win and we did that.”
(I understand the perspective but obviously you guys want to get more than 2.9 yards per carry from the rushing game. How can you make this rushing attack be more consistent entering the final, critical stretch of games for this team?) – “We’ve just got to stick to what we are doing. Every game is not going to be perfect. We know that. We are playing some great teams, this week especially. We’ll cross next week when we get there. But as of this week, we’ve just got to stick to what we doing. It’s not going to be perfect. It’s going to be a grimy, tough, hard game. We’ve just got to go out there and get every yard we can.”
(From where you were, say a couple months ago, to here now in late December into early January, what does it mean to you to be playing in games with this kind of significance where the playoffs are on the line?) – “I actually thought about that this morning. For me, every game is meaningful. I get from the perspective of outside looking in or big picture-wise or every individual player, but for me, every game is meaningful going back to when I played four years in Cleveland and two years in Houston. Every time I step on the field, it’s a meaningful game for me. I don’t treat one more differently than the other whether it’s Monday night, Thursday night or a regular Sunday 1 o’clock game. Every game to me is meaningful.”
(What about just the fact that you are playing these meaningful games, you’re playing for the playoffs and you’re doing it wearing a Dolphins jersey, the jersey you grew up dreaming of wearing? Here you are with an opportunity to help the Dolphins get into the playoffs.) – “For me it’s just, like you said, the opportunity. It’s a great feeling just to be able to help win. That’s my main thing regardless of, like you said, where we are in the playoff race or where we are in the season. Just giving the team a chance to win is always my main goal.”
