Calais Campbell – October 14, 2024
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Monday, October 14, 2024
DT Calais Campbell
(What’s the team’s mindset right now? You guys are coming off of a victory that you didn’t play that well, but you played good enough to win and kind of get things turned around. How are you guys feeling about your last game and looking ahead?) – “Yeah, I think everybody’s mindset is staying in the moment and looking forward to just this week. I don’t think – everything up to this point, kind of put it behind us. The bye week, that’s what that was for, to kind of steady ourselves, figure out what we did well, what we did bad and now it’s time, just looking forward.”
(What could getting back to 3-3 do for the locker room?) – “I think that’s good. Big. I think just stacking wins, too. I think just having two wins back-to-back is huge, but at the end of the day, you’re never worried about the actual record or anything else, you just try to be 1-0 for this week, that’s it.”
(You’ve been around Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver before in Baltimore, what’s impressed you about how he’s handled his first year here as a defensive coordinator and what stands out about him in general?) – “Yeah, ‘Coach Weave’ (Anthony Weaver), he’s very process-driven, and he really just has an excellence to him that he demands from all of us. I think sometimes when you’re in a new situation it kind of takes a while to get your processes established and how you want to do things, but I think we’re starting to get to that level where now we kind of can anticipate things, how players, everybody – the team we have – how we interact with each other, how we do things. So I think we should start seeing an uptick on everything, but I think he’s been great. He’s been a great coach as I expected, and I think he’s going to continue to help us be in a position to win ball games.”
(QB Tyler Huntley is another guy that you know from Baltimore. He gets thrust into this leadership role as a new guy on the team just because of the position he plays, quarterback. Did you do anything for him when he came in just to help him along that path?) – “Yeah, I mean we have conversations all the time. I think he’s a great guy. I wouldn’t say I did anything to help him; I think he has all the tools, that’s why he’s been around, and he’s played in games and he consistently does what he’s supposed to do. But I mean I have a lot of respect for him. I think he’s the type of player you want – like I’ve told other guys around – I’ve won games with him before. I know we can win games with him and hopefully we win another one with him this week, but I just think he’s a special kind of talent. It’s hard to be a quarterback in this league, but then to be a backup for so long and have to have the mindset of preparing as a starter even when you might not play or not, he’s had to do that most of his career. And then every time his number is called, to show up and make the plays, it just says a lot about him as a person and hope to win another football game with him.”
(What have you seen from him in terms of earning that trust from this team?) – “He has a similar mindset as me; just go in there and connect with guys and just be the best version of himself. And I think he has natural leadership qualities, but the main thing is just being himself, he’s authentic.”
(RB Jonathan Taylor has been a little banged up, but he may play this week. Have you faced him before? I haven’t gone back and looked at your…) – “Yeah, I’ve faced him before. He’s arguably one of the best backs in all of football, especially in the last few years. But he’s one of the best I’ve ever faced – different level of speed, great vision, jump cut, acceleration, break tackle, he has it all. With the ball in his hands, he’s a threat to take it to the house every time. I’ve had some good games against him and some bad games against him and I don’t know what happens, I don’t know what his injury is. We just started to break the tape down on them, but if he plays, he’s probably the most talented back we’ll face all year.”
(Probably the ultimate test for the run defense that you guys think you’re better than what the stats might say right now, right?) – “We definitely think so, that’s for sure. And this will be a great test and their coach is committed to running the ball. We have to be prepared for a lot of runs, that’s just how it goes and it’s going to be definitely a big challenge for us, but we know that if we play together where we’re capable of playing it, it’s a challenge that we can live up to.”
(You played with LB Tyus Bowser in Baltimore, what do the Dolphins get in adding him?) – “He probably knows the defense better than anybody, better than everybody, honestly. He’s a real cerebral guy, very dependable. A lot of ball games, time shared on the field with him, and he’s probably been one of the most dependable teammates that I’ve had in my career.”
(Regarding CB Jalen Ramsey, potential gold jacket guy and somebody who has been used in a lot of different ways this season, what’s been his effect on the defense on the field and off the field?) – “Yeah, I think he’s a coach’s Swiss Army knife. ‘Coach Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) can do a lot of things with him, and he’s been pretty impactful everywhere, but I think when he gets in that nickel and we blitz him a little bit, sometimes I think that really messes with teams. But can do it all and he likes to do it all, and so obviously, he’s a gold jacket guy for a reason. Great player and great teammate.”
(As a Division II waiver claim, really no one has made more out of their skills what they were considered than DT Zach Sieler. What have you learned about Sieler being his teammate? What have you grown to appreciate about him and his skillset?) – “Sieler is a great player. It’s kind of funny because I see him as this great player; I’d never seen him as a Division II, guy that just barely made it. That’s kind of funny. Perspective is important, but he’s one of the reasons why I came here, right? I think he’s a great ball player. He’s a natural-born leader and he loves the game of football, plays it passionately with everything he has. I think some of the best things about a guy like him who had to – there’s a football term we like – ‘to get it from the mud,’ is undrafted, grind it out, work his way to being a starter after being a backup for a few years; is that you realize that it’s the small things done well that allow you that success. And so a lot of times, it’s just going back to the basics and doing it well versus when you have the guys like superstars early on and sometimes you think you can win on talent and not the work, so it’s good for a guy like him to understand that it’s always the work.”
(Can you just detail the difference in preparation for QB Anthony Richardson as opposed to QB Joe Flacco?) – “We’ve got to prepare for both. That’s just more work for all of us, right? They both kind of played a few games this year, so at least there’s tape on both of them. But (Anthony) Richardson is probably the ultimate athlete and probably from a pass rusher standpoint, the biggest challenge we’ll have so far this season. And then you have Joe Flacco, who from the secondary stuff is different, but for us up front, he’s probably as close as you’re going to get to a statue in the NFL. I did see the game, he kind of actually scrambled for a few yards and was moving around pretty good, but now in this day and age and in this business, he’s the ideal guy you want to go after from a pass rusher standpoint, but he also has a brilliant mind and can make every throw and he has weapons and he knows how to use them and he’s been playing some good football, which I expected. So preparing for both of them is a challenge, but that’s just how it goes. But Joe Flacco is one of the few guys older than me out there, so we got drafted the same year and I got a lot of respect for him, but I’m looking forward to whoever plays, just going out there and competing.”
Austin Jackson – October 14, 2024
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Monday, October 14, 2024
OL Austin Jackson
(I’ve been asking everybody about the team’s mindset. You guys are coming off a victory, maybe not necessarily a pretty victory, but a victory nonetheless. Where are you guys as far as your game? Do you feel like you’re about to turn a corner, are you taking it day by day? How do you feel about this?) – “Our mentality is we’re always turning the corner, we’re always ready. Our mentality really though is just going 1-0 in the week, one day at a time that way you can be present doing everything you need to do without inviting extra clutter to your brain.”
(The offense, have you seen things that you guys are consistently doing well? I know obviously last week the run game went pretty well. You’ve had a lot of turnover, but are there things you guys are consistently doing well do you think?) – “Yeah, definitely. We’re definitely doing a good job of playing withing the means of our technique on offense, meaning we’re executing the technique. We have some issues here and there that are really unfortunate, but at least our technique has been pretty consistent, that’s one thing you can hang your hat on.”
(Have you seen parallels to this season compared to what you guys went through in 2021 when you started 1-7?) – “Kind of, literally Tua (Tagovailoa) went on IR both seasons in the second week, that’s really the biggest one. That’s really the biggest parallel (that’s) glaring.”
(What was it like for you guys upfront just to have the rushing output that you did in New England?) – “That’s what you live for, especially against the New England Patriot system. They kind of their own way of defending. They have their own techniques and that’s kind of what they hang their hat on, so it’s rewarding to get that against a good team like that.”
(We don’t know when OL Isaiah Wynn will be back, but when he does come back, what will he add to the offensive line unit?) – “He loves ball. He loves ball. His energy, his excitement and focus translates through his play. I think that will be great whenever he comes back.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned today that QB Tua Tagovailoa will be on the field at some point in 2024. What’s your reaction?) – “My reaction, I’m happy for him. Happy for the guy, great guy, we love him. We love him over here.”
(Can you detail maybe us some recent interactions you’ve had with him?) – “He’s in his own kind of schedule being hurt, so I talk to him here and there but he’s in good spirits. He’s in good spirits, really good spirits. He’s focused, talks a lot about staying focused and that’s good.”
(How have you seen QB Tyler ‘Snoop’ Huntley grow within this offense and the way he leads the team in the huddle during this stretch of games where he’s the quarterbacking team?) – “Shoot, just being extremely vulnerable in terms of like understanding that he’s taking in a new offense halfway through the season and he’s just gotten better at everything that he thinks he can get better at. He’s very confident leading the offense which is great. I think he’s just the type of guy that’s gets better every day, and in this league, that will be good for you.”
(How pleased have you been with your year so far? Are you happy with your play?) – “Yeah, definitely some things I can get better at, but that’s the league. I was taught once that if you’re not getting better in this league, you’re getting worse and I think that’s true. Everyone is working to get better every single day. So I think as long as I stay true to that, I’ll be pretty happy with how the season ended when it gets there. But for now, we’re still working.”
Jaylen Waddle – October 14, 2024
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Monday, October 14, 2024
WR Jaylen Waddle
(How did you spend your bye week?) – “I went home, chilled, seen family, watched football. That was about it.”
(What’s the team’s mindset as far as this game and how you guys, I guess are feeling? Are you very confident coming into this game coming off of that victory? Or what is the team’s mindset right now?) – “Yeah, we’re focused on the task at hand. Colts are a good team playing great football and yeah, it’s going to be difficult but got to go out there and play and compete.”
(What have been your interactions with QB Tua Tagovailoa and what have you seen from him just whenever you’ve had the chance?) – “Yeah, same old. Me and Tua talk every day. He’s always around and yeah, we’re normally just talking ball, going through practice, things like that.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that he expects QB Tua Tagovailoa back at some point in 2024. What would it mean to have him back?) – “Tua’s our leader, our captain so having him back at any point in time would be lovely, obviously. He’s got to take care of himself first, but yeah, we’ve got a game ahead with Snoop (Tyler Huntley) at quarterback, so just got to go.”
(I’m doing something on penalties and you guys were pretty good last game – five penalties for 42 yards, I think it was. Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that he thought there was an effort in practice to kind of focus on that – tell me about that. Is that the sense that you got before the New England game, that you guys focused on?) – “Yeah, definitely. The games before we’ve been really killing ourselves with putting up good drives but getting a penalty and getting behind the sticks. And then it makes it a lot easier for the defense to guard us when it’s first-and-20 and were killing ourselves. That’s something he emphasized going throughout the week and something that’s going to be key for us continuing this year.”
(Have you kept in touch with your former Alabama and Dolphin teammate Raekwon Davis? And have you guys been texting and talking about this game?) – “Yeah, I talked to ‘Rae’ (Raekwon Davis) a couple of weeks ago. We always talk about Alabama football throughout the weeks and yeah, it’s going to be different with him on the other side, but excited to play against him.”
(It’s probably too early to tell how WR Odell Beckham Jr.’s presence will impact you and WR Tyreek Hill because it was just 11 snaps in his first game back, but do you ultimately expect it might possibly free you guys up a little bit when Odell shows he’s the Odell of old?) – “I mean, yeah. ‘O’ (Odell Beckham Jr.) has been doing good. He’s going to be great for us. Yeah man, you just got to respect a guy like that with that talent. I feel like defenses just feel his presence out there. It was his first game back and he looked real good so I’m excited to see him continue his journey this year.”
(You mentioned having another game with QB Tyler Huntley, how often do you see him improve running the offense from one game to his second game?) – “He did great. For being here for only a short time, he really came in and learned the offense and not only learned the offense, but you also got to learn new receivers and different players. So it’s tough coming in and then we’ve played some really good teams while he’s been (here). So just getting him used to throwing to us, timing, all these motions – he’s doing good, man, doing great.”
(Did you speak with him at all during the bye week? Did he reach out to you during the bye week?) – “He told me to come back a little early so we could throw before, so ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) be trying to get that work in.”
(Did you?) – “’GQ’ classified. (laughter)”
(You guys beat the Patriots by running the ball 41 times for 193 yards, but as a receiver, how do you process that information that we may need to run it 40 to 50 times for us to win?) – “Anything to win. It’s all about just getting that win, getting in the win column. If it’s running the ball 40, 50 times, that’s what we have to do. If it’s throwing the ball, if we got to do anything to win at this point – at any point, it’s key.”
(What’s so different about playing quarterback in this offense? You have the shifts and the motions and the quick go’s and throwing to super-fast receivers like you and WR Tyreek Hill. Tell me about the difficulties, what makes it so different than other offenses.) – “It’s difficult because Mike (McDaniel) puts a spin to a lot of things. He’s got a lot of different motions going in, shifts and all this complicated stuff that you got to do and that’s just pre-snap. Post-snap you got to read the defense and go into what makes you a quarterback, so it’s extremely tough.”
(QB Tyler Huntley got the ball some to you, some to WR Tyreek Hill, but also got the ball some to TE Jonnu Smith. What can his incorporation into the offense do for this group?) – “It’s going to be key. Man, we got a lot of weapons and the more we use all of our weapons, the more a defense has got to respect us and play true and not try to double-team ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill), try to run the easy side of coverages because anybody can ultimately go off and make you pay.”
Mike McDaniel – October 14, 2024
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Monday, October 14, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(The QB Tua Tagovailoa meeting last week with experts, were the results positive enough where you’d expect Tua to begin practicing next week?) – “I think they’ve continued to be positive. There is still information that he’s seeking this week. As far as timelines go, I know he’s not playing this week and I do expect to see him playing football in 2024, but where that is exactly, we’ll let the process continue since we still have time before you even could entertain anything. We’ll make sure that he’s diligent this week and assess after that.”
(I know it must be a feeling of relief to have that feeling you are going to see him play football this year. Was there ever a time where it crossed your mind that maybe he wouldn’t?) – “I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is for me as a head coach, it’s absolutely imperative that I control the controllables. It was so fast from him getting hurt to immediately going into all right, what’s the best thing for you, Tua, where are you at in allowing the process to really not get ahead of it. So I didn’t really allow myself any sort of contemplation moments on whether he would or wouldn’t; I was so concerned where he was at in his career for his family and everything that is true to be his and trying to operate on a next man up mentality from that. It is exciting that I do think he’ll play football this year – I never went down that rabbit hole of rather he would or wouldn’t, just because I’ve learned through circumstance how that’s the wrong question to be asking. The right questions are completely 100% toward the human being and the player as a result.”
(Do you have any of your IR guys you expect to have the window open for them this week?) – “There’s a couple of potentials but nothing that I would be able to firmly dig my heals into just because these days are vitally important. As you get closer and closer, there’s a couple of guys that theoretically I think the window could open, but it’s a little too early. We still have today and tomorrow before a traditional work week starts, so I’m going to reserve that to see how things play out particularly with guys that you’re trying to start a small window that your roster has to support. They have to be fully healthy and you have to take every day to make sure that’s the case to have a healthy 53.”
(Where is LB Bradley Chubb specifically in that process?) – “I don’t expect to see Bradley (Chubb) this week. As far as weeks moving forward, we’ll see but I don’t expect that to happen this week.”
(With LB Bradley Chubb, I guess the same question – you expect him to play at some point this year, right?) – “The way he’s attacked and the way he’s really come back from a pretty serious injury, I’m optimistic that I will, for sure, just because we haven’t had any setbacks or anything. I’m optimistic for that but I can promise you that whenever he is back, he couldn’t have been back any sooner. He is trusting our medical staff to make sure they’re his discipline for not overexerting or trying to make the time that he’s missed as small as possible. I’m very comfortable with where their working relationship is at and really the work that they’ve done knowing whenever we are able to see him that’s as soon as we could’ve gotten him. Just because of his sweat equity that he’s put in – you wouldn’t know as a teammate that he hadn’t practiced this year just because he’s been around for everything and made sure to keep himself involved and used his leadership voice for positive. I’ll be excited for when he gets back on the field, don’t know exactly when that will be.”
(Regarding penalties, what are you expecting coming off of a bye week? I know zero penalties is unrealistic, but big reduction in pre-snap penalties or can you quantify what you’re expecting?) – “I think the things that have – there’s two things that are going on each NFL game; sometimes teams win it and sometimes teams lose it. And part of offense, defense, special teams, self-inflicted wounds are absolutely at the forefront of our mind because those are how you lose games and being much more functional in that way allows you and enables you to be a team that wins game as opposed to just forfeiting downs and wins and losses. The only way that you improve on stuff of that nature is if 100% across the board people take full accountability for their part in it and there’s a deliberate focus and intent when you’re on air, when you’re in walkthrough, all of the available reps you are practicing that and you hold it in the regard it necessitates by how much you are convicted to that. So to me, I was very happy with our practice. I thought we got better before we played the Patriots, and my expectation is that we have a collective understanding of how that got better – not to be confused with what we want or our desired result. There was no magic fairy dust that got that better; our operation and our communication was better because we put the work in at that, and so my expectation is to see all of my teammates double down on that and to improve up what we improved upon. I think that’s the biggest thing that gets lost, especially in the first quarter of the NFL season, is there’s a couple teams that have zero or one loss, there’s a couple teams that only have one win and everybody else is doing the same thing – are we getting better or are we getting worse? We need to continue to get better. We don’t win the last game we played if we weren’t better at certain things that allowed us to overcome some mistakes that get you beat a lot of times. So I think there’s eye-opening growth in that from this team that needs to continue if we want the season to be a better reflection of what we think this team is. That’s not going anywhere; we are trying to clean up our football in every way, shape or form.”
(I wanted to get some clarity on OL Isaiah Wynn. Obviously when he resigned, a lot of us expected him to be in the mix for training camp and he’s been on the PUP. Is there an expectation that he will be back before November? Is this still the quadriceps injury or is this another?) – “I think with Isaiah (Wynn), he would be included in the expectation of when he was going to be able to be available to play football. You could include him on your assumptions, and there were some lingering things that did come up that weren’t the quad based upon the quad injury, if that makes sense. So there’s residuals in the human body and stress in one area can lead to stress in another. So for me and for him, he’s been so unbelievable, thirsting for what he just got started last year, but understanding his own body and putting the daily work in. I’m not sure – I haven’t looked at the hand reader logs for this building in a while, but he’s in this building non-stop trying to get himself back on the field. So for me, I’m just embracing no setbacks and hope to get him on the field. I don’t know when that is, I’m not going to venture to guess and I definitely don’t want him thinking that way either because he’s had a long journey. But it’s been a very positive couple weeks for him, specifically, as we hope to get him back on the field and have the best version of the Miami Dolphins that we can have.”
(How much work were you able to get in with QB Tyler Huntley during this bye week? I’m not sure exactly what the rules are, but was he able to further acclimate into this offense?) – “Yeah, so it’s important in a bye week that guys use that time to regen for what’s upcoming. For a guy like Tyler (Huntley), the copy-paste norm of what a bye week would look like, it was a little different for him. It was just imperative that he could have more time on task to study and to review the footwork of some of our core concepts and core fundamentals, which he did a great job working through. I mean, a couple weeks ago, he hadn’t thrown any no hitch in-breaks that he’s thrown. Most of our explosives have come through stuff that he hadn’t done in his past, so that combination of being a quick study but then having – five days for him was like an eternity based upon the way he’s had to play catch up. So the cut ups, the practice film and some of the stuff to get ahead of what we’ll probably do with the Indianapolis Colts, as well as just the whys and what fors for our whole offense, he really got to jump into. It was a lot of pre-created cut ups from the coaching staff so that he could take full advantage of all the stuff that you’d typically guide him through during an offseason. So huge for him, some of the stuff that he’s been able to do – I promise you that you have to be a very, very well oiled professional to be able to command the offense the way he has and he’s improved every work week we’ve had. I’m excited for him because there’s so much that gets lost in an NFL game for a player to have confidence and conviction in what’s going on. And yes, you can know your assignment and you can know the details of it, but to own it and be able to turn a second language into a first language, which is kind of what you end up having to do at the quarterback position, that’s monumental. So I’m very excited for the offense for him to get another week under his belt to operate to its full steam because I thought we got better, not worse from his first start to his second and that’s what you want to see to his third.”
(How challenging is it when you’re not sure which quarterback you might be preparing for in a week? The Colts have been dealing with their own injuries and I guess how impressive QB Joe Flacco has been still doing it at 39?) – “I think it is a different set of problem solving that you try to do your best for all players involved, and when you’re trying to learn players on the fly, it does make it a little more challenging to have decisions that you feel absolutely, positively this is the best thing for this player or these players on this play. Those decisions, whether or not you do something under center, whether or not something is in shotgun, the type of run action that you’re trying to sell on a play pass, the types of scheme, all of those things, you do better – at least I’ve always done better when I have exact reasons for everything. It does make it challenging, but we’re quick studies here and I’ve been through the process to expedite that, so I think players are definitely better off when their coaches know the full breadth of their skill set. I think Joe Flacco has done a very good job, like he has the last couple of years, of being – the art of being a good backup quarterback, there’s a laundry list of things. One of those things is how much can your offense not miss a beat, so to speak, or how much can your offense adjust around a different quarterback. To Joe’s credit, I think he’s won two games this year doing exactly what the team needs him to do which is orchestrate the offense, be able to handle all the different motions and keep the offense on schedule, and then make the plays that the guys that are in there with the starting quarterback, what they’ve learned how to make plays on within that offense with a different guy at helm. So I think he’s done a very good job of executing what is one of the more difficult things in the National Football League, and that’s to be one of 22 players, or if you want to do special teams, 33 players on the field that are starters that you allow the other 32 sometimes to help win the game by being a professional, knowing when you have to make your plays and when you leave it up to the ball carrier or checkdown. I interviewed him when he was coming out of Delaware – happy to see him continue his career as he’s done in his opportunities in Indy.”
(You mentioned the quarter poll here, most teams are 2-3 or 3-2. First of all, is the bye week kind of a good time so you guys can sit back and realize, OK things haven’t gone great the first stretch but everything is still in front of us that we want?) – “This bye week was unique, because – I guess you could say a positive of frontloaded adversity for our team is that you kind of have to do stuff you do on the bye week before the bye week comes to really take a look at yourself and when your results aren’t matching the way you forecast, it forces you to really nail down some things. OK, what are we good at – we being this 2024 team – and what aren’t we good at; let’s focus on certain things for whatever gameplan reason that has to do with a collection of individuals out there and let’s lean in on that, and then what stuff have we tried, whether it was a great idea or not, and it’s not really worked out for us. I think what was interesting about this bye week was it was a couple layers deeper into something we were already doing before the bye week, just because that’s kind of how you operate when you’re trying to get a team right. You have to really deep dive in OK, how are we – at the time it was, how are we 1-3, what has led us to that, what would have given us a chance to win, what are the things, what are the positives, because it’s not all black and white, and how do you find ways to improve, because ironically, this season for the Miami Dolphins is no different than the two previous in my mind. How do I say something like that? Well, you win, you lose, you have stats that are favorable, you have stats that aren’t, but you have to find adverse situations to grow through as a team so that when you’re building up for however long – when you really think about it, single-elimination or elimination games, whether that’s to get into the playoffs or that you’re in the playoffs, those elimination games are buildup of a lot of work and you need a team that is used to high stress situations. One way you can induce stress is have a three-game losing streak early. I think the biggest thing is that there are some teams that have maybe zero, one or two losses, that in the NFL, you can get lulled to sleep in terms of you can get comfortable. You can be like, ‘All right, we’re winning some games,’ and you can lose – the most important, absolute, non-negotiable is you have to be playing your best football at the end of the year for you to like the results of the end of the year. I think although it’s not exciting or fun, it’s quite the contrary, I think what has to be done in this bye week is the same thing that’s had to be done in the last two, is that we have to as coaches and players collectively evolve and have our best football at the end of the season. There’s the pressure cooker that is the National Football League that when you come to work every day for, I think it was like 24 days in a row of trying to get something right and you don’t get it right, that’s the pressure cooker you need. Is that the best thing that happens to you or the worst thing, you allow your team to kind of dictate that, how they go to work every day and the results of the next coming games, but sometimes being 2-3 isn’t the worst thing in the world when you look at it the way I look at it. If the mission never changes, if you’re trying to make sure your best football is in December and January, what does that look like in September and October? It’s all in what the team makes it, so I think we’ve had a good understanding of how we got to where we’re at and how we need to continue to improve to have our record reflect what we think this team is. That’s a day-in, day-out job that takes the whole collective of the team for that to get done, and that’s what we’re trying to do here on Monday as we prepare for the Colts.”
Odell Beckham Jr. – October 8, 2024
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Tuesday, October 8, 2024
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
(You got targets. I know one of them was an interception, but just operation of the offense, feeling comfortable out there?) – “I remember the interception. I don’t really know as far as another target. If you look at stats, it’s different than watching the game, but just being able to get back out there was fun. Not as many snaps as I thought were going to happen just kind of the way that practice went, but it really was a point in the season where we were 1-3, like we needed to do whatever it was to win that game and just being able to run the ball the way that we did, to be able to stay resilient and find a way to win; that was the only thing that really mattered going into the bye week.”
(I’m sorry if you’ve been asked this, but how did you feel out there? How did your body the respond?) – “A little sore and I didn’t even get to play that much, but it was really more so the build up to the game and how hard I practiced and just it kind of was like I came off of PUP or IR or whatever you want to call it and it was like, let’s hit it. So going into the game I was a little sore, but it’s all about building up the callous. These guys and everyone else across the league have gone through a full training camp, has gone through four weeks of a season or whatever. Far, far ahead of me in conditioning and their ability of feeling what it feels like to play football at the highest level day-in and day-out with practice or game, whatever it is. I felt good. I felt a little sore going into the game, but other than that, like I said, it was about finding a way to win.”
(One quick follow-up if I may, have you worked with QB Tua Tagovailoa at all? Have you guys had at least the opportunity to throw together?) – “Yeah, I mean we’ve had opportunities. We’ve had opportunities.”
(What’s the plan because he may practice in a couple weeks, because he might not be too far off to ramp up with him?) – “I don’t know. The question you’ve got to ask the trainers or the head coach. I don’t necessarily know his plan. I think it’s just putting himself in the best position to get healthy and obviously that’s going to help this team.”
(How quick do you as a receiver, can you adjust to a new quarterback? Like how much time do you need to be comfortable with a guy?) – “I mean, the ball is put where the ball is put. My job is to catch it and I’ve known ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) for a whole year and a half. Before I was signing I was kind of worried about coming to play with a lefty. It was something I always joked about not doing in my career and it’s definitely different. It’s different spin, it comes at you a different way at times, but as I’ve thrown with him – and he throws the ball so nice that it doesn’t really feel like you’re catching from a left. So for me I have the utmost confidence in my hands. I don’t remember – I mean I remember dropping one pass last year so I don’t really feel like a ball is just going to get past my hands. Where my mind’s at, where my body is at; I’ve got way too much confidence in my hands.”
(Have you been able to learn all three of the wide receiver [roles]?) – “Yeah, it’s not easy. It’s not easy and especially like I was saying earlier, playing ‘F’ or playing slot is not something that I’ve done in my career since maybe college or high school. So it’s definitely a different role, different verbiage and language, but I think in time this is just more of a game to get your feet wet, help out however I can and the ultimate goal was to get a win.”
(You kind of referenced getting back into pure football shape. How far along are you in that process, do you think?) – “I don’t know. You’ve got to ask these guys. I know some guys who are still huffing and puffing and it’s Week 4. So there’s no real way to get into football shape. You could do all the training you want; that’s why you see this happen and people go through training camp and you get to that first game and they run three plays in a row and they need a break. It’s no way to prepare for having emotions to go through, the things you go through being in a real-life game. So yeah, I don’t know how far off I am from full-on game shape.”
(Speaking of emotions, were your emotions different for this particular game than maybe other season debuts considering this new team, you start off on PUP?) – “I think I was definitely grateful and blessed to be out there, but for me it felt like less pressure than it had ever felt in my entire life. Like let’s just go play football and have fun, which is a good feeling, instead of feeling super worried about something else or whatever the case may be. I was definitely excited to be able to be back on the football field. It felt good.”
(Why less pressure?) – “I don’t know. Different expectations, different role, just all of those things. It just felt different. Maybe where I’m at in life, the things I’ve been through. I’m just able to process and handle it differently.”
(Any big bye week plans?) – “No, I’m just chilling. I’m debating seeing what’s up with this storm, whether I need to – I was going to stay here and train or I’m going to go see my son so I’m just trying to figure out what the storm is going to do and go from there.”
Tyus Bowser – October 8, 2024
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Tuesday, October 8, 2024
LB Tyus Bowser
(Is the bye week going to be spent kind of situating yourself?) – “Oh yeah, man. I think this bye week is going to be stuck here, just trying to get my sleep schedule back on point and really just getting acclimated to the environment, to the place – just try to get ahead for next week.”
(What was last week like for you to travel across the country and then have one practice and then play in a game for another NFL team?) – “It was a lot; I can’t lie to you. Talk about taking a redeye at 7 p.m. in Seattle time, getting here at 5:30 in the morning, getting 15 minutes of rest and then going to do a physical and really just trying to get yourself prepared for a Sunday game. And it was definitely a lot, but luckily, I’ve been in this league for a long time and I understand what I need to do to be prepared and ready. And just being familiar with the defense just helped me along the way really. It was rough, but I had to do what I had to do and I think I did pretty well for the situation that I was in.”
(How much carry over is there with Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver’s defense from what you’ve known in the past? From what you’ve used in Seattle?) – “It’s a lot of carryover. I think just being with (Mike) Macdonald and ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver), they came from the same exact system in Baltimore. So very similar terminology and yeah, it was just a lot easier for me to understand and there’s a few little wrinkles in there, but I was able to catch on pretty well and go out there and play fast Sunday.”
(Did you expect to play as much as you did when you first came with the team?) – “Honestly, I wasn’t sure how much I would play, but I’m trying to prepare myself for any situation whether that’s 12 reps, 22, 32 reps, whatever it is. I’ve got to be ready at all times. So I was just happy to be out there again, playing football. Being with the guys has been amazing so far – happy to come out with a win knowing the situation that they’ve been through. Especially being in Seattle, playing against them and it’s just crazy because our first game in Seattle was against the Patriots, so I had to go back to New England again and go through that whole thing. So yeah, it’s definitely been a journey, but I’ve been enjoying it.”
(In baseball there was a guy once who got traded from one team to the other in between games of a doubleheader.) – “That’s a different type of feeling there, but I’m just happy. I’m in a great place, a great system with great guys and we got a good win going into the bye week and that’s what you want as a team. Especially going an entire week, you don’t want to be on a losing streak or losing a game and having to deal with that.”
(The official score gave you a half-sack – I tweeted about it and everything. And then I read they took it away.) – “I have no idea. I’m leaving my agent and whoever else is dealing with that. (laughter) But I mean hey, like I said, I’m just happy to be playing football again.”
(After being able to play 30-plus snaps on the schedule you had, in terms of what you’ve done in the NFL, where does that rank in terms of difficulty?) – “It’s definitely up there. Part of that – well, a lot of that is just rest and getting acclimated again to the east coast time. But outside of that, I’ve been training this entire offseason getting prepared for this moment, so just to go out there, I just had to make sure I got my rest and mentally I was there with the playbook and everything and now making sure my body is able to carry on with the mentality of it all.”
(You weren’t yawning in the defensive huddle, were you?) – “No, no, no, no, no. I made sure I had some rest that night before, so I was good.”
(Why do you think going from a starter in Baltimore to this stretch that you’ve had, why do you think that’s happened to you?) – “I mean you can ask God that, honestly. I have no idea, but I know that He has a plan for me and I’m just following Him and His entire process. I know that within all of this, He’s prepared me, He’s put me in the right situations and with that, I’m just going out there and do what I can and control what I can control.”
(Was Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver your coach?) – “Yeah, he was my d-line coach back in Baltimore.”
(So tell us one thing about Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver we wouldn’t know – I’ll tell you one thing. He had all the coaches get together and play physical pickup basketball games against each other and they were cheap shotting each other and everything. Tell us one thing about “Weave” we might not know.) – “I think ‘Weave’ kind of reminds me of what a lot of people said about me, is just like very laid back, very chill, nice, calm voice. But when it’s time, it’s time and he can flip that switch and I kind of see myself the same way once I get on the field. But great personality, great guy overall that I have a ton of respect for and love for and I’m just grateful to be here playing under him so I’m excited.”
(How different is it relating to him as your position coach as opposed to your defensive coordinator?) – “Oh man, this is not too big of a change compared to being with Mike Macdonald coming from seeing him as an assistant linebacker coach my rookie year. And then seeing him now as a head coach. I think that was the biggest mental change that I had to do, it’s like, ‘man, I just remember this guy being my defensive coordinator, my linebacker coach when I was in Baltimore. Now he’s the head coach.’ So I kind of got to approach him a little bit differently, but Mike (Macdonald) has always been great and I kind of feel the same way with ‘Weave.’ Just in a bigger position but still same personality, the mentality of trying to do everything right, the details and just going out and taking advantage of every opportunity and that’s the part that makes this transition from wherever that they were before now so much easier.”
(Would you use Bowser when you played Mario Kart?) – “Always. That’s the only person I use. (laughter) That’s my brother, so I always got to use him, always.”
Raheem Mostert – October 8, 2024
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Tuesday, October 8, 2024
RB Raheem Mostert
(On how dangerous the offense can be when going under center) – “Pretty dangerous obviously, but this offense if you go back to the roots is more so under center. Eighty percent of the offense is supposed to be 18, 19, 14, 15 from the running standpoint and everything else plays off of that. Once we get back to that who knows. Especially with a different quarterback, you’ve got ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) out there, he can do a lot of things. Utilize his legs and stuff like that as well as Tua (Tagovailoa) and some of the other guys. But we’re just trying to get back to the basics and the understanding of the offense and I think this past game definitely showed that.”
(You mentioned QB ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) there. What did you think of incorporating him into the running aspect of the offense especially after a game that he just got put in?) – “Obviously utilizing his legs is going to be very key and it’s exciting to watch. I’m not going to lie, I’m a huge fan of him because he’s like that Lamar-esque type quarterback where he can throw it and he can also run the ball, too. Just excited to give him more opportunities out there. We got this bye week, but next week when we get back it’s going to be fun to see.”
(One more question about under center. What does it open up in the passing game?) – “A lot of the play-action stuff. We threatened them so hard and we got them out of the two-shell and they were single-high. That opened up more of the pass game and the pass windows for the receivers. All of that stuff goes hand-in-hand in this offense.”
(Although you were other side of the ball, I’m sure you heard the news of Robert Saleh that he was let go from the Jets. What are your thoughts on that?) – “I haven’t really fully digested it yet. I think that he’s going to be all right wherever he goes if he gets picked up. I think that he’s a great coordinator, great coach and he brings the best out of players. It’s unfortunate that he was let go over there but still excited to see where he lands. It’s going to be probably a quick transition, but honestly I’m excited for him.”
(With you obviously being sat down the last three weeks that had to be hard. Where are you physically, not just the rehab, but the cardio?) – “Cardio is good, rehab is good. I’ve been feeling lot better. It was more so the chest, but I’m doing good. I’m game ready. Last week I was on a limited count, but then unfortunately something happened to ‘Von’ (De’Von Achane) and so my count had to go up a little bit. I played about 65 percent of the game. Still trying to work in and try to get those hits. That was my main concern, was getting hit and seeing how this bad boy does. I did good, I felt like I did a decent job coming back.”
(Any worry about you not being able to be as physical as you normally are because of the chest injury?) – “No, this game just helped me establish right back to where I’m at, where I need to be and bringing that physicality to the game.”
(Did you surprise yourself a little bit?) – “Not really. I wasn’t really surprised, but it felt good to get a couple of hits early on.”
(When you watched the postgame film and you know because you’ve lived it that there are several successful runs – 17-yarder, 22-yarder, 14-yarder – you and RB Jaylen Wright. Do you go into that knowing, hey, this is going to be a different feeling? And how is it when you watch it again?) – “It’s comforting to know we were getting those type of runs. And then being able to utilize the run game the way we did. It’s just going to open up more doors for everything else. I feel like once you establish the line of scrimmage everything else will take care of itself and that’s what we have to do.”
Mike McDaniel – October 7, 2024
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Monday, October 7, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(So not a game this week, but can you give us an update on where things stand at safety? Was S Jordan Poyer shin something he should be able to come back from pretty quickly after the bye? And with S Jevón Holland’s hand, will you guys talk about him maybe playing with a cast? Or is that just too difficult for a safety to do?) – “I feel good about where (Jordan) Poyer was at today, and I feel good about the time that we have until our next game so just positive on where Poyer is at. Not going to worry about timelines because I definitely don’t have a timeline this week. And then with Jevón (Holland), it should be about week-to-week. So this week for the game, this coming Sunday, I can rule him out for that, but we’ll see how it progresses. (laughter) A little ahead of schedule to kind of determine that, but it feels like it’ll be a week-to-week thing so we’ll see what that looks like in about a week.”
(And the whole thing about playing in a cast as a safety when you have a broken hand, is that a good idea in your opinion? Not a good idea because of how it limits you?) – “I think it all depends on the player and what value – if it’s just a ball production player, then I’m probably not playing somebody. If you offer much more than that, which is definitely what Jevón (Holland) offers, there’s value in playing with a cast even if you’re only a PBU player at the point of attack. He’s so instrumental in the various ways that we utilize him that I think if that would come to juncture, I would support that if he would support it because it’s all about guys feeling like they can do their jobs at a high level. Each player is independent, but open to that with a player of his skillset.”
(At the risk of answering my own question, I know you said you weren’t going to worry too much about QB Tua Tagovailoa because he’s on injured reserve. Is there a plan for him this week? Is he out of concussion protocol? Will he do anything this week?) – “So the way that will look is there’s some expert consultation that he has scheduled for this week and then we’ll address – the final stages of protocol won’t be achieved until we bring him back off IR and that first practice is had. So until then, we’re just communicating, and everything has been so far, so good.”
(RB De’Von Achane is in concussion protocol, I assume. Is that right?) – “Yeah, he is. But he’s in high spirits today.”
(And for the record, is QB Tyler Huntley going to be the starter or will there be a competition this week?) – “I think I feel as it stands right now, I feel very happy with the way ‘Snoop’ (Tyler Huntley) I thought went from managing the offense so to speak his first outing to – I thought he was executing the offense and that’s to his credit. So I feel pretty good about how fast he’s developed, and I would guess to forecast continuing that development process with the offense as the operation was better but not as good as it could be and you hope that with continuity, there’s an improvement in that.”
(Has there been anything brought to you, information that it would be dangerous to play QB Tua Tagovailoa when the window opens? Certainly, has to clear protocol, but all the experts you’ve talked to, has anyone said, “Hey, no. This is a guy that needs two, three, four months or whatever?”) – “There’s been nothing negative thus far, no. Nothing negative thus far, but we’re still in the process. We don’t rush that process and we don’t try to do anything that negatively impacts that. So I’ll stay within the guidelines that I’ve built for myself.”
(With the run game, is the 41 carries more significant or the 193 yards more significant?) – “Oh, chicken or egg. I would say I think the 41 attempts – it’s hard to get 41 attempts. And to do that, there’s inherent yardage, but that – to get 41 attempts, it’s more down-in, down-out and has less to do with how many explosives you have which can kind of inflate numbers sometimes. I think it’s the second time that I’ve been here that we’ve called 40 runs. I don’t know, extra credit, gold star to anyone that knows the other game – No?”
(Denver?) – “Boom. Hal, on it. But I think that also takes a commitment when you run the ball, specifically in the second half, specifically with 12 minutes to go in the game. And this league, you have to run it when they know you’re going to if you want success in big games, in tight games and November and December games – you have to. And when you run the ball 41 times, a good amount of those, they know that it’s coming, and it takes all 11 to do that. Because the more that you have success, guys don’t – it’s a large number on the defense, too, and so corners and safeties typically get very involved, just like they did yesterday. There was a couple times on that final scoring drive that we were running the ball against a six-man front, or six men on the line of scrimmage zero and still getting production, and that doesn’t exist if the receivers aren’t doing what they need to do. Ultimately, I think our guys have really taken a step forward in understanding that some of the coverages on first and second down that are pass preventative, those will continue to occur unless you’re able to take the time of possession and really wear the defensive front down. So I thought one of the best takeaways from the game was finding a way to win in spite of yourself. A lot of times, we tried to create opportunities to make it really hard to win that game. We overcame that and then we found our identity, I feel like, up front to where they had the connectivity of the preparation, the fundamentals and technique, the mindset, all of which that we kind of knew going into the game that if we’re going to come out with a win, we weren’t going to win in spite of our run game. It had to be a part of the solution, not the problem.”
(Looking at the seven consecutive runs and how successful you were on that drive, was that the result of the fact that you were running so well? Or was that a concerted effort where at the start of that drive perhaps, you said, “OK, we’re going to put this right on the run game. We’re either going to win because of it or lose because of it?”) – “I think it was a culmination of – I try to call plays as best I can be connected to the team, the defense, the offense, where our strength is at the time, where our momentum is. It’s easy for me to call a ton of runs in a row when the players on the field give me reason to. And how does that occur? Well, it’s not just like success or failure. Run game in the National Football League is difficult just in general, but when you see continued evolution in execution during the course of the game, you can feel the momentum of, ‘all right, we’re a little short here on this combination block,’ and ‘Oh, the next time we get it we’re not. The first time we run this run, maybe the back’s course is a little off relative to the blocking. Oh here, it’s right on.’ I think some of the biggest runs in the game, there’s three or four in particular, were like rugby scrum four-yard gains. When it’s blocked for one yard and collective push and drive by the ball carrier and the blockers, you end up at second-and-6, that substantially influences how I call the game. Because my eyes, you’re watching, you’re calling the play. As it starts, you’re getting ready for the next play call and the one’s that really always influence me are where my eyes go down, I’m looking at my call sheet for a wristband number and then coach upstairs says, ‘All right, second-and-6,’ and in my mind I was preparing for second-and-9 – that’s a big deal. That’s what we kind of talk about as an offense because there’s not ifs, ands or buts about it, the run game is proactive. You are dictating the terms and it’s hard to do down-in, down-out, but over the course of the game, if you’re connected the right way from coaches and players and guys are progressing through the game, you can end up having seven straight runs, knowing that they know you’re about to do it again and still getting production. That is something that did not just start on Sunday; that was a mindset of work from the first time that we had results we weren’t pumped about this season. Chopping wood at that, directly addressing it so that we could work into that situation where there was an opportunity that the offensive line and running back room, it’s all 11, but particularly those two groups that want the team to be on their back, they had the opportunity and took advantage of it, which was a huge, huge piece of growth for this team that we needed that is the source of feeling – we kind of had an odd feeling today where there was a really good feeling about getting the win, but not nearly satisfied with the way that it unfolded. We felt like we could have had a much cleaner game and the source of positive to build upon was really majority of the game run defense outside of a couple plays, some third down defense outside of a couple plays and the run game for sure took a step in the right direction.”
(I know the offensive line had injuries in the early part of the year, so it sounds like maybe that was the best half of football you’ve seen that unit play together all season?) – “It’s tough. It’s a tough existence, it’s almost like offensive linemen are kind of like – after retirement they should just go into officiating because they know how to roll, where a lot of the times the only attention you’re getting is when things aren’t working out or sometimes it doesn’t have anything to do with you. Guys could be running the wrong route, so then you can’t throw the ball and you get a late sack. But without question, this was the toughest task really from a run game technique and fundamental perspective, New England does a good job as any at defeating blocks. So they do a good job of really leaning into the most important technique and fundamentals on a down-in, down-out basis and to the offensive line’s credit, they really took pride in it. They recognized early in the week that they might have this opportunity so they prepared and wanted to help the team win. So I thought the 41 runs, and in particular that last drive to go ahead and get the lead and eat up half the fourth quarter, that was definitely a badge of honor to the offensive line. It was not easy, but I can you promise you looking at them today, it was worth it.”
(To piggyback off of that, after watching the film, how would you describe the impact that FB Alec Ingold had in the game?) – “Phenomenal. It was very fitting that he got the touchdown because I think it was the most snaps that he played all year. There’s a couple plays in particular on that final drive that were as good as I’ve seen from a point of attack, blocker, tight end or fullback. The team voted him captain for a reason. There’s a lot of guys that have leadership skills and play the game to have a ‘C’ on their chest. He proved to every teammate – not that he needed to at all – but he really wore the ‘C’ on his chest, leading, helping our offense operate but really did some outstanding things at the point of attack against a physical front that’s really trying to inflict punishment on fullbacks in general. He was instrumental. He was at the point of attack a ton and had a very, very high execution rate. It was a really, really cool game, especially if you’re really passionate about fullback play. That’s a game that you want to turn on; it’s one of the top ones that I can remember in terms of a fullback having an impact on the ultimate outcome, for sure.”
(When you go back and look at the first five weeks, has there been a common thread on special teams that have led to some of these errors you guys have had?) – “Well two in particular – we’ve been excellent in punt protection and we had a punt blocked, so that was unique and that was new. I hadn’t had an errant snap and that occurred one play after a false start, so those were unique and unto their own. We’ve had some penalties – ultimately you want to help a team win a game, not lose it, and there were some errors that the team had to overcome. I did feel like during the course of the game – I always watch for, OK, something happens that’s detrimental to the team or whatever; nobody hates a bad snap more than the snapper. What I will say is in-game to come back and execute, that’s important. We have to make sure that we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot and have to do two kicks at the potential of the second snap being errant. That snap can’t be errant. We can’t have blocked punts; these are things that when they do occur, those negatives usually lead to L columns. Now I will say there was a lot of field position that was won by special teams. We pinned them down at the five-yard line in the second half and there was a couple real good plays by not only Braxton (Berrios) but the guys blocking the gunners and creating a touchback. We had a kickoff that was inside the 20, so it wasn’t all bad; however the mistakes that did occur were unusual and we’re trying to get down to the bottom of why they occurred that one time and make sure they don’t happen again because you can’t typically with mistakes like that, you end up losing the game. And the pattern can’t exist, hasn’t existed in terms of who was at fault and what happened that was negative. It kind of came out of nowhere and we need to make sure it stays in nowhere and doesn’t become the rule of thumb.”
(How do you keep the momentum going? You talked about, the guys all talked about this not being the perfect win that you guys wanted to clean up everything, so how do you keep that momentum going through the bye week into the week after?) – “I think you have to establish first and foremost the elephant in the room; we were absolutely going into the game with non-negotiable needing to win it. We felt that way as a team and we were able to do that; however after the game you’re feeling like, wow, this game was really close, and it felt like we did more even giving credit to your opponents at all times, we did more to put ourselves in the situation to be a final-drive game than the opponent. And both things can be true. You can be satisfied with the result. You can understand that the result – I’m not sure if we would’ve won this game, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have won this game three weeks ago. We needed all the stuff to go on to occur to kind of grow into being able to win a messy game like this. However there are certain things – we will never feel good about our football unless we clean up errant snaps over somebody’s head, missed snap on a field goal, a blocked punt, an explosive run touchdown. Those things – procedural stuff – we can control those things. There’s a lot of things you can’t control in this league. There are certain things you can. The way we started off today was talking about all those things that we can control with absolute certainty that’s our job to get cleaned up. And all the while, understanding that it is a badge of honor to win that game relative to how we’ve found success in the past. To win a grimy game that isn’t perfect is a step in the right direction. Now, how do we take control over the controllables? That’s the most important thing for us moving forward, building upon the growth of the team, but we have a long ways to go and some time to do it, so we’ll keep chopping wood every day.”
