John Jenkins – September 30, 2021
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Thursday, September 30, 2021
DT John Jenkins
(How has it been to have increased minutes? What’s that like for you?) – “I don’t know what to say. It’s a good feeling. I’m just working, coming in day and night, late nights and early mornings and just working. Whatever my job entails, I just do it to the best of my ability.”
(This is the question specifically about you guys as a defense but as a defensive player, when a team is running on you and getting a consistent 4.5 yards per carry and you can’t stop them, what does that feel like?) – “It’s not a good feeling. I can just tell by your facial expression that it wasn’t a good question. It was just one of those situations where it was like, ‘Y’all got to do better,’ right? Everyday we are getting better and better and better. To answer your question, it’s not a good feeling, especially for me being a first and second down defensive player. I take that really serious and that’s the reason why I’ve been around for so long because I take that job extremely serious. When you say that, it hits me personally because that lets me know I got to go do something and I got to go get better and put in more film and put in more time to become a better player. You know what I mean? It sucks but at the end of the day, it’s the NFL, everybody gets paid, everybody has a job to do and sometimes it doesn’t go in our favor, but we continue to work and come together tight as a team to prevent that from happening another time.”
(Most defenses, they always say we have to stop the run first. What’s it like when you – I’ve looked at this so many times in so many different years, you guys focus on so much else that it seems as if the run has fallen between the cracks.) – “We focus on everything. We focus on being a better defense. I don’t know what you are focused on or what you see out of your eyes. I just know from being within these walls, we focus on being a great defense. We work on everything. Not everybody is perfect but we work hard. That’s the best I can – I know we all want to be great and you can see that if you are around us more, that we want to be great and we take this serious.”
(What jumps out at you on film when you watch RB Jonathan Taylor?) – “He’s a strong runner. Shifty. I had the opportunity to play with a lot of good running backs. Pierre Thomas, Saquon (Barkley) in his rookie year in New York and this guy is of that caliber. He’s a great, great runner. We just have to be more in-tune with our blocks, with our eyes and stay stout.”
(I asked CB Nik Needham about this but have you picked QB Jacoby Brissett’s brain about the Colts at all?) – “No, actually I haven’t. Every year is different, man. I can sit there and say hey this, that and the third and ask all these questions but every year, the mindset is different. I’m not in those walls. I’m not in that building so I don’t know how they are going to play us. When Jacoby was there, it was a whole different philosophy so therefore, I just take every week no differently.”
Robert Hunt – September 30, 2021
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Thursday, September 30, 2021
G/T Robert Hunt
(Obviously, despite it being a loss, when you looked at the film as an offensive line, did you come out a little bit more pleased with your performance compared to the Buffalo game?) – “Yeah. I think we did. We had an emphasis that week – last week – to come out and prepare better and do what we can do better. Taking it a play at a time, I think we did that. It definitely wasn’t a perfect game. We can still improve, which we are trying to do and which we will do. But yeah, it felt better than it did the Buffalo week.”
(We didn’t see C/G Michael Deiter out there today, so obviously that raises questions about whether he’ll be available on Sunday. If you are to go with OL Greg Mancz at center, how does that affect the line play? How does that affect communication?) – “I think we’ll be ok. Greg practices just like the rest of us. We’re all in the same meeting room learning the same deals. He’s a center so he’s definitely in-tune with everything that’s going on. I think we’ll be fine.”
(You guys did rush for over 100 yards. We’ve asked you guys a lot about pass protection, but as offensive linemen and kind of getting those five guys together, are there any nuances to maybe run blocking that the average person doesn’t know about?) – “Yeah, as an O-line, that’s what you want to do. You want to run the ball so you won’t be in third-and-10s and they bring the house. We want to run the ball and we want to be good at it so we can manage the down-and-distance, so we can be third-and-2, third-and-3 and third-and-5. So yeah, it’s a big emphasis to run the football. That’s what we want to do.”
(Do you all feel like that can be your identity as a run team?) – “I think so. I think we’ve got the backs. I think we’ve got the guys to do it. It’s just up to us to do it.”
(You’re talking about creating the holes?) – “Yeah.”
(What was different this week as opposed to what you guys have done the first two weeks?) – “I wouldn’t say anything was different. I think we just had to step back and look ourselves in the mirror and hone-in and focus in on our individual selves and then as a unit. We just knew what we did. At Buffalo, everybody knew how that week went and we just wanted to improve on that week.”
(With the tandem blocks that you guys do, how much of that is a technique thing versus practice?) – “Tandem blocks? What do you mean?”
(In terms of working on two guys.) – “How much of that is technique than…?”
(Chemistry or…) – “I mean I don’t know. As an offensive lineman, you’ve been doing this for a while so you know where the B-block is, you know where the C-block is. You’ve just got to – you’ve got to practice it. So if that’s what you’re asking, then yeah you have to practice it, I would say, to be better at it and continue to get good at it. I think we’ve been hitting it a lot. We’ve made an emphasis on double teams since the beginning of camp. That’s something that we want to do is run the ball.”
(When you don’t – and this is just a question for the technical aspect. When you don’t go live in practice, do you get the real looks of those tandem blocks in the run game?) – “Yeah, I think so. I think so. I mean of course it’s not a game rep block but you can definitely make it as close as you can. With pads on or without pads on, we focus on the guys holding the bag, get out on them and stay low. If we’ve got pads on then you’ve got to try to fit the gap. We aren’t D-linemen but we try to play like we are D-linemen. It’s an emphasis for not just us to get the block but the guy that’s on defense doing a block for us, acting like he’s the defender, it’s an emphasis for him to give us a good look. We try to get as close as we can.”
(As an offensive lineman, is it just kind of natural and naturally easier to block on a regular called run play as opposed to an RPO because you know that you can’t go more than like one yard down the field?) – “Yeah, I think so. It’s a normal run play. You’ve got to go. You pin your ears back and let’s go. RPOs, being downfield, you’ve got to be kind of careful with it.”
(Did Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre sort of say or stress anything throughout last week that was particularly helpful or showed up on Sunday that you remember?) – “Just like we’re all stressing, just take it one play at a time. Just take it one play at a time. We know what we can do. We’ve got to play with confidence and we’ve got to play fast. That’s what we’ve got to do. We knew that. There wasn’t nothing that he stressed that we didn’t already know.”
(Was the RB Malcolm Brown touchdown run as perfect as you could draw it up?) – “That was exciting. That was a good run. That was beautiful to see actually. That was really good. Hopefully we can keep that up.”
Jerome Baker – September 30, 2021
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Thursday, September 30, 2021
LB Jerome Baker
(We saw you limited on the injury report yesterday – listed you as limited – could you go full today and do you expect to play Sunday?) – “Yeah, I was fine. I don’t know why I was on there. But yeah, I was fine. (laughter)”
(Just a quick question before I ask my real question. Are you communicating – do you have the green dot helmet to relay the defensive calls?) – “Do I have the green dot? Is that what you’re asking? Yeah, I have it.”
(So I guess you know this week we’ve been asking a lot about the third-down defense and you guys not being able to get off the field as easily as last year. I guess third down, what are you looking at and what are you trying to relay? How do you maybe make checks especially on a third-down play?) – “It truly depends on what defense we’re in, but I can tell you like the simple things, just being aware of where the down-and-distance is at – if it’s third-and-long, is it third-and-short, are they trying to pick us? It’s truly just figuring out what we’re in and what they’re trying to do against us. There’s no secret we play a lot of man, so a lot of teams are just trying to pick us. That’s the main thing, so when we do play zone just being aware of where the sticks are at. I think we’re truly just at the end of the day as a defense, we’ve just got to execute and that’s knowing your leverage, that’s eliminating yards after the catch. Just those things we truly preach on and that’s how you get off the field in this league.”
(It’s a weird question to ask, but I think you would know because you have some context. What’s missing from this defense? You guys were so good last year and it doesn’t seem to be clicking yet and maybe it didn’t click early last year, too, because you guys were like 1-3.) – “What’s missing? I wouldn’t say anything is missing. I think it’s just a lack of truly just executing. I think guys last year, we just executed better and this year I think we’re just not having that focus of – we’re just not executing. We’re not getting it done. Now we’re preaching that every third down, if it’s in practice, if it’s in walkthrough – whatever it is, we’re preaching execute, execute, execute. What I mean by execute is knowing your leverage, it’s getting back on your breaks on zone drops. Whatever it is, you’ve truly got to execute your job and having trust in the guys around you to do their job. I think guys – it’s not a sense of they’re trying to do bad or do wrong. It’s they’re trying to make the play for themselves and not be wrong and that’s not how our defense is. Our defense is truly a team defense. I think that’s the main thing. We’ve got guys that want to do right, want to make the play. But in this defense, plays come to you if you just do your job. I think that’s the one thing we’ve got to just lock in on.”
(Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer said that earlier this week that it’s not guys doing bad for making the bad play. They’re just trying to make that extra play. Do you find yourself in that situation where…?) – “Yeah, there’s been times I definitely am a part of that group. I’m not going to sit there and say I’m not. I can think of a few times it was me and it’s not just in a game. It’s times in practice, walkthroughs, whatever it is. It’s usually if it happens in practice, it’s kind of hard to just fix it game time, so you are going to get it right today or yesterday. So I think for me, we all make our mistakes. We all try too hard and we end up being out of the play and hurting us more than helping us. I would definitely say I was in that group, too.”
(You faced RB Johnathan Taylor your last year at Ohio State and when he was a freshman. He carried the ball 15 times that game. Did anything stand out to you about him at that time thinking, “yeah I’m going to see that guy in the pros in a few years?”) – “Yeah, just the way he runs. He’s a strong, physical, center of gravity guy. He’s just been like that. He’s got all the tools to be a great back in the league and I saw that early on. Even this past offseason, we worked out at the same place and he’s still the same way. He’s a strong, physical guy. He just competes his ass off.”
(Was there any difference in terms of how it was for you not having either linebacker coach last Sunday with you and are they back this week?) – “Was it a difference? I wouldn’t say there was a difference. ‘Camp’ (Anthony Campanile) brings that energy. He’s a guy that no matter what day it is, if it’s a walkthrough, if it’s a gameday or whatever, he’s going to bring the same exact energy every day. I think that was the only difference, the true difference. He’ll be fine. He’ll be back soon and we’re waiting on him.”
(You mentioned RB Jonathan Taylor, obviously it’s going to be important to stop him. In what ways can this team’s run defense improve?) – “It’s the same thing, just doing your job. You don’t have to try to make the play by yourself. Our defense is truly built on setting the edge, tackling well and playing your fundamentals and technique. That’s truly our defense. All of us are smart, all of us understand what we are doing. It’s about just doing that every single play, every down, every quarter. Not just doing it in the beginning of the game and later in the game it shows up. It’s truly about every single snap, locking in and truly doing it as a defense. Our defense is truly built on ‘together.’ We’ve got to do it together and nobody can just make the play by themselves so I guess that’s what we need to do.”
Eric Rowe – September 29, 2021
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Wednesday, September 29, 2021
S Eric Rowe
(I know last year you guys were the best third-down defense and the best at getting off the field. Right now, you guys are last in the league. Is there anything that stands out to you in the first three games that correlates to some of those issues?) – “Yeah. First, it starts on first and second down. Right now, we just aren’t doing that strong on first and second down. That obviously leads to a more manageable, for the offense, third down. Third-and-short. That’s a situation that we don’t want to be in. We want to get them in second-and-long, get them to third-and-long and then get to our exotic stuff and get off the field. Just right now, that’s what’s going on.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores gave credit to some of the opponents. Good passes and great catches. Do you feel that you are getting lined up right and it’s just a matter of making those 50/50 plays at times?) – “Yeah, I mean they get paid too. They make good catches, good runs, good blocks. It’s just right now, we need to make more plays than the opponent. Those 50/50s, we have to start coming down with more of them.”
(It’s often talked about how continuity is really good for the offensive line, guys building chemistry and playing together. Could the same be said for the defensive backfield?) – “Yeah, I think it’s the same for any position group. The more chemistry you have with the guys, the locker room, outside the field, it translates. It translates on the field. Maybe not necessarily like assignment-wise on whatever scheme we have, but just kind of effort-wise. You play a little harder, you trust more, you trust the guy next to you. You know whatever job they have, you know that they are going to get it done and they know that you are going to get it done. Really any position group, that chemistry is good for you.”
(You got to come in on a few blitzes and S Brandon Jones as well. How much do you like that aspect of the game because usually you’re in coverage? Just to do something different.) – “I like it because I can disguise, especially if it’s like a tight end on the side of the blitz I’m going, I can show man because about 90 percent (of the time), that’s what I’m in. It makes it easier on me because they’re not counting me in the blitz and I don’t get picked up. Sprinkle me in on a couple blitzes. Whenever they call it, I like it. It’s a switch up. It’s a chance for me to get the quarterback and try to make a different type of play than usually man coverage.”
(You were in the quarterback’s face when LB Elandon Roberts had the pick, right? At what moment did you realize that the good guys had the ball?) – “When the crowd went ‘Ahh.’ You could tell it wasn’t the Raiders crowd because obviously it would be super loud. It was our fans there and I just happened to look and see Elandon running down the field. Obviously, that’s a great feeling because I was like, ‘We need to score.’”
(Were you worried at all? Because you got a hit on QB Derek Carr on that play?) – “I would say I ran into him. (laughter)”
(I think LB Elandon Roberts had that happen to him in Week 1 where you run into a quarterback and you never know what a penalty is.) – “When I was going, especially a guy like Derek Carr, I know he’s going to get the ball off before I even get to him because he’s looking at me running. I was trying to just mirror his hand and get my hand up to see if I could tip the ball. Obviously I missed and just kind of ran into him. For a half second I was like, ‘I hope they don’t call that.’ Then I saw E-Rob running, so I was like ‘alright, good.’”
(Did you play with QB Carson Wentz when he first got to Philly?) – “Yeah, like a training camp. Spring, training camp and then I got traded.”
(Any recollections of what QB Carson Wentz was like when he first started?) – “When he was a rookie? Obviously, he’s lightyears away from that. I remember when I first got there, he was just throwing deep bombs off the rip the first practice, and he had an arm. I was like, ‘Jeez, who is this guy?’ That was like, five, six years ago now. Obviously, he’s a lot better now.”
Christian Wilkins – September 29, 2021
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Wednesday, September 29, 2021
DT Christian Wilkins
(With the sack on Sunday – you are studious about your work. Pass rushing to you – how much have you focused on that in training camp and even through the start of the regular season in terms of skill development?) – “It’s part of being a pro. One of the things I try to always do is continue to hone my craft. Get better – pash rush, run. Just become a complete player. Be balanced and be able to stay on the field as much as I can and do my job as well as I can. Whatever the coaches ask me to do, whatever my team needs me to do, just try to develop them as much as possible, whether it’s day by day or week by week or season by season. Just always getting better.”
(As far as sack numbers go, I don’t think the Dolphins rank very high in the league. But you are in the top 10 as far as hitting the quarterback and contacting him. How do you bridge that gap between actually bringing him down versus just running into him?) – “There’s a lot of things that go into that. The fact that we are getting there and hitting him, hitting the quarterback, it does say we are able to get a lot of pressure and make a few things happen. We might have to try that much harder to make sure we get there and get home and bring him down.”
(I guess it feels better not getting the sack but still hitting him than not getting the sack and not touching him at all?) – “You always want to go. Again, there’s always a lot of different things that go into that. Sacks are big plays but hitting the quarterback is affecting him as well.”
(I ask because a lot of fans like to clamor about sack numbers, but it feels like sacks are, like you said, a great stat but it can be a little misleading.) – “Yeah, right. Like I said, there’s a bunch of ways that you can affect the quarterback. A batted pass can affect the quarterback just as much as a sack can. It really all just depends.”
(Did you and Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark go over the offseason program in August, focusing on polishing some of the pass rush moves you have? Or have you worked on developing new ones?) – “Really, like again, it doesn’t really matter about – there are a lot of guys who have great sack numbers off of just a few moves. It’s really working on what it is that you do as a scheme and what fits you best as an individual and mastering those things, and figuring out where you can take risks, where you can take shots, where you can’t, here and there. It’s all just about the scheme and what fits your skillset.”
(When you guys look back at run defense, you had some bright spots like the turnover on downs, the forced fumble. But allowing a guy to go over 100 yards, what did you find?) – “Each week the goal is just to get better. You’re always looking at what we did well, what we didn’t do well. The things we did well, we are going to try to continue to do moving forward and the things we didn’t do so well, we are going to try to improve on those things.”
(I wanted to ask you about third-down defense and time of possession. There have been several games in a row here where you have been on the field a lot. I don’t think I have to tell you that. What are you seeing as what is going wrong and how frustrating must that be to not be able to get off the field when you want to?) – “As a defense, your job is to get the ball back to the offense and get off the field as much as you can. That’s always your No. 1 goal. We’ll just keep trying to build each week, keep focusing on what it is that we need to do and execute the gameplan at a high level so we can get off the field more.”
(QB Tom Brady or Head Coach Bill Belichick?) – “What does that have to do with anything?”
(You’re a Massachusetts guy.) – “Yeah, okay. (laughter)”
(I know we talked a couple years ago about QB Tyler Van Dyke being here. He had his first start. Do you all have any sort of contact still from the Connecticut school?) – “Oh yeah, Suffield Academy. Suffield’s finest. A proud alum. (laughter). Actually, I talked to Tyler when he first came down here a little bit. I’m still open to talking to him whenever but obviously I do check in on games and that is the local team down here. I always kind of see things and pay attention to him when I can.”
(He went 10-for-11 for 266 yards in his first start.) – “Yeah, I definitely do pay attention to him. I try to support the fellow Suffield Academy alum.”
(Did you get a chance to talk to DE Clelin Ferrell, CB Trayvon Mullen Jr., WR Hunter Renfrow and C John Simpson?) – “Yeah, I was able to talk to all my guys and just catch up for a second. Just let them know I’m proud of them, keep working hard and we’re brothers.”
(Were there any jokes about how many of them ended up on the same team?) – “There were a lot of jokes, but yeah we were kind of just shooting it and just like old times. It was like we were in the locker room or something. Just kicking it, talking and making fun of each other. A bunch of different stuff.”
(This is the second game at home. Obviously the first one didn’t go the way you guys wanted. To have a successful season, you have to be good at home. How big a motivation is winning at home on Sunday or is it just about executing the gameplan that you guys have?) – “You always want to execute and that starts in practice. That starts in the meetings, it starts in the workouts and everything. It all goes into winning on Sundays. It’s definitely important to win at home. You always want to protect your house. You just have to have that mindset. You want to win anywhere but you definitely want to take care of your business at home.”
(They’re honoring Head Coach Don Shula this weekend. Do you feel that history in this building and if you had any interactions with him that you remember that stand out?) – “Absolutely. I’m definitely aware of the great history here and the great things that teams before us were able to do. The history here is pretty rich. I think that’s awesome. I think that’s pretty cool. Whenever former players come around and former coaches, I always have a little extra sense of let me listen, let me lock in or let me just go and say what’s up to that guy or that person, that coach, that former player or whatever and just shake their hand a lot of times when I can. There’s a lot of people that came before me that made the rich history here. It’s always pretty cool.”
Jaylen Waddle – September 29, 2021
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Wednesday, September 29, 2021
WR Jaylen Waddle
(You were one of the best in yards after the catch in college, probably one of the best we’ve seen in college football in years. I know a lot of them came on deep throws and some on shorter throws where you eluded guys. Where are you with YAC as a NFL player? Are you happy with what you’ve produced? Are you sort of antsy to get more as far as yards after catch?) – “Honestly, I feel like I can do more after the catch. I’ll try to do more after the catch. That’s pretty much where I’m at. I’m not dissatisfied or anything like that but I feel I can do more.”
(Can you walk us through the safety against the Raiders? What happened from your perspective?) – “We just didn’t execute the play well at all. Just execution all around. We just didn’t execute really.”
(Were you expecting to get the ball there?) – “You always – hopefully. You always want the ball. I think just execution all the way around. We just didn’t execute well. “
(It’s tough to make the decision so quickly, but did you think you should just let the ball go and not catch it and live another down?) – “I always want to catch the ball. (laughter) To be honest, I wouldn’t be like – I wasn’t going to let it go past (me) or anything like that because it’s just like an instinct to catch the ball. Nah, I wouldn’t say that.”
(How would you self-evaluate where you are right now three real games in?) – “I think there is room for improvement. A lot of improvement, just all the way around, honestly.”
(Do you feel like there is a sense of urgency in the building to kind of pick up where you left off, the way you finished that game, and kind of build on the momentum that you guys were carrying through the end of the game?) – “I think we just want to play good football all the way around through the whole 60 minutes, honestly. You can say momentum throughout the game, but I think we just want to play one full game that we just leave it all out there.”
(We talked about yards after catch at the start. What’s the key to getting you going in that way? Is it the play design? How do you set yourself up, when you’re starting a play, for a better end result?) – “I think it starts with executing the play – getting the play started and doing your ability to try to make someone miss. That’s honestly where it starts.”
(Are NFL players as fast as you thought they’d be or faster than you thought they’d be? Because at Alabama, you were just out-running people left and right.) – “I think it’s the NFL, so it’s the best of the best. Everyone is really good.”
(Are you pleased with how you’ve been able to get open? You have a large volume of catches so you’re getting open.) – “You’re always happy with that. (laughter) You’re always happy.”
(How do you feel looking back at a game where you had 12 catches but your yards per catch wasn’t really high?) – “To be honest, I don’t really look at that too much, like they tell me or anything like that. I really don’t look at it too much. I feel like we can do more. I can do more. The unit feels like they can do more. We’re just honestly going to try to do more.”
(What’s this process like? I don’t know if you’ve ever been on a team that’s 1-2. I know not for many, many years if ever. Obviously you guys are building towards something. I get all of that. But how unusual is it to be going through real growing pains when you’ve never really – the teams you’ve been on haven’t really gone through something like this?) – “I feel like we’re building, honestly. With us losing the game, I feel like we’ve learned a lot. We’re a young team. We’re just going to try to continue to get better.”
(Other than not having to go to class, what have you noticed is different about being an NFL player as opposed to college?) – “Just everyday life?”
(Yeah. Anything that has to do with anything. What’s different?) – “Nothing really. You be here pretty much all day. (laughter)”
(So that’s what’s different?) – “Yeah. You’re here all day, but that’s your job.”
(I know Hurricanes players have talked before about having a group text. Do you just text directly with DeVonta Smith or do you have a text chain with all of the Alabama rookies where you guys check in with each other every Sunday night, Monday or Tuesday?) – “Did you say all of the Alabama rookies?”
(There are a lot of them.) – “(laughter) We have a lot of group messages, but I don’t think we have one with just all the Alabama rookies.”
(Or most? Do you just text with DeVonta Smith? Or do you have a few of you guys?) – “Yeah, I keep in contact with almost everyone. But the group messages, I know that all of the receivers, we always text.”
(Do you talk about your games that week, or is it just non-football stuff?) – “Non-football stuff.”
Mike Gesicki – September 29, 2021
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Wednesday, September 29, 2021
TE Mike Gesicki
(I’m trying to remember if there would have been a previous shovel pass to you before Sunday.) – “Yes – 2018, Detroit Lions, on the goal line.”
(Who was the play-caller?) – “Adam Gase.”
(Is that a play in which you enjoy?) – “Yeah. I like any time I get to touch the football, so that was a good one.”
(Speaking of touching the football, it seems like you’ve done a lot of it with QB Jacoby Brissett under center. Not to say he’s going to throw you the ball more than QB Tua Tagovailoa would but what kind of chemistry did you two have considering this is your first year playing well?) – “Yeah, I mean I think Jacoby does a great job of just kind of going out there and executing, taking what the defense gives you. My thing is just making the most of my opportunities. When an opportunity presents itself, I’ve got to go out and make a play. That’s what I’m out there to do. I think that for the most part, I was able to do so.”
(Is there a greater optimism this week in practice that you guys can build off some of those late big plays and try to find some explosive plays this week?) – “I think every week there’s a lot of optimism and there’s a lot of us out there working, trying to execute. I wouldn’t say this week there’s more or less or any week there’s more or less. We’re professionals. We go about our business professionally and that’s how – it starts from the top with our coaches. They handle things in a great manner and that trickles down to us. We’re excited to get back out here and have another opportunity.”
(What do you see in this offense in terms of the lack of big plays? What’s not clicking that needs to start clicking?) – “I think that’s just how this game works. The other team is getting paid to make plays too and that’s just how it goes. I think we’ve just got to continue to keep working, keep trusting the coaching, keep going to practice and working on your fundamentals and techniques, and like I’ve said over and over again, when that opportunity presents itself, when that safety does cheat down a little bit and that post does open up and hit it, then you guys can write about that.”
(How aware of LB Darius Leonard do you have to be on every route you run?) – “Extremely. He’s a very talented player both in the run game and in the pass game. He’s extremely athletic. A ball hawk in both the pass game but also when you’re a ball-carrier. He’s going to go out there and try to punch that thing out of your hands. He’s obviously gotten all of the recognition and he deserves it all. He’s a great player.”
(What’s it like as an offense going against a player who could literally be anywhere at any given time on the field?) – “There’s a lot of good players in this league. I think you’ve just got to go out there and be able to execute no matter who we’re going against. Obviously he’s at the top of the list, so he deserves a lot of recognition and deserves a lot of credit. We’ve just got to go out and be able to execute.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle was in here earlier and I know he’s not in your position room but he’s really young and has only played three NFL games. If he did ask you for any tip or advice about navigating this rookie year, what would you say?) – “I think he’s doing a great job already without any advice from me. But (I would say) just continue all of the basic stuff – like if you were a coach, what you would say, it’s true. Just keep coming in here, keep doing what you’re doing, understand that the coaches are going to put you in a position to be successful and trust your technique and trust your work because that’s what’s gotten him here. He’s an extremely talented player – good hands, extremely fast, quick in and out of breaks, can impact a game on offense and in special teams. I think just continue to do what he’s doing and continue to grow.”
(You obviously have someone involved in the play-calling who really appreciates your skills from having worked with you for three years in Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey. Do you feel a comfort level with him during the game, at halftime or whenever to say ‘Look, I’m getting open against this look?’ Can you maybe call that a little more than maybe you would have had with Chan Gailey just because you’re more familiar with George?) – “I try to stay in my own lane. I think there’s points throughout the game where obviously you think you have this matchup or you think you can do that or this. But for the most part, I try to stay in my own lane just like everybody else. You’ve just got to trust in the coaching because they spend a lot of time up here, a lot of hours watching film, game-planning, figuring out matchups, trying to figure out and scheme up guys to get open and here and there and all of that kind of stuff. Obviously I think everybody is confident in themselves that they can go out and make plays, but that’s the beauty of this game. Sometimes you’re going to go out there and there’s not going to be many opportunities. Sometimes you’re going to go out there and there’s going to be a lot of opportunities. You’ve just got to be patient and like I continue to say, just be ready when that opportunity presents itself.”
(The fourth down catch didn’t seem like the easiest of catches. I’m just curious – I know it was a few days ago – what was going through your mind as that route was developing and sort of time was running down? You knew that it was fourth-and-20. What was going through your mind?) – “I lined up and based off of the concept of the play, I was really supposed to run a little bit of a shorter route but kind of understand the sticks. It’s a gotta-have-it play right there, so I ended up taking my depth a little bit deeper and Jacoby (Brissett) did a great job of extending the play with his legs. He put a ball out there and I think it just goes back to in big moments and opportunities, when you have an opportunity to make a play in a big moment, you just fall back on your preparation. I’ve caught a lot of footballs leading up to that moment. You just fall back on your preparation and we were able to make the play. Obviously we were still a couple of plays short on Sunday.”
(There were a lot of things that went right in those final few moments where you guys were able to rally the way you did. What did you see on film that maybe you could build off on this Sunday from last week?) – “I think honestly just kind of getting into a little bit of a flow. You could see guys getting confident, going out there and making plays. In terms of Jacoby (Brissett) to the receivers to myself to the backs. Adam Shaheen had a good one that ended up getting called back. There are a lot of guys that are capable of making plays. We’ve just got to get into a flow, trust the coaching and trust the gameplan to go out there and be able to execute it. I think you saw that in the fourth quarter but we’ve got to be able to sustain that. We started off fast but can’t really have those lulls in the middle of the game that lead to having to fight back. We’re a talented team that we can fight back, but ultimately you don’t want to put yourself in those positions.”
Jacoby Brissett – September 29, 2021
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Wednesday, September 29, 2021
QB Jacoby Brissett
(It’s a home game where you know you’re going to be the starter. How many people are you going to have in the stands?) – “All of the people in Dolphins jerseys are going to be for us, so all of those people.”
(Any special thought about facing the Colts and your fondest memories of your time there?) – “I mean obviously good, bad, sad, happy memories from there. That’s about it. I’m just playing football now. Kind of put that to the side.”
(Any time a guy faces his old team, no matter the sport, there’s always that parallel drawn, there’s always that storyline is obvious. As an athlete, is it kind of overstated? I mean you want to win with whoever you’re playing with and whoever you’re playing against. Is that…) – “Yeah, and it makes it more than what it is. I’m not here for like a revenge game or anything like that. I want to go win just because I’m playing football and I’m playing in the National Football League. We need a win so that’s what the purpose of this game is.”
(Can you carry some momentum, especially from the end of the second half of last game to this game, especially with the sense of urgency that you guys had the second half of the last game?) – “Yeah, for sure. That’s what we’ve been talking about is just building off of that momentum. Like I said after the game, we obviously lost but we did a lot of good things, especially coming from the week before that. Just finding those key things that we knew that we wanted to harp on and get better at. We did a lot of those things, so just find ways to keep doing those more and more. Obviously on the practice field, just pushing that mindset of we can’t wait until the fourth quarter to actually play football.”
(Piggybacking off of that, obviously play calls are dictated by the score and the clock specific to the fourth quarter and overtime when you guys were in that situation. But is there more of a – from a play-calling perspective, can you be more aggressive based on the success you had and what you just mentioned in the fourth and overtime?) – “I think every game and every situation is just so different. When we play against a defense like that, they’re not going to let you just go out there and just throw bombs every play. That’s why probably that game looked like that. Then we saw them get tighter and tighter and that’s when they presented the opportunities for a lot of those down-the-field throws. But every game is different. You’ve obviously got to pick your spot in this league and you’ve just got to make sure you hit them.”
(What has been missing from this offense in terms of the ability to hit big plays? Obviously you added a lot of big-play wide receivers this year. When you look at film, why have there not been more big plays do you think?) – “We just missed them. Yeah, we just missed them. We’ve just got to hit them. I don’t know how else to say it. We’ve just got to hit them.”
(The familiarity aspect of the Colts, how much can you take away from knowing them and vice versa?) – “Yeah, it’s that ‘chess match’ but obviously it’s different. I’m in a different scheme than I was when I was there. They’re a different team obviously. Different players playing in different positions. A lot of the same players are playing, obviously. But it’s going to be different. Yeah, obviously you have some type of familiarity with each other. I’ve been going against them for four years. But they know that as well, so obviously they’re not just going to come out and say ‘Jacoby, do you remember this from training camp your second year? We did this. Beat us here.’ It’s not going to be like that. I’m sure they’re going to have their own wrinkle and stuff like that.”
(On the flip side though, do you feel like – you were just there last year. Do you feel any different as a player?) – “For sure. I think I’m a way better player, better teammate, better man from my time there. Yeah, I think I’m better.”
(Is there anything you can do, without obviously divulging the gameplan, but is there anything that you can do to kind of combat what they know about you? They could have a different scheme but still…) – “Yeah, just like they think that I’ll know everything they’re doing, at the same time you’ve got to stop one another and go against it. It’s just going to take good fundamentals, good technique, good execution. I’m not playing by myself out there. It’s a good thing I’ve got 10 other guys that are going to be out there with me. We’ve just got to be good play after play.”
(Having played with QB Andrew Luck and QB Tom Brady – two outstanding quarterbacks obviously – is there something that they had in common that sort of will always stand out to you?) – “I just think their will. Watching those guys and seeing on a daily basis what they battled through – I mean even Phil (Rivers). Just seeing what those guys battled through to get back to the next week and not get through, but actually work and fight each day throughout the week to fill up on Sundays and things like that, I think that’s what stands out the most. Especially at this position. It’s to be able to get up and go again.”
(After a couple of tough weeks in a row, where would you say the confidence level of this team is? Is it fazed at all?) – “No, I think it’s rising. I think we see our potential but we also see where we need work at. I think the coaching staff and players are doing a good job. It’s early in the season. Let’s just keep stacking days, stacking weeks, and just finding ways to get better at these things because we know it’ll pay off in the end. Just like surrender the result. As long as you keep on finding those steps to get better and better and better, then everything else will take care of itself.”
