Jason Sanders – January 4, 2021
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Monday, January 4, 2021
K Jason Sanders
(I was curious, I wanted to get your thoughts on how the season as a whole went. Obviously yesterday didn’t go how you thought, but what will you remember of 2020 and what was your sense of where this team stands?) – “Just simple, this team is fun to be around. Just the guys we have on this team, the energy they brought every week, the coaching staff. I really enjoyed this season as a whole and I’m ready and excited to see what the future has for us.”
(For your performance personally, on paper it seemed like an excellent year for a kicker. Would you agree with that assessment that you performed well this year and what things do you have to work on in the offseason?) – “I think I did a good job taking it one week at a time this year and I think that’s what helped me perform well week after week. A lot of it goes back to the offseason, just work you put in the offseason. I have a tremendous support staff on me. I have a great family, friends, kicking coach, coaching staff here. It makes your job a lot easier when you know the confidence your coaches have in you when you to go out and kick the ball. Then you’ve got Matt (Haack) and Blake (Ferguson) that I’ve been preaching all year, too, as well.”
(Following yesterday’s game, what was the message from the coaching staff and what was the talk like among players? Just trying to absorb not only the loss, but the season?) – “You’ve just got to remember that feeling. Remember that feeling of losing to the Bills like that. The future is going to be bright for us. It’s a matter of what we do this offseason that’s going to change next year.”
(You wound up setting the Dolphins single-season record for field goal accuracy. I wanted to get your thoughts on the significance of that for you.) – “Like I said earlier, it makes it so much easier for me knowing I have a great holder and a great snapper on my side, too; but I think it’s a good time now to reflect on my season as a whole and I’m pretty proud of where I am right now. I love being in South Florida and I love the organization I’m a part of.”
Emmanuel Ogbah – January 4, 2021
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Monday, January 4, 2021
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(It was a career year for you in terms of stats and snacks and a bunch of different other stats. I’m curious from your perspective, what’s the one thing that you grew in your game that you’re most proud of this season?) – “This year was big for me because I really wanted to focus on my body and staying healthy throughout the year. The part of my game that I worked on the most I would say was my hands. I used my hands a lot. It definitely helps my game better, helps my game improve. There’s still lots of stuff I need to work on. I know for sure this offseason I’ve got to work on my lower body too. I feel my hands, for sure, was the most important thing I worked on last year. It definitely showed up this year.”
(What’s kind of the message, the mood, as you guys head into the offseason after yesterday’s loss?) – “First of all, that was probably one of the most embarrassing losses of my career. It definitely left a sour taste in my mouth. I don’t want to speak for the rest of the guys but it definitely left a sour taste in a lot of our mouths. But the season is over. We’ve got next year. We’ve just got to use that as fuel for next year – 2021 is our year.”
(Has the club indicated to you or your agent that they would like to extend you and keep you in South Florida longer?) – “Ultimately we were waiting for the end of the season to have those types of conversations. My agent – I did my part; it’s my agent’s job to do his part. I’m just chilling. My season is over. I’ve just got to take a minute to reflect on the season and then onto the next.”
(You mentioned that 2021 could be our year. I’m curious, what gives you confidence that this is a team that is ready to take a big step forward?) – “As you can see, we won 10 games. A lot of people didn’t think we were going to win 10 games. There definitely is a lot of drive in us. Like I said, (yesterday) left a sour taste in our mouth, losing that way, because that is not us. That team Sunday was not us at all. I know we’re going to be better next year. I’m just ready to lead and I’m just ready to step up and step my game up.”
(What are you going to take away from this year, I guess individually and as a team?) – “This year was definitely a rough year for everybody in 2020. I’ll take the drive. Even though people don’t think you can do something, you can go out there and prove you can do it. I’d say that’s what I can take from this season.”
(Largely on the same topic as the past couple of questions, when you think back on this year, was it successful or unsuccessful?) – “It is definitely not a success if you don’t win the Super Bowl. That’s how I like to view things. But I would say we took a leap as a team that I’m grateful for. There’s a lot of learning moments that we’re going to take from this. We’re just going to use that as fuel for next season. Like I said, the season’s over but we’re just going to take it one step at a time and just reflect and be prepared for next year so it won’t happen again.”
(I wanted to ask you a little bit to reflect on this season, on 2020, because it seemed like at some point it was really hard to see a full NFL season take place. Now it’s over for you guys. How can you reflect on just the opportunity to get back on the field and being healthy?) – “I’m definitely grateful for the opportunity to finish out the season. We played in a pandemic. Nobody thought we would do it and we somehow managed to do it, and all 16 games too. But when there is a will, there is a way. You’ll always find a way to make it work and we did that.”
Jesse Davis – January 3, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 3, 2021
Postgame – Buffalo
G/T Jesse Davis
(Can you describe the emotions of the moment of disappointment?) – “It’s always tough to come in and play this team and putting ourselves down early didn’t help, and our execution wasn’t where it needed to be obviously. But we kept fighting and that’s what this team has shown all season, is that we can fight.”
(Obviously the run game wasn’t there or wasn’t consistent today. What was it that Buffalo was doing that was giving you guys issues?) – “I really don’t know. I know we didn’t really have the runs that we were running with; but we got down early, we had to pass, we were behind the chains, so we couldn’t really consistently do what we wanted to do. It’s on us to execute the game plan obviously, but it wasn’t what we wanted.”
(Obviously you guys can still look and see what Jacksonville is going to do. What do you take out of this season if it ends this way offensively what you guys were able to do as a team?) – “The season we had last year to this year is a night-and-day difference. That kind of spoke for just what we did this offseason and what we can do during the season. But obviously wanted to win that game and give us our own shot to get in, but we’ll see what happens tonight. I think this is a great group. We have a really good team from top-down. I just think overall, I think we can fight, we’ve shown we can improve. We can hang with some teams, but tonight wasn’t what we’ve been able to perform.”
(Obviously you don’t want to think about anything past this game today, but how encouraging do you think the future is of this team?) – “I think what we did this season and hopefully continue, but leading up into the offseason of next year, I think we have a solid foundation we can start with. We’ll see what happens, but hopefully we can continue to build and get to that next step.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa mentioned communication issues particularly on the early drives. What did you notice in that respect?) – “I’m not really sure. I thought the communication was pretty decent on the o-line tonight. We made some adjustments, be more loud, be more clear to where we’re going. I’m not sure if he was mentioning us or the perimeter, but I thought tonight we did a pretty good job IDing where we needed to go.”
(There is always going to be a tendency to overreact to one game, especially in a close game. What is your opinion of how QB Tua Tagovailoa’s first season in the NFL went?) – “I think he’s done well, I think obviously he’s a rookie quarterback, and he’s trying to figure it out as well. Hell, we’re all doing the same thing. We’re all trying to figure out each snap, each play. I think being put into a situation where – somewhat decent, but I think he has everything that he needs to be a great leader, a great quarterback in this league. He’s shown that tonight. Things don’t always go your way, and we were telling him that and to keep leading us, and he was.”
(If QB Tua Tagovailoa was asking you going into the offseason maybe where he could take the biggest jump into Year 2, what might you tell him?) – “I don’t know. I’m not a specialist in that area, but I’d probably just tell him to be himself, do what you do. Continue to improve just like all of us and really just be yourself.”
Xavien Howard – January 3, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, January 3, 2021
Postgame – Buffalo
CB Xavien Howard
(Obviously this was a rough loss, but you I guess personally, you got your 10th interception. The first guy to do it in 13 years. What does that mean to you, can you take any happiness of that even though it was a rough loss?) – “It was hard to get happy. Nobody wants to get beat like that. We came in here, we were trying to win a game and it didn’t happen, so I didn’t really get the feeling with the 10th interception that it was good enough.”
(Why do you think the game got away the way it did?) – “We didn’t execute in all three phases. We let guys get a lead, and it’s a powerful offense they have. They’ve got a lot of weapons, and Josh Allen is a great quarterback doing some great things this year, and the guys they got around him. We got to prepare well for all three phases.”
(How do you feel about the future of the franchise and where you fit into that?) – “Like it was before. They brought guys in to help the team, and we ended up winning games. For the future, I feel like the future will be great. I’m here with the team and more guys we’re going to have on the team that will help us win.”
(With the tenth interception, what you’ve accomplished this season how much pride to you put into what you did this year considering you’re coming back from that knee injury?) – “When I was in the locker room going to the training room; just being able to say I played 16 games after the surgery I had, a big surgery. It was worse than an ACL so people were getting it confused with an ACL, but it was worse than that. Just coming from that and just gaining confidence and just want to feed off of that for next year and help the guys that are on our team, and help the team win games.”
(What will you take away most from this year I guess individually and as a team?) – “Of course we want to win more games, we want to make the playoffs and bigger things than that. With that, I feel like we got something here. Everybody believes in (Head Coach Brian) Flores and we believe in everybody on the staff. We all put in the work even though we came short, but I feel like the future is bright us. We’re going to have this draft, we’re going to take advantage of the draft and get some guys in that can help us win also.”
Tua Tagovailoa – January 3, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 3, 2021
Postgame – Buffalo
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Throughout your career you’ve been able to show up in big games and come through with big performances. What would you say was the biggest challenge today, and really I just I guess the transition from college to the NFL for moments like these?) – “I think we knew coming into this game that the challenge here for us was going to be their defense, their front seven as well as their back end. I think they did a really good job schematically with how they schemed up the things that we were doing. They all played together. They can communicate things last minute and do things to try to confuse you. Coming in we knew that was going to be our biggest challenge. The transition from college to the NFL, everyone is just better in the NFL. Everyone is better, there are no days off, and you got to prepare every week like it’s a big game because it is.”
(With everything you guys have been through this year, how would you describe your emotions right now?) – “I would say it’s always tough if you’re coming off a loss. The feeling of losing never feels good. I would say the emotions of not just me, but a lot of the guys in the locker room – it’s a bitter taste in our mouth. That’s not the way we wanted to go down.”
(Obviously this season has had plenty of highs and lows for you. What do you take from this year? What did you learn, what did you feel like you added to yourself?) – “I think I’ve added preparation, is the biggest thing first off. How I prepared from the time I got to the NFL, or even in college is totally different than the way I prepare now. I still do think there’s a lot of things to learn from to learning how to adjust the second half coming out. There’s just a lot of things that I would say kind of stuck me throughout the season with all of the highs and lows that we’ve had.”
(How would you grade maybe you and Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s comfort running the offense together as a duo, and how do you look at that partnership going forward?) – “I think me and Chan’s relationship is really good, and our partnership with what I kind of want called, and the communication between us; I think it’s really good. Just today I don’t think I put us in a really good situation. With the defense giving us a turnover on the first series, and we not going down and punching it in. There was a lot of miscommunication on that first drive for us. I think that’s where it really starts. We need to be better in that aspect of opening up games with those first drives. We got to go down and give our team some spark.”
(What are your thoughts when you think back on those interceptions, any common thread on those?) – “I think some of them were miscommunication, and then one of them, that was just poor ball playing on my part. But at the same time, you got to move on from those, and we tried to finish and didn’t let that try to get into our head.”
(I want to get your mindset going into the offseason assuming that you guys don’t get in. Last year at this time obviously your life was in kind of disarray. Do you expect to be the starter going forward? Do you think this is your team now?) – “I don’t think I have control over any of those things. I think all I can do is continue to grow, continue to get better. Then offseason, just get with a good amount of the guys and see what we can do from there going into next season.”
Brian Flores – January 3, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, January 3, 2021
Postgame – Buffalo
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Just wondering what your message was to the guys after this one?) – “Didn’t play well enough in any phase to win the game. We didn’t play well against a good football team. We didn’t do that. I know we’re all disappointed. They are, I am. Didn’t do enough.”
(Obviously you said – like you said – it was a tough game for all phases, but the offense and QB Tua Tagovailoa didn’t play particularly well. Was there anything that stood out to you today on why it just wasn’t clicking?) – “We didn’t play well in any phase – offense, defense, special teams. It’s a team effort. They talk about the offense, we’ll talk about the defense, we’ll talk about the special teams. I didn’t do a good enough job of getting them ready to go, so we’ll talk about the coaching as well. We win as a team, we lose as a team. Today we didn’t play well enough across the board. We lost.”
(You talked about – did you feel like you had a good week of practice this week in preparation for this game and obviously they know what was at stake? Did you feel like the pressure got to them?) – “We didn’t play well. There’s a lot of factors, but at the end of the day, we didn’t play well. Yeah, I thought we had a good week at practice. Yeah, I thought we were ready, but at the end of the day, we didn’t execute in any of the three phases and got to execute against a good football team if you want to give yourself a chance.”
(This is now the third time in six games that QB Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t been at his best. Are you concerned that he may have regressed kind of late in his rookie year?) – “We didn’t play well as a team. We didn’t coach it well, we didn’t play well; so I’m not going to sit here and put it on one player. It’s a team effort. We’ve got to block them better, we’ve got to catch the football, we’ve got to tackle better, we’ve got to do a better job in the kicking game. There’s a lot of things here and that includes Tua. He’s got to play better as well, but everyone’s a part of that. Look, he’s played well over the course of the season. We as a team have played well, but we didn’t have it today.”
(Obviously we’re now waiting on the results of the Colts game. Does your team have to make the playoffs in your mind for this to be a successful season?) – “I’m just worried about today. Today, we didn’t play well enough to win in any phase. That’s where my mind is, is our performance today. It wasn’t good enough.”
(How would you describe the level of disappointment if you don’t make the playoffs, if it comes to that?) – “I think we’re disappointed in our performance today. That’s kind of where my thoughts are. It’s not anything other than that, really. Our performance today, it wasn’t good enough in any phase. We’ve got to be better.”
(I know you’re obviously disappointed. Do you take any solace away of the progress you guys have made this season, especially after how you started last season?) – “Again, you guys know me. I’m about what’s in front of me and right now. I try to stay in the moment. Right now I’m disappointed that we didn’t play well today. That’s where I’m at. We’ll make the corrections and we’ll just try to improve and get better.”
(How do you view maybe how the Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey and QB Tua Tagovailoa combo has worked this year and if that’s something you feel comfortable with going forward?) – “I think Tua has made a lot of improvement over the course of the year under Chan’s tutelage. I know – look, we’re all disappointed right now. How we played in all three phases today. I think Tua has made a lot of improvement, really developed over the course of the year, so we’ll just continue to try to make those improvements.”
Austin Jackson – January 1, 2021
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Friday, January 1, 2021
T Austin Jackson
(We’re not sure when we’ll get a chance to talk to you again after today. It could be many months, so I was going to ask if you could please just reflect on your rookie season – what you think you’ve done well and where you think you need to improve moving forward?) – “What I think I’ve done well, I think I’ve done a good job just showing up every day and getting better. There’s a lot of new things, new adjustments from college to the pros, but one little thing I try to live by is I try not to make the same mistake twice. So whenever I come into a situation, make sure I do what I’ve got to do to get past it and get better, and make sure I’m getting better every single day. And things to improve on, there’s a lot of things you can get better on, especially when your goal is to be the best; so I’m always going to be working to get better and better at everything.”
(Many players make jumps between their freshman and sophomore seasons in college and their first and second years in the NFL. How strongly do you feel that you will be a much better player next season?) – “How strongly do I feel? I feel pretty strong about it. I feel pretty strong about it. Like you said, the game slows down the longer you play. I think the first year, you learn a lot. The second year, you kind of a handle more, so I would say I would expect to get a lot better next year, and then the year after that and then the year after that.”
(I wanted to ask you about RB Myles Gaskin. Statistically, he is the ninth-most productive player in the NFL per game with 99.4 scrimmage yards a game. What have you done this season, particularly in the run game, that has led to that kind of success?) – “Being a dog, I guess. He does it all. Throw him the ball, he’ll get yards, make people miss. Running the ball, he’s going to hit the gap, he’s going to find an opening, get through, break arm tackles. That’s just kind of his mentality. Every play he lines up like it’s a new play and comes with aggression. I think that’s how he does it. Kudos to him.”
(I don’t know if we spoke about this with you much during the season, but did you have any experience playing right tackle ever in high school or college before joining the team?) – “Yeah, you’ve asked me that a couple times. (laughter) I did play right tackle my freshman year of college. Yeah, I can play anywhere on the o-line, really.”
(I wanted to ask you about Jerry Hughes and the rest of that Bills pass rush. What are you doing to get ready for them and what are some of the challenges they present to your offensive line in pass pro?) – “What are the challenges they present to our offensive line in pass pro? They’re good rushers. They have two 10-year guys on the end … I think the only thing we have to do is just be decisive and execute. That’s it. They’re a great team, so we’re going to have to bring our A-game, especially to them. Like I said earlier, they’ve played a long time. They’ve got a lot of tools in their belt, so just making sure we show up to the party ready.”
(Looking back on your rookie year once again, what’s one thing that comes to mind as far as something about your NFL experience that surprised you?) – “COVID, for sure; but I’ll never forget pregame warmups against the Patriots – first game of the year. I’m just walking off the field like, ‘Wow, this is really the Patriots stadium,’ and I see Cam Newton running right past me. It’s my first time ever seeing Cam Newton. That was probably the most kind of surreal moment in the NFL. I love getting down and playing football every day, but when stuff like that – that’s when it really hits you where you are, seeing guys you’ve been watching on TV since middle school.”
(On that same line, I wanted to ask you about your relationship about Head Coach Brian Flores during the year?) – “My relationship with Coach Flores, it’s good. It’s good. When he’s not talking to you, it’s good, because that means you’re not messing up. (laughter) He doesn’t talk to me too much, so that’s a good thing. (laughter)”
(It was just about if there was anything different this week knowing what you’re playing for or a sense of urgency? Something different that you sense during the week.) – “It’s definitely a big game. You can’t hide it. You don’t want to do anything out of the ordinary because when you start trying to do too much, I think that’s where you get away from your identity. So we know it’s a big game, but we know what we’ve got to do to execute and a little piece of advice is you don’t want to get too high, you don’t want to get too low. You want to execute and do your job because getting too down and too up, it brings too many other issues.”
(You mentioned QB Cam Newton. Were there any other defensive ends or defensive players that you went up against that you have some familiarity with coming in, but when you saw them in person you were taken back at first?) – “No, not really. Of course, there are a lot of defensive ends and guys on defense that – there are a lot of different people. It feels like every week there is somebody new that I used to watch on tv or drafted in my little Madden fantasy. It’s like that every week, but now I’m more used to it. For Cam Newton to be the first one I see, that was like ‘whoa.’ That was different. But I see different people every day that I’m like ‘wow, I remember you,’ and stuff like that.”
(What specifically have you and G Solomon Kindley and T Robert Hunt had a competition about? The number of pancake blocks, the fewest sacks allowed? What have you been competing playfully amongst the three of you and what’s the prize for the winner?) – “We compete in everything we do. I don’t think it’s a set prize. We don’t have a set prize. It’s more like, you see someone off their A-game and you go correct them. You let them know. That’s what we do. Luckily for us, we’re usually on the same page for the most part, about how we want to dominate, so that’s a good thing for us.”
Brian Flores – January 1, 2021
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Friday, January 1, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(If WR DeVante Parker is able to go on Sunday, it will probably be a great opportunity for him to help out offensively. How important is it for you guys to have him back and also as close to full strength as possible?) – “He’s working hard to get back. We’ll see how this goes. But the guys we have out there – receivers, running backs, o-line, quarterback – we’ve just got to put our best foot forward, have our best effort and best execution against a very good football team. Whoever we have out there, we’ve got to execute against a good football team.”
(You’re always kind enough to tell us on Friday when we visit with you who is questionable, who is doubtful. Do you have that list as of yet for the five guys in question?) – “Jakeem Grant, Solomon Kindley, Shaq Lawson and DeVante Parker are all questionable. Limited, questionable today. You said there was another guy – Bobby (McCain) was full, so he’s good to go. Just four guys are listed as questionable.”
(RB Myles Gaskin, I crunched the numbers and it kind of blew my mind that he’s like the ninth-most productive offensive player in the league per game at 99.4 scrimmage yards. What is it about his game that has allowed him to perk up in terms of productivity in recent weeks?) – “I think he does a good job in the run game, he does a good job in the pass game and he runs well with the football. He can play on all three downs. He’s got more opportunities and he’s taken advantage of them when he’s been available. He’s made a lot of improvement over the last two seasons. Hopefully we continue to make that improvement and we play our best as a team on Sunday.”
(What’s your reaction to the QB Ryan Fitzpatrick news and what it means to not even just have him out there on the sideline and him being just a huge part of this team whether he’s on the field or not this year?) – “I was disappointed, but he’s a big part of this team. I’m disappointed for him more than anything. I know how important this team is to him. But at the same time, we’ve dealt with adversity throughout the season, whether it’s COVID, whether it’s injury, whether it’s – we’ve had guys out in multiple games and recently. So we’ll just push forward and give our best effort on Sunday.”
(How optimistic are you with the protocols you’ve had in place that you’ve been able to isolate this with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “I think (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle Johnston and our medical staff, they’ve done a tremendous job. He’s all over everyone about masks and distancing. We’ve taken every precaution, we’ve followed the protocols as far as close contacts and we’re in good shape from that standpoint. I think just overall throughout this entire year, with the different changes from the protocol, to going into intensive protocols for the entire league – everything we do from bus rides, plane rides, meeting spaces, how we meet, how we can’t meet. There are a lot of things that we’re used to that we haven’t been able to do this particular season, and a lot of that is from the direction of the league and Kyle Johnston, honestly. He’s a big part of this team and a big part of that facet, obviously the medical part and injuries. There’s nothing more important than the health of the team, and Kyle does an incredible job. Kyle and Troy (Maurer) and Nao (Inoue) and (Jon) Boone and Jasmin (Grimes) and the entire training staff. We can’t play if the guys aren’t healthy. Just like we can’t practice if the field guys don’t line the field. Our helmets and shoes and all of that stuff, we can’t play without the equipment, so everybody is important. I think Kyle has done a great job with what a lot of what we’ve done from a protocol standpoint. It’s ongoing. Every night it’s ongoing. We’ll hopefully continue to do as best we can. Like we’ve said all year, you can do everything right but it’s airborne, so it’s nobody’s fault and guys can still get it, which they have. Hopefully we’ve done everything we can and I think Kyle has spearheaded that.”
