Tua Tagovailoa – December 30, 2020
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Wednesday, December 30, 2020
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(I was wondering about your freshman year at Saint Louis School and then your freshman season at Alabama, how do you think those moments prepared you where you weren’t the guy, so that you’re able to handle moments like Denver, like Las Vegas and even earlier in the season when you take a backseat, that you were mature enough mentally to be able to handle that?) – “I think there just needs to be understanding, like situational understanding, what we’re trying to get done as a team; and then just from that perspective, you’ve just got to get out of yourself and into the team and see it from that perspective instead of yourself. I would say my freshman year, I played junior varsity because in our league, you couldn’t play varsity right away. But it’s all about what you can gain from everything. For me, it’s a learning experience. And like I said, in all of the previous interviews that I’ve had, it’s not like a one-and-done thing. It’s continuous, especially in your rookie year.”
(I wanted to ask you about the pressure you may or may not be feeling this week given the stakes and given how last Saturday went. Is there any extra pressure that you feel on your shoulders to pull out this victory and show that the Dolphins made the right choice?) – “I’d say for me, there’s really no extra added pressure for me. I would say the expectation for myself is very high in how I perform and how I go out there and try to lead the guys to victory. Obviously this past weekend, I didn’t play to that standard. It’s more so me knowing that we’ve got to go out there and got to get the job done. If you can’t get the job done, then that’s on you. That’s on no one else.”
(Sixteen weeks into your rookie season, when do you most still feel like a rookie at this point?) – “I’m not too sure how to answer that question. I just think it’s a continuing learning process whether you’re a rookie or a second-year or third-year (player). There’s always things that you can learn but it’s how quickly you can digest those things, and then kind of go out there and execute them. That’s the biggest thing for me.”
(I have two questions and the first one is pretty easy. Have you ever played in snow before and what was that experience like? There could be some snow on Sunday. And two, going back to your college days, you’ve obviously had big-time performances on the biggest stage. Can you draw on that experience and what specifically from national championship games can prepare you for a weekend like this?) – “To your first question, I’ve never played in snow. To your second question, I think at the end of the day, it just comes down to our 11 guys against their 11 guys. It’s football. This time it’s a lot different because there’s no fans. But you do know that there’s a lot at stake. It goes back to what I said before, you’ve got to go out there and perform. This is crunch time. Now is not the time to be making mistakes and all of these things. You’ve got to really zero in on what you’ve got to do to help the team become successful and get a win.”
(I was thinking about when you just mentioned that, have you ever seen snow? You’ve lived in Hawaii, Alabama and Miami – have you seen snow? That’s not my question but I was curious about that. My actual question is I’d say how the quarterback situation has worked out this season has been unorthodox maybe is the right word. What is it about how Head Coach Brian Flores has handled it that makes you and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick both comfortable with whatever happens?) – “Yeah, I’ve seen snow. I’ve gotten to play with snow a little bit. That was in Alabama my freshman year. It was snowing there. It snows like every four years there, so I was lucky. (laughter) With our whole quarterback situation, I think ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) does a good job in communicating with me, ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), as well as our coordinator and our quarterbacks coach, and kind of seeing ‘hey, are you in a groove?’ Or ‘what can we do better?’ And if not – it’s always communicated. There’s really good communication between all of us. I trust that he has the interests of not just for us, but in the whole team. He has the best interests for the whole team.”
(I’m still learning about RPOs. You’ve played in it for quite a while right now. Because you have to get the ball out of your hands so quickly to prevent offensive linemen from being illegal downfield players, how do you produce big plays in the RPO? How does that happen, if it has to be such a quick progression?) – “You get the ball in the hands of our playmakers and you let them make plays. I would say that’s how you do it. That’s one way. Then other ways are just pushing the ball downfield, and I would say that’s what I need to do a better job with. Especially this past game and games prior.”
(I’m really looking forward to the College Football Playoff. I’m wondering could you give me a little thumbnail on WR Devonta Smith and how do you think Alabama will do?) – “Devonta Smith is a really good player. I got to play with him from my freshman year until last year so I was with him for three years. He’s very smart, very instinctive. He’s very athletic and he’s fast too, and he goes up and he gets the ball. I’m no magician and I’m not Houdini. I don’t have a crystal ball to say who is going to win this game and whatnot, but you just wish the best to our guys at Alabama. Notre Dame is going to be tough, too. You can never be too sure when it comes to football.”
Brian Flores – December 30, 2020 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores Conference Call with Buffalo Media
(You’re No. 1 in the NFL on third-down defense. Just give us a few thoughts on what has gone so well.) – “I think the players have – again, it starts with the players – they’ve done a good job executing on third down. Obviously it’s an important down in the game to allow ourselves to get off the field and put the offense back on the field. Our defensive coordinator, Josh Boyer, has done a very good job – and the defensive staff – of putting the players in good positions and they’ve been able to execute.”
(Do you have – like a lot of teams have an assistant who is a third-down – like does your defensive backs/safeties assistant specialize in third down or is it a team effort?) – “(Assistant Defensive Backs Coach) Curt Kuntz, he’s one of our assistants and he handles the third down and kind of leads that meeting when we go through it. Again as a staff, we put together some ideas and talk through what we think is the best way to handle or try to get our opponent off the field. Those can be long conversations, which they’ve been already this week with the challenges that (Brian) Daboll and the Bills offense with (Josh) Allen and (Stefon) Diggs and with John Brown coming back and Cole Beasley, the backs and (Devin) Singletary. These guys do a good job and there’s a lot of weapons there, not to mention (Josh) Allen’s ability to even if they play – if you have him covered, he scrambles and picks it up like he did last week and he’s done all year. They pose a lot of problems, so that third-down meeting is ongoing still and hopefully we can execute on Sunday.”
(How do you prepare for a team not knowing if the Bills are going to be resting some of their starters? It looks like WR Cole Beasley is week-to-week, but how do you deal with that in trying to prepare your team mentally in knowing they could be playing some backups and that could backfire, too?) – “We’re preparing as if they’re all playing. That’s been my message to the team. Everyone is playing – the quarterback, the coaches are definitely coaching – I’ll tell you that right now. I know these guys and they’re competitive as all get out, so we can’t control any of that. We have to prepare for their best players as if like any other week, and hopefully that’s been put out of their mind because it’s something I would say I’ve been on a little bit of a crusade about. I expect them to play. It’s a big game for us and we’ve got to go out there and execute against a good football team. It’s never ever either way.”
(In showing the improvement the Dolphins have showed this year, how have you been able to walk the fine line between looking at the long-term future and development of players versus the objective to win now? How have you managed to walk that fine line?) – “I think the objective is always to win and to win every game. I think as far as looking into the future, I really leave that to (General Manager) Chris Grier and the personnel staff. With the players we have, we just try to develop the young ones, develop the veterans, try to improve and get better on a daily basis, and we try to play our best players; so if that happens to be a rookie, then it’s a rookie. If it’s not, then it’s not; but we’re trying to develop everybody. So I guess from that standpoint, I guess I have a long-term view from that standpoint; but to me, that’s just coaching and whoever’s on the roster, you try to help them get better. Honestly, I think Sean (McDermott) and (Brandon) Beane and the Bills have done a great job from that standpoint and we’ve seen guys develop there as well from Josh Allen to (Micah) Hyde to (Jordan) Poyer. If you watch these guys for the last four or five years, they do a great job back there, I would say. You guys know I’m a safeties coach by trade, so it’s good to see a group like that and watch them play and see how well they play together. You can do so much defensively when you’ve got guys like that. But that’s just a couple. There’s 10 other guys like that on that team, so they’ve done a great job.”
(With DE Shaq Lawson, just could you tell us how he’s doing? He’s got four sacks. People I think maybe look at that first, but how he’s setting the edge? Overall, how is Shaq Lawson doing this year?) – “I think he’s playing well. He’s a little bit banged up right now. We’ll see if he can get out there today, but he’s doing everything he can to get out there. I think he’s playing well. I think he’s been able to pressure the quarterback and set the edge and do some good things in the run game. He’s been a big part of our defense this year and he brings great energy, and just as a teammate, he’s been great and as a student who’s someone that we’ve been able to coach, he’s been great.”
(I’m sure you’ve talked about it a lot, but you look at the talent Buffalo has at wide receiver or any team every week, really, but could you just talk about you and General Manager Chris Grier and the priority you put in roster building on investing at cornerback? What do you think about how important that is? Is it hard to fake it at cornerback in this league?) – “I think every position is important, but with the talent at receiver in this league, the talent at tight end in this league; I think Chris (Grier), myself and I think every coach, GM, football mind – I think they all believe that having talented guys in the back end is important as well. We’re no different than I would say anybody else in the league. We’re fortunate to have a number of guys back there who are very good players and have made some plays for us this year and hopefully they continue to do so.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is a subject Bills fans never get tired of given who he is. You’ve gone to the relief route, gone to the bullpen a couple times here with Ryan. Can you talk about maybe his personality and what allows him – maybe some other guy if you went and used him in this way, it might not go quite so smoothly just from a chemistry standpoint. But with Ryan, it’s so clear to everyone he knows his role. What do you think about that, how Ryan’s personality in this role has helped it go smoothly?) – “First and foremost, ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is as competitive as anyone in this league, as we all know; but he’s also selfless and humble and he’s been a great mentor to Tua and a lot of our young players. This is a very young team. We’re fortunate to have him. I can’t speak to what it would be in another situation. I know in this one, everyone on this team wants to just do what they can to help us win ball games and when asked, ‘Fitz’ stepped in last week and has done so also in the Denver game. We just ask them to do their best and try to help this team win and he’s done that and he’s been selfless and he’s team-first, and those are the types of guys we’re trying to bring in here. Honestly it’s very similar to the types of guys the Bills bring in or brought up there. I think in order to, in this league, where there’s so much even attrition, you need guys who are ready to step in and we have that.”
(Speaking of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey, they were in a similar situation while with the Jets in 2015, needing to win and get in. Chan yesterday spoke about how much that still sticks in his craw – that memory – and Fitzpatrick of course has never made the playoffs. I know everybody wants to make the playoffs, but do you get a sense from Chan or Fitzpatrick how important to them this game is in some ways?) – “I think it’s important to everyone. I think we as a team, we’ve put a lot into this season, but I think that’s the case for every team in this league. Everyone works hard, everyone puts a lot into it. We find ourselves in a situation where we’re fighting to stay together one more week, honestly. More than just winning, I think this group likes to be around each other, so it’s important to everyone; but at the same time, we’ve got to just kind of follow our routine, follow our process and not have our eyes squarely on the result. We’ve got to just follow the process and prepare the right way and let the result take care of itself. All we can do is our best as far as from a preparation standpoint and try to execute on Sunday. And then we’ll let the results take care of themselves.”
Brian Flores – December 30, 2020
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Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I wanted to ask this question because you’ve been to the playoffs quite often. What does a playoff ready team look like?) – “I think if you get into the playoffs, you’ve got a good team. Your team’s talented, they are tough, they are smart, they play well together. It’s hard to win in this league, so to get in means that you’ve accomplished something and made a lot of strides and improvements over the course of the season. Playoffs, any team that’s in is a good football team.”
(I was curious as to what you took from what Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott said yesterday about how he is planning on using his players and kind of the subterfuge, I guess, trying to keep information away from you all. How are you preparing for this weekend?) – “I expect everyone to play. Sean is a competitor. (Offensive Coordinator) Brian Daboll is a competitor, Josh Allen is a competitor, (Stefon) Diggs, (Jordan) Poyer, (Micah) Hyde. I expect them all to play. That’s how we’re preparing.”
(As it relates to today’s practice, can you please tell us if you are hopeful that any of these guys will try to do something today – DE Shaq Lawson, G Solomon Kindley, WR Preston Williams.) – “I’ll talk to (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle Johnston and the medical staff after this about those guys. But I would say that they are all doing everything that they can to get out there as soon as possible. Everyone is nicked up and got some bumps and bruises this time of year. They are all working to get out there.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa has the lowest interception rate in the NFL. Obviously that’s a good thing. How heavily does that weigh in your evaluation of the way he’s played?) – “That’s a good place to start at the quarterback position. I think he’s done a good job from that standpoint. Obviously there are a lot of other factors like at every other position. That’s one of them, which we evaluate. I think he’s done a good job in a lot of areas. Like every position, there are 15, 18, 20 different things that you are looking for at every position. Obviously the turnovers are a big, big one. He’s done a good job from that standpoint.”
(We’ve talked about the quarterback position a lot on this platform. What stood out to me is that no matter what you’ve chose this year, you’ve been sort of convicted in whatever your decision is without really worrying about the outside or how the impact is. What gives you sort of the confidence to make maybe these tough decisions, at least in my mind, without any worry about any consequences so to speak, for lack of better word?) – “I have a lot of peace with the decisions that I and we make because it’s sincerely genuinely and authentically based on winning football games and the people in this organization and our fans. I have a lot of peace with the decisions because of that. There are people here who work hard from the grounds crew to equipment to the medical staff to people working the cafeteria to Hubert (in housekeeping) who is here every day. It’s important to them, so it’s important to me that we try to do everything we can to win football games. Honestly, whatever consequences you’re talking about – when those people are at the forefront of my mind, I could care less about the consequences to be honest with you, whatever those consequences are. I’m not necessarily sure what those are.”
(You guys have done a really good job this year of the defense, making sure that red zone trips either stay scoreless or are field goals instead of touchdowns. How important is that going to be to continue this week with that offense in Buffalo?) – “It’s always important. Those are four-point plays, holding them to three instead of six, possibly seven. Those are critical in this league when every game – or most games – are tight and come down to the last four or five plays. Those four points can be critical. Any time you get a stop down there, it’s important. Conversely, punching it in in the red zone is equally important. We want to do a good job offensively and defensively in that situation.”
(Two guys that got hurt during the game, how is LB Elandon Roberts and then the second part, if WR Jakeem Grant is unable to participate in punt and kickoff returns, what would be your message to the three rookies that could be in the mix – CB Noah Igbinoghene, RB/WR Malcolm Perry and WR Lynn Bowden Jr.? What would be your message as far as how to approach returns, if and fact they do it in Buffalo in a big game?) – “Well, Elandon’s injury was significant as you guys saw with him being – you guys saw that. He’s obviously not going to play this week. Those three rookies that you mentioned, we talk about ball security every day here and how important that is. Making smart decisions with the football when you have it, catching it and putting it away. The entire fate of the team is in your hand when you have it, so you’ve got to try to protect it. That’s the message to those three guys but really everyone on the offense – in the offense, kicking game and defensively if we get our hands on it.”
(With LB Elandon Roberts down, you’ve used a number of guys in various roles based on the opponent. I’ve even seen LB Kyle Van Noy move inside to inside linebacker. Can you talk about the options that you have particularly for the Bills? I know you’re not going to give away your game plan, but the thought process on a scrambling athletic quarterback?) – “Everyone’s gotta do their job and do it a little bit better. We want to keep (Josh Allen) in the pocket and if he gets out, cover him a little bit longer and try to chase him down. This guy is one of the top players in the league. I think he’s really made a lot of improvement. Sean (McDermott) and Brian Daboll have done a great job with him and he’s tough to deal with. He’s a very, very good player. I know Daboll well. I could see a lot of – it’s almost like Daboll playing football from a mind standpoint. He’s done a good job.”
(I probably used poor wording with consequences. I guess what I was trying to talk about in the last question was when we talk to some of your players, they talk about communication and trust with you. I’m curious what the value you put on those two things when you’re talking to your team about your decisions and how that keeps you guys all on the same page.) – “I think communication is vital. I think if you’re honest and transparent, what more can you do? Hopefully that’s not just a football thing but hopefully that’s a life thing for them. You tell them the truth. You’re honest. The results of it are the results and sometimes you won’t be happy with that, but you won’t feel like someone is being deceitful with you or anything like that. I think that’s important to players. I think they want to just know. I think that’s important to anyone – not just football but relationships, marriages. Hopefully they take that from a football standpoint and apply it to other areas of their lives as well.”
(You’ve had your uphill battles all season, short-handed at times and things like that. Buffalo is playing so well, it’s almost like you guys are walking into a buzzsaw. I wanted to ask what are some things you like about your team or let you know that they’re kind of ready for this must-win game to get into the playoffs?) – “Buffalo is a good team. They are. They play well offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. They’re well-coached, they’re tough, they’re physical. They’ve got good players. We’ve got a great challenge ahead of us. We’ve just got to prepare ourselves the best way we can and go up to New York and play our best game of the season, or try to. That’s what it’s going to take against a team like this. I think everyone has seen them. They’ve got great players, they’re well-coached, they’re tough. They play good situationally. They play aggressive. They’ve got fakes in the kicking game. They’ve got good returners. We’ve just got to play well, or try to play well, which starts with our preparation this week, today. Hopefully if we can build on that on a daily basis, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
Josh Boyer – December 29, 2020
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Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(How do you account for your success on third down this season?) – “I think it goes back to player execution. We’ve had guys who I would say – our front and coverage, it’s been married together and we’ve got good execution from our players in critical situations, so it’s really a credit to them.”
(Obviously you and Head Coach Brian Flores have known each other for a long time. Obviously this season has been a success and you guys have meshed well. I’m wondering what are some of the things that Flores does from a coaching standpoint and a managing players and people standpoint that you try to try to echo that maybe you have tried to assimilate into what you do?) – “I think ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) – he directs the entire organization from a coaching standpoint and if he wants something done, then to the best of our abilities as a defensive staff, we try to get that executed. ‘Flo’ is his own person, I’m my own person. I don’t really try to emulate or be the same. I just try to be myself and be genuine. He does an outstanding job of having his hand on the pulse of the team. He understands X’s and O’s very well and it’s just been a working relationship and he’s him and I’m me, and ultimately we share the same goals. When you have a shared vision and shared goals, it’s a pretty easy working relationship.”
(The last time you guys played the Bills at the beginning of the season in Week 2, CB Byron Jones only played I think it was three snaps after that first possession and then was out the rest of the game. How much do you think of having a more complete secondary with Byron will be a benefit, a good factor for you guys heading into this game with a lot on the line?) – “Every week you’d love to have all the players available to you and obviously we have a huge challenge this week. It’s a very potent offense run by a very good coordinator – one of the best in the league. He’s going to stress us in many ways. He’s got a talented group to work with. The quarterback is playing outstanding. The receivers – all of them – are playing outstanding – (Stefon) Diggs, (Cole) Beasley, they’ll get John Brown back, Gabriel Davis has played extremely well, they do a lot of stuff with Isaiah McKenzie. Their backs have been really productive for them – (Devin) Singletary, (Zack) Moss. The tight ends, they use them whether it’s Lee Smith, (Dawson) Knox, (Tyler) Kroft. And then their o-line, they’ve kind of, I would say, had a group of guys playing together for the last month and they’re playing really well as a group and it’s going to be a big challenge for us, and we’re going to need everybody. We’re going to need everybody to be at their best and we’ll look forward to competing on Sunday.”
(Kind of on that same train of thought, I wanted to ask you about weekly matchups in the secondary and how the process works for you as far as deciding when you’re in man coverage, who’s going to be matching up with who? Like do you have a pretty good idea going into the week before you put the tape on? Is it a process that unfolds throughout the course of the week? How does that work for you guys as a defensive staff?) – “I think it’s a combination of all things. I think sometimes you have a pretty good idea going into it. I think sometimes you can start one way and you can get into the week and you can go, ‘this might be a little bit better.’ Ultimately it comes down to you really just want to put the guys in the best position to succeed and based on what they’ve done, based on what our opponent does. So a lot of things go into that, but ultimately what you’re trying to do is put those guys in the best position to succeed.”
(Back in Week 2, it seemed like they tried to attack you guys with a lot of those crossing routes, sort of the man-beater routes across the field. Obviously you guys are game-planning for that, but what sort of challenge do those type of routes provide and maybe what’s the method to maybe slowing them down while still doing what you guys want to do as a defense?) – “Like I said, (Bills Offensive Coordinator) Brian Daboll does a tremendous job. He’s going to – whether you’re in man or zone, the zone-beaters are coming depending on what zone you’re in and the man-beaters are coming if you’re in man. Ultimately there’s things that you can do defensively to help yourself in those situations, put the guys in better spots; but like I said, we’ll have a huge challenge for us. Daboll is as good as there is at finding out what you’re in and how to attack it.”
(Regarding mobile quarterbacks, do you feel like this team has done a better job throughout the course of the year figuring out how to handle them? And what lessons have you learned from the first time around facing Bills QB Josh Allen?) – “Again, he’s extremely athletic. He can stand in the pocket and make all the throws. He can move and make all the throws. He’s been productive in both areas. I think as the season goes, you hope you improve in all facets of the game and really what it comes down to is execution. We’ll prepare and we’ll get ready to go against these guys and it’s ultimately going to come down to us executing on Sunday. I would say that we’re constantly striving for improvement, no matter what it is. You always face adversity, there’s always bumps in the road and I don’t think anybody’s ever coached a perfect game or anybody’s played a perfect game; but at this time of year, we need to be at our best.”
Chan Gailey – December 29, 2020
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Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(I wanted to ask you about the dynamic of the two quarterbacks that played on Saturday. To our eyes, and you can tell me us we’re wrong, there seemed to be more of a vertical passing game when QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was in the game. If that wasn’t correct, were there throws that QB Tua Tagovailoa were missing? If that was accurate, what was the thinking of opening it up with Fitzpatrick under center?) – “Well, the situation of the game has a lot to do with it. If you end up getting behind and needing to get down the field and to score points quickly, that has a lot to do with it. We’ve been a team that has tried to be 9, 10, 11, 12 play drives, run the football, play-action pass, control the time on the clock. That’s the situation that we found with Tua in the ball game. Plus you’re missing some receivers from time to time and that has something to do with it. A lot of that goes into decision-making about how the game is being called and what kind of plays we run.”
(How much of a lift was it to get RB Myles Gaskin back on offense this week? What did you see from him on tape that led to that big night for him?) – “He had a good week of practice, which that always means a lot. If a guy has a good week of practice, you have a lot of confidence going into the game. Salvon (Ahmed) had done extremely well obviously the week before so he got the start. Then all of a sudden, Myles started running the football and getting some creases and making some plays, so he got the hot hand. That’s how we’ve been doing it this year – whoever gets the hot hand, we let them go.”
(Just following up about the difference when QB Ryan Fitzpatrick comes in. Is there something about maybe his comfort with the offense that he may feel more comfortable throwing those deep passes? Or is it just simply the play calling? How do you view those situations in those fourth quarters when Fitzpatrick comes in?) – “He does have a little more experience with a few of the receivers. You notice he threw it to ’Zay’ (Isaiah Ford) a couple of times and to Mike (Gesicki) a couple of times – guys he has a comfort level with and he knows how they’re going to react in certain situations. Having played with those guys last year and the first part of this year, he’s very comfortable. He has an idea of where they’re going to be and how they’re going to react in those situations. I think that part of it allows him to put the ball in some certain spots. It worked out for us.”
(I’m still trying to learn a lot about the RPO and that style of offense. How important is the run part of it? I know it’s the first letter that comes in it, but how important is it to that style of game in terms of, I guess – is it much like play-action?) – “That’s not an easy question to answer by the way. Play-action pass means that you are faking a run, but the linemen are not actually blocking downfield like they would go after linebackers and go down the field. The RPOs (run-pass options) have to be thrown much quicker. Play-actions can be – you can fake the run, but you know your linemen aren’t going down the field so you can throw deeper routes. The RPO has to be thrown quickly because if you don’t throw it quickly, your linemen, if you don’t throw it quickly – as we’ve been called a couple of times this year – we had a linemen downfield on RPOs because we held it just a little bit too long. The run part of it is huge. You’ve got to sell the run and you’ve got to be willing to hand it off if they give you the look you want to run the football.”
(How has your experience coming back from retirement been this season and do you think you’ll be back next season with the team?) – “This has been an unusual year to say the least. The experience has been like no other I’ve ever had, that’s for sure. I think somebody – maybe it was you – asked me about this last week. I’m thinking about how to go up and beat Buffalo. That’s what I’m thinking about. I’m not thinking about anything else right now. How can I help this football team go beat Buffalo.”
(Obviously your connections with Buffalo go back, and I’m sorry for the convoluted question because there are a couple of things I wanted to address. How much does the sting of 2015, and how the season ended with the Jets with that loss in Buffalo, still resonate with you and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick? If you’d reflect back to your teary-eyed departure you said ‘this will probably be the first place that’s ever fired me that I’ll pull for.’ Just how have things come back, and whether it’s what you said after you got dismissed or the 2015 season, just any recollection, or perspective on that?) – “You make a lot of statements when you’re young that you wish you had back. That one has not held true, that I said. I love the people there. They’re great people. I really do. But I want to beat their butt this weekend. The loss we had up there, it still sticks in my craw. That was a tough one. That one sticks with me for sure.”
(I just want to clarify, we’ve asked you the question twiceobviously trying to do our job. You keep bringing up how different this year has been because of the pandemic. Is that a factor in your decision in terms of safety and things of that nature, about whether you want to continue to coach?) – “No. I was just saying – somebody asked me how the experience was this year. It was just the most unusual experience I’ve ever been through.”
(There has been some criticism on the outside that you might not call the same plays for QB Tua Tagovailoa as you do for QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, that there might not be the same level of trust. I imagine you’re going to push back on that narrative, I wanted to give you the chance to respond.) – “Yeah. You have the game plan set up that you go into it with, and you’re in a different mode when you get to the end there. You’re in a totally different mode. It is different because of the situations, not because of players.”
Danny Crossman – December 29, 2020
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Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(You guys got a fake called this week without a penalty. It worked out for you. I’m just curious mostly about the frequency. You guys have done fakes, at least in my view, close to more than any team in the league. How have you still been able to get them off successfully and have it still appear to be a surprise when it happens?) – “I think we try to come up with things that we like. I just think that more than anything, opportunities have presented themselves whether it’s with particular looks or with the situation of the game, where it’s something that’s given us the opportunity to call it and then more importantly, as you guys are probably sick of hearing it, it comes down to the execution of it. We’ve been good on some things and bad on some other things. Fortunately it was successful on Saturday night.”
(The past couple of weeks, you’ve had a couple questions about K Jason Sanders and his level of confidence. Can you speak on the moment of him being able to step in there and make that kick? How do you feel that might propel the team into the motivation coming into this week?) – “I think the biggest thing with Jason is I don’t think his confidence has ever wavered. I know we’ve talked about this in the past, even on his misses he’s struck the ball very well. I think when you have that and you’re striking the ball well and you’ve struck it well all season, when you do have a miss, you’re not going to overanalyze that. I think as a group, as a team, there is great confidence as a team that when we run Jason out there, successful things are going to happen. Hopefully that continues and we keep working and he keeps in the zone that he’s been in all season.”
(Who do you feel your best return options are if WR Jakeem Grant isn’t able to play again this year?) – “We’ve got some guys that has a history in college. We’ve got some guys that have some history in doing some things some other places. It’s a hard question to answer right now. We’ll see where we’re at throughout the course of the week and I’m sure ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) will keep you guys abreast on what’s going on.”
Jason Sanders – December 28, 2020
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Monday, December 28, 2020
K Jason Sanders
(I wanted to ask you, how big was the game for you last week? Not only just the game-winning field goal but from rebounding after the missed kicks after the last two weeks?) – “It was a big win for the team. When I miss a kick, I don’t try to overanalyze, overthink it. It’s usually just onto the next one and I think that’s what usually helps me for future kicks is not just dwelling on a missed one.”
(I was just googling Andrew Franks’ k-ball. I wanted to try to remember that deal. In 2016 at Buffalo, Franks is going to kick a 55-yarder to tie the game and keep the Dolphins playoff chances alive. Are you familiar with that story and have you heard the story about how he looked down and realized it wasn’t a k-ball like it was supposed to be?) – “No, I didn’t know that wasn’t a k-ball; but I remember the kick. I remember I saw a video of the kick, but I don’t know the incident with the k-ball. I don’t know how – I haven’t kicked a quarterback ball or anything, so I’d assume it wouldn’t be much different. It’s just not identified as a kicking ball.”
(I went back and watched the game today and I saw you gave a good little fist pump after the game-winning kick. I’m wondering, what was the emotion like of knowing that you just put the team on top for the final score of the game? I’m also wondering, did you play other sports growing up and is there an equivalent to a game-winning kick? Like maybe a walk-off homer or a buzzer-beating three?) – “Yeah, it’s about the same – or a soccer goal in the last second. The game was up and down and it feels good to be able to come up with a good win like that for the team. There was a lot of energy on the field, so a lot of energy goes into how important the kick was and when you hit a kick like that, it’s hard not to celebrate.”
(I think you’re 1-for-1 on field goals in two games at Buffalo and maybe something like 5-for-5 on extra points? When it’s expected to be very cold, how do you feel about the cold and does that affect anything about the inflation of the ball, how it travels? What are some factors you need into consideration?) – “I’ve maybe had one or two cold games here with the Dolphins and I’ve had a lot of success in it. It’s just, I think the thing with Buffalo is the conditions. I don’t think the cold will be as big of a factor as maybe the wind. It’s just staying smooth with your process and it’s a pregame thing where you identify how it’s working, how the ball is flying off your foot and you’ve got to make it happen from there. So I’m going to identify where the wind is blowing and probably just go off that and hopefully all my kicks go in. (laughter)”
(A lot of us – myself included – thought you had a really good shot at the Pro Bowl this year. What were you thinking about that? Was it a disappointment or were you just waiting to see what was going to happen?) – “I think nothing takes away from a good season that I’m having. As a kicker, you know if you’re doing well or if you’re not doing well and just because I didn’t make the Pro Bowl doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good year. That’s ultimately what I reflect on.”
(Can you take some of us back to what those 19 seconds were like before QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s head almost got ripped off and he’s throwing it down the sideline? What was your reaction to seeing the play and the flag, and then did you kind of scurry over to get on the field?) – “I was getting loose. When they were kicking the field goal to go up, I was already at the net. With my position, I’m anticipating a kick. The game’s not over until it hits zeros, so I didn’t want that situation happening – (where) I wasn’t loose – so before (Daniel) Carlson even hit the go-ahead at the end, I was already getting loose.”
(Sorry about my obsession with k-balls, but I’m pretty sure the reason they didn’t have the k-ball is because it was the Geronimo drill where they didn’t have time and they just all ran out. So under normal circumstances, who is in charge of the k-ball? Is it LS Blake Ferguson? Is it a special teams assistant? Whose job is it to make sure that doesn’t happen in Buffalo?) – “The ball guys. The ball guys are our equipment guys on the sideline, so when – like you said – on a no-timeout, you’ve-got-to-go situation, you’re going to get what’s already on the field. But on a normal operation, we’ve got the equipment guys throwing in our k-ball.”
(So in those dying seconds – not just the game the other day but any game – are you looking forward to a pressure kick or are you feeling it as that, pressure?) – “What I’ve learned is that I can’t be too comfortable. You want a little bit of nerves going through you. You don’t want to be too comfortable because then it might not feel like an important kick and the way I want to treat every kick is it’s important whether it’s the first quarter or the fourth quarter. I think a little nerves helps and it helps you focus a little more.”
Byron Jones – December 28, 2020
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Monday, December 28, 2020
CB Byron Jones
(Did you get an explanation on the defensive pass interference?) – “Yeah. He said that I grabbed the receiver from the front and pulled him back from the shoulders. In those situations, I pride myself on being poised and trying to go up and get the ball. I’ve got to be better in that way.”
(I noticed from watching the games that you guys tend to switch your matchups around a lot. I’m wondering what that preparation is like in that defensive back room. I know you have your individual study, but is there a collective – here is what this guy does and here’s how we defend him as a whole as opposed to individual study?) – “What was your question? What do you mean? I play on the right mostly, and ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) plays the left.”
(When you rotate covering different players, I’m wondering if there is more of a group collaborative studying what each player does that you’re going against?) – “Yeah, every player has their strengths and weaknesses. Some players in the slot are more shifty while outside receivers are big play guys, fast guys. Understanding every receiver’s strengths gives us the opportunity to guard them the best way we think is possible. Every week we’ve got a scouting report on each receiver and we go through that. We decide on how best to play them. Of course we have our technique, we have our thing we always do consistently regardless of who we play against; but it’s always good to know exactly what receiver you’re going against and how they can be beat.”
(How great a difference, if any – and by the way this isn’t just about Saturday but in general – how great a difference, if any, do you see in the way offensive pass interference is called versus defensive pass interference?) – “I’m not an expert on offensive stuff. I’m not sure when they call it or what they are looking for. But defensively, we’ve got to – or at least I’ve got to do a better job of not allowing the officials to come in and affect the game. We understand what it is – the challenge that we have as DBs in the NFL in today’s era. That’s a challenge that all DBs accept. We’re not going to get much OPI (offensive pass interference) and that’s fine. We just have to play accordingly.”
(I wanted to ask you what happened on the long touchdown play. It seemed like you were in good position. Did you just have your back turned towards the play or were you pushed off on?) – “I need to do a better job of just staying on top of the receiver, especially in that situation. (Derek) Carr, throughout his career, he’s made a lot of plays with his feet buying himself more time. In those instances as a DB, you want to plaster your guy; but protect that deep shot because that’s what they are going for. They want a big play. We’ve seen the Raiders make big plays throughout the entire year. That’s one thing we wanted to limit, so I’ve got to do a better job of staying on top of the receiver.”
(You guys have been through several adverse situations or potentially sticky situations through the year, whether it’s COVID, whether it’s QB changes. It seems like you guys have not really been affected at all by anything. Is there anything that Head Coach Brian Flores has done stood out on keeping you guys together in those moments?) – “I think we all have ultimate trust in what ‘Coach Flo’ is doing. He’s been very real and very straight up and very straightforward since Day 1, which gives the players a comfort that what the coach is saying is not BS. I think that’s why we’re having such a good response to the year, regardless of what’s happening. It’s because we trust our coach and he keeps it straight up, he lets us know what he’s thinking and how he’s feeling. It’s really a collaborative team effort when we go into games like that, and we know and trust him, and we just follow through.”
(When you watched that first Bills game, I know you were hurt, and CB Noah Igbinoghene was stuck with a huge assignment in Bills WR Stefon Diggs. How tough was it for you to be there as an observer, and what did you pick up on what Diggs can do from what you saw in that game?) – “Diggs, he’s always been a really good route-runner, a guy who catches the ball really well, a savvy, vet player. That’s what he showed. He showed a guy who just had great experience and Josh Allen did a good job of getting him the ball when they needed it most. That’s one thing we’re going to have to stop this game is both of those guys have been on a tear this year along with the other receivers on that crew, especially (Cole) Beasley. This is a fun challenge for us as a secondary and as a defense and really as a team. Our destiny is in our hands, so let’s go do it. That’s the goal.”
(My question is about Bills QB Josh Allen. What do you think is most unique about him?) – “I think his decision-making at this point is really impressive. He knows when to run and he knows when to fit the ball into a tight window. He’s doing both pretty well. Obviously he has a really good offense, and especially his receiving corps is probably one of the better ones in the league. He can really make all of the throws – deep, short, especially deep. He’s got a really good deep ball, so that’s a challenge for us. You’re competing against not just the receivers, but the quarterback and the offensive line. They just really work well together and they’ve been really efficient all year. His deep ball, his ability to leave the pocket, extend plays and also run, that’s what makes him special.”
