Byron Jones – December 13, 2020 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Postgame – Kansas City
CB Byron Jones
(I know you would have preferred if it would have come in a winning effort for the team, but how did it feel to finally get the monkey off your back with the pick?) – “It felt good. It was fun to see our defense get a lot of turnovers like that throughout the game. A little frustrating because we gave up some easy stuff but we’ve got a really good opponent coming in next week so that’s where all our focus and attention will be on.”
(I know you’re frustrated at not pulling out the victory but four takeaways from the Chiefs, could you really have asked for more as a defense?) – “Yeah it’s just the easy stuff. They’re a good offense, no question about that. They’ve got good players, but coming into this game we wanted to make them earn it and I think we just gave up too many easy plays. Some really dumb stuff here and there and that really cost us. That’s something we saw on film and that’s something we want to eliminate. A little frustrating but we’re still taking the ball away so that was awesome.”
(What’s the biggest challenge of dealing with that offense and all the weapons they have?) – “It’s just the movement in the pocket. Obviously the weapons that they have are fast, run good routes. They’re smart. They have a great quarterback back there, so just a bunch of weapons and things you have to stop.”
(What happened on that fourth-and-1 that Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill got loose?) – “I do not remember.”
Xavien Howard – December 13, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 13, 2020
Postgame – Kansas City
CB Xavien Howard
(What’s up, man? I’m sure you would have liked to have it in a win, but you got another pick today. That’s nine. Five straight games for you. Does it come as a surprise at this point or how do you feel about it?) – “I feel great about it, man. I’ll just keep getting the ball for the offense and putting the ball in their hands and making plays. As a team, we want to win, and as a defense, we’ve got to keep making plays and clean up some of the stuff that we messed up on today.”
(Would you have thought that four takeaways would be enough to win?) – “We’ve got to keep going as a whole, as a team, you know. We’ve got to feed off each other, and we’ve got to keep going. Obviously, it wasn’t because we didn’t win. So we need to make more plays. We need to start getting touchdowns on defense.”
(Can you take us through your interception, and it may sound funny to ask you this because you’ve had so many big interceptions, but was that your best one, do you think?) – “I don’t know. We’ve still got more games to play. It’s a great feel on the ball, and that was it.”
(What is, I guess, the late fight that you guys have say about your team? I know you guys went down 20, but with your pick and CB Byron Jones’ forced fumble and QB Tua Tagovailoa that late, it seemed like you guys were close to making a comeback.) – “I feel like this team, we don’t give up, man. We keep fighting. That’s one thing we preach about at practice. We keep fighting no matter what. We didn’t come out good on the end, but we kept fighting.”
Christian Wilkins – December 13, 2020 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Postgame – Kansas City Chiefs
DT Christian Wilkins
(Obviously, you guys must be disappointed after the loss, but to force the best quarterback in the league to throw three picks, and an all-time offense, to force four turnovers against them, you’ve got to hang your hat on something with that performance, right?) – “The biggest thing is like there’s no moral victories, but we could always learn, always improve. But we did some good stuff. We did some not so good stuff. Just really this is a good game to learn from and get better ultimately because we know we’re capable of more. We didn’t get the result we wanted. That’s what we want at the end is the win, but we’ll just get better from this one.”
(How would you describe the challenge of dealing with that offense? What’s the hardest part of it all?) – “They do what they do, and they do it well. They’ve got a lot of explosive players, and it all starts with the quarterback. He’s obviously a very good player. Like I said, there’s things we could have done better out there to put ourselves in a better position, but we played hard. Again, we didn’t get the result we wanted.”
(We saw CB Xavien Howard out there get another pick. I think that’s nine for him on the year. What do you still say as a defender when you see him making all those plays and another one that looked like a one-handed grab on the back?) – “I worked with ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) this off-season to try to get him better with ball skills and stuff, so it’s good it’s paying off and whatnot. So I’m glad to see that. (laughter). He just keeps making plays each week. It just seems redundant at this point. You would think people would learn. It’s good to see that at least. Again, it’s good to see that from ‘X’, of course, but like I said, I would rather get the win.”
(Especially without LB Kyle Van Noy and LB Elandon Roberts today, what impressed you about what LB Jerome Baker did?) – “Jerome (Baker) is obviously a heck of a player. He plays hard sideline-to-sideline. He did a good job communicating and everything today. He did his part from that standpoint. But, again, would have liked to get the win today, but it’s all good. I thought he did a good job stepping up.”
Tua Tagovailoa – December 13, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 13, 2020
Postgame – Kansas City
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(What’s your feeling leaving this game knowing that coming into the depth chart was pretty depleted, that you guys suffered injuries throughout the game on offense, and that you were still able to produce 300-plus yards, have those drives in the fourth quarter?) – “I’m very confident with whatever guys that I’m playing with. I get to get a good amount of reps with a lot of the guys because starters, they go one hard rep, and sometimes they’re nicked up. So for timing purposes, they take one rep, two reps here, and then I’m with these other guys. I think those guys did a great job stepping up in this game because a lot of guys were down, but I mean, regardless, it’s just never a good feeling when you lose no matter who’s in there.“
(I want you to take us through the fourth quarter. You were down 20, and that CB Xavien Howard interception kind of gave you new life. What was the key to you guys moving the ball so effectively, and I guess how much does it hurt to come up short?) – “It hurts a lot to come up short. Like I said, what we want to do is we want to win the ball game at the end of the game. We want to score one more point than the opposing team, which we obviously didn’t. But I think the defense gave us many opportunities – not just in the third quarter, some in the fourth quarter as well – but offensively we didn’t execute the way we should have, and I know a lot of that falls down on me with the leadership with these guys in the third quarter. Not taking what the defense is giving me, just pretty much plain rookie mistakes and you can’t do that against a Super Bowl-caliber team like the Chiefs. So a lot of the execution really started from me, and I think our guys played their butts off. Offensively on the o-line, they played their butts off. The receivers played their butts off. It was really just me executing with the guys.”
(I wanted to ask you about TE Mike Gesicki. Can you talk about how your relationship is coming along in a positive fashion? And also how concerned you are with him getting hurt like that.) – “Me and Mike’s (Gesicki) relationship has been growing in practice. I think my relationship with other guys has been growing as well – timing routes with the guys. Whatever tight end is in there, whatever receiver is in there; I think it’s getting better. But regardless who gets hurt – it’s sad that it had to be Mike, but you really feel for your guys. I had the opportunity to go in after the game and see Mike and talk to him, and he’s really hurting, but I just told him my thoughts and prayers are with him, that the rest of the team is praying for him. There were a group of guys that also came after me, too. You just hate to see that for someone like him.”
(You talked about maybe some of the rookie mistakes you had early, but then you played really well in the second half, particularly the fourth quarter. What do you see maybe as the difference in the first half and the second half really over the last two weeks?) – “The biggest difference is execution. That is the biggest difference. I don’t know how else to put it. We had many opportunities offensively, and I wasn’t able to execute those plays with our guys, and this is the result of it. We run out of time, and we’re just put in a bad position. You can’t win games doing that.”
(Could you describe the opportunity, what it was like going back and forth with Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and did you share a moment with him, either pregame or postgame?) – “After the game, I got to say what’s up to Pat (Patrick Mahomes). You know, we exchanged a few words, congratulated him, but for me, it’s not more so me versus Pat. We go into the game preparing for their defense, not their offense. Going into the game, we’ve got to execute against their defense. We know their offense is a high-scoring offense, but they’re really good in all three phases of the game. So we knew we had to – every opportunity that we had, we had to go in and at least put some points on the board. Unfortunately, that’s not how it was.”
(You guys mount that spirited comeback there towards the end, and it comes up just short, but I want to go back to when it was 30-10 and what the mood was like on the sideline and what your role was in kind of getting the guys up and trying to get that rally together to make that comeback push.) – “Really our mantra was ‘one play at a time.’ Offensively, I think defensively as well; just play one play at a time. We had a lot of time. It was 30-10, and it was still the third quarter. We still had a good amount of time, but then, like I’m going to say, it falls back on execution. Third quarter offensively, we didn’t execute the way we should have. We came out in the fourth quarter doing a lot better, but we ran out of time. You just can’t do that in this league.”
Brian Flores – December 13, 2020 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Postgame – Kansas City Chiefs
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Obviously not the outcome you guys would want, but what can you say about your team’s resolve to come back after the early scores in the third quarter and make it a ball game here in the fourth quarter?) – “I think we have a resilient team, don’t quit, but I think that we didn’t make enough plays to win the game. We’ve got to play better. They know that. We prepared the right way, and we just didn’t make enough plays. It’s a good team. They made a lot of plays. They made more plays than we did. We fought until the end, came up a little short.”
(I wanted to ask you about the job QB Tua Tagovailoa did in the fourth quarter. It seemed like he got more comfortable as the game went along. How would you assess the way he played today?) – “I thought he made a lot of plays for us, especially in the fourth quarter, made some throws in tight windows, scrambled a little bit, put us in position to score some points. But at the end of the day, I’m sure he’s not satisfied. None of us are. We’ve got to do a better job. We’ve got to make more plays to come out. We’ve got to make more plays than we did today. They made more plays than we did.”
(How do you assess the performance of the defense against the Chiefs offense, four takeaways?) – “The turnovers were good. I think we played well in spurts. It’s a good offense, so they moved it, moved the ball at times, especially that last drive, got enough yards to kick the field goal and really stretched the lead. We made some plays. I thought the guys played hard. I thought we executed, again, in spurts, but against a team like that, one misalignment, one miscommunication, and they take advantage. That was the case today.”
(This is, I guess, the second straight week that the offense has started off slow and then kind of got faster and more effective in the second half. Have you figured out maybe what the thread is in the slow starts and kind of figure out how you can correct that?) – “I think execution. At the end of the day, that’s really what it boils down to. We had a good plan going in. I think we moved it effectively on I guess it was the second drive, missed a field goal. There’s things we can do better. At the end of the day, it really all boils down to execution.”
(I know you’re just coming off the field, but do you have an update on the severity of injuries to TE Mike Gesicki and WR DeVante Parker?) – “We had a number of injuries today. I checked in on a couple guys, but it’s too early right now. They’re still being evaluated. I’ll probably have more information later in the week.”
(Considering the depth chart on the offense coming into today’s game and then the injuries to WR Jakeem Grant, WR DeVante Parker, and TE Mike Gesicki, what do you think it said about QB Tua Tagovailoa, Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey, and the guys that were in there to keep Kansas City sweating until the final second?) – “That’s something we talk about on a weekly basis. Everybody’s got to be ready to go. I think those young receivers – Malcolm (Perry), Lynn (Bowden Jr.), (Antonio) Callaway, Mack (Hollins), Jakeem (Grant) – all those guys, they kind of stepped up, stepped in, and helped make some plays there at the end and moved the ball. We really need that across the board. Bobby (McCain) went down, (Kavon) Frazier went in. That’s what you’ve got to do in this league.”
(When you lost RB Myles Gaskin, what kind of situation did that put you into coming into this game? I know you’re a next man step up kind of guy, but did that force you to change or alter your game plan?) – “Look, I mean, it’s 2020. There’s a pandemic. Every night, when we get the results, I think we’re ready to go if guys go down. So, no, I didn’t change the game plan. We just had the next guys step in, just signed Elijah McGuire, and he was up today, and ‘D. Wash’ (DeAndre Washignton) and (Patrick) Laird, they took the lion’s share of the snaps. Obviously, you always make adjustments and alter some things, but we did that when Mike (Gesicki) went out and DeVante (Parker) went out. I think that’s just part of the game. Guys stepped in, and I thought they went in and worked hard and did a good job, but it wasn’t good enough today. We’ve just got to learn from the mistakes today and make the corrections and be better next week.”
(You guys were able to get four punts and four takeaways on defense today, but they had that stretch where they scored 30 consecutive points in a row. I’m just curious, in your opinion, what was the difference in those two periods of the game?) – “This is an explosive team, and they went on a little bit of a run there in the second half, really the end of the second quarter, got the ball back, punched it in, got a return. It was just a quick spurt there, and that’s kind of how they’re built. They go on runs. They went on one there in the end of the second quarter to beginning of the third quarter. We had to settle in and collect ourselves. I thought our guys did a good job of that and playing with some poise and got ourselves back in the game. But we’ve got to limit those big plays, and we weren’t able to do that today. Ultimately, that was the difference.”
(What happened on the punt return?) – “I’ve got to watch the film, but just on the field, looked like (Mecole) Hardman made a good play. He’s a good player. He’s a good punt returner. You give him a chance, and he makes people miss. That was the case on that play. It’s a good player making a good play.”
Shaq Lawson – December 11, 2020
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Friday, December 11, 2020
DE Shaq Lawson
(What’s the excitement level playing the Chiefs, QB Patrick Mahomes and this sort of offense this week?) – “We’re just going to treat this just like we treat every other game, week-in and week-out. Each game we play, we prepare for week-in and week-out like it’s the most important game of the season. This is no bigger than the other games we’ve had these last 12 to 13 weeks.”
(We got the email from the Dolphins and kind of your explanation of the $10,000 donation. Can you speak a little bit about your upbringing and being an inner-city kid, and what was the direction and why you did this?) – “I did this because I was the same kid getting help. I needed it. I needed it Christmas and school and things like that. I told myself if I had the opportunity to make it and give back, I wanted to do the same thing because those guys and people put me in a position to be successful, and not have to worry about those little things I had to worry about.”
(I know you like sacking all quarterbacks, but is there one quarterback you most want to sack in the league?) – “Oh man, not really. Week-in and week-out I’m trying to get a sack. I’m trying to get a sack every week, every time I touch the field. I don’t really have to – I feel like I did that. My favorite player I sacked was Tom Brady my rookie year. I feel like I already did that part; but now it’s just getting a sack week-in and week-out on any quarterback.”
(To get that sack, you obviously have to go through a left tackle when you’re lined up on the right side of the formation. What are some challenges that T Eric Fisher presents for you in this matchup this weekend?) – “Eric Fisher is a vet. He’s a great player. He gives you a lot of different looks. He’s a vet player. That’s something I see week-in and week-out. That left tackle is supposed to be protecting your quarterback, so I’m seeing the best player on that side week-in and week-out. It’s nothing new.”
(I know every game is treated the same, but there is that saying that ‘they remember what you do in December.’ Do you guys feel like this is the time to kick it up another notch since it’s close to playoff time?) – “No. I mean December football, you don’t have room for error. Everything counts. That’s why when you say December is the most important, it really is. It’s when you find out how good your team is and that’s the next step of potentially making the playoffs and winning the championship. The December month of football is the most important, so everything you do, each day, each preparation, they all count. They all count.”
(How much do you enjoy playing December home games this year, as opposed to your previous December home games were kind of a little bit colder?) – “That’s crazy. I was thinking about that the other day. I was like this time last year, I was struggling outside in December. Now it’s just love, because it still feels like it’s summer down here in December. But, it’s great though.”
Emmanuel Ogbah – December 11, 2020
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Friday, December 11, 2020
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(Can you walk us through what you’ve been feeling this week? Are you excited to see some of your former teammates? Obviously you won a ring with this team, so what is this Sunday’s game going to mean for you?) – “It’s a big game for us. We treat it like every other game. They’re a good team. They’re coming in. We’ve got a good game plan and we’re just ready to take them on. That’s all I’m going to say.”
(Obviously you practiced against these guys a lot with QB Patrick Mahomes and that offense. Is there any fun on your side that you get to hit some of these guys for real actually now?) – “It’s going to be a great game. Like I said, we have a great game plan and we’ve just got to be ready for them.”
(What did you take or learn from last year and your experience with the Chiefs? Obviously the ring is one thing, but what did you take from that experience?) – “They’re a good football team that has great players. We’re just going to have to do a good job trying to stop them. They have a lot of speed. That’s all I take from them. We have to be prepared with speed too.”
(I can’t imagine to be what it’s like to be on a team that goes to a Super Bowl, wins a Super Bowl and yet you’re injured. What were your emotions like during that whole run-up to the championship?) – “It was very tough for me watching those guys. I was happy for them. I know what we went through during training camp and all of that, during practice, during the season. They know how to work so I was happy for them; but at the same time, I was salty because I didn’t get to play. But it’s all good. I’m going to try to do it for Miami.”
(The Chiefs are an 11-win team, the defending Super Bowl champions and the No. 1 offense in the NFL coming to town. I’m curious, has this week been any different from a preparation standpoint or maybe the energy in the building? Or has it been the same?) – “We treat them like any other team. They’re obviously a really good team. We have a great game plan and we’re ready for them.”
(For you personally, you already have a career high in sacks but that 10 number is often fun for pass rushers to go to. Is that a number that you’re hopeful to get this year or that you’re keying in on?) – “My goal is to just create plays and cause havoc to the offense. If that’s getting sacks, getting pressures, getting hits, I’m ready to do it all.”
(A lot of people, myself included, would say that the Dolphins are getting a bargain based on your production. When you hear that, how do you feel?) – “Like I said, they’re the team that gave me this opportunity. I’m just going out there balling for them. I’m thankful for the opportunity they gave me when a lot of teams didn’t.”
Brian Flores – December 11, 2020
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Friday, December 11, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Can you provide an update on LB Kyle Van Noy and LB Elandon Roberts’ status for Sunday’s game?) – “Yeah, they’ll be – I’ll just give you everybody. They’ll be questionable. It was good to get both guys out there (at practice) today and get some reps. It was good. It was good to get both of them out there. They’ll be questionable. E. Flowers (Ereck Flowers) is out and (Salvon) Ahmed didn’t practice. He’ll be out, as well.”
(I wanted to ask you about WR Jakeem Grant turning up on the injury report with a back injury. Was that related to those two punt returns where penalties were called, and is he going to be able to return punts this weekend?) – “Jakeem, like everyone on this team that’s playing, has bumps and bruises from really just playing. He’s got a big part in our offense and in out kicking game. Everyone’s got bumps and bruises. The back was a little bit of an issue but he’s worked through it. He practiced full today and we expect him to do everything. We’ll need him, especially against this group.”
(G Solomon Kindley moving to left guard was what you went to last week. What was the approach or thinking behind that? Is it because he played it at Georgia? Or is that where G/T Jesse Davis feels more comfortable? Just wanted to get the thought process.) – “We just want to get the best five guys out there – the best 11 guys out there, like we always try to do, and put the team in the best position to have some success. Moving him over to left, like you mentioned he has some familiarity over there. He’s played both positions really throughout. We felt like that was the best thing for the team.”
(Of the 10 guys who could only participate in part of practice yesterday, like RB DeAndre Washington, will all of them play I presume, because you didn’t mention those? Also, I was going to ask about any more elevations beyond S Nate Holley. Is that something you, General Manager Chris Grier and Vice President of Football Administration Brandon Shore still need to talk about? Are you pretty sure at this point that you’re fine with what you have, even if it’s just four corners? I know obviously CB Jamal Perry is on the COVID-19 list.) – “The first question on the injury report, everyone else was full minus the four guys I mentioned, with Kyle (Van Noy) and Elandon (Roberts) being limited and questionable and the other guys being out. What was after that? Nate Holley I believe?”
(Yeah, just anybody else being brought up? Are you okay with only four corners if CB Jamal Perry stays on the COVID-19 list?) – “We’ll talk to the staff this afternoon and watch the film. Those obviously are conversations we’ve had. The kicking game is a big part of that as well. We can only get 48 to the game with the eight (offensive) linemen, so there are a lot of variables there. Myself, Chris, our offensive and defensive (coaches) and (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny (Crossman) is obviously a big part of that as well. We’ll have those conversations here right when I’m done and try to finalize those decisions.”
