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.”
Bobby McCain – January 1, 2021
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Friday, January 1, 2021
S Bobby McCain
(What would making the playoffs mean to you personally?) – “It’d just be big just because that’s something you know that we’ve worked for. You know the work you’ve put in all year and to have a game like this to be able to prepare for, you-win-you’re-in type deal; so it’ll be a big accomplishment for us as a team and myself as well, because this is what you work for.”
(Year 2 for you at safety. It’s gone well in our eyes, but just in your words, how has it gone for you? Are you happy with how you’ve played through 16 weeks at safety?) – “You can definitely be better from time to time and just getting better each and every week was one of my goals that I started at the beginning of the year. Getting better every week and making plays and doing your job, doing what you’re supposed do, there ain’t too much more people can ask of you. So it’s just trying to be better every and this week is another week we try to get better. There’s always things you can correct and fix in your game and you only get 16 opportunities to go out there and do it, so I wouldn’t necessarily say – I’m not going to sit here and judge myself on how I played, but I just know I want to get better, keep getting better and keep making plays.”
(Obviously it’s the second matchup with the Bills this year, playing them back in Week 2. How would you say you guys have evolved as a defense since Week 2 and how would you say the passing attack of the Buffalo Bills has evolved since that game?) – “We know the Bills are playing really good football right now. Josh Allen is playing at a high level, Stefon Diggs is playing at a high level, Cole Beasley is playing at a high level. Offensively, they’re playing really well. Their defense has always been good, so we know what we’re up against. We know it’s going to be a hard-fought game. It’s going to be a dogfight until the end and that’s what we’re prepared for.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said something earlier this week – he told us that Assistant Defensive Backs Coach Curt Kuntz leads a lot of the third-down meetings and I haven’t gotten to know him yet. Can you tell me what his approach is like?) – “He’s just very detailed in his explanations of what’s going on throughout the week and third downs as you said. He’s very detailed, a very good coach, and he helps us out because I’m not – correct me if I’m wrong – I believe we’re one of the top third-down teams in the league, so give him his credit where credit is due.”
Raekwon Davis – January 1, 2021
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Friday, January 1, 2021
DT Raekwon Davis
(I’m wondering what it’s like to watch football games when you’re a football player, of the team you want to win. Of course, I mean Alabama. What’s that like when you want them to win but there’s nothing much you can do about it?) – “Yeah, most definitely I want them to win. I want them to go out there and destroy those boys. Yeah, when I get done with this, I’m going to go home and get everything ready and everything situated and I’m going to have my eye on the game.”
(We’re not sure when we’ll talk to you again. I was just going to ask you, your play this year has obviously been encouraging. How close are you to how good you think you can be as an NFL player?) – “Not even close yet. Not even close.”
(Going back to the Alabama game, how much trash talking have you been doing with TE Durham Smythe?) – “I don’t really trash talk. I don’t really like trash talking. I just hear all of the stuff and what’s going on. I just let it go through one ear and out of the other.”
(The latest forecast for Buffalo is just a little bit of wintry mix. Not that bad, maybe in the 30s, maybe an inch of snow. Have you played a game in a little bit of snow or frozen rain or sleet or anything like that?) – “No, I’ve never played a game like that. It might be fun. I might be able to get me a snowman or a snow angel.”
Eric Rowe – December 31, 2020
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Thursday, December 31, 2020
S Eric Rowe
(The league-owned website is reporting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has COVID. Are you aware of this? Were you alarmed to hear this news? And how hurtful do you think it will be not to have him on Sunday?) – “Yeah, I got the news today. It hurts. He’s a leader of our team. He brings energy, even in the Zoom meetings; so just to hear it that he’s probably – it’s down for all of us but I’m sure it’s worse for him because one, he loves the game; and two, nobody wants to catch COVID, right? But kind of with that, you just got to push forward.”
(You’ve played in a lot of big games in your career and you’ve mentioned before how much it means to you to be a part of this Dolphins team. What does it mean for you to be in this position to play in a game of this magnitude with this team and how can your experience in big games kind of provide some direction for the younger guys who haven’t seen a big Week 17 game like this in the NFL?) – “This means a lot, just kind of coming from where we came last year. We were definitely like, bottom five in the NFL last year. It was a struggle. To now this year to have a chance to get to the playoffs and obviously you’ve got to take it day-by-day, so this is the last game of the season; but kind of with the young guy, I just kind of tell them like – actually, I don’t really have to say much. They kind of know. They’ve kind of matured through the season that it’s just a regular game – same regular game plan, technique, all that’s the same. The only difference is it’s just the last game of the season. So I didn’t really have to tell them much.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores mentioned that Assistant Defensive Backs Coach Curt Kuntz leads the third-down defense meetings and I was curious, how long can those meetings go and in what way are they beneficial?) – “How long can they go? I’m not sure. I’ve never actually really timed it. (laughter) I never really timed it. It’s just as long as how much he wants to talk about it, but obviously you see we put an emphasis on third down every week for that game plan. We break it down by yards, and obviously it’s helped us a lot this year coming off the field. You can stop points right there.”
(How was the news broken to the team today about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and how would you describe the reaction when it was immediately revealed?) – “’Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) told us in the team meeting this morning about his situation and then we’re on Zoom, so you can’t really tell everybody’s reaction at the time; but my reaction was just praying for his health because COVID, that’s a real-deal thing whether you don’t have symptoms or you do. So I’m just kind of praying that he doesn’t have the symptoms and that he didn’t spread it to his family or kids.”
(You talked a little bit earlier about just sort of the turnaround where you guys were last year to this year. When you look at that, the full frame of you guys were the No. 32 scoring defense to No. 1 so far this year; are you able to put all of that into grips and how you guys have really completely overdid this defense?) – “Also, it’s a bunch of new guys that we have on the team than last year. I think over like defensive-wise, I feel like – over 50 percent of the roster has flipped, right? So a lot of guys don’t know and I tried to tell them, but they don’t know what we’ve been through last year and how we go from getting scored on nearly every drive to now we’re getting off the field on almost every third down. So just to see that flip, it is crazy, though.”
(CB Byron Jones actually mentioned that this morning on Good Morning Football, about the overturn of the roster and how guys have kind of bought in that way; but he also mentioned something I wanted to ask you about and he said that CB Xavien Howard is the best player he’s ever been around. What do you think about that statement?) – “He’s not lying. To have a pick in nine games straight – it got to the point where if he didn’t have a pick, we’re kind of like – like the Patriots game – we’re kind of like, ‘whoa, that’s not normal, right?’ And really to have a guy like that, that you can put him on any receiver and he can produce turnovers like that, that’s definitely a comfort thing within the defense.”
(I wanted to ask you, you guys have obviously come so far this season; if you didn’t make the playoffs, would it be a big disappointment or would you guys be able to see the success you guys made and the strides you guys made as a positive?) – “It’d be both. It’d be a big disappointment. We put a lot of work in this year, a lot of work winning games that aren’t easy and really to have double-digit wins and to not make the playoffs, that hurts. But at the same time, kind of like at least we’re – the guys like me, Bobby (McCain) and ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) who were here last year, to see that stride especially defensive-wise, to see that kind of leap we took from last year to this year, it’s positive. Positive for the years coming on.”
Isaiah Ford – December 31, 2020
Thursday, December 31, 2020
WR Isaiah Ford
(Obviously you are very, very close to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. What are your thoughts and wishes to Ryan at this time?) – “He’s our guy. But if this year has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. We all love Ryan; but we’ve got a job to do, and I think everybody is focused on getting that done.”
(I know you guys don’t need any more motivation than you already have to make the playoffs; but with the news of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and him having never been there in a 16-year career, is it just on a personal level, does it add any more motivation for you guys to want to get there for him, knowing that he won’t even be on the sidelines in Buffalo?) – “Yeah. Like you said, we all know what’s at stake. We know how important this game is and we’re preparing and trying to go towards that and win one football game and go from there.”
(It seems to me that regardless of who the quarterback is, you always find a way to make plays when they go off-script in the scramble drill. You find a way to break off the route. What’s the key to that? What’s the key to finding open space when the quarterback has to get out of the pocket and a play breaks down?) – “I think a lot of it is just seeing the same thing. Trying to spend as much time as I can with these guys, seeing things how they see them so we’re always on the same page whether it’s on-script or off-script. I think that comes with just spending time with each other, watching film, talking through things that you’re seeing on film so you’re always seeing the same thing and speaking the same language.”
(You haven’t been here for a month and yet last week, you were directing traffic and telling guys where to go; and this is a new offense for you just like it is a new offense for everybody else. Where does that come from? Where does this grasp of offensive concepts and playbooks, where does that come from?) – “To be honest, I just study. I just study it a lot. I try to rehearse it as much as I can. I was taught at an early age to try to learn things conceptually. I was never stuck being held in one spot, whether it’s being in the slot or being outside. When you learn things conceptually, it’s easier for you to be on the field and be able to play. And, also in times like that, there are a million things going on on the field. Sometimes somebody might forget where they are supposed to be or what the play may be, so to be able to get them lined up and have them ready to go, you can still have a good play instead of having to burn a timeout.”
(Whatever happened to those shorts QB Ryan Fitzpatrick wore to practice? Did you get them back? Did you have them washed? Are you going to wear your helmet to the side as a tribute to Fitzpatrick one time on Sunday?) – “(laughter) I actually have some. I didn’t get mine back. I don’t know what ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) did with them, but the equipment guys got me another pair. These might be a little shorter than those actually. So yeah. (laughter)”
