Michael Deiter – December 20, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 20, 2020
Postgame – New England Patriots
C/G Michael Deiter
(I want to go over what the Jaguars jersey situation is. I saw Jesse Davis wearing it today.) – “(Florida) Panthers.”
(My bad. Wrong animal. What’s that all about and what was it like to get out there and play and could be contribute to a win today?) – “We’re both just hockey fans and it’s late December. It’s normally also hockey season, so we figured we would get a little festive and support our pro hockey team. And it felt good to get out there and play a little football. It’s been awhile.”
(What has the last 12 months been like for you? Last year obviously you had a much bigger role with the team and you needed to wait for your opportunity and today you took advantage of it.) – “It’s been a process. It’s just taking it day by day and wherever I am asked to play or whatever role I’m given, just making sure I’m doing it to the best of my ability and making sure it’s helping this team be as good as it can be and whatever role that is, I got to be ready to do it at a good level.”
(How critical was it for the line to establish both run and pass protection, but specifically with the run with RB Salvon Ahmed and RB Matt Breida getting over 200 yards combined?) – “It was crucial. That defense, it’s a defense that you want to attack on the ground, which will only make throwing the ball easier, make it more effective. And to get those guys running like that. We didn’t have to be perfect as an o-line and they didn’t have to be perfect as backs, but they did a heck of a job and we just had to fit guys up and give them a chance to make plays and they did.”
(Can you put into words the magnitude of this game and what it means for this team going toward the playoff run?) – “It’s another game when you think about it, but not really. It’s a division game versus the Patriots and that’s always a rival game and it’s on our way to where we want to go postseason, so it’s a big game. We had to go out there and make plays and take it one play at a time and we did, and that’s what we have to do this week in practice and going forward.”
Brian Flores – December 20, 2020 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Postgame – New England Patriots
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Fantastic day on the ground today. What was the key to rushing for over 200 yards for the first time since 2016?) – “I think (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) did great job, really, throughout the week, really the entire offensive staff – Chan, ‘Marsh’ (Offensive Line Coach Steve Marshall), (Running Backs Coach) Eric Studesville (Tight Ends Coach) George (Godsey), the entire staff, (Quarterbacks Coach) Robby Brown. I thought the players executed. I thought (Salvon) Ahmed ran hard, (Matt) Breida ran hard, Patrick Laird ran hard. Offensive lined blocked well. We had receivers blocking down field. I think we executed. They should be proud of themselves. It’s a well-coached team over there, and we played well today.”
(Just want to see what it means to you to secure a winning season in just your second year as head coach. What does this all mean?) – “It’s always good to win. That’s what we’re … That’s why these guys put all the blood, sweat, and tears in. That’s why they prepare so hard and practice so hard and lift the weights, and not so much for me, but for this team and these players and what they put into, the effort they put into trying to go out there and execute. I’m just happy for these guys. We’re just going to take this one game at a time and continue to prepare the right way, continue to try to improve every day. But honestly, for the Dolphins fans, I’m very … I think we got great fans, people who are lifers, man. They love this team, so it’s happy to, I mean, … I’m happy to bring some joy into their – or we’re happy, I should say – to bring some joy to these, to our fans because they deserve it.”
(How important was the conversation at halftime, and then for the offense to come out first drive in the third quarter to score. You scored all 22 of your points there in the second half.) – “I think we overcame a tough first half. That just speaks to the resiliency and the mental toughness of this team. Didn’t play great in the first half, got down into the red zone, turned it over. This team, we don’t go in the tank. We just keep playing. We just battle through. And that’s what they did. Came in at halftime, made some adjustments. I think (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) made some adjustments. (Defensive Coordinator) Josh (Boyer) made some adjustments. (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny (Crossman) made adjustments. They went out there and executed. I’m excited for our players and we’re going to enjoy this one.”
(I want to ask you about the effectiveness of, I don’t know if it was the RPO game or QB Tua Tagovailoa in shotgun, how much better does it, does the run game, an effective run game help this offense?) – “I think we have talked about this. Moving the ball down the field with efficiency, getting first downs, putting pressure on the defense, however you do it, run game, pass game, but you want balance. I think we were able to have that today. I want to say we probably maybe ran the ball more than we threw it. But you want balance, and I think in order to keep a defense, you want to keep a defense off balance, you need balance offensively. We have had these conversations as far as running it, passing it, RPO’ing it, screening it, drop back. I think you just, we just got to try to keep mixing it offensively but keep the run-pass balance, which we tried to do all year. Today we ran it effectively, so we just kept running it. I think our guys executed. I think (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) did great job, our offensive staff did a good job, our defensive staff did a great job keeping them out of the end zone. Did a good job in the kicking game. They got a really good special teams unit, neutralized that a little to a degree and we played well. Well enough to win.”
(I thought it was interesting what you were talking about earlier as far as how important it was to the fans and the team to be winning again. For you guys, all you guys had to overcome, including injuries today, have you been surprised by anything that your team has showed you in some of these tough moments? I know they’re resilient, but is there anything at all that impressed you?) – “I think we got tough, mentally tough, physically tough, resilient group that knows how to deal with adversity, doesn’t go in the tank, keeps fighting, keeps working, keeps coming to work, good, bad, hot, raining, whatever, whatever the situation, whatever the situation is, these guys just work. Our coaches are the same way. Really everyone in our building is that way. I talked about that, but from our nutritionists to our equipment to strength and conditioning, to our medical staff, to ownership. Everyone in the building is kind of wired that way. We battle for each other, players, coaches, support staff. And we’ll continue to do that. That’s one thing I know, every day that everyone’s going to work hard. I don’t take it for granted, but I know that that’s the case.”
(Today obviously you were without WR DeVante Parker, TE Mike Gesicki, WR Jakeem Grant, G Ereck Flowers. How many of those went down to the wire and how did that change your approach going into this game?) – “They really all went down to the wire, so we had multiple plans if such-and-such plays, if such-and-such plays, we’ll do this, we’ll do that. I think, again, (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) and the offensive staff did a great job. They were ready to go with whoever was up as far as how we were going to try to attack these guys. I think they were all pretty much … They were all close. These guys are fighting to play. Whether it’s Mike (Gesicki), DeVante (Parker), Jakeem (Grant), ‘E-Flo’ (Ereck Flowers). Everyone’s fighting to play and get out there and they just want to help this team. Again, it just speaks to the type of guys we have.”
(Do you think the rushing attack today was a good game plan against a defense you’re familiar with or something that’s probably, could be a sign of things to come for the future for you guys?) – “I think it’s about execution. That’s what it’s about every week, execution, execution, execution, execution, execution. I think we did a good job from that standpoint in the run game, getting guys blocked, receivers, tight ends, backs. (Salvon) Ahmed ran hard. Backs made guys miss and created more yards than were probably there and by making a guy miss by breaking a tackle. And then down field, guys were blocking and trying to make a 12-yard gain a 22-yard gain, I don’t know for sure. I would have to watch the film. But that’s what you need to put up that kind of yardage in the run game. Our guys played hard. It’s something we talked about and harped on all year. You mentioned a sign of things to come. I don’t really look at it that way. I look at it as we got to prepare, we got to practice, we got to walk through and then we got to execute. To give ourselves a chance to execute, I should say. But I know these guys will do that. No game’s ever been perfect. It surely wasn’t perfect today, but these guys, I know they fight and they work hard and it’s important to them.”
Emmanuel Ogbah – December 18, 2020
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Friday, December 18, 2020
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(I wanted to ask what do you know about the Dolphins-Patriots rivalry? Obviously you’ve played in one game now, but what do you know about the rivalry?) – “I know it’s a division game, so those games are always important because it counts as two. Not necessarily a lot about the history of the Dolphins and the Patriots though.”
(When we talked to Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer a couple days ago, he said when he turned on the tape that things look very different from when you guys played them in Week 1 to now. What were some of your observations as you’ve studied them and prepared for them this week?) – “I know we’ve got to stop that run. They run the ball a lot. We’ve just got to do a good job, so better than we did the first game at stopping the run and just forcing them to work our mesh.”
(You mentioned the run game there. I wanted to ask you about the pass rushing situation. I know you’ve played a little bit of both sides, but what are some of the things that Patriots OL Jermaine Eluemenor and OL Mike Onwenu, what are some of the things those two guys do to provide some challenges for you as a pass rusher?) – “Obviously when you watch them play, they’re big strong guys so will want to grab you. You’ve just got to have a good game plan for them and you’ve just got to have a good rush plan for them, try to get their hands off of you and not let them grab so much.”
(If I remember right, that first game, they had a lot of success with those powers – the Cam Newton powers and the read options. What have you guys maybe gotten better at on the edge just to where to prevent those from being an issue again on Sunday?) – “We’ve had a lot of practice on it, we’ve been watching film, Coach Boyer has got a good game plan to stop those and we’ve just got to go out there and execute the game plan.”
(Can you compare the feeling as an NFL player when December rolls around and you’re in a playoff hunt versus when you’re out of it?) – “The vibe is different. It feels like every game is like a playoff game even though it’s not the playoffs yet. We feel like every game is and it’s a whole different intensity, it’s a different atmosphere when you know you’re playing for something than when you’re not really playing for anything so your morale is not that good; but we’re playing for something so we’ve got to give it our all every time on that field.”
Jesse Davis – December 18, 2020
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Friday, December 18, 2020
G/T Jesse Davis
(Can you take me through the roller coaster year it has been for you. From switching positions, to outside of the lineup for a game, to back in, everything you’ve had to deal with?) – “It’s all about staying ready and being a professional in this league. You’ve got to be ready for anything. My role over the year has been wherever somebody needed me, or somebody went down I would go in. That’s kind of what being on a team as well as being able to play all positions, or most positions. Hopefully make it a little longer in this league, and also longer here.”
(I was curious from a scheme standpoint, what kind of challenges does the Patriots pass rush provide you guys?) – “They do a good job, spacing-wise to disguising some other things that they do. They’ve got some big bodies, they’ve got some fast guys. For us it’s just staying together and not standing too far away from each other. Keeping Tua (Tagovailoa) clean, but keeping our people from not getting picked. The center, the guard, and the tackle.”
(As one of the veterans on the offensive line, what has stood out the most for you about the three rookies that are getting significant time out there?) – “They are doing a good job, coming in as a rookie, really no offseason, not knowing what to expect, playing ball together and playing well on their own as well as a staff helps. Taking the coaching, but also listening to the veterans on how to set, what to fix, where we need you next. They have been doing a good job.”
(What were some things on your mind when you were stopping Head Coach Brian Flores during the Bengals game a couple of weeks ago?) – “I thought he was going to get Jakeem Grant when he was down. Then I saw him advancing further over there. I didn’t want him drawing anymore penalties or possibly getting booted. I was just doing what anybody else would’ve done, which is stopping someone from going a little too far, but he was in his own right. The game was getting out of hand, and he disagreed with some things. It shows a lot of his character, sticking up for his players, and everyone else. He did a good job.”
(I know the mantra has been one day at a time, but given everything you guys went through last year, is there a special appreciation for playing meaningful games and being in the hunt at this point late in the year?) – “Yeah, the last couple of years it’s been kind of a drag in December trying to fight your way in. Right now we’re sitting pretty good, and we’re a confident team. I think moving forward here, we take this one game at a time, but we all have our eyes on the prize as well. Just getting a chance to get in there, into a playoff situation is great. Playing these games in late December it gets you fired up. We all know the expectation. We’ve got to raise our level a little bit more each week. We got a target on ourselves, too, here. I think everybody has embraced that
Brian Flores – December 18, 2020
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Friday, December 18, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Can you give the statuses on TE Mike Gesicki, WR DeVante Parker, WR Jakeem Grant, and is Gesicki going to avoid surgery?) – “Gesicki, Parker, and Grant were all limited, and they’ll be questionable for the game. As far as surgery, I don’t – surgery now, surgery later – I don’t have those answers. He’s questionable for practice, and I’ll leave it right there. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know if he avoided, or needs. I can tell you about Cover 2, I can’t tell you anything about an MRI.”
(I know we touched in general about the opener against New England this year, and how it might impact this game. As you looked at the tape of that game, what struck you as the single-biggest improvement of your team over the course of this season?) – “To say it’s one thing, I think it’s hard to do that. I think we’ve improved in a lot of areas offensively, defensively, and the kicking game, from a preparation standpoint. Look, we’re a young team, so just as far as learning how to watch film, study tape for some of our younger players. There are a lot of things. To try to say it’s one specific thing, that would be tough. I’d need more time to think about that. If I had to say one, I’d say we’ve grown together as a team. The guys support each other, but they’ve improved in a lot of ways.”
(I know you just walked us through the status of your three offensive receivers and TE Mike Gesicki. With Gesicki specifically, I know he’s questionable, but was it encouraging to have him practice this week after how he exited the game and being able to see him catch some passes today?) – “Very encouraging. It’s important to him that he gets out there and plays with his teammates. He’s doing everything he can like all of our guys who are banged up, to get out there. He’s giving himself an opportunity, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Matt Breida – December 17, 2020
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Thursday, December 17, 2020
RB Matt Breida
(Can you kind of fill us in on what we missed? How were the last couple of weeks for you? Did you have any symptoms or anything like that?) – “I was feeling fine the whole time, just going through the whole process of whatever I had to go through. I’m really just happy to back out here. I love football, so I’m happy to be back.”
(As an NFL player, you know that any snap can lead to an injury. There are obvious ways that you could miss time, but this seems like something that is kind of unforeseen. What was it like being out for something that wasn’t injury-related?) – “It sucks, especially knowing that … It sucks, but like I said, I’m happy to be back out here with the guys. They did a great job with everything. I’m just happy to be back and help the team.”
(Obviously this season probably hasn’t gone maybe the way you have wanted it to go. I wanted to ask you, what do you see for yourself in the final three games? What do you see for yourself in the final three games coming up here?) – “Do whatever I’ve got to do to help our team. I feel like we have a great shot this year accomplishing our goals and doing what we want to do. We’ve just got to handle business these last three weeks and like I said at the beginning – I’m going to keep saying it – whatever the team asks me to do, I’m going to do.”
(I wanted to ask you, obviously COVID is no joke; but you had a break because of the injury, but now you had a break because of COVID. Do you feel fresh?) – “I feel great. I feel 100 percent healthy. I’m ready to go.”
(The last time you played, I believe you had 10 touches against the Jets, including eight carries on November 29. What do you remember about how things were going that day? Did you feel like things were going quite well?) – “Yeah, I felt like we were executing well. You always want to do better, but I felt like things were going well. I thought we were running the ball decently and it just felt like another game to me. I was getting into a good rhythm, our team was playing well, the defense was playing great, coaches were coaching well, so everything was going good.”
(You were part of a team last year that made a run all the way to the Super Bowl and I’m curious the Dolphins may be one of the younger teams in the NFL, what kind of value do you think that experience and playing in so many big games last year brings to this year’s team?) – “It brings a lot because whenever guys ask questions or especially I would say the rookies – not so much the older guys because I feel like a lot of those guys have played in big games before – but every week, you just treat it the same way. You don’t treat anything differently. You don’t go out there and try to make a big play; just do your job at the end of the day. I feel like we’ve got a great team, talented guys and that’ll take care of business as long as you just focus on what you’ve got to do. Don’t treat any game different.”
(I was thinking about how you, RB Salvon Ahmed and RB Myles Gaskin have all faced various things whether it was injury or the COVID-19 list. One or the other, it’s constantly something. I’m wondering do you guys have a running back text message thread or something?) – “Nah, that’s just 2020 for you, man. It’s a crazy year with everything that’s been going on. Just a bunch of unfortunate things; but at the end of the day, we’ve got guys on the team (who are ready) no matter what happens and that’s why we’re at where we’re at now.”
(We know Head Coach Brian Flores very well up here from his time with the Patriots, but we don’t know him as a head coach – something that he is now in Miami. You’ve been around the league, played for a few different coaches. What have you learned about Coach Flores? What are some things that you’ve learned to appreciate about him?) – “Just that he treats every player the same, no matter how good you are or if you’re on the practice squad. He expects great things out of you. He’s a great coach. He’s going to be coaching for a very long time in this league. It’s rare that you’re around coaches like him who are fairly young, understand what it takes to win and just what goes into this game. Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen nothing but great things about him and I love that he’s my head coach. I think all the guys on the team feel the same way. We all want to play for him and go out there and players lay it on the line for him, and he does the same for us. He’s just a great head coach.”
Kyle Van Noy – December 17, 2020
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Thursday, December 17, 2020
LB Kyle Van Noy
(How would you say your decision to join the Dolphins has aligned with your expectations?) – “What do you mean by that? Are you saying just in general?”
(Yeah, just in general.) – “Yeah. I feel like everything has been pretty good. I can’t complain. We have a chance at the playoffs. I’m playing a lot. I’m playing with people that I like. So yeah, it’s going smooth.”
(How is the hip feeling and how disappointed were you that you missed the game last week?) – “I’m just focused on trying to get better each and every day. That’s all. I can’t control some stuff.”
(It’s kind of a role reversal between these two teams. Usually it’s the Dolphins who are trying to play the spoiler for the Patriots, and now the Patriots are pretty much a long shot to get in and they can spoil your plans. What was it like when you were in New England and you had teams like the Dolphins who this would be their Super Bowl because they were trying to knock off the champs?) – “I don’t remember what it was like. I only remember what’s going on right now and we play the Patriots on Sunday.”
(I know it was a long time ago back in Week 1, but I’m curious what are some things the defense can do to help limit the Patriots run game this time around. I think it was the season high allowed in rushing yards for your defense in that game. What can you guys do to get that fixed this time around?) – “I think it’s better communication. Just playing better. I think we are comfortable with where we’re at and we’ve got to make strides to get better each time we take the field. I think as an older guy, just playing better and having everybody play better helps as well. I think it’s a lot of different things and I hope we do our best to slow it down. They are really, really good. I think they are third in rushing in the league. Their o-line is amazing. (Offensive Line Coach) Cole Popovich does a really good job getting those guys ready to go. That rookie (Michael Onwenu) is playing really well and (Jermaine) Eluemunor is playing well. The backs – Damien Harris is playing really well. Sony (Michel)’s still got juice, obviously James White is just all-around amazing. Then you’ve got Cam Newton who still runs the ball really well. He’s doing a lot of things well. They do a good job. You can splash in the receivers too. They all run the ball pretty well too when they get the ball on sweeps and different things like that. (Head Coach) Bill (Belichick) has them playing hard and he’s a really good coach and they are doing a really good job running the ball.”
(How much trash talk is going on between you and the McCourtys this week?) – (Laughter) “I haven’t talked to them.”
(C’mon) – “Maybe I’ll talk to them after the game.”
(What’s your opinion on South Florida weather in December?) – “Look at this hair. This hair is looking good for the sun. (laughter) Honestly, it’s a blessing. I’m a sun person, so anytime you get to wake up and have the sun beaming on you, it’s a blessing. Just being in the sun feels better. You’re a happier person, so it’s good.”
Brandon Jones – December 17, 2020
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Thursday, December 17, 2020
S Brandon Jones
(I have a feeling because of so many other draft picks here that sometimes maybe you’re forgotten because there’s so many and maybe you don’t play such a prevalent role as everybody else does. How would you say your rookie season has gone and how would you say you’ve improved over the course of the year?) – “Yeah, I think it’s gone pretty well. Obviously a lot of stuff has been a learning experience for me, when it comes to just being able to fix corrections during the game, during practice. Just overall learning, I think. Just my role, just being able to do as much as I can and help out the team anyway I can. Just being able to multitask and being able to kind of attack it and approach it the best way I can possible.”
(The first game against New England was a long time ago. What’s something that you guys maybe learned that you can implement against QB Cam Newton?) – “Cam does a really good job of just controlling that offense and making plays in the passing game and obviously on his feet … A big pillar of our defense every week is to stop the run, so I think that’s kind of the mindset we go in with each and every week, trying to minimize the run and do what we can from that standpoint, and then from there, being able to play our ball.”
(You played a significant role in the previous game against New England. You actually started your first NFL game. Tell me how has the Brandon Jones now that’s going to play on Sunday, improved from that player in Week 1?) – “I would just say the comfortability level on the field. I watched the (Week 1) game, obviously preparing this week, and I feel like I’m a totally different player, just from knowing the next step, what’s going to happen and being comfortable at the end of the day. You could kind of tell I was pretty antsy and trying to be everywhere all at once, but I kind of just understood and realized my job, what I need to do and how I can help and always kind of being aware of the next step before it happens. I think that’s something that has progressively gotten better over the weeks.”
(We talk a lot about with you guys and coach and stuff about the week-to-week nature of this league and having different game plans for different teams. I’m curious going from one week where you’re playing this high-flying attack like the Chiefs, to this week and one of the teams that rushes the ball more than anybody else. What’s that change like as far as going from preparing for that type of offense to this one?) – “I think I’m in kind of a different position than a lot of other people, I guess just from being a rookie and what they ask me to do. My biggest thing is just kind of – I’ve got to do my job. I’ve got to get this done to play the run this week versus what we ran last week. Like I said, the biggest thing for every team – even the Chiefs – and the pillar of our defense is being able to stop the run. That’s something that doesn’t change throughout the weeks.”
(Obviously S Bobby McCain’s status for this weekend is up in the air. I’m curious, do you consider yourself a better free safety or box safety? And if they asked you to play centerfield for 60 or 65 snaps on Sunday, what would that experience be like?) – “I kind of do and play whatever the coaches need me to do. I have a lot of experience in college being able to play the box and play high. I don’t mind. Like I said, wherever they need me, I’ll do what I can do at the end of the day.”
