Robby Brown – August 20, 2020
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Thursday, August 20, 2020
Quarterbacks Coach Robby Brown
(I find the personality dynamic in that quarterback room pretty intriguing and my question here is sort of two-pronged. One, how are those personalities meshing and do you find yourself not just teaching but also kind of learning from the cerebral guys you have in that room there in QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and QB Josh Rosen and QB Tua Tagovailoa?) – “The room does have a lot of personality. It’s fun to be in. Most quarterback rooms you go into, you’ve got to be on your toes because they’re witty. You’ve got to know what you’re saying, be ready for all kinds of comments and things like that; so it’s a lot of fun being in there and being around them. It’s fun watching them interact together, learn from each other and yeah, obviously you’re going to learn something from every single guy – how they see things, how they process things; so it has been a good time learning, seeing, teaching all three of those guys.”
(That was me asking about the wealth of experience and all those years that Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey and Offensive Line Coach Steve Marshall have.) – “’Wealth of experience.’ Well, I’ve been around both of them for a while, so I’ll make sure and use those terms. (laughter)”
(You were not even born when Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey started to coach in college. What is it about him that you have seen that just keeps him going to be around young people and to keep coaching? What have you seen?) – “First of all, he’s always – kind of playing off the last question – he’s always trying to learn. He’s always thinking through things for you. When I haven’t been with him, I would text him with questions and just the way he thinks through the game, the way he thinks through people; he understands how people operate, he understands the game. So I would say that that’s the biggest thing, is just how he processes that information and meshes it together is pretty special, ever since I’ve known him, to be honest.”
(I heard that the NFL is considering allowing artificial crowd noise to be pumped in to kind of create the advantage for the defense when it’s in their stadium. In your experience, what’s the relevance of noise?) – “There’s a lot of different things that you practice and try to do to, I guess, eliminate that. You can never really eliminate that, I guess, as a factor in the game; so if it is loud, you have to be ready to communicate, get the message to everybody, you have to be able to make sure that everybody knows what they’re doing and what we’re doing. It could be an issue, but I don’t know exactly how that’s going to work yet. Hopefully they won’t turn it up too loud when we’ve got the ball. (laughter)”
(Yesterday, QB Tua Tagovailoa escaped the pocket, got outside and then decided to end the play with kind of a half-slide, half-kneel type of thing and it looked bad. It really looked bad. So are you guys working with him on sliding and I guess that includes, ‘Dude, don’t get hit. Slide’?) – “It’s not just Tua. That’s a learning situation for everybody. I obviously remember the play. If you were out there, you saw it. That’s a learning situation for everybody. It’s not just him. Obviously he’s the one that did it. Had it been ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) or Josh (Rosen), we would have done the same thing; but you’re always talking about pocket presence, knowing when to throw it away, when to give up, when to get down, and it’s a feel thing. You’ve got a guy that’s a however-many-year vet ‘Fitz’ is. He talks through that. Josh talks through it. Tua talks through what he sees. (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) talks through what he sees in the meeting. But that’s always a process and it’s more about when to give up, when to throw it away. It’s not just Tua. Every quarterback lives through that. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are in the process. That’s always a decision and you’re a competitor, so it’s always a decision of what to do and when to do it.”
(Like you mentioned there you’ve got three guys in that room with different experience levels. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been forever and two are younger guys. At some point obviously Head Coach Brian Flores is going to name a starter. How do you plan, I guess, to divvy up the difference between the present while still developing maybe the other two guys as the season goes on?) – “I would say the good thing in my position right now – in my point in my career – is that’s more of a decision that (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) and (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores have to make. My job, at this point in my career, is to kind of go out there and when they say ‘this guy’s going here,’ is to try to help them and get them better and help the other two – whoever that is – learn from what that guy is doing; so I would say I’m going to coach all three of them just like they’re going to go in the very next play, and let Chan and ‘Flo’ make that decision of how those are divvied up.”
(The last time we talked to you, you said that you hadn’t really see QB Tua Tagovailoa throw in kind of like a practice-type atmosphere. Now that several are in, what do you think how the ball is coming out and just also just his movement and everything of the like?) – “I did say that and I think that after seeing him go through practices – and I know I keep saying this, but it’s true for the other two guys as well – you see some good, you see some throws that they wished they could do better. And that’s the way practice is, and that’s the way games are. Every NFL quarterback is extremely competitive; so if they’re 59-of-60, they’re worried about that one. It doesn’t matter if it’s Josh (Rosen) or ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) or Tua (Tagovailoa) or whoever it is; but I’ll tell you, it’s just been fun to get out there and be on the grass and see all three of them throw – to see a practice go. I’m sure it’s been fun for you guys as well, but we’ve just got to try to get better each and every day, and all three of them, in every aspect, whether it be calls and throws, footwork, everything. Just trying to improve every single day.”
(Not much has been said or talked about in regards to QB Josh Rosen. From our untrained eye, it seems like his throwing motion has tightened a little bit. What have you seen from Rosen’s development? Obviously you weren’t here last year but what have you seen from him ability-wise?) – “I would say, for me, that he has come in mentally, really trying to learn the offense, understand the offense and just like the other two guys, he’s made some good throws the past few days. He’s made some not-so-great throws the past few days, but his effort to improve every day has been really good – improve mentally, improve his throws, improve his footwork. He’s always thinking through those kind of things and I think really, the mantra that ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) has put out – ‘hey, let’s go out there and get better today.’ I think he (Josh Rosen) is really trying to do that and living by that rule.”
Steve Marshall – August 20, 2020
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Thursday, August 20, 2020
Offensive Line Coach Steve Marshall
(We saw G Ereck Flowers out there the past two days staying late after practice, specifically with the rookies. It looked like just chatting them up, giving them some advice. What type of leadership and that veteran presence can help, especially when you have so many newcomers and rookies in the unit?) – “Yeah, it’s huge. Not only Ereck and Ted (Karras) and Jesse (Davis) and some of the guys that have played in this league, it’s really guys like that that help guys because those young guys – they’ve had three weeks of work and it’s a whole different ball game. The speed is different. Obviously the size and the physical movement (is different); so yeah, every day that not only helps them. It may give them a little tidbit and help them do with fundamentals and technique and some of the things we’re asking them to do, and then that’s what o-line(men) do. That helps build camaraderie and all the different aspects that go into playing offensive line in this league.”
(I wanted to ask you about the three draft picks – T Austin Jackson, T Robert Hunt and G Solomon Kindley – and I wanted to ask you what has stood out about them so far from where you stand?) – “Those three guys are competing. As you guys know, they’re competing for a job. Those three guys have taken a role. They’re coming in and they’re learning every day. Every play is a new adventure for those guys. They were very good players at college level and they’re getting better every day. They’re bright-eyed and they learn and they’re competing hard. We’ve been pleased. Again, it’s just starting – three days of pads – and the hot Florida sun is a little bit of an eye-opener for some of those guys, but they’re fighting through it.”
(I guess for the common eye, it seems like offensive line is probably the hardest thing for people to understand because you can’t attribute stats to them. How – and maybe there’s no simple way you explain to the common person of how you dictate whether an offensive lineman is performing well or not?) – “It goes to skillset. It goes to smarts. It goes to toughness. Is he a team guy? And those guys usually are team guys because obviously as you know, there’s no stats involved with offensive line. They try to make them with all these different things; but at the end of the day, the best five guys that can block them, can do it intelligently and do it over a long period of time, are the ones that are very successful in this league, and that’s kind of what we’re trying to build with these guys. That’s the best I can tell you. They’ve got to have the skillset. It’s bigger, faster, stronger; but there’s a lot more that goes into it. O-line is all about intelligent, being able to work on your feet, being able to change – doing things quickly (both) mentally and physically.”
(Obviously we’ve seen that two of the rookies are being inserted there in terms of getting a chance to prove that they can handle the starting job in terms of G Solomon Kindley and T Austin Jackson. What do you want to see from them to understand that hey, this job is too big for them?) – “You can add Rob Hunt into that category, too, and some of the others guys; but what you see at the end of the day is that who are the best five guys that give us a chance to win? That’s really kind of what it is. They’re good young players, but – I can use the term ‘young’ – I think ‘AJ’ (Austin Jackson) just had his 21st birthday. That’s young for this league and it’s a day-in and day-out grind mentally, physically. We have basically four hours of meetings a day along with practice. So can they get in there and sustain it over a period of time from a physical standpoint, from a mental standpoint, to be able to make – because at the end of the day, we’re all here to win and my job is to make those guys do the best they can within the framework of the offensive line and go from there. But they’re off to a great start. All the rookies are. We’ve got great competition at every position and we’ll see where it all comes out in the end here in three weeks – because it really, in three weeks, that’s kind of our first game, but we’ve got a long season ahead of us and we’ll see how it all goes down.”
(On G Solomon Kindley what do you think are some things that he has the potential to do very well?) – “Solomon is a guy that if you went back and looked at him at Georgia, he’s a big man. He’s smart. He’s a smart guy. He loves to play the game and that’s the one thing I think that for a 21-year-old kid that left college early to come to the NFL, he’s got to want to be a very good player; but obviously he has physical attributes and a skillset that – my grandmother can see that he’s a big man, but the thing about Solomon is he comes to work every day so far. We put a lot on him. We want to see where he is and he has not backed down a bit. Every day is an adventure for him. He’s a guy that like I said, it’s a whole new thing for him – a whole new nomenclature, a whole new thing and as rookies do, they have good plays, they have bad plays; and my job is to eliminate the bad ones and keep making the good ones better. That’s really where Solomon is as is Rob (Hunt) and AJ (Austin Jackson) and some of the other young guys that are playing on the offensive line.”
(You and Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey have a combined 79 years of coaching on various levels and various successes…) – “Are you telling me I’m old? (laughter) Is that what you’re telling me?”
(No, I’m talking about the wealth of experience both of you have. Has there been a light moment between you two basically saying, “look, we can’t believe we’re still doing this?”) – “Well, yes. Yes and yes and my wife says that all of the time. My brothers, my family – but it’s something I grew up doing. I love it. I don’t really think I’ve ever worked a day in my life. You don’t do this job if you don’t have a passion for football, for competing, for helping young guys get better, because it’s a grind. It’s a day-to-day process; but I’m so fortunate to have a chance to coach in the NFL. I had great jobs in college football and knock on wood, I’m healthy enough to keep doing this at – what you say – my age. (laughter) So I’m looking forward to this year and years to come.”
(I wanted to ask you about the communication and protection calls up front and seeing a defense like the one that Head Coach Brian Flores and Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer run with all of those fronts and different rush packages. Does that kind of help accelerate the growth of your young line up front?) – “There’s no doubt. It starts – not just the young line, but the whole group. You’ve got to be – as we’ve all documented – part of offensive line play is more of the pre-snap stuff than the post-snap stuff. You come out of the huddle. They give you a specific look. We have to make a specific call based on that look and especially in pass protection, but also in the run game; so yes, there’s a huge communication factor that we go through making sure that it goes from the guard to the tackle to the center to the guard to the tackle, and making sure when we get different looks like our defense does – they’re very multiple; they give you a lot of different problems – and it’s really part of the whole maturation process and learning process to get the line to come together. A lot of it is just time on the job. Over and over again and seeing the different things that we’ve got to see and be able to handle and pass protection and obviously in the run game, too; but pass protection is really where that’s the difference between pro ball as opposed to college ball – what the young guys have. Not only for that but for the Ted Karras’ and Ereck Flowers’ and Jesse’s (Davis) and the guys that have had – who are basically young veterans, that every year – again, the nomenclature and the different ways we say things and the different language that we use has got to be practiced in meetings and practiced in games to be able to handle all of the different looks and pressures you get.”
Eric Studesville – August 20, 2020
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Thursday, August 20, 2020
Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville
(Obviously you’ve got a lot to figure out from the running back unit talent-wise, but what have you seen early from RB Matt Breida and RB Jordan Howard in terms of what skillsets they bring, when you’ve got them to the field?) – “I think the thing you see is that they’re both competitive people, which is one of the things we really want, is we’re looking for guys that want to come in and compete and work. Those guys fill those roles for us for sure. You see Matt’s bursting speed. We’ve seen it a couple times in the open. You see Jordan’s got really good feet in-line, vision in-line – all of the things that you expect. I think they both will be able to contribute as pass protectors. We’ve started to do some more drills with that in practice as far as rush drills, so we’re seeing that. We’ve got to continue to develop that. We’re just continuing to get them doing everything. I just don’t have enough of a feel for them on a big volume to know what exactly their whole packages are right now, but you love everything about both of those guys on the field and in the classroom. They’re smart, they understand football, they’re passionate about it, they want to be good, they want to work, and so we’ve just got to keep developing and building.”
(I know the o-line and the running game work so closely together in concert and it looked like – obviously there was a big turnover on the offensive line this offseason. You guys added a lot more beef. How does that help you guys in the running game, maybe getting bigger, more powerful up front?) – “Hopefully it’s going to help us overall as an offense. Those big guys, too – they’ve got to pass protect and those kind of things; so I think it’s going to factor into the run game as well as the pass game, and then hopefully we add some play actions in there, too. So the better we run the ball, the more we’ll be able to play-action pass off of it, and we’ll still be able to drop-back pass and do some things. We’ve gotten better I think in that; but again, we don’t know really how much better yet until we start doing some more things in pads. We’ve only had a few days in pads, so we’ve got to keep building this; but I like the direction that it goes. I think there’s a good mix with what the offensive line and the backs are figuring out from each other right now. We’ve just still got to keep working on it.”
(I noticed RB Myles Gaskin a little bit so how about Myles? What have you seen so far from him?) – “Myles has done a great job I think, so far in what we’ve done. I think he’s head and shoulders above where he was at this time last year. I think the work and the effort that he puts into the game and the passion that he has to want to work and to want to be good at this and to get everything, I think has started to really show; and he invested in himself last year, and it’s paying off for him now. He’s playing more confident, he’s playing faster, and I think we’re seeing some of the skillset that he’s had in the past. We’re starting to see now what really some of his potential is.”
(I want to ask you about Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey. At age 68, does he act like a young coach out there, because he has a lot of enthusiasm?) – “Hopefully we all act like young coaches even if we’re not. (laughter) It’s a game and we love coaching and this is what we do; and I think that’s one of the things that Chan does bring to this. He loves this game. He’s passionate about it. He certainly has a lot of experience and when you have that, it’s contagious. It’s enthusiastic – his demeanor is – and I think that’s translating to all of us – coaches and players. If you don’t love doing this – if you don’t have a passion for wanting to come and do this every day – this is not the right thing for you, and that’s why all of us are in this. I think Chan exemplifies that.”
(I know it’s just the early stages of you seeing these guys but when I look at I guess what RB Jordan Howard has done over his career, the numbers kind of speak for themselves. He’s been third in rushing and seventh in TDs. Is he a guy that you think may be overlooked in how maybe people perceive him, and you guys can get a lot more out of him than maybe people think?) – “’Overlooked’ – that’s going to be someone else’s evaluation of this. I think what we want to do with Jordan and what we want to do with our team and particularly my room, is that we just want to come out and work and do whatever it takes to give the team the best chance to win. If we’ve got to run the ball a lot, we’re going to do that. If we’ve got to pass protect a lot, we’re going to do that; and I think Jordan’s on board with that. All of the guys are on board with that. That’s part of what we’re selling and talking about in our room, and his production is going to be the opportunities that he takes advantage of and that’s every one of them. Whatever he gets, he’s got to do something with it and if he’s the guy that’s moving and doing things, great, and if it’s somebody else that day or we’re throwing the ball that day or whatever it is; but I think they’re all committed. Everybody in my room – the five guys that I have – the one thing you love about them is they’re all committed to whatever their role is, they’re going to embrace that.”
(I want to go back to RB Jordan Howard here again. You touched on his vision a little bit there in the first question. Is that something that’s just inherent in a back or can he kind of help impart some of that wisdom on the rest of the room and the way he reads blocks and sets things up?) – “A lot of it is reactions and what they do, but certainly we have things that we’re looking at as to how a play is designed. We talk about that a lot of times in meetings. ‘Hey, what are our eyes doing? What are we thinking here?’ There’s a lot of people that can know what the play should do and then there’s a difference in the guys that can make the play do what it’s supposed to do, and Jordan has that ability to find holes to create for himself. He’s got feet in-line. He has what we call vision and to be able to find things.”
Chan Gailey – August 20, 2020
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Thursday, August 20, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey
(I’m wondering, does your plan with the quarterbacks include maybe mixing and matching them with different units? In other words, one quarterback that maybe is third-team right now playing first, the first-team guy playing second, stuff like that?) – “We try to get different guys – we have a quarterback rotation – and we try to put different people in with those quarterbacks rather than saying first group, second group, third group. We just have a quarterback rotation and we mix a lot of different people in when the quarterback rotation is, so that we know how many plays we’re getting with everybody.”
(I wanted to ask you when this whole process was underway for you to come back to the Dolphins, was it Head Coach Brian Flores that reached out to you or did you reach out to him?) – “We talked at the end of the year there, and they called me and wanted to know if I was interested.”
(I wanted to ask you about the communication factor here of the first week of padded practices. How would you evaluate the way calls are getting in and out of the huddle and communicated to the rest of the offense here in the first week?) – “It’s been good. It hasn’t been perfect. We still have some people not used to hearing the play call the way we do it. You have to listen in sequence. Linemen hear one thing, the next call in the huddle means something to somebody else, the next call means something to somebody else; so you have to listen to sequence and make sure you’re listening to your thing that you need to pay attention to. We’ve had more mistakes than we would have liked, but they’re getting the hang of it.”
(I read that the NFL is considering allowing teams to pump artificial crowd noise into their stadiums. I’m wondering what you think of that and how that might impact your offensive planning and also what happens for the offense on game day?) – “I haven’t heard any official word on that. I keep asking the same question, though. Is that what’s going to happen and then who controls the volume on that? If you get a homer that slips that volume a little bit louder on third down, I’m not sure I’m for that a lot. (laughter) You have to have that silent count ready to go if they start doing that, so we’ll get that going to make sure we cover all our bases before it’s over with. Who’s going to control that? That’s the key to me.”
(You expressed concern about communication from the offense. Is that just something that having no OTAs is creating an issue with and how long do you think it will take them to grasp this considering the season opener is 20-something days away?) – “I said we’ve had a couple of issues. If that was our biggest problem, I would be feeling really, really good right now. That’ll be one of the easier things to solve between now and game day than some of the other things that are going on and your next question will be, ‘well, what are those issues?’ And I’m not going to answer that, okay? (laughter)”
(It makes sense, it’s logical, that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick should be ahead of everybody else because he’s got a familiarity with the offense for a long time and he’s more experienced than everybody else. Is there any way that that advantage can be bridged between now and the opener?) – “By whom?”
(By anybody. You’ve only got two other candidates.) – “He (Ryan Fitzpatrick) does have more knowledge. As (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores says all the time, every position – we’re out there competing. Every position is being competed for and I think every one of them know that; but does he have more knowledge? Is he able to help explain things a lot better to some of the others player – some of the nuances of what we’re trying to get done? Yes, he has that ability and he has that knowledge and it does help him. Can it be overcome? Hey, anything can happen in our game and you know it. You’ve seen it happen. Anything can happen any year, so you never say never in the NFL.”
(You’ve got a guy in that room in QB Josh Rosen who’s had three or four offensive coordinators in the last three or four years. How do you teach a guy who probably has so much information coming in from different directions on how to play quarterback in the NFL?) – “There’s really only X-amount of plays in football, so what you’re trying to do is teach him a new language. How can quickly can he learn a new language and get to where he can speak it fluently rather than he’s memorizing what something means. So the biggest thing is to try to get him to put things in the past – terminology in the past – put it away, put it over to the side and grasp the new terminology. It’s okay in your brain to say, ‘that used to be called this, but now it’s called this,’ and use that as a reference. That’s a good thing; but not to get it where it’s clogging up – learning what new is going on – and that’s true with – Tua’s (Tagovailoa) got the same issue. He had three coordinators his three years in college. He’s got the same issue and the great thing about ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is ‘Fitz’ has put different offenses out of his mind so many times in his career, that he’s kind of used to it. It takes a while to learn to do that – put it all away and start something new.”
(I was kind of bored last night so I took out a calculator and I had your depth chart and I added up three of the new linemen – G Solomon Kindley, G Ereck Flowers, T Robert Hunt – it adds up to 1,005 lbs. which I thought was pretty good. I’m wondering how does that kind of size potentially impact the game?) – “There are a bunch of 400-lb. people around out there that can’t play football; so size is not the only factor. It’s like people used to tell me, ‘hey, you’ve got some great speed at receiver.’ Well, if speed was the only factor, we’d go sign the Olympic team to come play football; so size is not the only factor in offensive line; but the key is to get those guys using that strength and that weight going in the right direction, doing the right things, and that’s the challenge for us. Bigger is better, only if it’s better.”
(I know it’s still early but what have you seen from RB Malcolm Perry to make you think maybe it could work as a slot receiver for him and has any of your other really young skill guys impress you so far?) – “Malcolm is an interesting guy, having played quarterback in the option and he’s got some good quickness. He’s got a feel for the game. He’s played tag growing up. He knows how to make people miss and make them get out of the way. He learned early on how to do that – how to look at a guy and know when he’s off-balance or he’s got his foot in the wrong place and he can make a move the other way; so he’s got a little unique talent there and that’s one thing that gives me hope that he can play receiver for us because he does have a feel for getting people off-balance, finding holes, he understands the game pretty well. Probably playing quarterback helped him understand the game fairly well, so he’s an interesting guy to work with and the other guys are working. We haven’t had but, what, three or four padded (practices) – I don’t even know, they run into each other now – three padded practices. We’ve got a lot of work to do and a short time to do it in.”
(We’ve seen WR DeVante Parker for the last few years but this year he looks like he’s getting going early. I wanted to ask you, does his skillset remind you of anyone that you’ve coached in your past?) – “Gosh, I hadn’t had that one before and hadn’t had to even think about that before. No, but I think he has great potential, and it’s hard for me to think about other people I’ve had; but he’s got excellent hand-eye coordination. He’s got route-running skills. He’s got the speed and the size to make a difference on the football field, especially when he’s one-on-one. He can be physical with guys. I’m really looking forward to working with him and seeing what he develops into, and hopefully we can build on how he finished the year last year. Hopefully we can build on that.”
(You expressed concern earlier about, I guess, the offense. I know you’re not going to tell us what it is, but do you feel comfortable with the personnel that you have?) – “As a coordinator, you get excited about what guys can do. You don’t fret about what they can’t do; so you take the guys and you take their skillset and the things that you’re excited about, and you try to put them in position to be successful. I think we have a set of guys on our football team that give me some excitement about what we might be able to do with this group.”
Noah Igbinoghene – August 19, 2020
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Wednesday, August 19, 2020
CB Noah Igbinoghene
(Who are a few teammates that have really helped you professionally, being a rookie in your first year playing?) – “A few teammates – I’d say probably Byron Jones, Bobby McCain, Eric Rowe – some of the veterans. They’ve really helped me just setting the standard of how practice is supposed to be. That’s something that I had to learn the last couple days just being out here in the sun, so they really taught me how to practice and I’ll continue to get better in that every single day.”
(We’ve seen you out there running with prominent groups on defense. Was that something you had expected coming in? Were you surprised and how do you think you’re handling the moment?) – “I didn’t really expect anything. I’m just doing whatever the coaches – wherever the coaches put me at – I’m just doing my job, whatever they want me to do. I’m kind of just here for the ride. I’m just following their lead and I’m doing everything they’re telling me to do.”
(We heard a little bit about the point system you guys have in the secondary and trying to get your hands on the ball and turnovers. What do you kind of view that as and your role in trying to be on top of that list?) – “It’s a very good way to inspire all of us just to get better and to push ourselves in practice, especially the point system and whatever it is – awards that come out of it, gifts that come out of it. It just pushes all of us and makes it a competition, and we all love competition here. It just makes us better. To pit whatever it is – picks, PBUs (pass breakups), running to the ball, stuff like that – I feel like it just makes all of us do what we need to do in practice.”
(I’m curious with no preseason and a shortened offseason, do you feel like you’ll ever really be able to grasp how different the NFL game is to college until you’re actually out there playing a real game or do you feel like these guys are trying to help get you up to speed?) – “Are you talking about without the fans?”
(I’m saying without having preseason and just how different the college game is from the NFL.) – “Yeah, I’m sure I would have – it’d have been good having a preseason. I feel like every rookie in the past, that’s some of the games where they make most of their mistakes at, and so now it’s just practice for me and that’s just how it is. It’s the reality we’re in. I have to adjust. I have to be able just to make it and just be able to get better every single day. That’s really what it is. Preseason, no preseason, no matter what – I have to do my job out there, do my job out there on the field. I make mistakes on the field every single day and so I’m just getting better in that and putting the mistakes down.”
(I wanted to ask you about a lot of the talented receivers that you saw in the SEC the last couple of years and now you’re getting plenty of looks against WR DeVante Parker and WR Preston Williams out there. How has seeing all those big-time talented receivers really helped accelerate your learning curve as a cornerback since you just started playing the position two years ago?) – “I really feel like that’s how I learned – going against receivers like that. Getting a feel of how receivers like that – Preston (Williams) and DeVante (Parker) and Jakeem (Grant) and all of those guys – they’re highly-touted receivers as well and so me being used to going against receivers every single week in the SEC and stuff like that, I really feel like it gave me an advantage coming into the NFL a little bit. It’s still an adjustment. It’s still something I’m still working because it’s the game – the speed of the game is different. Just offenses are smarter and stuff like that, and so it’s just something I’ve got to get used to, and I’m doing that every single day.”
(When I saw you had the jersey No. 46, I was like, “that ain’t it.” Tell me about this transition to No. 23. Does that make you better right away, just switching to No. 23?) – “I wouldn’t say it made me better. I feel like I would’ve been the same no matter what number I’m in. Of course it’s just something I personally – I like No. 23. I wasn’t biased about No. 46 though; but shoot, I had to change it and so it is what it is.”
(It’s tough to get to know guys through the Zoom setting. We really don’t know too much about you, but we saw a moment of passion today. I think you and WR Preston Williams and you had slammed the field after the play. Are you a fiery guy on the field or was that kind of out of character?) – “No, that’s not out of character. I’m a fiery guy. I like to win. I like to win a lot. I’m a competitor at heart. That’s just what I’ve been since I was a kid, and so him catching the ball on me, that’s just – I don’t like that no matter who it is against. (laughter) So you all just saw a little reaction.”
(I just want to ask you real quick – you’re used to those big crowds when you played at Auburn and the other SEC schools. Now knowing that the opener in New England will be no fans in the stands, what do you think that feeling is going to be like?) – “To me, it’s going to show if you really love football or not because without fans, it’s still a football game at the end of the day. You’ve got your teammates. You’ve got your coaches. I feel like that’s all you really need. The fans – yes, fans are a big part of the sport. The fans make the sport what it is, I feel like; but that’s just the reality we’re in right now, so we’ve got to adjust and we’ve got to come together as a team and hype ourselves up.”
(Going back to I guess that competition with WR Preston Williams and WR DeVante Parker – I don’t know if you keep a scorecard, but how do you think you’ve been doing against each of them I guess so far in camp?) – “I feel like I’ve been doing pretty good. Of course, I would like to do better. Of course I don’t want them to catch any balls on me at all. That’s just the type of dude I am; but it’s going to happen. I’m a few practices in in the league and so it’s going to happen. I’m just getting used to it, but eventually we’ll get there. We’ll get to a point where I’m shutting them down a little bit. We’ll get to that eventually.”
(Have you been able to be in touch with CB Xavien Howard at all while he’s been away and if so how’s he doing?) – “He’s doing good. I really haven’t – I don’t know what’s going on. That’s none of my business. I’ve been in touch with him. He’s been in meetings and stuff like that and so that’s all I’ve really got for that.”
Emmanuel Ogbah – August 19, 2020
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Wednesday, August 19, 2020
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(How has your progression in learning this defense and playing these multiple roles in Head Coach Brian Flores’ scheme, how has that process going for you so far in camp?) – “It’s going pretty well. We have good coaches helping me out, just doing their best to just help me out there. Also a lot of studying because I’m playing multiple roles in this defense and I’m just excited to be here, to be honest.”
(In terms of the versatility that you plan to bring to this Dolphins’ defense, how difficult is it to play those multiple roles?) – “I would say it’s all about technique. We have a good coach in (Outside Linebackers Coach) Austin (Clark), who has been helping me out playing the technique right, and (Defensive Line) Coach (Marion) Hobby too has been helping me out play technique right, just to get me used to the feel of the game, even though we don’t have any preseason games; but we have good practice work out there.”
(I want to ask you, how well do you know QB Alex Smith? What are your thoughts about what he’s going through right now to come back?) – “The quarterback? I don’t really know him like that; but I know he’s trying hard to come back and that’s good they cleared him. I’m looking forward to seeing him out there again.”
(What do you think your experience being on a Kansas City team that went as far as they did last year? Being around that type of environment, what can that type of experience from you personally bring to this team, just knowing each step that they went through to get to the Super Bowl?) – “It was definitely hard work watching those guys. I got hurt during the season. Watching those guys fight hard and get to the Super Bowl, it was definitely a dream come true to win a Super Bowl. But I’m here to build something here in Miami and I’m excited about that.”
(I just wanted to talk about something that I know about you that stands out and that’s your length and the way you use your heavy hands. I was curious how you felt those trait were really emphasized in this defensive scheme?) – “As a d-lineman, hands are everything; and also my length helps out a lot. I feel like if I can get my hands on the offensive lineman, I’ve defeated him. I just do my best to get my hands on them as fast as I can.”
(I know sacks are things a lot of people like to look at on the d-line, or really the front seven as a whole. Do you have a goal of what you’re looking at and what’s the competition like amongst the d-linemen as far as sacks?) – “Obviously we want our room to have the most sacks on the team; but I’m just ready to do my part and help the team win. I don’t really like to set big goals. I’m just here to do my part to help the team win games, really. If that’s sacking the QB, hitting the QB, tackles for loss, tackling – just doing my part to help the team win. That’s why I’m here.”
Isaiah Ford – August 19, 2020
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Wednesday, August 19, 2020
WR Isaiah Ford
(Yesterday, a few of us saw that you were the last person to leave the field – putting in extra work at the JUGS machine. Where does that work ethic come from and what do you think about that opportunity over these next few weeks?) – “I think that’s something that was kind of instilled in me when I was younger, just growing up and watching my parents work extremely hard, working multiple jobs – my mom and my father. I think it started at a young age and just kind of carried throughout my entire playing career, whatever sport that was. If you want success, you’re going to have to put in work and put in extra work at times, too. I’m thinking that’s just kind of where it started.”
(You’ve kind of teased us over the last two years with strong early practices and then sort of faded with injuries. What is going to make this camp different than the past ones?) – “I joked around with our trainer, Kyle (Johnston). Usually it’s the second day of training camp that I’ve been injured, since I’ve been here. We’ve made it past that one, knock on wood. This offseason I worked extremely hard on just preparing my body mentally and physically. I’m actually 200 pounds now and that was a big goal of mine for a while. Me and our nutritionist have been working extremely hard on that and then this offseason, I’ve been working extremely hard on focusing on the little details and little muscles – stability, balance, core and all of those things to kind of strengthen everything around my major muscle groups.”
(This is unlike any traditional training camp in light of COVID-19. Has it been different from Day 1 to now? Different protocols? I know you can’t speak for your teammates but for yourself, are you getting used to all of this?) – “Yeah. I think the more you get into a routine of doing things, it becomes like a new normal almost. At the end of the day, we all want to play football, so we all want to take the necessary precautions and protocol steps that we have to take for us to play the sport safely. I haven’t had any trouble doing that or anything like that. It’s been fine.”
(How do you think CB Noah Igbinoghene has been doing out there the first couple of days?) – “I think he’s doing well. He’s going out there and he’s competing. You can tell he’s a really competitive guy. If he gets beat, he’s going to come back and try the next play. He’s not going to get down on himself or anything, which at that position, you have to have confidence in yourself. I think that the more reps he gets, he’ll continue to get better.”
(Last year I think it was, you mentioned how you had confidence in yourself the whole time. You had a chance to perform and you did that at the end of the year and yet, here we are again and you’re fighting for the roster spot and a prominent role on the offense. Up until now, how have you avoided saying ‘Jeez, what do I have to do to establish myself in this league?’ How do you avoid getting that feeling because you’ve been on that doorstep so long?) – “I just take it one day at a time. Throughout this entire process, I’m going into my fourth year, I’ve learned that you can only control what you can control. It sounds cliché but it’s the truth. Whether that’s me being intentional and getting to meetings early or staying after, doing work or studying extra – whatever I have to do, whatever that’s in my control that I can actually physically do and take control of, I try to do those things and let the chips fall where they may.”
(The last time we talked was about your foundation. I just wanted you to update me on how things are going with the Be The Change Foundation?) – “Things are going really well. We got a big donation right after we had that conversation last time. I don’t want to say who it was but it was somebody that was really near and dear to my heart, so I was extremely happy about that. The foundation is going well. We’re still raising money for the GoFundMe and if we raise enough money, we might even be able to do two scholarships, which would be pretty cool too.”
(Maybe it was a joke, maybe it was not; but QB Ryan Fitzpatrick said last season that you knew the offense a little bit more intimately than some coaches. I guess I wanted to get your take on Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s new offense and how it may be easier for players to learn, and kind of how everybody is grasping it so far?) – “I think the unique thing about Coach Gailey is that he allows us freedom within the routes that we are running. As a wide out, that’s something that you really want to hear. To be able to be creative and have that freedom to kind of paint your own picture when you’re running routes and not just have to go in straight lines. In terms of the offense, it’s just like any other offense. You’re going to have to actually put in time to learn the playbook and implement things. I think the more that we can do collectively as a group to kind of learn full concepts instead of just one position, I think the better we’ll be in terms of everyone being able to move around and things like that.”
(I know that obviously you guys had WR Albert Wilson and WR Allen Hurns opt out and obviously that hurts the team; but from a personal perspective, that provides more opportunities for the other guys. How have you looked at maybe the increased opportunity to not just make the team but play a significant role from Week 1?) – “I’m honestly just trying to focus one day at a time. That’s how I’ve been taking it my entire time being in the league, and I think that’s something that I’ve found to work for me – staying focused on living in the now, whether that’s one rep at a time or one meeting at a time, and so on and so forth down the line. Then at the end of the day, we’ll see where we are. But I think the more that I can focus just being where my feet are and focusing on the now, I think I’ll be where I want to be.”
(How much did the experience that you gained playing last season and working in the slot, do you feel helped you in terms of your development?) – “I think it helped a ton. Being able to take those mental reps from the guys that I’ve learned from in the past, whether it’s been Kenny (Stills) or Danny (Amendola) down the road to Albert (Wilson) and Allen (Hurns) when he came on. Just watching film with those guys and being able to pick their brains and things like that, then getting in the quarterbacks room and watching film with Josh (Rosen) and ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) last year. Just seeing what they’re seeing and understanding the little nuances that help you see coverages and defenses better to get a better feel of where to be at and the timing and everything like that. I think that’s played a (big) role of not only building my confidence but helping me go out there and play, because now I’m not thinking so much. I’m just going out there and playing fast.”
(I’d like to revisit the opt-outs by WR Allen Hurns and WR Albert Wilson for just a second. Did you not think there was a door open that much more, not just to make the roster but for playing time, given there were two fewer receivers out here now?) – “We’ve got a room full of competitive guys. I think that’s something that has been stated before they decided to opt out, and even now. Our room has a ton of competitiveness, a ton of talent, and it’s just my job to go in each day and continue to work to get a little better each day and kind of just do whatever I can to be an outlet – whether it’s the younger guys bouncing ideas or things that I’m seeing that they may not be seeing or everything, just to make our group complete as a whole.”
(When you’re out there in the slot, what’s it like playing with WR Preston Williams and WR DeVante Parker both being those big receivers on the outside, drawing that attention?) – “It’s a lot of fun. I think those two are so unique in their demeanors and personalities. They’re kind of two completely different people but on the field, they’re both monsters in their own way. They’re extremely gifted, extremely talented people and they can make a big play at any time. It’s a lot of fun. I think we’ve got a really good receiving group.”
Brian Flores – August 19, 2020
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Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We learned about LB Vince Biegel’s injury yesterday. How surprising was that and what is the plan to compensate for his loss?) – “It was unfortunate – him getting injured. It was a significant injury. It’s a tough loss for us; but as I said to the team, Vince embodies a lot of things that we’re looking for in a Dolphin. He’s tough, he’s smart, it’s important to him, he’s competitive, he’s a team-first guy. So it’s a tough loss; but as Biegel would want us to, we have to move on and other guys have to step up. We’ve got some competition, some depth, at the end position and at the linebacker position. While it’s a tough loss for us, we’ve got to move on and the next guy has to come in and compete and give us some good production.”
(I noticed WR Preston Williams yesterday wasn’t out there. What’s the plan for him? Was that unexpected or was that part of the plan?) – “Preston is coming off the knee injury a year ago. We’ve got a plan for him and that will include some days where he’s not out there. I expect that he’ll be out there today and he’s going to get his – you guys may not see him on the field, but he’s working whether it’s in the weight room or the bubble or the training room. He’s obviously always working hard to get back; but from a management standpoint, we want to take care of all of our players. So whether it’s Preston or anyone else coming back from rehab or injury, we’ve got a plan in place. In some cases, that includes – let’s call it load management or a day off here and there – and in some other cases, it doesn’t. It’s really case by case.”
(Load management, is that the same case it will be for QB Tua Tagovailoa? And what have you thought about his first two days in padded practices?) – “Like I just said, it’s case by case. As we go – I’m not going to get into specifically what we’re going to with each individual player. Obviously he’s coming off the hip (injury). I think he’s looked good thus far, from that standpoint physically. If guys can go and they’re feeling good, we revisit it really on a daily basis. Again, it’s case by case. As far as how he’s looked the first few days, some good, some bad. Lots to improve upon. Some good throws, some good decisions, some throws that aren’t so good, some not-so-good decisions. Tua, like all of the quarterbacks – you could probably say the same thing for all of them – obviously we’re evaluating all of the quarterbacks and all of the players on the roster. A lot of improvement needs to be made, but I’m pleased with all of our quarterbacks, as well as a lot of the players that are out there competing now.”
(What’s your view of the other quarterbacks? I know we ask a lot about QB Tua Tagovailoa, but what about QB Josh Rosen and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick? It looked like Josh had a really nice throw the first day. I just kind of wanted to get your gauge of how you’ve seen them practice so far.) – “I think all three guys are really competing. It’s a new offense, so the terminology and cadences – I think they’re all picking it up quickly and making good decisions, for the most part. I think that’s something that we’ve kind of harped on is constantly making good decisions – smart decisions – whether it’s throwing the ball downfield or checking the ball down or picking up the yardage for a first down. When we get into our 2-minute situations, getting us completions, getting us into field goal range rather than going for the big throw. But at the same time, we won’t be a check-down team the entire season either. There’s a lot that goes into it. I think from a communication, from a getting guys lined up, in and out of the huddle, leadership standpoint, I think all three guys are coming along fairly well. Hopefully we just continue on that trajectory.”
(Two things I want to cover real quick. One is a housekeeping thing, to make it official that LB Vince Biegel in fact tore his Achilles and won’t play this season. My real question is given the condensed nature of this offseason – what you’ve had to deal with with OTAs and now this training camp – what do you think the chances are that the injury risk is that much greater this year?) – “Well to answer your first question, all I can say about Biegel is that he’s got a significant injury. Once we make the transaction or any type of transaction or any type of statement on that, we want to get all of the information, all of the tests back. So I can’t say for certain what it was or wasn’t. As far as the lack of an offseason and the lack of training, I understand the question. I think it just kind of speaks to how important – I feel like the offseason is important for these guys, those OTAs, those reps, the conditioning of the body is all important. But I think our guys understood going on – it’s something we harped on in the virtual offseason. We talked to them about it. I think they were diligent as far as trying to work out, trying to stay in condition, trying to lift weights and do all of the things necessary to compete in an NFL training camp. But injuries happen in this league. It happens to every team in every training camp and for every team during the season. Nothing is more important than the health of the team. I think every coach in this entire league or really period – whether it’s NFL, college, high school, Pee Wee – the health of the team is critical. But injuries happen. You don’t want them to happen and we try to do everything to limit them from happening – from hydrating to stretching to getting into the training room for preventative exercises and things of that nature; but they happen. It’s unfortunate. I hate to see that with Biegel or any player. You see it around the league and I hate to see it for any player. I feel for all of those players because I know how important the game is to them and how much they put into it; so to see them get injured early in preseason or training camp is unfortunate. I think the guys in this league, each one of them – Biegel, I know for sure – is going to work extremely hard to come back stronger than ever, however long it takes for him to get back. And I’m sure it’s the same for all of the other guys across the league.”
(You had two veteran wide receivers opt out a week ago or a couple of weeks ago. What are your thoughts about the depth at wide receiver that you have currently, based on what you’ve seen the last couple of days?) – “I’ve been pleased with that group. Obviously working through some – like we talked about with Preston earlier, we’re working through some guys who we are trying to manage. But from DeVante (Parker) to Jakeem (Grant) to even some of our younger players – Matt Cole and Ricardo Louis, we got him back – I think these guys are all working hard. I think ‘Grizz’ (Wide Receivers Coach Josh Grizzard) has done a good job as far as working the techniques, the fundamentals and getting them up to speed on what we’re trying to do offensively. I like the group. I think they understand the importance of blocking in the run game and getting open and catching the football consistently. We just need to continue to keep working on those things. We had the two opt-outs and again, we were very supportive of both Albert (Wilson) and Allen (Hurns). Then we brought Chester (Rogers) on and we brought Ricardo (Louis) on and I think those guys have done solid so far, but we still have a long way to go. It’s still somewhat early. For those new guys, especially the young guys, getting used to the speed of the NFL, getting used to – Kirk Merritt, Malcolm Perry, Matt Cole – getting used to the speed, getting used to the physicality of corners in this league, that takes a little getting used to and I think they’re all working through that. But I like the group. It’s a tough group.”
(The Patriots announced that there aren’t going to be any fans Week 1 when you guys play there. I’m just curious of your thoughts on playing an NFL game – any football game; it seems like in other sports guys have played games maybe in empty arenas but in football, these guys have probably never played a game with empty stands. So I’m just curious of your thoughts on playing a game with nobody in there.) – “That will be very different. When I was in high school growing up in Brooklyn, Brooklyn is not a big football town. I think we had two, three, four-hundred people at the game. But we had some loud fans at my high school – parents. (laughter) But yeah, it will be a different experience. It will be something that really no one – I would say from college to the guys who play in this league – nobody has kind of played in an atmosphere like that. I don’t know how it will feel. It will be the first time for all of us when we get there. We’ll try to make the best of the situation. At the end of the day, football is played between the lines and we’ll just focus on that and try to execute offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, try to coach it well on our end position by position, try to manage the game effectively and not worry about who is in the stands or not in the stands.”
(I wanted to ask about LB Andrew Van Ginkel in terms of his development. Now that LB Vince Biegel is gone, what do you want to see from him? And also, some of the new guys – LB Kamu Grugier-Hill and LB Elandon Roberts – can they fill that role?) – “I’ll start with Van Ginkel. I think he’s had a good offseason. He really works hard. His strength is up. I think the first to second year leap, as some would call it, is an important one. I think he’s kind of taken that seriously and made a lot of improvements, and you can kind of see it in his game right now. Whether or not that translates into on-field production, that remains to be seen; but I’m happy with where he is. I know you mentioned Kamu and Roberts. I think both guys have come in and have some familiarity with the defense already. The little tweaks that are different from when they were last in it, I think they’ve picked up on those quickly. There’s leadership from both guys. Look, filling Biegel’s shoes will be a collective effort from the linebacker group from the end group to the kicking game. Biegel played a lot of roles for us a year ago in the kicking game as well. There’s a lot of roles to fill. Again, Roberts, (Kyle) Van Noy, Kamu, Van Ginkel, (Curtis) Weaver will all have a shot in there. We’ll see how this goes. When a guy goes down, there’s a little bit of what we call depth chart madness that happens. We’re kind of dealing with that on a day-to-day basis with injuries and with things like the Biegel situation where you just have to go back and say ‘we thought it was going to be this and now we’ve got to switch.’ But I think our staff, they’ve done a good job of adapting. Being flexible, that’s what basically 2020 is all about. If you’re not that then you’re going to struggle.”
