Ryan Fitzpatrick – October 28, 2019 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Monday, October 28, 2019
Postgame – Pittsburgh
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(The game started off – you couldn’t ask for a better start, 14 points on the board – and then struggles begin. What changed at that point?) – “We had a couple of nice drives early, good momentum. Guys were out there having fun. Now, there’s just – this whole thing, it’s just a progression, and that’s a spot we need to get better in. It’s two weeks in a row now with the opportunities we had in Buffalo and now here today. Some of the stuff – coming out and getting the lead and just not being satisfied with it and continue to go for it.”
(It seems like this team, when you score it’s methodical. You’ve got to grind your way down the field. You don’t have those opportunities to get those big strikes and you see other teams that do it against you. It’s got to make it tough because you don’t really give yourself much margin for error.) – “I think when you do rely on those long drives, a penalty here or a sack or a negative play, then that makes those very difficult. I agree in that we’ve got to get to where we’re making more explosive plays and we have the guys to do it. Just to make those drives and scoring the ball a little bit easier than having the do the methodical march every time; but the last few weeks, we’ve had some really nice drives of doing that, taking it 75 yards and first down after first down. There’s more than one way to do it, but the ‘chunk plays’ certainly make it easier.”
(I know you look at this team and you see things getting better, but you lose every – the hurt’s tough when you lose these games. When does it become too much to bounce back from?) – “We’ve just got to continue to keep fighting and that’s just kind of the place that we’re at right now – just continue to keep fighting, continue to keep going to practice and try to get better every single day and then making sure that when we come out on Monday night or on Sundays now, we’re just out here enjoying each other and trying to have fun out on the field.”
(The fourth-and-1 and fourth-and-2 – were you pretty sure that you made it?) – “I thought I did, but obviously the replay said differently. I wish I would have kept my knee up for a little bit longer; but yeah, I thought that was a nice aggressive play call. I liked the play call when it came in and I’ve just got to get that first down.”
(You guys have had issues running the ball tonight. What were some of the complications there?) – “I think (the Steelers) are a good defense. I think you have to give credit to them. They’re very physical up front. They did a nice job. In the second half, especially as it got away from us a little bit, we didn’t really have a whole lot of opportunities to run the ball; but they did a nice job in the first half and contained our run game.”
(Can you take us through the interceptions there?) – “The first one was just unfortunate. (We were) putting together a little drive before the end of the half and those things happen. (The ball) got tipped up in the air and they made the play. Then the second one was a third-and-longer-type play and I just told Jakeem (Grant) I was going to chuck it up there and worst-case scenario, they’re going to intercept it inside the 5-yard line and it’s as good as a punt anyway, so I was okay with that one.”
Chris Grier – October 28, 2019 (Pregame)
Download PDF version
Monday, October 28, 2019
Pregame- Pittsburgh
General Manager Chris Grier
(What are some of the things that factored into the decision to trade RB Kenyan Drake?) – “For us, it was – We were always strong toward he wasn’t on the trading block. We weren’t looking to trade Kenyan. A report broke last week that we were trying to shop him, which we weren’t. We just kept fielding calls from people. A lot of people were calling and asking, so we got to the point where we listened. We just got to today and it just kind of made sense for us to do deal and it was the best value that we could get, so we did the trade.”
(Was part of the thinking that there may have been some talks about a contract, but it didn’t get done, so you’re thinking “Does RB Kenyan Drake want to be here long term?”) – “We’ll keep those between us. You guys know me, I don’t do it through the media. Kenyan handled himself well. He was a professional. At the end of the say we just had to do what was best for the Dolphins.”
(Are you expecting to make any other moves before the deadline Tuesday?) – “You never know. Like I said, we’re not shopping anybody. We’re getting calls like every team and then there’s teams calling us too trying to unload players as well. We’ll keep listening to people and stuff, but we’re not actively shopping anyone.”
(Would you consider yourself a buyer right now?) – “We might be, yeah. There’s some things that might tempt us. We’ve had some conversations with teams.”
(With S Reshad Jones, Dallas has expressed interest in upgrading at safety. Where do you feel Reshad Jones fits into the organization right now?) – “First of all, we’ve not gotten one call on Reshad all year, really. I think the only time we got was in February of last year and then we had the press conference where I told you guys he wasn’t going anywhere. So, we have not fielded one call on him. Reshad has been great. He’s been a complete professional. He’s crushed he’s not playing tonight. With the injury, he’s like, ‘I wish I could play.’ He’s really – he’s down.”
Brian Flores – October 28, 2019 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Monday, October 28, 2019
Postgame – Pittsburgh
Head Coach Brian Flores
(The third-and-20* just before half, you guys sold out. Can you explain the thinking and why you did that?) – “We felt like that was the right call in that situation. We blitzed them a few times and had some success and they got us on that one. It’s one play in the game. We’re still up at halftime. We’ve still got an opportunity to play well and win the game. Look, there are bad plays in the game; there are good plays in the game. You’ve got to be able to overcome to bad ones. We just need to play better (in the) second half.”
(Some missed opportunities in the first half. You scored the two touchdowns but a couple balls up for grabs – CB Xavien Howard gets one interception but a couple other balls were up in the air that were available and how this team could afford to leave those…) – “Yeah, there are plays to be made out there. We made a few plays early. There were some other plays that were available to us (that) we didn’t make. Those are plays we need. I thought we came out strong in the first half and like you said, there were still a couple of plays we could have made, but we just didn’t make them.”
(You were able to get pressure in the first half by blitzing and doing a lot of different things. Then it seemed like you got caught there, the one with the long touchdown to Steelers WR Diontae Johnson – wide open – I guess you kind of live and die by it?) – “I think the guys did a good job defensively getting pressure on them. We wanted to stay with it. I don’t have any regrets on the call. I think they made a play just like we had made some plays prior to that defensively, and we just move on.”
(Were you asking CB Xavien Howard to cover WR Diontae Johnson on that play from the outside? It was supposed to be a man-to-man coverage there?) – “Yeah, it’s a blitz, so everybody’s in man coverage. Yes.”
(What was the reason for the timeout before that play, the third-and-20?) – “We wanted to take a look at what they were in.”
(With 20 yards to go, what was the nature of being so aggressive?) – “We wanted to be aggressive. We can second-guess a lot of calls and I’m not going to second guess that one. I think we’d had success with the call and they made a play; but at the same time, it’s 14-10 at halftime. We had opportunities in the second half. We didn’t take advantage of them. I’m not going to sit here and say that was the play that was the detriment of the game. We turned the ball over four times so as a total team, we didn’t do enough to win the game. It’s easy to look at one play and say, ‘that’s the one,’ but there were 150 other plays in the game.”
(It’s true that there were a lot of plays, but the momentum – you seemed to have control of the game and – the momentum seemed to swing.) – “Momentum shifts – there are ebbs and flows in every game. You’ve got to deal with (momentum shifts). That’s part of playing in the National Football League. Look, if you can’t deal with a momentum shift – that’s part of the game. We’ve got to be able to overcome that, move on, play a good second half. I’m not going to make excuses on one play. It’s never one play. It’s a series of plays and we didn’t make them, especially in the second half.”
(What was the issue on the measurement of the yards on that questionable first down or not a first down?) – “It was a first down, then it was not a first down. Obviously we felt like there wasn’t enough to overturn it. It got overturned and we move on. We’ve got to move on to the next series. That’s what we did; but that’s a big play in the game. Again, we didn’t get the call on that one and that’s fine. We’re not going to make excuses about that or point fingers at officials or anything like that. We need to be able to go back out there and get off the field. We weren’t able to do that.”
(You mentioned the four turnovers – four to one – tough to overcome that.) – “Yeah, it’s always tough to overcome that. Turnovers – like we say every week – that’s the stat that determines winning and losing a lot in this league and four to one is not going to get it done. We need to play better.”
(You’ve been outscored 130-20 in second halves. What was your assessment of this second half? Was it any different?) – “I think we turned the ball over. I think we were moving the ball fairly well and then the turnovers, that’s what really got us. I think it was three in the second half. It’s hard to get anything going when you turn the ball over.”
(We saw CB Xavien Howard got hurt. Can you update us on how he’s doing?) – “He wasn’t able to finish the game, so we’ll evaluate that over the course of the week and see where he is.”
(Are you worried a bit that CB Xavien Howard has kind of had a few of these knee injuries?) – “I think injuries are a part of the game. We’ve just got to – the next guy’s got to be able to go in there and perform. Obviously ‘X’ is one of our best players and made a couple plays for us tonight, but injuries happen on every team. Again, we’re not going to sit here and make excuse about a guy being out. We’ve got to go in there and the next guy’s got to perform, which we didn’t have that. I thought Pittsburgh went out there, they made some good throws, good catches – contested catches whether it was (JuJu) Smith-Schuster or (Diontae) Johnson. They made some plays out there as well. Sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to those guys for making a couple of those plays.”
(On changing the game plan in the second half without CB Xavien Howard.) – “We’ve got a backup for everyone so the game plan doesn’t change dramatically and I think the guys that went in there, there were some good throws and good catches. A couple instances I’m sitting there going sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to your opponent. (Mason) Rudolph made some good throws. (JuJu) Smith-Schuster made some good catches. (Diontae) Johnson made a couple good catches. We didn’t make enough plays.”
Brian Flores – October 26, 2019
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Is T J’Marcus Webb going to play on Monday and what would it be like for you to have the same offensive line for two weeks in a row?) – “Yeah, we expect him to play; but his situation, he’s doing everything he can. He’s been out there at practice. He’s trending in the right direction. We expect him to play. As far as the offensive line, I think we’ve had a lot of different groups in there I think every week, and regardless of who’s in there, I think we’ve gotten a little bit better and hopefully it continues that way. Now I’ll say this: it’s a big test this week against a really good defensive line really across the board from (Bud) Dupree to (T.J.) Watt to obviously Cam Heyward – him being one of the best lineman in the league. Really, that group is collectively as a group, one of the best units in the league, so it’ll be a tough test.”
(CB Eric Rowe – you had a chance to see his versatility at corner and safety over the last week, 10 days or so. What’s been your biggest takeaway about the versatility he’s been able to show you guys?) – “The willingness to play different roles, play different positions and really do what the team needs. That’s what we’re looking for out of all our players, and Eric (Rowe) has been able to do that and play at a – take the new roles, learn the new roles, his different assignments. Playing safety (and) playing corner are very different positions from a run-fit standpoint, from a play-action pass standpoint, from just a coverage standpoint, covering bigger bodies and more physical players and it’s a more physical game playing safety than it is corner at times, so he’s done a good job. I think he’ll continue to get better in that role, but basically what we need, he’ll give us. It could be some corner. It could be some safety. It could be some nickel. He’s a very versatile player and we’ve got a few guys who are versatile in the back end, who allow us to do a few different things and he’s definitely one of them.”
(How has WR Jakeem Grant come along in the last week practicing? Do you expect him to continue returning and everything?) – “He got dinged a couple weeks ago and he’s worked his way back. He was obviously out there last week and he’s progressing and getting better. Again, he’s one of our most explosive players. (He is) fast. Quickness can make people miss so as much as we can get him in from a return standpoint and from an offensive standpoint, we’d like to; but at the same time, we’ve got to – when a guy’s coming off an injury, we’ve got to not be careful but obviously manage it accordingly.”
Brian Flores – October 25, 2019
Download PDF version
Friday, October 25, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(With S Bobby McCain, I know you didn’t want to say Monday what the discipline would be but are we going to see him Monday night for all of the game or part of the game? Can you share that?) – “Bobby will play. But again, we handle – I talked to Bobby and we handle that internally. He’s mentioned it; I’ve mentioned it. We kind of put it behind us. He was out at practice yesterday doing a good job, doing the things Bobby always does. I have a lot of respect for him as a player, as a person. That’s all behind us. We kind of talked about that a few days ago.”
(I know the clock is ticking on DT Robert Nkemdiche and CB Cordrea Tankersley. I know you talked about them last week. Can you say with certainty that both will play this year? Have you reached the point where you know that for sure?) – “It’s hard to say anything with certainty with the way things change in this league. Anything can happen when we go out to practice today. With certainty? I can’t say that. But both guys are really working hard. Both guys are in good shape. Both guys have improved from last week to this week, I would say; and are kind of getting back into the swing of things from a football standpoint and from a practice standpoint. They’re getting more familiar with their teammates, with their communication, with their fundamentals. I think that’s the one thing for a guy – or two guys in this case – coming back off of a long, long layoff. It’s getting back into the footwork, hand placement, the bare bones technique from a football standpoint. They both need a lot of work there. I think a lot of people, there’s just this thought that you can just jump out there and play football and there’s a lot that goes into it. From a practice standpoint, from a hand placement, footwork, communication, assignment standpoint, there’s a little bit of a breaking-in phase. They’re both in that right now and I do think they’re both doing a good job.”
(Are they in playing shape? You said they are in shape but are DT Robert Nkemdiche and CB Cordrea Tankersley in football shape?) – “Well, there’s a few tiers to that. They’re in good shape. Are they in true football shape and can play 60 plays? That takes a little bit longer. The intensity – you can never really simulate the intensity of a game in practice. You do everything you can possible but to go out there and play specifically this week on a Monday night when emotions will be high and the atmosphere, there are a lot of other things that go into from a conditioning standpoint. Nerves, anxiety – all of those things play a part. Are they in football shape? Yeah, I think they’re in good football shape. Are they in actual playing condition? You’ve got to play to get into that condition.”
(If they were to be active, how much could DT Robert Nkemdiche and CB Cordrea Tankersley help you considering your depth issues at cornerback and defensive tackle?) – “I think any time you get a new player or I would say in this case, someone hypothetically speaking that comes off of PUP, it’s a small role. I think you want to build over the course of a few games until they get to a point where they can play a substantial amount of snaps. For either guy, it would be a small role I would say. Again, they’re both still on (PUP). We haven’t activated either guy and there’s no – that’s still something as a staff we’re going through whether or not we want to do that. But in the case if they were active, I would say the first time out (would be) a small role. Maybe a little bit of something in the kicking game. Maybe something 10 to 12 snaps defensively at the most. But again, things happen in games. Guys go down. We had a player – guys go down, so you never know. If we need them for more than that then we’d do it; but that would not be the plan.”
(With a player like WR DeVante Parker, whose confidence is kind of rising the last couple of weeks with the touchdown catches that he’s had, how much does that make you have more confidence in him and want to continue using him in the passing game?) – “I mean any time a guy has production in games on a consistent basis, we want to keep going to that particular player. I think we’ve gotten that from a few guys. DeVante comes to mind. Preston (Williams) comes to mind. Mark Walton comes to mind. Mike Gesicki comes to mind as guys who are starting to come on a little bit. Yeah, when guys have production in games, you want to get them the ball a little bit more. But at the same time, you see that not just in the games but that happens in practice and it carries over to the game more times than not. I would say that’s been the case with the guys I just mentioned. DeVante is part of that. I think he’s really come on for us these last few weeks and hopefully continues to play at a good clip.”
(WR DeVante Parker is a player who admitted in the past there are times where he has lost confidence in himself and his ability. Is the mental aspect of it something that you have worry about with players or is it a case by case…) – “Oh, yeah. I didn’t mean to cut you off but I think the mental, emotional, psychological – that’s a big part of the game, in my opinion. It’s something I’ve always – that part of the game is always very important. I think it’s something that in a lot of ways, you have to coach. I don’t see any confidence issue with DeVante. I think he’s as confident in his ability as anyone on this team. I think he’s playing that way right now. If those were issues before, I can’t speak to them; but I see a confident player. Hopefully he continues that route. (Wide Receivers Coach) Karl (Dorrell) is doing a great job with him as well as (Offensive Coordinator) Chad (O’Shea) and the offensive staff. Hopefully we just continue on that trajectory.”
(One other roster housekeeping thing – of course you can bring back two players from IR. You have six of them. Do you have confidence that there will be two healthy enough to be able to exercise that return off IR? And LB Andrew Van Ginkel is one guy who can practice now. Is he able to?) – “Yes, I have confidence that we’ll get a couple guys off of that list. Which guys it’ll be, we’ll find that out over the coming weeks.”
(And can LB Andrew Van Ginkel do anything – I know he can legally practice now – is he able to physically yet?) – “He’s doing everything possible to get back. This is a hard-working kid. (He is) not quite there yet, or else he’d be out there but working his way back. We’ll see how this thing kind of shakes, but he’s done a really good job I would say. (He is) working his way back and kind of going through his rehab and that process. He’s in there every morning and he’s still in meetings asking good questions about our opponents. These are things that – that process of playing in the game, he’s still going through which I appreciate that.”
(I wanted to ask you about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. I know he’s a 14-year veteran and he’s seen just about every defense, but how much of a stabilizing presence has he been for your offense?) – “I would say he’s been – ‘stabilizing’ is a good word. I’d say he’s definitely been that. Just from a – really across the board. Receivers, backs, offensive line – he has a presence about himself and a poise that brings the group together and it’s something we need right now. I think he’s brought that to the group. Again, he’s a veteran. He’s got kind of natural leadership and rapport with players, and those are some of the intangibles that go a long way at that position. We need that, and he’s done a good job from that perspective.”
(Obviously you’ve been around guys long enough. When you see a player, do you look at him and say, “hey, that guy could make a good coach” and do you see that in QB Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “I think he’s got a lot of playing left. I think you see that in some players. I think the guys who are smart and ask questions, ask the questions that as a coach, you want asked. ‘What do we do if it’s empty?’ ‘What do we do if they blitz us?’ ‘Where do I throw the ball if it’s Cover 5?’ ‘Where do I throw the ball if it’s zone blitz?’ Those – once you get a guy who’s asking those types of questions – those are the questions that I used to ask. I think anyone who coaches, if they played, those are questions they asked; so from that standpoint, we’ve got a few guys who are smart players, who understand the game and if they want to get into coaching, which I think might be – there might be people who call it crazy – but then they would have an opportunity to. I love coaching. Maybe I’m crazy. I’ve been called that before, too. (laughter)”
(Any of them you can mention by name?) – “Players? Who are smart and love the game? Any of those guys in there – I could name 10 off the top of my head who if they wanted to (could coach, could). A lot of guys don’t want to be in here all day and night watching film… (laughter)”
(They say they don’t want to, then they stay away from the game for two years and then return.) – “A lot of times that happens too. Everyone’s got to make decisions. Right now, this team is – every guy in there, I’m expecting them to play, not coach; but we’ve got a lot of smart guys in there.”
(Where is LB Sam Eguavoen in his development?) – “Again, another good young player. He’s getting a lot of reps (and) getting a lot of live action. That’s served him well. He’s played well in some instances and I’m sure there are some plays that he wished he could’ve played a little bit better, but he’s a kid who comes in here every day and listens, works to get better, is understanding how we want to play defensively along with what offenses are doing, what’s happening in the kicking game; I think every week he gets a little bit better. Again, (he is a) young player (who is) fast. Football is important to him. He’s tough. He’s a good young player. We’ll just keep developing and getting him better.”
(How would you evaluate how WR Albert Wilson’s season has gone and how close he is maybe to being the player he was?) – “(He was) coming off the injury, came back, had a little setback early in the year and is still kind of working his way back. I think you see just steady improvement week-to-week, getting back into playing shape, playing condition, making some plays in practice. He made a play last week in the game. I think he’s moving in the right direction. I think we know what kind of player Albert has been in the past – fast, explosive, playmaking ability. Again, this isn’t – I would say a lot of people think you can just jump back in there and be the player you were. It takes a little bit of time and I think Albert is working his way back.”
(In all sports – basketball, hockey, whatever – there’s a theme of a player going back to play his former team and having a big game. Do you think that’s real in football and can you guard against something like that?) – “It’s real if people want to make it real. To me it’s, this is going to be the Miami Dolphins against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In football, it’s a little bit different. There’s 11 guys out there, so to make it a 1-on-1 or 1-on-11, that’s a hard thing for me to kind of digest…”
(Have you ever seen a moment like that where maybe a player – you see him for the first time or you haven’t for a while and he had a good game either way?) – “I think at the end of the day, it’s 11 guys on 11 guys. It can never be a 1-on-1 matchup in football. I guess it can (for example) defensive end versus offensive tackle; but at the end of the day, it’s one team against another team. I don’t see that dynamic. I think if you play against a former team, I can see there just being added (desire of) wanting to play well; but I think everybody wants to play well every week regardless of the team. I think that’s the case for our players (and) players on other teams, so I just don’t see that dynamic, me personally. It’s not something I even think about quite honestly.”
(A housekeeping question – where is CB Xavien Howard and DE Avery Moss on their road back?) – “Both practiced yesterday so (they are) working their way back. I think we’ve got a shot with both guys, so we’ll just keep working them. We’ll see how it goes. We’ve got the extra day, so that always helps. We’ve got the extra day and the night so that helps. We’ll see where we go. We’ll be close with both players. I think both guys want to go, and if you ask them, they’re playing. We’ll see how this goes.”
Brian Flores – October 24, 2019 (Conference Call)
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores Conference Call with Pittsburgh Media
(It looks like it’s been a lot more competitive the last couple of weeks since you guys came out of the bye. What’s been the key to that?) – “I think guys are just starting to gel. We had a lot of movement early in the season, a lot of new players. I would say the first three or four games of the season, we were in almost like training camp in a lot of ways where guys are trying to get to know each other. We had the bye week. We tried to put some things in order. I think we’re just starting to come together as a team and we just played a little bit better the last couple weeks. We’ve still got a long way to go. That’s very clear and evident.”
(What has QB Ryan Fitzpatrick given you since you made the move to him?) – “He’s given us what he’s really always given us. This guy has experience, leadership. He’s got great rapport with his teammates. I think he gives us the best chance to compete.”
(You’re obviously a first-year head coach in this league and Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is one of the longest-tenured. Just how much have you followed his career and what are your impressions of what he’s done with Pittsburgh from the outside?) – “I think he’s done a great job. He’s one of the top coaches in the league. His teams are tough and they’re smart and they’re disciplined. They play with a freedom and a toughness that I’ve always admired from afar. I think they embody a lot of the things that – they play like their coach. In coaching, that’s what you kind of want. You want your team to reflect who you are, and his teams are tough, disciplined and they work hard and they don’t make excuses. He does a great job.”
(With Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick, what do you see on tape from watching in Pittsburgh versus what you guys were trying to do? Is Pittsburgh using him any differently? Has his role been asked to change at all from your viewpoint?) – “Minkah is a very versatile player. He can play multiple positions. It looks like they’re doing that with him in the deep part of the field, in the box, man coverage. He does a good job tackling. I think he’s done a good job. They’ve got a good defense over there – a good offense, good defense, good special teams. When I watch it, I’m watching Minkah, but I’m watching Minkah to (Terrell) Edmunds to (Joe) Haden to (Bud) Dupree to obviously T.J. Watt and (Cameron) Heyward and Devin Bush is playing great and (Mark) Barron. They’ve got a lot of good players there. Minkah is just another piece…”
(I’m sorry to cut you off. Were you not surprised to see S Minkah Fitzpatrick sort of come in and make an instant impact?) – “No, not at all. I think he’s a really good player. He’s a young player, and I think he’s smart, he’s hard-working (and) football is important to him. I’m not surprised that he’s doing a good job there.”
(How challenging is it when you’re trying to set a foundation your first year and you’ve got a player in S Minkah Fitzpatrick that comes out and says he wants to be traded?) – “I think it’s something that it happened and we’ve moved on. As a team, we’ve worked on ourselves and building and improving on a day-to-day basis and that’s really where the focus is. I think if you start to think about anything other than that or this happened or why this happened or why that happened – we need to put our energy in other places.”
(In your years in New England, you guys had a lot of success often against the Steelers. Has it been a challenge for you to start over new somewhere where you have to motivate maybe more and get a team that has had a lot of early struggles like you have in Miami so far?) – “I mean it’s – I love coming to work every day. I think it’s a challenge. It’s exciting. I love coaching and I love the challenges of coaching. It’s really – every day I come in here and this group of guys work hard and want to get better and improve. I’m fortunate to be around a group of guys who want to do that, so I’ll keep coaching them. Hopefully they keep getting better and improving.”
(Were you guys aware as a staff or was the team aware that there would be so much turnover coming right at the start there?) – “Every year is different. I think there’s turnover on every team every year. That’s the case. That’s the National Football League. In some years, there’s more than others. You deal with it as a team, as an organization and I’m going to coach the guys who are here. I’m going to coach them hard and try to get the most out of them. It’s my job and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”
(The Steelers offensive line is ranked at the top of the league in terms of fewest sacks allowed. What makes that unit so good other than just being experienced and obviously this year as healthy as any line in the league?) – “I think experience is part of it. When I think of experience, I think you’ve got guys there who have played together for a long, long time. They know the strengths and weaknesses of the guy next to them. I’m sure, or it looks like, they don’t even have to make a call in (certain) situations or even communicate. They can almost communicate without saying anything. I’ve been around teams where you’re able to do that, and that’s – it takes a while to get to that point, but when you do, it’s a beautiful thing, to be honest with you. It takes time. The experience, I don’t want to take that – let’s not take that for granted. That’s a key ingredient to their success and they’ve done a good job with that, so it’s going to be a tough test for us. They’ve got a really good line.”
(Your team seemed pretty competitive/aggressive against Buffalo. Are you satisfied with their ability to rise through the tough streak here and keep competing?) – “Yeah. These guys compete. They have a lot of pride. We’re just going to keep playing, keep improving, just keep getting better and no, I’m not surprised. We’ve got a good group here. They work hard, and it’s important to them, so no, I’m not surprised at all.”
(Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin – to go back to him for a second – he was outspoken this offseason about being disappointed in the lack of minority hires in the hiring process. Is he a guy that’s reached out to you or vice versa sort of about just the challenges that you guys have faced in this league?) – “I’ve talked to (Steelers Head Coach) Mike (Tomlin) at the owners meetings, at the Combine and on the field a couple times in recent years. He’s someone I have a lot of respect for. I call him a mentor in a lot of ways in (him) having had as much experience as he’s had. In my process, he was not one of the people I reached out to; but I’m sure if I did, he would’ve had a wealth of knowledge for me to help me out with (the process). I have a lot of respect for him; but no, during my process he wasn’t somebody I talked to.”
Evan Boehm – October 24, 2019
Thursday, October 24, 2019
C/G Evan Boehm
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick says you talk a lot?) – “I do talk a lot.”
(Maybe a little too much.) – “Is that what he said?”
(Yeah.) – “As a center, I like to have everybody on the same page. I love having fun. Football ultimately, it’s a job, but ultimately it’s a game. You have fun. You grew up having fun playing this game, so I love having fun playing this game and doing the things that we need to do. I think everybody’s seeing we’re getting better. We’re playing and we’ve got a tough, tough task ahead of us on Monday night. We’re just starting to get there and get going. Apparently ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), I’ve got to shut my mouth around him. (laughter)”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick said at least you aren’t a nervous center. He says he doesn’t like nervous centers?) – “You have fun with it. Have fun, be confident. Just listen to ‘Fitz.’ If you do what ‘Fitz’ tells you to do, you’ll be successful.”
(What is helping this line stabilize?) – “I think we’re getting more familiarized with each other. Myself, you have Julién (Davenport) who’s on IR, you have (Danny) Isidora who’s on IR, you have three rookies, you have Chris (Reed) who’s new, you have J’Marcus (Webb) who’s new – that’s a lot of new guys. Plus Andrew Donnal, you have Keaton (Sutherland), you have all those guys. That’s a lot of new people in an offensive line room. And then you have five guys trying to do one job. That’s tough to do as an offensive lineman. I think we’re getting more comfortable with each other, understanding how each other play and how to feed off of one another. You go in there and if this is Shaq’s (Calhoun) weakness and this is my strength, I can go and help Shaq with that. If this is my weakness and this is Shaq’s strength, he can help me with that. We’re just playing off of each other, feeding of each other and buying into what ‘Guge’ (Offensive Line Coach Dave DeGuglielmo) is teaching us and it’s starting to get successful.”
(This team you’re going up against, they like to be physical.) – “They are physical. Like I said, it’s going to be a tough task this Monday. I’m ready to go to war with these guys. We’ve got to put a good week of practice together like we did last week and we’ve got to take an extra step even to what we did last week to try to go out there and get this win. It’s going to be a fun game. It’s going to be a great atmosphere on Monday Night Football. Like I said, we put a good week together and we’ll see what happens.”
(You’re a young guy. Has Monday Night Football apparently lost a bit of luster?) – “I think this is my first Monday night game I’ve ever played in. It’s going to be fun. I feel like Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh always has a crowd. They’re always rowdy, they’re always ready to go. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a fun atmosphere against a really good team. We’re starting to turn around ourselves, so it’s time to go.”
(This franchise has played in the most Monday Night Football games of any franchise.) – “This one?”
(Yeah. This is going to be the 85th, the Dolphins franchise. They’re 42-42. You can put them back in the win column back over .500. What does it feel like to be part of such a storied Monday night tradition with the Dolphins?) – “I didn’t even know that until just now. It’s pretty cool. This being my first Monday night game and possibly getting back into the win column. But you really can’t worry about that. You’ve got to worry about the guy who’s across from you. Their front line and their linebackers and their defense all together, they’re pretty damn good. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and we’ve got to get better and better each and every week like we have been and continue to do what we’ve been doing and hopefully we can put some stuff together.”
(You talked about some of the rookies on the line. T Isaiah Prince over here, what does he bring?) – “His technique is unbelievable. He’s got great technique. He’s got great fundamentals. He’s starting to learn the professionalism that it takes to play in this league and what it takes to be a successful football player in this league. He has been doing a great job. You can see his maturity level from Week 1 when I got here to right now and he’s going up that mountain and getting better each and every time.”
Kenyan Drake – October 24, 2019
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 24, 2019
RB Kenyan Drake
(On how he’s approaching this week with all of the trade rumors and Monday Night Football.) – “The same way I approach every week: do the things I need to do to prep myself to get ready for the game.”
(What have your conversations been like with Head Coach Brian Flores this week?) – “The same thing, just getting ready for the game. That’s where my focus is. My focus has been on this team. I control what I can control and be where my feet are – whatever cliché you can insert to represent that.”
(Playing on Monday night in a big-time game, this will be the Dolphins’ 85th appearance as a franchise which is the most in the league. What does it mean to play in a game like that and do you have a favorite Monday night memory?) – “Monday night – prime time – you’re the only game on the entire day. So to represent the league and go out there and put on a performance in a nationally-televised game is very important to this team. To go out there and make the most of it, especially against a historic team such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, as we are too. I don’t really necessarily have like a favorite Monday night memory but I guess my favorite memory is trying to stay up as long as I could to watch any Monday Night Football game when you’re a kid. To be able to play – I think this might be my first time playing in a Monday night game. The Patriots was a Monday night game? It was. I was thinking that was Sunday night. Well, I guess that (game) was my favorite memory – my only Monday Night Football game. (laughter)”
(Do you keep in touch with S Minkah Fitzpatrick and what’s it going to be like facing him on Monday night?) – “I hit him up after he had that big game against whoever it was. He had like a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception. I told him I was proud. I guess when I see him on Monday – that was the last time I had talked to him. I just look forward to him going out there to compete like I know he will and continue to represent himself and now, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the way that he does. I look forward to him going out there and doing what he always does.”
(Earlier today we asked Head Coach Brian Flores if he expects you to be with the team for the rest of the season. He said ‘yeah, unless some other situation arises.’ I want to ask you that question. Do you expect to be with the team for the rest of the season?) – “My expectations are as good as anybody else’s. The thing that I can control is being here when I’m asked to be here, which is right now until whenever. That’s what my focus is, is to continue to prep myself for Pittsburgh this week and do the best I can to show up and be the player I know I can be.”
(What’s it like to have your name kind of thrown out there as a possible trade piece?) – “I don’t know. It’s not like anything. I continue to approach every day – as I continue to tell you all – as a professional, as a player for this Miami Dolphins team, and to be able to go out there and make plays to help this team win games no matter what’s possible or no matter what my role is. That’s the thing that I continue to harp on and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”
