Ryan Fitzpatrick – May 29, 2019
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Wednesday, May 29, 2019
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(Is it coming along?) – “Yeah. So far, we’ve gotten some great work in. In the offseason, there’s a ton of stuff that we have to get better at and continue to work on, but I’m proud of the effort the guys are putting in. Not just running around with the work on the field, but in the classroom and studying and really taking pride in learning this offense and getting things down, because it’s not an easy offense to learn. Especially in that wide receiver room, those guys have done a great job.”
(Can you get a sense of what it’s going to look like even this early?) – “Not really. I think I’m starting to get a better feel for personnel that we have in terms of in that receiver room like I had mentioned, or the running backs, tight ends. Just getting a feel for everybody, I think that’s important. The timing that comes with that and working together will be helpful for the season.”
(How is it different throwing to WR DeVante Parker to WR Kenny Stills to WR Jakeem Grant? Are there certain characteristics you’ve already picked up on some of these guys?) – “Yeah. They definitely all have their own unique talents. (I’ve been) nothing but impressed with those guys you mentioned. I think the biggest thing, and I said it last time (is) the willingness to work. The willingness for those guys to talk after meetings, text at night or whatever it is, if they have questions, I’m going to try to give them the best answers I can and we’re going to continue to work to get on the same page. It’s been impressive to see the work ethic out of those guys.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores says his philosophy, he’ll unleash it little by little. He doesn’t want to give it all at once. But can you get a feel already for what this team is going to be like under him?) – “I think we’re developing a mentality, but until you actually get out there and play in games and you have your 53 whittled down to who it’s going to be, it’s tough to say.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores talked today about establishing a culture. In what ways is he doing that, trying to establish a winning culture, and what do you see happening?) – “I just think the expectations when we step on the practice field. That’s been set right away in terms of the hustle and the competitiveness and those type of things. They’ve really shown up in practice. We’re going to practice the right way and keep each other healthy but be competitive about it. That’s been a point of emphasis for him and something that I really enjoy.”
(Have you ever been part of a team that runs as much as this one does?) – “I’ve been a part of a lot of teams. (laughter)”
(Have you seen things from QB Josh Rosen – I know you’re concentrating on your own stuff – that kind of remind you or take you back to your second year and what that was like, and does that help you in sort of giving him some guidance?) – “I think any quarterback in this system, this system puts a lot on us. We’re all in there working as hard as we can to get it down and figure things out. It’s an offense, as a quarterback, that you love to be in because there’s a lot on your plate.”
(Have you seen growth from TE Mike Gesicki?) – “I don’t know where he came from in terms of I didn’t really see him last year. There are some things that Mike does that are special, that other guys can’t do. (There is) a lot of room for improvement. I think just like all of us, (we have) a lot of room for improvement in stuff we can do. He’s another guy that’s willing to work and I’ve been impressed by Mike.”
(WR Preston Williams is a guy who’s flashed in all of the practices that have been open to the media. What has he shown you?) – “Preston’s doing a nice job. He’ll make some ‘wow’ plays and he’ll make some plays that remind you that he’s a young guy. Consistency is going to be a big thing with him. In terms of some of the physical features and the way that he can go get the ball and those type of things, he’s been very impressive. Again, he’s working his tail off and it shows and you can tell out here, but there’s also a lot of work that still needs to be put in for him to be able to be trusted and be out there.”
(I’m trying to think back – what was the last time you were part of a true open competition like this?) – “Pretty much every year. (laughter)”
(Not just to make the team, but for starting, too.) – “Yeah. (In) 2014 (it) was an open competition. (In) 2012 (it) was an open competition. I think that was about it.”
(How were they similar, how were they different to what you’re going through now?) – “I don’t know that this is much different than any year in that you just try to come out here and do your best and put the work in and hope to see the results on the field. That’s what I’m trying to do and again, we have a lot of work that still needs to be put in, a lot of things that we need to get better at. Each practice is a nice reminder of that and we’re just going to continue to try to improve.”
(Going back to WR Preston Williams, what’s his attitude been like in practice given that he wasn’t drafted and he’s one of these guys fighting for a spot?) – “It’s not like we sit down and talk at lunch every day, but he’s definitely flashed. He’s definitely a guy that, as a quarterback, you take notice at some of the plays that he’s making. Like I said, great plays and boneheaded plays. We have to find a consistency there, but he certainly has enough talent to do it.”
(When you go after practice and watch the film, what are you most critical of yourself? Is it footwork, is it mechanics, is it accuracy – what is it?) – “I think every play is different, but something the last few years is my footwork and just knowing me and when I miss balls, why I’m missing the ball. Usually that’s stuff I can feel out here on a practice field. There are certain little drills and steps and things that I do to get a little better with my body placement for accuracy.”
(What age did you fall in love with football and how did you?) – “I started playing football when I was 10, I believe – tackle football. I had to make the jump from soccer to football. That was the decision. I had to give up my love for soccer at age 10. I loved the game from then on. The reason I’m still playing is I still love being out here with the guys and competing and having a lot of fun doing it.”
(We all know where you went to school. We’ve heard a little bit about that. Did you have D-I offers? Did you have places that you were considering or was it Ivy League all along?) – “I had a scholarship offer from Eastern Washington, so I-AA – back then, I-AA – and that was it. When I didn’t get any offers, I started looking elsewhere. Schoolwork was always an important thing in my household and something that was always stressed, so I decided I’d try to go to the best school I could. Football, I wanted to continue to play, but the professional thing was an afterthought. That was never at the forefront of that decision.”
(Did you have a sports hero growing up outside of your family that kind of motivated you?) – “I was a huge Magic Johnson fan growing up. He was probably my favorite if I had to think of a guy. Then, Brett Favre I loved watching and Jake Plummer was another guy I loved watching.”
Raekwon McMillan – May 29, 2019
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Wednesday, May 29, 2019
LB Raekwon McMillan
(How does it feel to come in here to just train and get back healthy?) – “It’s been going pretty good. I came in here with a new staff, new coaches and everything. We’re just trying to get it rolling as a team and as an organization.”
(What is the biggest difference you seem to notice between the regimes last year and this year?) – “Not really a big difference. They are both good leaders and good guys at the helm. One is just an offensive-minded coach and one is a defensive-minded coach.”
(How is Head Coach Brian Flores establishing a winning culture here? What are the things he’s doing?) – “He came from a winning organization, but he’s rebuilding here at the Miami Dolphins and we’re willing to make progress here and not dwell on what he’s done as a coach, but try to build our own history and keep it moving.”
(What do you remember from DT Adolphus Washington from your days at Ohio State?) – “’D.D.’ (Adolphus Washington) was a dog. I call him ‘D.D.’ (He’s a) great player. Everybody that I played with at Ohio State upfront was drafted and I expect the same thing here with Dolphins.”
(The conditioning seems to be a bit harder this year. The sprints, the pushups, what has that been like for you guys? Has that created competition as well?) – “Yeah, for sure. Everybody wants to be in first place, everybody tries to compete with each other. At the end of the day, we know we want the best for each other so we’re going to go at each other’s neck.”
(What are your early impressions for LB Andrew Van Ginkel?) – “He’s a good young cat. (He’s) very tentative, listens very well. (He) understands what we’re trying to get done as a defense and I think he’s going to be pretty good.”
(How much more complicated is the defense for you as a Mike LB now in this system? Is it more complicated at all?) – “No. Once you know what we’re trying to get done holistically as a defense, you start learning bits and pieces of it. It all comes together in your mind. It took a little while but as we’ve been going along, I’ve been starting to understand it a little bit more.”
(Is it going to be an advantage in terms of switching between various schemes? Obviously some 4-3 and a lot of 3-4, is that going to create an advantage in terms of other teams not being able to anticipate what you guys are doing?) – “Yes, for sure. Just the aspect that we can come in at any formation and put our best up and get the best 11 cats on the field and play any defense we want.”
Bobby McCain – May 29, 2019
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Wednesday, May 29, 2019
CB Bobby McCain
(How is the defense different for you?) – “Just schematically, with me playing everywhere such as safety, cornerback – playing it all – being able to understand the concepts, being able to understand your weaknesses and the strengths of the defense. That’s what each of these days are for and that’s what we’re doing.”
(Once upon a time, I think it was last June, you were signed as the highest-paid slot cornerback. Then you didn’t play that much slot. Was that a little bit of a curveball for you?) – “No. At the end of the day, it’s just going out and doing what I have to do for the team, going out and making sure that we get a W. If I have to play kicker and holder, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”
(So it’s not your choice where you are going to play, but if you had a choice, what do you think you do best?) – “Anywhere, to be honest. You could put me anywhere and I’ll thrive in the position. I just want to play whatever is the best fit for this team.”
(In the middle of the field, obviously there is a lot of traffic. What do you enjoy about the times in which you have more room?) – “Being able to just see the entire formation, being able to see the entire field. You can see matchups. Just being able to see it all, being able to see the play happen, the concepts and being able to read the quarterback at the end of the day, and break off the ball.”
(Are you lining people up?) – “Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes you have to do that. You have to be a master communicator and understand that you see the full field. Some guys may not see ‘it’s (an) empty (formation), I’ve got to go this guy.’ Some guys may not see it’s gun near. Whatever the case may be, you have to get guys in the right position.”
(Do you view that as kind of like an experiment or a tryout? Or is that your position do you think?) – “Every day is a tryout. Every day we come out here, it’s an opportunity for you to prove yourself. Right now, that’s where I’m playing and that’s what I’m doing.”
(How are the guys that you are matched up against different than when you are in the slot?) – “At free safety, you can matchup on receivers, you can matchup on running backs, you can matchup on tight ends. You’ve got to be able to cover them all and do them all. At the end of the day, you’ve got to get the job done. Especially in the middle of the field, like you said, there’s a lot of traffic. There’s a lot of things going on that you have to regulate and communicate and get guys lined up and get us in the right position.”
(Coach Flores was talking today about establishing a culture. What do you see happening here in that regard? How is he establishing a winning culture?) – “Just competition. I said that on The Audible a couple of days ago: competition creates chemistry. When you’re out here playing with your guys each and every day and you’re balling and the loser does pushups, nobody wants to do pushups so that’s what creates chemistry, and creating that competition, that’s what this culture is going to be about.”
Kenny Stills – May 21, 2019
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Tuesday, May 21, 2019
WR Kenny Stills
(What makes this group different?) – “I think it’s hard to tell right now. For us, we’re just trying to learn the terminology and get on the same page with the quarterback. I guess it will be up to you guys seeing how different this offense is when we perform in games in the preseason and then during the season.”
(What about the learning process?) – “It’s different. It’s been the first time that I’ve had to learn an offense in a couple years. I like the challenge. It’s fun because all of us are learning it together. ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) knows it for the most part, so he’s kind of teaching us a little bit; but it’s a new challenge for us and I like that.”
(How does QB Ryan Fitzpatrick know?) – “Just the terminology I guess and working in similar styles of offenses. They’ve used the same words. If you think about it, sports, football – all of the concepts are pretty similar, it’s just what we’re calling it. I think he just had some experience with these formations and with this terminology, so it’s made it a little bit easier for him than the rest of us. He’s been around the block a couple of times.”
(I wanted to ask you about the slot position. You played some of the slot in New Orleans. How difficult or easy would that transition be to make?) – “If you look at my numbers, I’ve done pretty well in the slot so it’s not something that I’m too worried about. Wherever they put me right now is where I’m at and I’m having fun with it. This game of football, it will be seven years for me now in the league and I’ve been playing since I was a little kid, so anytime you can get a new challenge, you have to learn something new, you’re trying to refine your game, it’s fun. That’s what I consider every day coming out here for work. It’s an opportunity for us to get better and to grow and build on what we’ve done in previous years.”
(Did you know QB Josh Rosen before the last couple of weeks?) – “I had worked out with Josh when he was in high school. We’ve had some communication through texts, just trying to be there as an older guy and as a mentor if he needed it. So yeah, we had a little bit of a relationship.”
(Did you work out with QB Josh Rosen before he was a member of the team?) – “It was when he was in high school and I was coming out for the draft.”
(What do you like about how QB Josh Rosen throws the football?) – “Really everything. I don’t know what the right word is for it, but it doesn’t look like it’s coming fast and then it gets in front of your face and you see that it’s spinning well and it has some velocity behind it. He’s a great player and he has a bright future. It’s just like everyone else, we’re trying to learn this offense, trying to build chemistry within the locker room and with the coaching staff. We have guys here. We just have to come together and put it together on the field.”
(I don’t know how much you’ve seen from the workouts from back in high school with QB Josh Rosen to now, but where have you seen any improvements that he’s made in a short time?) – “I’ve just seen what I’ve seen here. We’ve been out here for a couple of days and he’s only been here for a couple weeks. He’s a great player like I said, and he has a bright future, so I look forward to getting out there and trying to make some plays for him.”
(A lot of things are new on the team. The receiver room has a lot of familiar faces. Where do you see the competition in that room?) – “For us, it’s pushing each other every single day. A lot of people on the outside and even some of us ourselves know that we haven’t played our best football yet, being that we’ve had injuries, we’ve had guys fighting through injuries. I believe personally that I haven’t played my best football either. We’re pushing each other every day. We have little goals, we have big chips on our shoulders and we feel like we don’t really get any respect so we have to go out there and earn it.”
(Obviously, we’re not here for every OTA, but there were a lot of plays made out here by the receivers. Is that typical?) – “We come out here every day and try and do that: make plays. We call ourselves playmakers and we know that we have a bunch of talent in our room and we have to prove that. We have to go earn the respect of every one of our teammates and the quarterback. We’re just trying to be consistent. I can’t tell you if that’s every day or not, but we’re happy with today and then we’ll try to do the same thing when we’re back out here on Thursday.”
(What’s the pushup deal that we’ve seen where if you guys score a touchdown, the defense does pushups?) – “That’s just competition. Every once in a while, coach will tell us ‘This one’s for pushups.’ Whoever wins doesn’t have pushups and whoever loses has them.”
(We saw only one set of pushups for you guys today. It was probably the goal, right?) – “Yeah. In the red zone, in the scoring zone, it’s a lot for the defense as far as communication. It’s the same with the offense. We had our day, but the defense has been playing well these past couple of days too.”
(And you obviously yourself don’t put up with half pushups. We saw that happening out there.) – “(laughter) I like to talk a little trash to ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) and the defense. Whenever we can win and whenever we can take advantage of a day like this, it’s fun for us, the competition. We’re out here trying to build something and I think that’s what competition does.”
(I saw an old clip – maybe this will ring a bell for you, maybe not – of you at a summer camp where you saw a very young QB Josh Rosen and he stood out to you. He caught your eye. What do you remember about that?) – “As you progress, high school, college and to the league, you can tell the difference between quarterbacks with their timing and the way the ball comes out of their hand. I was just impressed with the fact that he didn’t know me, I didn’t know him, and we were able to get on the same page pretty quick. It’s really impressive for a young quarterback, being a college receiver about to go to the NFL. We had a really good throwing session at that point, and I just remember telling the receiver coach or quarterback coach that we were with that the kid had a bright future and that I’ll probably be playing with him one day. That was kind of a joke and then here he is.”
(So you have a future as an NFL scout after you’re playing?) – “I’ve been around ball since I was four, five, six years old. I love it. I love scouting and looking at talent. I guess I got lucky there.”
(I’m not trying to be corny, but have you and QB Josh Rosen kind of talked about where you guys were and now kind of being reunited like this?) – “Yeah, definitely in text conversation. It’s just kind of crazy how the world works.”
Davon Godchaux – May 21, 2019
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Tuesday, May 21, 2019
DT Davon Godchaux
(Are you ready to become a 3-4 defensive lineman?) – “I don’t have another choice. This is the team I play for. (Head) Coach ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) is doing a good job of emphasizing (and) ‘PG’, (Defensive Coordinator) Patrick Graham and the d-line coach (Marion) Hobby, are doing a great job of emphasizing techniques.”
(What are the challenges when you try to switch a scheme like that for a defensive lineman?) – “Last year, we were attacking. Now you have to read the blocks. That’s probably the biggest challenge for me. (I am) used to getting off the ball, trying to attack the offensive line. Now you have to read and watch where they’re going and playing more with your hands out in front of you.”
(How does this benefit you in terms of guys moving around and being so interchangeable?) – “It benefits a lot, because once you go to the room, any GM, any owner, any coach, once it’s time for you to do what you do, they want to see how can you play? Can you play a 3-4? Can you play a 4-3? I think playing both schemes is beneficial to me. Here, we’re going to play everything. You’ve got to get used to everything.”
(When you’re at the nose tackle position in the 3-4 formation, can you help us understand the ultimate responsibility for that snap?) – “The ultimate goal is to be a team player (at) my nose position. If I’m in 1-tech, play A-gap, 2-I, play the A-gap, if I move to a three-play B-gap. It’s the same thing we’re doing. We’re playing the same gap. We just went from attacking to read.”
(How comfortable are you playing end in a 3-4?) – “I’m very comfortable. The first couple days, (I was) a little rusty. Each and everybody was a little rusty. Speaking of myself, a little rusty. I’m coming out here each and every day, getting the techniques, going through the growing pains of the 3-4, 4-3 defense.”
(In terms of improving as a pass rusher, I know we talked last December that, that was a goal. Has the new staff worked with you that? Have you worked on that?) – “They’ve worked with everybody. I think Coach Hobby is doing a great job, hitting the big bags each and every day and emphasizing the small techniques. At the end of the day, what makes the good to great pass rushers are little small things.”
Daniel Kilgore – May 21, 2019
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Tuesday, May 21, 2019
C Daniel Kilgore
(Another year, another year where the line is in flux. How do you guys deal with that going year to year?) – “This is my second team and I’ve been through six head coaches and a bunch of offensive coordinators. Every year has been different for me. The biggest thing is that I’m the oldest in the room, which is new to me. These guys are young, they are eager to come to work no matter what they ask us to do, what position. Guys are jumping in and doing a good job of working every day.”
(You have a guy like OL Michael Deiter. Does he seem like a guy that can come in right away and make an impact?) – “He’s still a rookie. Any rookie is a big question mark, I don’t care of you first overall or third round. There is still a lot of room to grow, that’s just not for him but that’s across the board for everybody. From Year 9 to a rookie, it doesn’t matter. He’s obviously a talented player. He’s got a lot of upside to him as do the other guys too. All of the rookies do.”
(Being the oldest guy in the room. How does that affect how you go about your business?) – “It doesn’t. It doesn’t really. I’m usually the first one in and the last one out anyways. Being older takes a lot of time to heal the body. I sit a little bit longer in the hot tub and cold tub but nothing changes for me. I come to work ready to get better. I’ve been fortunate to be in this business for nine years and I’m still learning. This is my career and there is still room to grow for everything that I do.”
(How difficult was it to go through what you went through last season?) – “It was difficult, I will say that. It was the first time, spending seven years out west in the Bay area, there were a lot of nuances to everything and moving my family across the country. It was difficult but this is home now. I love South Florida. My wife and I love it and we love the fans here. This is a top notch, one of the best organizations you could ever work for in the National Football League. I’ve just enjoyed my time. Each and every day I come to work, I enjoy it.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores has spent a lot of time with us talking about competition and how he wants competition at every position. How has he gotten that message across to you guys and how often too?) – “You just look at our room and how much it has changed from last year. Just the new guys coming in and just across the board, not just in our room, but you get the message from top down. That’s coaching staff, that’s everybody from the front office to the coaching staff to the players. That’s the message. In the locker room, guys realize that everything is on the line here. ‘T.N.T.’ (takes no Talent) you’ve got to approach that every day (such as) being on time, taking care of yourself, being a professional. I’ve seen a big difference in guys this year from my whole nine years of guys adjusting to the professionalism that is being ask of them.”
(You’re a long established guy in the NFL. Do you feel like there is competition at your spot?) – “Yeah, there’s always competition at my spot. Always. You know just as well as I do that they are looking for younger and cheaper guys. (laughter) So there is always competition and if you don’t feel there is competition, then you’re in the wrong spot. For me it’s always, there might not be a guy rotating with me but I’m competing with myself. There is competition across (from me) lining up to the ball. We’ve got one of the best defensive lines and that’s my competition. I’m fighting against them every day. I’m fighting to get better with my offensive line. Competition, there are all kind of phases of it. It’s not just position battles or anything like that. Everybody has got their own ways.”
(How do you feel physically?) – “Old. (Laughter) No, I feel good. I feel good. This South Florida heat really keeps the joints feeling good. I feel pretty good.”
Kenyan Drake – May 21, 2019
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Tuesday, May 21, 2019
RB Kenyan Drake
(You have a new coaching staff. What are you trying to get done during the OTAs?) – “Just get better every day. (We are) putting a lot of new stuff in the offense so we’re just trying to make sure that we come out here and get everything executed. But it’s May, so you’re not going to win any games today. The things that we do right now are going to give us the platform to launch ourselves into the season.”
(Being so involved with the passing game, working so close with these quarterbacks, what have you seen early on?) – “The quarterbacks are going to put us in the best position to win. As a skill position (player), as a lineman, everybody has to do their one-eleventh and put themselves in the best position so we can come together as a group and be successful.”
(With the new coaching staff, they are obviously seeing you guys for the first time except for on film. Do you feel like you’re competing again for a starting job?) – “We’re just out here taking it a day at a time, making sure we put ourselves in the best situation to where when it comes to August, we can all win games. That’s my mindset.”
(It’s still early with the new coaching staff, but do you feel like you’d be able to run the ball a bit more in this offense than in the past few years?) – “That’s really up for them to decide. I put myself in the best situation to help this team win games no matter what. Whether that’s catching the ball, whether that’s running the ball or whether that’s special teams, or doing whatever they ask me to do, that’s what I’m going to do.”
(Are they moving you around a lot in this offense?) – “They are putting everybody in a lot of different situations to really test people’s mental, people’s psyche, people’s physical attributes. That doesn’t exclude me from that situation either.”
(From a leadership standpoint, what is it that the coaching staff wants to see out of the guys that have been around for a few years? How do you feel you are providing it?) – “Everybody is just doing their job. I feel like the coaching staff makes it very black and white with what they expect. They are going to keep it real with a lot of people in terms of going on the field, doing your job, not doing your job. A lot of lack of mental plays, you just have to go out there and make sure that you take the things that we talk about in the film room and apply them to the field and just go out here and make plays.”
(You’ve always been team first, you’ve never complained about lack of carries. Is there a part of you though that would like to see what you can do if you get the ball 15 to 18 times a game like you did the last five weeks of 2017, as opposed to 7 ½ carries last year?) – “I would like to win a lot more games, that’s my most important thing. Whether I get the ball five times or 25 times, if we’re winning games, everybody is going to get the accolades that they want.”
(What allows you to be at peace with that sort of thing, because there are some running backs who would say I want the rock 10, 15, or 18 times a game? You’ve never said that publicly.) – “Because my work is going to speak for itself. The work that I put in on and off the field is going to equate to the success I have on the field and ultimately everybody is going to try to get what they can from a very specific standpoint in terms of what they want. All in all, we went 6-10 last year. People had good stat seasons. I had over 1,000 (all-purpose) yards and almost double-digit numbers in touchdowns (but) whoop-dee-do. We didn’t go to the playoffs; we didn’t win enough games.”
Jakeem Grant – May 21, 2019
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Tuesday, May 21, 2019
WR Jakeem Grant
(Was your workload kind of the same today or were you able to get some good reps in?) – “I get great reps in. I take a few reps every period. But (I’m) just limited, just being smart. (I’m) not trying to overdo it and not trying to go out there and have a setback. (I’m) just going out here and being smart because we don’t have a game in two weeks.”
(Obviously it’s May, but are you itching kind of to get back out there or is it just kind of chomping at the bit a little bit wanting to get out there?) – “I’ll tell you, I hate watching. I hate watching. It’s like I always ask the trainers and the coaching staff, ‘Let’s do more, let’s do more.’ And in the back of my mind, I’m like, ‘I have to be smart as well.’ But I’m hungry. I didn’t get to finish the season. I felt like I was having a good season and so I’m just hungry now and I’m itching to get back with the guys and get back going full go.”
(What was the sense of relief knowing it wasn’t the Achilles, which everyone kind of feared it might have been?) – “It was a big relief because I’ve seen a lot of guys that, some guys don’t come back from it. With that being my first injury, it kind of messed with me mentally; but I’m over that mental hump and I’m just ready to go, ready to get back rolling with the team so I can provide for the team as good as I can.”
(What is the pain level, at all, out there right now?) – “The pain level, I actually don’t have any pain. I’d say it’s more stiffness, just getting warmed up. It takes a longer time to warm up than it normally did; but the pain level is all gone and I’m just ready to get rolling.”
(In the grand scheme of things, just being able to take part in any kind of OTAs, how big is that for you?) – “It’s very big. Just with them just allowing me to go out there and just do a couple of plays a series, just to get some trust in with the quarterbacks and with the receivers and with the new coaches, and just to show them that I’m still working up to be that guy for you guys so you can trust. And also just being smart at the same time.”
(How long is that transition process, not only for you, but for a lot of the receivers out there to learn a new quarterback, such as QB Josh Rosen or QB Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “It takes a couple of weeks for the quarterbacks to get your speed (and) how quick you are in and out of the cuts. But I feel like ‘Fitz’ and Rosen, I feel like those guys are getting a good beat on how we break and how our movement is and just getting a great development of all receivers and just playing to our favor.”
(What goes into the push-ups that we saw? How does the unit know when it is their time to do that?) – “Defense, I think they do push-ups every, if we score in the red zone, because it’s hard to stop teams in the red zone. But they do a push-up every single time and then usually on the last play of that series, the winners don’t do push-ups, the loser does push-ups. It’s just to get the competition level high so we can talk trash a little bit and just make people do push-ups and just give us that momentum.”
(I notice you guys also have been running from drill to drill. How different is that? What do you think is the philosophy on that?) – “Coach (Flores) always harps on we’re going to be the most conditioned team in the league and I feel like he’s really pushing that. He got onto me one time. He was like, ‘Jakeem, what are you doing? Are you walking?’ I’m like, ‘No sir, no sir. I’m not walking.’ I also looked back at him to make sure he’s not walking. (laughter) And he gives me a little chuckle. I mean, he’s going to keep pushing that we’re going to be the most conditioned team in the league and I’m all for it. It’s hot out here and we get to play into our favor. People have to come play down here, and what he’s doing, I love it.”
(Last week, QB Josh Rosen joked that he kind of stumbled into a wide receiver meeting. Does he or even QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, do they ever sit in on meetings with you guys to try to acclimate themselves to you guys?) – “Yeah, there’s a couple of times that they came in and just gave us pointers on what they think we should do and just on checks and stuff and adjustments that they see on the field. I love when they come in there because we get to joke around with those guys. They have a great sense of humor, as well. But when they come into the room, it’s just like when a coach is talking. When they’re talking, we’re listening.”
(Who is funnier?) – “I’d have to give it to ‘Fitz.’ He’s a veteran guy that’s got a lot of years behind his belt. He’s been around. He’s just an overall goofball and then when we get out here and it’s time to be serious, he’s serious. But he’s a funny guy.”
(Which quarterback do you like more?) – “I like them both equally. I think both of those guys are great guys. (They are) definitely different personalities; but I love them both.”
(Forgive me if you answered this before I got here, but what percentage would you say you are health-wise?) – “I wouldn’t say a percentage. I would say I’m definitely not 100 percent. I feel like I’m working each and every day to get better and I just want to get to where I don’t have to think about if I’m worried about playing on my Achilles or am I worried about jumping off my left foot or anything like that. Every day is a stepping stone.”
(Considering the injury and everything else that you’ve gone through, how big is this season going to be for you? What’s kind of your thought process going into it?) – “This is bag season for me. I feel like last year, I kind of made a big name for myself in the return game. I feel like I’m going to continue to push a name for me in the return game. I want to be the best returner in the league and I want to be one of the top receivers in the league. So I’m going to continue to go out there and play as I am, the best (I can) at everything. I’m hungry because last year was cut short for me. I don’t have (any) regrets about it. I feel like that was an injury waiting to happen and I feel like I’m glad that it happened because now I’m going to come back stronger and faster and better. This season is very important to me because also we have a new coaching staff, a great coaching staff, with new guys and I just want to set a tone for the whole team and just show them that they can depend on me and that I’m one of the guys that they can have long-term.”
(This past week, there was an ESPN analyst who went through the Dolphins’ schedule and gave the Dolphins a loss for every single game. That seems unrealistic. When you heard that, what did you think?) – “I actually didn’t hear it until now. But to the analyst, I really appreciate it. I love being the underdog. I’ve been an underdog my whole life. So whenever we go into a place or into a game expecting to lose and we win, it just makes it that much sweeter. I’m happy that they’re counting us out because once we win, that smack in the face is an unbelievable feeling.”
(What gear have you tried in your running during your rehab? Are you up to second gear on your running? Or are you really taking it easy?) – “I can get up to full gear. I’m still, with the injury and with me not being 100 percent, I can still easily run past guys. I feel like each and every day is a stepping stone. I’m going to continue to rehab, get better and be smart at practice.”
