Minkah Fitzpatrick – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins S Minkah Fitzpatrick (transcribed by Anthony Gutierrez)
(This is your last home game as a rookie for the Miami Dolphins. Can you summarize your thoughts about your first rookie season with the Dolphins?) – “It’s not over yet. We’ve still got one more game. It’s been good. (There were some) up’s and down’s. I’ve been learning a lot and growing as a player. I’ve been moving around a lot so like I said, I’ve been learning a lot, having fun. I’ll definitely use this year as a learning experience, as a humbling experience. This offseason, we’ve got to do what we got to do as a team, stick together, train together, and do what we have to do to improve and just use this season as a stepping stone to where we want to go.”
(This loss seems a little more frustrating than most, just by the mood in the locker room. Does it feel that way to you?) – “Yeah, it’s very frustrating. Some of the games didn’t go the way we wanted them too; but this one, we needed to win this one. It was our next game, our most important game. So this was kind of like that blow. It just hurts.”
(Did you get a sense that you guys were playing for your coaches jobs today?) – “I think every game is like that. I think one of your goals is one, to make sure your coaches keep their jobs because that depends on our play and two, that they get promoted. When they get promoted, that means you’re doing something right. It’s a business. It is what it is; but like I said, you just have to keep playing hard. We’ve got one more game. (We have to) finish up and that’s it.”
Cameron Wake – December 23, 2018
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake
As you probably know, the team is eliminated from playoff contention. Do you see this as a player or coaching issue, the inability to be consistent?
CAM WAKE: It’s a Dolphins issue. Can’t really separate the two. It’s not like the players can go to playoffs and coaches stay or vice versa. It’s either all or nothing. We work together cohesively as a unit and we share failures, we share successes. It’s on everybody.
Do you think major changes are needed here?
CAM WAKE: It’s the NFL. Every years changes. There will be changes this year, just like the year we went to the playoffs. I’m sure the ’72 Dolphins had some changes. It’s just the nature of the beast. The team will never be the same. It’s year-in and year-out.
I guess that was broader. Do you think the team that’s in that locker room is close to being where you need to be?
CAM WAKE: I learned a long time ago, you are what your record says you are. Would that make us one game out of the playoffs? I definitely think we have the ability to win another game this season, and we’ve seen that we have the players, we’ve made plays, we’ve played teams, beaten teams. But I’ve stood here many times and said we can’t play lights out one week and then kind of drop the ball one week, lights out, drop the ball. Then you end up like wherever we are now. The games were we played well, you have to continue to play that way. It’s not a can’t. Again, it’s a didn’t.
Do you guys feel like you were adequately prepared for what they threw at you?
CAM WAKE: Sure.
The pass rush seemed to have a really good day today.
CAM WAKE: Yup.
How do you feel about the other side of the ball not being able to help you out?
CAM WAKE: I don’t really look at it that way. We’ve been put on the field and our job is to get off the field and get the ball back to them. There are plays to be had that we didn’t make. We were on the field at the end of the game, we could’ve given the ball back to them for another shot. As a defender, put the ball down wherever you put it down. Our job is to get the ball back, no points on the board. That’s the only way you can look at it. Again, it’s not offense, defense, it’s not coaches, players, it’s the Miami Dolphins.
All season, I guess you all play for the playoffs. What is this next week like?
CAM WAKE: I think that’s not wholly accurate. There’s a lot of things guys play for, so that’s one of the things off the table, but everything else that you would typically play for is on the table. Everybody else is play for pride. I’ve been playing for pride since the day I put my pads on. It’s not anything different. There’s a lot of things to play for, it’s not just only that.
Do you get a sense going into next week that this team could be playing for coaches’ jobs?
CAM WAKE: I assume every week you’re playing for your job. I’m assuming every week the coaches is coaching for his job. I don’t think that’s new next week. I think that’s the case every day. It’s an audition. It’s a league with a short memory, what have you done for me lately, and that’s not exclusive to coaches or players, it’s everyone, again. And there are players who are going to have to – or should have and should – think that way. It’s not next week is your make-or-break. It’s you’ve got a resume and every week you have to put up because there’s somebody knocking on the door to take your job day-in and day-out in this league, coaches, players, whoever.
What do you think your lasting memory of this season will be?
CAM WAKE: That’s probably a question for March. It’s a little fresh now. Obviously, it’s been a lot. It’s been a lot going on this season, a lot of ups and downs. But again, just outside looking in, it’s not really a good place to be.
Kenyan Drake – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake (transcribed by Paige Jefferson)
(It ends today with the elimination of the playoffs. Describe what that’s like.) – “Only (the) top 12 teams – six and six from each conference – make it to the playoffs. We came up short.”
(How do you feel? Disappointed? Angry?) – “We’ve got one more game to play. I’m going to play my hardest when the lights come on. It is what it is.”
(Is this a tough pill to swallow?) – “We’ve got another game to play. I’m not worried about that right now. I’m worried about playing the next game and giving my all for this team.
(I just talked to DE Andre Branch a second ago. It kind of seemed like he felt the team came out flat today. Would you say that?) – “We just didn’t get the job done. We started off hot and didn’t capture that momentum. The defense played great. On the offensive side of the ball, we just didn’t get the job done. They have a great defense. They had a great plan against us. They were able to create a little pressure. We’ve got to be able to adjust and go out there and make the most of the plays.”
Reshad Jones – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins S Reshad Jones (transcribed by Daniel Chavez)
(When you look at the season as a whole, you guys were officially eliminated today. How much more disappointing is it considering the optimism going in?) – “We put a lot of work in throughout the off season and not making the playoffs, it’s tough. It’s part of it, though.”
(As a player, you don’t think about it going into a game-day situation but, in the back of your minds, did you guys feel like you were playing for some coaches’ job’s today?) – “I don’t know. We just come out and play football. I come out play hard every play and give it my all for my teammates and my coaches, so that’s all I can do.”
(Considering what this team did on the road, when you look towards the future, it seems to be there are pieces here to make this work.) – “I’m not looking toward the future right now. We’ve got another game in Buffalo and we need to get ready for those guys.”
Danny Amendola – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins WR Danny Amendola (transcribed by Daniel Chavez)
(This is not something you’re used to, not qualifying for the playoffs. What does this feel like? What’s the sense in this locker room?) – “That’s why you play the game: to get to the playoffs and try to win the last game of the year. Unfortunately, we lost today so it really sucks.”
(It’s so early but, what needs to change? What needs to happen next year for things offensively to start?) – “It’s too early for that. We’re going to go watch the film, see where we can improve. We’ve got a game next week. It’s definitely frustrating. It’s a tough pill to swallow and ultimately we’ve just got to play better and that’s it.”
(Another game where you guys have had pretty much stagnant offense. What happened? What was Jacksonville doing that prevented you guys from getting it going?) – “I’ve really got to watch the film. Honestly, I’m running routes so I don’t see everything happening but we’ve got to take it on us – on the offense – to play better and get the job done. For whatever reason, we didn’t get it done and that’s frustrating.”
Ryan Tannehill – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill
What happened on the interception?
RYAN TANNEHILL: We had a little in-cut, flat combo, down-the-field throw, so I was trying to wait on the end to get to his spot. My feet got grabbed. I should have just thrown the ball away over the back’s head. I tried to make a play, dude wrapped around my feet. I’ve just got to be smart there and throw the ball away over the back’s head.
Were there times where you felt you could have gotten the ball out quicker? They were on you pretty quick pressure-wise.
RYAN TANNEHILL: I think they did a good job just getting pressure on us. Obviously, I have to go back and look at the tape and see exactly what happened. A lot of the things that we were trying to get were a little bit further down the field and we weren’t able to get the ball out.
Kind of an effortless drive to open the game right down the field and score. What odds would you have given that would’ve been it for the rest of the day? What happened after that? It looked like everything was so smooth and that was the end.
RYAN TANNEHILL: I can’t put my finger on it right now. Obviously, I’m going to have to take a look at the tape. But we executed well, had some good runs and some good passes on that drive and we were able to just move the ball right down the field. We converted a third down with a big play to Danny (Amendola) and just moved it down the field. And then I don’t think our execution was good enough the rest of the day. I think we had too many mistakes. We’re just not fully executing the play all the way around.
This seems to be a consistent theme with this offense, struggling to strap together first downs to move the chains. What’s been the inconsistencies with you guys offensively this year that’s been the biggest issue?
RYAN TANNEHILL: I think they’ve been all over the place. I think every position has its faults. Start with me and just go right down the line. I think when you have that, it all stacks up and you’re not moving the ball. We have to be cleaner, every position, starting with me and that will give us our best chance, obviously, to put the ball in the end zone.
Adam Gase – December 23, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase
It seemed like offensively you got off to a good start but there was no production after that. What would you say went wrong?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: They just dominated us up front and holes were closing quick. I know the backs were trying to get as much as possible but we were 2-3 yards a clip and then we just kept leaving ourselves in third-and-long. Penalties crushed us. We could not get in any kind of rhythm.
This is three games out of four you’re under 200 yards in production. Is there anything in bigger than just individual games or individual plays?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: We have so few plays. If we go through a game and we don’t have four or five, six, explosive plays, we’re not going to have yards.
From a blocking standpoint, you mentioned how you’re getting beat up front. Is that just individuals missing assignments?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I didn’t think there were missed assignments. They were just more physical than us, which we knew that coming into the game. We knew what that front was going to be. We knew what this defense was. We didn’t do a good job. We were bad.
Understanding that the game just ended, but you’re now officially out of playoff contention. Is there any kind of postmortem? It’s not over yet but things that you feel like from an overall standpoint things need to change in 2019?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I’m not there yet. We just got done with this. I’ve got to figure out why we can’t get guys covered up and why we can’t be more physical than what we were.
As far as your offense today, what was the main problem, do you think?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: They dominated us up front. We got sacked. We couldn’t run the ball. There were no holes. We were getting pushed back. We just didn’t do a good job.
What did you see on the pick-six?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: There was some pressure. Calais (Campbell) got through on the left side. We were supposed to have him double-teamed and then Ryan (Tannehill), he was late and probably should have just ate it. Once he got around his foot and threw it, it was too late. The guy had … ‘50’ (Telvin Smith) had caught up to him.
Defensively, you guys sacked them a lot. Does that only magnify your level of disappointment?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: It’s terrible. I mean, the offense was awful. It was brutal to watch, to be a part of.
When you look at QB Ryan Tannehill, did you see him hold the ball a little bit or just didn’t have time to get the ball out?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Probably both. There were probably times where he should have let it go and then other times, I don’t think he had much of a chance. But it was just a combination of everything.
There were scenes of you drawing things up on the sideline during the third quarter. Was that you trying to figure out…?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: No, I was just trying to get those guys to know what was coming. I wasn’t drawing anything up. I’m just trying to order up some series so everybody knew what was coming for that next series, so there was no gray (area). Everybody knew what plays we were going to run. I was just trying to give Ryan a heads-up on what we were doing and the skill guys. We’re just trying to get something positive going. We were just so … We just couldn’t get any explosive plays or anything to kind of swing the game.
It seemed like after the first drive, you just couldn’t get into sync. You get a first down, get a penalty, bring it back and that would stop the drive. The protection seemed like it was difficult all day long. You knew they were going to be a tough pass-rushing football team. What did you see as the biggest issue on the table?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I mean, I think it was a collective group. It starts with being able to at least get those guys slowed down up front, which we didn’t do. I mean, it just felt like it was collapsing fast, getting rid of the ball. We can’t be wrong on some of the decisions we make there. When we have a chance to make plays, we’ve got to make them. We’ve got to catch the ball. We probably only had one drop, but that’s a big play in the game. We can’t turn it over.
There was an even split, basically, between RB Kenyan Drake, RB Kalen Ballage and RB Brandon Boldon. Was that the plan going into the day?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Well, how many plays did we … We probably didn’t have a lot of plays. We were really going to try to split Drake and Ballage and then Brandon had a few things in. A lot of them were situational. We happened to be in those probably too much. We wanted those guys to touch the ball more because they are two of our most explosive guys and Brandon is usually the guy that can at least make the first guy miss. But I mean, they were getting back there pretty quick and we couldn’t get away from them.
Are you getting winning football play from the quarterback position?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I think sometimes we are. I think today was a rough day for him. I wish he would have played a little better. I wish he would have made a few more decisions that were different. I think there’s been games that he has – that he’s played really well – and there’s been some games where we haven’t played well. And it’s as much on me as it is on him. I have to do a better job of making sure that he’s doing the right things at the right time.
Cameron Wake – December 21, 2018
Download PDF version
Friday, December 21, 2018
DE Cameron Wake
(You guys have a chance to wrap up your home schedule at 7-1 which is pretty impressive. What have you guys done so well at home?) – “I’d like to think it’s a lot of things. Fan support, obviously being there, the fans getting nice and loud. Of course, on defense we love that (on) third down, supporting the team. I’m sure the weather has something to play in there. You’d probably have to ask other teams about that, but that familiarity. You definitely want to make sure when you’re in your own stadium, you knock out the games that you’re supposed to. Obviously we’ve got to clean things up on the road, but to say that we enjoy playing at home, I think, is an understatement.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase and Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke both specifically referenced that you’ve been strong in the area of run defense and setting the edge.) – “Who me? I’m just a pass rusher. What do you mean? (laughter)”
(Can you tell me about how that aspect of your game has evolved over the last few years?) – “I would like to think that hopefully it’s always been the case. That’s a question for them. I feel like it’s a pride thing. I’m not going to get into a long monologue about defense but at the end of the day, you have a gap to defend as a d-lineman. You have to make sure the ball doesn’t get there and if it does, you have to put it on the ground. So I’m kind of stubborn in that way. I’m hard-headed. I’m old school. I don’t care how big you are. I don’t care about all of the factors. I am going to try to do my best to do my job and I think that mentality is one that is going to make me successful.”
(Does it bother you at all when defensive ends are looked at … Sacks are overwhelmingly the number one thing that people look at as opposed to maybe the all-around game including setting the edge and stopping the run?) – “Well that’s not fabulous. That’s not highlight material. I truly feel that’s a big part of it. We always say if you don’t stop the run, you’re not going to rush the passer anyway. Unfortunately, we’ve seen many examples of that this year where if you don’t stop the run, they don’t have to throw the ball so there are no sacks to be had. So you’ve got to do your work first before you can play. You’ve got to stop the run first before you can pass rush so if they’re in third-and-2 all day, you’re not going to be much of a pass rusher. So you’ve got to get your work done. I think the traditional fan, they watch touchdowns and sacks and things like that that are highlight material, but real football people, they know run defense. They know how impressive a 1-yard run is, which will never make an ESPN highlight and you probably won’t write about it, but that turns into third-and-9. So whoever did that thing on second-and-10, that is the cause that we have the opportunity to pass rush. So they go hand in hand. Without one you can’t have the other.”
(Do you feel you’re as good of a run stopper as you are a pass rusher?) – “I hope so. My mentality is there shouldn’t be a difference. It should be first and second down. I’m going to do everything I can, if you run a ball toward me, to hold my gap and put the ball on the ground and when third down comes around, everybody wants to get after the quarterback and I should be just as effective either way. I think, as you said, most guys are one or the other. You’re a run stopper or a pass rusher. Why can’t you be both?”
(RB Frank Gore said he wants to come back for another year after this. You obviously will have a decision to make for you too. What goes into those sort of decisions?) – “I think it’s very simple. Probably three parts. The main one probably is organizational. Do they want you or not? In the NFL, do they want you to play? It’s the opportunity to go ahead and be on a roster. Number two, internally – for me at least – can you provide, can you help, can you support? Can you still do it? That’s going to be different for every guy to the level that you’re comfortable with. Are you enjoying it? That’s the last one. Whether that’s physically, mentally, spiritual or whatever. We’ve seen examples of each of those not be in a player’s favor and it doesn’t work. You have players who want to play, probably can, but can’t get on a roster. You have guys who want to do it but physically they’re not enjoying it. Then, guys who want to be on a roster and time has passed. There’s only so much tread on the tire. Whenever the offseason comes, after the Super Bowl, like I do every year, I’ll sit down and assess those different options and see where it takes me.”
(You often say it and a lot of guys say it that the decision is made in the offseason after the season; but during the year, are there moments, whether positive or negative, where you think about it even internally?) – “You think about it all the time. That’s just an unfortunate part of the game. Whether it be physical or mental, it’s a tough gig. At the end of the day, today I still feel good. I still feel like I can help. Will that be the case in April? I’d like to think so.”
(I guess this is the only team you’ve ever played for NFL-wise. Is there significance in that and could you see yourself in another one?) – “In another jersey? Ideally, no. If option number one is not in my favor, meaning they don’t want me but I can still play, I can still provide and I still enjoy it, then whatever needs to happen. If it makes sense, then I’d do it. If not, then I won’t.”
(Any thoughts on the throwback uniforms?) – “I love them. They’re great. That was a pleasant surprise that they’re keeping it going for another week. I think most people agree – fans and I think you guys included. If I could throw my hat in the vote box for more … I don’t know who makes that decision but I like them.”
(I know you try to help younger players. I’m curious, in what ways have you tried to help DE Charles Harris?) – “I’m trying to think back over the history of young guys coming in. He might be one of the guys who I’ve actually got the opportunity to spend the most time with – obviously being the same position, same side. I was the older guy when he got here. Some of the other guys that weren’t around for very long, they’re off in other places. There’s no limit, really. We were exchanging fashion tips a couple of days ago to obviously on the field stuff, finances, anything. It’s not just football. To be a professional athlete, there’s a lot involved. I think if you take away just the physical abilities, we know a lot of guys who could physically play in the NFL but they’re not here for 60 other reasons. You have to have every facet of your life in order to be able to come here and do what we do. Football, obviously, as much as I can pass it on to him, I have, as I’ve gotten it passed on to me when I was a young Charles Harris in the day. It’s really a long list. I think that’s part of the game. There are certain things you can never get unless you’ve actually put on these cleats and put on a jersey and been out on the field. I don’t care how many books you read, how many papers you write. There is stuff you will never know. So to go to another player who’s been in there and knows what it is, how it feels or what it’s like and getting tips and wisdom, things of value. I got it and he’ll pass it on to another guy one day. I think it’s a part of the game.”
