Robert Quinn – December 16, 2018
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Postgame – Minnesota
Miami Dolphins DE Robert Quinn (Transcribed by Minnesota Vikings)
Q: What do you think is the biggest reason for their offensive success?
A: I don’t know. They found the guys that were open and didn’t look back. But then again, they were running the ball well. When they needed to pass, they found open guys. We just had a long day.
Q: Do you have any sense as to why you guys struggle on the road?
A: If I had that answer, I would already have the magic recipe by now. But no, I don’t know why. I wish I could give you a better answer.
Q: When your team fell behind 21-0, what was going through your mind?
A: Make a play. Someone has to make a play. We kind of went flat and they just kept the pressure going. They just did a great job on their side.
Q: How would you describe the season with only two left?
A: A rollercoaster ride, from game one to now. We’ve been battling our tails off. It’s been a rollercoaster ride for us, we have two more, so we’ll see what we can do.
Q: How do you think you guys will come out in the last two?
A: Whatever happens, we have to win our next game. It doesn’t matter where we’re at. We have to win our next game.
Reshad Jones – December 16, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Postgame – Minnesota
Miami Dolphins S Reshad Jones (Transcribed by Minnesota Vikings)
Q: On the defense’s performance today…
A: We didn’t make plays today. I give credit to the Vikings. They’re a good football team and they made more plays than we did today.
Q: It seems like the Miami Dolphins are a different team at home than they are on the road. What is the reason for this?
A: I’m not sure what the problem is.
Q: What is the mood like in the locker room?
A: It’s a tough loss. We are not happy about it.
Minkah Fitzpatrick – December 16, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Postgame – Minnesota
Miami Dolphins S Minkah Fitzpatrick (Transcribed by Minnesota Vikings)
Q: On touchdown return…
A: I was actually on the blitz. When I walked into that 3 by 1, Diggs and those two, they were vertical. I had a couple guys call it out. I was able to just go since I was on the blitz, and I didn’t have to be patient. So, I just went. Kirk was looking at them the entire time, and I just looked at him.
Q: On defense during 2nd and 3rd quarter…
A: We did our job well around the board. We stopped the run, stopped the pass. Covered more on the back end, even when he was running around. Our 1st quarter, nobody was doing their job. We weren’t covering the back end, we weren’t stopping the run. When that happens, we work off each other. When we can’t stop one, it is hard to stop the other. But the 2nd and 3rd quarter, we did a good job of stopping each phase of the game.
Q: What surprises you most about what happened on defense overall?
A: It surprised me how fast they got points on the board. It hasn’t happened all season, 21 points in the first quarter is way too much. We’re not happy about it, but we’ll use it as a tool on the next games. There’s not much we can do about it now.
Kenyan Drake – December 16, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Postgame – Minnesota
Miami Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake (Transcribed by Minnesota Vikings)
Q: Describing today’s game…
A: Personally I played my worst game of the season. I let the team down, missed a couple key blocks on third down. So you got to look yourself in the mirror and be motivated to get better.
Q: What were they doing up front?
A: Whooping our ass, that’s what they did. So we got to look in the mirror and ask ourselves how we want to finish the season.
Q: CBS’s report on apparent ankle injury sustained in the game…
A: Yeah, I got twisted up earlier in the game. It’s not an excuse for anything; it’s football.
Q: How do you feel about you and Kalen [Ballage] finishing things out for the rest of the season?
A: I am so proud of that kid because all he does is work hard in practice and gives his best effort and shows up. He’s finishing with the ball every time in practice and it shows in the game. He has a bright future in this league.
Q: Were you okay on how you were used today?
A: That’s not my job.
Q: What are the challenges that popped up today?
A: We just didn’t do our job. That’s plain and simple; that’s all I can say.
Kalen Ballage – December 16, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Postgame – Minnesota
Miami Dolphins RB Kalen Ballage (Transcribed by Minnesota Vikings)
Q: What was it like for you to get heavily involved in this game?
A: It was good to be out there. I have been waiting for an opportunity for a long time. I have been playing behind some really talented running backs, but it was nice to be out there.
Q: Tell us about your long touchdown run?
A: I saw some space and took it. It was nice to put some points on the board and get us back in the game.
Q: With Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore being hurt, what do you want to accomplish during the last two games of the season?
A: I want to continue doing what I have been doing. I stay prepared and practice hard. When these opportunities present themselves, I am ready to play.
Q: On the Vikings getting 9 sacks… Is there frustration?
A: The game is over now. We are already on to next week and we need to fix our mistakes. It is part of the game. Those guys get paid too. They make plays, we make plays, but at the end of the day we have to correct it and get ready for next week.
Ja’Wuan James – December 16, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Postgame – Minnesota
Miami Dolphins T Ja’Wuan James (Transcribed by Minnesota Vikings)
Q: On the delayed blitzes…
A: Yeah, we were waiting to see what kind of protection we were in. Then if somebody stayed in, they could add in late. Like I said they had a good blitz package for us.
Q: On the team’s playoff hopes…
A: Honestly, they tell us each week to take it, 1-0. This week we couldn’t and next we have to do that. Then at the end of the season we can look up to see what type of position we’re in.
Q: On the feeling in the locker-room…
A: It’s not good, especially from our standpoint as offensive linemen. We had a lot of sacks today. It messed up our rhythm and our offense. We have to watch the film, correct it, and move on to next week.
Cameron Wake – December 16, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Postgame – Minnesota
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (Transcribed by Minnesota Vikings)
Q: What did they do that the Vikings were able to score 21 points in 1st quarter?
A: They did whatever they wanted it seemed like. I’ve said this many times, it’s not good football if you are going to be inconsistent. I said this to Reshad [Jones] I’m sure we can do it all, really. We just have to run, we can rush the passer, we can cover receivers, take the ball away, and so on and so on and so on down the line. And then there are games that you can go back and look at where we don’t. It’s not ‘can’t’; it’s ‘don’t.’ The reason? No idea. Way above my understanding, above my paygrade. If I knew the answer, it probably wouldn’t be happening, but there’s inconsistency. It’s not complementary. It doesn’t work.
Q: Were you surprised by how the game played out?
A: I don’t know the exact quote, but they say that disappointment is a disparity between expectations and outcome. So, I was very disappointed today.
Q: Did wins the last couple of weeks raise expectations?
A: Two weeks ago doesn’t matter today. Today is today, and they’re going to go out there and they’re going to bring their A game and give you their best shot, and you have to go out there today. I say it all the time. I don’t care if you won by 50, lost by 50, you can’t let last week affect how you are today. You have to go out there and give them your best 90 mile-an-hour fast ball, no matter what happened two weeks, five weeks, six weeks ago. I personally wasn’t thinking about last week; I hope we weren’t, because I guarantee Vikings weren’t either.
Q: Does it feel like playoffs are slipping away?
A: I’ll be real honest with you, I don’t know the formulas and the calculations and all the things that need to happen. I know when you have an opponent in front of you, you have to take care of your business. All the ‘what if’s’ and ‘if this had happened’…win. Let everything else fall into place however it is. You win your match-up. You take care of what you can control. And all that is left is outside of my perspective. I live by, ‘hope is not a strategy; you have to act.’ We had an opportunity today, and we didn’t.
Q: Did the Vikings do something different that they had 200 rushing yards?
A: Fundamentally, I could say they probably didn’t run any new plays that we haven’t seen before. We could probably look and see the personnel we’ve seen in the past, that we’ve stopped in the past. We could go down the line. We’ve faced probably top five running teams and we’ve met the challenge. But it’s NFL. There are no bad teams. Every team has good players, every team has good coaching, every team has an opportunity, and every Sunday you have to match and exceed expectations. That they’re 30th [for rushing] doesn’t mean much to me, because they’re going to come out and give their best shot, and we have to step up to the challenge and today we did not.
Bobby McCain – December 16, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Postgame – Minnesota
Miami Dolphins CB Bobby McCain (Transcribed by Minnesota Vikings)
Q: Why does this team struggle on the road?
A: I don’t know, that’s a good question. We blew a couple leads on the road, we played bad on the road, I don’t know.
Q: What contributed to their fast start?
A: We just didn’t play our game. We weren’t executing like we’re supposed to. That’s what happens when you give up 21 points in the first quarter. It’s hard to come back from.
Q: What worked well against [Adam] Thielen and [Stefon] Diggs?
A: Just playing our game, we wanted to take those two guys out of the game, Minkah [Fitzpatrick) and I. I mean they made two, three catches each but we didn’t execute like we we’re supposed to as a unit. We ended up giving up 41 points.
Q: On the impact of Minkah Fitzpatrick’s pick six..
A: It was a big time run, we came back out in the second half and we had a little momentum. We stopped them to three points a couple of times, but we gave it away. It’s hard, playing behind on the road.
Q: Best adjustment after the first quarter…
A: Just had to play our game, we didn’t execute. We didn’t execute like we’re supposed to front and back end, everybody. We didn’t do what we’re supposed to including myself. Execution and we let it get away from ourselves in the end.
