Ryan Tannehill – December 12, 2018
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
QB Ryan Tannehill
(How does the ankle? Do you feel much discomfort just walking around?) – “It’s been better. I’m encouraged by how it feels. It’s gotten better every day and actually moving around today at practice, some of the swelling was worked out of it. I definitely feel encouraged by where things are at.”
(I know it’s all about winning. Obviously that’s by far goal number one. With that said, your personal growth and what you’ve put on the field in terms of passer ratings, you’ve now risen to a category you’ve never been at before. Are you aware of that? Are you aware of your stats? Is that remotely meaningful to you?) – “The goal is just to constantly improve. Something we’re always working at every position here is just growing. Learning from your past mistakes, growing and with where I’m at in my career, I feel like I should be playing my best football. (Head Coach Adam) Gase is constantly pushing me. (Offensive Coordinator) Dowell (Loggains) and (Quarterbacks Coach) Bo (Hardegree) are constantly pushing me. Yeah, I think I’m playing solid football. Obviously I still have room for improvement and want to keep pushing myself to keep playing better.”
(This team has been so different at home and on the road. Any idea why? We all know it’s hard to win on the road.) – “Yeah. That’s the NFL. Obviously it’s something that we need to improve upon. We haven’t played up to our standards on the road. We had a couple of opportunities but we haven’t been able to finish it off. It’s definitely something we look forward to correcting this week.”
(What’s the neatest thing to happen in the 72 hours since Sunday in terms of anyone you heard from? A friend in your past or someone you haven’t heard from in years saying ‘Hey, about that play?’ Has there been anything neat like that the last three days?) – “Nothing too crazy. A lot of people reaching out. A ton of text messages but nothing too crazy.”
(How many times have you watched the play?) – “Not that many actually. I watched it … I didn’t see it … Well, I saw it after the game on a little short clip of it. Then I watched it on Monday and I don’t think I’ve seen it since. But it’s something I’ll never forget, for sure.”
(What’s the thing that struck you the most watching the replay?) – “Probably Ted (Larsen) being down the field and making the block. I think that obviously was crucial for the success of that play. You don’t really expect a lineman to be that far down the field hustling and making a play. I think that definitely is what jumped out the most.”
(What can you say about C/G Ted Larsen and that play that he wants zero credit for that? He wants to just be remembered as somebody doing his job and making that play unfold.) – “I think it speaks to his competitiveness and never giving up. Just keep fighting and try to make something happen. I think the guys did a good job of trying to keep the thing alive. You think it’s going to be one of those things where it’s a pitch, pitch, pitch and the ball is going across the field; but thankfully ‘K.D.’ (Kenyan Drake) was able to get around a few guys, had a couple of big blocks there – Danny (Amendola) kind of chipped a guy and then Ted finished him off – and ‘K.D.’ was able to hit the crease. Guys just kept fighting and ended up making a play.”
(When you took that brief nap at the center of the field after the game, was that exhaustion, exhilaration, relief, disbelief? Was it everything?) – “(laughter) I don’t think I can put my finger on one emotion there. I think it all kind of hits you at once. From where you’re at before that play, seeing them march down the field and watching the clock tick away, it’s just a sinking feeling you get. Then knowing you have one shot with minimal probability that something is going to happen, to be successful and have that 1 percent or 0.1 percent play pay off is pretty incredible. It kind of just all hits you at one moment. Everyone was going crazy in the corner and I was still hurting, so I didn’t really want to get caught up and bumped around in that melee over there. (laughter) Yeah, I just kind of collapsed.”
(I interviewed Doug Flutie 22 years after the Hail Flutie play. I asked him how often does it come up and he said once a day minimum, even then. Has it sunk in that people are going to be coming to you, whatever years from now, and saying ‘Hey, that game in Miami against New England?’ Has that sunk in?) – “Not really. I’m not really worried about that right now. Honestly, I’m just trying to turn the page and get ready for Minnesota. It was a pretty high high there and a lot of hoopla around it; but at the end of the day, we still have a lot of work to do in this season and we have to be able to turn the page and move forward to Minnesota. I think guys have done a really good job of that today. I expect that to keep going throughout this week. I think after the season is over, then we can take a look back and reminisce.”
(Is it difficult to turn that page? It’s understandably such a buzz in the wake of what happened.) – “Not for me. I think that’s to a man how every guy handles it. I still see so much out there for this team and what we can accomplish. All focus is on Minnesota and whatever we can do to get ready for that game.”
(What has RB Kenyan Drake meant to the offense?) – “He’s been huge. He’s a playmaker. We saw it last year. We saw it some his rookie year. We saw it in preseason in Carolina. You see any play can go the distance with that guy. We feel good about splitting him out. He’s got the speed to get on the edge. We kind of move him on some fast-motion type stuff and try to use him to misdirect the defense. And he can run the standard downhill running plays. He’s huge. He’s basically a utility knife in the backfield that we can put in a lot of different places and use to create matchups that we like.”
(You talked about the emotions of what happened on Sunday. Can that help with the confidence of this team, to overcome even the greatest of odds knowing at this point that we’re trying to make the playoffs?) – “Yeah, I think you can use a moment like that to solidify and really come together as a team. I think this team has done that throughout the course of the year. (We’ve) really stuck together through thick and thin, believed in each other (and) trusted in each other. But when you have a moment like that, that can really be the significant moment that unifies the team completely. Only time will tell, but I kind of felt that when it happened. I felt it in the locker room. You can kind of feel it in the building. But there’s still a lot of work to do. We have to use that as a springboard to finish off the season.”
(How do you feel about the team’s playoff chances?) – “I honestly don’t know what’s in the future for this team. I know we have a game on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings and we’re going to have to win that game. All focus is purely on Minnesota and doing whatever we can to come out with a win.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said he was shocked that you came back, given how the injury looked. How much pride do you put on your toughness and coming back in situations like that?) – “I love competing. I love being on the field. I love being out there for my guys. If there’s any possible way that I can be out there with my guys and compete and lead them, then I’m going to do it. It’s not about proving a point or anything like that. It’s about leading the offense and trying to go win a game. That’s ultimately what it comes down to.”
(Maybe the five games you missed or at some point recently, what is that mood like when you walk into the training room and see so many of your teammates that have been injured or done for the season? What’s that feeling like? Is it disappointment? Are you kind of looking to see if you had these guys, what would the season be? What’s it like when you see those guys in the training room?) – “It’s tough. You care about everyone that’s on this team. To see the pain … I’ve been there. I was there last year. I was there a bit earlier this season. It’s frustrating. Sometimes it’s hard to wrap your mind around where you’re at and it’s just kind of tough to believe. You try to be encouraging and try to support them as much as you can. You can’t play the what-if game because it’s just going to get you nowhere. You just try to be as supportive as you can and as encouraging as you can and that’s about all you can do.”
(The Vikings, as you’ve probably heard, changed their offensive coordinator yesterday. Back in 2015, you went through something somewhat similar when offensive coordinators changed late in the year. What do you remember about that transition? Was it rough as a quarterback or was it a seamless thing?) – “Well, any time you have change like that, it’s kind of chaotic. There’s two ways you can respond. I’ve seen teams rally around the decision and I’ve seen teams go the other way. We don’t know what we’re going to get, but it doesn’t really matter. We have to go out and play our game and execute our calls. If we’re able to do that, then we’ll be happy with the result.”
(It came out this week, your sponsorship with Regenexx, that you decided to use stem cells in the Grand Caymans. What led to that decision and is that something you talked to with other players?) – “Yeah, I know some other players who have done it. It’s something I did I think two years ago. It’s like a time warp in football season. Every week feels like a year but then it goes by so fast. Anyways, it was a decision I made a while back. I looked at doing the stem cell thing when I first hurt my knee in 2016 and was looking into all of the different choices that were out there. In the U.S., you aren’t able to concentrate and grow the cells and in the Caymans, you are. So that was the reason that I went with Regenexx. They have the ability to take it from three million to like three-hundred million cells. So you have a lot more cells that you can use. Through one aspiration, you can use them on multiple treatments. That was the reasoning for that.”
(Did you ask if it was an option for the shoulder after you first sustained that injury?) – “Yeah. We looked into every avenue.”
(Was it determined that wouldn’t help the capsule injury that you had?) – “It just wasn’t the right fit for the right time. I was trying to do everything I could to get back. We did do some other alternative treatments but didn’t make it to the Caymans.”
(It seems like that’s something unique. Is that something you had personal interest in or is it something you kind of learned about just through looking around?) – “Well, I have a little bit of a medical background. I was pre-med in college, so I’ve always been intrigued by medicine and what’s out there. Through the whole process of getting injured in 2016, doctors decided I wasn’t having surgery, so I really started digging on what I can do to help myself as much as I can. Stem cells was one of the avenues that I found. I kind of went down that road and found Regenexx and it’s been really good for me.”
(What do you make of what RB Brandon Bolden did in that game on Sunday?) – “Brandon came up huge for us. He’s a guy who has played well for us on special teams all year long. He’s a veteran guy. Obviously coming from New England, he’s played in big games. He knows how it’s done to get to the dance. He’s always out there working. He’s a fast guy, obviously. You saw he’s big; he’s strong. It’s fun to kind of weave him into the offense a little bit and get him out on the field and kind of use some of his abilities. He did a good job of getting vertical. You saw the speed on the outside and then down on the goal line, he had good vision to cut it back and get around the outside, then had the strength to get in the end zone. He’s definitely a guy who has been big for us all year on special teams but it was really cool to see him get some burn on offense.”
(WR Brice Butler, in the short time that he’s been around, what does it seem he does well?) – “Brice has been good for us. I think you see on the touchdown catch he had, he has really long arms, great range and good size. He’s a guy who can use his size to his advantage. He can kind of get defenders on his back and extend his arms and make plays. He definitely brings a little bit of a different aspect compared to guys like Jakeem (Grant) or Albert (Wilson) or Danny (Amendola). It’s a good changeup for us. He’s done a good job of learning the offense and kind of fitting in right where we need him to be.”
(Your offense has changed obviously because of personnel from early in the season. Would you say it’s a different philosophy on offense at all from then to what you try to do every week now?) – “I think we talked about this a couple of weeks ago or after the Bills game, just what the identity was. Yeah, we’ve kind of had to change and shift and maneuver throughout the year on who is in the game and who is available. One guy goes down and it kind of shifts a little bit. Another guy goes down and it shifts back the other way. It’s not easy. It’s not easy to do but you have to give credit to Coach Gase and his ‘evil genius’ mind of just figuring out ways to keep the advantage and keep moving guys around, and use guys to the best of their ability.”
(You mentioned your pre-med background. Have you thought about doing medicine after you’re done?) – “Not really. Obviously in the offseason, I think about what I’m going to do after (football) a little bit; but honestly, I don’t put that much thought into it because I feel like I have a lot of football left in front of me and I want to do everything I can to win football games. I’ll cross that road once I get there.”
Adam Gase – December 12, 2018
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(How did QB Ryan Tannehill look out there today?) – “Good. He did good. He moved around well, so that’s positive.”
(What do you need to see from QB Ryan Tannehill going forward? Is this a day-after thing?) – “No. He’ll be all right.”
(So you saw the mobility that you need to see from QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “Yeah. He’s good.”
(So QB Ryan Tannehill is playing on Sunday?) – “Yeah. Unless something crazy happens.”
(Where is CB Xavien Howard in his recovery now?) – “He’s running, which is good. We’ll just kind of see how the week goes. You’re always hopeful, but at the same time, we’ve just got to make sure … The lateral movement is really the key to everything.”
(Is CB Xavien Howard in a situation where he could play at less than 100 percent?) – “I think it’s more about the mobility. I don’t think anybody is really going to be 100 percent at this point, but at the same time, I want him to be able to play the way that he needs to play.”
(It was reported that CB Xavien Howard had his knee scoped. Was that an accurate report?) – “I’m not going to talk about anything like that. We’ll leave that in house.”
(Do you need to see CB Xavien Howard practice this week to even get an idea about game time?) – “I think it’s more about to see the mobility that we’re looking for more than anything.”
(So you could see CB Xavien Howard work out with a trainer and possibly tell?) – “Yeah.”
(You have a group of running backs that are all playing well right now. How much of a challenge is that for you as the play-caller?) – “We have a lot of packages to be able to try to get all of those guys in. It’s just getting it called, getting the amount of plays that you need. We had a lot of first and second downs last week compared to third down, so you can get two guys on the field at the same time. Those guys are all explosive. They all bring something to the table. They all have different things that they can do really well.”
(Do you recall facing a team that just changed their coordinator that week, either offense or defense, and if it was widely different than it had been?) – “It’s probably happened a couple of times. There’s one I remember when we played Baltimore in 2012. There was a little bit of difference but not like a huge swing.”
(Do you guys try to do some sort of deep dive on the guy who took over in Minnesota this week?) – “We’ve got to be careful with that. You don’t want to start chasing a bunch of stuff that doesn’t exist.”
(Is playing on the road mostly a matter of mindset?) – “No. Some of it has to do with who you’re playing. We’ve played some pretty good teams on the road. We’ve had a couple of opportunities to win some games and we didn’t finish the game the way we needed to. We had a couple of games where we just got smoked basically. Personally, I felt good going into a lot of those games when we were healthy and we either didn’t play well just on Sunday or we just got beat. I think our guys have the right mindset. We just need to play well on Sunday.”
(So you don’t see a team that’s been dramatically different home versus road?) – “Well, the results, yeah. But I don’t see a difference in the way they prepare, the focus. When we’re in our meetings when we’re on the road at the hotel, guys are wired in. When we’re at the opposing stadium, the energy and the attitude, I don’t see a drop-off in that. There’s two games we didn’t finish. That’s a big swing.”
(So in your mindset, it’s the opponent that you’re playing more so than the team’s level of execution?) – “Don’t get me wrong, we’ve screwed things up. We didn’t help ourselves. But there’s two games. That’s what it comes down to. If we win those two games, it’s a different deal.”
(You’ve changed like the day that you go a couple of those games. Is there anything else that you’ve fiddled with to kind of see if that helps?) – “Over the last three years, we’ve tried as many different things as we can. We kind of spitball things around the staff and what other guys have done, or if we’re doing something that just seems out of the ordinary. Even talking to some of the veteran players to see if there’s something strange about why we haven’t won on the road. The two-day trips, does that something positive? Negative? It seemed like the Houston game, at least we were competitive for a little bit and other Thursday games, we just got smoked right out of the blocks.”
(Are you going to Minnesota Friday or Saturday?) – “Friday. We’ll leave Friday.”
(When we talked to you the other day, you had mentioned how you more or less shut off your phone. Since then, I’m curious if you’ve gotten any memorable reaction from people, whether it is Mike Martz or the Boise people wanting royalties or anything like that?) – “Yeah, I had a lot of people text me, a few people call me. Mike is always going to … He’ll always send me something good. I’m still a ways away from answering a lot of them.”
(When you say send you something good, you’re referring to what? Funny?) – “Yeah.”
(Example?) – “No. I don’t have one. (laughter)”
(Because of the way the game ended Sunday, was it more difficult than normal this week to get your guys to turn the page and look ahead instead of behind?) – “No. There’s too little time. They understand what we’re playing for. I see guys ready to get to this one, understanding that we better be prepared. We know what we’re going against. We know that this is a really good defense. It’s a well-coached defense. We know that the players on their offense are very talented and they’ve had games where they’ve been very explosive. They’ve scored points and they’ve done a lot of good things in a lot of their games. This is going to be a tough one for us.”
(One last question on that ‘Boise’ play, the video of that play from Boise State has one lateral and most of them are one lateral. Was it supposed to be two in ‘Boise’ or did you add a second one?) – “It was DeVante (Parker) and then (Kenyan) Drake … DeVante is just supposed to run as long as he can until he can’t go anymore and then Drake is just supposed to stay in like option phase.”
(Did you add the second lateral into the play?) – “I don’t know. I think we saw when — I want to say — (Boise State QB) Jared Zabransky, he was trailing the play and it was the quarterback. And when we put it in, I think the first time we put it in might have been when Peyton (Manning) was the quarterback, so we didn’t think that was smart on our part. (laughter) So we used a running back.”
(Have you learned anything new about QB Ryan Tannehill’s toughness?) – “It’s the same thing I’ve seen since I’ve been here. I really was shocked that he came back in. I mean that looked bad. At least from where I was standing, then when I saw the replay, I really thought it was a lot worse than what it ended up being. I know when we went in at halftime, I was asking, ‘Do we need to go a series and get you out there and moving around first?’ And he was like, ‘We’re good. Let’s go.’ And I was like, ‘All right.’”
(Do you feel comfortable with the play-action stuff that you have for QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “We’re good. We’ll be all right. As long as we don’t have any kind of weird setback or all a sudden Friday he doesn’t feel right … He’s tough, man.”
(How do you explain the rushing yards that the Patriots had, I think it was a 2.6 average this game. Which compared to some of the other games was so much better. What was the…?) – “I think guys did a really good job of staying in their gaps and played disciplined. I think everybody … we didn’t have guys mis-fitting. We have to be more consistent doing that. We didn’t have the threat of a running quarterback. That kind of helps when you take zone read and all those type of things out of there.”
(Monday you said you think you know what you have in that locker room, referring to this team. What are the characteristics of this team? What comes to mind with this team?) – “Tough. The work ethic is as good as I’ve been around. They’re relentless. There’s kind of that never-say-die attitude in there.”
(Do you take that as a reflection of you?) – “I don’t know. I think it’s really the guys that we put together. That’s kind of who they were when we got them, whether it be through the draft, free agency, even some of the guys that were just added. A couple of these guys I’ve been around before and that always helps when you’ve been around a guy and you kind of know who they are and what they’re about. We’ve got a lot of guys that are really … The majority of the guys are so just team-oriented and focused that whatever they can do to help us win.”
(This is your third year. Your fingerprint is pretty securely on this team. Do you like what you see in that?) – “My only complaint is I wish we could stay a little healthier. It just seems like we kind of run in and lose some good players. It would be interesting to see what Albert (Wilson) could have done and some of those other guys – (Josh) Sitton and (Daniel) Kilgore – just kind of how much that changes everything. William (Hayes). But the guys that we’ve got in there right now, they’re battling, just trying to do everything week to week to give us a shot.”
(One guy that comes to mind is RB Frank Gore. Over 700 yards now, 4.7 yards per carry. Is that even beyond what you kind of hoped for?) – “No. I trust Frank when he told me he was ready to have a good year.”
(What can you attribute that 35 year-old RB Frank Gore put up those numbers?) – “That’s him. He doesn’t know he’s 35. He doesn’t believe it. We kind of tailored some things to make sure that he was comfortable and he’s able to run the plays that he’s run his whole career. That’s why you see some of the stuff look a little different. When he gets an opening, he hits it and he gets to that second level fast and it’s hard for those guys to bring him down. He’s still Frank Gore. He has a powerful lower body, runs through arm tackles. Multiple guys have to tackle him to bring him down.”
(Can you think of another running back at RB Frank Gore’s age being able to do what he’s able to do?) – “Not that I’ve seen, but I’ve only been around 15 years so there’s probably somebody somewhere.”
(What stood out to you about C/G Hroniss Grasu when you were together in Chicago?) – “Smart. Tough. He picked up that offense fast. He had to come in and play right away. He knows enough of what we’re doing right now to be able to jump in there and get himself ready to go. He’ll battle.”
(You’ve had a couple of NFC North battles against Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer. What do you remember about coaching against him?) – “It’s tough. It’s a very challenging deal as a coach because he does a very good job of playing sound defense. He gives you a lot of problems with his pressures. He has really good players. When you take a coach that’s really good at X’s and O’s and then now you say ‘Here you go, let’s have six Pro Bowlers’ or whatever they have, that makes it even worse. And they’re smart.”
Frank Gore – December 12, 2018
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
RB Frank Gore
(Head Coach Adam Gase said today that he knows a lot about this team and what he knows is that you never die. You have a never say die attitude. Where does that come from?) – “I’d just say from the way we worked together this offseason before we got to OTAs. Working in the weight room, pulling sleds together, pushing each other in the offseason workout. It grew from there.”
(We know how you’ve been performing lately ,especially this past Sunday how you performed. Is there still any way that you won’t be back next year?) – “I don’t know. I feel good. I’m still having fun. I still love it. I just want to try my best to finish these last three strong and try my best to do whatever it takes to help this team be successful and try to push for the postseason. After the season, I’ll see. But I still feel good and having fun.”
(If I told 25-year-old Frank Gore that he’d have 700 yards and 4.7 yards per carry at 35, what would he have said?) – “I’d believe it.”
(Why is that?) – “Because of the way I love the game and how I approach the game in the offseason. I try my best to prepare myself to have success for the season. As long as I’m healthy and the man up above has me healthy and I still feel love for the game, I feel like I could play at a high level.”
(We all know it is hard to win on the road but this team has been such a different team at home than on the road. Any idea as to what’s going on there?) – “We’ve just got to make the plays when they’re there and stay as one, and work together and whoever’s name gets called and the play is there, they’ve just got to make it. That’s it.”
(Is there a mindset to being on the road?) – “It’s tough but it’s still football. I know there are the fans, but you’re not playing against the fans. You’re playing against the guys on the field. We’ve just got to keep believing in ourselves and whatever play our number gets called and the play is there, we’ve got to make it.”
(How different is it going into these last few games knowing what’s at stake as opposed to when the season is over?) – “I love it. A lot of teams are not playing for anything and we’re still in it. We look at it like March Madness. (It’s) one game at a time and every time we win a game, we’re giving ourselves a chance. That’s big for us.”
Adam Gase – December 12, 2018 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Minnesota Media
(What is it like from your side, you’re going against a new offensive coordinator, so there might be some uncertainty on some of the things that you’ve seen versus previous film? How do you guys handle that?) – “We’ll probably just have to adjust on the fly. The biggest thing for us is we can’t focus so much on that. We’re always trying to focus on what we’re doing and trying to make sure we execute what we have in our game plan. We can’t get caught up in what’s necessarily going on in or who’s calling plays and if they’re changing things on the offense. We have to focus on really what we’re doing.”
(How do you manage the emotions after such a high of the way you guys ended a game against New England?) – “We really don’t have a choice. We’re in survival mode as far as every game is big for us. We have to do everything we can to try to win this one. We don’t have time to get caught up in last week. That’s over and done and we have to move on to the next one.”
(Has there been any change in the mood or atmosphere this week in light of that finish to beat the Patriots?) – “It has been basically the same as it was the week before and the week before that. I think really once we hit the bye and guys had a chance to kind of re-group and we got some guys back and healthy … That week off really helped us. We’ve had really good energy since that bye week.”
(QB Ryan Tannehill exited the game for a little bit, but came back. Do you expect him to be fully healthy going into this weekend?) – “I don’t know if he’ll be fully healthy, but he’s as tough as they come. He’ll be ready to go when Sunday comes around. We’ll get through the week of practice and see where he’s at. He practiced today. I know he’s probably not feeling great, but it’s hard to tell with him. He’s never going to say that he can’t go or he’s hurting too bad. He just puts his head down and grinds.”
(I know you’ve been complimentary of his play, but how do you manage the development of QB Ryan Tannehill knowing he’s played just eight games in the last two years here?) – “We just keep going. We just keep working on the things that we can work on. What happened to him, he … In 2016, it wasn’t anything that he could really control and this last one was kind of an odd injury getting hit underneath his arm. And then last week was really just … That was friendly fire. He got stepped on by our own guy.”
(Which do you think was a better miracle, the one you guys had last weekend or The Minnesota Miracle here with WR Stefon Diggs in the playoffs last season?) – “That’s tough. I’d say the thing that probably amped theirs up even more was the fact that it was a playoff game. Just being in those … With my experience of being in the playoffs, those games are so intense and the emotional swings are so great. I can’t even imagine how that felt after that.”
(As a coach, how do you handle a league where up to a third of the head-coaching jobs will turn over just about every year?) – “It’s a good question. I never worry about it. I just … Nick Saban told me something when I was 22 years old and I’ve always just lived by it. He said, ‘You do your job until somebody else tells you not to.’ That’s what I focus on. I focus on doing my job every day and however it turns out, it turns out.”
(You got a pretty up close look at Head Coach Mike Zimmer’s defense when you were with the Bears. Have you seen evolution in the defense maybe over the past couple years or maybe just even this season as teams have schemed against it?) – “I would say the evolution is he’s got a lot of the same players as he had last time I played him except now they’re veteran players. You can tell how comfortable they are. They play fast. They’re as tough as you get when you’re playing any kind of defense. Then you put him behind the wheels of a defense, now that doubles everything, because he’s very hard to prepare for. He always has change ups. Even if you do have a little bit of success, he always has something else to go to. He always knows how to adjust in game. It’s a long three-and-a-half hours on Sunday because you’re constantly working and you’re constantly fighting to try to stay ahead of him. It’s very difficult.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – December 12, 2018
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(How often have you seen the play on social media and things like that?) – “I really haven’t been on social media too much, so I haven’t really seen it.”
(You’re not on Instagram or anything? You’re not scrolling by this when you’re looking at pictures?) – “No. I don’t go on there too (much). I haven’t been on there.”
(Did you watch the game on Monday night?) – “The Vikings-Seahawks game? Yeah.”
(What was Seattle able to do? They pretty much shut down that offense.) – “Seattle, they’re doing a good job. I guess it just wasn’t the Vikings’ best game. They have a really good offense – one of the best in the league, honestly. (Kirk) Cousins is Top 10 in almost all quarterback categories. The two receivers (Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen) are the same exact thing. Top 10 in almost all categories. Seattle just played great defense. They were flying around out there, having fun. (Bobby) Wagner, he’s a ball hawk. He leads that team very well. I’d say they just went out there, decided just to fly around, play with a chip on their shoulder and just fought the whole game.”
(Was that kind of shocking?) – “No. I mean (when) you have two great teams like that go together, you don’t know what to expect. It happens. You kind of don’t know what to expect.”
(Do emotions play a role in this game Sunday considering where the Vikings are at and where you guys are at? Win and you continue to stay in for a shot at the playoffs.) – “Emotions as in what?”
(As in you know what’s on the line. Both teams know what’s on the line.) – “I wouldn’t say emotions. We try to play football with that emotion. It’s a game where you just have to do everything that you have to do to win. We were talking earlier in the team meeting room and coach said ‘You have to start doing things that you’ve never done before.’ That’s something that’s really true, especially with myself because I’m a rookie. I’ve never had to prepare for this long of a season. If we keep winning, we’re going to have to play five, six playoff games basically because every single game for us, from two weeks before all the way to the last game, have been basically playoff games for us. I think these type of games, you just have to go out there and just really focus on what you have to do to win a game. The emotions, you can’t really rely on them too much in this game; but you can definitely use it as motivation. Just go out there, play with passion and that’s it.”
(RB Frank Gore said it almost feels like March Madness.) – “Yeah. Everybody is all over the place. One week they’re up here and the next week they’re down here. That’s definitely true.”
Kenyan Drake – December 12, 2018
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Wednesday, December 12, 2018
RB Kenyan Drake
(What do you guys need to do to turn things around on the road?) – “We just have to play complementary football – offense and defense. We have to make sure that we stay on schedule on the offensive side and put ourselves in good position on third-and-short. They have a great defense up there in Minnesota so (we have to) make sure we don’t make any mistakes and capitalize on good field position and, when we get in the red zone, score touchdowns.”
(Is it mostly a mindset playing on the road?) – “It’s just really going in there and controlling the crowd. Anywhere you go, it’s going to be hostile territory. They have great athletes on defense. It doesn’t matter who you play against on the road. You just have to minimize the damage and play complementary football.”
(Did you see any of their game Monday night?) – “I did not, actually. I saw the score. I saw it was a low-scoring game until the end. Like I said, they have a great defense obviously. They do a great job corralling to the ball (and) getting turnovers. They have a lot of great athletes on that side of the ball, so it’s interesting this week.”
(What is the confidence level of this team right now knowing you still have a shot to make the playoffs?) – “We’re just taking it one game at a time. We have Minnesota this week – a quality opponent. That’s our mindset right now, just preparing for them.”
(As a general question, outside of obvious speed, why do you think you’re so successful in the open field? Is it vision, anticipation?) – “I can’t do it by myself. There’s a lot of great guys on this offense that pick up key blocks in timely situations. We practice week in and week out putting ourselves in great position to create open lanes and things like that. It’s the people with the ball in their hands job to make people miss. That’s what we get paid to do. That’s what I pride myself in.”
(You’re a pretty mature rounded guy and Alabama Head coach Nick Saban is known as a guy who can focus. Is there anything in your background either playing for Saban or your personality that allows you to refocus after an incredible career moment?) – “I appreciate you saying that I’m a mature grounded person. A lot of people in my past probably wouldn’t look at me and agree with that. (laughter) Everybody has to grow up some day. I made mistakes as a kid. I’m only 24, so I’m going to continue to become the man I want to be. To answer your question, it’s about being where your feet are. It was a great play and a great opportunity to make a great play and put ourselves in a position to continue to get our goal of making the playoffs. Now our focus is on a great quality opponent in Minnesota.”
(Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban and Head Coach Adam Gase would both say move on to the next game. Does that mentality enter you mind the last couple of days? ‘Okay, it’s time to the next thing as great as that was.’) – “Yeah, it’s always the 24-hour rule. We still have three critical games left, obviously with the next game being the most important because it’s the next one and (against) a quality opponent. That’s just our main focus and we’re looking forward to continuing to grind this week to put ourselves in the best position to win this game.”
(Does this team have more miracles in it?) – “We just hope we have more wins. I hope it doesn’t come down to anymore miracles because I don’t think my heart can take any more of that. (laughter) We’ll continue to stay grounded and win games against quality opponents. ”
(You do see yourself as being more mature than you were when you first got here, do you not?) – “Yeah, I would hope so. I made some mistakes or, in general, just trying to move on in different aspects or year-in and year-out situations. Things that I’ve learned, I try not to make the same mistakes twice. I think that’s how anybody tries to mature as a man and as a person in general. I look forward to continuing this maturation process.”
(How much did your phone blow up and was there any particular message that sticks out more than others after Sunday?) – “My family was proud of me, so that was the most important thing. They’ve been with me obviously from the beginning, so making them proud is the most important thing in my life.”
Adam Gase – December 10, 2018
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Monday, December 10, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(You’ve obviously always had great faith in QB Ryan Tannehill. Has how he’s done since returning increased that faith even more?) – “I’ve never changed. He’s played the way we needed him to play these last few games. He’s protecting the football, done a good job finding open guys and a good job of running the offense.”
(Anyone among your NFL friends you heard from with any amusing texts – Peyton Manning or Mike Martz or anybody last night?) – “I haven’t really gone through them all. I pretty much shut my phone down there after a while. I’m sure a couple guys that I text with, but I have a lot of people to get back to.”
(What made that play work?) – “Protection was good because usually you have something happen where you have to move up in the protection. I thought those guys did a good job. Ryan (Tannehill) threw it at the right time. Kenny (Stills) did a good job of not throwing it. He didn’t do what happens a lot of times where you catch it and you toss it and it doesn’t matter if there’s a guy there. Him kind of noticing that guy there and then waited and pitched it to DeVante (Parker). Then, after watching that, DeVante was probably right with what he did to get it to Kenyan (Drake). At the time, I thought he could’ve kept running and wait to pitch it to him because that’s really what you’re trying to do is get him to go as long as possible until he has to pitch it. But that’s probably not a bad idea to give it to the guy that has probably better vision and he’s kind of been in that situation as a kickoff returner and a running back.”
(Do you think you have the makings of a pretty good rugby team?) – “We might. It was a good effort. It was good to see Ted (Larsen) down the field. A lot of linemen were down the field. Guys didn’t give up on the play.”
(Why did you shut your phone down?) – “I just turned off the vibrate thing, put in on silent. I was just doing some other things, working on Minnesota.”
(When you practice that play, does RB Kenyan Drake usually get the ball last or can it be anybody?) – “No, he usually gets it last. DeVante (Parker) usually runs about 10-15 yards then he pitches it to Drake and Drake does some ridiculous touchdown dance going in.”
(Why didn’t we see that yesterday?) – “I’m sure when it was real, he was just like ‘I better get in the end zone.’ (laughter)”
(We saw you guys score on the first drive for the third game in a row. You guys responded every time they scored. You overcame penalties when you had long drives. You scored twice in the red zone. If you could encapsulate it, what worked for you guys yesterday?) – “The same stuff we always do, we just executed better. I just thought guys did a good job of making plays when we needed to. We stayed out of third down for the most part, and you can see why we need to. I think our only conversion was a run. We struggled on third down, so if we can stay first and second down, it’s probably ideal for us.”
(Was it magnitude of the game, the opponent, knowing that your season is on the line with every single play?) – “Guys had a good week of practice. I guess they just felt good about the game plan. It’s a different feeling when you know you’re fighting for your football lives. You never know what’s going to happen. You don’t know if you lose one game, it’s over. The guys were just wired in, ready to go.”
(New England had just six second-half points. What did you like from your defense there in the second half?) – “The effort was through the roof. They tried to play as well as they could as a group. When one of your best players isn’t out there, you need every guy to just really do a good job of doing their job and everybody just really stepped up in their spots to help the other guys out. I think they did a great job of that, especially in the second half.”
(How is QB Ryan Tannehill’s ankle?) – “He’s sore. He’s walking around, so that’s good.”
(Is there a story behind RB Brandon Bolden now getting carries later in the season?) – “It was just … We’ve lost all of those other guys, whether it’s Jakeem (Grant) or Albert (Wilson). Brandon has a very wide skill set. He can do things out wide, in the backfield. His pass protection, he’s a really good pass protector. He can do all three phases of the game. We started doing it … It’s probably my fault that we haven’t done it sooner. We started doing it last week against Buffalo. That was just kind of the starting point for us. Really, we just got to the rest of his plays and now we can start over and try to build some more off of it.”
(What’s the plan with CB Xavien Howard for this week?) – “We’ll just see how he feels. It is what it is. We can’t rush him and put him out there and have something else happen. We just have to kind of wait and see and see how he feels and take it step by step.”
(Did you guys have two nickel packages? One with CB/S Walt Aikens and one with CB Torry McTyer?) – “We were just kind of rotating those guys in. I think Walt played some base on first and second down. We were just trying to play the guys we had. I know Walt was ready to go. He wanted to contribute as much as possible. We were just trying to rotate those guys in. Walt is a bigger body so that kind of helps us with their receivers – Josh (Gordon) and ‘84’ (Cordarrelle Patterson) in there. Those are some big dudes.”
(Although Bills QB Josh Allen ran for a lot of yards, against just the running back in classic plays out of the back field, your defense has had pretty good results the last couple of weeks. Has anything changed that you’ve noticed?) – “No. Just playing team defense. Guys are playing hard. They’re trying to really wire in on their gap responsibility. I think that’s made a big difference for us.”
(Do you feel like the team is in a good position for what’s to come the next three weeks? Are you feeling optimistic?) – “Yeah. I mean, I better. (laughter) Are you kidding me? (laughter) We just won a game that…”
(I mean the way you are playing.) – “Yeah. I like where we’re at. We’re alive. We’re one week at a time but if you’re not excited right now then you might as well just go find something else to do.”
(How much wiggle room do you feel like you have?) – “Probably none.”
(Can you give an answer as to the discrepancy between how you play at home and on the road?) – “We’ve played tough teams on the road. You look at Cincinnati at the time, they were playing well. New England we kind of caught where they had to get going. Obviously we helped them out there. Indianapolis is tough. Green Bay, Houston. Those teams are all pretty good.”
(So it’s not how you’ve played? You think it’s more of who you’ve played?) – “I think it’s a little bit of probably everything but it’s not like we’re just going out there and just getting smoked and we’re better than that team. You’re playing at tough venues and tough quarterbacks. You have to play really well. You have to play close to perfect. It’s tough enough to win on the road let alone make a bunch of mistakes, which we’ve done. We’ve made a lot of mistakes, turned the ball over, had certain games where we’re out of whack and giving up big rushing plays. Everybody has taken their turn. We have to tighten everything up and go in and play like we have down here.”
(Has Hard Rock Stadium become one of the toughest places to win in the league?) – “It’s hard. I mean, there’s probably about seven of us over the last few years with about the same record. It’s good that we’re up there.”
(Even though yesterday was incredibly rare, there have been examples throughout football’s history with the Music City Miracle, Hail Flutie. What is it about Boise that made you latch on to that one?) – “I think it just gives you a chance to get the ball into the hands of a dynamic guy in space and has the opportunity to try to hit one. You throw a Hail Mary, you’ve got a guy trying to tip it and then hopefully it falls into somebody’s hands. It’s a long throw you’re trying to get off before you get sacked and a lot of bad things can happen. And you’re, what, 70 yards away from the end zone? He’s really got to put a lot into that one. I don’t know if he could have got it there. At least it gives you a chance. It gives you a chance almost like a kickoff return.”
(Since the bye, there have been some tangible moments from DE Robert Quinn that have really helped. Obviously the sack before the end of the first half. How’s he been playing in your mind, and how big was that sack?) – “That was big. It avoided letting up points there after that whole … I mean, that was about as bad a four plays as you could have. He’s done a good job of trying to do what we need him to do to help us with the run game, but also allow him to pass rush at the same time. I feel like he’s done a really good job of helping us out in the run game and tightening things down. And then he’s done a good job when he gets one-on-ones. He’s creating pressure.”
(I don’t think we’ve ever seen a game like that out of LS John Denney.) – “I think we’re going to take a look at just a couple of things to do in protection, about what we could do. I think they had a really good rush. They did a really good job kind of how they rushed us on those two plays and I thought (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren) Rizzi did a good job of flipping kind of some of our protections. We were going to the rugby-style deal and then we were able to go back against their stay, their defensive-stay stuff. Obviously we’ve got to clean some things up on it with that group. That’s a rare … For us, that’s very rare. They did a good job of taking advantage of something they saw and we’ll clean it up and get ready for the next one.”
(Why was WR Kenny Stills so successful yesterday?) – “Right place, right time. We didn’t call anything different, just thought the protection was good. The coverage dictated that the ball went there. When I saw the numbers after the game, I was shocked. It’s rare to see, like, eight (receptions for him) and then everybody else had one. That’s not really how it’s designed. But you don’t always control what they call and a couple of plays just happened to work out that way.”
(What did you think when WR Kenny Stills slid? He said after the game that he wasn’t aware of the down-and-distance situation.) – “I can’t say what I was thinking. (laughter) I was a little frustrated because I just knew … I was like, ‘Oh God, all of my plays are with Ryan (Tannehill) running and he can’t run. That’s not good.’”
(Did Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains serve a different role for you guys than he has in previous games? Was he calling more plays or having more input?) – “No. The same as always.”
(How many times did you watch the final play last night?) – “I saw it one time in the locker room and then one time after that.”
(The locker room scene, anything you can tell us about it? Dumping water on each other?) – “It was great. That was great. I’m happy for those guys. They worked really hard, especially the last two weeks, to try to help us stay alive in this thing. It’s good to be on that side of it instead of the other side. We stay alive and we’ll see what happens this week.”
(How many times do you get a postgame locker room scene in the regular season like you guys had?) – “Probably not like that, but there’s been a couple of times where it’s been similar to that where guys are excited. I thought throughout the whole game yesterday, the sideline was awesome. I felt like each side of the ball picking each other up and just the energy at halftime was probably something I’ve never seen before as far as just the energy from the time we walked in to the time we left. It just never changed. Both sides talking to each other, encouraging each other. I mean, these guys were dialed in. They were doing everything they could to put us in position to win.”
(The two veterans you added that obviously helped a great deal, with RB Brandon Bolden and WR Brice Butler, do you remember during the process when Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum, General Manager Chris Grier and you were talking, did you voice an opinion on those two specifically early in the process?) – “I think Brandon was probably an unexpected opportunity. Mike did a good job of working with his agent to get it done. I know I was talking to Brandon quite a bit during that time just to explain to him kind of what our situation was and what we were looking for and how I thought he could impact our team. And obviously him and Danny (Amendola) are very close. Danny was a big help with that as far as talking to me about how much he could help us, what he could do for the locker room and on the field. He even said at the time, ‘He’s a really good running back, just he hasn’t played that spot in a while.’ As far as Brice, I think he came in and worked out, did a good job. Once we got him on the practice field, then we kind of started figuring out what’s best for him, what he could do, how he could help us.”
(You talk about the 24-hour rule, but after yesterday, I can’t help but wonder, are you sort of hoping that yesterday kind of carries over and you get that momentum going for next week?) – “I don’t think that’s going to be hard. When you get to this point of the season and guys know every game is do-or-die basically, a win like this can help you. We’re not going to sit there and talk about it all day long. They’re going to get ready for the next one. They know that we’re going to play a team that’s really good. It’s going to be a challenge offensively, it’s going to be a challenge defensively, and special teams. I mean, all three phases, we’re going to have play really well.”
(Is this a game you watch live tonight?) – “I’m sure I’ll have it on in the background. But there’s a lot of stuff to do.”
(Do you guys show the team the standings, the playoff standings and where you guys are each week?) – “It just depends what it is. When I feel like it’s necessary to kind of maybe show where we are just to remind everybody. The biggest point we made maybe a few weeks ago – because some people are so negative and, ‘Your season’s over,’ and this and that (laughter) – sometimes it’s nice to be able to point certain things out and explain how you play every game and you focus on what you have to do that week because you never know what’s going to happen. I’ve showed guys the standings in the past where teams were eighth and then all of a sudden they’re three with five games left. There’s just examples that you can use to say, ‘Focus on what we’re doing right now. Play it out. Because you never know how it’s going to end up.’”
(I know every season is different, but to me there’s some parallels to last year. You won two in a row to get back in it, now if you win out you can go in and make some noise. Can you learn from what happened last year?) – “I’m sure as coaches, we always will think about, ‘All right, last year, maybe here’s what we did wrong, maybe this is what we’ve got to change going forward.’ As far as our players go, I don’t know how many guys are actually on our roster that were here last year at this point. Plus most guys don’t worry about what happened last year. They don’t really remember. They’re not worried about it. They’re so focused on here and now that last year doesn’t mean anything to them.”
(I’ll put it this way: You said last year you learned a lot about your team in the last few weeks. Are you going to learn a lot about your team these three weeks?) – “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I have a good feel what this team is about. Our guys … this is a good group of guys. They work hard. They give you everything they have.”
Ted Larsen – December 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Postgame – New England
Miami Dolphins C/G Ted Larsen (transcribed by Paola Argueta)
(It looked like RB Kenyan Drake was trying to find somebody to pitch the ball back to. Once you made the block, he was free. What did you see at the end of that play?) – “It looked like we had a little action and you just try to get down there. I was kind of hoping they would pitch me the ball. I was looking forward to making a block. I ended up making a block and it worked. He had a great run. They did a great job on that play just kind of executing what you practice.”
(This is something you’re going to remember the rest of your life is a moment like this.) – “Yes, moments like that, sure. You can win a game on the last play like that, kind of walk off. That’s something you remember. It just comes back to doing what you practiced. Obviously, we would’ve liked to have had the lead going in and finish the game with the ball but it ended up like it ended up and we fought right to the end. ”
(Did you make contact with anybody before that block 40 yards downfield or did you just run to that spot?) – “I think we pass pro’d and then once that happens you try to go down and carry on for the guys that are running. I just kind of saw an opportunity and tried to help Kenyan (Drake) and he made a great play.”
