Kenny Stills – November 8, 2018
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Thursday, November 8, 2018
WR Kenny Stills
(With this offense, how do you get to that next level in terms of the efficiency so you can produce 24 points?) – “For us, it’s executing and getting first downs. Obviously you can’t stay on the field if you’re not getting first downs. Last week we did a better job of not turning the ball over; but we’ve got to execute, get first downs and move the ball down the field and when we’re in the red zone, we’ve got to get six points and not field goals.”
(How has this offense changed with QB Brock Osweiler? It seems like you guys are doing less roll-outs, movements and things of that nature.) – “I mean you’ve got to think about the game plan going in against the team that we’re playing as well. Obviously Brock and Ryan (Tannehill) are two different types of players, but also preparing for whatever holes we see in the defense. I think he’s done a good job. Obviously there’s plays that we wish that we could have had back, but we won a game last week. It was ugly, but we’re on the next one.”
(Did you ever get to play at Lambeau Field during your time with the New Orleans Saints?) – “Nope. Lambeau is one of the three stadiums I haven’t played in.”
(What are the other two?) – “The other two are San Francisco and Oakland. Yeah, it’s exciting. My pops played for the Packers for five years. It’s going to be pretty cool for me to go there. I know he’ll be there this weekend with my little brothers and stuff. I’m excited. It’ll be a big game for us.”
(The photographers are right on top of the field.) – “I hope they have some good awareness. (laughter)”
(Did you play with TE Jimmy Graham in New Orleans?) – “I did.”
(Thoughts or memories on playing with TE Jimmy Graham?) – “I was a rookie when I came in playing with him. Just his ability to go up and get the ball in the air and make plays and put points on the board … We had a sick offense when I was there. I was just able to learn from those guys. It’s fun to watch him play.”
(Your pop share any stories from Lambeau?) – “We really don’t talk football as much when he was in the league, but if you go on YouTube, there is a video of him kind of cheap-shotting somebody after the play – Bears-Packers rivalry. (laughter) We don’t really talk too much about NFL stuff, but I’m sure he has some great memories.”
(He didn’t cheap-shot a wide receiver, did he?) – “No, I think it was like a fullback or a running back or something. You guys can check it out.”
(Will he be wearing a Dolphins hat in Lambeau Field?) – “I don’t know. I don’t know. Maybe my little brothers will have some Dolphins stuff on and he’ll have his Packers stuff on. There’s no hard feelings there.”
(Who’s he rooting for? He’s not rooting for the Dolphins?) – “I mean, you never know.”
(It sounds like you do.) – “I mean, you never know. I definitely think he’s rooting for the Dolphins, but he played there and I’m sure they’re doing something for their guys. Maybe he’ll have a split jersey, half-Dolphins, half-Packers.”
(Have you been paying attention to the cheerleader who took a knee?) – “A little bit. Yeah, I saw a story. I’m trying to get more information and reach out to her and thank her for her courage and just kind of communicate and see if I can do anything I can to help her.”
(We talked to the defensive players about what QB Aaron Rodgers does, but an opposing quarterback on offense, what kind of pressure can put on an opposing offense?) – “Sometimes you get put in a situation where you want to keep that quarterback off the field. We play a quarterback similar to that in Tom Brady, and you’re trying your best as an offense to make sure you’re putting points on the board every time and making sure you’re keeping that ball as long as possible.”
(Your thoughts on how Tuesday went?) – “Tuesday?”
(The mid-term elections.) – “Oh, yeah. I just saw today on my phone that there’s a possibility for some re-count stuff, so there’s still some hope. I wish things had gone a different way; but I like I said, there’s still some hope.”
(Nationally, obviously you had some issues with the President a couple of years ago. Were you encouraged by the direction the country has taken, or no?) – “Yes. Yeah, I was encouraged. I’d hoped … like I said, I guess we’ll say what comes from these re-counts if they happen, but I’m definitely encouraged by the amount of people that responded to me and what I was doing trying to give out tickets to get people out to go out and vote. Just the amount from my friends and family and people that I’ve reached out to, people that are getting involved and using their voice.”
Bobby McCain – November 8, 2018
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Thursday, November 8, 2018
CB Bobby McCain
(How does it feel to go up against QB Aaron Rodgers?) – “It’s my first time. I’ve never played him. I’m excited to play him. I’m excited to go to Lambeau (Field) and get a game in and hopefully come home with a win. We know we have a great challenge ahead of us. It’s a great opportunity. (It’s) a good opportunity for us to go out and show what we are capable of. We are playing one of the best quarterbacks in the game to ever play, so it’s a good opportunity for us.”
(Is QB Aaron Rodgers somebody you’ve watched on TV at any point and be like ‘it will be fun to go against him?’) – “One-hundred percent, one-hundred percent. You see all of the Hail Marys and all of the crazy sidearm passes he makes on TV and stuff like that. It’s an exciting opportunity and I can’t wait. I want to see in person what he’s all about and I know he’s one of the great ones.”
(You got some time at slot on Sunday. Did it feel like old times there a little bit?) – “Yeah, it felt good. I’m just doing whatever for the team. We got the W and that’s important. We’ve got guys that can do a lot such as myself, Minkah (Fitzpatrick), T.J. (McDonald), and guys like Torry (McTyer) and guys that play all different kinds of positions. We (have guys that) can go inside, outside, guys can play safety, corner. Being able to do more in this league will keep you in the league.”
(Being able to do what you guys did against the Jets against Green Bay, would it validate even more what you guys can do?) – “Yes. We hope we can come out and have the same performance or an even better performance. I’m never going to go into a game second-guessing our defense, second-guessing ourselves. We want to make sure we go in prepared and the goal is to come out with a win regardless of how it happens. Whether it’s an ugly win, a pretty win, no matter what it is, a win is a win in this league.”
(Do you feel like a lot of what you all did Sunday is stuff you can build on?) – “Yes, 100 percent. We had four turnovers and four sacks I believe. That’s stuff you can definitely build off of as a defense and come in and get patted on the back for a day, and then go back to work on Wednesday. It happens fast. It’s a quick turnaround and now we’re ready for ‘12’ – Aaron Rodgers – and the Packers. We can go in and it gives us confidence in ourselves and we know what we’re capable of.”
(Do you feel like as a defense your best ball is ahead of you still?) – “One-hundred percent, 100 percent. We still haven’t played our best ball. We still haven’t played our best game. Even after we had the turnovers and sacks this week, it’s a great standard; but we want to be above the standard.”
(What’s it going to be like playing against a guy like QB Aaron Rodgers with that type of confidence? You mentioned the Hail Marys and the time on the clock or no matter how tight the window, he thinks he can execute the play.) – “Yeah, he can throw any ball. As a DB, you have to plaster and play your man tight and keep your eyes on him because he does a great job scrambling out of the pocket. He does a good job on the move, throwing on the move, throwing deep balls. He can do it all. He’s special with his arm. He has a special mind and he’s a special player. He’s athletic, he can run around, so we have to corral him and try to get it done.”
(This was probably going to be a cold game at 1 p.m. Now at 4:25 p.m. it’s going to be colder.) – “Yeah, it’s going to be a little chilly. It’s going to be a little chilly but we’re out there for a purpose. We have a job to do. It’s going to suck but at the end of the day, it’s football. If you aren’t playing in the cold weather in December or January, then you aren’t worth a damn.”
(What’s the coldest game you’ve played in?) – “Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, the playoff Wild Card (game in January 2017). I’ve never played in a game that cold ever in my life. I literally had snot bubbles freezing on my nose.”
Adam Gase – November 8, 2018
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Thursday, November 8, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Did T Ja’Wuan James and T Laremy Tunsil look any better today?) – “It’s going to look … They’re going to be sore and banged up until all of the way up until the game. It’s going to be about how much better do they feel closer to the game. When we hit like Saturday, that’s really where you’ve got to have an idea.”
(Was DE Charles Harris back at practice today and how big of a step was that?) – “Yeah, he was limited today. It seems like he’s made some really big strides here the last three days. I was surprised when I saw him moving around yesterday compared to watching him last week.”
(Do you have any memorable Green Bay visits?) – “Yeah, I have a couple of them. I’ve been there a couple of times and seen some interesting plays up there. Being up in there in Detroit and seeing Brett Favre play in extremely cold weather and hearing his balls … Basically when it hit the shoulder pads of the wide receivers, it was insane – cutting through the wind. It seemed like we always played there in December. Being up there with Chicago and playing the Thursday night game and winning for the first time, I think that was the first time (Jay) Cutler had won up there. So that was a good experience.”
(As an offensive coach, when you see QB Aaron Rodgers and his ability to scramble and do things that make him so elite, when you watch film of him…) – “It’s fun to watch when you’re not playing him. He’s a hard guy to defend. He makes it look … When I watch him play, it looks like he’s playing … it’s like a 7-on-7 walkthrough. He looks relaxed. He’s just flicking the ball and putting it wherever he wants. You can tell when he gets hot. When you watch that San Francisco game, those last like three throws he makes in that game, it doesn’t even look like he’s trying. Everybody else is going full speed and he’s kind of just putting it wherever he wants. He’s always going to be tough to defend. Even the older he gets, the more ball he sees, he’s going to find different ways to move the ball.”
(What’s the toughest challenge when you are playing QB Aaron Rodgers and there are those scramble ball situations, defensively?) – “The number one thing is if he gets anybody behind the defense, he can throw it a mile and it’s going to get there in a hurry. You have to try to keep everybody in front and when he gets loose, you have to pursue and try to put pressure on him to where he has to get rid of it. Then you really have to work that thing top down. You just can’t let anybody get behind you.”
(Can you clarify on T Ja’Wuan James and T Laremy Tunsil? Do you mean that you think they’re going to play but they’re going to have to play hurt basically?) – “Well, I’ve got to see how they’re going to feel on game day. They could get light years better in the next two days and they could be like, ‘I’m great. I’m ready to go.’ But it could not feel great and (they could) say they can’t go.”
(As of today are you planning on having T Ja’Wuan James and T Laremy Tunsil?) – “I don’t know. We’ve got every scenario covered whether we’ve got one, two (of them or) neither one. We’ll figure it out.”
(How much of what happened on Sunday with the defense is stuff that you can build on?) – “I think all of it. I think they did a good job of playing as a group – all three levels. That’s really the key. You’re playing team defense and that’s where turnovers can come, sacks, negative rushes, all of those types of things. All it takes is one guy to be wrong and that’s where an explosive play can occur. I think they can build on that and hopefully we’ll just keep getting better.”
(You talked Monday about communication between Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke and the players. What needs to improve there?) – “I think they’re good. Those guys … We got everything that we need to get straightened out with all of us completely knocked out, moved on. I think sometimes you have to go through all of this kind of stuff during a season and that’s what happens. The only difference between what happens a lot of times in the league and sometimes it gets aired out publicly, that’s the hardest thing about the NFL sometimes. You have to bounce back. We’re all moving on. We got what we needed fixed and (we’re) moving on to the next game.”
(How would you describe in general the communication that you want to occur both ways – coach to player and player to coach – in general what you want to see and hear?) – “That’s been great. Over the last three years, I feel like players aren’t afraid to talk to coaches. Coaches aren’t afraid to be honest with players. I feel like that’s always been really good. We’ve never had any issues. Whatever Sunday was just … It wasn’t a fun experience to go through. It’s over and we’re moving on from it.”
(Obviously there were breakdowns in the Houston game because players were freelancing. Have you guys addressed freelancing with S Reshad Jones, who has pretty much had a license to freelance during his career here?) – “I don’t want to say it’s all freelancing. Some of it is we had some issues with tackling – our open-field tackling stuff. We were letting guys get on the safeties too fast to where now there is a lot of green grass to defend versus more athletic players. Really, that’s where our biggest concern was. How do we prevent that from happening to where we’re one on one with a whole bunch of two-way go’s for the safety. Because really, your chances of those guys getting a back or a receiver down are tough. That’s the biggest thing we wanted to address was making sure those guys aren’t getting free runs on our safeties. It’s more about gaps (and) everybody being on the same page where d-tackle, linebacker, those guys are fitting everything right so we don’t have those kind of issues down the field.”
(Maybe along those lines, a message coaches often tell players is ‘Do your job.’ And LB Jerome Baker said yesterday that’s harder than it seems because your instincts tell you to try to do more. Is that a tough message to get across to players?) – “I don’t think it’s a tough message to get across. It’s just when the game is going on and things are happening extremely fast, you can … To me, I always look at it as on defense, it’s really hard because whatever they’ve shown on tape, they’re probably not going to do exactly what they just did. So really, you’re going to see stuff that you haven’t practiced against. It’s all reaction and instincts, things like that. If you do the wrong thing and it can hurt somebody else, and sometimes you think you’re doing the right thing. It’s just there’s a lot of moving parts when it comes to defense.”
(How has RB Kenyan Drake’s playmaking ability and versatility helped you guys in the passing game, especially with WR Albert Wilson being out?) – “Well, you can move him around. He can come from the backfield, he can be out wide, he can be in one of the slot positions. I think he has variety. It’s really about getting the ball in his hands. It seems like lately, I’m getting the check made, I’m calling plays for him and then they’re running the right coverage to not allow him to get the ball. We just have to keep finding ways to just get it in his hands whether it’s running the ball, getting it quick, down the field. However we do it, we just have to find way to get him the ball.”
(Obviously the offense has been evolving a little bit with QB Brock Osweiler as the quarterback, but six points can’t be a pleasant experience. How do you address getting more points, especially weeks like this where you’re going to have to score a lot of points against Green Bay, we assume.) – “We just have to hit the plays that are there. It might be two opportunities. It might be three. It might be five. Whatever they are, when we have the right play versus the right coverage and we’ve got a guy open, we have to hit him. Or we have to be in the right spot. Last week there were minimal opportunities but there were a couple there. It’s like all it takes is one sometimes and then it changes and goes in a different direction. Then something else opens up because they start changing what they’re doing. But when a team can just keep doing the same thing because they feel like they’re having success, that’s when it gets frustrating because you know what’s coming and we’re not getting what we need. We’re not getting the production of what we need. It’s about all of those guys being on the same page, protecting, making sure we’re in the right spot, getting the ball out. All of those things, really that’s where it starts getting … to where you notice it like ‘We’re hurting here up front. Now we didn’t do this right. We didn’t do this right.’ It makes a big difference.”
(Every team will have conflicts between coaches and players. We’ve gone through the list in the last few years. Do you have a red line when it comes to players? Is it the body of work? At some point you’ve just had enough? What is it with you that some instances you seem to be okay with and some you’re not.) – “I don’t know. I never thought of it like that. I don’t know. I don’t have a good answer really for that one. Ask (Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike) Tannenbaum at the end of the year. He’ll tell you.”
(Do you have any feelings one way or the other about your next two games being moved from 1 p.m. to 4:25 p.m.?) – “No. I don’t care. Whatever. When they tell us to play, we’ll play.”
(With third downs, when you were talking about the offense, you were speaking about big plays I assume, in terms of hitting those five plays. But third downs just continue to be an issue. I know you’ve talked about staying on schedule with the offense but that doesn’t even seem to be working as well.) – “Well we had a lot of third-and-5 or less last game. I think we had three third-and-1s and we missed two of them. That just can’t happen. We’ve got to be able to … One, we don’t even have a chance to throw the ball and the other one we just get crushed trying to run the ball. We’ve got to find a way when we get into third-and-5 or less. I disagree with you. We’ve been staying on track pretty good. We’ve been third-and-5 or less pretty much. We just have to make sure that we get protected or if we’re running the ball, we get guys covered up (and) give Frank (Gore) or Kenyan (Drake) a chance to get the first. Because really, that’s all it takes. If you get a hat on a hat and Frank is back there on a third-and-1 situation, we’re probably going to get it. If we can just do a better job of making sure we give those guys a chance early in the down, we’ll get first downs.”
Xavien Howard – November 8, 2018
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Thursday, November 8, 2018
CB Xavien Howard
(How about Packers QB Aaron Rodgers’s ability to extend plays and just ad lib?) – “We just have to keep him inside the pocket and just keep covering our guy.”
(When you watch film of QB Aaron Rodgers, do you ever just shake your head?) – “Yeah. I remember not playing against him but just watching him in college and stuff like that. I was like ‘Man, that guy is great.’”
(When you know you’re facing a guy like that, is it a tense week? Are you excited about that? How do you feel about it during the week when you know that that’s what is coming on Sunday?) – “You just have to be ready for it. He can get out of the pocket. He can do a lot of great things, so you just have to be ready for it, stick on your man and just do your job (and) do the game plan that we have for him.”
(LB Jerome Baker said yesterday that doing your job is harder than it seems. The message is one thing but actually doing it is not as easy.) – “Right. It’s easier said than done. The saying ‘do your job,’ there’s a lot of stuff that comes with it. You just have to be prepared for it and just take advantage of it.”
(This is going to be another game you’re going against a big time receiver. What have you seen from Packers WR Davante Adams and what he brings to the table?) – “They have another receiver, number 83 (Marquez Valdes-Scantling). It’s a great receiver corps. The thing that I’ve seen is the guy is smooth in routes. I think he has a little speed to him. He has a little sauce to him, too. They have speed over there too. I have to do what’s best for me. My job is to try to keep the receiver in front of me, so that’s what I’m going to do this week.”
Jerome Baker – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
LB Jerome Baker
(You’re heading over to Lambeau Field for the first time. Have you thought about that? Is it a big deal?) – “It’s a big deal, definitely. It’s one of the greatest organizations ever, so it’s definitely going to be a big deal. We’ve just got to go up there and get a win.”
(You’ve got to get over that real quick though because QB Aaron Rodgers is there too.) – “Yeah. He’s one of the best quarterbacks that’s ever played. It’s going to be a fun one, for sure.”
(What is the biggest challenge with QB Aaron Rodgers because he does so much so well?) – “That’s the big challenge. (laughter) He does pretty much everything well. There’s not a defensive coverage he hasn’t seen. There’s not pretty much anything he hasn’t seen. He’s definitely one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.”
(When you watch film on QB Aaron Rodgers, some of the things that he does are very unconventional. He’ll take off, he’ll throw off his back foot, etc.) – “Yeah, he can be on the left hash and throw an out route all the way to the right sideline like it’s nothing. It’s just Aaron Rodgers. He can do it all.”
(Is that assignment? Is that the most important thing, assignment?) – “Yeah. Even last game, it was just a testament of just do your job and everything is going to work out. That’s pretty much the main focus for pretty much the whole rest of the year is do your job and the rest will handle itself.”
(One of the messages I got from interviewing a lot of players last week is the message from the coach was ‘trust your teammates, don’t do too much.’ As you say, do your job. Was there more of that last week where no one tried to cover up for anybody else, just do what you have to do and don’t worry about other guys’ assignments?) – “That’s exactly what it was last week. Just do your job and the rest will handle itself. Luckily it came out in our favor, so it’s all good.”
(It sounds simple but is that harder than it seems?) – “It’s a lot harder than it seems.”
(Why?) – “You always want to do more, you always want to make plays; but at that moment when you want to do more, that’s when you mess up. You try to do somebody else’s job and you don’t focus on your job. It’s just a competitor thing. You want to do more but if you just do your job, it’s going to work out.”
(When did that hit you? When did you understand that? Has it?) – “It’s just a work in progress. Every week, there’s something new. There’s a new challenge. You’re playing Aaron Rodgers, I want to make a play; but you have to pretty much humble yourself of I’m going to make a play by doing my job. That’s just the approach that I take pretty much every week.”
(I know you’re 10 weeks in but is it at all still surreal when you’re watching the film and it’s Aaron Rodgers, that’s the guy you’re going against this week?) – “Yeah. It’s definitely surreal. It’s definitely a cool feeling of when I go out there Sunday and line up, it’s going to be against one of the greatest quarterbacks who ever played. It’s definitely surreal, it’s definitely a fun experience; but when the ball is snapped, that’s when it all goes away.”
(You had to make the adjustment coming down here in the heat. Now you go back up north.) – “It’s like going home. It’s nothing. I’m very excited but a little bit nervous. I haven’t been in any cold weather in a while, but it’s definitely going to be fun.”
(How many times have you seen on replay your touchdown?) – “I must’ve been tagged on Instagram and Twitter over 100 times. I kind of stopped looking at it now. It’s definitely a cool experience, definitely a cool memory.”
(Have you watched it at least a dozen times?) – “Definitely. (laughter)”
(Just because it’s fun to watch, I assume?) – “Yeah, it’s definitely cool. This is my first one. Just to see the dance, everybody else dancing, it was pretty cool. I’ve definitely watched it a few times.”
(I asked you after the game how many text messages you had. You said you hadn’t checked yet. How many did you end up getting?) – “When I got … I think it was like 357. That was right after the game. After that, I tried to answer them and more come. Between text messages and DMs, it was crazy.”
(You’ve played in this weather before. Is it easier to pick six in the warm weather or in the cold weather?) – “It’s way easier in warm weather. When it’s cold, your hands are cold, the ball seems like it’s harder; but at the end of the day, you just have to catch it.”
(Is that the signature dance move we should expect?) – “The Baker shuffle? (laughter) No. It was just a cool little thing I did. When I get another one, it’s going to be a different dance. Something special, something unique. It’s going to be all good.”
(How much pride do you take in starting as a rookie and being a contributing player who is doing good things as a rookie?) – “A lot of pride. I look to my side and I see Raekwon (McMillan) and I see Kiko (Alonso). I look in front of me, I see Cam Wake and Rob (Quinn). I look behind me and I see T.J. (McDonald) and Reshad (Jones). They expect me to go out there and do a job. When you go out there and just do your job, that’s pretty much the basic thing. You have to go out there and contribute and make plays and get excited. It’s definitely very prideful for me. I want to go out there and play for those guys. They’ve been in the league longer than me. I have the honor of being a rookie and still playing with them. It’s kind of cool so I go out there and give it all I got just for them.”
Minkah Fitzpatrick – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
(How comfortable do you feel playing corner?) – “I feel comfortable. I get reps out there with the other DBs, so I’m comfortable out there.”
(What have you learned about the NFL with all of the different types of matchups and how you’re used? Can you figure it out when you see what type of team you’re going to play against?) – “It really depends on what we have available. Sometimes somebody might be hurt so I might fill in that role. Sometimes you may have a taller guy in the inside and we’ll flip-flop me and Bobby (McCain). It all depends matchup-wise.”
(You’ve been able to adapt so well at every position. Is that something that you’ve kind of over the years you’ve figured out quicker?) – “It comes with experience, like you said. I did a lot at Bama and I’m doing a lot here. It comes with a lot of repetitions in practice. The coaches are throwing a whole lot at me and it’s just them trusting me and being able to do (it).”
(Speaking about getting a lot thrown at you. QB Aaron Rodgers … Head Coach Adam Gase says it’s fun to watch him play when he’s not playing against you. How do you feel about that?) – “He’s the next guy. He’s a great quarterback. (They have a) great team and everything like that. (He’s) one of the best to do it right now. It’s going to be a challenge so we’ve just got to go out there and do our job.”
(What do you think is the biggest challenge when you go up against a guy like QB Aaron Rodgers – one of the top three quarterbacks in the league.) – “I’d say one is just his experience. He’s been in the league for however many years. He has a whole lot of experience. He’s a gun slinger. He trusts his arm because he has a great arm to make different types of throws with his arm. He does things you don’t really see on a week-to-week basis. We’ve got to prepare really well against him. He has a lot of great receivers on the outside that he can get the ball to. We just have to prepare really well.”
(Does QB Aaron Rodgers attempt things that most guys don’t?) – “Yeah. That’s kind of like what I was saying. He’s a risk taker because he has that arm that not a lot of people have. He can do things that not a lot of quarterbacks can do. Plus he couples that with experience. When you have both of those right there – the talent and the experience and wisdom back there – that makes you a great player right there.”
(Were there any repairs needed to be made with S Reshad Jones and the rest of the guys in the secondary?) – “What do you mean by repairs?”
(S Reshad Jones taking himself out of the game.) – “No. There’s no repairs. Everybody understood what the situation was and that’s it.”
(Can you emphasize as a competitor why S Reshad Jones may have been a little frustrated by the situation?) – “Yeah, I mean I think anybody would be upset if they came out of the game. But I (am not going to) say too much about it.”
(Did you have a chance to talk about it afterwards? Veteran to rookie?) – “No. Just keep moving. That’s it.”
(I know we talked last week about you thought you had the skills to play boundary corner and then it happened on Sunday. Were you surprised at all that either Defensive Backs Coach Tony Oden or Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke brought it up?) – “No, sir.”
(Not at all?) – “No.”
(Was it a challenge for you to do something that you did a little bit of at Alabama but not a ton?) – “Mentally it’s not too hard. Physically it’s a little different. I get enough reps at it and prepare well enough to make it what I do.”
(How pleased were you with the boundary snaps?) – “It was only a few snaps. I knew that was going to happen, but I just wanted to test them out there and get my feet wet a little bit. I’m pretty happy with what I did out there and did my job.”
(Were they happy enough to where you felt like the plan going forward is going to be you playing all three?) – “That’s up to the coaches to decide. I don’t know for sure.”
(How much did you rub in Saturday’s Alabama win over LSU with DT Davon Godchaux?) – “I didn’t say too much. I knew it was going to happen, so no need to rub it in. (laughter)”
Ryan Tannehill – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
QB Ryan Tannehill
(Is it frustrating? Do you feel the pain of not being able to do things or not being able to throw for a few days? Mentally, how challenging is this?) – “It’s hard. It’s extremely hard. Whenever you’re not able to play, it’s extremely hard. Just not being able to go through practice, to not be able to be out there with the guys during the game and compete, it’s extremely hard. Unfortunately, part of this business, part of this game is sometimes you’re going to have to deal with injuries and you have to find a way to fight through, stay mentally sharp (and) put yourself in those situations. That way, when you are able to get back on the field, then you’re ready to go and you’re sharp and you didn’t mentally take a break as well.”
(Along those same lines, it seems like your career has had two chapters, one where you’re completely durable, you never miss anything and now missing 25 of the last 30 games. That’s just got to be frustrating after the first part of your career was spotless.) – “Yeah, it’s kind of crazy. I’ve never dealt with anything like this as far as during the season. The ACL was the ACL. It was pretty clear I wasn’t going to able to either finish that year or play obviously when it happened again. But as far as during the season, I’ve never really had anything that I wasn’t able to fight through that I felt that I could fight through. That part was extremely difficult, just not being able to fight through the injury and do what I want to do. It’s been tough.”
(Do you think playing against the Colts after the bye week is a reasonable possibility?) – “That’s the goal. That’s the goal right now for me is to get back on the field, use these next two weeks to get healthy, get back into throwing, get sharp and be ready to go. Obviously, it’s not set in stone. We’ll have to see what happens, but that’s my goal. I’m all in on doing everything I can to be ready for Indy.”
(What’s the biggest issue, is it the velocity on the throws or is the pain in the arm after the throws?) – “Yeah, it’s just being able to make the throw. That’s the issue. If it was just pain, then I could deal with that. I could go out and do it, but just being able to do the job is the issue.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase says you’re not going to throw for a few days. That sounds like a setback. Is it?) – “No, I wouldn’t say it’s a setback. I think over the course of this process, when I first stepped out, we took a rest period of 10 days and tried to get back into throwing and it just wasn’t there. We backed off again, now we’re resting again, trying to just get it to heal up because every time the arm goes through that motion, it stresses that capsule. That’s the goal right now is just to let that thing tighten back down, heal up and then get back into throwing during the bye.”
(When Head Coach Adam Gase talks about your injury, it sounds like it’s been very difficult to really pin down, that you guys were surprised at the beginning it turned out the way it did, that it’s hard to predict one day to the next how you’re going to feel and that it’s hard to even quantify or really say for certain that there’s been progress over the past month. Has it been difficult for you as well? Have you felt like this is kind of a mysterious injury?) – “Yeah, it’s been kind of a weird deal. Initially, I went through that week of practice early on and I thought it was going to be one of those things that I could just fight through and it just fell off a cliff as the week went on. So we rested it on Saturday, missed some practice on Friday, was able to get rested and then went and worked out Sunday morning and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to start at that point. It was a weird situation where you think you’re going to be able to fight through it and it’s going to get better as the week went on and it just drastically went the other way. That was tough. (Then I) rested it, went to throw again like I said earlier, and it just wasn’t close. So I shut it back down and we’ll see next week where we’re at.”
(Is it any better than it was a month ago, or do you not know?) – “It’s got to be. I mean, yeah. It was a little better when I went to throw again. It just wasn’t close to where it needs to be to do the job and make the throws I need to make.”
(So is it an issue with pain, or is it just your strength is a factor?) – “Yeah, obviously it hurts; but like I said, the pain I can deal with. It’s not just pushing through pain. It’s physically being able to get the ball to where it needs to go. Once I can do that, then we’ll be in good shape.”
(Actually, I didn’t know it hurt. So every time you throw a football it hurts?) – “Oh yeah.”
(Do you exacerbate it every time you throw? Is it made worse? Is that one reason you’re resting now because it could get worse because you’ve been throwing?) – “Yeah, that’s something that could be a possibility; but it’s not something where we know it’s going to get worse or anything like that. I think a more likely situation to make it worse would have to be a similar situation to what happened with the arm getting grabbed while making the throw. I don’t think it’s something where every throw it’s getting worse or anything like that.”
(Have doctors or trainers said that there is a possibility that you could not play again this year?) – “No.”
(How confident are you that you’ll play again this season?) – “I’m very confident. I’m all in on getting back for Indy. Obviously that’s still up in the air, but I’m confident that the shoulder is getting better and will be ready to go.”
(Is that something that you can get 100 percent with, or are you probably going to have to play through some pain when you’re ready to go?) – “Yeah, I think it’s going to be playing through pain the rest of the year. Like I said, once I can make the throws and get the ball where it needs to go, then we can deal with the pain. But just being able to physically make those throws is what we’re trying to get to.”
(Is that something you might need to get fixed in the offseason?) – “I’ve talked to multiple doctors and no one says surgery. Unfortunately, it’s a time thing and I don’t have much time in the season. That’s why this thing has kind of drug out over the past four, five weeks. Hopefully, we’re where we need to be and we can get ready to go for Indy.”
(What are the things you’re doing to rehab it? Are there certain workouts or exercises you do?) – “Oh yeah, I mean I’m (working) hours a day just trying to get my (rotator) cuff strong. As far as the actual capsule, there’s not a whole lot you can do. That just has to have time and heal up. But you can strengthen all the rotator cuff muscles around the shoulder and make sure everything is moving properly to lessen that stress on the capsule. That’s what we’re focusing on right now is just making the muscles really strong around the capsule and making sure everything is moving properly.”
(When you’re throwing, how much are you throwing?) – “Well, I’m not throwing right now. It’s a progression, right? So when you take a break from throwing, you want to start small and build it back up. You start at 10 yards and 40 throws and then it kind of builds from there. We’ll start that progression back over whenever I start throwing next week. You start small, then you just keep building and get that stamina, get that arm strength back up to where it needs to be.”
(Is it affecting you in everyday life? Is it painful for you like when you go to reach something off a shelf or you pick up your kids or something like that?) – “Yeah, it’s uncomfortable in overhead situations. But walking around, that’s kind of the screwy part. If I played another position, then I’d be able to play. You’d be able to do it. It’s the motion of throwing stresses the part that I injured. Unfortunately, I need it to be strong and be able to withstand that force going through the motion to do my job.”
(Have you ever had anything like this at any time? In college, high school or anything?) – “No. I never knew what a capsule until this happened. Yeah, it’s kind of a screwy situation.”
(How tough was it for you to go to Head Coach Adam Gase or whoever for the first time and say, I think we’ve got a problem here because you’ve been healthy…) – “Yeah, it was extremely tough. Like I said, during that week I just tried to fight through and thought I was going to be getting better throughout the week. I went from practice Wednesday to Thursday and felt a whole different from Wednesday to Thursday, then kind of stuck with it and came out Friday and knew immediately the first couple of throws that it wasn’t a good situation. So, yeah, it was really hard to go over to Adam and tell him, ‘Hey, something is going on here. We’re going to have to get this looked at.’”
(Because of the place that’s injured and your position, is there any possibility that if you could back before you’re 100 percent that you could cause more damage that would affect you for a longer period of time?) – “That’s one thing I talked to the doctors about. You don’t want to get in a situation where you call it ‘yo-yo,’ where you go back and forth of you can throw, then you can’t throw, you can throw, then you can’t throw. That’s one thing why we’re trying to rest it and get it as strong as it can possibly be where when I come back, then I’m back and I don’t have to deal with that.”
(You plan to play again. I don’t know that you’re going to be 100 percent. I don’t know that you know that you’re going to be 100 percent when you play. Is there a greater possibility of injuring your throwing shoulder if you’re not 100 percent?) – “Not to my knowledge, no. I’ve asked that question to the doctors and they seem confident that if I’m able to make the throws, then it’s not going to further injure or make a long-term situation happen.”
Adam Gase – November 7, 2018 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Green Bay Media
(What’s the status at quarterback? I know obviously QB Ryan Tannehill has been battling some stuff and you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get day to day with how he’s feeling. Is there anything to update there?) – “He’s going to be out this week. Brock (Osweiler) is going to be the starter. With the bye week being after this, we’re going to kind of get a rest plan ready for (Tannehill) this week and then be able to kick it back into gear at some point during the bye week.”
(How has QB Brock Osweiler handled all of this?) – “He’s been good. He’s just been going week to week and just preparing like he always does. He just waits for me to say ‘you’re rolling’ or ‘you’re not.’ He just focuses on his job.”
(How amazed at how RB Frank Gore is still pushing on, pushing past – I’m not going to guess his age, but you know where I’m going with that?) – “It’s kind of sick to think about this, but we were together 10 years ago and he just looks the same to me. Just the way he works, during a game, just everything he does, it just doesn’t look any different to me. I know when you’re 35 years old, it should look different, but he’s a freak of nature. His work ethic is off the charts. We’re going into our 10th straight week during the season and this guy is practicing in pads and finishing plays 50 yards down the field. He’s an unbelievable player and person to be around.”
(How much of an adjustment is there going from South Florida to northern Wisconsin in November? Is it going to be a culture shock for some of your guys?) – “I don’t think so. We have so many guys that have played at schools that played in cold weather. Whether in the Big Ten or anywhere on the east coast where they’ve had to travel to some spots. To me, it’s three hours. You have heated benches, they have everything under the sun to keep you warm. I’m just going off of my experience. I’ve been up there when it’s been really cold with a nice strong breeze to where … That’s been when I’ve been like ‘you feel this, there’s a difference here.’ That’s when I think they really have an advantage. Those guys really understand what an advantage that is for them.”
(Back to age questions, what has made DE Cameron Wake so productive? I think he’s 36?) – “Since I’ve been here, I’ve been amazed. Just what his age is and what you watch him do and watch him prepare – he makes you feel really (expletive) as a person when you watch him eat compared to how probably everybody else does. The guy eats nothing but fish and salad. That’s all he eats. He won’t put anything bad in his body. His work ethic is off the charts. The guy is relentless with his conditioning and lifting. He just does all those things that you hear people should do to stay in great shape and health and all that stuff, but he actually does it and his regimen is flawless. He does not break from it.”
(Your secondary is getting their hands on a lot of balls but they’re facing a guy that just doesn’t give secondary’s a lot of chances to get their hands on balls. How are you looking at that?) – “Maybe he’ll change his mind this game? (laughter) It’s tough. We have to try to stay as tight as we can on coverage. This has to be the ultimate 11 guys playing together. It just takes one guy to not do his job correctly and you’re going to have an issue. I’ve seen it too many times. I’ve been against him too many times, watching him from the time he first started playing until now. He’s a fun guy to watch when you don’t play him; but when you play him, you just want him to go away. He is unbelievable to watch and to see him play.”
(Have you done anything differently or are your guys just being able to capitalize on plays with the pick numbers way up?) – “I think guys have done a great job as far as the rush and the coverage have worked together. I think we’ve done a good job of finishing the plays and catching balls. We had drops last year, we had missed opportunities last year, we didn’t put ourselves in a good enough position. We made a big emphasis on it in the offseason. We really focused on a lot of different types of drills and carved out a lot of time in practice to work on, whether it’d be fumbles, tackling, stripping the ball, tip-balls, JUGS work. Whatever it is, we’ve kind of mixed it up so players can constantly try to work on when we get our opportunities, we don’t miss them. We felt like the year before, that’s what hurt us in a lot of games. We had a chance to swing a game and we’d drop a pick and then they’d score a touchdown. We felt like if we can figure out a way to make sure we finish those plays, maybe they’ll swing the other way.”
(When you look at Green Bay’s season and where they’ve been the last couple of weeks with close-ish losses to the Rams and then the Patriots – obviously two very good teams on the road – but their record overall is still 3-4-1. They’re coming home for really their only home game within a month-long stretch. I don’t know if desperate is the right word, but certainly the importance of this game for Green Bay can’t be more magnified here in Wisconsin. Is that part of your message to your guys at all? Obviously, every game is important for you guys, but for the Packers it seems like this game has that much more importance even though it’s a non-divisional game.) – “Our guys know this: we’re going on the road in a place that’s a very difficult place to play with a Hall of Fame quarterback that is still playing football at a … I don’t want to piss Tom Brady off, but he’s probably the top guy. When I see him play, the guy doesn’t make a lot of errors. He looks like he’s playing jayvee football compared to everybody else. He looks at a different level. It’s just unbelievable how effortless he makes the game look. Our guys know that. They know when you play a guy like this, you better bring your A-game. You better make sure that everybody is on the same page. Throw the records out. It doesn’t matter because of who we’re playing.”
(What has LB Kiko Alonso done so well? He has numbers in basically every category.) – “Last year when we got into the season, he was recovering in the offseason from … He had surgery on his hand so he wasn’t able to do a lot of the things in the offseason that he was used to. This year, he had the offseason. He was able to practice all the time in the spring, training camp. Hopefully he can stay healthy because you know how this game is, it’s day to day. You can see his experience is really starting to pay off because he’s getting a step ahead and he’s anticipating things. He’s running to the football as well as I’ve ever seen him do. The hits that he’s making are causing turnovers. He’s doing a good job of getting his hands on balls, whether it be interceptions or stripping them out.”
(I know it’s kind of the way the NFL is and you don’t make excuses, but how difficult has it been for you as an offensive guy when you don’t have your quarterback, you don’t have G Josh Sitton, you lose WR Albert Wilson? That’s a lot of really good football players that you don’t have.) – “You had to bring up Sitton. (laughter) That one hurt because it was early. He did such a great job for us, starting in the spring. He mentored (Laremy) Tunsil and we’re receiving the benefits of that with him being out of how he helped Laremy really kind of turn the corner as far as being a pro. I see it every day. I’m like ‘this guy is like a different guy.’ I give Josh so much credit for that because Laremy really respected him and those two guys playing together were … He watched what he did and learned from him. That hurt us. When (Sitton) went down, that hurt us. Like everybody says around here, when the big guy went down, that stung us pretty good. Then we lost Albert. He was kind of the guy where it was like you never knew when it was going to happen, you knew it was a matter of time where he would catch something at 3 yards and it’d be a 70-yard touchdown. We lost one of our explosive guys, which when things aren’t going right and somebody can do that for you, that’s a game changer.”
