Reshad Jones – October 14, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Postgame – Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins S Reshad Jones (transcribed by Paige Jefferson)
(How do you define an emotion for the game like that? Up, down, it seemed to have a little bit of everything?) – “We did enough today to win the game. We made enough plays to win a game. We needed it.”
(What was it like when you saw the offense fumble the ball at the 1-yard line? What did you as a defensive player say in terms of overtime, your mindset?) – “Let’s go get a stop. They fumbled the ball, so we’ve got to go back out and stop them.”
(With this team, you guys have dealt with a lot of adversity this season. Playing this game without QB Ryan Tannehill, what does it say to pull off a victory like this in overtime?) – “We’ve got resilient guys in this locker room. We stuck with the game plan. Everybody did what they needed to do and like I said, we made enough plays to win the football game.”
Ja’Wuan James – October 14, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Postgame – Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins T Ja’Wuan James (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(What can you say about RB Frank Gore, who I guess is getting younger every day?) – “(laughter) I told him I wish I could have played with him 10 years ago just to see how that would have been. He does a great job of coming to the o-line and keeps inspiring us while we’re on the bench, telling us ‘Hey, give me 4 yards, give me a little hole. I’ll get you something.’ He has a really big impact on our run game.”
(Talk about the adversity this team has faced and seem to be overcoming.) – “Like I always say, I think it’s credit to the guys in this room. We’ve been together awhile now. I’ve seen a lot of different things since I’ve been here. Things go south when stuff happens and stuff like that, but I feel like the guys we have in this room, everybody stays positive. We all have each other’s backs. Whether its offense, defense, special teams, no one is pointing fingers. It’s just resetting that clock each week for another game.”
(What was the game plan with Chicago LB Khalil Mack and how did you guys execute it?) – “We wanted to get a lot of people on him. We had a lot of tight ends helping. We had running backs. We had the o-line. In general, I feel like everybody did their job today to get a ‘W’ and that’s the most important thing.”
Brock Osweiler – October 14, 2018 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Postgame – Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins QB Brock Osweiler
When did you find out that you were going to be starting today?
BROCK OSWEILER: I found out this morning. It was mid-morning. Ryan (Tannehill) I think came in early, worked out and met with the trainers and then shortly after, I got a text message.
What was your reaction when you found out?
BROCK OSWEILER: I was excited. (I was) very excited for this opportunity. A lot of hard work goes in during the off season and during training camp to get to this point, to get an opportunity to be able to play and to be able to start, and so my whole mentality was make the most of this opportunity, do whatever it takes to help your team get a win and have fun with it. And that’s really what happened today.
What’s the process like knowing that you were told you were going to play on such short notice?
BROCK OSWEILER: The process doesn’t change. Every week, whether I’m the starter, backup, third string, you name it, I prepare the same way. I’ve done that my whole career because you never know what’s going to happen and you never know when you’re going to be in. And at the end of the day, an entire organization is counting on you. They’re counting on you to be prepared, to know the game plan, to understand what we’re trying to accomplish and fortunately for us players, we have such great coaches that put us in position to be successful. So if you study and you do your part as a player, you’re going to have success.
So the last time that you got game action was back in the preseason. How long did it take you to feel comfortable, to feel like you were in the game?
BROCK OSWEILER: I felt comfortable from the first play, I really did. I think there comes a certain point when you’ve played enough games and you’ve prepared mentally, the correct way, that you’re not going to have any jitters and you’re going to be ready to go from the first play.
A pretty bizarre game for you to get in your first work with this football team in a regular season game?
BROCK OSWEILER: I wouldn’t have it any other way. It just makes the story a little bit better. (laughter) I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to be able to come here to Miami and to be able to play football for (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase and what this football team did today as a unit is so special. We were down, nothing was perfect; but we all stayed together on the sidelines, we continued to fight, we stayed together and then in the end we found a way and that’s what great teams do.
There was a lot of talk, most of the talk, coming into this game was Bears LB Khalil Mack and the pressure and trying to hold up. The offensive line has been decimated with injuries, but they seemed to do a pretty darn good job for you today, both pass protecting and running the football.
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, I would say pretty darn good would be a huge understatement. Our offensive line played tremendous football today. What those guys did against a great Chicago front, it should be talked about because it’s special. Those guys put in a great week of work, they were prepared, and they went out there today and they didn’t blink an eye at anything. We had great communication all game long. We were playing in no-huddle, which isn’t easy to do in this system because there’s so much verbiage, there’s so many checks, audibles, and our offensive line did a tremendous job and those guys are the real story, because without them we don’t play the way we did today.
How does WR Albert Wilson look from where you’re standing when he’s running 70 yards down the field?
BROCK OSWEILER: Fantastic. I absolutely love it. (laughter)
How did you experience the play that it was WR Danny Amendola and then WR Kenny Stills, but it went off the defender. Who were you aiming at it and it ends up being successful at the end. It was just sort of one of those things…
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, that’s when you know the football gods are on your side, when things like that happen. And that’s okay. We’ll take it. We needed something like that. It was one of those deals where it was third down, I was able to get outside the pocket and the guy who was covering Danny in man-to-man he had his back to me so I was trying to get the ball to Danny, because I knew that guy couldn’t see the ball coming. I’m not exactly sure what happened. I don’t know whether it was a hand that it hit or a back or whatever it was, but kudos to Kenny for staying with the play, staying in tune with what’s going on and he made a huge play for this football team.
I know that you’re a confident guy but as you experience the success down after down today, did it grow?
BROCK OSWEILER: I wouldn’t say the confidence grows, but you get into a better flow of the game. Playing quarterback is a little bit like playing point guard in this system. It’s our job to get the ball out on time and spread it around to all of the skill guys and let them do what makes them great. And in order to do that, you need everybody in sync. You need your line playing good, you need your receivers to get into their depth their landmarks, you need the backs doing their job and today everyone did that, and that really helped get this offense in sync.
Did you talk to QB Ryan Tannehill either before or after the game?
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, Ryan and I were talking all game long. Ryan was tremendous. He was in my corner the whole time. We were talking about what Chicago’s defense was doing. We talked after the game and I can’t say enough great things about Ryan.
With a lack of practice time, Head Coach Adam Gase said that you got a couple of snaps on Thursday. What was your actual practice regimen? And you’re saying that you’re mentally ready to go and play but without first-team snaps you’re not playing football with the team that you end up playing with.
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, of course. I got one or two plays on Thursday, I got a couple plays on Friday. But the good thing is that I’ve been running this system since really 2012, call it 2013 as well. So this system’s not new to me. For example, the 2-point play, I’ve been hearing that play get called since 2013, so I’ve ran through it mentally in my head probably at least 500 times even though I’ve never rep’d it physically. So when one and two were covered, sure enough Kenny (Stills) did a tremendous job of running the back line and getting in the picture and he made a huge play for this football team.
Coach Gase said he’s never seen the third guy get the ball on that play.
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, well, sometimes you have to break those tendencies and give Chicago’s defense credit. They chipped our guy who was first in progression – I think Danny ended up on the ground. The guy who was number two in progression, I think he ended up on the ground, and really all the credit goes to Kenny because he just flat out beat his guy in a foot race. He got to exactly where he needed to be and he made my job easy.
You threw for a career high in yards, longest touchdown pass, tied for most TD passes. Did it feel like that kind of day for you?
BROCK OSWEILER: You know, today felt like a heavyweight title fight. It really did. Nothing about this football game was perfect but we continued to fight. We continued to fight through the adversity. I threw two interceptions and no one blinked an eye. We just went back to work. I think that’s the sign of a good football team, when you can experience negative things and you talk about them on the sideline and then you flush them and you move on. And that’s what we did today. It was a heck of a football game. Give Chicago credit, they made a ton of football plays. They had a great game plan; we had a great game plan and fortunately we came out on top.
RB Kenyan Drake had two plays on the game-winning drive. After he fumbled, did you say anything to him or observe anything about that situation?
BROCK OSWEILER: Yeah, I did. I went up to Drake right before Chicago kicked the field goal and I just said, ‘Hey, listen they’re going to miss this field goal and I need you to bring the swagger and confidence you’ve been playing with all day.’ And he looked at me in the eye and he said, ‘Okay.’ And sure enough, he’s the guy who made the big play to get us into field-goal range. So if that doesn’t talk about working through adversity and mental toughness, I don’t know what it is. But that’s an example of mental toughness at its finest.
So QB Ryan Tannehill’s status going forward, can you do this again if you have to?
BROCK OSWEILER: This is my job. My job’s to be ready to play football when Coach Gase says go in. I’ll always be ready.
Why did you sign here?
BROCK OSWEILER: Because I wanted to play football for Coach Gase and that’s it, plain and simple. There were a couple other offers out there and as soon as Coach Gase called my agent and said they were interested and wanted me to take a trip, I told my agent to cancel all the other trips, I want to go to Miami and get a deal done because I want to play for Coach Gase. I just, I believe in him. I believe in his system. I believe in him as a person and as a coach and to be here, to be playing football for him is beyond special. In fact, I got a little emotional driving to the stadium this morning just thinking about this opportunity today. To be out there with him, calling plays, and playing football. So it was a lot of fun.
Where does this win today rank in wins during your career?
BROCK OSWEILER: Well, it’s the best one because it’s the most recent, and that’s really the truth. This football team needed a win. We were coming off of two losses, two really tough losses, and we needed to find a way to get a win and we did. So right now, this is my most favorite win.
When you’re getting emotional and driving in here, you’re thinking what?
BROCK OSWEILER: There’s a lot of things going through my head, but it’s really mostly just make the most of this opportunity, have no regret at the end of the day and that’s how I play the game. But today was different because I was playing for people I truly care about and that means a lot.
Jason Sanders – October 14, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Postgame – Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins K Jason Sanders (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(What did the guys tell you before and after the kick?) – “Before, everyone just kept to themselves. I was more on my own just focusing. After the game, I don’t know a word one person said. It was crazy. But, I hit it good so we walked out with a win.”
(With all that happened in the game and in the fourth quarter and overtime and now it’s in your foot, what’s that like?) – “Well, I’m a rookie, so everything I do is basically new to me. This feeling of kicking a game-winning field goal is pretty new. It’s a good feeling obviously. It’s just confidence. You want to go out there and take every kick like it’s your first kick. I had two kicks before that and you could look at that saying I got a feel for what it’s like to be out there today.”
(When you see it going through the uprights, you see the crowd stand up, you see your teammates and hear them. What is that feeling like?) – “It was great. Once I touched it, you got that feeling that it’s going in before you even look up. I struck it really well.”
Frank Gore – October 14, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Postgame – Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins RB Frank Gore (transcribed by Paige Jefferson)
(What were the things that were working for you on that last drive there before overtime?) – “My o-line did a great job. (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase called a great game. He called the runs. My o-line, the tight ends and receivers did a great job blocking and I hit the hole.”
(How do you describe the emotions of a game like that?) – “It was back and forth, man. Chicago is a great team, but we’re also a great team. We work our behinds off. Not just training camp, even the offseason. What I’ll say about this team is we’re all one and it showed today.”
(How important is this win for you guys?) – “It was a big win. Chicago is a great team, a tough team, and we showed that we can be tough.”
(What was your attitude going into the game when you hear QB Ryan Tannehill wasn’t playing?) – “You’ve got to understand that Brock (Osweiler has been a starter in this league before. We always want our main guy but our next man up, Brock, prepares like he’s a star every day and we believe in each other – quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends, offense, defense, special teams – we all believe in each other.”
Albert Wilson – October 14, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Postgame – Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins WR Albert Wilson (transcribed by Daniel Chavez)
(What’s the mood in here when you find out it’s going to be QB Ryan Tannehill, that he’s not active?) – “It’s definitely a downer because we’ve been working with this guy so much and he’s the leader of our team, but football is the next man up (sport) and we’ve got full confidence in ‘8’ (Brock Osweiler). We had a good drive with him in New England, so we kind of knew what we were getting into. He definitely knows what he’s doing back there. He’s very comfortable in the offence and we were ready to roll.”
(You put up over 500 yards on the best defense in the league and you, yourself, 155 yards. Could you have imagined a success like that against the Bears defense?) – “That’s the point we’ve been trying to make. We know we have a good offense. I feel like it’s a good statement.”
(How do you describe the emotions of a game like this? Turnovers in the red zone, big plays all over the place.) – “Football, it’s ups and downs. Whoever can (overcome) adversity the most, pretty much wins the game.”
Adam Gase – October 14, 2018 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Postgame – Chicago Bears
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase
What happened to QB Ryan Tannehill?
ADAM GASE: I think it was just stemming from last week when he got hit on I think it was the fumble. He got through Monday and Tuesday. He was starting to feel better and then we went out and practiced on Wednesday and he was sore but he was fine. And then Thursday kind of came around and it just kind of got progressively worse as far as his ability to really throw the ball the way he wanted to. So we kind of were just making contingency plans in case it just didn’t get any better. And then this morning, when we worked him out, I mean we could tell that he couldn’t go.
How much work did QB Brock Osweiler get and when did you say, okay, you’re going in?
ADAM GASE: Not a ton. Maybe a few reps on Thursday. Our Fridays aren’t very long so he had some red zone reps. So he really was coming into play off of walkthroughs.
What can you say about QB Brock Osweiler, the short notice and he comes out and plays the way he played today?
ADAM GASE: That’s why he’s here. He knows this system in and out. He knows how to operate at the line of scrimmage, in the huddle. He takes care of the ball. He does things the right way, prepares the right way. Every week he treats it as though he’s going to have to go in the game. So I think that puts him in a great position, when something like this does happen, it’s not like a cram session for him.
You talked about QB Brock Osweiler got great protection from the offensive line and the offensive line, against a very good defensive run team, did a nice job of opening some running lanes. The offensive line did a lot of good things for you out there it seemed like today.
ADAM GASE: I thought protection was good. I thought we got rid of the ball when we had to, to kind of protect ourselves, and I thought Frank (Gore) and Kenyan (Drake) ran hard, and if there was any kind of opening those guys were hitting it. I know there were a few times where I saw both of those guys really fly through there and make contact with the linebackers and just run through arm tackles. Whether we blocked them or not, those guys were doing a good job of getting north.
Defensively, you gave up some big plays in the second half but the first half you were just stingy and made a play at the goal line for a stop, a fumble recovery down in the red zone, and really came up with big plays when they needed to for you all day long. That being said, how do you resolve the big plays that really hurt you?
ADAM GASE: Well, I mean we’re getting healthy, which is nice. It’s the right time. That’s going to help us. We’ve got some young players that are learning and learning the hard way. I know those guys aren’t satisfied with the kind of really the results as far as the yardage goes, but their job is to figure out a way to help us win and they came up with the big plays when we needed them.
Is the QB Ryan Tannehill injury long-term or just this week?
ADAM GASE: I do not know. I do not know. I don’t know. I know today he couldn’t go.
So you’ll just take it day-to-day?
ADAM GASE: That’s what we’re going to do.
Talk about the big picture just a really gutty effort by your team today. Kind of win that can really, after the two losses, it can really just get the momentum back and really catapult your team to getting back on the right track.
ADAM GASE: That’s what these guys do; that’s why they’re here. I like this locker room; I like the way these guys keep fighting. We like playing at home, I know that. We like it hot. The other team wears down eventually and we just keep fighting.
You gave RB Kenyan Drake the ball after he fumbled on the first play in that ensuing series. Is that something you intentionally did to keep him in the game?
ADAM GASE: I don’t think about it. Once we start the series it’s over. Move on to the next one.
RB Frank Gore had over 100 yards. It seemed like every time you needed something big you gave him the ball and he found away to get it done. He put you in second-and-4, second-and-5, those type of things.
ADAM GASE: I was hoping he was going to get in on that one, just looking for … We needed about a yard and a half. But he ran hard; he gave everything he had. That’s why he’s going to be a guy that’s one of the greatest backs ever. The guy’s unbelievable and to do it at his age and to come out here and get 100 yards and grind through that heat and I mean that guy’s a warrior.
What’s the best thing QB Brock Osweiler did from your perspective?
ADAM GASE: He made big plays when we needed him to. Third downs were good and a couple of those plays, the 2-point conversion was, I’ve never … We have never thrown the ball to that guy. (Khalil) Mack did a great job. He blew up the whole play and then Brock stayed on the move and threw a great ball. Kenny (Stills) did a great job of coming out of his break and catching a really tough ball.
WR Albert Wilson made a couple of giant plays from relatively similar circumstances.
ADAM GASE: It’s probably better that he’s like the fourth progression and then we get to him and then that happens. We’re always trying to find ways to get the ball in his hands and Jakeem (Grant), whether it’s short or intermediate because those guys are unbelievable when it comes to getting into the open field. If they have a little bit of room, they’re so fast that they just split the defenders and they’re gone.
TE Nick O’Leary got a ton of run today. Is that him doing everything and then…
ADAM GASE: I think he does a good job with just both run, pass and pass protection and kind of what our game plan was. The tight end was not going to be involved as much and Mike (Gesicki) knew that going into the game and we probably thought we were going to go a little more two tight end personnel, but it didn’t go that way. So we kept those other guys on the field and Nick was just able … We were able to do a lot of, a lot of things with him in there.
Were there one or two things about your defense today that impressed you the most?
ADAM GASE: They just kept bouncing back. Whether it was good or bad, they kept fighting the entire 70 minutes now.
After most Bears games, people are talking about Khalil Mack. What did you guys do to…
ADAM GASE: I don’t know. We had about four guys blocking him. (laughter)
When the team fell behind 21-10, what was going through your mind relative to some ideas to get the offense going and to get back?
ADAM GASE: Just call plays. Just, I mean, it’s hard to … You can’t think like that because then you’re just going to you’re going to press. You just worry about that series how do you get the first first down, and then let those guys go play.
There was a report that the QB Ryan Tannehill injury is a sprained AC joint. We were told that’s not it. What is it?
ADAM GASE: I don’t know. I think there’s some kind of like HIPAA law or something like that. I can’t talk about it. I don’t know. I don’t sit there and ask him all these questions. I just know the guy couldn’t go today. All right? Go ask him. I’m tired of answering this question about this guy. I got it; but you know what, I’m over it. Me and him, we know that he’s not right right now, okay? The details of it, we’ll keep that to us. You guys don’t need to know that.
The tight end seemed to be move involved in the game today, was that part of the game plan and is that something that we’re going to see more of?
ADAM GASE: I mean it was just more almost like check downs. We were worried about the edge guys. So he just, everybody was dropping out of there and that’s why they were so, you know, Nick (O’Leary) was wide open because the DBs were so deep.
Adam Gase – October 12, 2018
Download PDF version
Friday, October 12, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Is T Laremy Tunsil still in the protocol?) – “He is not. He is not in it. He’s out of it.”
(So that would mean Sunday, presumably…) – “It looks promising.”
(What was T Laremy Tunsil able to do today?) – “Everything.”
(So T Laremy Tunsil seems completely himself to you?) – “Yeah.”
(I know there had been some optimism from you at the start of the week about DE Cameron Wake. Has their been a setback at all?) – “No. We’re just going through the process that the trainers have him going through. We’re going to be smart with him. We’re not going to rush him back by any means. It’s probably going to be more of us holding him back than him rushing back. We’ll just keep taking it day to day and we’ll know when he’s ready to go.”
(Anything on WR DeVante Parker? Does he look promising or more promising than yesterday, perhaps?) – “I know he’s better than last week. He was able to take a lot of reps and get through the practices. It’s just all about how does he feel the next day? One day he’ll be good and one day he’ll be a little more sore and we’ll have to back off a little bit. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow after today.”
(Is health the only factor with whether or not WR DeVante Parker plays this week?) – “Yes.”
(So if WR DeVante Parker is healthy, he’s in?) – “Yeah. I would think so. We’re kind of out of bodies a little bit.”
(With what TE A.J. Derby was able to give you early this season, are you excited about him coming back as far as what he could add?) – “Yeah, if we get to that point. We got some practice in this week. We’ll just kind of see how this all shakes out. We’re going to meet this afternoon and really kind of sort through everything and see where the finalized health of everybody is. We’ll figure out who is up, who is down and who is healthy enough to go. We just have a lot of guys that have some issues to where some guys might have to go even though they’re banged up pretty good. And a couple of guys may have to sit just because it’s too much.”
(There have been some rumblings with WR DeVante Parker, trades and whatever. Have you talked to him about that?) – “Yeah, I mean a long time ago. I think it was like in training camp somebody said something to me. I don’t really pay attention to all of that stuff. But if it gets back to (me), if something gets to me, then I’m assuming that he probably heard something about it. I know I haven’t called anybody.”
(Playing Bears LB Khalil Mack last year, can you draw anything for this year’s…) – “Do you go and repeat questions? Didn’t we do this yesterday? (laughter) You didn’t but somebody else did. (laughter) No, I mean … Playing those guys later in the season, he was pretty banged up. You can see that he’s in great shape. Probably him not being in training camp was really good for him just because he was probably getting after it pretty hard early in his career and you can see he looks explosive, fast and all of those things that you saw when he was in his first couple of years. He looks like he’s taken it to another level. He looks really good right now.”
(It’s bizarre to see you guys out there without DE Cameron Wake on the field. Can you give us some indication of how bad this was and how serious this was or how far away he’s been from playing?) – “I mean, he’s not far. It’s just we’re trying to be smart.”
(It seems like it’d have to be something serious to keep DE Cameron Wake out.) – “Yeah. It’s just one of those things where we’re being very cautious. We do not want to lose him longer than what we already have right now. We’re just trying to make sure that everything is right and that he’s ready to go and we’ve got him for the rest of the year. That’s really the best answer I can give you because he’s an older player that if you rush him back and you have any kind of setback and lose him longer, now that’s going to be a bigger issue.”
