Adam Gase – September 16, 2018 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 16, 2018
Postgame – New York Jets
Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by New York Jets)
(On if he felt good about the team’s performance going into halftime) – “Yeah, we felt things were going good momentum wise. We were hoping for a stop when we started the second half, and we didn’t do a very good job there. We have a fumble on the first play, and then really, getting the turnover, that kind of helped at least stop things for a second, but we just have to do a better job of being consistent and putting drives together.”
(On the defense playing aggressive in the second half) – “I thought the guys did a good job of executing the game plan. We wanted to stop the run, try to make it a one-dimensional game. Forty two rushing yards, that’s a good start for us. We got the turnovers we needed when we needed them, and then we had opportunities where they were kind of creeping into the red zone, and at least holding them to long field goals, which is important for those guys, giving them an opportunity to possibly miss it.”
(On Frank Gore moving up to fourth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list as well as converting on a crucial third down late in the game) – “It was a good job. Our guys did a good job running off the ball. We had a shot called there. We were going to try to end it right there, and Ryan (Tannehill) got a little bit of pressure, stepped up, found a way to get the ball out. Frank made a great catch and had the awareness to not only get the first down but then to get down to finish the game.”
(On Matt Haack giving the Dolphins great field position throughout the game) – “Yeah, we were trying to make them drive the length of the field, and that was one thing — if we had to flip field position, that was going to be a success. We’d like to finish a couple of those drives differently on offense, but I think if our defense keeps playing like that, we are going to get more opportunities and we’ll find a way to get in the end zone.”
(On evaluating Ryan Tannehill’s performance today) – “I thought he did a lot of good things. There’s a lot of things we have to clean up. Having him back, it’s nice to be able to do some of the things we do where he runs the ball and has big plays in critical situations.”
(On if the Dolphins performance today reflected what he envisioned this team would look like) – “Yeah. What we’re doing out there is close to what we’re looking to do, and we just have to do a few things better. We have to be a little cleaner in practice, which will carry over to Sunday, and next week we have to have a better week.”
(On if today’s performance was encouraging and feels like a start toward becoming the team he envisions) – “It started for us in April, it’s just nobody else realized that, so we’ll just keep getting better and keep surprising people.”
(On what he saw in his team during the last offensive drive to close out the game) – “They had the attitude of they were not going to let them get the ball back. We felt good about what we had ready to go for that series. It was good chatter on the sideline. Guys were ready to go and knew what to do to execute. They knew what was coming. It’s tough when you play that team, because it’s hard to run the ball, and Todd (Bowles’) defenses are always like that. We seem to stick with it and find a way to get some yards when we need them.”
(On what he saw from the Dolphins defensive backs) – “I thought those guys did a good job. They were aggressive, they were trying to contact receivers at the line of scrimmage, they were trying to make windows tight. I thought the safeties were moving all over the place. That’s what we want them to do. We want those guys to be active, and when they get an opportunity to make plays — as long as we make those plays, then that’s going to be game changing for us.”
(On Albert Wilson doing a bit of everything today and if it will be a challenge for defenses moving forward to figure out Wilson’s role) – “Yeah, we are going to try to make it hard. It could just be a regular (play), lining up. That’s what happens when you have a plan for a guy when you sign him as a free agent.”
(On how it feels to be 2-0) – “On to the next one.”
(On his thoughts about the offensive line today) – “I thought they did a good job. They were tight. That’s a tight room and those guys figured out a way to get it done. I thought they did a good job, especially on that touchdown pass before the end of the half. They had great protection there, and then Ryan did a good job of finding (TE A.J. Derby) in basically a scramble drill almost, even though he stayed in the pocket. Those guys got guys covered up for the most part. A couple things didn’t go the way that we needed them to go, but we’ll get better from here.”
(On the blocking looking perfect on Kenyan Drake’s touchdown run) – “Yeah, that’s what that play is. There’s going to be nine, 10 guys almost in the box, and he did a great job, (Mike) Gesicki did a great job of staying on his guy and Kenyan got skinny and found a way to get in there.”
(On how the offensive line reacted to Josh Sitton being placed on injured reserve) – “I think they were probably down early. He was kind of letting them know that it was a little worse than what we originally thought. He’s been good about it. He’s been around, he’s been making sure that he’s staying with those guys, talking to them. He’s kind of that old school guy that those guys look up to and they look to when they have questions on what’s going on with the defense. Even today on the sideline, he just brings a good energy to that group and those guys like him. I’m glad he’s sticking around.”
(On if the offensive line had full support for Ted Larsen entering today’s game) – “Oh yeah. That whole group, there’s three or four guys that are just old school — they don’t say much, and they grind every day. They complain, but you never hear them say it, but you kind of hear about it, but it’s a good room.”
(On how he would classify Tannehill’s runs at the end of the game and if Tannehill is thought of as an athletic QB that can make those runs) – “Yeah, that’s just zone read. That’s all it is. He does a good job, he knows how to read it. He’s a pretty good athlete — he played wide receiver in college for a little bit, so he’s not afraid to get out there and mix it up. It’s not really something ideal, sometimes we wanted him to get down probably a little sooner, but in the critical parts of the game where that’s an option, you can see what can be the result.”
(On if he held his breath at all when Tannehill went down a bit awkwardly and limped) – “Yeah, that was weird. I think it was on one of the sacks where his knee kind of hit the turf. I’ve seen that go the other way a couple of times where it’s not good, and I was just trying to figure out what was going on, but he was alright.”
(On if Gore deserves today’s game ball because he is now fourth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list or due to his key third down conversion) – “You can take your pick, either one. I’m happy about both of them.”
Adam Gase – September 14, 2018
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Friday, September 14, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(We found out the news on G Josh Sitton. How does that impact what you guys had planned?) – “We’ve had a decent idea all week that he wasn’t going to be ready for this game. Then after lots of discussions with him, with everybody in our organization, we realized that the best option was for him to have surgery and not try to risk anything to where it could prevent him from ever playing again.”
(C/G Ted Larsen has had kind of an interesting ride here. Things didn’t work out the way you wanted, with him getting injured coming into last season and then I think he said last year that he preferred to play on the right side versus the left or something like that. How has he handled all of the tumult throughout his year and a half here?) – “Ted doesn’t say much. He handles everything like a pro. I had a good conversation with him before we started the spring as far as how I saw his role and why we were giving Jesse (Davis) the right guard job, without him being able to compete for it. He’s a competitor. He wanted to compete for the spot and that’s fair. I understand that, especially going into your ninth season. He did a great job of stepping in with that second group, playing multiple positions, both sides and center. Now, it’s kind of come about to where he has to step in and be a starter for us. It feels good to be able to at least have a guy that’s started 76 games including the playoffs over his career. That’s a positive for us.”
(So you sat him down and basically told him that you were giving this job to G/T Jesse Davis, a much younger guy. And he was good with it?) – “He wanted to compete for it. But Ted’s is a pro. Not everybody is going to throw a temper tantrum. A lot of guys understand what this business is and if they go about it right, things work out.”
(C Travis Swanson has played guard before in Detroit. What’s your comfort level with him at guard if he has to play guard at some point?) – “I’m going to trust (Offensive Line Coach) Jeremiah (Washburn) on anything that has to do with moving the line around. That’s where he’s the expert at. I don’t try to act like I know more than I do. He has a good plan going into this game and we’ve had all week to prepare for it.”
(Do you feel good about C/G Ted Larsen playing left guard for the long haul, or do you anticipate looking outside?) – “No, we’re not going to be looking anywhere. I like our group.”
(Is QB Brock Osweiler going to be the backup quarterback again this week?) – “I don’t know. We’ll find out.”
(G Josh Sitton, I know that he had developed a good relationship with T Laremy Tunsil. What happens with Laremy as far as … do you break in a new guard? I know he played with C/G Ted Larsen a little bit.) – “That’s kind of the benefit of Ted’s been here. Those guys have played next to each other and they’ve practiced together. I think Josh was a very positive influence on Laremy. Those two guys worked well together and I think this will be a good transition for us, a smooth transition, because Ted is a good communicator. He can pick up kind of where Josh left off. Josh is going to be around. He’s going try to help our guys as much as possible when he’s available to do so. I know he’s going to have a procedure at some point, so we’ll probably lose him for a few days; but he’s not going to go far. We still have him under contract for another year and we anticipate him coming back next year, so we like the fact that he’s going to be around.”
(It’s obviously tough to lose any player. Is it especially tough to lose G Josh Sitton? There were such great plans for him and he was such a key part of what you were doing.) – “I think any time you lose a guy that’s been all-in, it’s tough for not only the coaching staff, but players and everybody involved in the organization. Really, at the end of the day, you look at it for that guy. All of us might be doing our jobs for a long time until we’re 50, 60, 70 years old, where these guys have a very short window. When they lose a season, that’s a lot of years for a normal job. He’s put so much into this year and he’s put so much into what we’re doing as a team that I probably feel worse for him than I do for us.”
(Has G Josh Sitton made a contribution already? Do you feel like you’ve seen what you’ve added as far as the benefit maybe to T Laremy Tunsil?) – “Yes. I see just his attitude and the way that his presence kind of helps that o-line room. I think him and (Daniel) Kilgore have done a great job of coming in there and being two new faces and becoming leaders. Josh is a leader in his own way. He’s not much of a talker but when he speaks, guys listen. I think he and Laremy have developed a really good relationship. I think he’s a positive influence on him and I think he will be moving forward. There’s something about him. You’re around him long enough where you notice he has a little quiet swagger about him.”
(How did WR DeVante Parker get through the week in practice and is he still on track to play Sunday?) – “I thought he did a good job with what we asked him to do. He got in some live team reps. He’s running well, he’s catching the ball well. It seems like he’s not having any issues catching the ball, so we’ll have our discussions here in the next two days and figure out how we really go about it from here.”
(You were kind enough to tell us last week that it was Director of Football and Player Development Clyde Christensen who came up with the idea of moving WR Jakeem Grant outside. The decision to have RB Kenyan Drake and RB Frank Gore open Sunday, was that your idea, something you had planned? Or how did that come about?) – “I think that was one of those things we’d really been planning for since we signed Frank. That’s nothing revolutionary. It’s just getting good players on the field. That’s all we’re trying to do.”
(And then one other thing on that general topic. The decision you made in mid-August to move CB Bobby McCain outside. It was obviously something that had been done before – it was done in the spring, it was done last year – was that something Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke suggested? Do you recall?) – “I didn’t really have anything to do with that. Those guys, I don’t mess with them too much on what they want to do as far as personnel goes, who’s playing where. If I have a suggestion, I’ll make it; but I rarely say anything, because I trust those guys. That’s why they’re there. Those guys came up with the idea that this might be the best for us right now, and moving forward maybe it changes, we don’t know; but I was comfortable with it. Since it was Bobby, I was comfortable with it, because I trust him with wherever we put him.”
(Listening to some of your comments earlier this week about using a rotation of tight ends, it seems like you haven’t really done that much in your past. What’s kind of new about that for you?) – “Because when you play on the ball and you’re rotating guys in and out, it makes it tough, because now they’re slowing you down. The officials stop it. We’ve got to let them sub and all of that stuff. Even if it’s just one-for-one, it doesn’t matter. The officials aren’t going to look and be like, ‘It was tight end for tight end. You guys are good.’ It’s easier when one guy just stays in, because now you keep a better rhythm. We’ll kind of have a good idea of what we want to do. I feel good about what we’ve got this week.”
(I was talking to your backup deep snapper, LS Lucas Gravelle, about last week and everything. It turns out he’s an interesting story, but he said at TCU, I think they only punted eight times and he had four solo tackles. Is there such a thing as an athletic deep snapper? What else do you do? How else do you make an impression aside from being accurate with your snaps?) – “It starts with that. After that, whatever … Really those guys, as long as they’re doing a good job of staying in their lane and they’re giving that effort, and they can be disruptive to the returner on any kind of return, that’s valuable. I think over my career, I don’t know how many guys I’ve actually been around that’ve been dynamic athletes or been involved in the tackle a whole bunch. I think it’s rare. I think the last guy I can think of was Brian Jennings may have been the one guy, in San Francisco, that I remember was an actual … He would play tight end and long snap. I’m sure there’s been other guys that I didn’t know about, but that’s the last one I remember.”
(Is there an optimum body type for that, because LS Lucas Gravelle doesn’t seem to fit it?) – “I think when you’re a long snapper, if you’re accurate and you have velocity and can get it back there quick and you’re good with the protections, I think most special teams coaches, that’s an ideal starting point for them.”
(Part of the progression for young players is playing through injuries, learning how to play when you’re not 100 percent. What do you feel like WR DeVante Parker is at?) – “That doesn’t bother me. This was not a pain … This was not his fault by any means.”
(Right, but WR DeVante Parker has to go out on the field and try to be himself as much as he can.) – “I’m not worried about it with this injury. I feel good with where he’s at right now. He’s got it strong and the way they have his hand kind of taped up, he’s able to have movement and he’s able to snag the ball. This is not a pain thing for him at this point. It was more of a stability thing for us. I think he’s in a good place. He proved to me two years ago when he played with his back kind of jacked up against Baltimore that he’s tough. He can handle the pain. It is hard sometimes when you’re not 100 percent, when you’re a big guy that goes to get the ball, like how physical can you play? That’s the toughest thing to try to figure out.”
(Having five receivers you trust, will this be the toughest decisions for you and Wide Receivers Coach Ben Johnson since you’ve been here as far as allocation of receiver snaps?) – “No, because if we play the right way and guys are exerting max effort, then when we have different guys in there, it’s not a big deal. When you keep a guy in too long and he starts slowing down and he’s not playing fast, that’s when you have issues.”
(Not trying to get you to look past this week, but you’re going to have Jets QB Sam Darnold two games this year, Bills QB Josh Allen two games this year, Texans QB Deshaun Watson and Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky later this year. Is there a challenge or an advantage to playing against guys in their first, second season?) – “You’re right, I’m not looking … I’m focused on this week. That’s a tough question to really answer. A couple of those guys, I haven’t seen play in our league yet. You might catch a game on TV or something, but that doesn’t mean anything. That’s why this week we’ll focus on the snaps we have of Darnold. Past that, we’ll worry about those other games when we get there.”
(What would keep WR DeVante Parker out Sunday?) – “I don’t know. We just have to go look at how we’re going to do the inactives and special teams and defense and offense, kind of how to put it all together. That’s the puzzle you’re always trying to figure out.”
Cameron Wake – September 14, 2018
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Friday, September 14, 2018
DE Cameron Wake
(What is it that we didn’t see that led to not having a sack in the first game?) – “I think they got the ball out of his hands quick. Other than that, I don’t think there was much else. You got me wracking my brain, that seems like ancient history now. I’ve kind of moved on.”
(What have you seen from the Jets offense so far?) – “They had a lot of success against Detroit obviously. They ran the ball for 160-something. So obviously, we have to get out there and put an emphasis on stopping the run. That will obviously help getting off the field, third-and-long, getting after the quarterback and all of those things. I don’t think that’s a secret, that they probably want to run the ball and we want to stop the run. I think that’s probably one of the top priorities.”
(What did you see from Jets RB Isaiah Crowell. It looks like he’s pretty excited with his opportunity there?) – “Yes, why not? It seems like a great opportunity.”
(It seems like Jets RB Isaiah Crowell was running really hard and he had that one long run too. Is that something that probably opened up for him?) – “That would be a great question for him. To be honest, because of that situation, there’s a lot of new for them. We don’t have a long history of tendencies of what’s going to happen and who’s going to play, do what and whatnot. At the end of the day, we’re focusing on what we’re going to do. I’m not too concerned about him specifically or anybody else (because) it’s all about making sure we’re going to do the things we’re supposed to do, be where we’re supposed to be, play your keys, read your keys and put the ball on the ground. It’s pretty simple but not easy. We’ve got to go out there and execute.”
(What did you think about Jets QB Sam Darnold?) – “Again, I think he did well (for) the first game out. But again, if they can run the ball, that can open up a lot of different things that control the game. That’s going to make it an easier day for any quarterback, I don’t care who you are – a rookie or a Hall of Famer. Again, (we have to) make sure we do what we’re supposed to do and then it won’t matter who’s playing running back, quarterback, offensive coordinator and so on down the line.”
(I know you don’t want to look past this game, but you might face Jets QB Sam Darnold twice this year, Bills QB Josh Allen is another rookie you could face twice this year, Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky is in his second year. You’re going to face a lot of quarterbacks that might not have a lot of NFL experience. What’s the challenge and I guess the advantage for experienced players on defense, like you guys have?) – “Well, it’s the NFL. Kind of like you said, I don’t really look forward. I don’t even know who we’re playing next week, so you just said a whole bunch of people I don’t have any focus on. It’s all about this week and this is the NFL. There are no bad players in this league. Everybody’s the top of the top – quarterback, running back, offensive line, it doesn’t matter. Again, every week, you have to do your job to the best of your ability play in and play out. Defense is different than offense where you can probably have a bad quarter and go out there and have a good quarter, and you score two touchdowns or three touchdowns and everybody’s patting you on the back – 21 points, blah, blah, blah. Defense is completely opposite. You can’t have a bad quarter or a bad series because it leads to points on the board. Three touchdowns is probably a bad deal for the defense. It’s probably great for the offense. Again, I don’t necessarily focus on the player. I focus on us, doing what we’re supposed to do, being where we’re supposed to be, where the games are lost or won. We have to do what we can to make all the chips in our favor and make sure we win.”
Ted Larsen – September 14, 2018
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Friday, September 14, 2018
C/G Ted Larsen
(What are your thoughts on being a full-time starter again in wake of the news about G Josh Sitton?) – “It’s what you prepare for. It’s not a shock to anybody or to me. I was ready to go all training camp. It is what it is.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said he talked to you at the beginning of the offseason and he said we’re going to put G/T Jesse Davis in that right guard spot and he didn’t think you’d like hearing that but that you were a good soldier about it. How did you deal with that?) – “I just tried to play well in the preseason and practice well and see what shook out after training camp. They did what they wanted to do and all I can do is just practice and play hard.”
(What was the first year and a half like for you here? I mean, it couldn’t have been the way you imagined it would be, being hurt and missing a bunch of time and then left side vs. right side.) – “No, I mean, I came in and I’d never been on IR. So I was on short-term IR, but I was able to come back and play half the year and then I thought I’d come back this year; but things changed. It’s an opportunity for me right now to play a bunch of games.”
(How does your mind-set or approach change knowing you’re going to be the starter for the rest of the season?) – “It really doesn’t. I prepared to be a starter at three positions. So now I’m just able to focus on really one position. If anything, it just helps me focus in a little more.”
(What is the comfort level for you on the left side?) – “Same as anywhere else.”
(They’ve emphasized so much the continuity of the five starters, so how much chemistry do you have playing with C Daniel Kilgore and T Laremy Tunsil?) – “I mean, every time Josh (Sitton) didn’t practice in training camp, which was like every other day, (I took reps). I think the continuity, maybe that’s a little overblown. Guys get hurt all the time. On any offensive line, there’s going to be backups playing. I think you kind of have to go into the year with six or seven or eight guys that are all tight, that can play together and interchange with each other.”
Darren Rizzi – September 13, 2018
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Thursday, September 13, 2018
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(What stood out to you on WR Jakeem Grant’s return for a touchdown?) – “A lot of things. I know Jakeem has mentioned it a bunch, but just a really good job of execution by the blocking unit, by the return unit. A play like that doesn’t happen where a guy goes untouched if you don’t have 11 guys. We call it one-eleventh. Our players have talked about that before. That was really the epitome of one-eleventh, everybody doing their job. As you guys know, a couple of guys on that unit were really only here a couple of days, so that’s always an interesting thing as well and good for them. (Brandon) Bolden had a great kick-out block, Senorise (Perry) really had a great lead block. A couple of really good blocks on the inside. I think Jakeem really executed the play with how we like to execute it, with kind of the little details we talked about. I kind of had a front row seat where I was sitting. It was coming right at me and you could kind of see one springing. We had that kick-out block, we had a really nice seam there and then Jakeem did the rest by outrunning everybody, but (it was) a really good job by the entire unit and Jakeem really just putting the cherry on the sundae, if you will. ”
(Have you been a part of a game where it’s one touchdown on each side on the kickoff return?) – “Unfortunately I have. Riding the roller coaster. I think one other time here, if I’m not mistaken – one of the years up in Buffalo. If I’m not mistaken, Marcus Thigpen had a kickoff return for a touchdown, I think they returned a punt for a touchdown. I’m not sure exactly what year that was. You guys could look that up better than me, you guys have the info on it; but yes, that was one of those games as well, where I think they had a punt and we had a kickoff. We certainly rode the roller coaster a little bit there on Sunday, for sure.”
(What went wrong on that one Titans kickoff return?) – “It’s one of those all of the above’s. A little bit of everything there. First of all, starting with me, not a great call, not a great kick, not great coverage, not great tackling. So, we’ll go with letter ‘E,’ all of the above. It wasn’t really good by anybody in that regard. That’s one of the things we have to improve on the most this week is our coverage. It’s something we take a lot of pride in, as you guys know. It’s one of the things we were really good at last year and that has to carry over. We have to improve quickly in that area.”
(I’ve been wondering about K Jason Sanders kicking short of the end zone. Is that by design?) – “You guys know that we’ve done that a lot here based on both. We’re not worried about his leg strength a little bit. Sometimes it’s by design, sometimes it’s not by design. There’s kickers who sometimes try to swing for the fence and kind of – it’s like a golf swing, sometimes you chunk the ball a little bit or cut underneath the ball or get a little bit too much, so it can be a combination of things.”
(There was a lot mentioned this offseason about the new kickoff rule. Did you feel like that had any impact on either of those touchdowns.) – “I think it’s a much more wide open play, so I definitely do. Number one, for the kickoff return team, it’s much easier to identify the kick coverage and who you’re blocking assignment-wise. With the old rule, you could go six by four, you could motion guys, you could move guys around and occasionally it could get confusing for the return team if you didn’t really practice that particular week – if someone threw something new at you, a little bit of a curveball. So, definitely. I think I mentioned this already – it’s a much more wide open play. When you don’t have those eight players up, there’s more spacing on the play. Again, a guy like Jakeem (Grant) and for their guy, kudos to him, he made a big play too. You see more of a wide-open play. You have to be able to tackle in the open field a little bit better. There’s not those wedge-blockers. Some people liken it to a punt return. I guess you could say that a little bit, but I just look at it as a much more wide-open kick return play. I know the kick return average is up in Week 1 and is higher than it’s been. We’ll kind of see if that carries through the rest of the year. Overall, I think I talked about this a couple of weeks ago, I really believe in my heart that over the course of the year, you’ll see the touchback percentage go down a little bit, you’ll see more returns. I think it’s a safer play and a more wide open play. ”
(How would you say your special teams performed last Sunday?) – “Like I said before, a little bit of a roller coaster. Obviously, we made a huge play, we had a game changer; but we kind of let them kind of get back in a little bit as well. You kind of look at it overall, there were some things you’re pleased with. It’s kind of like every game. Some things you’re happy with, some things you have to improve on. You can’t let up a big play. That’s unacceptable. So in that regard, we have to certainly manage that a lot better. But there were some things I was very happy with. It’s kind of like every game for me, though. I think there’s always going to be some things that you’re looking to improve on, no question, especially this part of the year. But on the flip side of the coin, we had a big kickoff return for a touchdown, we recovered an onside kick at the end of the game with our hands team. We really handled the punt – they put 11 men up at the end of the game – we handled that very well. So, situationally I was very happy with that part of it. I thought mentally, we did a really good job. It’s just our execution, our tackling, our coverages can be a little bit better.”
(During the offseason, a lot of the moves were about helping culture and getting football guys and so forth. Has that bled down into special teams, and if so, how?) – “First off, when you go back to the offseason, we looked at where we were as a special teams unit, and one of the priorities was getting a guy like Walt Aikens signed. There were guys we couldn’t get signed back for whatever reason. I’m not going to get into that right now. So, there’s some new bodies, there’s some new faces, there’s some of those guys. But that’s really a challenge every year for the special teams coach. Every year, regardless of what happens, there’s going to be changes at the bottom of the roster, and let’s be honest, that’s the players that I’m dealing with. It’s no secret. It’s the bottom of the roster that I have to do a great job and we have to do as a special teams staff of managing those guys. Every year I’ve been here – this is going to be year 10 for me – there hasn’t been a year where there hasn’t been some type of switch. Some years more than others. It might be four or five guys one year, it might be seven or eight another year. It’s always going to affect me in that sense. That’s one of the biggest things I’m challenged with is making sure that group, no matter who it is, we’re ready to play. I felt like in some ways we were on Sunday, and in other ways, like the big play, we weren’t. It’s certainly a challenge, there’s no doubt.”
(When you make an addition like RB Brandon Bolden, who comes with a reputation as a really solid, good locker room guy, what does that mean to you?) – “First off, that was a great addition. I’ve only known him personally for a short amount of time – I’ve always coached against him, so I knew him as a player and now I get to know the person a lot better. He’s everything I expected and maybe a little bit more. He’s very well-prepared, very mature, a great locker room guy, great preparation in the meeting rooms. I made mention about him this morning in our special teams meetings – he is a guy who was here for four days and not one mental mistake. He was in the right place. We threw a lot at him. All of the terminology for him is different. Special teams is special teams, but all of the lingo for him is different. His terminology, his alignments, his assignments, all of that (is different). He played a clean game and had a huge block on our big play. I think he’s a great role model for the guys that are just getting here, or the new guys, or the rookies or the young guys. This is a guy that I feel other guys can follow and look at him and the way he practices, the way he prepares and the way he plays. So, I think he’s a great addition. I think he kind of follows the line of what you’re seeing in the locker room. That type of guy, that’s the type of guy that we’re looking for around here, for sure.”
(LS John Denney has been here 14 years. You haven’t been here quite that long, but what’s his personality like? What’s he like to work with?) – “I have two daughters, and if my daughters married a guy like John Denney someday, I’ll be very, very happy. He is A-plus across the board, not only as a player – forget about him as a player – as a person, he is an A-plus-plus guy. Off the field, he’s a great human being. He’s a person that’s going to give you the shirt off of his back, literally. He’s a very religious guy, he’s a great father, he’s a great husband. He’s a tremendous role model as a person. Everything I could say positive about him, he’s always going to be above. That guy is great. Not only that, but as a player, you talk about preparation, his offseason, all of that stuff. I always use him with the younger guys, ‘Come here, watch what this guy does. Look how this guy trains, watch how this guy prepares.’ Even though he’s a long snapper – forget about what he does in between the lines – watch everything outside the lines and that’s what a professional football player, in my opinion, he is that role model of a football player. It’s not a surprise to me he’s lasted this long. He’s in great shape. I’ve talked about this before, he’s in phenomenal physical condition. Although he’s going on 40, he’s in as good a shape as anybody on this team, and so that’s why he’s been able to last. Obviously, the position helps as well. I get it. But certainly not a surprise to me.”
(If he snaps the ball 100 times, how many are going to be perfect snaps?) – “He’s probably grading out at about an A. I would say 90 out of 100 or more. Field goal snaps and punt snaps are obviously different. A great guy to talk about that is Matt Haack. Matt Haack is catching every snap that he throws back there, whether it’s a punt or a field goal. Obviously, Matt’s our holder. So, Matt’s going to tell you that he really enjoys having him there, for sure.”
(I was wondering because you don’t have depth at specialist positions, do you take a survey at some point in August to see who has long snapped before or who can kick in a pinch? How do you find the emergency guys?) – “That’s a great question. We have ways to do that. We’ve got a couple of unique ways to do that. Obviously we go around and we’ll have a little bit of a foundation coming in. We know the player coming in, if you have any background. If you didn’t have any background in college, then we go around and start asking about high school. And then sometimes we trick some guys into it too. (laughter) For example, I may say something like, ‘Hey, I know your high school coach. He let me know you were a long snapper in high school.’ And the kid is like, ‘You know my high school coach? How’d you know I snapped?’ And I didn’t know his high school coach. (laughter) So he would say, ‘I can’t believe you talked to Coach Smith.’ I didn’t talk to Coach Smith but I’m glad I know you long snap now. (laughter) So now we’ll start practicing that guy every day at long snapper. So there’s a bunch of different ways to go about it. I’m joking, but I’m not joking. So myself and (Assistant Special Teams Coach) Marwan (Maalouf), we go through the roster and we find out the background on guys for really their whole life. Have they been a returner? Have they been a snapper? Have they been a holder? Have they been a kicker? Have they been a punter? Because again, with 46 guys on the sideline as was the case on Sunday, you never know when that situation is going to present itself and you have to have options. There’s been games, and I know my former assistant Dave Fipp, up in Philadelphia, he had a game a couple of years ago where they were down to their third snapper. Their snapper got hurt and the guy that went in for him got hurt, and they were down their third guy. It’s a crazy situation. So you have to be prepared for all of these scenarios. We kind of have a pretty good baseline on everybody and what they’ve done.”
(So how many snaps did TE Durham Smythe take since he’s been here?) – “He’s taken more on one-on-one. In team reps, not a lot. As you guys know, we don’t get a lot of team reps to begin with, so the ones … we’ll throw our guys in there, whether it’s been Mike Hull or MarQueis Gray. Mike Hull and MarQueis Gray were two of our snappers. So obviously going into last week, MarQueis Gray was really our backup snapper.”
(So TE Durham Smythe is like the fourth-string long snapper?) – “Yes. If you asked me this question in preseason, he would have been fourth. That’s correct. That’s absolutely correct.”
(I would say DT Ndamukong Suh as an emergency kicker is a little surprising, especially if you didn’t know he had done it in Detroit. But have you ever come across some random thing like S Reshad Jones knows how to punt or anything like that?) – “Everybody says they’re a kicker. Everybody says ‘Oh, I can kick,’ because they want to score points. So we’ll line guys up and say ‘Okay, let’s see what you’ve got.’ It’s ugly. It’s disgusting. (laughter) As a special teams coach, it’s gross. It’s bad. It’s bad, bad, bad.”
(What was a good find though? What’s one that was good where you were like, ‘Wow, this guy is good.’) – “Believe it or not, we’ve had some guys that are smaller guys, like small receivers, that have been able to snap. Like they played quarterback before. A lot of times if you can throw the ball pretty well, you can snap the ball pretty well. So there’s some little guys that we’ve found throughout the years that have been pretty good snappers. There’s been a number of guys that have been some smaller guys; but again, when you go into … A lot of the offensive linemen that have played center throughout the years, those guys can snap. There are a couple of guys on our roster that can short-snap. So there’s been some guys that, throughout the years, whether it be kick or punt or snap, (they can do it). But we have to know. We have to have those plans and as you said before, you never know what’s going to happen.”
(DE/LB Jason Taylor was your backup punter, right?) – “Jason Taylor was. I’ve got to give you a great story. I’ve got to give you a great backup snapper. This is one of my favorite stories since I’ve been here. So we had a punter here my first year or second year, an Australian guy, that came in for camp. His name was Jy Bond. I don’t know if you guys remember Jy Bond. So Jy Bond was a punter that we had here in the preseason. So Jy goes in and just like we would do once in awhile, every once in awhile we’d bring our backup snapper in. So we bring up Jason Taylor. So this was Year 2 for me. This was 2010, if I’m not mistaken. So we say, ‘J.T., take this last one. Take this punt.’ So Jy Bond, growing up in Australia, he doesn’t know Jason Taylor from Lawrence Taylor. So he’s back there and Jason Taylor snaps one and he snaps the ball a little bit high and Jy kind of scrambles and punts it off and the punt period is over. So everyone is walking off the field and Jy Bond goes ‘Hey, ‘99’.’ (laughter) And Jason Taylor is walking off the field and is kind of thinking to myself, ‘I know this guy didn’t just say that.’ So he’s walking and they’re about 20 yards away and he goes, ‘I said Hey ‘99’’ and Jason Taylor looks over. He goes ‘Yes, that snap was a little bit up here.’ And Jason Taylor goes ‘Hey buddy, why don’t you do me a favor and just kick the effing ball and don’t worry about me.’ (laughter) So we had to kind of bring Jy over to the side and kind of explain to him who he was dealing with at that point. Of course, to this day, J.T. and I actually laugh about it. I saw him last night at my son’s JV game. Our sons play football together. So every once in awhile, we joke around about that. That’s always a good one though. ‘Hey ’99.’’ That’s my good backup snapper story. I thought you guys would enjoy that one.”
(So who are the guys on this roster that could do it if called upon?) – “Again, we’re always going to have at least three as a backup emergency. Right now, I’d say there’s four guys on our team that could snap it if they had to in an emergency situation. That’s not including (Mike) Hull and (MarQueis) Gray.”
(I’m not going to be able to top that but you had CB Bobby McCain and S T.J. McDonald play every snap on defense and 12 and 11 snaps on special teams. Is that the higher end of the usage you want to have?) – “Well, if you look at those snaps, I want to say five of them were field goal block, which is a defensive play for us. Then we had another defense stay on for our punt return. We kept the defense out and only brought the returner in. We kept the defense out. So I think that was half of their snaps. But you know what? As always here, we’re going to have starting players that are going to have roles, especially defensive players. That’s been the case throughout. The team we’re playing this week, the Jets, they do a lot of that. They’ve got a lot of defensive players that play on one or two teams. Bobby has been a starter here before and he’s always been on a couple of things. T.J. did the same thing when he was with the Rams. So some of the jobs they’ve done before and are used to, they’re always going to be usually involved in at least one team. Field goal block is kind of a separate unit.”
Dowell Loggains – September 13, 2018
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Thursday, September 13, 2018
Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains
(Do you ever use paper? Is everything computerized now or do you ever pull out a piece of paper and draw a ball play?) – “Actually, today, the little prep sheet (the communications staff) gave me, there’s plays drawn up all over it.”
(Can we see them?) – “No. (laughter) This time next week.”
(When the pistol offense – you’re starting to get in it – when is it used, what’s the pros and cons to its usage and why is it a right fit for these two backs?) – “Sometimes it helps hide run-pass. There are some things in shotgun that are hard to do. Sometimes the pistol give you advantage in some of the play-action passes that tie into the running game.”
(What pleased you most about what you saw on offense Sunday?) – “Number one was getting the victory. I think to some extent, the delays hurt us, because as we started building a little bit of momentum here and there, the game kind of felt choppy. Even offensively at times, I felt like we were a little bit choppy. Right when I feel like … And you could feel it in (Head) Coach (Adam Gase). In the play calling, he would be aggressive, felt like we had a good feel for the game and how the thing was going to go and then the delay started a little bit. The thing that was really pleasing was how the guys persevered. It was resilient. There were a lot of things going on that were weird and had to get cooled down, you had to get loose again, you cool down, you get loose again. There was no complaining. They handled adjustments. When you give coaches that much time, all of a sudden we’re drawing up ball plays to do in the second half with that much down time. They handled all of the adjustments really well.”
(You guys were drawing up plays during the break?) – “There was that much time. We were sitting around going through what had happened the first half and started making adjustments. You know hoe coaches are, you give us a lot of time to sit around and we’re going to think of stuff to do and just trying to help our guys put into better situations.”
(Was there one that you can share with us that worked?) – “There were some that worked and some that didn’t work.”
(Any one in particular that stands out to you?) – “No. I thought they handled all the adjustments well. There were a couple things that came up. Obviously, the touchdown pass – the 75-yarder to Stills – we felt like we had a pretty good beat on when we could get them into that coverage. Coach (Gase) called it at the right time.”
(Do you think you would’ve been as likely to call that then if you hadn’t had all the time to think and analyze what had happened?) – “I think we would’ve gotten to it, but you’re just sitting around thinking about, ‘How are they playing us? We’ve run these plays, what can we come back off of it?’
(What’s your role on Sundays? What do you do?) – “My role is to fulfill the vision of the head coach and give advice when asked.”
(Anything in specific you can share as to what you do?) – “It’s a unique role, because we have a play-calling head coach. As the offensive coordinator, I’m there to … When he’s talking to defense … And obviously there’s a lot of back and forth between Adam (Gase) and I on the headset, and between the quarterbacks, obviously. I play a big role with Ryan (Tannehill) on game day and I’m filling in wherever I need to fill in.”
(Do you remind him of stuff you guys have talked about earlier in the week that he wanted to get to and may not have at that point?) – “We go back and forth throughout the series, throughout, as the series is going, between series, what they’re doing, the adjustments we need to make.”
(In terms of the blocking and physicality you got from TE MarQueis Gray, do you have that yet with TE Durham Smythe or any of your tight ends on the roster, I guess? TE A.J. Derby. Or is Durham just not at the point yet in his maturation process where he’s able to do for you what Gray could?) – “He’s going to get there. It’s early in the season. We’ve played one game. He’s working really hard at it. He understands the role that he has to fill on this offense and he’s doing a good job with it.”
(Where is TE A.J. Derby in terms of contribution and level of play at all phases a tight end has to play?) – “He’s doing a good job doing what we’re asking him to do. He’s playing some at Y, which is at the point of attack, and he’s playing some as the F as the pass catcher. He’s going to continue to fulfill that role and there will be plays we have him in for him each week that we think that he’s better than the other two guys. There are plays Mike (Gesicki) is going to have that we feel utilize his strengths more.”
(You guys always plan to have everybody play a different, varying role. How does the change with TE MarQueis Gray being sidelined?) – “It didn’t change much, because we planned on those guys, all four of them playing and being part of this offense. We just shifted around who plays more. As the game goes, we’ll continue to make adjustments. As the weekly matchups continue to change, we’ll continue to game plan and figure out what those guys do well that week.”
(You said when you were hired – you said this recently – but thinking back to when you were hired and took stock of the speed that they have, that these were becoming your players now. What was specifically your initial impression of WR DeVante Parker and what you saw him possibly developing into?) – “We did a lot of work on him when he came out. That was the year when we were in Chicago and we drafted Kevin White. Obviously, he was in that conversation of guys. You just saw a good football player that’s got length and size. That’s the thing that we don’t have right now, as he hadn’t played last week, was he’s got size and length and that’s different than the group we have right now. The thing that we’re excited about is hopefully when he’s back ready (is) putting him in position like we do with all the guys and do things that he does well in our opinion.”
(When you have a question mark on the offensive line with G Josh Sitton’s injury, I’m sure it doesn’t change your game plan completely, but are there tendencies you might run with Josh that would be different with C/G Ted Larsen or vice versa?) – “If there was something where we weren’t going to have Josh or any of our guys, we’ll look at what the other guys do well and try to put them in situations to be successful. Obviously, New York has good inside players. And some weeks the matchup would be different, if it was a tackle or a center, however it is. Does it change things? Absolutely. If you didn’t have someone at any position, you look to (say), ‘How is this matchup going to affect us in the game?’”
(Can you describe the sense of appreciation for what RB Frank Gore is as a running back changes when you get to see him live on your team as opposed to on TV or when you’re coaching the other team?) – “I think I probably feel the same way that you guys feel for the last 14 years. He’s been a prominent player in this league. He’s an unselfish player. He’s a team-first player. The way he goes about his business in a professional manner and works. He wants to practice every day and our guys have done a really good job managing him and giving him reps when he needed or take a day off when he needed. But to see him go out there and be unselfish and play … He plays hard, he plays physical and he brings that element to our offense that we expect and that’s why we signed him is to bring that element, the downhill runs. He has the ability to run outside and go off tackles as well, but he definitely has a presence. The one thing that Frank you have a great appreciation for is when you run powers and inside stuff, he has this unique ability to get skinny and find a way through a hole that you don’t think any human can fit through and then all of a sudden Frank shoots out for like a 6-yard gain.”
(What do you like about QB Luke Falk?) – “He’s one of the guys that we brought him into Miami during the pre-visit, the pre-draft visit stuff. He’s got a unique personality. He’s got like a swagger to him that you really like. He’s an accurate guy, throws with anticipation, put up really good numbers in college. When we had him here, you could just feel how smart he was in the pre-draft visit process. It’s been fun to work with him. He works really hard. We do stuff every day with him. We’re really trying to figure out right now what he can and can’t do and his strengths and where we got to improve as Ryan (Tannehill) plays and we get to develop another young player.”
Matt Burke – September 13, 2018
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Thursday, September 13, 2018
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(How challenging was it to go through the rotation at defensive end with the five guys you have and getting enough snaps for all of them?) – “It was fine. I didn’t really feel it was an issue. Obviously there was a different rhythm to the game. I’m not sure that was a typical way we’d go through things with the starting and stopping and that sort of thing. It was kind of an odd rhythm. Not just the breaks, but we had some short drives and some long drives. It was kind of a weird deal. I didn’t really feel like there was an issue. It was pretty clean.”
(All nine defensive linemen ended up playing the first series. Was that planned if it was going to be a longer series or is that just the way it worked?) – “Nope. That’s just the way it went.”
(The media told me that DE Robert Quinn and DE Cameron Wake were going to be on the field and going after quarterbacks together and stuff like that. How often did that really happen?) – “I mean they were on the field together a pretty good amount, I think. I couldn’t give you hard numbers on that. Really, I think in terms of our rush numbers, I don’t think we really had much of an opportunity to rush, if you look at true drop-back passing game. I thought one of the areas that we have to get better at was our first- and second-down defense. Really, our second-down defense. We made some plays on first down and kind of got them behind the chains and then we were kind of not as good on second down. So we didn’t have a third-and-longer-than-6 until the fourth quarter. So it’s hard. The ball is coming out quick when you’re in third-and-2, third-and-4, third-and-3, third-and-4. We were always on shorter down and distances. I’m pretty sure we had our first (third-and-long) on a third-and-9 almost in the fourth quarter, late in the game. So the first six to eight third downs we had were all sort of six or less yards to go, so they weren’t giving us opportunities. But that’s our fault. It’s not like it’s up to them to give us opportunities. We have to do a better job on the early downs to put us in those situations. It wasn’t really until towards the end of the game when we got a little bit of a lead and had a chance and knew the drop-back passing game was coming out. Before that, it was screens, quick-game, the ball’s out quick, boot(legs). I just felt like we didn’t really have an opportunity to truly pin our ears back and rush. Those guys were on the field together and we were rolling our groups and trying to get into some of that. You limit yourself in third-down defenses in what you can do when you’re behind the sticks a little bit.”
(Optimally, third-and-long, those are the two guys – DE Cameron Wake and DE Robert Quinn – that you want in there?) – “Absolutely.”
(What do you like best about what your defense did? Did anything stand out, any unit?) – “Well, I think probably the biggest contributing factors to us winning the game were obviously the takeaways, number one. That’s something we’ve been emphasizing and having the three picks, (they) were kind of timely interceptions. A couple of them were after those breaks to kind of jump start us a little bit to get us back into some things. Not a total lack of but I would probably say the second factor is a lack of explosive plays against us. By our count, we only had five of what we’d consider truly explosive plays, and really nothing over our heads. We had one where the tight end kind of sneaked out of the back side of us. So limiting explosive plays and obviously getting the three takeaways was huge, so I was happy with those things. We didn’t really have any balls go over our head in the passing game. Again, a point of emphasis this year was in terms of takeaways. I think in terms of on-the-field stuff, those were two critical factors for us and then I’m sure it’s probably said by a lot of people this week, but the resiliency and mental toughness those guys showed was awesome. Every time we were in the locker room, it just didn’t feel like there was any panic or any worry or anything. Everyone was really relaxed. When it was time to head back on the field, they mounted up and went back out there. For that second (delay) to come, sometimes that can be kind of demoralizing. I did think we got a little sloppy after that second break. That’s kind of where a lot of our missed tackles came and some of that stuff. We got a little looser in the run game. But I think that was just a hard, mentally-tough game to go through and they showed a lot of resiliency battling through a seven-hour game.”
(What’s your definition of explosive plays? You said there were five.) – “Yes, usually any run over 12 (yards) for us. That may be a little bit stingy for us but any runs over 12 (yards) – like we had the 26-yard run that busted out late on us – and passes over 18 (yards). So kind of in that realm. Everybody has their own definition but we’re usually right around there.”
(How would you rate S Minkah Fitzpatrick’s play in his first regular-season game for you?) – “Solid. He made some plays; he left some plays on the field. I’d love to see him finish that game off with a pick, obviously. He had a couple of other things. Again, a lot of times with him or any of those younger guys that are playing for us, there’s just some stuff they haven’t seen; but he obviously made a huge play for us on the goal line. That’s a great play for him to push through on the fourth-down play, and he had a couple of other stops before that. A lot of times in that role, with him playing inside a little bit more and then the nickel role, you didn’t really notice him on a lot of stuff, which is good. He wasn’t giving up plays. He wasn’t targeted. He didn’t miss a lot of stuff. He made the plays that came to him. He made a couple of really good plays and like I said, he left a couple on the field that could have solidified an even better day for him. He’s just … I think the more that he plays and the more he sees some things that he just hasn’t seen before, and he just keeps growing through that, he’s just going to keep getting better and better.”
(What have you learned about DT Akeem Spence since he’s been here?) – “As a person, he’s a very gregarious kid. He’s very outgoing, very personable, always has a smile on his face, very happy. He just loves being part of the team and loves playing ball. He’s fun to be around. Obviously having a history with (Defensive Line Coach) Kris (Kocurek), he has a good understanding and is a good conveyer of the message. He has a good understanding of what Kris wants from a technique standpoint and how we’re trying to play some things up front. He’s done that before. He’s obviously had a history in that scheme, so for him to help those other guys out in terms of trying to help get them caught up to speed on what we’re looking for. So he does a good job with that, doubling down on the message and having been through it for a season before this. He’s probably more ahead from a technique standpoint just because he’s been repping it and practicing it and training in that system for a year. So he helps a lot with the other guys and stuff. He’s got a big personality. I think most of the people in the building took to him instantly. He’s always fun to be around. I like being out at practice with him. He loves playing ball so it doesn’t matter whether it’s slogging through the heat at a practice or on game day, he’s always up and energized and he’s a good personality to have for the team.”
(Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel had some words for DE Andre Branch. Did you have any issues with that hit?) – “I mean, no. We just try to coach our guys on what the league tells us. I don’t know. There wasn’t a flag on any of those plays, so I can’t respond to what Coach Vrabel’s thoughts are.”
(Do you take personally when teams or other coaches might question…) – “Nope. I don’t take anything personally.”
(Is there a sense of pride that this team plays clean though, for you?) – “Yes. Like I said, we try to coach within the rules. We have constant dialogue with the NFL league office and what we’re trying to tell (our guys). I have no problem with anyone who wants to question my coaching style and my coaching abilities or techniques. I’m an open book and I’ll tell you exactly what we’re telling those guys. I don’t see that at all. Again, it’s a hard game to play; it’s a hard game to officiate. A lot of stuff is happening fast. The hits that have been questioned, neither one of them were flagged. I can just go off that and if they change that and want to come back to us and tell us this is not something that we’re looking for, then we’ll adjust what we’re telling our guys to do.”
(How do you understand the NFL rule on the RPOs [run-pass options] with the quarterbacks?) – “My understanding is that if the quarterback carries out a fake or continues the action of running, then he’s eligible to be contacted. He’s still in a running mode. If he shows his hands or steps back away from things, then he’s not eligible to be contacted. That’s what we teach our guys. If you’re defending RPO-type games, there’s always somebody that’s on the dive and on the quarterback or whatever the other elements of the option are there. Again, that’s my understanding. Until someone tells me otherwise, that’s how we’re going to keep coaching our guys.”
(You mentioned the resiliency of coming back after a couple of long breaks. Who is – what players are – making sure that everybody does that, gets together, stays together, plays together?) – “Honestly, it was … I never … I know it was talked about. Maybe Ryan (Tannehill) talked about it. There were kind of two different ways the breaks approached us. When that first one came, it was sort of like they just kept pushing it back. So we were kind of always on call waiting. We came in and they were like, ‘Hey, it’s going to be a half an hour and everything is going to pass.’ Then they come back in and go, ‘Oh, it’s going to extend another 15 minutes, another 15 minutes, another half an hour.’ So we were never … It was kind of a weird deal. Everyone was kind of waiting. Every time we thought we were about to head back out, they’d come back in and say ‘Nope. We have to wait’ however long the time break was. So that was a little different because we were a little bit kind of on edge. Everyone was kind of waiting. They thought we were getting back out there sooner than we did. The second one, they kind of told us right away ‘Hey, this is going to be a stretch here.’ They told us it was possibly going to be up to a couple of hours. At that point, you didn’t want to keep guys on edge for another two hours locked in. So we kind of just let them do their own thing. But every time I came back … We have our own (coaches) locker room that were kind of doing some things and making sure that we were on top of what we wanted to adjust to. Then every time we came back out, those guys were hanging out together, which was cool to see. There was just a … I was just at ease. I didn’t feel any anxiety. I didn’t feel … I wouldn’t say there was one person calling guys up or anything like that. I think it kind of became a point of pride, just as that thing extended and went on and on. It was like, ‘Hey, when we get back out there, this is what we have to do’ type of thing. It was just … I wouldn’t say there was necessarily one guy that was rallying the troops per se, but we just really collectively … There was no panic. There was no anxiety. It was ‘Alright, hey. This is what they’re telling us we have to do to win the game today. That’s what we’re going to go through.’ We all left the locker room together and got it done.”
(How does S Minkah Fitzpatrick’s personality, demeanor and maturity align with the idea that he’ll be playing in front of many family and friends going home this week?) – “I think he had a lot of family and friends down here last week too. I don’t think he thinks about any of that stuff. He’s all about ball. He’s like that in practice so on Sundays, I think he just applies what he does in practice to the field. When it’s time to play, I don’t think he’s thinking about who’s in the stands or who is watching on TV or anything else except for what (he) has to do to get his job done this week. I don’t think that even plays into anything that factors there.”
(Did the additional information you got on Jets QB Sam Darnold from Monday change your impression and game plan or was it about what you expected?) – “Well, we waited. Not necessarily just because of him but obviously there was sort of a lack of history between the coordinator and the quarterback altogether and doing all of that. So we waited to really get into our game-planning stuff until a bit later on Tuesday morning. I mean we watched all of that stuff, but we wanted to put that game into the cut-up. So it obviously factored into things. You never know. Obviously you watch preseason games and that’s kind of a little different element. I thought he had an impressive debut. I’ve coached in Detroit. I’ve coached Monday Night Football games in Detroit. That’s a loud stadium. That’s a hard place to play. I know the game kind of got out of hand as it went on but I thought he showed a lot of poise handling that and being on the road. Starting a game, obviously besides just being his debut, it was on the road in a Monday Night Football setting in a place that I know personally is a pretty loud environment. So I thought he showed a lot of poise and then, obviously, especially after the first play, he came back and didn’t show a lot of (being) rattled or anything like that. That’s going to be an evolving picture for us, just as we get to know him better. Obviously we’ll have to face him a couple of times a year most likely for the next however long. We’ll use that game to factor into some of the things that we’re doing.”
(How difficult is it to prepare for a quarterback who there’s just not that much film on?) – “Yes, I mean we obviously evaluate a lot of those guys through the draft and try to have some sense of what we feel like their strengths and weaknesses are. Some of it, you’re dealing with schematic issues in terms of whoever’s playing quarterback and what we’re doing. It’s hard. Well, I don’t want to say it’s hard but yes, there’s less information, so you’re sort of projecting some things and trying to anticipate what their answers are or what they’re trying to do to help him out to be successful. We’ve put a lot of stuff together again, just from college and what we had information on from there, through the draft process, and what we’ve seen on film in his preseason games and then the other night. Obviously we play them again, however many weeks down the road. So we’ll have a bigger, sort of, database of information to work of; but we’ve got to work off of what we’ve got right now.”
(Do you talk to quarterbacks when they come through here?) – “In the draft process?”
(Yes.) – “Some. It depends. I don’t make a point of it for me, personally. I’m usually pretty busy, but sometimes I mess around with them a bit. We’ll see. Usually I talk trash to them. (laughter)”
(One minor lineup thing. With CB Torry McTyer getting five snaps at cornerback last week. Was somebody hurt or did you just want to give him opportunities in a regular-season game at cornerback?) – “Yes. That was not an injury factor. At some point, down the road in this season, a lot of guys are going to have to play football for us. So when you have an opportunity to try to get some of those guys some work in real game action … We actually moved Minkah (Fitzpatrick) back to safety to get him some extra work there and bumped Bobby (McCain) to nickel. So guys that we’ve been working in a certain spot, now we can start playing around with making sure those guys are still getting some reps and some action at some other spots we may utilize them at. We had a little bit of a lead. Not that the game was in hand, but we just felt this was a good opportunity to get a look at some of those guys and give them some real, live action. You can’t simulate that in practice or anything. It was just a good opportunity for Torry to get some good game work for us.”
(Is there anybody that stood out to you that had a great game after you watched the film from last week?) – “Reshad Jones. Did he stand out to you? (laughter) Obviously he made two great plays. He does a lot for us. He was kind of back in midseason form. I thought Bobby (McCain) played pretty well for us too. (He was) kind of under the radar a little bit. He didn’t make a lot of plays per se or have a lot of stuff happen. He had that huge breakup for us on the goal line, the play or two before the fourth-down play down there. That was a huge play. He saved me a little bit of a scheme flaw there that he covered up for. He did some things like that, that maybe didn’t totally go recognized; but Bobby played really well for us. Obviously Reshad made some impact plays. I thought Kiko was flying around. He obviously had the pick but made a lot of other plays there, too. I thought it was a pretty steady game but I’ll be honest with you, I hate to be Debby Downer; but we were sloppy. I thought we were just sloppy. I was very proud of the resiliency and the toughness and stuff they showed, but we left some stuff on the field that we can’t leave on the field if we want to continue to win ball games. So that was one of the themes for this week was that there’s some stuff we have to tighten up. There’s some guys that played well but even the guys that played well, we got loose on a couple of things on stuff that wasn’t exposed necessarily in the outcome of the game or in things that happened. Again, as you move forward through a season, we can’t win ball games all of the time doing some of the things that we did. We have to tighten up the sloppiness and really detail out some of the things that you guys may not have noticed, or maybe didn’t impact this game, but they will impact future games. I think everybody has a lot of work to do.”
Kenny Stills – September 13, 2018
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Thursday, September 13, 2018
WR Kenny Stills
(So when you come out for that 75-yard touchdown, what do you see and what are you thinking, because they’ve talked about the coverage being pretty nice for what you wanted to do there.) – “Yes. If you look at the play, they have a safety down. Albert (Wilson) did a good job of getting the safety out of there for me. The line protected and Ryan (Tannehill) threw a good ball right where it was supposed to be and I just went and made a play.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said he wants to get you in that seven to eight catch range instead of the four catch range. What do you think when you hear that?) – “Whatever we have to do to win. Last week, I had what I had and we won. Whatever we have to do to win, that’s all I really care about and that’s all I’m worried about.”
(What was it like on Tuesday to spend time with the South Florida veterans who had health issues?) – “It was a really special day on Tuesday, just to get down there – Albert (Wilson) and I, the cheerleaders, T.D. (the mascot) – and spend time really just to see some of the smiles on their faces. There were a couple of people – doctors and nurses – that kind of gave some of the people in there a hard time, like ‘Hey, I’ve been working with you for two weeks and I’ve never seen you smile.’ This was the first time they’ve seen some of these men and women smile. That was just really heartwarming, and then the fact that it was September 11th. It was really important for us to be there. It meant a lot to us to be there too.”
(An obvious follow up, there are some people that think the protest of social injustice is in some way anti-military. Did that come up?) – “There were a couple of instances of people being very thankful and encouraging me to continue to protest. Then there were also people who I think were a little bit more afraid to say it in front of some of the cameras and people that were around. But yes, I can say there were a handful of people that were very thankful and encouraging with the protest and understand what we’re doing. That meant a lot to me, as well. But yes, there was no negativity or anything like that felt in there.”
(Is seeing that side of it, that veterans are supportive of you and what your stance is, something that’s important to you?) – “It is. It is important to see and know that veterans understand what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, and know that we’re not against them and it’s never been about them. I think that’s really important and it means a lot to us. Like I’ve said before, this has never been against the military or the flag or the police. Just for them to have the opportunity for us to have the conversation and them approach me and say that, it meant a bunch to me.”
(The President retweeted a photo of you on Sunday. I know you’re not taking a stand to be the face of anything, but are you comfortable now with so many people considering you one of the faces of this movement?) – “I don’t think that’s something I really worry about. I just do what I do and you guys make it what you guys want to make it. We started the protest two years ago now – three years ago now – and we’re not going anywhere. It’s not going to change. Activism isn’t something you just kind of get involved in and then turn your back on it. Once your eyes are open to some of the things that are happening, you continue to work and try and grow and create change for the rest of your life, so this is something I’m committed to forever. It’s not about being the face or who gets the notoriety for it. It’s just what I care about outside of work and what I spend my time doing when I’m not here working for the Dolphins.”
(It seems like the numbers of those that are kneeling are dwindling. You guys were the only two on Sunday and then there was Raiders RB Marshawn Lynch, I think, on Monday. What’s that like to have not a lot of company at this point?) – “It’s not something that I really think about or worry about. Obviously I would be encouraged to see more guys participating in the protest but I understand that everybody makes their own decisions. I’ll continue doing what I’m doing and I hope that at some point in time … It’s not really … It’s never been about that. It’s been about what other guys are doing. I understand my position and what I’m standing for what I’m standing up for, and I’ll continue to do that.”
(Did you see Senator Marco Rubio’s tweet?) – “I did.”
(Your thoughts?) – “Senator Rubio and I have had a couple of conversations and I think that’s kind of where that comes from. He understands and sees the work that I’m doing – that we’re doing here as an organization – and I think he supports that.”
(Was there a time when … You always get backlash. A lot of people understand and a lot of people don’t, obviously. Was there a time when that backlash bothered you?) – “The first year … I wouldn’t say that the backlash got under my skin but the first year, after the season was over and I had a chance to reflect, I realized that a lot of the negativity was getting to me. While it’s happening, it’s hard to notice; but I think when you look back and reflect on a year or on that year, you see how it was affecting a lot.”
(How do you block that out? How do you get past that because the backlash … ) – “There’s been a lot more positivity and encouragement this time around. It’s not something that is anything I’m worried about.”
(Did anyone ask you about being named a captain?) – “No.”
(It’s your second year being named a captain. How special is that and what comes with that responsibility now that you’ve actually done it?) – “I think being a captain, it’s obviously an accomplishment and something that I take pride in. For us, those are the leaders on our team and that’s coming in and working and leading by example and that’s something that I hope to do every day.”
(Do you have to do anything different or special or attend any meetings or sit on Head Coach Adam Gase’s council?) – “I think Coach Gase has a captains meeting that he plans on doing once a week; but other than that, no. It’s just leading by example and being somebody I feel like the team feels like they can always count on.”
(What was last year’s council meetings like?) – “Just discussing details, whatever Coach (Gase) had questions on and kind of get a feel for where the team’s at. Anything and everything could come up in that meeting, but it depends on what he’s talking about for that week.”
(Do you feel like it’s easy to talk to Head Coach Adam Gase about? Like if you want lunch earlier?) – “Yes. I mean those little details aren’t things (we discuss). It’s more like, ‘We’re doing this on a trip. What do you guys think about this?’ It’s not like your everyday stuff. It’s ‘we need to do this, this week. These are our keys to victory for the week.’ Things like that more than anything. That way, the captains can relay the message the same way the coaches are relaying the message and he doesn’t have to speak to every individual player on an individual basis.”
(In previous years, players voted on that. This year, Head Coach Adam Gase selected the captains. Does it make any difference for you guys?) – “No. We roll with whatever Coach Gase puts in place for us.”
(Head coach Adam Gase talked about you becoming more vocal in the receiver room, that you feel like that’s your room to take care of at this point. Did you feel like you grew in that role naturally or when did that click?) – “I felt like over the past two years, I’ve pretty much been the oldest guy in the room. Danny (Amendola) is in there now; but I think naturally, I’ve just been a leader. It’s something that I like. I know the offense well. Guys kind of look to me for the answer sometimes, but we’re all in it together. We’re all around the same age besides Danny. It’s not that I do anything different. It’s just we all hold each other to such a high standard and we all want to be the best. I think that’s what it is. None of us are afraid to speak up in that room. We’ve made it a room where everyone can talk, everyone kind of coaches, we all coach each other and it’s not just a coach in the front of the room telling us what to do. All of us are grading each other, coaching each other and trying to get better every day.”
(When WR Jarvis Landry left, I guess you became the last receiver that was there throughout the whole Head Coach Adam Gase era. Did that change sort of how you went about things?) – “Well, DeVante (Parker) has been a part of that too. Nothing has really changed. We just lost a guy in the room. That’s really it.”
(On WR DeVante Parker, obviously, he’s eager to get back out there. Things you’re looking for from him this year?) – “DeVante is an exciting player to watch. When he’s healthy and he’s out there, he’s making plays. Once we have him back, that’s what I look for seeing him do, make plays.”
