Kiko Alonso – August 25, 2018 (Postgame)
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Saturday, August 25, 2018
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso
“You don’t need to ask. I don’t have much to say. I did a flip and that’s it. I kind of ran off the field and I was fine. It was just silly.”
(Did the guys give you any trouble?) – “On my team?”
(Yes.) – “Yes, of course I’m definitely going to hear that for a while and it’s well deserved.”
(What did the Ravens say to you? It looked like Head Coach John Harbaugh said something to you.) – “I don’t know. I just kind of – like I said, I did a flip after I tackled the guy, and kind of just ran over there and it was the wrong sideline.”
(How would you evaluate how the defense did tonight?) – “I don’t know. I have to go watch the film. At the end of the day, we have to keep points off the board. We gave them three points so I can live with that.”
(They had a 16-play drive there where you only allowed three points. You would consider that a win, right?) – “Yes. When they get in the red zone, we definitely want to hold them to three. That was the plan.”
Raekwon McMillan – August 25, 2018 (Postgame)
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Saturday, August 25, 2018
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins LB Raekwon McMillan (transcribed by Ken Mendonça)
(Are you feeling more comfortable in this defense?) – “For sure. When I came out in the first game, (I was) a little rusty. I had a couple in the second game as well, but I think we came out as a defense and during this week of practice, we told ourselves we were going to come out hot. I think we came out pretty good. Our second drive we had a three and out. Our first drive we had a couple of penalties, but we did what we had to do.”
(Do you think your fits were better tonight?) – “Yeah, I think we fit a lot better. We had one long run. We had blitzed away and they ran opposite – they ran power opposite – but other than that, I think we had a pretty solid night.”
Danny Amendola – August 25, 2018 (Postgame)
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Saturday, August 25, 2018
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins WR Danny Amendola (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(How did the offense feel tonight compared to the first couple of weeks? Did it seem like things are starting to click?) – “It felt good. We have a lot of things to work on. We’re just going to continue to grind this week and continue to get better.”
(Did that play illustrate what you can bring to this team or you found a seam, made a cut back and then you were in the end zone?) – “It was a big play for us. (Ryan) Tannehill made a good throw. It was something we needed. It was a good drive.”
(What encourages you most about what you saw tonight?) – “Guys are flying around, playing hard and we’re communicating well. We had some explosive plays. We definitely have some things to clean up. We’ll get on the field and watch that. Continue to grind and continue to get through this preseason and get ready.”
Ryan Tannehill – August 25, 2018 (Postgame)
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Saturday, August 25, 2018
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill
So now you’ve been hit. How did that first sack feel?
RYAN TANNEHILL: (laughter) It wasn’t too bad. Physically, I was fine.
How does it feel just getting up? Does it mean anything?
RYAN TANNEHILL: It means I didn’t get a ball out. I didn’t get a first down. That’s purely what I was focused on was just getting that first down and I did a good job taking away one and two, tried to get the three (read) and just couldn’t get the ball off. We have to find a way to make those conversions.
What did it mean to you to get that passing touchdown during the preseason?
RYAN TANNEHILL: It was good to finally get the ball in the end zone. We got off to a slow start, obviously not the way we want to start the game; but we hung in there. The guys stayed into it and we felt the next drive was going to be the one. We finally got it going in the second quarter. Danny (Amendola) did a great job of making the guy miss and getting the ball in the end zone.
That’s the last I’m sure we’ll see of the first unit in the preseason. Where do you think you guys are now? Can you gauge or give an overview of where you think the offense is?
RYAN TANNEHILL: I still think we are headed in the right direction. Obviously something you want to be able to do is start fast, so I was disappointed, personally, disappointed as an offense in how we started the game. We can’t consistently start games like that. When you get behind early … the defense did a good job of keeping us in that thing. They blocked a field goal and had some big stops and kept us in it and kept them off the board. That was huge. But you can’t expect your defense to keep a goose egg up there for that long. Props to the defense for making it happen but as an offense we have to be able to move the ball effectively early in the game and get points.
Did you say anything to TE Mike Gesicki after he got the first catch of his NFL career?
RYAN TANNEHILL: (laughter) I didn’t even realize it was his first catch. Mike’s been doing a good job for us in practice, making some big-time plays this week. This week, he had some big-time plays in practice and everyone is really confident in what he can do for us. I didn’t realize it was his first catch. I should probably say something to him; but he’s doing a good job. I’m excited about where he’s at. He’s only going to continue to grow and get better but he’s going to be a huge advantage for us especially in the red zone.
What does RB Kenyan Drake’s big-play ability do for the offense?
RYAN TANNEHILL: It’s huge. When you have a guy that explosive, whether he’s coming out of the backfield for a pass or we’ve seen the last two weeks on a run, it really gives us a spark and got us moving there in the second quarter.
You never know, when you get a guy like that, any play can be the one that hits. So last week it was just an inside-zone play that he spun out of. This week it was an inside little trap play and he was able to skirt through there. Guys, the receivers, did a good job of digging out the secondary and he was able to beat them with speed to the edge. He really makes us dynamic whenever you have a guy that can take it the distance at any point.
Do you think you personally are close to ready to start the regular season?
RYAN TANNEHILL: Yes, of course. I think we’ve had a lot of good reps going through training camp. Like I said, we didn’t start the way we wanted to but we got in a groove there in the second quarter and played the way we want to play, keeping that tempo and got the defense on their heels and we were able to move the ball effectively. So yes, I feel … We have to take advantage of the next two weeks as we prepare for our first game but yes, I feel we’re right on track.
You had a couple of fumbles. I don’t know if they were your fault but what happened on those plays? Was the wet ball a factor?
RYAN TANNEHILL: No, I just have to make it happen. It’s totally on me. The first one, (it was a) quick pass. I’ve got to get it out there quickly and it came out of my hand. There’s really no excuse. The fumble snap was purely on me, as well.
Adam Gase – August 25, 2018 (Postgame)
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Saturday, August 25, 2018
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase
Can you just talk about the three quarterbacks and go down what you thought about their performance.
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: It was a slow start for Ryan (Tannehill). I thought once we got that completion to (Kenyan) Drake, we got going a little bit better. I thought David (Fales) had one good drive. The ball was coming out quick. We were doing the right stuff and then after that, it was chaos. We were having all kinds of protection issues. We weren’t on the right guys and we had some issues with the snap count, as well.
What did you like about QB Ryan Tannehill on the touchdown drive?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Well, it was good to see that we converted a third down inside the red area. I thought he got to his third progression, so that was really good to see. I thought the line did a good job of holding up. I think we had another shot at the end of the half. If he would have had just a fraction of a second more … It was tough because we got kind of pressure early and then he’s going to Albert (Wilson). We might have had a shot for another touchdown and stole some more points there. It was really what we wanted. We had a 2-minute drive and we were able to get some explosive plays and put ourselves in position to where if we score a touchdown there and then we get the ball back at the end of the half or in the second half, that’s really what we want.
You started both of those last two drives with explosive plays to the same player.
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: Right.
And two different runs by RB Kenyan Drake. What does that suggest to you about him?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: That he’s a good player. I mean, he’s good. We know that. We feel like we have two backs that are very good at what they do, and Kenyan just has a different way he kind of does it and Frank (Gore) has his way of doing it. We like where our running backs are right now. I think Senorise (Perry) is doing the same thing where he’s reliable, he does everything right and when he gets the chance and gets the ball in his hand, he’s creating plays.
How do you assess your backup quarterback situation?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I think there’s room for improvement for sure but it’s hard to put it all on them when you get the ball and you’re not expecting it or we’re not blocking the guys. That’s why it’s hard to evaluate quarterbacks sometimes in preseason games and you have to use all your practice time and what you know about guys’ history, and that’s what makes it tough to evaluate them sometimes.
Did you learn anything about them tonight, either guy?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I think Brock (Osweiler)’s temper is better than it used to be, because I understand why he was frustrated. He took a couple shots there. It’s not on him.
S Minkah Fitzpatrick appears to know what he’s doing and he reacts quickly. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
HEAD COACH ADAM GASE: I mean, that’s why we drafted him when we drafted him. He’s a good player. He’s one of those guys that just seems to be around the ball and he’s a good guy to have, whether it be inside or the back middle, the down safety, it doesn’t matter. He’s going to find a way to get to the ball and he knows what to do. He’ll probably have occasionally a rookie mistake; but I think the more he plays, the better he’s going to get and we’re glad we have him on defense.
Adam Gase – August 25, 2018 (Halftime)
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Saturday, August 25, 2018
Postgame – Baltimore Ravens
Head Coach Adam Gase (Halftime)
(Some good things on defense, you’re getting some pressure out there and made it tough on these guys.) – “Yes. Our defense is doing a good job. We kind of had a rough start there at the beginning but the guys got their composure and started executing what (Defensive Coordinator) Matt (Burke) was calling. It was good to see.”
Adam Gase – August 23, 2018
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Thursday, August 23, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(We noticed DE William Hayes running pretty well on the side there. How is he progressing?) – “Good. He’s wearing me out right now about playing this week, but we’ll be smart with that. That was a pretty severe hamstring (injury) he had. That was one of the longer ones that I’ve been around.”
(How do you put toughness in a team when it needs it? Does it comes from coaches or does that have to be from within?) – “I think a lot of times it’s really the kind of players you have. You can try to create it a bit, but at the end of the day, it’s who your guys are and kind of the way that they’ve been their whole career. I’ve seen a few guys here and there kind of change their attitude as far as how they play, but I think that’s very rare.”
(When you have a team such as Baltimore, do you make it a point with your players knowing what’s happened the last couple of years? Or do you just kind of leave that to them?) – “We’re focusing on ourselves. If nobody realizes who we’re playing and the type of team we’re playing, then they don’t know the NFL. Guys are aware that they’ve played these guys enough times, even if they’ve come from a different team, that those guys have a reputation of being physical. Everybody knows they’ve got to bring it this week.”
(Having Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains around, how has that been? In what ways are you finding that’s going to be a good setup?) – “Yes, it’s been good. We have good chemistry. We’ve worked together before. He plays off me and vice versa. It’s just an easy transition for us. He’s able to do a lot of things in meetings and I’m able to go do other things. It’s been a good transition.”
(From an injury perspective, can you give us any update on C Jake Brendel and WR Leonte Carroo?) – “Brendel, we’re still working through that. And then Carroo, he felt something yesterday, so it’s going to be a couple of days; but it’s nothing serious. I’m not sure if he’s going to make the game.”
(What do you want to see from LB Raekwon McMillan this game? Is it more abstract?) – “It’s just more snaps for him. Just keep learning, keep doing your job, get the basics down and just go make plays.”
(How has LB Raekwon McMillan done as far as the mental part of the game? Is he understanding or is he kind of a typical rookie?) – “He does a good job. He’s been around for a year; he hasn’t played. He does a good job with the mental side of it. It’s just really putting in classroom (and the) field together (and) reacting. At that position, sometimes it takes a minute to really get going. I think we’re progressing the way we want.”
(I assume some of your staff already is looking at Tennessee. When do you turn your thoughts to that? Not until the week of the game?) – “Nobody is looking at Tennessee. The personnel guys are, but we’re not.”
(You don’t turn your thoughts to them at all?) – “No. That’s so far away. I’m worried about the 90 guys we have right now.”
(T Zach Sterup is a guy you picked last season. How would you assess his development?) – “I think he’s had some really good practices. He’s done well in games. He’s really been one of those guys that last year when we got him, right away a lot of the defensive linemen noticed when he put hands on them, it was different. Being able to get him in live action, that was good. Right now, he’s competing for a spot and he’s doing a good job and it’s going to be one of those decisions where we’ve got to figure out how many guys we’re going to end up keeping in that line room; but he’s played well enough to really put himself in good position.”
(DT Jordan Phillips looks like he’s tracking to play this week. Where does he stand after having a couple of weeks off and what might the season hold for him this year?) – “We’re going to meet about who’s going, who’s having issues and things like that today. Right now, him practicing is a good sign. And then we’ll kind of talk about how many reps everybody is getting and what we’re looking for this week.”
(WR Jakeem Grant described the wide receiver room as a real tight brotherhood. How do you look at that group, both in the locker room and on the field?) – “I agree with that. Those guys are around each other all the time. You rarely see one of those guys by himself. It’s a group of them. It’s like a little gang there. They’re tight and they work well together. They’re talking football all the time and they’re trying to help each other out. Really, a lot of the times this offense does run through that room. We need that group to be good, and I like where we’re headed right now.”
(Have you and RB Frank Gore had “the talk” about this week?) – “No.”
(Would you tell us if you had?) – “Yes. I haven’t talked to him about it yet.”
(RB Frank Gore expects to play.) – “Oh, I’m aware. (laughter) I am aware.”
(Has WR Danny Amendola been what you expected physically? I know that he’s provided some things you like as far as being a mentor, but does he look exactly like what you thought you’d be getting?) – “Yes. He’s everything we thought and we’re excited. I feel like he does a great job.”
(What would be the reason not to play RB Frank Gore?) – “I don’t know. I never said I wasn’t (playing him). I just know he’s played a lot of football. He’s a running back. I don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of veteran running backs go through the entire preseason not playing and go Week 1 and they’re fine. I know Frank wants to get out there and get hit a couple of times and probably get in the stadium and kind of get that first time over with.”
(Last week I asked what was the quarterback plan, so I’ll try it a different way. Is it good for us to expect a lot of QB Ryan Tannehill and some QB Brock Osweiler and QB David Fales in this game?) – “There you go. We’ll go with that. (laughter) Yes.”
(QB Ryan Tannehill didn’t have a brace out there today. Was just a one-day thing or do you anticipate more of that?) – “I thought he had it on. I know he had it on at some point unless he took it off.”
(QB Ryan Tannehill didn’t have it on.) – “I don’t know. I’d question that one. I’ll get back to you on that one. (laughter)”
(When it comes to those conversations that you’re going to have about the 53-man roster, how much of it is offense vs. defense, keeping a certain number vs. whether or not we have what we need, let’s say, at wide receiver? Wanting to keep a guy vs. keeping too many?) – “We haven’t gotten to those conversations yet. At some point, we’ll figure it out. That’s going to be one of those … It’ll be interesting how that’s all going to work out because we’ve had a good amount of guys play well. I have a feeling I know who you’re kind of talking about where, ‘Hey, in or out.’ But we’ll get to that point. For me, I look at it as I had 90 guys on this team that have been here since April working their asses off trying to make this team and I don’t like going ahead on any of the roster move stuff.”
Adam Gase – August 22, 2018
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Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Do you love to pass more than run?) – “I’m all for whatever wins the game.”
(Seriously.) – “I’m all for whatever wins the game.”
(What are your other likes and dislikes?) – “Am I going on a date? (laughter)”
(Since you have moved S Minkah Fitzpatrick to the slot, what changes have you noticed in him? Just from the outside, to me it appears that he’s a very physical player. Can you talk about that aspect of him also?) – “It’s hard to find safeties that can move into that spot and be able to do it on third down. You see a lot of teams really kind of go with a three-safety look but that guy is playing the nickel position. It happens a lot of times on first and second down, and the reason people do that is when teams are trying to run the ball, it’s having a more physical player, it’s having a bigger player, it’s having a guy that’s willing to mix it up in the run game. A lot of times you see, historically, the guys that play nickel are smaller players, so just by size they’re not as physical. That’s really – a lot of those guys – their deficiency is they’re smaller in stature. He has the rare ability to be able to stay on the field on third down. He has the quickness and the physicality at the line of scrimmage, and it helps him be able to play that spot on all three downs.”
(Does S Minkah Fitzpatrick play say WR Danny Amendola than CB Bobby McCain would have?) – “It’s just they have different styles. Bobby probably can’t be as aggressive at the line because Minkah is taller and longer, so he has a little bit of room for error. He can get his hands on him, where Bobby can get his hands on him sometimes but he changes it up a lot. He tries to make him keep guessing. The body types are just different.”
(How does S Minkah Fitzpatrick’s acclimation compared to a typical rookie?) – “I think it’s rare. I just go back to when we drafted him. (Kenyan) Drake texted me and goes, ‘you have a guy that’s a pro before he’s a pro.’ When he came in as a freshman, we all thought he was different because of the way he acted, the way he carried himself, the way he studied, the way he learned things. We always just thought he was so much older than what he was. I think it’s been the same thing here. He’s up here late and he’s here early. He’s always doing something and it’s all football.”
(When it comes to RB Frank Gore, when he’s not in there, I see him watching. If he’s not watching then he’s on the sideline doing pushups. He’s had a Hall of Fame career. Do you feel he has something to prove?) – “I don’t know if Frank’s ever gone into a season thinking he doesn’t have anything to prove. I think in the back of his mind, he’s always trying to prove, probably to himself more than anybody, that ‘I’m going to have another great season.’ I think he just does a great job of resetting every year. I think he just looks where everything as one year at a time. When we were together 10 years ago, I never heard him talk down the road or what happened before. He’s always in the moment. He’s a special guy. For what he’s done and the things he’s been through, it’s hard to find guys like that.”
(Based on what RB Frank Gore has gone through, his injuries, some things in his personal life, are you surprised that he’s still at this point where he’s at?) – “No, because I learned a long time ago you never doubt him because he’s going to end up finding a way to do exactly what he wants to do and play this game. He loves playing this game. That’s why he’s infectious to the other guys, because when you have an older guy – he loves practicing. H loves going out early and doing his cone work. All of the little tiny things that happen before a game, he loves to do. You want your younger guys to watch him and follow what he does.”
(Does anybody have a slower walk than RB Frank Gore?) – “(Kenyan) Drake. He’s always last. (laughter)”
(With TE Mike Gesicki, when you add him to the red zone mix, obviously you’re not trying to show things during the exhibition games, but how does that change things for you as a play caller?) – “I think it makes teams really decide what they want to do. Do they want to man it up and see if he’s as good as sometimes we’ve talked about? Do they want to play zone and give us a chance to run the ball and try to stop the run with a light box? Are they going to do something different where maybe they just max pressure us and try to get the ball out quick? I think it just helps us as far as it can open up other guys. It can open the running game up. It just gives us options. Really, it kind of goes on the defense of how they are going to play us, and then we kind of have to react to that.”
(TE Mike Gesicki mentioned today that the fade route with QB Ryan Tannehill was a sign of trust, that Ryan is comfortable enough with him to throw that route. What did it mean to you to see that?) – “Any time that we can give him opportunities just in practice, for those guys to hook up when it’s legit competition, that’s only going to make us better. We can throw as many routes on air as possible and the timing looks good, but when you get in that competitive periods, that’s where you want to see it. You want to see the ball go up, the trust to be there, it be put in the right spot and then at the end of the day, if there’s some kind of error, he makes a play where, maybe it’s an incompletion, but he grabs the ball on top of the guy’s head. I thought that was just a really good hook up. It was a great play and it was a great catch by him. It’s good to see that progression going on between those two guys.”
(I know you said you were keeping things pretty vanilla at this point. I know today, we noticed a lot of stuff in practice – none of it will be written about – but here’s my question. How much different should you guys look when you take the field on Saturday from big-play standpoint or comfort?) – “It’s going to be how they play us. I know everybody wants me to just chuck the ball down the field, but when the corners are bailing and they’re already 10 yards off, you’re just looking for foul balls and you’re just not going to get any completions. To me, it always comes down to who are we playing, what’s their defense, how are we going to attack it, sticking to our plan, not worrying about what anybody else thinks that doesn’t know what they’re talking about. If they come up and play cover 1, we’ll have some shots to push the ball down the field. If they play off, and we have to take things underneath, then we have to do a good job of going 12 plays and scoring through the goal line.”
(I’m talking about both sides of the ball, I’m not just talking about offense. But should players be more familiar with what you’re going to do Saturday, more comfortable?) – “I think so. I mean we’ve got through a real game week. I feel like the way that we’ve been doing our meetings and the practice … We made some changes. Every year we’ve done something a little bit different just to see how our players react to it. I feel like guys do get a little more comfortable in this week’s preparation because you’re not going into a game with, ‘Hey, anything could come up.’ You go in there with a game plan but it changes so much because you’re not sitting there studying for a full week on what the other team is doing. And this week, we’ve treated it like a real game, probably like they are. They’re more prepared with the exacts of the game, how they play and how we’re going to play, how we’re going to attack certain things. It helps our guys, I guess, play faster and just go out there and worry about executing our plays.”
(I know it’s only the preseason, but as far as a measure of your team, for you, Baltimore has been a team that maybe is a team that you want to be like more and the last couple of years …) –“Yes, we’ve struggled against them the last couple of years, for whatever reason. It’s hard for me to say this is exactly the one reason that’s happened. You always go into this game … Every team in the league would really like to play well in the third preseason game. Well, there’s a lot of teams saying that and you know half of them are going to be angry and half of them are going to be like, ‘Alright, I feel good going into the season.’ I just never feel like you can be too high, be too low. You have to understand, what are our strengths and what are our weaknesses? And try to get better at your weaknesses and try to put together good drives. That’s what we need to do. That’s the No. 1 thing for us on offense and the defense, it’s the same thing. We have goals for this week and we want to try to get better from last week. That’s what we’re working on.”
(What are some things that you see that we don’t that are encouraging, that tell you you’re trending the right way?) – “I like where our pass protection is on offense. We’ve played a lot of guys at wide receiver, especially with Ryan (Tannehill), which has been great. I know it’s been unfortunate that we haven’t had DeVante for a little bit here and Kenny missed a week; but it was good because Albert (Wilson) and Jakeem (Grant), they were getting every rep with him. We were trying to figure out a way to plan that during training camp. Well, it just kind of happened. I just think the chemistry of that group is getting strong, which is great to see the fact that Ryan is not on the ground. He’s not getting drilled like we’ve seen in the past. And then on defense, it’s just kind of getting the guys that we think are going to be out there in that first group to keep working together so we can develop chemistry. I think that’s coming along. I’ve seen some good things in practice. If we eliminate the big runs, we’re going to be feeling different about our defense every week. It’s one of those things that’s easy to say but it takes 11 guys to do the right thing.”
(With WR DeVante Parker out, it’s a short wide receiver corps. Do you think there could be an advantage there?) – “I never … When you’ve got guys that are as quick as these guys, you’ll be alright. That’s not a factor for me. I look at it as things are probably going to happen a little quicker. I know Ryan’s got to lower his target line every once in a while when ‘19’ (Jakeem Grant) is running a route, but that’s about it.”
(With a guy like RB Buddy Howell, how much of a benefit was it for him to have played in a Lane Kiffin offense?) – “I mean, anytime you can be … Lane has so much. He does it all. You’ve got pro-style things, you’ve got run-pass options. I mean, you’ve got everything. So he’s been exposed to a lot of stuff. I think anytime that you come into the NFL and you’ve been exposed to a certain offense that it’s such a wide range of things, that only can benefit you at this level because you never know what you’re going into. Every team is different in what they do. When you can process the information — especially where he’s at right now, he’s not getting a ton of reps right now; but all of a sudden he’s got to play 25-30 snaps in a game. Being able to process that and then go out and execute it by just watching, that’s not an easy thing to do. He’s done a good job of that.”
(What do you hope to see from the cornerbacks — not Xavien Howard or Bobby McCain, but Tony Lippett, Cordrea Tankersley, Torry McTyer — in these final two games that can sort of alleviate some concern?) – “I keep just looking at using our hands. When we get up and press, let’s put hands on those wide receivers and do a good job of disrupting them so it’s just not a nice, easy free release route for them. To me, I look at it like this, when you disrupt a guy when you’re in press and you disrupt that receiver, you’re helping your d-line have a chance to get home. That makes your job easier. I’m always going to be looking for that to see who wants to play the most physical at the line of scrimmage. Then, the guys that end up getting beat on a route, how do they come back? Because it’s going to happen. In this league, I don’t know many corners that have gone their entire career without having a ball caught on them. So how do you respond? Are you able to forget about it and move on the next play and then try to win that snap?”
