Josh Sitton – July 26, 2018
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Thursday, July 26, 2018
G Josh Sitton
(I know it’s Day 1, but the offensive line, how do you think that room will come together?) – “It’s going to take time. We’ve got some new faces in there, me being one of them. It takes a little bit of time to gel; but I think we’ve got a good group. I’m excited to be in there and I’m excited to get to work with these guys.”
(How much do you think it’s going to help that you guys have been together as a same unit all throughout camp and OTAs?) – “That’s always extremely important. I’ve been part of lines that were together for a really long time. I’ve been part of lines where we had injuries every week. You’ve got to role with whatever happens. Ideally you’d like to get as many reps together as you can. It helps. Every play there is some sort of communication you go through and some sort of footwork that you can work on with the guy next to you. Just learning those little things, they can turn into big things later.”
(T Laremy Tunsil has talked about the help you’ve provided to him. Did you give him any advice about going against DE Robert Quinn day in and day out? That guy is kind of a beast out there.) – “Yes, he’s a good football player. I had my shot at left tackle one game and I didn’t do so well, so I’m not going to give him too much advice about blocking those guys off the edge. (laughter) I’ve got a little advice here and there.”
(What is the advice you give him broadly, about playing football?) – ”There’s so many things. As a young player, you’re so dialed in on yourself that you don’t look at the big picture, the whole play, the whole defense. You can start looking at where the defense is lining up, where their eyes are, where their hands are … Little things like that you talk about day in and day out. As you play longer and longer in this league, you start learning those things.”
(You’ve been through a lot of training camps. Do you feel a little different, a little excitement, because this is your first one with a new team?) – “It feels a little bit hotter. (laughter) But yes, it’s always exciting. It’s always exciting to get out here and work with the guys. There’s a lot of excitement within this building. We feel like we can be a good football team. We’re just trying to come out here every day and get better and see where we can go.”
(You’ve mentioned the heat already a couple of times. How tough is it to concentrate in this heat?) – “Concentration is not the problem. It’s catching my breath.”
(Does that have you reconsidering the hair and the beard?) – “Yes, we’ll see how it goes. (laughter) It might be gone.”
(Have you been part of a team before that maybe came into the season with not great expectations but totally exceeded and showed people wrong?) – “I don’t know. None of that really matters. All that matters is what we’re doing every day and come out here working and what we say to each other. Nothing else really matters.”
(Does each camp have a different feel each year or is it just training camp and that’s it?) – “There’s always something different that kind of goes on every year – some new groove or whatever. I mean it’s training camp. It’s a bunch of new faces but it’s all the same thing. It’s all football, pass protection, run blocking. It’s all the same thing; but like I said it’s exciting to get out here with the guys.”
(Can you play your protections in a way that with QB Ryan Tannehill’s knee that you try not to go that certain way or do you just play wide open?) – “I don’t think about that.”
Kenyan Drake – July 26, 2018
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Thursday, July 26, 2018
RB Kenyan Drake
(Do you feel an added sense of responsibility in terms of you and RB Frank Gore are the main guys this year. Last year you were uncertain about how much you’d even play.) – “I feel like everybody has to take accountability for their role, no matter what it is. If you’re on offense or if you’re on special teams, it’s the next man up. That’s the type of attitude we have this year, just to go out there and win a lot more games than we did last year.”
(There’s a big experience factor with this offensive line this year. How much do you think it will help?) – “I feel like … Like I said, if everybody takes care of their 1/11th and go out there and take care of their responsibilities. This year (Head Coach Adam) Gase has an added sense of team when it comes to going out there and taking care of your responsibility. Once one guy takes care of his responsibility, then the team as a whole will be successful.”
(Was there a different sense of excitement for you coming into camp after the success you had late last season?) – “Yes, I kind of wish I had a couple more games to get under my belt last year; but I’m just going to use that as a stepping stone for this year. As I said, (I want to) help this team win a lot more games this year and continue to build on that success.”
(When we talked to you in the spring, you talked about wanting to gain weight and strength. How did you go about doing that and what was the result?) – “I just wanted to make sure I took the right steps in the offseason to take care of my training and take care of my diet. As a professional athlete, I understand that my body is my number one priority in this game. I felt like I did a good job. It was hot today but it could’ve been a lot worse if I didn’t take care of my body.”
(So what did you do? Did you put on weight?) – “I came in last year about the same that I am now. It’s really about having the right diet to sustain it. I know with how much water you lose out here, it’s about staying hydrated and making sure you get the carbs in your body, things of that sort. I have the added sense of responsibility knowing I have to take care of my body.”
(What’s it like to have RB Frank Gore, an experienced back like him, with you and working with you, learning from him and that kind of thing? What’s that been like?) – “It’s real cool just seeing him out here running around. He always has an extra gear, even at his age, and seeing how he takes care of his body, especially as a running back where the shelf-life isn’t really that high. It’s cool having him out here and seeing that face to face.”
(What weight do you want to play at?) – “As long as I keep my speed, I don’t really care. I feel like it’s more about the added grind, bumping and grinding for 16 games; but I could be 195 (pounds) as long as I have the capability to run between the tackles. It doesn’t really matter.”
(So the weight was more about handling more of the workload?) – “Not necessarily. I just didn’t get the work load when I was at a lower weight. It doesn’t mean necessarily that I needed the weight. As long as I have the speed, that’s all they care about.”
(What did you take out or add to your diet to change?) – “I love chips. (laughter) Chips is something that’s not really a gain from a nutritional aspect. I’m just really supplementing that with healthier snacks like fruits and things like that to kind of go straight into my energy and last longer. (I’m trying to) put more greens in my diet. I don’t necessarily like eating a lot of greens, so smoothies that are greener-ish, that’s definitely a plus. You just make sure you supplement that type of stuff into your diet.”
(With all of the receptions this offseason, are you looking forward to filling that role a little more in the backfield as a pass catcher?) – “Yes. Whatever (Adam) Gase has drawn up, that’s the role I’m willing to take on. I pride myself on being versatile, so at the end of the day, when I go out there, I just want to make plays however I can.”
(How would you describe the vibe of the team as you stepped onto the field this morning?) – “Very excited. I feel like … We don’t necessarily have a chip on our shoulder, but we’re not being talked about. That’s what we love. We don’t want anybody talking about us because we just go out there and play football. We don’t have any expectations of anything. We just want to go out there do what we do to win games and make these fans happy.”
(I saw that you made a veiled reference to that on Twitter. Do you feel like this is sort of a blank slate for this team and this is a chance to write a legacy?) – “For sure. I feel like everybody has the same goals and aspirations at the beginning of the season. Other people might be talking more because of what they did last year and things of that sort. If you look at our schedule this year, we have all 1 o’clock games. That shows that the league doesn’t see us as a prime time match up for anybody.”
(Is that disrespectful, do you think?) – “Not necessarily. I love it. We go out there and take care of business early, go home, rest up and do the same thing the next week. We just take it one game at a time.”
Adam Gase – July 26, 2018
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Thursday, July 26, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Quick first impressions from the first day of practice?) – “It’s the first day. It was good to go through one of the hotter days I think that I’ve experienced in the last two years. It was good to have it on the first day. Everything else after this, I’ll probably be happy if there is any kind of breeze, so maybe we’ve gotten lucky for the last two years.”
(QB Ryan Tannehill has this 2.0 knee brace. In what ways will this model of him be perhaps as good as ever?) – “I think just experience, whether it be in our offense or just in general, playing quarterback in the NFL. Every rep he gets, he takes something from it. He’s constantly learning. I think the receivers and the tight ends and the running backs and him – they’ve developed good chemistry through the spring and what they’ve done over the summer. I don’t know if the knee brace is something … It’s not really something that I’m even thinking about. Eventually, he’ll probably have to start working on sliding a different way than he used to.”
(You know quarterbacks obviously well, and the life of the QB and the pressure that comes with it. Do you think that it’s fair that a lot of that falls on QB Ryan Tannehill and he’s coming back and all of this expectation that he’s just going to pick up where he left off and be the man?) – “I mean that’s what they get paid to do. He knows the job description and he understands the expectations and the amount of pressure that goes at that position. I don’t think that’s something that he loses a lot of sleep over.”
(Do you think that every training camp has its own kind of feel and vibe or is training camp just training camp?) – “It does. Every year it has felt a little different. Some of it might, maybe myself, this being the third one here … (It’s a) different feel when you’re a coordinator or a position coach. A lot of times, the attitude of the players can dictate how that feel is as well. It’s been real exciting to be around this group. The way these guys attack things, it makes it fun to be out on the practice field, and when guys make mistakes, they work to get better.”
(How much should we look into who is working with the starters on Day 1?) – “I would take your time on that. Right now, that’s kind of where we ended up in the spring. Eventually, at all of the positions, we’re going to try to move some things around and get some different groups in there, and try to get guys to have experience with Ryan (Tannehill). We have to find some ways to do that because you never know what is going to happen. If somebody goes down, they have to be ready to go. You don’t want that to be the first time that they’ve actually had a rep with him. We’re going to eventually get to that point. This first week or so, we’re going to try to get in a good rhythm and then we’ll experiment after that.”
(And defensively?) – “It’s the same thing. We’re really just trying to get guys back into the flow of everything. Then we’ll start shuffling things around. We’re not going to start moving things around too early. We want guys to put some things on tape, kind of see where we’re at, what adjustments we need to make and then we’ll make them.”
(When an older player like WR Danny Amendola comes in, and you’ve had others in the past couple of years, what are you looking for to tell whether or not, basically, they still have it?) – “Really, that was our job in the offseason. In the spring, you know where a guy really is in his career. Right now, Danny looks like the same guy that we played against. For us, any of our older players, they don’t look any different than what we thought we were getting when we brought them here. I think Frank (Gore) is the one guy that every time I watch him, you just shake your head when you see him make some of these cuts and the acceleration through the hole. The guy is ageless.”
(You’re the coach so you see 30,000 things that we don’t see; but does the success and failure of the team this year depend basically on QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “I don’t think it’s at that capacity. I think we have a lot of good pieces around him that can help us get to where we’re trying to get as far as improving every week. With him not being in there, there’s a drop off obviously, because he’s a starter in the NFL, and him being out there is better for us than him not being out there.”
(Can you win if QB Ryan Tannehill doesn’t play well?) – “Yes.”
(Were there any guys back in February and March that you challenged to reshape their body and to get in better shape where you’ve seen results?) – “No. Nobody wants to test the elements here. Whether you’re new or you’ve been here for a while, you understand what you’re coming into in training camp. Guys came back and they were in great shape when we had OTAs. Now you add five weeks with (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Dave) Puloka before that, so that helps. They had five weeks off, now all of a sudden you have to show up yesterday. The guys, they don’t take that chance.”
(How would you describe the situation you have right now at cornerback opposite CB Xavien Howard. What’s happening there?) – “I think those guys are just battling. It’s good to see that Tony (Lippett) looks like he’s trending towards where he was when he was healthy in 2016. We saw flashes of it in the spring, and I think there was a little bit where he was holding back, trying to work through some of the soreness and pain sometimes. He looked good today I thought. It was good to see him transition and make some plays on the ball.”
(What were your thoughts last week when, for a few hours, you guys were a top national conversation when it came to the national anthem?) – “That’s the good thing about me not watching TV and scrolling through the Internet. I just kind of wait and see what we’re told by the NFL and the NFLPA and what’s going on, as far as their conversations go. I wait until we actually start games. It seems like things change a lot.”
(Would you ever consider suspending a player for taking a knee?) – “I mean if anyone knew the actual rules of the NFL, good luck suspending somebody, because it takes about 5,000 things before anybody can get suspended by a club.”
(Do you think the issue is potentially divisive for a team?) – “I don’t know. You’d have to poll 31 other teams. I don’t know.”
(Do you think it is potentially divisive for this team?) – “I think our guys do a good job of communicating with each other. I think they do a good job of when issues come up, they get together, they hammer it out (and) they talk to each other. These guys aren’t shy about speaking up. They’ve done a good job of making sure, as a group, they talk through things. Not just that, there’s … Other issues always come up during a season. I thought last year, we weren’t as good at doing it as we were the year before, as far as guys talking to each other and kind of seeking each other out. I think this group right now, it’s a different group. These guys aren’t shy. They won’t shy away from things. I like that they are able to do that and have open conversations.”
(So you believe that it’s unrealistic that any player would actually be suspended for this?) – “I don’t know. I’m just telling you that other instances that have happened in the past, it’s harder to suspend guys than what anybody realizes.”
(This issue arose in your first year, I believe, as a head coach. Has this been a difficult challenge for you? This wouldn’t have been something you would have expected at the time, when you took the job.) – “It hasn’t been a challenge for me. I just go with whatever is being said by people in charge and then at the same time, I’m communicating with our players and giving them information that I get, and go from there.”
(Do pads go on Sunday or Monday and when they do go on, how quickly can you start forming concrete opinions about things that you haven’t seen with pads?) – “What is today, Thursday? Friday, Saturday … Saturday we’ll have the uppers on, and we’ll go full pads I think on Sunday or Monday.”
(How quickly can you gain things, knowledge-wise, once they’re in pads?) – “It picks up pretty good. You’ll figure out who’s going to want to be a little more aggressive. Some guys want to be aggressive and some guys shy away from contact; but for the most part, unless you’re a rookie, we’ve seen most of these guys in pads. We know how they’re going to react to that. The rookies, you just want to see if what you saw in college and on tape is going to carry over.”
(You guys are pretty healthy right now, right? Nobody on the PUP list and I don’t think anybody was sitting out. Is that just luck or is that a testament to your people and the work the players are doing?) – “I think a lot of it has to do with our players using the resources they have. We have a lot of people that are always trying to help those guys, making sure that they stay healthy. Our players are being very proactive, especially at the positions where you’re doing a lot of running and can possibly have (muscle) pulls and things like that. They’re being proactive. They’re making sure to use all of the resources they have in our building, and hopefully we just keep on the same trend.”
(Is this a first or has this happened before for you where no guys were on PUP? Do you remember?) – “I don’t know. I’ll check if you want me to.”
(With this heat wave, it seems to be a little bit on the accelerated level that what I’m used to. Do you have to have more precaution about heat exhaustion and hydration?) – “The hydration part, our guys do a good job of. You can tell players get annoyed sometimes because they’re always (reminded) the day before about hydrating, being consistent in what we’re doing. During practice, we’re monitoring everyone. We’re checking to make sure where we’re at with the heat. We kind of got levels to say ‘We’re in this area, we might need to take a break. Let’s get everybody out of the sun and then go back.’ So, we’re always checking on that to make sure if it gets to a level where we’re worried about something, that’s when you’ll see us actually take a break, get guys in the shade and get them in the cooler area so we make sure nothing ever happens to anybody.”
(There isn’t a coach or player in the league today who is saying they are going to stink and be a bad time. What sense do you have of your team as you look forward to the expectations of this year?) – “I think our guys just understand that when you enter a season, it’s 0-0. That’s the beauty about the NFL. It’s like saying, ‘Hey, you haven’t done this in 15 years.’ Nobody really cares. It’s a new start. That’s the beauty of this league. When you have guys moving out, you never know what that team, what personality they’re going to take, what their characteristics are going to be, how they are going to handle adversity and then that’s when you have those teams where nobody thinks they were going to do anything and all of a sudden you’re talking about them in January.”
Ryan Tannehill – July 26, 2018
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Thursday, July 26, 2018
QB Ryan Tannehill
(Tannehill 2.0 on the brace, who came up with that one?) – “I have so many braces that they had to label them somehow. I guess that’s how they figured it out.”
(Your confidence level in the knee compared to last year after having the surgery and a full year off, how does it compare to this year?) – “I have full confidence, obviously. I was able to do everything in the spring and it’s only gotten stronger. I only feel better. At this point, it’s like nothing ever happened. You’re working through the rehab in the spring, working through getting comfortable again and making all the moves. At this point, it’s second nature. You’re not even thinking about it.”
(The additions and subtractions to this roster, do you kind of sense with this team a culture change maybe or just a different personality about this team?) – “We had some good additions. I think that we brought in some good guys who will help us, that buy into what we’re doing. Honestly, it’s the leaders of the team, it’s our responsibility to set the tempo, set the culture of what we expect, set our standards and then hold everyone accountable so we keep those standards.”
(How would you describe your specific goals for the summer?) – “My goal for the summer was to get better. We left the spring with a couple of ideas, a couple small detail things of footwork, drops, and movement in the pocket that I wanted to work on and I was able to focus on those three things and try to get better. That way, coming into camp, we have a foundation we built.”
(The new receiver, can you give us a scouting report on the new receiver you had over there midfield [his son Steel]?) – “The little one? He’s got a long way to go. He gives his heart, but it’s fun. It’s fun having my little guy out here. It’s really a special time we get to share. It’s tough being away from him but getting to spend these few minutes with him on the field is huge.”
(How old is he now?) – “He just turned 2 a couple days ago.”
(Tannehill 2.0 on the brace, can you explain that?) – “Honestly, I didn’t even notice it until today I looked down. They made like four or five different braces for me to try out and have backups and backups in case one gets bent or whatever. It’s just a way they label them so they can keep them straight.”
(How does this Tannehill model compare to the old one?) – “They’re not a lot different, honestly. The brace is there just to prevent the injury from the hit, the contact. It doesn’t do much for stability or anything like that; but the contact, which started this whole ball rolling against Arizona in 2016, the brace is there to prevent that.”
(I meant this model of quarterback.) – “I hope he’s the best one yet. (laughter) That’s the goal is to come out and get better each and every day. I think that’s what we’re doing. We did that in the spring and obviously, the first day out here, it wasn’t perfect. We have a lot of room to grow; but I thought guys came out and competed and set the tempo of what we expect every day.”
(Just to be clear the 2.0 does not mean the 2.0 version of Ryan Tannehill it refers to the brace?) – “It refers to the brace. It had nothing to do with that.”
(You’re obviously familiar with how important a starting quarterback is for every team. After last year, does the realization that this team kind of rests on you and success or failure goes with you, is that a bigger realization for you now?) – “I think I’ve always known that; but being able to take a step back and do things from a little different viewpoint, going throughout a season and trying to observe and see how things happen – when you face adversity how people respond – I learned a lot through that process. I realized how much I can control through my play and how I lead day in and day out. That’s my goal is to go out and play well and lead this team to win.”
(Do you feel more responsibility now knowing that it’s that much more clear to you?) – “Yes, probably so. I love feeling that responsibility, because I know that I can handle it and I know I have the guys around me that can take it and we can do something special. Being able to captain that ship, so to speak, is a lot of fun.”
(WR Jarvis Landry said this offseason that you didn’t have a good relationship. How did you feel when you heard that?) – “I just want to focus on the guys we have here and what we’re trying to build here.”
(Was there a different level of excitement for you coming into this training camp after what happened last year?) – “Yes, I think so. Like I said in the spring, it was a different feeling being able to go on the field and enjoy every moment, a different humbleness about the moment, because it got taken away from me last year and it’s something that had never happened to me before. Really, being able to step out onto the field and enjoy every moment, enjoy every day and get the most out of every day is a lot of fun.”
(Can you anticipate what, with WR Danny Amendola, your relationship? You had a couple of good catches today and a quarterback-friendly guy.) – “Danny is a great guy to have out there. He has played a lot of football. He understands football. He understands zones and how to get himself open and match ups and does a great job of finding windows and finding space. You saw he made a couple of catches in tight windows today. He’s going to help us a lot this year. I’m excited to have him.”
(With all the changes, how comforting is it to have a guy with experience like WR Danny Amendola out there?) – “It’s big. It’s big not only for me, but for the receiver room in general. Having a veteran guy who has played a lot of football, played at a high level, played in championships, the experience being able to lead that room is big.”
(What was the thought process behind that Instagram post you put up the other day?) – “I don’t know which one?”
(You working with the receivers out on the field during the summertime?) – “The thought process is that I’m just trying to be a little bit more active on there. That’s not something that I’ve done a lot in the past. One of Kenny’s (Stills) buddies was out there filming and was like, ‘I have this video,’ and I put it up.”
(Do you feel like one of the old guys out here now?) – “I am one of the old guys now. I don’t feel old. I feel great. I don’t feel like I’m about to be 30. I am one of the old guys. I’ve been playing a lot of football here in Miami. It’s kind of a fun transition over the past three years of transitioning from one of the young guys to one of the more veteran guys and I’m enjoying it.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase told me yesterday that watching you in practice and OTAs over the last couple of years, that you’re a different guy than you were when you played that game against Arizona, your last game. Do you agree with that and how are you different?) – “Yes, I would say I’ve grown a lot as a leader. I’ve grown a lot as a person, as a football player, just because of the adversity that I’ve faced. Like I said, being able to take a step back and watch from a different perspective and take in all that information, file it away and write it down. I’ve been going back, looking at my notes of things that’ve hit me over the last 16 months or whatever it may be and build on that. It’s experience that while I would never want it to happen that way, it’s going to be invaluable for me moving forward.”
(You kept a journal or is that normal?) – “It’s normal. I always take notes – football notes, life notes, how I’m feeling, whatever it may be. I try to write everything down and that way you can go back and you don’t forget things that happened. You don’t forget things that you learn from. You’re able to refresh on it and keep it going.”
(You talked about being more of a leader. Are you more of a leader by example kind of guy or more of a vocal? Because I saw you talking to WR Rashawn Scott over there giving him some pointers. How is your leadership style?) – “My style is my style. I’m not going to put a label on it. I’m myself. If there’s a situation where you get on a guy, you get on a guy. If you don’t, you don’t. It varies. It’s not one mold that gets it done.”
(What do you want for your birthday?) – “A great day at practice. (laughter) I’m pretty simple. I don’t need a whole lot. I’ve been blessed a lot in my life and (am) excited to come out and play football.”
(You put a video out of practice, you practicing throwing to guys. Was that just to throw out there for people to see or any message to it?) – “Yes. Did you just walk up? (laughter)”
(I couldn’t hear you on that side.) – “Kenny’s guy was out there with a camera and videoed it. He was really taking pictures of Kenny, but doing pictures for everybody and sent it to me and was like, ‘I got this video. Do you like it?’ I was like, ‘Yes, I’ll put it out.’”
Davon Godchaux – July 26, 2018
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Thursday, July 26, 2018
DT Davon Godchaux
(In terms of how you guys are playing with personnel, what’s the big change in terms of what you all are taught to do that maybe was different than with the old staff?) – “I think we’re just playing more aggressive and with confidence and swagger. (Defensive Line Coach) Kris (Kocurek) is going to get it out of us each and every day – whether that’s running to the ball, being physical, mental toughness. Each and every day I think we’ve just been more confident with ourselves.”
(We saw DT Akeem Spence obviously open with the first group today. You’re going to play a lot. Have they told you if you and Spence will alternate with the first team the first week of camp? Has Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek given you any indication of that?) – “I’m not worried about any of that. I’m just coming out here each and every day to get better and to get my craft better. Akeem is going to get his better. Jordan (Phillips) is going to get his better, Gabe (Wright), Vincent (Taylor), each and everybody. You can’t worry about the next man. Just move forward and do what you do.”
(Is starting not a big deal because you know that you guys will all get a lot of snaps the way that Defensive Line Coach Kris Kocurek rotates guys or is it meaningful to you?) – “We’re all going to play. We’re all going to play a lot. That’s the most I can tell you. We’re all going to play a lot and we’re all going to be aggressive. We’re going to be damn good at it.”
(Is there an excitement level out here for you guys?) – “Very excited. Year 2 (for me) and not a lot of stress. (I have) more confidence and more swagger. With Kris (Kocurek), he does a great job of getting us fired up in the meeting room and coming out onto the practice field. As you can tell, it’s hot; but each and every day we come out, we’ve got to have that confidence.”
(It’s a different look on that offensive line. Going up against it, what’s different about it this year as opposed to last year overall?) – “I love going against Josh Sitton each and every day. He’s going to get me better each and every day. He’s a vet All-Pro, Pro Bowl guy. It doesn’t get much better than that. He’s one of the best in the league at it, if not the best. Going against him each and every day – (Daniel) Kilgore, Laremy Tunsil, Ja’Wuan (James) and Jesse Davis – it’s going to get all of us better.”
(How did the mobility of QB Ryan Tannehill look today?) – “It looked great. He’s our starting quarterback and I’m behind him 100 percent.”
(Who among the group, among the defensive tackles, is maybe speaking more and becoming more assertive with DT Ndamukong Suh no longer here?) – “Everybody is going to work. It’s a team game. There’s 11 people on the field each and every play. On the d-line, there’s four people on the field each and every play, so everybody is going to be confident. Suh did a great job for us last year but it’s this year now, so we all have to step up and have more confidence and have more swagger.”
Danny Amendola – July 26, 2018
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Thursday, July 26, 2018
WR Danny Amendola
(It’s your first training camp with the Dolphins. What are your thoughts?) – “It’s fun. I got some good work in today and we’re on to Day 2.”
(How is this heat treating you?) – “It was good. It’s hot. It’s sweaty. It felt good today.”
(It was kind of interesting your comments last week that we caught on the podcast – playing for Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick as opposed to Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase. Can you elaborate on that and what it’s like being out here under a new training camp and regime?) – “I’m just focused on 2018 and the Miami Dolphins. I’m focused on getting better every day. We’ve got a great team. We’ve got a bunch of great athletes and I’m excited to be a part of this team.”
(How do you like the culture of this locker room so far, just getting started?) – “It’s awesome. It’s great to be part of a team like this. We put a lot of hard work into OTAs. We’re going to continue to put a lot of hard work into this camp and improve every day. That’s why we’re here.”
(Given where you’ve played before in your NFL career, how much of a shock to the system is this weather out here?) – “It feels good. There’s no question it’s humid. You all feel it. You all are sweating too. (laughter) It was a great first day. We’re running around, flying around and feeling good. It was a good first day. We’re ready to get on to Day 2.”
(Understanding it’s really, really early but what encourages you about what you’ve seen so far?) – “Everybody is … Especially in our room, everybody is hungry. Everybody comes to work with a great attitude. We have a great energy in the room. Everybody wants to get better. Everybody wants to compete with each other and everybody’s got each other’s back too. We have a good group.”
(RB Kenyan Drake mentioned that he kind of likes it that you guys are under the radar. Certainly you weren’t under the radar the last few years of your career. Does this change for you, kind of going below a little bit?) – “I can’t control anything that’s said outside of these walls. All I know is I’ve got to be responsible for how hard I work, the work that I put in and that’s what I can control.”
(Is there really a difference between catching a ball from QB Ryan Tannehill opposed to QB Tom Brady?) – “Ryan is a great quarterback. He’s played a lot of great football. He’s a Texas guy. He’s a good kid. It’s great to learn from him and to try to get on the same page. I can’t wait to get out there and play with him.”
(What have been your observations about WR DeVante Parker throughout the spring and into today?) – “Since I’ve seen him, he’s been a great player (and) a great teammate. He runs great routes. (He’s a) great athlete (with) great hands. He’s coming to work every day with a sense of urgency and he’s getting better. That’s his attitude and it’s great to be his teammate.”
(When a receiver takes the next step in his career – any receiver, and you’ve played with a lot of them – what generally is the thing that happens?) – “That’s a good question. Everybody is different. It’s an attitude that you’ve got to just come to work and get better every day. Try to find something to work on. That’s it.”
Adam Gase – June 14, 2018
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Thursday, June 14, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What do you think you guys have accomplished the most over the last four weeks?) – “Probably fine-tuning a lot of things, working through some mistakes from earlier practices and we’re seeing a little more consistency and less mental errors, and see guys playing faster.”
(What do you think you can glean from these offseason practices?) – “Just a lot of mental. We figure out if we can compete the right way, stay off the ground, do the right things. There’s some decisions that you have to make with certain looks if you’re on the offensive side and the same thing on defense. It’s been productive for us.”
(What was your assessment in terms of how quickly and how well the rookies picked up things?) – “I thought they did a good job. Those guys put a lot of time into making sure that they knew what to do out here and were able to perform and were playing at a good speed. That’s really the thing that we’re trying to get them ready for, for training camp, to where they can play fast and they’re not slowed down because they’re thinking.”
(What’s the biggest thing that you learned in these four weeks practicing with your new team?) – “I think it’s just this group seems to … We’re gelling pretty good. They like to practice against each other, they like playing together. You can tell there’s a lot of energy out there. I think that’s really one of the things that’s going to be improvement for us. We kind of lost that a little bit last year. This year we’re looking like we’re headed in the right direction.”
(You’ve complained in the past about the processing speed the players have had in terms of their ability to grasp things in installs. Do you see a difference?) – “Yes. I really think there has been a big difference. We’ve thrown a lot of things at them. Guys have been able to take it from the meeting room to the practice field and execute it, play at a really good rate. That’s been a big improvement for us.”
(Is this a different rate of process?) – “I think we’re getting it quicker. It’s the third year in the offense too, so some of the guys that have been here are hearing it for the thousandth time. I like the way the guys are taking it from the meeting room to the practice field.”
(Has this been confirmation for you seeing how the offense works? You had said in March this was what you had in mind, that this was very close to the offensive roster that you had in mind when you took this job. Has it been confirmed for you in the last four weeks?) – “I think so. I see a lot of the guys doing things the way we need them done. I like the way that we’re handling the mental game of it as well, where things are moving fast. We’re reacting very quickly. Really, it’s going to come down to how do we handle training camp when it starts to get hot (and) the preseason games. You’re always going to have an injury. Who’s going to step up and fill those voids? We’ve still got a long ways to go. The season is a long ways away. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and we’ll just keep grinding.”
(We’ve seen some good moments from QB David Fales. When you looked at the list of available backup quarterbacks back in March, had you basically said, “I think David is as good as any of these guys or better than any of these guys?”) – “I think after that last game, I was feeling good and then by bringing (Offensive Coordinator) Dowell (Loggains) in, he had been with him before. I think he saw the improvement that a lot of us were talking about. We felt like that was a good first step for us, and really we wanted to see how everything played out, because between free agency and the draft, you just never know how things are going to shake out. By adding Brock (Osweiler) and then Bryce (Petty), I think it’s been a good competition. That’s really what we’re going to be doing going into training camp. We’re just going to let those guys compete and see who wins out.”
(This time last year, you were really confident and happy with what you saw in QB Ryan Tannehill. Twelve months later, how has he done this spring?) – “He’s gotten better and it’s good. I really think that both (Offensive Coordinator) Dowell (Loggains) and (Quarterbacks Coach) Bo (Hardegree) have done a good job. We’ve been working (on) a lot of pocket movement things and getting him comfortable in that aspect. It doesn’t seem like he’s really changed much as far as worrying about bodies around him. He’s out there playing. He’s throwing the ball well. You can tell he’s spent a lot of time with these skill guys in the offseason.”
(With the touchdown pass that QB David Fales threw to WR Jakeem Grant, was that a play that was called or something that he read?) – “He’s got to read coverage. He did a good job of really taking the alert on that one and saw the safety bite down on it and went over the top. Those two guys have been hooking up all spring. It’s really probably one of like five of those that those two guys have hit down the field.”
(Do you try to keep the receivers with the quarterbacks?) – “No, we’ve been moving them around and when we get into training camp we’ll be able to get Albert (Wilson) and Jakeem (Grant) in there with Ryan (Tannehill) a little more. Really, right now, what we were trying to do was make sure that Albert had the playbook down and he was ready to go for training camp. That was the most important thing. We wanted him to get reps. I didn’t want to hold him back because he was going with that first group. I wanted to make sure that he had as many reps as possible.”
(I know coaches are always looking for every little detail, but do you get a chance to relax here a little bit and not think about football?) – “Are you really asking that? (laughter) I’ll take some time off. The coaching staff will take some time off and kind of recharge and then we’ll be back at it before we know it.”
(You’ve been very positive about QB David Fales? Has he earned at this point that he’s at least the guy to beat for that job?) – “I think right now I don’t even want to go in that direction yet because I don’t have a great answer for it. I just know we’re competing right now for that spot. I want to see guys play in preseason games. I want to see kind of how training camp goes. That’s a lot of time there and there’s a lot of football to be played. I want those guys all competing. I’m hoping those guys all have the same mentality that they’re the guy to beat.”
(What can you tell us that we haven’t seen or don’t know about how TE Mike Gesicki has gone through training camp and what all he’s handled?) – “He’s had some really good days. Yesterday was a good example where we had a 2-minute drill and we had some things in the red zone where he was able to take advantage of a couple matchups that he had. He’s aggressive to the ball and he can make plays. He’s a big man that can run and has really good hands. It’s been fun to watch him kind of develop and trying to learn this offense. He puts a lot of time into it. He’s trying to be one of those guys that can play fast.”
(Mentally?) – “(Mike Gesicki’s) been good.”
(Speaking about tight ends, TE MarQueis Gray is one of two former quarterbacks that you have in this offense. What does that do? Has that helped them process the offense a little bit better?) – “I think so because he knows how quarterbacks think – how he’s thinking (and) what he can do to be quarterback-friendly. I know that term gets thrown around a lot, but when you’re a former quarterback, you understand that. And him being in the third year of the offense too, I think he sees the big picture now. He’s not thinking, he’s reacting. And he’s playing fast. He had a really good spring. It’s really going to be interesting just to see how training camp plays out because we’ve got a lot of guys right now. We’ve got to figure out who’s playing and who’s going to be doing what. We’re going to have a lot of decisions to make with what personnel groupings, who’s going to be with what.”
(Just your thoughts on CB Cordrea Tankersley and CB Tony Lippett. Obviously, there’s competition there and CB Bobby McCain as well. Any one of the three particularly impress you in coverage?) – “I think right now, Tony is just going to keep grinding to make sure that he’s as close to 100 percent as he can be for training camp. Every day is going to be a learning experience for all those guys because they’re all so young. I think it’s good competition. I think those guys are … They understand that it’s going to be that we’re going to play the best guy. We’ll see how everything shakes out.”
(Any concerns from a position standpoint on defense? There were questions about the third linebacker spot – obviously LB Stephone Anthony, LB Terence Garvin, LB Jerome Baker competing there – and defensive tackle. Do you have any concern roster-wise on defense? Do you feel good about all those groups?) – “I feel good. We’ll figure out the right personnel grouping for us once we get to training camp and preseason stuff. It’ll shake out the right way and we’ll put the best 11 players on the field.”
(What influence do you think that G Josh Sitton has had on T Laremy Tunsil? Not in terms of how they fit together on the field but in terms of maybe his demeanor or his mindset?) – “I think he’s a good guy (to have). The guy that you’re playing next to, you kind of see how he operates. You see how he works in meeting rooms and then comes on the field and works in individual. That’s the thing I’ve been most impressed with is to watch our individual and watching even our veteran players and how serious they take it and how they try to get better in those drills, because they know it’s going to apply so much during games. I think him seeing that and then I also just think him being able to talk to him every day as far as, ‘What do we want to do here? How do we want to set on this – these pass rushes?’ Those two guys working in tandem is going to be a big thing for us.”
(We haven’t seen the DE Robert Quinn bend.) – “I have. A lot.”
(Describe it please.) – “It’s very freakish. The way (Robert Quinn) turns the corner is unreal. I’ve only seen one guy really kind of do what he does and that was in Denver (Von Miller). He’s done a good job because he’s trying to stay away from the quarterback but when he turns that corner, it’s impressive. He’s very low to the ground.”
(Did you guys have any close calls with QB Ryan Tannehill at any point? In terms of someone getting too close to him?) – “I mean guys are going to get close; but no.”
Ja’Wuan James – June 14, 2018
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Thursday, June 14, 2018
T Ja’Wuan James
(What was the most important thing you guys got done here during this offseason – OTAs and minicamp?) – “I feel like everybody … We have a bunch a new people, especially in our room, working together. That was a big thing.”
(How do you know when it is working?) – “Not until the games start, honestly. Not until the games start.”
(How do you judge it out here?) – “We just try to get better every day, watch the film and try to get better from the day before.”
(What did it mean to you when you found out that your fifth-year option was going through?) – “I’m just focused on having a good year here. I’m really just focused on having a good year for this team and that’s it.”
(It was reported that there was some discussions about a long-term contract. Is that something you’re still hopeful could happen?) – “I’m just focused on this season, getting better, coming back from this hamstring and getting myself to 100 percent.”
(I don’t know what you’ve seen of DE Robert Quinn. We keep hearing about his bend. What have you observed about his bend?) – “That’s huge and I feel like that’s making Laremy (Tunsil) better. He’s doing a good job of giving him a look every day. I’m looking forward to seeing it during the season.”
(Is it a freakish bend? We’re hearing about DE Robert Quinn’s knee touching the ground and his hip being inches from the ground.) – “Yes. Nobody on this team can do it, honestly. That’s how crazy it is.”
(What does that do for a pass rusher? Leverage and power, what does that do?) – “It makes you … I don’t know. It’s scary, honestly, because he does have power; but at the same time, he can dip down low, so you have to play a lot of different stuff.”
(What are you trying to do as an offensive tackle? You’re trying to keep your hands on his shoulder so you can control him?) – “Yes, our job is to try to find the near point. That’s what we call it, the near point. (It’s) the nearest point closest to you. With him, that changes up here to two feet off the ground. It’s important for you to have balance with him.”
(What’s been a point of emphasis for you this spring, especially with the new offensive line coach? What are some things you’re trying to refine, fine tune?) – “Just building off of last year. He was here before, we love (Offensive Line) Coach ‘Wash’ (Jeremiah Washburn). He was here my third year. I feel like he’s doing a good job of coaching some of the similar things we’ve been doing. Just building off of last year.”
(When you have played at your best, what were somethings you were consistent at doing?) – “Just using my technique the same every time. That’s the hardest part is doing the same thing every time, no matter who you’re going against and no matter (if it is a) silent count or whatever it is. Just maintaining the same consistency and my technique.”
(I’ve been asking everyone how a quarterback makes an entire team better – defense, special teams. In your opinion, what happens? How can a quarterback make an entire team better?) – “I feel like one, they have the ball more than anybody. They’re in charge of keeping the ball safe and making plays with the ball. Because they have that responsibility, from a leadership standpoint, people just look to them as, ‘Okay, our team is going to go how he goes.’ I feel like they have a big impact because they have the ball a lot.”
(As far as picking up the defense?) – “Scoring points makes them happy. If they can come on the field and pass rush instead of playing the 4-minute (defense) and them running the ball on them the whole game, it will make them feel a lot better with us scoring.”
(Pro Football Focus has you rated as the fifth-best pass blocking tackle in the NFL last year and obviously there was an injury so that was about half the season. Do you feel that you are one of the best pass blocking tackles in the league?) – “I’m just trying to get better every day. I’m just focused on coming back from this injury being a whole lot better, being 100 percent and finishing this season.”
(You’ve mentioned the injury a couple of times now. What has been the challenge of that? Are you completely past it?) – “I feel like I’m past it. For the first couple of days, it just felt different being out there. The game felt fast and stuff just from not being out there. Once I started picking up with it, it was fine. I’m just focused on keeping it strong and going out there and finishing.”
(I don’t remember if I actually knew what the exact injury was. Can you help us accurately…) – “It was my hamstring. I pulled my hamstring severely, I guess. That’s what you call it.”
(Is the word tear a correct word?) – “Yes.”
(No surgery right?) – “Yes.”
(This is the first time in a couple of years where the offensive line seems set heading into training camp as opposed to past years where there was a lot of competition and a lot of guys moving around. What kind of difference do you think that should make?) – “I honestly don’t know. I feel like we’re never set. Like you said, it’s been like that forever. You never know what’s going to happen in these next couple of months. I feel like it’s brought a lot of competition because we have a lot of guys that can play in that starting five. I feel like that helps us from a depth standpoint and that’s what you need because you never know who is going to have to play when. I feel like we’re all ready to play if our numbers get called on.”
