Clyde Christensen – December 28, 2017
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Thursday, December 28, 2017
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(I want to ask you something I asked Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke, just about if you could talk about things that most pleased you and things that most disappointed you. If you could try to avoid words like consistency and work ethic. I’m looking for specific things like ‘the way we ran the ball the last six weeks.’ Things like that. What most pleased you and what most disappointed you?) – “Are you talking about the season?”
(Right. Just looking back at the whole body of work since we’re not going to talk to you again until July 29th.) – “Well, I’ll be here. So you certainly can … I’d rather really not sum up it because the season is not over. I don’t think of it as the season’s over. I won’t use any of those words. I probably won’t answer your question but I won’t use any of those words. How’s that? (laughter) Here’s the point of the thing – and I wouldn’t wrap it up to (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase) or (Executive VP of Football Operations Mike (Tannenbaum) either until we go back and watch it, because sometimes your impression … Like right now, we lost two games on the road that were really huge games. It was bitterly disappointing. Until you go back and you watch it all, I’m really, really careful. I think it’s a mistake coaches make that they say ‘So and so really had a great year’ and then you go back and you watch and you go, ‘Well, he really wasn’t as good as I really thought but maybe just played well the last two games,’ or something. That might be a little bit of a cop out but I really do think of it that way. Next week, I’ll go through, we’ll cut up that stuff. We’ll get started right on all of that stuff. I’ll get an evaluation written. Then it will hit me and it will be fair. I don’t think it would be fair right now to say that.”
(How much does that happen, where you really change your opinion when you go back?) – “A lot of times. A lot of times because it’s such a long … Who remembers the Chargers game? That feels like three years ago. Guys playing different positions, how many snaps did they really play? How many did (Jermon) Bushrod play? I don’t know. Was it 300? Was it 900? I don’t know. I think it changes a lot. Overall, you kind of have an impression; but also, until you go through it and you say ‘We threw too many interceptions’ – until you go back and watch the interception tape and say … There have been some years where you have 19 interceptions but really there were seven that were the quarterback’s poor judgment. A lot of those, you kind of come out and go ‘Oh gosh, we threw this many interceptions’ and then you go (back) … That happens way, way more than you think. That’s always just become a habit and I’ll jump on it early because you kind of want to know. I’m kind of curious too. How did we run the ball? We had a lot of circumstances happen this year on running the ball, so just go look at the thing. Was the plan bad? Did we put the players in a bad position? Did we call good stuff? Did it just take some maturation process? Was it losing (former Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Chris) Foerster in the middle of it? There’s a lot of stuff that goes into a lot of these questions. If you want to ask again in light of that, I’ll give a shot at it.”
(Sure. If you wouldn’t mind, in light of the fact that you haven’t done tape viewing and there’s still one week left to go, just things that quickly come to mind about things that pleased you and things you wished you had done better.) – “You said don’t use the word consistency but inconsistent, I just think that we’ve just done stuff in short stretches. We haven’t done it day in and day out. These last two weeks have been bitterly disappointing because they were huge games. We talked a lot about December football. We talked a lot about in the AFC, you better be able to go on the road to a cold-weather spot and win big games, and we didn’t do it. We didn’t do it. We got the formula put on us. It’s always the same formula. Do we protect the ball, do you run the ball well, do you not have dumb penalties? The first week of December, we did those things at the New England game here at home. The two road games – where it’s harder to do; it gets magnified and it’s harder to do – against two playoff-contention teams, two good teams, and with us having a lot at stake and them having a lot at stake – and we failed miserably. We really didn’t give it a run. We didn’t take the games in the fourth quarter. Both teams had zero turnovers against us and we turn the ball over and didn’t give ourselves a chance. That’s really, really disappointing and again, that may not be fair because it’s the last two and they’re the most fresh on my mind; but I do know that. I do know that December is December and if you can’t play your best football in December then you’re not going anywhere. You’re destined to be dead average or below. That’s not what we aspire to be. That’s not satisfactory.”
(Was there any truth in the example that you gave a minute ago about how the interceptions may not necessarily be the quarterback’s fault this year? Do you feel like that’s fair?) – “I don’t know because I haven’t watched it.”
(But you look at each week. Are there some that are not QB Jay Cutler’s fault?) – “Yes but it doesn’t … It doesn’t hit me that way. I’m too old. My mind … I can’t retain it all. I’ll leave that to the young guns, (Head Coach Adam) Gase and those guys with the sharp young minds; but I really honestly don’t remember them all. I don’t remember ‘Hey, that’s right, his arm was getting hit.’ Just remind me that we had three interceptions in this game. I know it cost us a game but I don’t know that they were Jay’s fault, not Jay’s fault, we didn’t protect, we set people free up in the middle, we let people come around the corner – I don’t know – a receiver slipped and fell. I don’t know. I honestly would tell you. I’ve always been honest with you. I wouldn’t remember them enough.”
(The right side of your offensive line has been solid with two backup guys. Two guys [G/T Jesse Davis and T Sam Young] that weren’t your starters at the beginning of the year. Why do you think that they’ve played as well as they have and are those guys, have they played into possible long-term type of…) – “Here’s my thought on it. My thought is A) we haven’t played well enough up front. We haven’t protected or run the ball in December like we’ve got to do it. Overall, not satisfactory, not good enough. I do think we’ve improved up there and at least stabilized ourselves a little bit and I think it’s because they stayed together for a little bit of time. I think Kenyan (Drake) helps out a little bit, making some big plays. That kind of juices everybody up. I do think there has been a stability to thing. The last part of your thing is I do think there’s some … I’ve said it for two years so I hope maybe we reap the benefit here soon but the moving people around has some benefit because guys get such great experience playing some different positions. I’d love for them to now, let’s get our offensive line set. Let’s keep them together, let’s stay healthy for 16 games. Let’s stay in the same run package. Let’s get good at something. We haven’t done that. The first thing, to think that it’s the level it’s got to be, it’s not. We haven’t rushed the ball and protected as well as we need to do it, which would be probably true of almost everything offensively so far.”
(Have you kept in touch with former Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator Chris Foerster and if so, how is he doing?) – “Yes, I have stayed in touch with him. He’s a good friend and I think things are going well for him. That probably would be all I want to say is that he’s doing well. He’s working hard. He’s a good man and he’ll work on his life, just like the rest of us.”
(On a different note, Head Coach Adam Gase was talking about the idea of possibly playing some younger guys this week, some guys that you haven’t had a chance to see. Is there anyone that you’re particularly interested in or curious about getting on the field?) – “No. I’m more interested in just seeing our guys play winning football. It’s the same thing that it’s two weeks that we haven’t won. Him and the front office will make those determinations but I see it as our last December game, so it’s a playoff feel for me and I’m trying to sell it as such. We do have a lot at stake. We’re playing a division opponent. We’re playing at home. The theme is let’s take up where we left off last time we were home. There’s a big difference between ending on a winning note and a losing note, whether it’s right or wrong. It just feels different to everybody. I think we have a lot at stake. We have some young guys who we’re getting a look at that I want to see finish. Kenyan Drake, finish a nice start for December. Jakeem Grant, let’s see him finish December well. He’s stacked a couple of weeks in a row together. DeVante (Parker), a spark here or there, let’s finish on a good note going into the offseason. Let’s have a nice outing. The guys up front – Jesse (Davis) – let’s play our best football in the last game, which is what you ought to do, because you’ve been practicing. You’ve been doing it now for nine months, so let’s stack that on top of it. (Laremy) Tunsil, let’s play our most consistent game, and some of those things. The young guys I want to see are the young guys who you’ve been seeing. We, the offensive staff, would love to see those guys play their best football in the last game and their most consistent (game). Let’s have some momentum going into the offseason and go, and let’s win a division game and take care of the Buffalo Bills, which would be fun to do.”
(As far as your run blocking this season, statistically it’s not as good as it was last season but you did have a change of running backs and a change of personnel up front. How have those guys been doing run blocking do you think?) – “You guys restricted my vocabulary because I can’t (say words like consistency and work ethic) … (laughter) Can I use inconsistent again for 137th time this year? But (we’ve been) inconsistent. There are some times where you just go, ‘Man, we’re getting it.’ And then there are times where you go, ‘How does that happen? How did we set him free?’ I really don’t think it’s been … This league is about doing it week in and week out. These guys are good players. Every team has good players. Every team has got a couple hundred million dollars worth of professional athletes on it, so everyone can do it once in a while when all of the conditions are right. This league is about being able to do it at Buffalo, at Kansas City, under pressure, in a playoff game – those kinds of things; and that’s what we haven’t done. We’ve done it at times. You guys have all seen that. That’s stating the obvious but it’s true. It really is true. We haven’t proven we can do it week in and week out and we certainly haven’t proven we can do it in December. We haven’t proven we can do it on the road in a big AFC game on the road in December. Those are disappointing. That’s disappointing.”
(Well if you’re a player that does it every once in a while and is not consistent, then you’re not a good player.) – “Yes, then you’re watching the playoff games from home. That’s right. You’re sitting there, like I’ll be doing, watching the good teams – the teams that did it – do it next week and for the next five weeks. That’s right. That’s what those guys are.”
(I guess what I’m asking is, isn’t a good player defined by consistency?) – “Yes. The answer is yes. And the good teams are defined by it, yes. Some of it is a learned behavior. Some of it is learned, so you develop. That would be development; but some people never get it and they disappear out of the league. Tons of people disappear from the league. Tons of coaches disappear from the league. He couldn’t do it week in and week out. This thing got too hard for him. That’s why you see a lot of turnover on the rosters. I do think that. I always halfway tease but the inconsistent NFL players, they have a name, right? Graduate student. They’re back in school somewhere. (laughter) That’s their name. Which is the truth. Let’s cut the crap. That’s the truth and it’s the same thing (with) inconsistent coaches. Do you know what they are? They’re State Farm agents. (laughter)”
(How close is T Laremy Tunsil from being where you want him to be and where he can be?) – “(He’s) more than four days away. Let’s just take another step. It’s coming. I’ve said it to you, I look at it as his rookie year. It’s his second rookie year. It’s really important to see it as that. When we watch the tape and we evaluate him next week or whenever that happens, you do have to take into account that it’s another rookie stretch for him. At times, I think he would tell you that he’s felt like a rookie and he’s played like a rookie. At times you see glimpses and the same thing that (you guys) mentioned, it is just the consistency. I believe with all of my heart that it’s going to hit for him. Just (with) some experience, he’s going to end up being a really, really fine player; but you do have to go do it. I’ve thought that about a lot of people and it didn’t happen. You just never know. Sometimes with these guys, it just clicks and they just come back and … Kenyan Drake. (He) morphed into one of our most consistent, responsible players in the last month. A year ago, if you said Jakeem Grant and Kenyan Drake were going to be two of our most consistent players in December of next year, you could have got some great odds that that wasn’t going to be the case. You could have made a lot of money betting that. That’s how this game works. It’s kind of funny how that happens but it’s really true. Those are two great examples. Now, let’s finish December for those guys. Let’s go have a great offseason and let’s go become solid NFL players that do it year after year after year after year, week after week after week, day in and day out, in December, on the road. Now you’ve got something. The more of those you’ve got, the further you go, and all of a sudden you get a chance at winning the big one, which is the objective.”
(Do you look back at WR DeVante Parker’s – I don’t want to say season – the first 16 games he’s played?) – “It’s kind of insulting, you know? (laughter) No, I’m just kidding. You said I can’t say inconsistently. (laughter) Just for the first question? Oh okay, good. You should have let me know because I’ve been kind of frustrated. I’ve had a knot in my stomach trying to think of how I was going to say things. (laughter) Yes, inconsistent. He’s been inconsistent. He’s been unhealthy. That’s the more fair statement to him. He hasn’t been healthy for long stretches since I’ve been here, and that includes the offseason. I feel bad for the kid. It’s not fun playing receiver when you can’t run.”
(Yes, but everybody gets hurt.) – “Sure. That’s right. And the ones who keep getting hurt, the same thing. They disappear. It’s hard to play good football if you’re always hurt. Are you unlucky? Is it just a bad stretch? It’s the same thing. That’s why every year different teams are in and teams fall apart. That’s right. Do you determine he’s always hurt and move on? Do you say he just got unlucky for a couple of years or a couple of weeks and its coming and he’s going to go to the Pro Bowl next year? It could be anywhere in between. I look at (Colts QB) Andrew Luck. He missed this whole year but I know what kind of player he is and I know how tough a man he is. It’s not fair to just say … It’s hard to judge a guy that way. It’s hard to judge him. I don’t judge … Anyone who plays this thing and walks on the field is a tough man. I don’t call anyone soft or anything because this is a tough game; but we also know that with the money they’re making and the pressure that’s on, you have to be able to play week in and week out, and part of that is injuries. Part of that is durability. That is part of why your offseasons have to be well. That’s why you have to take care of your body. That’s why you have to be able to control your nights off and your offseasons and stuff, so that you do stay healthy. They’re all tied together. But the good teams, those guys play. Other freak things that come up? Sure. There’s freak things that come up.”
(I guess the issue is you know what kind of player Colts QB Andrew Luck is because he’s shown it. WR DeVante Parker now three years in, we don’t know what player he is.) – “Yes. Although I look and I say I saw training camp and I said this guy has a chance to be really, really good. He’s got another 500-yard year where I see him as a 10-touchdown and 1,000-yard guy. I told you that at the beginning of the season. My words were if he stays healthy, I really see this guy as a 10-touchdown and 1,000-yard guy. I’ll still stay with that. If he had stayed healthy, it probably would have been that. Now we just have to … Here’s what I think about DeVante. He’s learning. He’s 200 percent better today than he was the day that I got here at understanding what he’s got to do, taking care of himself and his habits, his workout regime and all of the things that go into taking care of your legs and those things. Did he get hurt again? Yes; but I’m telling you, he’s way further ahead on those things. In my heart of hearts, which tries to take the positive side of everything, I would say that’s going to pay off. That’s what I would look him into the eye – I have looked him in the eye – and say ‘Just keep doing the right things. Learn to do them even better and I trust that something good will happen for you.’ It doesn’t always, right? Some guys have freak things that happen and it doesn’t happen for them; but he’s 200 percent further ahead than a year and a half ago when we first got here – whenever it was –as far as just the habits of running, lifting, sleeping, eating and all of those things, getting into the building early and staying a little bit earlier. He’s way ahead. Maybe it didn’t show on the field this year. So far he got unlucky and tweaked an ankle. Last year it was a hamstring; but I really believe with all of my heart that if he keeps doing the right things and stacking those things on top of each other, he sure increases his percentage chance of that hitting someday soon and it also makes you look in the mirror and you know you did the right things. That’s all you can do and then you go play as hard as you can. If you come down on someone’s foot and your ankle rolls, that’s hard to blame on somebody. That would be my positive take on that. Does that answer your question? Good, it turned out to be another 500 … There’s nothing we can do about it. It happened. I don’t look and go ‘You screwed it up here.’ You got unlucky and it’s one of those games that that happens; but I would tell you that I’m encouraged with the young man as a young man, and how he trains his body and how he takes care of himself. He’s made a big step that way. I think he really has realized it. I think he’s taken a step. He’s not there yet in this area and he’s not there yet (in that area), but I think he wants to be good. That’s half of it, that you really do want to be good, because that’s the beginning of ‘Okay, if I want to be good, now I’ve got to take these steps to be good.’ I think DeVante is starting to do that. He’s way ahead of a year and a half ago. If he does the same thing this offseason again and takes it another notch, I think he’ll increase his percentage chance and I’ll make the same statement probably preseason again that I think if he stays healthy, he’s a 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown guy and South Florida is really proud of (him). I really hope it happens. He’s really a nice kid and I think the world of him. I want to see it happen for him.”
Matt Burke – December 28, 2017
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Thursday, December 28, 2017
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(Would you be kind enough to tell us a specific thing or two that has most pleased you and most disappointed you? If you could try to avoid words like consistency and work ethic, I’m looking for something specific like how you did against the run the first five weeks, your young corners developing. What specific things pleased you, what disappointed you?) – “You just answered it for me. (laughter)”
(I wanted to give you a couple of possible examples.) – “We like talking in vague-ities here. (laughter) I think specifically … I thought our run defense was fairly solid. Even last week, we did a decent job in the run game. A couple of speed options broke out on us; but other than that, we did a good job. We had our rocky moments obviously with some games, but I thought their commitment to that aspect of things was positive. Honestly, look, I think … I don’t know if this is too vague for you, but the guys have played hard the whole year. Even the last two weeks, we were getting stops at the end of games when obviously the outcome looked like it was kind of not going to go the way it was, and those guys kept playing. In terms of a positive from the last two weeks, for me, the fact that those guys kept going out there and getting stops and playing through the end of the game. Those are things that we look for, obviously. It’s hard. I haven’t had time to really reflect big-picture stuff and obviously go back through the cut ups. Statistically, again, the things that … Some of the things that we stress and that we spend a lot of time on that we haven’t had success in, in terms of takeaways, our red zone defense, those things that I know off hand, that’s been disappointing. Really, our only real positive statistic has been third downs and we haven’t been good in those the last two weeks. Those things are just off the top of my head; but (I) haven’t really had a chance to truly examine big picture things and go back. We’re so caught up in the moment. Some of our young players have made some strides this season and hopefully things that we can build on moving forward with them.”
(Two other concerns I wanted to ask you about, from our perspective. I’m wondering if they are disappointments to you: coverage of tight ends – and obviously a lot of the teams have trouble covering tight ends but it seems more extreme with you guys – and pass rush, 28th in sacks, towards the bottom in pressure per pass play. Are those two areas disappointing to you?) – “I think obviously everything has been disappointing for us at this point of the year. Tight end coverage, I’m not sure what (Travis) Kelce’s numbers were last week. We obviously tried to put a lot of things in to stop him. He had a couple of big plays and scored a touchdown that we were kind of draped over him, that he made a nice play on. The other one was kind of – I don’t want to call it a trick play – but kind of a rigged up play, the one they kind of shot the guy out the back end. I think, again, every week there are challenges. I think it’s just in general, in terms of tight ends, it has been a trend in the league. Those are valuable weapons that … As teams and defenses went sort of – I don’t want to say smaller – but to try to matchup spread offenses and those things, to have weapons like tight ends that can still be effective in the pass game against some of those … If you’re trying to put smaller bodies in terms of nickels and corners out there, tight ends that are hybrid weapons have been sort of a trend in the NFL in general, I think. I think that’s sort of a task for us is finding similar hybrid defenders that can do those type of things, whether it’s safeties of linebackers, that we feel can cover those guys. I think that’s just sort of an ongoing movement. Again, I was in Cincinnati with (Tyler) Eifert and he was a challenge for people and obviously in our division with ‘Gronk’ (Rob Gronkowski) and even this week with Charles Clay, who has done it for a long time and those type of things. I think in general, tight ends, I don’t know if it’s specific to us or to our defense. Apparently you think so. I think that’s just the way the league is going and we have to be able to address those issues in terms of those matchups and those type of athletes that are more and more becoming involved in offenses. What was the other question? Pass rushes? Yes, obviously, we want more sacks and more production from everybody and from our guys up front. I think Cam (Wake) has had a good season. Cam’s disruption numbers are really high. Actually, in the league, he’s one of the top 10 in the league I think in terms of our disruption numbers, which again, involves … He has obviously got nine sacks, but he has a bunch of caused holding penalties and pressures and QB hits and all those sort of things, and batted balls and whatnot. I think that has been a positive. I think Charles (Harris) has shown some progress in the last couple of weeks that he’s kind of in the same boat. I think some of his … Again, he got the sack last week, obviously. His disruption numbers have been trending positively for us, so I think that those are blocks to build on and to move forward with. Obviously any time you’re in the bottom five in the league in a stat that you value and that you put an emphasis on, it’s disappointing.”
(Does it feel like you’ve been behind almost the entire season?) – “Like in life or in … (laughter) Listen, and I know it has been said a lot, I respect (Head Coach) Adam (Gase). Adam is a lot like me in the sense that if something is not going right, the first thing he does is blames himself or looks at himself. If we’re struggling on defense, it is like, ‘What have I done?’ Adam’s first thing is, ‘I haven’t given them a lead. We haven’t played good enough.’ Listen, you guys can check the stats but I’m pretty sure no team in the NFL has ever started with a lead. That’s on us as much as anything. We spend half the year – more than half the year – deferring our coin toss and putting us on the field first. We have as much to do with getting a lead as an offense does. It’s not like, ‘We’re going to sit back and play crappy defense until Adam gets a lead and then we can go play ball.’”
(The reality is you’ve been behind a lot and it skews some of these things you’re talking about.) – “It skews it; but again, we can’t just play defense with a lead. Like I said, no game starts with a lead. That may be true, but it’s on us, it’s our responsibility to help get a lead. Again, the last … Even looking (at) the game this week, the first time we played Buffalo, if you take our first-half stats and our second-half stats, they’re pretty disparate. We can’t start games like that. That’s on us as much as an offense. Yes, that’s great. Obviously everyone plays better with a lead. It’s not like our defense is built a certain way. Every team plays better with a lead. It’s a lot easier to play football when you’re up two touchdowns. That’s just the facts of life. We’re as much a factor in that as an offense or whoever else. We have to contribute to playing better early, starting games faster and to getting those leads and then we can kind of reap the benefits of that, for sure. That’s part of what we have to do as well.”
(It has been two years now in this system. Has anything that has happened in the last two years made you re-think things schematically or do you think the system is legit?) – “I haven’t questioned much of that. Listen, schemes are constantly evolving. They’re ever evolving. Week to week, obviously, we’re adjusting what we think we need to do. Again, guys, listen, I’m still trying to win a football game this week.”
(You understand we won’t get you for six months.) – “That’s not my fault. (laughter) Listen, that’s something that obviously every offseason you address. Again, I’m in the heat of it, guys. I’m working, working, working on this week and on game-to-game situation. Obviously, you’re self-scouting throughout the season; but to really step back and evaluate schematically and say, okay now you have this body of work, whether it’s the last two years or obviously this past year with some of the stuff I’ve been trying to do, like what worked and what didn’t? What do I think is where we’re lacking or what do we have to make sure that that’s not something that we want to do moving forward? Those will be kind of questions that we’ll answer obviously in the next four, five months hopefully. I don’t think the scheme is broken per se.”
(Your rookie class, I think I’ve got them all – DE Charles Harris, DT Davon Godchaux, DT Vincent Taylor, CB Cordrea Tankersley, LB Chase Allen and CB Torry McTyer. What have you seen from them and has the contribution been a little more than you thought it would be at the start of the season?) – “Probably. We tell the guys when they come in that the best player is going to play. We always tell them – again, just look at the history of the last two years here – in terms of everyone is going to get an opportunity between injuries and things that happen. I think it has been positive for those guys to have some success, not just play them. I can play a bunch of rookies and it doesn’t matter if they don’t perform up to our standards. I think at varying levels, they’ve had sort of moments of success and done some good things that we feel good about being able to utilize some of those players moving forward. It has definitely probably been – again, off the top of my head – I’ve probably played more rookies this year than I have, and I’ve been around in a while. I’ve been on some … In Cincy, I was with some more veteran teams. Even last year, we were kind of a little more of a veteran squad. I’ve definitely probably played more than I’ve done in the past, but they’ve earned their spots. They’ve earned their time. If they showed the successes that some of them showed, then they got to continue playing. It was good. Again, I thought honestly from the draft process forward, I thought (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and those guys identified the young players that approach-wise and mindset, in terms of he wanted to bring guys in that kind of fit the culture we’re trying to build and worked hard and were all about football. I think that kind of showed and reflected in them being able to play and contribute. I think they’re kind of a mature class for a bunch of rookies. I think it wasn’t too big for them, so that was maybe easier for us to put them on the field and give them opportunities. But I think that started through the draft process and honestly up through the offseason with those guys and the way they’ve worked. That whole class has been really into … They’re just all about ball, which is kind of what we want.”
(You mentioned the hybrid player, the linebacker kind of I guess defensive back type. Isn’t that S T.J. McDonald? Isn’t that supposed to be … Can’t that be him?) – “It could be. He has obviously got a skillset that fits like that type of role. Obviously, he’s a bigger safety. Again, the issue you get into is if you have small safeties and you put them down and maybe they’re too small in the run game or if you have linebackers that can’t run with tight ends, that’s just sort of the contrast. He definitely has a skillset that we feel like we can utilize.”
(Have you not been able to expand S T.J. McDonald…?) – “We’re thin a little bit at safety right now, to be honest with you, obviously with … Nate (Allen) is out and now ‘Mike T’ (Thomas) has been a little nicked up the last couple weeks. ‘Mo’ (Maurice) Smith went on IR. We’re a little thin at safety position right now to be honest with you. I try to work some different things. It has been … Again, it’s always a big picture in terms of how you’re utilizing the roster. Again, if you try to move T.J. down into the box or wherever, you’ve got to put somebody else in. As I always say, if you’re taking somebody off the field, you’ve got to put somebody in. We haven’t necessarily had the matchups to be able to do some of those things.”
(Metrics say LB Kiko Alonso has allowed by far the most yards in pass coverage of any linebacker by a huge margin. Do you simply not have any better options against tight ends? Obviously, he’s not on tight ends or backs all of the time. You use others, but is there not a better option as a primary defender on those players, on your roster?) – “My stats on Kiko are probably different than a lot of people’s. I don’t know. Do you have a better option you want to…?”
(I don’t.) – “Okay. All of those guys … Listen, all our linebackers … Listen, our linebackers, our safeties, all those guys, it’s not just Kiko. Again, we’ve gotten ‘Steph’ (Stephone Anthony) some more work, we’ve got Lawrence (Timmons), Reshad (Jones), T.J. (McDonald). All of those guys we have different options in terms of matching guys up. Sometimes we feel Kiko is our best matchup with a back or tight end. Sometimes it’s Reshad. Sometimes it is T.J. or ‘Steph’ or whoever it may be. I know you guys try to build these narratives about who’s bad and who’s good and all of this stuff. Kiko has his moments when he makes plays; Kiko has moments when he’s in a tough matchup. It’s the same thing for all the rest of those guys. To try to correlate directly like Kiko being a major issue in pass coverage, I don’t necessarily see it that way. There are times where we feel Kiko is a good matchup with what his skillset is. There are times where we’d rather have somebody else on say a tight end or a back. That’s going to vary week to week.”
(Without casting aspersions on whether or not this player is good or bad, you tell me how has DE Andre Branch’s performance and impact this year compared to last?) – “It’s probably not that far off. He has been battling some stuff, ‘Dre’ has. He has been … I think it’s kind of one of the less talked about things that he has been battling through a lot of things and tried to tough some things out, so I don’t think he has been feeling 100 percent physically. That has probably affected a little bit of his production and those sort of things. He has kind of been right where we want him to be.”
Darren Rizzi – December 28, 2017
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Thursday, December 28, 2017
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(From your unit’s perspective, there’s a lot to be happy about this year with K Cody Parkey’s field goals and the way P Matt Haack came on. If you had to point to one thing that disappointed you over the course of the first 15 games it would be what?) – “We’ve got a couple of hours. No, I’m just kidding. (laughter) I’m critical of myself. Overall on the year, I would have to say that I would have liked us to have been more consistent all around, not just one particular thing. I think we had some peaks and valleys in some different areas. You could point to a bunch of different thing, a bunch of different areas. I felt like we played really well at times. I think overall on the year – we’ve still got another game to play – but overall on the year, our coverage was pretty consistent. I’d like to see our return game be more consistent in the future. I guess that word ‘consistency’ is probably – and it’s probably every coach – but that’s probably the biggest thing. I just thought we had maybe more of a roller coaster than I would have liked to have been on.”
(We saw CB Torry McTyer from scrimmage last week. What has he shown you special teams-wise?) – “Yes, Torry’s a guy that, right away when he got here, flashed some ability. He’s a guy that really stuck out to me right when he got here – OTAs and training camp. I really like his skillset. I know he was in a position thing this year where it was tough to get him active every week and a little bit of the numbers game, but I think he’s got a very bright future. He’s going to play this week and hopefully we get another good look at him on Sunday.”
(I’ve noticed there’s at least four key special teamers who are going to be unrestricted free agents – S Michael Thomas, RB Damien Williams, DE Terrence Fede and CB/S Walt Aikens. In your experience, how do franchises usually decide when, how and where to spend a little more in the area of special teams? How does that usually play out?) – “I think this year is no different than any other. Every year I’ve been here, that’s been the case where at the end of the year, you’re going to have guys you have to make decisions on. I think the world of all four of those people, so obviously that’s more of a question for next week as we start to evaluate. I think that all of those guys have been very productive in their own way this year and other years. Overall, from a general standpoint – and I think we covered this a couple of weeks ago – you’re seeing more and more teams keeping special teams core players. You look at our division, alone. If you look at the Patriots, you look at us, you look at the Bills, you look at the Jets, there’s going to be four to five players on the roster that probably aren’t going to play a whole lot of offense or defense, if any, and they’re going to be core special teamers. Somebody asked me that question a couple of weeks ago, and that’s really no different. Deciding who those people are is obviously what the offseason is all about. Can this guy, moving forward, continue to be that type of player? I look at it, and we really break down rosters throughout the NFL in the offseason and look and see how many guys people are keeping, and like I said, it’s roughly four or five guys per roster. Those guys that you mentioned, like I said, are all guys that I’ve had a great experience with and I feel very strongly about. As we go through, we’ll see where we end up. Those evaluations, we’ll get all into that next week. I know what you’re saying and I think moving forward, again, from a general standpoint, we’d like to have that same thing: four or five guys that are on our roster that may not (play offense and defense). Now, a couple of guys that you mentioned are also key components of offense and defense. Damien Williams is obviously a key component of the offense. Terrence Fede has played some very meaningful snaps this year on defense. Mike Thomas has played a lot of defensive snaps in his career here. So they’re not really just special teamers. Walt Aikens is. Walt Aikens hasn’t played a whole lot of defense. Again, if you look at the team that’s in the first place in our division, they have about four or five that really don’t play any on offense or defense at all. None. Looking at the 53 and figuring those things out, that’s what the offseason is all about.”
(Piggybacking off of that, it’s crazy almost to ask, but there’s a franchise designation for kickers and punters. Should there be a franchise designation for S Michael Thomas or Patriots WR Matthew Slater or someone like that?) – “I think every roster is going to be different; but I, as a special teams coach, believe that you have to have at least a couple of those guys, yes. (You need) a couple of (those) guys in your building. Do I also believe that those people should have roles on their particular position unit and on their side of the ball? Yes. I don’t think they can be completely absentee of the offense or defense; but at the same time, you want to have those guys that are going to be your core players (on special teams). It depends. How many of those there are? I don’t know if there’s a magical number; but yes, I know what you’re saying and I do believe that’s true, yes.”
(So they’re all coming back? I’m just kidding.) – “(laughter) I’m (low) on the totem pole. Those (decisions) are above me.”
(Is there one guy in your career that you can tell us – maybe he doesn’t play anymore – that you specifically remember banging on the table like, ‘We’ve got to find a way to keep this guy on the roster?’) – “There’s a bunch of guys that come to mind since I’ve been here, that weren’t a huge part of the offense or defense. Marlon Moore, Patrick Cobbs, Jason Trusnik, guys are just popping into my head right now. I’m sure if I had a list in front of me there would be more, but those are guys that pop in my head that you wanted to be around. Why? They were leaders. They were really good core special teams players. They were going to be on everything that you were doing. Whether or not they were going to play on offense or defense at that point, I thought, was a little bit irrelevant. I remember the Hard Knocks year, I was very much in favor keeping a guy like Marlon Moore. He was a guy that was a really good special teams player, did a lot of different things and whether or not he was going to be a part of the offense or not, I thought that particular year we had plenty at that position. It all depends on where you are in that position, as well. If it’s not a deep pool at those positions, every year is different. There’s a fine line of keeping too many of those guys, too, and I get that. That’s what makes my job a little bit interesting at times. That’s why we’ve got to get everybody ready.”
(Where are you in terms of grooming some of these young guys, like CB Torry McTyer and S Maurice Smith, in terms of getting into those roles?) – “I think that’s probably the most important job of a special teams coach. I really do. I believe developing young players that come into your building into special teams core players, especially at those positions – defensive back, linebacker, running back, wide receiver – developing those young players that haven’t done it before, I don’t know if there’s a more important job for a special teams coach, in this league, than that. Making sure that those guys, whenever their time is called, (are ready). De’Veon Smith, for example, who knew at the beginning of the year, that De’Veon Smith, for these last few games was going to be a core special teamer? We had to make sure – my job is to make sure – that that guy is ready to go, whenever his number is called. If it’s Week 4 or Week 15, we’ve got to make sure. Again, I think the development process of those rookies, to me, if you were listing the top 10 things, the most important things of my job, I think it’s probably (number) one: developing the young players. So yes, the short answer, 100 percent we’ve got to continue – I’ve got to continue – to develop. No doubt about it.”
Adam Gase – December 28, 2017
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Thursday, December 28, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What’s your experience with late-season games where one team is in a spoiler’s role? On either side of it, the other team it’s a must-win game. Are they more unpredictable than any other game?) – “I mean every week’s unpredictable. I don’t know. I haven’t been in this position too many times. I don’t think we’re really worried about that. We’re just trying to get ourselves ready to play a good game here in our last chance and make sure that we head into the offseason with a better feeling than we’ve had the last two weeks.”
(We asked you yesterday about G/T Jermon Bushrod’s future. If this is it for him, how would you reflect on his career?) – “I mean I don’t know if it is so I don’t want to reflect on something I don’t know if …”
(Your experience with G/T Jermon Bushrod has been…?) – “It’s been good. He’s done everything … He’s played a lot of different roles in the offenses that I’ve been in charge of – playing left tackle, tight end, right guard. He’s always done anything I’ve ever asked of him.”
(Your conclusion watching G Isaac Asiata in practice for the last six months and what does he need to do to be a factor next year?) – “I mean we’ll see. I’ll worry about that in a couple of weeks. I’m not going to worry about it right now.”
(I noticed you like to wear the throwback stuff. I kind of like it …) – “It’s the only hat that fits me. That’s why I wear it. (laughter) I don’t know, some hats fit me better than others.”
(Can you just pretend for the sake of this story that you…?) – “No. (laughter) There’s no chance. (laughter)”
(Do you understand that we have to have stuff to write about this week?) – “(laughter)”
(What do you think of the throwback ensemble?) – “It’s a good change-up for us. I think any time you have change in uniform, every once in a while, I think it’s a fun experience for the players, especially when the other team does the same thing. I wear what fits me so…”
(What has WR Jakeem Grant showed you these last few weeks about how he can be used from scrimmage?) – “He causes a lot of problems for the defense because you can put him in the slot, you can put him outside, you can put him in the backfield. We’re not afraid to give him the ball as a running back. The speed obviously is his … something that really is a challenging thing for the defense. I don’t think guys realize how quick and how fast he can accelerate until they get in a game. Even the last time we played Buffalo, there was one time where we threw him the ball and it looked like he was blanketed and he gets 10 yards. He’s really done a lot of good things. It’s good to see that we finally could get him going and get him involved. I wish we would have probably put him in there more, earlier in the season; but we just never really got rolling to where it was easy to kind of switch up personnel groups.”
(With WR Jakeem Grant, could you take us through, in your mind, positives of the occasional time, in spots, when you go four receivers with the three top guys and Jakeem? Obviously that’s one less tight end or one less back, but what’s the plusses and minuses to that sort of grouping?) – “It’s an unusual thing for a defense to see when you do that. Some teams, when we haven’t shown it and then when you throw it in there, they’re not really prepared for it; they’re not really sure what we’re going to do with it because we start moving guys all over the place and different guys in the backfield, different guys in different spots, the slot outside. I think when we have multiple guys that can play inside between Kenny (Stills), Jarvis (Landry) and Jakeem (Grant), that just causes issues where guys are. It’s hard to focus on one player and it’s fairly easy for our guys to move around when we’re in that package.”
(I believe you guys have allowed 32 sacks, which is like the 11th fewest or tied for 11th fewest in the league. How do you think pass protection has been this season?) — “I think we’ve been a little streaky. It seems like we’ve had some games where the ball has been coming out on time, we’ve been getting open quick and guys have done a good job of blocking. I think there’s been some games where it’s just been a … It’s been really tough for us. The one thing we talk about as an offense is it’s really on all of us – from play call to quarterback getting the ball out, receivers getting open, being in the right spots and then the line doing a good job of blocking and then if we’re pressured, making sure everybody’s on the right guy. It seems like we’ve had games where we’ve had zero sacks and then the next game we’ll have six. It’s not just the line’s fault. It would come from a couple of different areas. For us, it’s just like anything else, we just need to be consistent.”
(Is that kind of the plight of a six or seven win team? That kind of inconsistency in areas such as that, do you think?) – “That’s exactly what it is.”
(To piggyback on that, from a non-expert, non-film watching standpoint, you lost your entire right side of the offensive line and the guys who are there now, the backups [T Sam Young and G/T Jesse Davis], seem to be better than the guys who were there before. It’s certainly not been any decline. Why is that or am I wrong?) – “I don’t want to say you’re wrong because I feel like that’s something that I do need to look at hard of how much change, did we change play calling? Did we change … Was it the personnel of the backs? What were we doing schematically? The overall picture I need to take a look at to see if it’s an individual thing we’re looking at or if it’s a whole offensive thing; but I would say that those two guys, for whatever reason, seemed to connect quickly. (They) play well together and they did a good job of learning quickly of how to handle what they were going through because they’d never played together and most of the time when we were practicing, Jesse was at right tackle and Sam was at left tackle. So it’s not like they were working in individual or anything like that. Whatever it is, they just clicked really quick. I know Sam’s seen a lot more than Jesse has over his career and I think Jesse’s been a quick study. They’ve done a good job. It’s hard to compare because I guess I just keep thinking there were a lot of different circumstances going on early in the season where we were having a lot more mistakes than just two guys. But I do need to take an overall look at what was going on from early to late and just kind of really move from there.”
(How do you assess the year WR DeVante Parker has had and the fact that now three years in, he hasn’t had a big season? How do you assess going forward?) – “Once again, I’ll figure that out in a couple of weeks. I mean he’s been healthy and then hurt and trying to recover. Things happen during a season. It’s hard to control when you feel great and you feel like you’ve recovered from an injury and then all of a sudden you catch a screen and you’re running and all of a sudden a guy falls on the back of your leg. I mean we can ask him not to do that; but there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s not his fault. Things like that happen and sometimes you have these injuries and it just seems like it keeps compiling. All of a sudden one year it doesn’t happen and then things look different.”
(Do you still see WR DeVante Parker as that number one going forward?) – “I don’t know. I never look at it like the one (and) two (receivers). Whoever is open, catch the ball and get some yards. That’s what I’m for.”
(LB Lawrence Timmons, how would you describe his season, his year?) – “I think he’s done a good job when he came back. He’s very quiet. He works every day at practice. (He gives) everything he has. He’s been a model citizen since he’s returned. For a veteran player, I haven’t been around too many guys that does not miss snaps in practice. He is going game speed every day. He’s been very impressive to watch. (Now) I understand why his career has been what it’s been over time.”
(How would you assess the linebacker core in general this season?) – “We’ll figure all of that out after the season. Obviously we haven’t … Nobody’s done anything great. We were one of the worst offenses in the league and in the back half in defense. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Kenny Stills – December 27, 2017
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Wednesday, December 27, 2017
WR Kenny Stills
(Any thoughts on winning the Nat Moore Community Service Award?) – “Honestly, acknowledgement from my teammates and seeing the work that I have done this year out in the community, I hope that this encourages Dolphins fans and fans of mine to get out in the community and volunteer and do the same thing.”
(I know you don’t like the limelight. I mean you don’t do it for the limelight; but to get acknowledged, is it kind of uneasy for you to get acknowledged for it?) – “Yes. It’s not really my thing. When I first started doing stuff in the community it was hard for me to even … like I don’t like doing interviews, I don’t like the cameras being there, I don’t really … It’s just uncomfortable for me. I think it’s uncomfortable for other people and so, yes, it’s just not really my thing; but like I said, I hope this encourages fans of mine or fans of the Dolphins to get out and volunteer and help in their community.”
(And encourage other players to maybe just to do it on their own time, right?) – “Yes.”
(Just because an event planned by the team or anything…) – “Right. One-hundred percent. That’s what’s been really cool too is a lot of the younger players have come up to me and approached me about, ‘Hey, like how do I get involved? How do I do what you’re doing?’ So I’m able to save their number in my phone or put them in a part of a group text and I’m like ‘Hey, this offseason we’re doing this,’ or ‘Hey, during the season we’re doing this. I’d love for you to show up and be there.’ So yes, it’s nice to be acknowledged, but it’s really not my thing.”
(Not to say that you have older players and the older generation never did this, but do you think the younger generation and with social media and everything, they realize even more what kind of platform they have to do good in society? Not just on the football side of it?) – “Yes. I definitely think that people are starting to realize and see the platform that we have and what we can do with it. I have said this before, I was very lucky when I came in the league to have older players like Lance Moore and Marques Colston that really were like ‘Hey look, it’s mandatory for rookies to be at all community service events.’ That’s really how I really fell in love with volunteering and doing things for other people and so I’m thankful to them for doing that and hopefully I can do something similar for guys here.”
(How much does stuff outside of football help you when you’re playing the game, like sometimes so many people put so much into the game they don’t realize there’s other stuff outside the game. Just as a person, how does it fulfill you?) – “The things that I do outside of football are where I find that real happiness. You can win a football game and you can lose a football game and that’s just something that you can’t always control; but when I go out there and I’m helping out other people, you see the true joy and love and appreciation in their face and in return you get the same thing.”
(The season hasn’t gone the way you guys wanted. You have one more game. How do you treat this last game and how do you move forward? How do you think this game helps you guys moving forward in the offseason?) – “I treat this game like every other game. For us, you want to end the season on a good note. People always remember your last performance and so I want to make sure I go out there and handle business and do my job, and I think that’s how we feel as a team.”
(Moving forward to the pieces you have in here, I know things didn’t go your way. How much needs to improve and does there need to be a lot of changes do you think or that’s not your job?) – “Yes, that’s not … We’re just focusing on this game, trying to finish the season strong and the people upstairs will handle everything else outside of that.”
Jay Cutler – December 27, 2017
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Wednesday, December 27, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(Is your approach to this game any different than any other game, either because of your possible future or because you guys aren’t in the playoffs or any reason?) – “No. I think (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) did a great job setting the tone this morning and it’s like any other game for us. We’re going to do everything in our power to go out there and win it. Guys are going to prepare and we got a good jump on it today.”
(It seems like we ask you every week about your future, has any of your thinking changed?) – “It hasn’t.”
(Quick follow up then, if you are on the fence…) – “So we’re going to go hypothetical right now? (laughter)”
(Right. No, this is a real question.) – “Okay.”
(Why would you want to come back in 2018? What would be a reason to come back?) – “I love playing football. You can only do it for so long. Everyone has a point at some point in their career where they can’t play anymore, whether it’s your decision or someone else’s decision. It happens. You guys can write and type for a long time. We can only play football for so long.”
(What would be the reason for not coming back?) – “(laughter) Being away from my family (or) if someone doesn’t want me to play anymore. A lot of these decisions are out of players’ control.”
(Did you make a good decision when you decided to come out of retirement?) – “I think so, yes.”
(And why do you say that?) – “It was a great experience. It’s a really good locker room, really good coaches, a great organization, a great owner. I had a really good time.”
(This isn’t specific to you because every player knows this year could be their last year. If this is your last game, how will you look back on your career?) – “I don’t know. That’s something that I’m not really focused on now. It’s like the perspective question we talked about after the Kansas City game, you gain perspective as you go on and put some distance between yourself.”
(Just out of curiosity, did you ever move out of a hotel?) – “No.”
(What was that like?) – “It was cool at first. Maid service every day, that’s kind of nice. The movies, you get the on-demand movies, but they don’t change as often as you would like. (laughter) It’s kind of a monthly thing. (laughter) So after you watch them all in a month, you’ve got to wait a little while; but it was fine. I wasn’t there that much.”
(Did you get the points?) – “I did get the points. I think that’ll pay off somewhere down the line, right?”
(You’re pretty close with G/T Jermon Bushrod, how did he handle this year?) – “He’s a pro. He’s disappointed. There’s a ton of disappointed guys in there. I don’t think anyone saw it going this way. There was a lot of confidence in there, a lot of hope, a lot of positive attitudes. Any time that last game you’re not playing for anything, it’s a disappointing feeling.”
(A lot of players say there’s nothing quite like the locker room after a big win. You even alluded, after the Patriots win, that it was special. Can you put that into words a little bit? Describe what that feeling is like.) – “Winning and losing in this league, it’s an extreme high and low. I think whenever you win, no matter how you really win, all is right with the world. You can cover up a lot of problems and things just seem right. Whenever you lose, it’s the opposite end of that spectrum. It’s tough. I think going into the last one, you’ve got to find a different motivation for this one. I think this group of guys, they want to end well, they want to play hard and I don’t think you’re really going to see anybody shut it down early.”
(There are NFL starting quarterbacks who have success a lot of years as a starter like former NFL QB Matt Hasselbeck who are content later in their career being a backup. Would the idea of playing appeal to you only if you’re going to be playing?) – “Yes, I think so. I wouldn’t want to move again or go somewhere just to back up.”
Jarvis Landry – December 27, 2017
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Wednesday, December 27, 2017
WR Jarvis Landry
(This last game, I know there’s some individual goals out there for you. What can you get out of a last game like this going into the offseason?) – “Hopefully a win. That would be good going into the offseason; But for me … We talked about it briefly today, this may be the last time this group of guys get an opportunity to play together. Just having fun with these guys and experiencing it one last time. Really, that’s my attitude about this last game, honestly.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said he spoke to owner Stephen Ross Saturday and he was kind of disappointed. Ross always wants to end up in the playoffs, playing for a championship. I know you guys are disappointed. Do you feel disappointed for the owner of this team?) – “Honestly, he plays a part of this. He invested his time, his money into this organization, into his team. Again, when you have competitors, especially the guys that’s in this locker room and these coaches, it’s always frustrating a little bit. It’s always tough to handle not making the playoffs after working so hard, after putting countless hours together to be successful and falling short. It’s always a bit frustrating.”
(Do you like this group you have in here? I know you’re not a general manager, I know you don’t think like that; but do you guys have enough in here to get it done for next season?) – “Yes; and if not, we’re going to do the right things that we can do this offseason to make sure that we put the right pieces in place and get the right people in the building to allow us to have a chance to go at it again. Right now, it’s not the time to make predictions or talk so much about next year; but obviously … Again, this is another opportunity to play with these guys maybe for the last time. It could possibly be a different group of guys that we attack next year with.”
(Going into the offseason on a winning note, how important is it?) – “It’s good for everybody; but at the same time, (we’ve lost two) in a row. We’re really (2-7 in our last nine games), or something like that. Yes, a win would do good for everybody, trust me.”
(What individual stat means the most to you? You have a chance to win the receiving title, you have a chance at 1,000 yards, touchdown catches, which one?) – “I’d say all of them. They all go hand in hand. Kind of like I said earlier, I’m just grateful for the opportunity to play with these guys. The coaches have given me the opportunity to make plays and letting all of my hard work show up for itself. That’s shown in the number column. It’s always good to have a chance to write history and then re-write your own history. That’s always a good feeling.”
(You can break a record that’s owned by a guy named Landry.) – “Yes, that’s pretty good. (laughter)”
(WR Kenny Stills talked about all the stuff you do outside the community and all of that. What did it mean on Christmas to visit those kids in the hospital, on Christmas especially?) – “It meant everything to have the opportunity to see kids, see families, adults – there were some adults we saw as well that didn’t get the chance to leave the hospital. Some didn’t have a chance to be with their family and open presents. To have the opportunity to go with a couple of guys, and we brought Santa (laughter) as well, just to spread joy (and) spread love. I think that’s what we lack a little bit of in this world. It’s always a good feeling.”
Ndamukong Suh – December 27, 2017
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Wednesday, December 27, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(What did you think of being named the Dan Marino Team MVP Award winner?) – “That’s very nice of you guys and much appreciated. That’s pretty much it. Thank you.”
(Do awards like that mean anything to you?) – “I think any award means something. To what levels is to each individual person’s opinion. I accept any and all.”
(In what way has you game evolved over the last few years?) – “Has my game evolved? I guess its evolved based on what’s asked of me, so each and every year it can be different. This year in particular, I’ve been moving around quite a bit. Another big part of my role was to teach the young guys to come along faster and be a part of their growth spurts. So, at the end of the day, it’s focused on really what tasks are put in front of me by the head coach, defensive coordinator and the defensive line coach.”
(Did you end up outside more than at any point in your career, this year?) – “No. I think I did a good amount this year. I think probably in 2014 (in Detroit), I did a lot more, from my recollection.”
(Helping the young guys, why is that important to you?) – “It’s the ultimate team game. I think there’s a cliché saying of you’re only as good as your weakest link. That’s something that we talk about in our particular room and if you have a weak link in that room, no matter how great you are, you can’t really overcome it, in my personal opinion. You can try and mask it; but you won’t be able to overcome it at the end of the day. My biggest thing is to make sure we don’t have any weak links and I don’t believe we have any weak links. We just need to execute and be more dominant at times.”
(Three years now for you with the organization and it’s the second of the three you’re out of the playoffs. How do you assess where this team is and where it needs to go?) – “I’m not going to assess it now. We’ve got an important game to finish up the season with on the 31st against Buffalo – a rival and a division opponent. When we get done with that game, then we can really digest over this year and years past, if we need to go back that far.”
(I guess I’ll ask in a different way. Do you feel that an opportunity passed you guys by this year?) – “I think we have an opportunity to be in the playoffs each and every year. I think we have the talent, obviously have the coaching and it’s a matter of us getting it done as players and executing, which we failed to do this year.”
(How do you approach a final game in this situation where you guys are not going to the playoffs? Would you, I know this is kind of against you, but would you ever come out of a game for a younger player to come in? I mean if for any reason if they want to take a look at a younger guy, if the game is out of hand, would you be open to that or do you want to play every snap because it’s the final game of the season?) – “I think we’ve had this conversation before. I’ve been built to play each and every snap. I pride myself on that; but if I’m requested to come out of the game, that’s part of my job. I’ve got to come out of the game. That’s kind of how I look at it. I don’t foresee it and to answer your question even further, I think the way we should approach this game is no different than we did in 2015, when we didn’t have an opportunity to make it to the playoffs and we went out and put a good showing against the Patriots and beat them – another division opponent. So I expect none the less for us to do that again.”
(How do you feel at the end of the year like this when you’ve taken so much physically throughout the year, just for six wins or seven wins – whatever it ends of being – when you see all the work that you put in and all the physical toll that you took and this is the result?) – “That’s part of the process and as you look at things, you never know how your season is going to particularly end, whether it’s at the beginning, middle, and even until the end of last week, we had a great opportunity to make it to the playoffs. You go through the process and hope for the best and execute and try to work to get the best outcome, and I think the majority of time we did that. Obviously we failed in some respects; but I mean for me, it’s about the process. I know how to get prepared for a game and for a season and I’m going to continue to go through that process.”
(How do you personally feel about another year of your prime taking off and there being no playoffs to show for it?) – “I mean it is part of life, unfortunately. It’s something you have to deal with. I don’t know if I’m in my prime or out of my prime or reaching any particular level. I think I have lots of room to grow, although in I guess football years – I’m going to be 31 (years old) here in a couple of days – I’m old; but I don’t consider it or feel that way. I’m excited to have another opportunity that’s hopefully granted to me next year; but like I said, we’ve got an important game against the Buffalo Bills that we’ve got to take care of business.”
(The ultimate goal obviously is to win the Super Bowl. Do you see that vision here? Do you see that path to get to that mark?) – “Without question, I see the opportunities here. As I said before, we have an immense amount of talent and great coaching. It’s just all about executing. We’ve been put in situations, we’ve had opportunities and we just haven’t capitalized. I think last year, what we did, was we capitalized on those. I think you mentioned it last year, or earlier – a couple of weeks ago we talked about it – just that we found ways to win games and for whatever reason this particular year, whatever situations came upon us, we didn’t find ways to win those games and put ourselves in a good position to get to the playoffs and let it be a truly one-game season.”
(In the last two weeks, your team has lost games in cold-weather climates. I know everybody is from everywhere and it doesn’t really matter and you’re not a physiologist, but did you notice teammates, yourself or anyone affected by the cold and the negative weather, particularly the young guys?) – “In my honest opinion, I personally didn’t see any guys affected by the cold weather. I think it’s a conversation that we’ve had and we’ve understood there’s going to be cold situations. Whatever it is, you’ve got to have the mindset to look past it, and I think, personally, everybody’s had the mindset. The group that I’m obviously closest with is the defensive line group and in my personal opinion, looking at each one of those guys in their eyes, it didn’t seem to be an issue. When I go back and look at the film, I don’t see guys being timid or anything of that nature, which you would find somebody when it’s cold and bitter like that. In my opinion, I don’t think it was an issue. For me, I don’t enjoy being in the cold. I don’t enjoy being freezing; but we are very, very blessed with the benches and the assistance and the equipment staff that brings us coats and all of these different things, so I stay warm, for the most part. Every now and then – I think Pittsburgh was probably the toughest and maybe Green Bay in 2014, for me, was when I put my hand in the ground and it immediately got cold and fingers, your body, where I couldn’t feel things; but the last two games, I haven’t felt that, so I personally don’t think there was an issue.”
(The run defense has risen from bottom two in the league last year to middle of the pack, maybe even a little better, this year. Are you encouraged by the progress or disappointed that you’re not top 10?) – “I think we’ve had some good progress and I think we’ve done some good things; but I think we can be easily better. I think earlier in the year, especially the first five or six games, we were top five and whatnot. I think we could have stayed there, but what happened is we didn’t execute. We had a couple of games where we really kind of – excuse my language – pooped. (laughter) That’s a tough situation and those are tough things to come back from. I think we’ve done some good things in the recent games. I think this last game, we gave up 103 yards at 30 carries, which isn’t a bad average; but I think we could have done better. I’ve been a part of an elite group that’s done some stuff where we’ve kept people under 70, 80 yards a game throughout an entire season. I think we have the capabilities of being able to do that and the players to get that done.”
(There’s a real chance, if not a likelihood, that the top four defensive tackles in the rotation could be back with that same group next year. Obviously you, DT Jordan Phillips has had a good year, and we see what DT Davon Godchaux and DT Vincent Taylor have done. Is there any advantage from a chemistry standpoint in having the same group of rational defensive tackles back for a second season?) – “Yes, without question. Being able to have consistency and know who you’re playing next to, not really having to learn guys and how they maneuver and feel blocks and play through blocks. We watch film all of the time. Earlier today, we were watching film and seeing how we can flow over the top of each other and the guys getting penetration and different things with blocks. Seeing how guys play and understanding that it gives us the opportunity to really be second nature, rather than have to be a little bit hesitant.”
