Kenyan Drake – December 20, 2017
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
RB Kenyan Drake
(If I could get you to be selfish for just a quick second here, another game with over 100 yards from scrimmage – your third consecutive game with over 100 yards from scrimmage – how do you feel about those totals and the way you’re being used recently?) – “It just boils down to I can’t do it by myself. The game plan is executed to perfection. The o-linemen go out there and do their job to the best of their ability. The receivers do their job to the best of their ability. I do my job to the best of my ability. We just try to get the yards. We didn’t get the win like we wanted to, so that’s the disappointing part. That’s what I’m really concerned about, the end result. Everything else is just added effect. I want to get the win at the end of the day.”
(One more selfish question. The versatility that you have shown in these yards from scrimmage, even if it doesn’t necessarily go well in the rushing department like last week, you’re still getting yards and you still have the ability to make big plays. What do you think that says about your skillset?) – “I’ve always prided myself on being very versatile, putting myself in situations to create mismatches, whether it’s in the back field or lined up out wide. I can only run the plays the (Head) Coach (Adam Gase) calls. He puts me in the position to make the plays, so I have to do my job.”
(How much more comfortable do you feel now getting a lot more action as an NFL player?) – “In a sense, (the more action I get) the more comfortable I get. I’m not comfortable to where I’m complacent, I’m just comfortable to where I feel like I can go out there and just execute my job to my fullest, best ability. The more plays I get, the more comfortable I feel.”
(What was it like before when you didn’t know how many plays were going to get? It’s got to be a different feeling when you go out there.) – “For sure. There’s definitely a level of detail. It’s hard to really pinpoint, because at the end of the day, you try to attack each week, each day, like you’re going to be the starter. That’s how everybody’s mentality is, but that’s not very realistic. Now that I have a lot more opportunities, it’s just really taking the bull by the horns, going out there and seeing what the plays are, honestly.”
(When you’re in this position right now, because there is still is a chance to make the playoffs, do you have to use that as motivation?) – “We just want to win a game. That’s what we’re looking forward to. We’re trying to go up to play a great Kansas City team at KC, in a great environment, with great fans, so we’re just trying to go get a tough win in a tough environment.”
(Every year in the NFL there’s a guy who gets hot late and helps propel some fantasy football people to championships. You happen to be one of those guys this year. Have you heard any feedback from fans or do you know anything about that, the kind of popularity you’ve had?) – “Not really. The championships I’m trying to win are on the field, so whatever fantasy things are, that’s added gravy I guess, at the end of the day. But I’m more concerned with the actual championships.”
(After the way you were used at Alabama, do you think these last three weeks shut down any talk that you’re just a change-of-pace kind of back and that you can be a featured back?) – “I can’t control what people say about me. I just go out there and play to the best of my ability. That’s all I can say about that.”
(How much have you enjoyed the workload?) – “Like I said, I feel like as the game goes on, I get stronger. I’ve always felt like that. It just came with opportunity. I’m glad that I’m making the most of the opportunity because last year, I know personally – I had a chance to start last year against the Browns – I didn’t, personally, come out of that game feeling like I put myself in the best situation to move forward to be like, ‘I’m comfortable and I can help this team win.’ That was dependent on my level of preparation. This year, I got the same opportunity and I wasn’t going to be denied this time.”
(Was it strictly a matter of being more in the playbook that particular week that you started?) – “It all comes with repetition. The more I’m in, the more plays I get, the more comfortable I feel. I was just young. I didn’t have a lot of experience. Now having a whole year under my belt, I feel like … I don’t know if it was the same situation this year, that I would have come in with a different mindset, knowing what I did last year. It’s all about having that experience.”
(It’s funny you mention that because Head Coach Adam Gase said you drove him crazy last year and that’s changed this year. What was it an offseason of, ‘Man, I’ve got to do things right from top to bottom’?) – “We’ve all got to grow up one day, right? It’s just all about taking that step to maturation and becoming a professional.”
(I saw you had a minute with FAU Head Coach Lane Kiffin after one of the FAU games. How much have you been paying attention to what he’s done there?) – “Didn’t they just play? I don’t know the result.”
(Yes, they played last night.) – “Did they win?”
(They only scored 50 and gave up 3.) – “(laughter) They only scored 50? Wow, that’s impressive. I heard he signed like a 10-year contract, too? Leave it to Lane to sign a 10-year contract. That’s pretty cool. I’m happy for him and his success. I wish him much more success at FAU. Hopefully he’ll invite me to more games. (laughter)”
(What was the biggest thing you took out of your time with FAU Head Coach Lane Kiffin while he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama?) – “He’s the same guy. He’s not going to change for anybody or any situation. He’s real down-to-earth, just-want-to-enjoy-the-moment type of guy. That’s what I love about him.”
(Would you help FAU Head Coach Lane Kiffin recruit?) – “Help him recruit? I don’t have anything to do with that. I didn’t go to FAU.” (laughter)
Reshad Jones – December 20, 2017
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
S Reshad Jones
(On making it to the Pro Bowl.) – “I have to give credit to all of my teammates: my front seven, who put pressure on the quarterback and guys who stepped up, like ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) came and made plays to make my job easier, Bobby (McCain) playing all over the field playing everywhere for us this year and T.J. (McDonald) coming in, filling in for Nate (Allen). It was a total team effort. It shouldn’t be just me that gets the accolades.”
(Where were you when you found out you made the Pro Bowl and what was your initial reaction?) – “I actually was at the circus (Cirque du Soleil). I took my daughter and my little sister to the circus. (Head) Coach (Adam Gase) called me and let me know that I had been selected to the Pro Bowl.”
(What was your reaction?) – “I was excited. I was counting on it. I worked hard throughout the offseason. It doesn’t just start during the season, (it) starts during offseason training. I put the work in, so it’s expected.”
(Two years ago you did some lobbying. You had a pretty visible social media effort to get votes. I didn’t see that much of it this year. Does it mean a little bit more that A) You got in the first time supposed to an alternate and B) You didn’t have to go and kind of put yourself out there?) – “I wasn’t really worried about it. I was just coming and doing everything I can to help this team win. Coming off of the injury, I just wanted to be out there to do everything I could to support my teammates and help this team win. It wasn’t really about putting a social media ad out or anything for the Pro Bowl.”
(Your favorite part of the season so far?) – “I really haven’t had a favorite part because we haven’t lived up to our expectations. I’d rather win than be a Pro Bowler any day. You’ve got to give glory to God. He made it all possible.”
(Do you consider one of your touchdowns your signature play of this season? Or the pick in Atlanta to clinch the win?) – “I’d probably say the pick in Atlanta. Hometown victory, a big play that we needed earlier on in the season. I would say that was the play.”
(What was your favorite part of the Pro Bowl experience last time?) – “Just the camaraderie being around other elite athletes at the top of their game. It’s just a cool experience for family and friends to come out and be able to see other athletes and enjoy the festivities and the different things they have for families.”
(Was Ravens S Eric Weddle on that team? I saw that he’s also on this team.) – “I don’t think he was there.”
(Do you know S Eric Weddle or S Micah Hyde?) – “Yes, Weddle is a good friend of mine. We talk. We talk a lot. It’ll be fun.”
(What do you like about S Eric Weddle’s game?) – “He’s a veteran player. He played a lot in this league. He studies film, he knows where he’s supposed to be and he’s a leader.”
(How surprised are you that nobody else on this team was among the selections?) – “I was very surprised. We have a lot of guys that were Pro Bowl eligible that I think should’ve been voted in; but sometimes it’s a popularity contest and that’s how it goes.”
Jay Cutler – December 20, 2017
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(Do you still look at playoff options possibilities right now or is it just about playing football?) – “I don’t think we looked at it last week. It’s just one game at a time. That’s what (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) preaches and that’s kind of our mindset.”
(You’ve spent some Sundays in Kansas City before. What’s it like?) – “(It’s an) awesome atmosphere. I don’t think you could ask for a better place to play in the NFL than KC. It’s a fun one.”
(You guys are 2-5 on the road. Are there teams that are just bad road teams for lack of a better term? Can you separate home and road or you’re just one team and that’s whatever your record is?) – “We don’t look into that.”
(I know this has been a topic the last few weeks, but have you thought at all about playing beyond this year? If so, what’s the thought process that you will go through to determine if you’re going to play beyond this year?) – “I haven’t thought about it. I’m focused on KC. I think that stuff is going to be a concern of mine when the season is over.”
(How much is the pursuit of the postseason the thing that keeps you going at this point in your career?) – “Absolutely. That’s what everyone plays for. I think early on in your career – I’ve told some of the young guys – early on in your career, you think that you’re going to play forever. So if you miss one here or there, you’re like, ‘I’ll come back stronger the next year, the next year.’ And as you get older, you realize how quickly years start taking off and how valuable and precious each November, December is.”
(Having said that and being at this point in your career, for the team to be in this situation…) – “I mean, it’s tough. Anybody in the situation that we’re in, in the NFL, you look back at some games (and say), ‘You should’ve won this. Felt like we should’ve won that.’ It’s not that case. We made a bed; we’ve got to keep working and look towards KC right now.”
(When you look back at film from Sunday, was there one thing that came up again and again?) – “No. (We) had our opportunities, didn’t play as well as we wanted to offensively. I didn’t play as well as I wanted to. I don’t think you can look at one thing and say, ‘If we changed this, we would’ve won the game.’”
(Were you surprised WR Jarvis Landry didn’t make the Pro Bowl? Did you expect him to make the Pro Bowl?) – “I don’t follow it as much as maybe you guys do, but I felt like he would’ve got in. I know how valuable he is to this team. I know how valuable he is to me. (He’s made) a ton of catches, a ton of production. (He’s an) unbelievably unselfish player – blocks, hits people, does everything we want him to. So I was kind of surprised.”
(Do you have any regrets with TE Julius Thomas, just that you guys didn’t establish a little more there before his season ended?) – “You’re 6-8. There are a lot of things you look back and say, ‘We should’ve done that better;’ but right now, all we can focus on is getting better as a team and looking forward to KC.”
(How much of a motivating factor is it that you’re still not out of it technically?) – “We know that. The locker room knows that. It doesn’t matter the situation. This is a team that’s not going to quit. We’ve done it all year long. We’ve played hard in the fourth quarter, and we’re going to play hard in the fourth quarter this season.”
(There were a lot of expectations of WR DeVante Parker coming into this season. From a quarterback perspective, why haven’t things clicked with him this year?) – “It’s something that we’ll … everyone is going to discuss in the offseason. He works hard. He’s going to keep working hard. We’re going to try to get him ready for KC.”
Charles Harris – December 20, 2017
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
DE Charles Harris
(Describe the excitement level of going back to good, old Kansas City?) – “I’m excited. I’m trying to put the work in each and every day this week, preparing the same way like any other game and just go up there. We’re going to play in front of our friends and family, everybody like that, and just give everybody a show.”
(About how many people are you going to have at this game?) – “I’m not sure. I’m trying to cut things down. Right now I’m down to like … I cut it down to like 15 right now. I don’t think that’s bad at all.”
(How big was the list?) – “It really wasn’t that bad. I would say like 20, 25 or something like that. It wasn’t too bad.”
(Now that you’re getting more action, does it feel more like you’re getting in a groove here?) – “Yes, for sure. Like I said earlier, I’m just trying to finish strong and keep taking as much as I can. You can’t go back on the season, you can’t live in the past, so I’m trying to finish strong and just keep gaining knowledge.”
(What clicks for you when you’re getting more reps? Does it slow down, do you see gaps? What clicks for you?) – “Just the level of comfort and excitement, things like that. It’s not necessarily anything that clicks. It’s just a matter of getting into a flow and getting into a groove.”
(Did you ever play at Arrowhead Stadium either in college or high school?) – “I did. I played I think my junior year at Arrowhead, against BYU. (It’s a) great facility, great field, fans, everything. (It’s a) great atmosphere.”
(What about chasing Chiefs QB Alex Smith around? Another mobile quarterback kind of like Bills QB Tyrod Taylor a little bit, no?) – “It is going to be a challenge. He’s a dual-threat quarterback. He’s a veteran quarterback and people underestimate his ability to run. We’re going to play some sound technique and just try to contain him. We’re going to stick to the game plan, for sure.”
Ndamukong Suh – December 20, 2017
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(You weren’t named to the Pro Bowl roster initially. Your thoughts on that? Do you think you deserve a spot?) – “It’s unfortunate, but I mean things happen. We’ll continue to play as hard as we can and make up for it in these next two games.”
(You said before that you were really looking forward to go to the Pro Bowl this year. Did it hurt you?) – “I don’t think so. I can always go to Orlando if I want to. (laughter)”
(True. I don’t think you can just show up and play in the game though. Are you still hoping to be picked for the Pro Bowl? Would you go if they still had you?) – “The initial votes weren’t in my hands. The next wave of things aren’t in my hands. If things allow me to go, great; if not, then that’s what it is.”
(Do you think this team gets overlooked a little bit maybe because of the record at times?) – “I don’t know. We haven’t played to our best abilities. Until we do that and really put it in the forefront of people’s minds that we’re an elite team, then they’re going to have their right to have their own opinion. At the end of the day, we have our opportunities to make our own noise and we failed to do that in a lot of cases.”
(What did you think of S Reshad Jones getting picked for the Pro Bowl after missing a lot of last year with the injury?) – “I think it shows to his ability as a safety and him as a dominant player. He came in and has been healthy for us and has done exactly what we expected and played at a high-caliber level. He deserves the Pro Bowl.”
(Did you think DE Cameron Wake or anybody else on your team deserved to go? WR Jarvis Landry?) – “I think there are a lot of guys on this team that could definitely be deserving but like I said, I don’t control the voting. I don’t control all of those things. It’s not my decision.”
(Do you think the fact that you get constantly double- and triple-teamed gets overlooked sometimes when people judge such things as the Pro Bowl?) – “I think that’s your guys’ job to bring that to light if you want to. For me, it’s part of my job. It’s something that I expect and something that I take as a badge of honor; but at the same time, I still plan to go out there and make plays. I think most of the time I do that.”
(Individual honors aside, for a veteran such as yourself, how much does the pursuit of the postseason, how much is that the flame that keeps you going at this point in your career?) – “That’s pretty much it. I think I’ve been very fortunate in my career, especially early, to get a lot of individual accolades and even as early as last year. My thing is all about winning. I think the judgment of me coming down here and me being successful as a particular athlete is how well guys around me play and how well my defense plays. I don’t have much of anything to do with the offense; but I can push those guys in practice. I can help (Mike) Pouncey. I can do those different things to help them get better and them be successful. At the end of the day, it’s all about winning and that’s what the ultimate goal is: to go and win a championship and play in the postseason.”
(So to have the team be at this point with two weeks to go and a longshot to say the least…) – “We’ve got a shot. That’s all that matters. We’ve got to go out there and finish and take care of business. We’ve got a great Kansas City team that we’re going to go and play against. (They have) guys that I’ve seen and played against before and guys that I haven’t played against before. That’s where we’ve got to take care of business.”
Adam Gase – December 20, 2017
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(QB Jay Cutler coming out of retirement, obviously it was a challenging situation for him and for you. Do you feel like he ever really caught up or was it just too big of an ask to expect that every day out?) – “I think he did. Yes. We had some good games. We had some games that I wish we could have a few plays back here and there. It’s one of those things that would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we had more time; but being in the position we are right now, we’ll see what happens this week. We’re just focused on winning one game right now and just see how the cards fall.”
(TE Julius Thomas is a little surprising because I don’t remember hearing anything about that.) – “We got through the game and he did it early in the game and played through it, which was surprising once we found out how bad it was. So, for him to … I guess he got rolled up on early in the game and didn’t say anything. He just kept playing.”
(Do you feel like you guys just didn’t quite get where you wanted to with TE Julius Thomas this season?) – “You’re always going to wish that you had more production from every position, especially where we’re at right now. We wish everybody would maybe have done a little bit more up to this point. That’s what we’re really striving on this week is we’ve got two games to really make some strides here. Win this one and go from there and see what happens.”
(Do you feel like you could build momentum going into the offseason with what happens in these last two games?) – “I mean we’re still in this season. This thing’s not quite over yet.”
(Have you mentioned to the players that the playoffs have not been eliminated from consideration?) – “I mean they’re aware. They’re aware. You just keep telling them play until somebody tells you not to. Our job is to win one game.”
(What would you like to see from WR DeVante Parker in these final two weeks to finish strong?) – “Build off of the last game. He had some positive things that happened. Just keep … any time you get that one-on-one matchup, we’re just counting on him to win. I know Jay’s (Cutler) counting on him to, any time we have a jump ball, for him to go get it and make a play. I feel like we’re starting to have better practices and last game it was good to see him get an opportunity and go get one.”
(Is WR DeVante Parker the type of player that almost always translates good in practice to good in games or have you seen sometimes in practice and don’t see …?) – “I’d say a majority of time, it’s almost everybody. I haven’t been around too many guys that had a really bad week of practice and then played well in the game.”
(With S Reshad Jones coming off injury and having to work with a different safety back there, how has he evolved this season? What have you seen? Assess his year, his second Pro Bowl season.) – “I think he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. His flexibility helps us. His ability to cover guys one on one. Coming off that injury, he was ready to go. He’s excited. When it gets taken away from you, when you’ve never really … I don’t even know how many practices he’s really missed in his career. I don’t know if there were any. When it’s taken away from you and then you get another chance and you get healthy, he made the most of it and he did everything to try to help our defense be better this year. He had a lot of good games and obviously a lot of other people saw that.”
(What makes Kansas City a tough place to play?) – “It’s loud. It’s a great environment. It’s one of my favorite stadiums to go to, being in that division. To go play a team… Those fans, they’re into it. It’s hard to hear. When it becomes a tight game, they try to affect the other team.”
(You had several players who we thought were in consideration for the Pro Bowl who didn’t make it, namely DT Ndamukong Suh. What do you think about that? Was that a surprise to you?) – “Yes it is, because every team we play, there’s two to three guys on him. I don’t understand that one. I know we haven’t won enough games this year; but to me, that guy should be penciled in before they even start voting. He’s that dominant of a player. He causes that many problems for offenses. I know if we were playing him, it would be an issue. We’d do as many things as we possibly could to stop him. The thing that I’ve noticed is that you don’t see many teams (stopping him), and they put a lot of guys on him.”
(I know the Pro Bowl is not a top priority on your list, but it matters a lot to your players. Do you feel like there are other guys that were left out unfairly?) – “I’m sure there are a lot of guys; but there’s also a lot of good players in the league. Sometimes it’s perception that guys have of what somebody did in the past. It’s always hard to get that first round when you’ve been there a few times. That name’s a little bit easier to write down. The thing is when the voting’s gong on, you’re not paying attention to every team in the league. You’re worried about the team you’re playing. You’re not really always sure who is having a good season. You’re not watching every individual player.”
(Now that his season’s over, what kind of season did TE Julius Thomas have?) – “I thought he tried to do what we asked him to do. He’s a better run blocker than he was when I had him at a young age. If there’s one thing I think he took out of Jacksonville, it was he was put in that positon. It was either adapt or die and he got better in that area. I wish we would’ve got the matchups we were looking for more often. We just didn’t really get what we were hoping for. We didn’t have enough attempts in the red area to really utilize him. Last week were our first snaps in goal line. That was really where we made most of our money, where we’d spread everybody out and he’d get a one-on-one matchup with a linebacker. We didn’t get those matchups this year. That’s really where he was effective was when we’d get in the red zone and he’d get a safety or linebacker, and we could isolate him.”
(Is there anything that would lead you to believe that if he stays or wherever he plays, that he’d really get the matchups that are profitable for him?) – “Yes, if you get enough red zone opportunities. We’re probably on the lower half of just opportunities on the red zone. We had such a horrendous start to the season with the amount of plays we had, the way we moved the ball, scoring points and all of those type of things. We didn’t really get to use all of the things we worked on.”
(When you look at your road record, 2-5, is it possible for a team to be a bad road team, but not a bad team overall? Can you break it up as home and road, or is it all in one?) – “It depends. It’s where you’re playing, who you’re playing. What was your health status that week? Every week is so different. That’s why you’ve just got to reset it every week. Whoever you have, where you’re going and the opponent you’re playing, and the kind of matchup you have, all of those things come into play.”
(When you see a guy like Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill on film. What is it that you come away with?) – “Well, when you have the type of speed he does, it’s one of those things where you hear people say all the time, ‘You can’t coach it.’ It’s always hard to matchup with him. You have to understand where he’s at in the formation. You have to understand what type of routes can really cause some damage. You can’t miss tackles. If you really start letting him get free and give him green grass, that’s where he’ll do a lot of damage. That’s why he’s had success the last two years, no matter what he’s done – whether it be punt returns or receiver – he’ll cause a lot of problems.”
(I’m not sure if G/T Jermon Bushrod will play again; but having been around him on multiple teams, how would you describe some of the attributes he brought?) – “He’s one of those guys … We counted on him to be there every day. He pretty much was. I don’t think he missed a practice last year and this year he had a pretty good streak going. Guys were always giving him a hard time. We had a bunch of injuries so for a guy that we first talked about when he came back about vet days and things like that, he never got any, because we didn’t have enough guys. Everybody kept getting hurt. He had a good streak going there of no days off. He’s one of those guys, he was always great in the locker room. Guys respect him. He’s done a lot of different things. He played multiple positions for me in Chicago. Coming here basically in a sling and believing me when I said, ‘I’m going to move you to guard,’ and told him that he’d be able to do it. That meant a lot to me, the fact that he took a shot on that, because he could’ve easily went somewhere else. He’s always been one of those guys that has tried to show the young guys the right way to do things.”
(Given your history with G/T Jermon Bushrod and where he is in his career, how disappointing is it that his season has to end this way?) – “I’m sure any time you go on IR at the end of the season, it’s a disappointment, especially (because) you always want to finish what you started. He’s been out for a little bit. We just could never turn the corner. It was just to the point where we had to get some healthy bodies and we’ve had a lot of guys banged up here over the last couple weeks.”
(How would you evaluate G/T Jermon Bushrod’s play this year?) – “I’m going to have to … It’s a little harder for me with the o-line. It’s easier when you’re moving skill guys around and kind of know how you’re supposed to use them. We’re going to have to go back through this offseason. That’s really going to be kind of a big project for me, taking a look at how we either can get better or what we need to do different and how guys performed.”
(When you spoke the other day about evaluations, every week being an evaluation, especially now at the end here … LB Stephone Anthony, do you feel like you guys have a complete evaluation on him because of him being around a short time and not playing much or do you need to dig a little deeper into him?) – “I think we’re just going to keep going these last two games. Like I said, it’s hard to go through this whole evaluation thing that everybody wants us to do with two weeks left in the season. We’re playing to win. That’s what we’re going to do. Our guys’ jobs is to put out good tape and try to figure out a way to help our team win football games. That’s it.”
(Where is LB Stephone Anthony at right now then?) – “He’s got a good grasp of the defense and he’s in the mix of trying to make plays all the time. He’s involved in a lot of tackles. I feel like he brings really great energy to our defense. I love the way he practices. When he goes onto the field on Sundays, he’s a guy that you can tell he loves being out there and he’s excited to get to play.”
(So LB Stephone Anthony has been all business with you?) – “Yes, he’s been great.”
(What did you see out of DE Cameron Malveaux this last game?) – “He was so fired up when he got up on the active roster. He’s full throttle all the time. It doesn’t matter how many snaps he plays. Whatever he has, you’re going to get it. That’s a deep group so he knows when he gets on that field, he earned it. He tries to do every detail right that (Defensive Coordinator) Matt (Burke) is asking him to do. You never really hear his name come up when mistakes are talked about. He’s very sharp. He’s kind of one of those guys in that room that those guys respect him and know that he puts a lot of time into making sure that he does the right thing.”
(I know you don’t watch a lot of games on Saturdays but have your paths ever crossed with FAU Head Coach Lane Kiffin and do you have any opinions about what kind of coach he is?) – “Yes. I’ve known Lane for a few years with him going to Alabama and being down there with Coach (Nick) Saban – or I guess up there. Any time we’ve talked football, we’ve had some good conversations. I bump into him every once in a while. It’s good to see that he’s having the kind of success that he’s having. He’s a good coach. He’s one of those guys that he knows when things are going well for him in a game. He seems to really get a good feel for calling plays and knows how to pick a defense apart.”
(You’re smirking a lot like I would assume you and FAU Head Coach Lane Kiffin might get along pretty well.) – “He’s a good guy. (laughter)”
Adam Gase – December 20, 2017 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase (Conference Call)
(Can you bring us up to date on DE Charles Harris?) – “He’s been doing exactly what we were hoping he would do and that’s disrupt the quarterback. A point of emphasis that we made to all of our guys up front was it’s not necessarily about sacks, but it’s just the pressure to get the quarterback to get the ball out and force him to make some bad decisions. In the snaps that he’s has played – and we’re a pretty deep group there – he’s done a good job of that.”
(How about your team’s state of mind after last week? It seems like the playoff possibilities are there but they’re pretty slim. What’s your team’s state of mind?) – “Our guys are focused on this game. One thing that we’ve made an emphasis on is in the NFL, as soon as everybody starts saying you’re out of something, all of a sudden you get thrown back in the mix. Our job is to go out there and try to win one game and see what happens. We really lost control of our own destiny after last week, but there’s a lot of things that possibly could happen. But we’ve got to take care of our own business before worrying about anybody else.”
(You’re facing a Chiefs team that seems to have righted the ship after some tough sailing for about two months. What do you make of the Chiefs?) – “They’ve been a tough team for a while. Being in that division for six years and seeing (Chiefs Head) Coach (Andy) Reid come in and (Chiefs QB) Alex (Smith) once he got there, they got it rolling and they’ve been consistent. They’re one of those teams that they’ve just gotten those players that were all young when I was (in Denver). They’ve become veteran players and you can see their growth and development and how they’ve become really good players. It’s a tough matchup. They’re always a tough matchup, even when I was in Denver. You’ve got to do the best you can to try to make sure that you make it hard for them to score points and don’t let them have a bunch of explosive plays. Offensively, we’ve just got to do a good job protecting the football and trying to sustain drives.”
(The Pro Bowl announcement was yesterday and Chiefs QB Alex Smith wasn’t one of the three quarterbacks taken. Do you see him as having a Pro Bowl season?) – “Yes, I thought he was. He’s doing a good job of running that offense. He’s throwing a lot of touchdown passes; he doesn’t turn the ball over. They do what they have to do, whether it be attack down the field, use the short passing game, whether he’s got to run. Alex is going to do what he needs to do to win the game. That was the thing that I always liked about him. He didn’t care about stats and all of those types of things. He was more concerned about, ‘What do we need to do to win?’”
(How difficult is it to pick your poison on the offense when it comes to Chiefs QB Alex Smith and they’ve got three players that are looking at 1,000 yards offensively – WR Tyreek Hill, TE Travis Kelce and RB Kareem Hunt – all guys who got elected to the Pro Bowl. How hard is it to pick your poison defensively on how you attack them?) – “Yes, it’s just a tough matchup game. When those guys get one-on-one matchups, that’s where they’re really hurting people. It’s all about trying to stay as tight – coverage-wise – stay as tight as you can and make throws hard to the two guys outside and then you have to do a great job attacking the running back. If you take a wrong angle, if you don’t wrap up, if you don’t gang tackle, (Hunt’s) going to run through contract and he’s going to make a 2-yard gain into 10. ”
(After the Chargers game, I think they said, ‘Well we respected WR Tyreek Hill all game, but you can’t literally do it all game.’ When you look at putting somebody over the top, especially with Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill, how hard does it make it on the rest of the defense if you have to roll coverage his direction to make sure you don’t get beat over the top?) – “It’s not the first time that anybody’s ever done that to somebody. Everybody else has got to really focus in on their job and everybody’s got to step up and make plays. When you’ve got a guy that’s dangerous and can change the game in one play, you’ve just got to make sure you do a good job of whatever coverage is called or whatever defense is called. Everybody’s got to roll in that defense and they have to execute it.”
Adam Gase – December 18, 2017
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Monday, December 18, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Just a quick thing on the right side of the offensive line. T Sam Young and G/T Jesse Davis seemed to have played well. How would you assess how Jesse has done at guard the last three weeks and have you seen enough of him at tackle to have a pretty good feel for what he could do at right tackle?) – “I feel good about what we’ve seen so far at both spots. I still think it’s … there’s a lot of things where they come up and it’s the first time that he’s seen it. He’s trying to react as quick as he can and use all the tools that he’s learned so far to help himself. There’s always going to be some growing pains and I just think the more experience that he gains, the better he’s going to get.”
(How much time have you spent or will you spend looking at playoff scenarios?) – “I don’t … I never spend any time on it.”
(So you’re in until you’re out and you’re told you’re out basically? Is that …?) – “Basically, yes.”
(How much concern, if any, do you have about the guys motivation in the last two weeks? Any?) – “I would hope that they would be very motivated. They’re playing for their jobs, so…”
(And that’s regardless of what the playoff situation might be?) – “Pretty much.”
(Do you weigh these last two games a good deal in offseason personnel evaluations?) — “Yes. I think you do. See how guys play.”
(Speaking of young guys, I guess you’re still in the evaluation process. How do you think LB Stephone Anthony’s played since he’s been injected in the last month and how has LB Chase Allen played as a starter?) – “I think both of those guys have done, for the most part, they’ve done a good job. There’s been a few times where things have happened where you wish they would make the play or do something different; but it’s kind of part of the growth process with young players and ‘Steph’ being kind of thrown in there, in the middle of the season, and trying to learn what our defense is and kind of trying to find his role. Those guys have been a couple of guys that have been positives for us (and) consistent, too.”
(You mentioned yesterday after the game that you wanted to look at the film before going into any kind of detail on QB Jay Cutler’s performance. Now that you’ve seen it what does the film show you?) – “Well, we had three interceptions and four times we lost the ball. I know it’s not really probably one of his best days that he’s had. He’s trying to do things that we talked about doing. I think there were a few times where we’re throwing the ball a lot there, especially in the second half, and you start pressing a little bit. He took a couple of the matchups that we talked about taking and you know the first pick, there’s nothing I can really tell him to do different on that one. The third down, I wish he would have done something different. At the end of the game, he’s trying to make sure he doesn’t take a sack. That one was unfortunate; just trying to keep it alive, but we have no time outs and there’s 30 seconds left. If he takes a sack there, it’s probably pretty much over. We just need to do a better job of putting ourselves in better position and making sure that we get the ball out on time and get it to the right guy and we all have to be on the same page. If we do that, that’s usually when we have better success and less turnovers.”
(What’s the message to the team at this point?) – “We’ve got to go back to work on Wednesday. It’s one of those deals where you can right a lot of things by winning a game on Sunday, so just keep battling. We didn’t play very well and that was all three phases. They basically came out and they did what they needed to do to win the game and we did nothing to stop them.”
(The tight ends this year, have you gotten as much as you want? Close to that? How would you assess?) – “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out whenever the season is over.”
(In watching the tape yesterday, anything else that stood out that disappointed you beyond the simply execution?) – “I mean we didn’t win the game. We talked about stopping ‘Shady’ (LeSean McCoy). We talked about stopping Tyrod (Taylor). We had one half of where we didn’t do either and one half where we kind of slowed one guy down and then we didn’t stop the other guy. Offensively, we talk about the biggest thing we couldn’t do was turn the ball over, and we did that, and we needed touchdowns in the red area. We were moving the ball and had good things going and then we kind of hurt ourselves. We had a run play for negative yards or something happened where we’d be behind the sticks, which we knew we couldn’t get against these guys because they did a good job. When we get in third-and-long, they were tough. We did the opposite of what we talked about.”
(After watching the video what was your take on the penalties?) – “I mean everyone has a different deal. The pre-snap penalties are frustrating because it’s hard to understand why they happen. We’ve cut them way down but it’s just not good enough when we have one, because it’s a critical situation. We have the first drive of the game and we feel good, we get a first down and think we’re in good shape and then all of a sudden you’re second-and-15 and then you’re third-and-17. It’s brutal. It just hurts you. Then when you have post-(play) penalties, (they) are just beyond frustrating.”
(WR DeVante Parker had his most productive day in several weeks. Did you like what you saw from him yesterday?) – “Yes, it was good to see him make some plays. It was good to see him win a jump ball. It looked like he was running a lot better. I think we had a shot on that third-and-long when we ran a slip screen. I wish Jay (Cutler) would have thrown the ball a little bit where he could have caught it on the run. We had it fairly blocked well and could have given us a chance. It looked like his legs were good, where I didn’t see him limping or his ankle causing him any kind of issues. It was good to finally feel like he was back to his normal self.”
(How did DE Charles Harris play?) – “I thought he did well. Having a guy like that when you’re going against (Bills QB) Tyrod (Taylor), it’s nice to have somebody that can really pursue him and close the cushion. That’s what makes (Taylor) so hard to play against. When he’s completing passes and then he starts breaking out of the pocket, you need as many guys as you can that can pursue him and cause pressure on him. (Harris) can do that and he tried to do everything that we asked him to do. That’s kind of a strange game for him, because you can’t pass rush like you normally do. You have to be a little more controlled, you have to understand if rush lanes start opening up, (Taylor) is going to hurt your worse than what he would do if you contain him and keep him in the pocket. (Harris) tried to do what we asked him to do.”
(Is it harder to make personnel evaluations when you see these players, at times at their best, beating the two Super Bowl contestants from last year and then other times seeing them not play up to your standards? Does that make it more difficult to evaluate guy by guy?) – “I think it’s just harder to do during the season. You’re getting ready for the next game and to sit there and keep constantly … You’re trying to evaluate on the run, I guess is the best way to put it. The hardest thing is it’s just like you guys are, we’re probably similar in the same way, you’re only as good as your last game. Nobody cares what we did against New England now. Nobody cares what we did the week before that. Everybody’s looking at the Buffalo game. What you did in the Buffalo game is who you are. That’s what makes it hard to evaluate during the season. You kind of remember that last one. That’s why we like to, at the end of the season, take some time to get away from it, come back and evaluate, so now you can say, ‘Alright, let’s go back and look at the whole thing.’ Now you can try to get a true evaluation of how well did we play in that first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter and then go from there. When you lose the last game you play, you have a little bit of a bitter taste in your mouth and that can change the way you feel about certain guys.”
