Adam Gase – November 24, 2017
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Friday, November 24, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(QB Jay Cutler practiced today I’m assuming. Yes?) – “Yes.”
(How much work can QB Jay Cutler do based on a normal routine and I guess you won’t learn if he’s gotten his clearance until tomorrow?) – “Yes, so what we’re going to do is we had him practice. He went through individual. He took reps; but he’s going to be out, and we’ll go through the next steps in the next few days and maybe into next week. That’s where we’re at right now.”
(QB Jay Cutler’s out? So he’s not going to be playing against the Patriots?) – “Correct.”
(So just QB Matt Moore and QB David Fales, then?) – “Yes.”
(With QB Matt Moore, obviously he’s had a week of practicing with the starters. What have you seen from him that makes you believe that he’s ready to handle this responsibility?) – “I think it was good that he actually got a week to practice considering the last time he got a start we were in a walkthrough phase playing a Thursday night game. I think when Matt goes through a week like this, it’s really beneficial to him because the reps are very few during the season and it just helps kind of speed up his mindset of how things are going to look, what the actual look – the speed of the looks – are going to be, just kind of how they play. I think it was good for him.”
(Common sense would suggest that no G/T Jermon Bushrod for Sunday?) – “He was the one guy I forgot to look on. What did we put as his status? He’s out.”
(We didn’t see DT Ndamukong Suh out there. Maybe you can tell us about him?) – “Well we gave him … Today was his day off, because we normally do it early in the week and he’s kind of … He doesn’t like not being out there, especially when we’re trying to get things moving a little bit and making sure that everything’s good for practice and him seeing all the looks. We know we don’t want to burn him out in practice. We don’t want him taking … All of his reps we want to make sure they’re valuable.”
(So is it DT Ndamukong Suh’s decision to switch the days he sits out from Wednesday to Friday?) – “Yes, he does a good job of communicating with us and telling us what’s really valuable to him, and Wednesday ended up being a day that he wanted to really go through.”
(With this offensive line, constructing it again, obviously you prepare for getting everybody to play every position, but how hard has that been to sort of get that unit into a rhythm?) – “I think with Mike (Pouncey) leading that group, it really takes a lot off of our plate as coaches, because he does such a good job of communicating and making sure everybody is on the same page. I think those guys that have jumped in there and had to start playing, they got caught up to speed quick. There seems to be a little bit of chemistry there even though we keep moving some pieces around. Guys are playing well together. That’s good to see. They’re taking practice very serious and treating it like we have a Sunday going on, to where they’re really trying to make sure the quarterback has a clean pocket so Matt (Moore) gets really comfortable and he can know what to expect.”
(Do you feel like you made the right steps this week to alleviate the penalty situation?) – “We keep trying different things. It’s all about seeing if it translates into a game. I think guys are well aware that was unacceptable last week. The focus this week was good.”
(T Laremy Tunsil seem normal now?) – “Yes, he seems alright. I’m sure he’s not feeling 100 percent quite yet, but personality-wise he seems alright.”
(How extreme was that? How bad was T Laremy Tunsil?) – “I just stayed away from him.”
(Smart.) – “I didn’t want to get sick.”
(With DE William Hayes – I don’t know what his status for the game is if you want to clarify – but how much does it impact your run-stopping ability if he’s down?) – “He’s a guy that has played really well for us this year. He has kind of set the tone on the edge. You guys have been around him long enough. The time you guys have kind of either met with him or watched him play, you can tell he’s a violent player. He’s a force. He really can kind of set the tempo for all that. When teams are trying to get outside, it’s just hard to do. It’s unfortunate for us that he plays that whole game and he just didn’t feel right after the game. He’s tough. He’s as tough as they come.”
(One more quarterback question: QB David Fales, where is he at right now? You’ve had him back for a few weeks. What’s you’re comfort level?) – “He’s good. He was good that first week. He’s (a) quick study. Very smart. His thing is … David, if he ever goes into a game, he’s going to … He reacts. That’s really his … The best thing he does is play in actual games. Practice and things like that … When things are kind of changing up on him during a game, that’s his best thing. That’s when he can really slow everything down and know where to go with the ball and get it out on time.”
Jarvis Landry – November 23, 2017
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Thursday, November 23, 2017
WR Jarvis Landry
(Are you a big Thanksgiving guy?) – “Yes, absolutely. Obviously, it’s (usually) the last Thursday of every November and sometimes it falls on the 27th or 28th and the 28th happens to be my birthday, so Thanksgiving is always a good time of the year for me.”
(Do you have a favorite thing you like to eat?) – “Anything. I’m from the country. We eat anything. Anything, honestly.”
(What are you most thankful for this year?) – “Life, my family, to be able to stand here in front of you guys and with these guys. Just today and everything I’ve been through.”
(You already have set a career high in touchdown catches. Is that something you’re aware of?) – “I saw it; but we’ve still got a couple of more games to go. I’ll look back at it at the end.”
(How do you explain it? Why do you think you’ve had this breakthrough this year?) – “Just making plays (and) getting opportunities. With the opportunities that I’ve been given, I think I’ve made the most of them and that’s what it’s about, especially down in the red zone when things get tight and thick. I’ve just been finding a way. (Head) Coach (Adam Gase) has been calling some great plays to free me up. Jay (Cutler) and Matt (Moore) have been putting the balls in spots to allow me to be successful.”
(Are defenses defending you any differently in the red zone?) – “I’m still getting doubled down there, for the most part. We’re doing a lot of things off run game that are freeing me up a little bit. I think one or two were off scrambles. They’re still doubling me; but depending on the situation, some teams they’ll zero down there and that’s just beating a guy. From that point, it’s just hooking up with the quarterback.”
(During the offseason, you talked about the Patriots and how it’s important to sweep them. What is it about this team that gets your attention? Is it the fact that they’ve been winning lately?) – “Honestly, it’s a pride thing and also it’s something for us, a mindset. I spoke about it. They’re a team I have a great respect for. I always will. The guys over there, I know guys over there – (Patriots QB) Tom (Brady) and all of those guys. It’s nothing against them. It’s something that as a competitor, you want to win. Just like every game, I approach it the same and that’s the mindset.”
(Did you think when you said something like that in London in February that it would get blown up to what it is?) – “Of course.”
(You knew it would?) – “Of course. (laughter)”
(Is that why you did it?) – “I know you guys wouldn’t let that die. (laughter) Come on.”
(It’s not us, it’s Patriots fans too?) – “That’s fine. Again, it’s okay. I’m just excited about the opportunity, excited about the challenge with these guys and to have the opportunity to go up there and compete, just like we do every week.”
(How do you feel about the team’s chances? Obviously, Vegas has you all as a 17-point underdog.) – “I don’t care about Vegas.”
(Well 17 is a lot – a decisive underdog.) – “I don’t care about Vegas. I don’t care about numbers. Any given Sunday, anybody can beat anybody. That’s the beauty of this league. That’s the beauty of the NFL. That’s why I love this sport so much. You never know. This may be the game that turns our season around, too. You never know. For us, we’re just focused on ourselves and putting good days together so that when we get to the game, we’re confident, we’re playing fast and we pull one out.”
(What do you think is the reason for the slow starts you guys have had in the first half?) – “Penalties. I think we’re probably 32nd now as far as penalties and that will surely hold a team back, hold an offense back. We’ve been behind the sticks on third down, third-and-20, third-and-15 – I can’t tell you. I’m sure it’s double digits, the amount of times that we’ve been third-and-15-plus. It’s hard to be successful.”
(What do you think it will take the Dolphins to one day match or overtake the Patriots organization?) – “It’s something that I can’t look into the future for; but again, right now for us, it’s putting together this great week to allow us to be in position to start that. We have an opportunity to start on Sunday, and for us, that’s our focus – just winning one game.”
(Do you like that environment up there with those fans? It’s one of the tougher places to play. What do you enjoy about playing up there?) – “(Just) that – their fans. It seems to be a football town, a sports town. They really rally behind their players and their guys. It’s going to be a hostile environment; but just as sure as it can be loud, it can be quiet, so we’ll see.”
Adam Gase – November 23, 2017
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Thursday, November 23, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Anything new for us on QB Jay Cutler?) – “No. He’s in the (concussion) protocol.”
(You kind of touched on this yesterday, but at what point do you think you have to make that call for this week?) – “I mean once they let me know what’s going on with the stages of protocol or whenever, however that goes, then I’ll go from there. It’s like one of those things, I can’t do anything about it. So we’re not going to rush to make any decision.”
(Would you be comfortable playing QB Jay Cutler if he hadn’t practiced all week?) – “Because of being a veteran player, yes.”
(With the offensive line situation and G/T Jermon Bushrod’s status, I know you’ve worked G Isaac Asiata at right guard primarily. Is that his job or is it sort of going to the top eight guys?) – “We’re looking at what’s our best five for this game and who’s going to be healthy and who’s available. That’s why sometimes it does take the whole week to kind of figure out what’s best for us, because you have to move a lot of guys in practice because when we’re only practicing with eight guys and we’re doing scout team and they’re taking a lot of reps, so we’re getting good looks.”
(With G Isaac Asiata where is he in his development?) – “I think there’s a lot of things he hasn’t seen and I know we’ve talked about this 1,000 times, that’s really the hardest thing for rookies is trying to … How fast can you learn what the NFL’s really about? And that’s just variety and multiple things and different defenses, different structures. It just takes a minute to kind of get all those, that library, built in your brain.”
(Is T Laremy Tunsil feeling better?) – “It sounds like it. I’m not going near him so … (laughter)”
(Is there a bug going around this team?) – “Not that I have heard of. I mean he’s the only one.”
(When you play the Patriots, they’re always one of those teams that they figure out your weakness and they sort of attack it. Do you know how they’re going to attack it going in, or do you have theories and…?) – “You can try to guess. You just need to be careful doing that because when you think you know how they’re going to approach you, then it can be severely wrong and it can hurt you. You really have to just be aware of some weaknesses you think you have versus them, and just have that idea in the back of your head, have calls ready to go. Really the hardest thing is they take away what you do really well, so you better be ready to go to something else or not do that and have an idea there as well. It’s a difficult challenge to game plan this group.”
(When you say they take away what you do well, do you mean like your number one run…?) – “It could be player, scheme. They’re not going to get beat how other teams possibly can get beat. They make sure at the end of the day, this guy is not going to beat us and they’ll make sure that happens. They’ll make you beat them a different way.”
(Thinking back to last year, playing up there, it seemed like the slow start was kind of your undoing. You played well in the second half, but it was just too much of a deficit to overcome. Is there any message this week like, “Hey guys, this is one team we cannot sleep on early?”) – “I’m all for us starting fast any game. If we can do that, that’s ideal. You don’t want to spot this team 20 points like we’ve done the last two times we’ve played them. It makes it very difficult to fight that battle, because right when you think you’re about ready to make a breakthrough and make it real tight, something else happens – whether they make a drive to put it out of reach or, like they did last year, they created a turnover. Every play gets magnified the later in the game it gets.”
(Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen was talking the other day about how he thinks stability and consistency are two of the reasons that the Patriots organization has had sustained success. What are some ways that you plan to try to create stability and consistency within the organization?) – “Really, that’s why we do like keeping a lot of the guys that – whether we drafted them or they’ve been here – that have really taken to how we do things and like being in this program. Those guys we want to keep around. It’s just like anything else you do. Once you get used to how things operate, it only gets better. They’ve done a great job of when they started that thing, of finding their core guys, building on that and then whether it be free agency or draft, they’ve brought in enough guys over time that have fit their culture and fit their program, and they’ve been able to keep the key guys long enough to where they just keep building off of that. When guys know what to expect every day when they walk in the building, it makes their job easier in the aspect of they’re learning every day. They’re not guessing what’s going to happen and thinking. They’re able to play fast and they’re able to react.”
(WR Jarvis Landry has always set a career high in touchdowns. Has it just been a concerted effort looking for him more and more in the red zone? Why is he getting into the end zone?) – “He’s getting open. It seems like we got some different looks this year than what we were getting last year. It allowed him to get some opportunities where he’s had some one-on-one matchups. Last year he was getting doubled a lot. This year, it hasn’t been as much, so we’ve been able to get him the ball. Even a couple of times when I think he was doubled, he found a way to get open and we found him. I don’t think we’ve changed anything schematically to try to really emphasize getting him the ball in the end zone. It’s just worked out.”
(Are teams doubling WR Kenny Stills more?) – “No. We haven’t been seeing a ton of that. We’re seeing more guys are playing a little more one-on-one down there. That’s why we’ve thrown it probably more. People are loading up the box on us.”
(With the Patriots tight end situation, obviously they have three pretty high level tight end. How difficult does that make it to game plan for them defensively and can you address the struggles you guys have had with tight ends in the last month?) – “It’s a good test, for sure. We’ll see how quickly we can get things corrected. It is tough when you have multiple guys that play that position, especially if you bring them all out on the field at the same time. Now you’re trying to find everybody and figure out what they’re doing because these guys have the ability to get big, stay big, spread it out and do multiple formations. They make it very difficult for defenses to prepare for them. When they do that, they end up limiting the calls the defensive coordinator can have because you might not see it. They might not run it the entire game. It’s time on task. That’s what makes this offense very difficult to go against because you don’t know what they’re going to come out in. They’ll change it up as much as (Offensive Coordinator) Josh (McDaniels) feels like he needs to, to keep you off balance.”
(You obviously have a history with Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels. Do you understand the concepts that he’s trying to get across just because…) – “Most of the NFL is all the same. It’s just different words, different terminology. Everybody attacks everybody different. I probably learned – in our time together in a year and a half, the amount of football that I learned in that time – you talk about getting a crash course in how to do things right. I learned just by listening and just kind of paying attention to every little thing he did. I learned a ton in that year and a half. When I watch them play now, you see a lot of the same philosophies that he does. It might not be the exact same plays that we were running back then in 2009 and 2010; but just kind of the way he goes about it, the way he gains information for the quarterback and the position he puts his players in, he really makes it difficult. If you’re a defensive coordinator, it’s tough to prepare for.”
(The offense has obviously evolved throughout the season. Have you done self-scouting in the last 10 weeks and say, “Hey this is what really works, this doesn’t,” and evolved because of it?) – “Yes, that Baltimore week was our bye weekend, which was nice to have. We had a chance to look at a lot of stuff and just take a step back and say, ‘What’s our best way to go?’ We made some adjustments and tried to put some of those guys that we really hadn’t done a good job of using. I think Julius (Thomas), I didn’t get him going enough early in the season. I feel like we got in a little bit of a groove. I still think there’s some other things we can do and just trying to use the tight ends and the backs and see that receiving group, just keep moving those guys around making it hard. You don’t want to make it really easy to find Jarvis (Landry). You want to keep (moving him) inside, outside, No. 3. You just want to keep finding ways to move him around because if he’s just a sitting target, it’s a lot easier to take him away.”
(If T Laremy Tunsil didn’t feel well enough to play or even if he got sick during the game, would you go T Sam Young left tackle, G/T Jesse Davis right tackle and throw C Jake Brendel in there? That’s a lot of shuffling, obviously.) – “He’ll be better by then. Obviously, this week is a good test for us to move pieces around and figure out what’s our best way to go about it. That’s what we’ve been doing in practice. These are the things you have to go through. Sometimes it’s frustrating when it happens because you just want those guys to be able to get their reps and have a feel for what they’re going to get; but when this happens it’s one of those unpredictable things, like a lot of other things that happen during an NFL season. It gives other guys a chance to get better and be ready to go, so if something happened, this week kind of gave us some confidence in moving guys around.”
(Has G/T Jesse Davis exceeded all expectations? He seems to be playing pretty well.) – “I keep wishing we could keep him in one spot. It just feels like right when he gets going in one spot, then something happens and he’s got to move to a different spot; but I thought last week, he was playing well at right tackle. Then you get thrown in there and, all of a sudden ‘93’ (Buccaneers DT Gerald McCoy) is over you the majority of the time and now all of the sudden, it’s a different animal. You go from, ‘Okay, I feel good blocking this guy’ and now, all of a sudden, you go inside and you’ve got one of the best players in the league coming at you and you really didn’t go into that game thinking that was going to be one of your deals. I thought he did a good job of handling himself. The thing that he always has that he can rely on is his strength. When he gets his hands on somebody, that’s a big man anchoring down. He held his own. It wasn’t easy for him; but he’s shown us a lot of things that we’re really looking for. We really like him, whether it’s right tackle or right guard.”
(What is G/T Jesse Davis’ ideal spot based on his strength?) – “I wish I could say. I just see him play well at both spots at times. I thought right tackle was good for him because he was really flattening out that edge. There wasn’t a lot of penetration there. He hasn’t really had to go out against that Cameron Wake-type guy. Everybody we’ve played so far has been more the physical type guys that are coming right at him, which is good for him. When we go and practice, going against Cam for him is great, because ou’re not going to see a ton of guys like that, but when he does see it, he is understanding ‘Alright, this is what I have to do, this is how I need to protect myself.’ He wants to get his hands on him. That’s the hard thing about blocking Cam. You don’t know if you’re always going to get out there and then when you do think you can get out there, all of a sudden he ducks underneath you and now you’re in big trouble.”
Matt Moore – November 22, 2017
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017
QB Matt Moore
(Is preparation complicated by not knowing if you’re going to start or if QB Jay Cutler is going to start this week?) – “No. You go out and you prepare. The situation is what it is and you’ve got to do your best to prepare the best you can and be ready to go when called upon.”
(If you do wind up starting, how much of a difference is it going to make the fact that you’re having live reps in practice, as opposed to the Baltimore game, which was just walkthroughs?) – “Obviously repetition, experience, those things are big. You get to see the looks all week, regardless, whether you’re taking the reps or you’ve got to take the mental reps as a backup. To get them today was good and it will be beneficial, for sure”
(Head Coach Adam Gase says he doesn’t put anything in your head about reminding you that you’re the last guy or anything like that, that you’re the last quarterback. You don’t factor that in at all?) – “No. There’s a lot of other things I’m thinking of. I’m just playing the game.”
(The success you had in the second half last week, to our eyes, was one of the better stretches you’ve had here. Would you agree with that and how do you carry that over to another week?) – “Yes, there were some plays made for sure. Guys were making plays everywhere. How do you carry it over? It’s just preparation, I think. Adam (Gase) says it all of the time, ‘Preparation eliminates fear.’ I think you go out, you prepare and it allows you to play fast. I think that’s the goal this week is prepare, expect a battle and go up there and make as many plays as possible.”
(Are you of the mindset that you’re going to force Head Coach Adam Gase to make a decision to get you out of there at some point, that if you play well you could be the starter?) – “No, the thing is, if you’re in there to play, my goal is to execute and win games. Whatever happens after that, happens. It’s out of my control. Preparation, studying, executing, winning, those are the things I’m focused on.”
(Since the time they brought QB Jay Cutler in, have you approached it and believed as though you could still take that job from him or have you just accepted that you’re going to be the No. 2?) – “I fulfill my role the best way I know how. That was an answer right there. (laughter)”
(Do you ever tire of the back and forth?) – “My role is what it is. When Ryan (Tannehill) was here, I was the backup. When they signed Jay (Cutler), who knows what’s going to happen, I became the backup again and it was defined. My role is what it is and I do my best to execute it, whatever it is. That’s the way I roll with this thing.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said that you guys had a little bit of a hiccup going from QB Jay Cutler’s cadence to your cadence. He wanted everyone to mimic Jay’s cadence, so how is your Cutler impersonation right now?) – “We’re ironing it out. It’s good. I think that happens sometimes. Guys get so locked into one style or one voice. You’d love it to go with no issues when another guy comes in, but it happens, and we can’t let it happen. We’ve worked it out.”
(How do you practice that? Have you been listening to audio of QB Jay Cutler’s voice?) – “No. You know. There’s little things you can tweak here in there. You talk to the guys up front and how they expect it. You just work together and get on the same page.”
(It’s been the better part of a decade since you guys have won in New England. What will it take to win in the hardest place in the country?) – “Obviously, you can’t make mistakes against any team, especially a team like this in their stadium. You’ve just got to execute. You’ve got to be aggressive and play fast, but it’s going to come down to executing and limiting you’re mistakes. You’ve got to play a full 60-minute game. I know those are cliché answers, but those are the facts. There’s no magic. You’ve just got to play a good, clean game and fight until the end.”
(I don’t expect you to pay much attention to anything outside of this building, but there isn’t a lot of faith that this team can go up to New England and win – betting lines, power rankings, whatever you want to say. Do you use that as a chip on your shoulder or fuel?) – “I don’t know. You hit it on the head with I have no idea what any of that means; but I don’t pay attention to it. We’re focused on getting better this week, the game plan and trying to go up there and win a ball game, that’s it.”
(How do you feel about your offensive line right now considering they’ve lost some guys and they’re trying to scrap it together.) – “Next man up. We’ve done it all year at numerous positions. I said it Sunday after the game, I like the guys that have rotated in. They’re good guys. They come and do their job. They’re tough and prepared and ready to go, so it’s good.”
(When WR Kenny Stills came here, he was regarded as a deep threat. Has he evolved as a receiver and if so, how?) – “Yes, no doubt he’s evolved. He’s a deep threat. He has the speed and the ability to make the catches down the field. He’s proven that; but I think he catches a lot of balls, intermediate throws, some in-cuts. He’s just expanded his game to where he really doesn’t have a major weakness. He can do whatever you want him to do. I credit him. He’s a worker. He’s in this building more than most and I think it’s shown for him. It’s paying off for him; it’s paying off for us. He’s a guy we rely and somebody that you definitely want to get the ball to.”
(QB Jay Cutler wears a wristband, but do you wear one?) – “Yes.”
Ndamukong Suh – November 22, 2017
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(Once again, how do you keep the spirits up this week?) – “Spirits? It’s football. Excitement. (We’re) playing a great game. It’s Thanksgiving week. (We) get an opportunity to watch some football after practice and get prepared for our game.”
(The losing streak doesn’t have guys a little down or would you say the mentality is the same as it was a month ago?) – “I think unfortunately we’ve been in this position before, so we know how to get ourselves out if it. Let’s just focus on those keys and focus on what we have to get done this particular week to go out there and beat the Patriots.”
(Last year there was a culture of accountability with this team. Lots of guys come in postgame talking about, “I did this wrong. I did this wrong. I need to do this better.” At least one captain told us after the game last week that “We need to get back to that.” Have you seen that same level of accountability in the locker room?) – “I think that accountability is there. I’m not sure … Tell me what was said last week, again?”
(I asked a captain of the team … Last year there were a lot of guys talking after games about “What we did wrong. What I did wrong. What I need to improve,” – both coaching staff and players. And I asked him if he had seen the same amount of that this year and he said, “No. We need to get back to that.”) – “That’s interesting, because in my personal opinion last week, I think we had a lot of that. Guys understood what they needed to get done. I think, especially on the defensive side – because I don’t know everything that’s going on the offensive side of the ball – guys changed the way they played. I think from a penalty perspective, on the defensive side of the ball, we cleaned some things up. I think we only had two (penalties), and I think both of them – or actually one of them – was in game and one of them was out of the game, false start or something like that. Regardless, I think guys understand what they need to get done and have accomplished that. I think in crucial situations, we haven’t been our best, and we need to change that.”
(What’s the toughest part about playing against Patriots QB Tom Brady, if you had to pick one aspect?) – “He has found a way to get the ball out. I think he has been a little bit slower this year, watching the film last couple days; but he likes to get rid of the ball very quickly. It’s our job up front to really get after him and make him feel uncomfortable. I know that’s one of my particular goals in this particular week – touch him as much as I can, hit him as much as I can, push his own lineman into him as much as I can and go from there.”
(The team’s overall sack numbers are bottom 10 in the league, which is surprising in the sense that obviously it’s a highly respected defensive line. Not surprising in the sense that you all have trailed a ton. How much of the fact … How much of it can be attributed to trailing 90 percent of the time in games this year or should that not be used as an excuse for low sack numbers?) – “I think there are a lot of factors that go into sacking the quarterback. I wouldn’t pinpoint any one in particular. I would say that if I were to point out one particular piece that is a huge stat is the fact that we’ve played against some elite quarterbacks that have gotten the ball out tremendously fast. I can think of only maybe one quarterback in Cam Newton – which we had a terrible rush defense week that week, he didn’t really have to throw the ball as much – but I think every other quarterback that we’ve played in all other nine weeks has gotten out the ball very, very fast and has been up in the top of the league of getting out the ball, getting the ball out fast.”
(Do you feel good about how the defensive line has played?) – “No. I don’t.”
(Has it been to capacity? Has it been what you guys are capable of?) – “I think at any particular level, we’re capable of playing a lot better. I think at the end of the day, we have to continue to strive for perfection knowing that we’re not probably going to get there, but we can obviously strive for it and get there.”
(Why was the run defense better last week?) – “I think execution (and) tackling – those two simple things. People were in the right places. They were getting the ball carrier down. I think we got on top of it very early and then really forced them to pass the ball. Unfortunately in some situations they were successful in passing the ball and others they weren’t.”
(DE Cameron Wake is a guy who has had so much successes for so long. When he goes a couple of games without a sack, it’s kind of jarring to us. Can you see him getting back on track this week? Is this usually the week that Cam Wake…) – “I think it’s all of us at the end of the day that need to get back on track. I think we’ve only gotten one sack in the last two weeks. We all need to be better.”
Clyde Christensen – November 22, 2017
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(When you factor in the way T Laremy Tunsil has played, obviously the 10 penalties this year are part of that, where is he now compared to where you as a staff believe he should or could be?) – “I think we probably believe – and I’ve said to you all along – that he can really be a fine player. The consistency should come. It hasn’t yet, but it will. Hopefully it comes last week. The sooner the better. Some you can’t hurry. I don’t think they’re … It’s not because he’s not practicing hard or doing those things. I think he would be the first to say it can’t happen, you just can’t have that many penalties.”
(Some of the penalties that have occurred have been over and over and over, how do you preach accountability?) – “It’s hard. We’re addressing it in the meetings. Obviously, we addressed it in practice. We’re addressing it hard in practice. We’re trying to pull guys out of there if they jump offsides. We’re trying to do everything possible; but so far it hasn’t helped. That was probably the worst week we’ve had. It’s unexplainable. It’s unfathomable to me that it happens this late in the season that you pass the half way point and you’re still having issues with procedure penalties. Some of the other ones maybe you can understand, but not procedure penalties. That’s bad ball. There’s no other way to say it. It’s bad ball on all of our parts – everybody.”
(With WR Leonte Carroo … Obviously, Head Coach Adam Gase said with WR Rashawn Scott it was a function of working good in practice. With WR Leonte Carroo at this stage of his career – the team gave up two mid-round picks for him. You have three veteran receivers – that’s a factor – but is there something more that he needs to show the staff?) – “For him, I think that’ll be a constant competition. They’ve been in a competition since they’ve been here. It’s kind of a good thing because whoever is playing better will be up. A lot of it will come down to special teams. I think the answer to your question is special teams. The guy who excels at special teams, that fourth and fifth receiver, have to get their spot. (Special Teams Coordinator/Associate Head Coach Darren Rizzi) ‘Rizz’ probably has the final say on the fourth and the fifth receiver just because the special teams is so important and it’s not a huge number of snaps offensively. The special teams would be the answer to your question. Those guys will have to compete and you hope one of them just plays well. That’s what I always tell (them is), ‘Don’t give your spot up once you’ve got it. Play well enough that people can’t live without you.’ So far that hasn’t happened.”
(In practice, does WR Leonte Carroo get separation from corners consistently? Is that an issue?) – “No more than everyone, no. He’s never going to be a speed burner, so he has got to be on his technique and all of those things; but I don’t think it has been as much that as … The times he has been in there he has gotten open and made a couple big catches. Again, the special teams is a huge factor. It’s a bigger factor than probably even the offensive practice snaps.”
(When you look at last week’s game, it’s easy for us to say QB Jay Cutler was the quarterback in the first half, QB Matt Moore was the quarterback in the second half, that’s why there was so much better performance in the second than in the first, is that fair? Why do you think you played so much better in the second half?) – “I think we didn’t turn the thing over. We didn’t fumble the ball. I don’t know why. We played better. We just played better. I don’t think that’s a reflection of one position as much as just the unit played better. I think sometimes you get the momentum going. Our team has always been one that it just snowballs one direction or the other. Those penalties, the turnovers, we’ll go some periods where it snowballs and we’re rolling and the second half happened to be one of those upturns. The first half is about as bad of ball as we’ve played. I think it was all around. It wasn’t just the quarterback. It was some other things, too. Matt (Moore) didn’t do everything right. He did give us a chance to get back in the thing, and gave us a chance, but we missed some red zone opportunities. (We) missed some red zone opportunities in the second half that would’ve made the thing not a tie at the end. We had tons of opportunity to win that game before the end of the game and we didn’t. The pick penalty that was questionable. There were four or five things in the red zone where really we’ve got to finish those drives and score touchdowns and we got field goals and (it) ended up biting us in the rear at the end of the day. I don’t think it would be one guy as much as the whole deal, the whole unit. We can’t turn it over. I don’t care who … I don’t care if you’re Jarvis (Landry) or if you’re the quarterback or whoever – DeVante (Parker). We can’t turn the ball over. There’s no breaking even on that. That’s so severe and so significant to football games. You can make five big plays and a turnover still outweighs it. That’s how big they are in this league. For us to even have a chance and be minus-five in the turnover ratio in that game just shows we still play hard. Playing hard hasn’t been a problem. You’re just not going to win many games where you’re minus-five in the turnover (category).”
(How much of a concern was WR Kenny Stills’ injury going into last week and how did he come up with a career game given that injury situation?) – “(Allen) Iverson might’ve been right: practice is a little overrated, I guess. (laughter) That’s what I said to him today, ‘How do you feel?’ It wasn’t as much an … I guess you could call it an injury, but it just kind of locked up and tightened up on him. I think some modern medicine and then some just loosens up with the adrenaline going in the game. I don’t have a clean answer for you, but it happens. It’s one of those things where he locked up a little bit and probably could’ve practiced, but we just wanted – at this point in the year – just him resting and getting that thing back loosened up is a big thing. He obviously got it loosened up and was rolling there. He has had some problems in the past, so I do think there is a benefit that he does know how to deal with it. He knows that he will get the thing loose come game time and that it’ll loosen up as you play. Sometimes it’s not worth the risk of heavy reps in practice to give the thing a chance to settle down and loosen up some.”
(What have you seen from WR Kenny Stills aside from the deep routes? I’m talking about blocking downfield, short and intermediate routes, practice habits.) – “I think Kenny probably is (the) most improved guy since I’ve been here. I’ve said it to you before that when I got here, and in that first offseason, I don’t remember ever coming … I don’t remember a day coming in the building (where) I didn’t see the guy. I just think that he is the epitome of committing himself to being a good player and did everything – offseason, how he trains, how he works in individual, all those things – and I think it’s paying off. I think he’s a really, really good all-around receiver and I think beyond, way beyond when we first got here. I think he can be a top-flight … I think he is a top-flight receiver. I think he can be a really top-flight receiver, especially if we can get this passing game going more consistent. I think he’s taking the blocking. He’s throwing his body in there and maybe something he didn’t quite do as much when we first got here. He has gotten more physical inside there. His technique has just gotten better. I think his catching, his hands, he has made some one-handed catches this year. He has always been able to run, but I think all the technique that goes with this, he has paid the price to do. It’s fun as a coach to see it pay off for a guy. There’s no guarantee of that. Sometimes you work that hard and you have an injury or something; but his has paid off and he’s really a good, all-around receiver. He does everything well. His breaks are a lot better. His hands have improved. His blocking has improved. His route running has improved. And he still has a deep ball threat, still always a threat to run by you.”
(We see the potential, obviously, with RB Kenyan Drake and those two long runs in two of the three weeks since he’s been more involved. If you had to point to one or two areas where you think growth is most needed, the next step for him, it would be what?) – “Yes, I would tell you that he’s growing in his attention to detail. He’s growing on the ball protection side. His first start, so to speak, he gets that ball popped loose and it crushed him, which is the right reaction. It should crush you, and it did. I do think that he’s improving in his alertness, his paying attention, his meetings, how he does things as a pro – his fines are way down from that rookie year – all of those things. He’s just doing things more like a pro and I think he’s into it. The test will come after about your sixth game getting whacked. It’s a physical position and there will be a point toward the end of this year that would be like the midseason if you were starting from the beginning of the year, and there’s going to be a point where you have to practice, play, pay attention when your body’s in rebellion. It doesn’t want to do it anymore, doesn’t feel like doing it, doesn’t feel good. I do think that we’ll get a really great evaluation of him in these next (six) weeks, and it’ll get harder and harder, because playing week in and week out has its advantages. You’re into it, you’re in the flow, you’re excited and all of those things; but also now I’ve got to deal with tight muscles, a tweak here or there or a twisted ankle or something. That’s part of that job. That’s why it’s a hard job.”
(What are some of the reasons you think the Patriots organization has been so good for so long?) – “I always have a high respect for continuity. When you stay in the same system and you do the same things, you keep your veteran core players together for a long time and then they obviously do a great job also; but I think the continuity is a huge thing. I don’t know how many years I’ve been going up there but it feels like forever. It’s been 20-something years and it’s the same coach, it’s the same defense, they still play with great leverage, they still (play) two-gap. Maybe they change a face. Maybe it’s not (Willie) McGinest, but the next guy comes in and plays exactly the same way. It looks the same. He shoots his hands, puts his head on the right side, crosses faces. They just do a great job that way of having a system, recruiting to it or signing to it and then they obviously do a good job teaching it because they look the same. That’s probably the highest compliment I could give someone. For a long period of time, you are … For 15-plus years now, they play very good defense and they’re fundamentally really, really good.”
(Does it make a difference who is under center for the offense when it comes to things such as cadence, depth of routes, where they like the ball and handoffs and things like that?) – “Yes. I think certainly cadence-wise – the rhythm, how they call the plays, their tempo and how they handle those things – that certainly does. I think the other thing would be that they all have their favorite routes. Matt Moore comes in there and zings that one in on a big third-down conversion to Kenny Stills on the in. You just know that’s one of his roundhouse throws and if he gets a chance at it, he takes it. I do think that everyone has their favorite things that you know, ‘Hey, he will let this one fly.’ Each quarterback is a little bit different that way. (Matt) plays fast. He plays extremely fast, sometimes too fast. This week, there were a couple in the red zone that maybe he was too fast; but the ball is going to come out of there, his mind works fast, everything’s moving fast, so I think that’s probably a little bit different as far as the tempo of that goes, which is sometimes an advantage, sometimes a disadvantage. But yes, I think there is, certainly in the procedures of how he calls a play, how he checks a play, how he works his cadence, how he uses his hard count, all of those things certainly changes up between quarterbacks.”
(What would be the plan if G/T Jermon Bushrod can’t go?) – “If he doesn’t go, we’d probably slide Jesse (Davis) in and put Sam (Young) outside. We’ll work all of the contingencies. Right now we’ve got a couple of guys sore, but that would be one of the, certainly, leading contingencies. Don’t hold me to it if it doesn’t come out that way, but that’s our thought right now, how we ended up the game last week. That would certainly be the starting point. I had to take a double-take on the first name, we’ve just called him ‘Bush’ for so many years. I had to go ‘Jermon, who is that?’ (laughter)”
(Does C/G Ted Larsen seem like himself physically or has he struggled coming back from that?) – “Yes. He’s getting there. He’s not back, but he’s getting there. It’s a fast track to get him back, throwing guys in there at guard in the NFL against 320 pound guys; but it’s getting there. Again, the same thing that I haven’t noticed him, which is a compliment. I’m not talking about him, which is a compliment. He’s holding his own in there and he’s going to get better and better and better. He certainly has the veteran presence that we needed and is helpful and we’ll continue to need.”
(Was that definitely pass interference on TE Anthony Fasano?) – “I don’t know. I sometimes don’t see it quite like them. I can’t afford to give away any of my Christmas money. (laughter) Too many grandkids. I’m going to need that Christmas (money). I don’t know. Just sometimes it gets inconsistent. That’s the only thing as coaches, you just want them called consistently. Then you can teach and adjust from there; but when there’s inconsistency, then it’s hard. It’s difficult. We could have done a better job selling it but sometimes it’s from crew to crew on that stuff.”
Ndamukong Suh – November 22, 2017 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh Conference Call with New England Media
(I wanted to ask you about Patriots RB Deon Lewis and what you’ve seen from him as you’ve started preparing for the Patriots. What is it that seems to make him a difficult player to tackle?) – “I don’t really know how to answer that question. He’s a football player. He plays football. I’m looking forward to playing against him and tackling him when he gets the ball and going from there.”
(Is it ever difficult to find a player who’s a little undersized at the line of scrimmage in traffic?) – “No, I wouldn’t say so. It’s pretty obvious when the ball is handed off, where to find him at. (He’s) in the hole.”
(How would you describe how your defensive front is playing lately?) – “Obviously we gave up too many rushing yards to Carolina and the previous game. I think we did a better job last week. Obviously we need to get more pressure on the quarterback and create turnovers.”
(How do you guys stick together through all of the adversity you’ve had this year, with QB Ryan Tannehill, RB Jay Ajayi’s trade, LB Rey Maualuga getting waived recently, how do you guys stick together as a team?) – “I understand that it’s a business. Things are going to happen. We have to roll with the punches and go from there.”
(The Patriots offensive line does a good job of redirecting edge rushers behind QB Tom Brady. Is there more pressure on interior rushers like yourself to get after Brady up the middle?) – “It’s always important to get up the middle and pressure (Tom) Brady because he likes to step up and go through his throws, progressions and make him comfortable. At the end of the day, it’s on the collective defensive line to make pressures and make plays.”
(You’ve been playing at a high level for a while in this league now. How do you define success at this stage in your career?) – “There’s multiple ways to define it. At the end of the day, it’s a statistical game. You have to make plays and be disruptive. At the same time, I would say most elite d-tackles have to take on double teams, triple teams and do the dirty work as well, so it’s a combination of it.”
(You said this summer that you basically have to play a perfect game to beat the Patriots. Do you still feel that way, and what do you guys feel that you need to do specifically to give yourselves a chance this weekend?) – “I think you want to play a perfect game at all times, but understanding the reality is that nothing is going to be perfect. So you do what you can control and combat opportunities to not allow them to score points and different things of that nature, and go from there.”
(Do you enjoy facing the Patriots and a great quarterback like Tom Brady? Do you feel like you need to raise your game in these games?) – “I play hard every game, that’s how I look at it.
Matt Burke – November 22, 2017
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(What are your options at this point at middle linebacker? Do you think that LB Chase Allen played well enough where you stick with him or are you giving a fresh look at LB Mike Hull? And do you expect LB Stephone Anthony to be available this week?) – “A multi-part question. (laughter) Yes, I think all of those guys are in play. Chase did a good job. This is the second time for him being thrust into a starting spot unexpectedly and he really did a good job. He’s got a big head on him that runs and hits and sticks it up in there and stuff. I thought he did a good job. When we’ve asked Mike Hull to fill in and play, he has. We obviously had a plan to use Steph a little bit last week and got him some work. He obviously got a little nicked there in the middle of the game. I think he’s just day-to-day and we’re going to go through the week and see how he is. Chase didn’t do anything to discourage me, the way that he played; but we’re always going to try to find the right fits and the right matchups for all of those guys and how we can utilize them.”
(LB Neville Hewitt being back, has he done enough over his NFL career where you think maybe he could play?) – “Sure, why not? He’s played ball for us. I’m proud of ‘Nev’ and the way he’s worked to get himself back. When we released Neville in preseason and he had a tough deal when he got banged up – it was kind of a tough timing issue because we couldn’t really hold a spot for him. Literally, the last thing I told him when he left was ‘Get your body right, get yourself in shape, keep working and there will be another opportunity.’ I’m kind of proud of the way he’s worked himself back into the mix and I’m excited to see him get a chance.”
(Where on your list of priorities is making Patriots QB Tom Brady uncomfortable in the pocket?) – “Sure. If you’ve got an answer to that, that would be No. 1 on my priority list. (laughter)”
(Talk in general about the challenge of going up there, but first QB Tom Brady and the importance of that.) – “Going against Tom Brady, there’s nothing easy about it. If you allow him to just sit back there and be comfortable and don’t affect him in any way, obviously he’s going to have a level of success. That comes in different ways. It comes with, again like everything, trying to get pressure as best we can, whether that’s blitzing or getting our rush. He’s seen it all, so you try to give him some different looks maybe and showing some things that he hasn’t, just to give him half a pause and make him have to decipher something. I think making him uncomfortable isn’t just from a rush standpoint. I think we’ve got to try to find a way to … I don’t think he’s going to get that rattled. I don’t know that that’s in his nature; but we have to do as much as we can to try to get him that much more uncertain, as much as we can.”
(Isn’t the ideal scenario getting to QB Tom Brady with four rushers?) – “It helps. It’s like anything else. Any time you are adding into the rush from pressure, you’re taking away from your coverage element and you’re exposing some things back there. He’s really, really good at seeing that happen and seeing that coming. It’s difficult to fool him on pressures and they always have answers built in – quick throws and outlets – for him to get the ball out. You’re going to have to pick and choose your spots on where the pressures come. Yes, ideally if we can get pressure with a two-man rush, that would be great too. Then we can have nine guys in coverage. (laughter) The less rushers you have to bring and the more you can dedicate to coverage, because they do some different things in the pass game obviously and they have some weapons; but yes, that’s ideal.”
(When you went back and watched the film of that last drive against Tampa Bay, what was the one thing that stood out to you?) – “I was disappointed, obviously. I thought we played okay up until that point in spurts, and there were a couple of other things. We just didn’t make a play. I always examine myself first. A couple of calls I wish I had treated differently. To be honest with you, they got the ball back with 3 minutes left. They had one or two timeouts plus the 2-minute warning; so for me, I didn’t get into 2-minute mode. I didn’t think fast enough as a caller. I wasn’t sure they were going to just start opening it up and cutting it loose. In hindsight, they didn’t have a lot of success running the ball on us, so I feel like they didn’t think … In my mind, I was like they may be conservative and run or screen here early, to try to get the drive going before they really got into it; but they kind of came right out and opened it up and were going empty and stuff. Early on, we gave up that one play up the seam the very first play. I was literally thinking screen there, to be honest with you. There were a couple of calls that I wish … Not that they were bad calls per se but my mindset was kind of a little different. Honestly, ‘Fitzy’ (Tampa Bay QB Ryan Fitzpatrick) made two good plays. The throw on the sideline, that was a coverage we hadn’t played all game and ‘Fitzy’ kind of got out of the pocket a little bit and hit that comeback on the sideline. ‘Tank’ (Cordrea Tankersley) is closing back to it and it’s a good throw and catch on the sideline. Then the long one they hit right up the seam, it’s the same thing. We’re closing the pocket on him. That was the most disappointing thing for me was just not getting that stop. We obviously had been battling all day and got momentum back a little bit when we scored. I don’t think there was a man on the sideline that didn’t feel like if we got the ball back to our offense, we were going to be able to take it out. I always examine myself and I’m always critical of that, so I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t make a perfect call, or a little bit better call, to win a couple of those downs. That’s just what I told the team – the defense. We have to find a way to get a stop there. Somebody has to make that play. I told them it’s all of us. I may not make the perfect call and those guys have to help bail me out sometimes or I may be able to call us into something and (bail them out). There were about three or four plays that somebody has to find a way to make a play. We don’t let them out of the pocket and we get them down in a sack or ‘Tank’ gets that ball on the sideline, or we pop that ball up on the long one that got us down there. To be honest with you, the thing I was probably most proud about was after the long play, and they went into more of a ‘run the ball out’ (mode), ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) makes a great play – smart – trying to get the guy out of bounds to stop the clock. And even on the third down play, I thought we were close to drawing some holding calls, which would have stopped the clock too on a third-down run when they’re trying to set (the field goal) up. Even after the long play and they were obviously in field goal range at that point and they were just trying to run a couple of plays, I thought our guys really had good situational awareness of attacking the ball, trying to draw a penalty to stop that clock. ‘X’ is trying to ride (Doug) Martin out of bounds at the very end there on the second-down play. I was happy that they kept trying to play through the situation at the end. I’m always critical of myself so I wish I had called some better stuff.”
(Was there any thought given to letting them score because the clock was upside down on you?) – “Well, that’s not my decision. No. The only time you would possibly even think about that would have been after they got that long seam route into field goal range. We still had the one timeout and like I said, I thought if you go back and look at the second and the third downs, we had a chance to get the clock stopped. Even if we hold them, if they call that play out of bounds and it’s 50 seconds left when we get the ball back and we need a field goal … I don’t know that we ever got truly into that mode. That wasn’t discussed with me.”
(Your linebackers have been through a rough year – LB Raekwon McMillan, LB Lawrence Timmons and LB Rey Maualuga – LB Chase Allen has been told I guess at the last minute twice that he’s a starter. Have you seen evidence that that’s had any effect on this group at all? Realistically, you would think that it would.) – “Not really. They’re kind of an interesting crew. I don’t know if you guys spend a lot of time talking to them but they’re pretty even-keeled, straight across the board. Sometimes I want more of a reaction out of them than I get. They all just sort of shrug their shoulders. I don’t know if it’s just because for two years now, that’s sort of been the nature of that group or what. They just kind of go ‘Okay, I’m up?’ Or ‘who is playing this week?’ Or ‘what am I doing?’ Literally, none of them even blink or hesitate about things. We give all of those guys work and we prepare them all. All of the ‘backup players,’ we prepare them all to be ready to play. That’s obviously a mantra that we preach team wide about next man up and being prepared. They’re pretty nonplussed about the whole thing. They just kind of shrug it off and go on and play ball.”
(Without the distractions, would they have performed better? Can you say that?) – “I can’t say that. Who can say? If we have a season without any distractions then I’ll let you know. (laughter)”
(In terms of LB Stephone Anthony being weaved in last week, was it a function of wanting to reduce LB Lawrence Timmons’ work load at all, questions of if he’d be better in coverage or merely something Anthony showed in practice?) – “Probably a combination of all of that. My thing to (Head Coach) Adam (Gase), I’ve been watching Steph on the scout team and running around and I really like the way he has been practicing and showing. It wasn’t necessarily just Lawrence, but I felt my argument for getting him active and involved is that he’s a big, young player that can run and hit and do some of those things and have some fresh legs. I wouldn’t say it was directly in terms of Lawrence, but just the group in general, I felt like it would benefit that crew to have somebody take some snaps off some of that group and just be a fresher athlete that can go out and do some coverage stuff and close some space, and hopefully alleviate some of the things. He was doing a good job. You saw the third down he had sort of in the high red where he closed on the back. It was really a little bit of both. I don’t think it was specific to Lawrence. It was a little bit of the group and then me just watching Anthony and (thinking) we could use a guy that can do some of the things he can do athletically.”
(There’s been this thought that DE Cameron Wake is not human, that he’s a robot from outer space or something. He can’t get tired. Forty snaps two weeks in a row and no bye week, is he human? Is he susceptible, just like the rest of them, to fatigue?) – “Is that a real question? Is he human? (laughter) Yes, he’s human.”
(Is he human? It’s very simple – human or not human.) – “(laughter) I haven’t done any scientific research on that. You worry about (fatigue) with all of those guys. I haven’t seen … I’ve mentioned that as we’ve been here throughout the whole season. We’re aware of all of our guys, especially our veteran guys … Similar to the same question I just answered about the linebacker room and guys that are playing a lot of reps. You’re aware of that with Cam (Wake) at all times. I haven’t, truthfully, seen a downturn in his play. He’s been doing fine and doing everything we ask of him. I’m not watching him going ‘Man, he stinks. Can we get him off the field?’ I think we try, through the week, to handle those guys and keep them fresh. I think in terms of him being not human, I just think he’s one of the best – him and (Ndamukong Suh are two of the best I’ve been around in terms of using the week to take care of their bodies to prepare. He knows how old he is but he knows what he’s done throughout his career to prepare and put him in this position, and I think he continues to do that. I have utmost faith in his preparation during the week to get himself ready to play however many snaps we ask him to play. If I really saw a decline, or whoever saw a decline in his play, then we’d address that.”
(How do you see LB Kiko Alonso’s performance in coverage, especially given that New England TE Rob Gronkowski could be running against your defense this Sunday?) – “I would assume that Gronkowski is going to be going against our defense this Sunday. (laughter) I think Kiko does a good job. We put a lot on Kiko. A lot. We ask him to do a lot of things for us. I think he ends up in tough positions at times. We put a lot on him to do. I honestly think that he’s been pretty good. He probably had a couple of squirrelly busts last week but in general, he’s done a really good job. I’m always aware. Like I said, just between mentally and matchup wise – a lot of things – we put a lot on Kiko Alonso. He does a lot for this defense. He does a lot for me as a play caller. He gets a lot of people lined up. He makes a lot of checks. We always basically put him on the hardest matchup possible, period. We’re going to put him in spots that are tough for him at times and he’s going to have his moments but I’m happy with the way that he’s performed so far, for sure.”
