Adam Gase – December 14, 2017
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Thursday, December 14, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What’s been the thing that you’ve liked most about WR Jarvis Landry and WR Kenny Stills as a receiving duo this year? They’ve produced 14 touchdowns.) – “I think they’ve been very reliable. They’re available. Those guys, especially in the red zone, they’ve done a really good job of being where they’re supposed to be. This last game, the second touchdown Jarvis had, I don’t even know if we’ve ever thrown him the ball on that. That was a good job by him doing what he was supposed to do and he found that window. And then Kenny, a lot of his touchdowns seem to come from a little further out; but when he gets a one-on-one matchup, he figures out a way to get open.”
(Has the change in quarterback, does that affect receivers going from QB Matt Moore to QB Jay Cutler?) – “I don’t know if it really changes that much for us. Our guys are going to try to be where they’re supposed to be and then whether … I think it’s really just how those guys are feeling on that given day. I know there’s been some games where Jay’s been able to move around pretty good and some games he’s kind of just staying in the pocket and hasn’t been as active as he was this last game.”
(There were nine DNPs on the injury report yesterday. I don’t want to ask about every one of them but are there any that really stand out or any that you’re concerned about?) – “I don’t know if we’ve really changed that much from week to week. I mean we’ll keep trying to get Damien (Williams) going here. That’s really going to be … When he’s kind of ready to go and the same thing with ‘Bush’ (Jermon Bushrod). The rest of those guys, really we’ve been doing … The older guys we’ve been kind of keeping out on Wednesdays and we’ll try to get them going today.”
(CB Cordrea Tankersley I guess is the one that …?) – “Yes, I mean we’re trying to get him back. I felt like he got a couple of things hurt on the same play. It’s tough.”
(What comes with you having so many guys inactive? Players were playing in so many different spots. You had WR Jarvis Landry lining up at running back or WR Jakeem Grant in the backfield. You’re basically able to change personnel without substitution. Is that something that this team can build upon? Is it something that you can move to going to in the future?) – “Yes, I think anytime that you can be multiple and keep the defense guessing what you’re doing and run-pass options. You just try to find as many ways to get the ball in our playmakers hands. Really, that’s the most important thing is it becomes tough to get Jarvis the ball sometimes because like last game, he was doubled on so many snaps. That’s why other guys were popping open and we had some guys running free because he’s being accounted for. There are different ways teams do it. I think we saw like three or four different ways that New England did it and sometimes I don’t even … Until he watches the film, I don’t think he really realizes that sometimes they’re having the linebacker come flying out there and he was underneath, and the nickel was staying over the top. I mean there were some creative ways to double him this last game. It’s just if the quarterback makes a mistakes, that’s when a turnover will happen trying to force him the ball. All of those guys did a good job of just doing their job and Jay (Cutler) did a good job of staying with his progression.”
(How do you balance the fine line of coaching RB Kenyan Drake to avoid the minus plays while not changing him too much and having him still look for the home run?) – “Well, he hasn’t really put himself in position … Any of the minus plays have been kind of on us more than anybody. I mean he’s saved us on both those – the touchdown run and the one last game where we had an unblocked guy right in the hole and he saved us from a minus play. Really, any negative yardage he’s had, we’ve either been beat too quick to where he really couldn’t do anything about it or we just didn’t have the right call for what they were doing.”
(You guys have been averaging 24 points in the six games you’ve played since the RB Jay Ajayi trade. I don’t want to put it on Jay but is there any underlying theme of why the offense has sort of ticked upwards?) – “I think that’s going to be one of those things that I’m going to have to look at at the end of the year of what happened, before and after. It’s hard to – like when you’re in the middle of it – it’s hard to really kind of figure that out. I do think we’ve done a better job of executing some things. Guys have really probably made plays when we haven’t had a great play call and we’ve done something special as a player that you really don’t coach. It will be something we’ll have to evaluate at the end of the season of what really started … Where did we start sliding and why did things kind of start getting better?”
(With your offense the last two years, do you realize that I guess you’re 10-1 in games where you’ve rushed for 100 yards. Is there any kind of correlation that you could put to it?) – “I think there was a time where somebody told me if Jay (Ajayi) got 25 touches, we never lost. Well, I think it happened this year at some point. I just know we’ve got to score one more point than the other team. A lot of times though, when you have good rushing numbers, you’re probably winning and you’re running the ball at the end of game. They’re bringing everybody. All it takes is the running back beats one guy and you can pop some big ones. It’s hard for me to correlate those things because every game is just so different.”
(You’ve been getting contributions from guys maybe in ways that you didn’t envision when the season started. T Sam Young at right tackle, CB Torry McTyer in the secondary on Sunday, TE MarQueis Gray in the backfield. How critical has that evolution been for you guys and is there anyone that we haven’t picked up on at some level?) – “I think if you’re on this roster, we just anticipate you’re going to have to play, and when you do, we can’t have a drop off. That’s the reminder we give the rookies right at the beginning of the season. Cam Wake is not going to care that you’re a rookie in Week 9. He’s going to expect you to do your job and do it well. We’re not looking for those outs. Players aren’t looking for the out of ‘Hey, I’m a rookie.’ Nobody cares. If you step on the field, they expect you to play like a guy that’s been playing for 10 years. That’s where that internal pressure on some of these younger guys kind of comes from those veteran players that do it right all the time. They expect you to do it right on Sundays.”
(How many different ways has TE MarQueis Gray do you think lined up this year?) – “I don’t even know. We try to use him where we can, when it fits in. There’s been some stuff where we’ve had some things and we never got to it. We just keep trying to build his library up and when the time is right to put him in, that’s when we do it. Last week we were able to kind of use him a little bit and he made some plays and helped us move the ball.”
(What does it say about WR Jarvis Landry that on a night where he’s doubled through most of the game, he’s still able to get big catches?) – “It’s impressive because it’s no different than when you watch (Ndamukong) Suh get double-teamed for 61 plays. You wonder how he gets a sack or how he gets tackles for losses. Good players find a way to get open no matter what other teams do against them.”
(What was your comfort level with the celebration of WR Jarvis Landry’s touchdown celebration?) – “I never pay attention so I never know what’s … Matt tells me after the game about something that happens. I’m like I really don’t care so …”
(You showed some wrinkles in this last game. I assume you do that and we don’t notice in other games. Can you do that every game? Is it fair to expect that you should be able to come up with something every game?) – “I mean you can, but if they’re not a team that runs certain defenses, it’ll probably not look right. It probably won’t be open. I mean there are certain coverages that are good to be able to do things like that. There are certain teams you want to play (in order to do that). Every team is different and some of the stuff that we did this week, we’ve done before. It just probably looked different because Jakeem (Grant) was in there and we just had a bunch of different personnel groupings. I mean a little bit of it is trying to take a little off (Kenyan) Drake and put Senorise (Perry) in there every once in a while; but it’s just different ways for us to kind of use guys to where Drake can get a second to get a blow.”
(And what about defense?) – “I think defense it was those guys were feeling good as far as what was going on early. I think the more confidence we gain throughout the game, the corners were doing a good job. And when that happens, then (Defensive Coordinator) Matt’s (Burke) able to really get aggressive. If we get a little bit of a lead, then we can kind of turn those guys loose and Matt can be aggressive. The corners were playing well, so I think what he did was a lot of really good things that we haven’t been able to get to.”
(With the way that CB Bobby McCain is playing on the outside, is it possible to re-think maybe he’s our best guy out there and not CB Cordrea Tankersley?) – “The one thing is, Bobby is playing really well inside, as well. I don’t know when we’re going to get ‘Tank’ back. I just know our guys are always going to do everything they can to play well, and if Bobby’s number gets called outside, he’s very confident, as I’m sure you guys know. He’s very confident in his abilities and he’ll do whatever we ask him to do. We’re always going to look at that, though. Whatever the best thing for us to do that week (is), that’s what we’ll do.”
(Obviously everybody plays in the same conditions, I’ve heard the story. All snow games don’t really matter, players say that before they go play in it. As a play caller, do you have to change your approach in terms of concern about footing and conditions and field?) – “Yes. That’s every week. What (Buffalo) played in last week, that was crazy. I only can think of that Detroit vs. Philadelphia game. When you watch guys trying to … Nobody’s going anywhere. I feel like when I started watching the game, it was just stoppage of play and it kept building up and nobody was moving in it. The first time you saw a guy running out of the huddle, he’s taking these huge strides. I started thinking like, ‘Wow, what would I be calling?’ I thought what both sides were doing, they had some good stuff. Indianapolis had some really nice plays that kind of used (the snow) to their advantage, and so did Buffalo. You have an idea of what you should do, but until you’re in that situation, you’re probably learning as the game goes on.”
(When you have a running back that can run inside, outside, line up out wide or in the slot or wherever, how does that benefit your offense and what kind of bind does that put the defense in?) – “It just makes them declare what they want to do. Like the guy (LeSean McCoy) we’re playing this week, you’ve just got to be careful who ends up one-on-one with him, because when you’ve got one of the better players in the league, if he can get you in space, he becomes a big time issue. Any time you can have running backs or tight ends that puts the defense in a situation where if they want to play man and you have an advantage there, if it’s too big of an advantage, you can’t play any man. That eliminates certain coverages. As a play caller, you start eliminating what they possibly could run.”
(The kneel downs, it seemed like the Patriots may have been a little chippy. What do you tell your players there? Obviously, we’ve seen what it can become at the end.) – “The game’s going on. You can tell if a guy’s going to come off the ball. They weren’t that surprised. That’s why I’ve always looked at it as if you’ve got the whole d-line standing up, they’re probably not coming. If they’re in four-point stances ready to come off the ball, you better come off the ball. The game’s still going on. That’s not a give-up play.”
(We saw it get ugly in Jacksonville because they took issue with that. You have no problem with full speed defense on the kneel down?) – “If you play Seattle and it’s a 2-point game, (Seahawks DE) Michael Bennett is going to try to find a way to get a turnover. We saw, I think in 2012 when we played Tampa, we talked about it. We had a specific way we were going to go about handling it. If the game is going on, you’ve got to be ready to play.”
Adam Gase – December 12, 2017
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Tuesday, December 12, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(That was a signature win against sort of the gold standard of the NFL, certainly of the AFC and I’m just wondering if you will acknowledge that in the one game at a time scheme, that this means a little bit more to this organization even going forward?) – “It means a lot to probably first the players, because they have to go out there and they have the physical battle they’ve got to handle. They’ve got to handle the mental battle as well. Not everything’s quite gone right this year and guys have done a great job of just plugging along, figuring out a way to get better, find a way to win last week, find a way to win this week. That’s a tough team to play and they’re a well-coached team and they know that they have to execute and protect the football and get turnovers. They know the formula to have a chance to win in the fourth quarter and I felt like the players did a great job. The coaching staff did a great job getting these guys ready. It’s a good win for us because that was the most important game of that week. I know you want more than that but really, if you lose next week nobody really is going to give a (expletive).”
(How kind of uneasy is confidence at times because you guys lost five straight and it seemed like maybe some of these guys are hanging their head a little and then you do what you did the last two weeks and that locker room was completely transformed last night.) – “I mean that’s the NFL. They’ll hang their head for a day and then we’ll move on. Once we hit Wednesday, we’re on to the next one.”
(It seemed like there were a lot of plays where QB Jay Cutler had significant time. Did the offensive line play as well as they have all season yesterday?) – “I’m not sure if I can say that’s all season. If you go game by game, I think they did a good job with the fronts they were getting. New England makes it very difficult. You’re not really sure sometimes how they’re going to rush. You have an idea of who may be coming, but the way that they enter the line of scrimmage is very difficult because they do a lot of things where you have to pass the defensive linemen off. It can get tough. They do a really good job of making sure that if you’re not on the same page, you’re in trouble.”
(Speaking of offensive line. C Mike Pouncey’s played every game this year. He hasn’t played all 16 games since 2012.) – “I’m glad you’re bringing it up. (laughter)”
(What has the team done, what has C Mike Pouncey done to not have durability issues season?) – “I think he’s just worked extremely hard every day. I mean I don’t remember the last time I hadn’t seen him here trying to do something. He doesn’t need anybody to tell him what to do. He’s going to be in here on his own. This means a lot to him. He wants to be out there for his teammates every snap and he’s had the right mindset this year. Not that he hasn’t in the past, but I know he’s really locked in about focusing on one game at a time, one play at a time. He’s just trying to be a guy that we can count on every week. I’m sure he hasn’t felt 100 percent or great all of the time and he just keeps plugging along and trying to do everything he can to help us win.”
(I know you’ve always like RB Kenyan Drake’s potential but have you been surprised at all the last two games about his ability to handle a full work load as well as he has?) – “Not really. I mean that’s why we drafted him. We’d rather be able to … Like that combination of him and Damien (Williams) really caused a lot of problems because both of those guys have can do everything you want them to do. We’ve just got to keep working on cleaning up the ball security and make sure that he hangs onto that thing and keep putting two hands on it in traffic.”
(You’ve been thinking of getting WR Jakeem Grant involved on the outside. You’ve been talking about that for a while and last night we saw it.) – “It was … (you guys) kept bringing it up, so I had to keep putting it on the back shelf. (laughter) We kept working on these packages with him and it just never flowed right in the game, in a lot of the previous games, to where we weren’t getting the matchups we wanted. We were seeing coverages that were different than what we thought. This game I think it was more, we’re going to put it out there and we accidentally kind of fell into a couple of them the last time we played them because we lost all of the running backs. So we started putting them out there more and it just kind of got us thinking a little bit of maybe we just should put him out there and let’s just see what happens, (because) he can do so much. And it kind of lets us play around with some things with him and Jarvis (Landry), when you start doing the things where they’re in the backfield and then they’re all playing different positions and in different spots. Guys have fun with that. They like being able to do something a little creative, so we kind of started doing that stuff.”
(You’ve come a long way, obviously. You’ve talked a lot before about the offense being minimalist when you guys couldn’t do a lot right. Now you’re lining up guys in the backfield that have never played running back. Is it a matter of the team just figuring it out and you feel more comfortable opening it up?) – “No, I think it’s just (me) less angry when they make a mistake. Just let them figure it out and they’ve done a good job. You’ll see every once in a while we’ll have a little confusion, but they figure it out by the time the clock hits 0 on the shot clock. Sometimes it’s kind of messy because guys have to change what position they are. We try to keep everything as consistent as possible; but now, all of the sudden, you’ve got five wide outs in there or four wide outs. Somebody’s got to change. It’s tough sometimes; but guys have done a good job being right, for the most part.”
(You guys jumped out to a lead. How did that influence the game? How did it change it for both teams?) – “I’m sure our defense was happy. That was a first. We wanted to just keep trying to push the ball, whether it be in the run game, pass game, however we were doing it, just to put pressure on them and see if we could score some points to where if we could get up by 6, 7, 13, whatever it was, to just give our guys a chance to really put pressure on the quarterback. That’s what we wanted to do. We’ve been talking about it for a long time. Those guys have done a great job of hanging in there with us and yesterday, we finally got a little bit of a lead and they were able to go do what we want them to do. They put a lot of pressure on (Patriots QB Tom Brady).”
(Do you think the Denver game gave you guys something? I know Denver hasn’t been playing well but just the confidence of seeing the plan actually materialize on the field?) – “I think any time you get in a situation where you’ve lost five games in a row, no matter how you win that game, it’s nice to win a game. Confidence can really build throughout a week the next week, and I think that’s really what happened to us. Guys came in with a purpose in the Denver game, did a good job, and then when we went through practice last week, there was a different way about how even at practice we were. There was no change in effort or execution or anything like that; but it seemed like guys were walking around differently, like they felt good about what we had going on and how they were going to perform.”
(What’s gone into WR Jarvis Landry’s ability to find the end zone this season?) – “I don’t know. It just happens. We’ve called certain plays and there’s options, and sometimes it’s dictated by coverage. We just caught some teams in the right coverage.”
(With RB Kenyan Drake and CB Xavien Howard, you see these guys and you know what kind of talent is there. You’re trying to tap in and you’ve worked with them for a year and a half and now all of a sudden, it’s kind of blossoming, in our eyes anyway. What level of satisfaction is there for you when you see that happen?) – “It’s really been … I guess for both guys, I’ve enjoyed it just because, especially Drake, I give him a really hard time. Just to see him stick with it. When we traded Jay (Ajayi), we kind of put those two guys in a room and were like ‘Alright, both of you guys are going to get touches’ and they knew how I wanted to use them. Just to see his engagement in meetings and practice and how much you can see the effort he’s putting forth to try to make sure he does everything right. He wants to be a reliable guy. Just seeing that growth really fast, it’s been fun to experience. Then ‘X,’ he’s been confident since the spring. Just getting some success … Things happen like that for DBs. It snowballs for you. You get one, you get your hands on the ball and then all of a sudden it’s like three or four.”
(Speaking of snow balls, how do you prepare a team from South Florida to play in the snow?) – “It’s just mindset. It doesn’t matter. It’s three and a half hours. You get a 12-minute break.”
(But there’s no way to simulate anything.) – “I mean we can cool (the bubble) down if you want to but to a point, it’s not going to do anything.”
(It is winter though, right?) – “I know. It was cold yesterday.”
(I was curious your thoughts on, numbers aside, what you saw from WR DeVante Parker yesterday.) – “There was some good stuff. There was a couple of them I wish we could have back, that I thought were going to be some big plays. I can see him understanding the concepts so well to where he knows he has a lot of green grass and he wants to go; but he’s got to catch the ball first. That’s really what happened on that first play. He knew he had a chance for a big one. We just need him to focus on catching the ball first and then run after that. He just has to trust his speed. There were some good technique things he did on his routes. We just need the consistency. We have to just keep trying to get him going. He can be such a huge piece of the puzzle for us.”
(I was wondering about T Laremy Tunsil too in terms quality of play last night and just his disposition.) – “It’s always about consistency at this level. You can’t have four good and one bad, and that’s what you’re doing all of the time. You have to keep playing well for 60 minutes and when you play that spot, it’s the toughest spot because you’re usually going against their best pass rusher. A lot of times I know myself, in my head, I’m always thinking we’re good on the left, and I know Jay (Cutler) thinks the same way. So it’s a lot of pressure to make sure your guy is blocked every time because you get less help. A lot of the formations seem to be right-handed a lot of times. That’s a lot on a first-year left tackle. That’s a lot on his plate.”
(How was T Laremy Tunsil last night though?) – “He was pretty good. He did a pretty good job. There were a few things that I want to get cleaned up, which are easily correctable things.”
(DT Jordan Phillips is another player who is playing really well lately. What have you seen of him that makes a difference?) – “I think it just starts with the way that he’s been preparing. You notice in practice. His energy level, his attitude and the way his whole demeanor has been, for a long time now, you can see that’s why he’s having success. I don’t think any of us ever questioned his athletic ability or his ability to rush the passer. Just seeing him consistently do the same things over and over again, it’s been great to see. He’s been a huge part of that defensive line.”
(How did DT Jordan Phillips get through the night physically and did you have any issue with how he got dinged up? It seemed to be a play that wasn’t really a football play.) – “It’s hard to comment on anything like that but we’ll see how he is, when I get with those guys today. It’s always one of those ones you get a little nervous about because how is he going to be the next day? He seemed alright last night but we’ll kind of see as we go through the week.”
(The concussion protocol is back in the news after what happened to Texans QB Tom Savage. Your team has been through it a few times in the last couple years. What is your overall thoughts on the way the league has handled the new concussion protocol?) – “It’s hard for me to comment on it because we just follow the rules that they have in place. If a guy is down, we give him to the trainers, doctors and an NFL specialist. That’s it. I’m removed from it when that happens.”
(What’s the plan for RB Damien Williams this week? Are you going to test him out? – “Yes, we’re going to keep trying to get him ready to go and strengthen him up as much as we can. I know this has been frustrating for him. He wants to get out there, he wants to help us. We need him. He’s a valuable piece of this team, not only on the field but his attitude. We just have to keep getting him stronger and then when the trainers say he’s ready to go on the field, we’ll put him on the field.”
(Do you have a plan for RB Damien Williams to do anything though?) – “I don’t know. I’ll meet with the trainers later today and figure out what our plan is this week.”
Cameron Wake – December 11, 2017 (Postgame)
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Monday, December 11, 2017
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(Is this as big of a win as you’ve been around for a while?) – “I don’t know if I’d go that far; but it was fun. It was a complete game. Guys played together. I’ve been saying for the past couple of weeks (that) complementary football is something that we needed a few weeks ago. That was fun, a fun night. I know a lot of the guys enjoyed it as well.”
(As a defensive line, did you guys come into this game feeling like that you could set the pace and dictate the play and pace of this game?) – “I kind of think that we feel like that every game, to be honest. The guys that we have up front, we should run the show. That’s the way it should be. I know we put a lot on our backs when things don’t go well. I feel like it’s because we didn’t do well and when things go well, I feel like we definitely play a part. So, all across the board, guys are in the habit of making plays and I think that trickles down. Obviously if you’re getting pressure and there’s throws that may be a little errant, obviously guys are covering. Like I said, it’s complementary. You’ve got to play together, from the front to the back. They’re covering guys and giving us time to make pressure. We’re pressuring to give them time to make interceptions and PBUs and whatever it may be. Again, lots of fun.”
(What’s the difference been on third downs these past couple of weeks? Tonight, 0-for-11 for New England. How are you guys able to pull that off?) – “I think just being more accountable. I’ve told you guys before, when you have running scot free without anybody touching him, that’s not something they did, generally. It’s not just the Dolphins, it’s football all over the world. Guys just don’t run open. It doesn’t work that way. If you get beat on a great play, a great throw, that’s one thing; but we’ve had sometimes where it’s miscommunications or whatever it may be, where we shot ourselves in the foot. That was something I told you, again, a couple of weeks ago, that we have to work on being consistent, being where we’re supposed to be and doing your job. When you do that, 11 guys together, I think it’s tough to deal with us.”
(How much fun has it been to see what CB Xavien Howard has done the last two weeks? Four interceptions in two games.) – “It’s definitely been fun. To be very honest and frank, it’s not surprising. From the moment he got on campus last year, I knew the ability he had, the type of mentality and what he could bring to the table. You could tell him that I said it’s about time. I’ve been seeing him do amazing things on the field since he got here. I think all that hard work and perseverance and persistence is paying off. I’m definitely happy for him. It’s not a big surprise.”
(You said this year you couldn’t figure out why the team that went out there against Atlanta and played so well, couldn’t play that way a few games after that and the inconsistency. Have you noticed something different these last couple of performances leading up to those games to where you’re like ‘OK, now that’s what I’ve been looking to see?’) – “Well, I told you that the encouraging and frustrating thing is when you have the ability and you have pieces, you can do it; but then you don’t do it all the time. I’ve said before that if you could just never do something, then you just have to figure out a way around it; but we’ve shown that we can do a lot of good things. It’s about being consistent and putting it together for 60 minutes, complementary from front to back, offense and defense, and all of that. I’d like to think that the guys we have are back-against-the-wall, fight-out-of-the-hole type guys. You’d rather not get into a hole; but again, over the past couple of years, I think we’ve shown time and time again that we have the pieces and it’s just on us to put it together, and when we do, I’ll line us up against anybody.”
Ndamukong Suh – December 11, 2017 (Postgame)
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Monday, December 11, 2017
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins DT Ndamukong Suh (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(You said before the game your job was to hurt Tom Brady. You guys clearly roughed him up and made him aware that you guys were around. It seemed like that started from the opening play of the game, that you guys got in there.) – “Our focus every single game is to hit the quarterback as hard as we can and make them uncomfortable. I think we did a pretty good job of it, I think we could have done more. We’ll go back and watch the film and see what our mistakes were, which I don’t feel like we made too many.”
(They were able to pick up yards running two weeks ago against you. I don’t think they had more than 30 or 40 yards rushing in the game today. What was the difference in the ball game?) – “I think as you watch them, especially over the last two weeks or so, they wanted to run the ball and they’ve been successful against us obviously the first time we played them so we knew that was going to be a big focus. Seeing that they had five receivers open they would probably want to pass a little more, using the tight end, things of that nature. So just understanding their scheme and their personnel and how they want to attack us and just go from there.”
(You guys seem to be aggressive, king a little extra curricular a little here and there. I know that’s something they’re kind of known for. Did you go into the game feeling we need to make these guys uncomfortable?) – “I think at the end of the day we looked at two weeks ago, saw that they were a lot more physical than us. We wanted to make sure we were physical, played to the whistle and imposed our will. “
(You talked about Jordan Phillips, he had a big game, had a sack, you had a sack, but hurts his ankle late in the game, comes back and again makes a play and gets a holding penalty against him and fights through it. What does that say to you about a kid like that?) – “As I said before Jordan understands his role and he’s embracing it. I think no matter what happens, as long as he’s healthy enough to be out there, whether its 60, 80 percent, obviously hope to be 100% but I think at this time of the year nobody is. He’s going to go out there and produce and that’s what we expect from him.”
(Your run defense, you guys know the Patriots are 25-yards on the ground. How big was that in terms of being able to stop them from being able to move the ball consistently?)– “As I said before, they wanted to run the ball previously, understanding their personnel. Our focus was always, no matter who we are playing, trying to shut down the run and obviously get after the quarterback.”
(Xavien Howards interceptions, what did that do for the defense, what did that do for the team overall?)– “X is doing his job, being in the right place, making plays. We’ve always said it, there’s going to be opportunities, just make the most of them. X has done a great job of that these last couple weeks.”
(The fact it didn’t look like you guys made a lot of mistakes. What does that say about the team considering two weeks ago there was like 20?) “We watched the film, we understood what we did. We made a lot of mistakes previously when we were up there. They do a great job, they run the same offense and once you pick up on that and don’t make mistakes it’s fairly simple to stop it. But when you do make mistakes they’re going to execute and make plays against you.”
(You have Buffalo next week, you guys can get to 500 with that, still be in the hunt. How much do these two games give you the confidence to go up to Buffalo and try to get back to 500?) – “I think it’s 12 o’clock now, we’ve got 12 hours to enjoy it before we get back in our office and we have to understand it’s a big task ahead of us. We’ve got Buffalo twice, we need to take care of business up there. It’s going to be tough. It’s probably going to be really cold and we’ve got to embrace that.”
Jarvis Landry – December 11, 2017 (Postgame)
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Monday, December 11, 2017
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry (transcribed by Paige Jefferson)
(How does it feel?) – “Great! Great! Great! We needed it. This team needed it. We found a way to put it together. We found a way to put it together from start to finish. I think this is one of our most complete games thus far, you know. I mean you guys could tell me. I think it was.”
(Could you feel it this week in practice? Could you feel this performance was coming) – “Yeah! I felt it every week! You know it didn’t always turn out the way we wanted it to. You know? But at the same time you know tonight we understand that it’s always…the rest of the season for us is do or die so you know we had to go get it.”
(Jarvis, what worked so well offensively?) – “Man, we was clicking man. We did a lot of things formationally. We got Jakeem Grant. He played well tonight. And you know everybody touched the rock. Everybody got a piece. Drake can’t say enough about the things he did on the ground and for us in the air. He extended that third down in the red zone that turned into points so you know it’s huge.“
(Fair to say the little brother no longer?) – “You know every time I say something like that, it gets taken out of context so I’m not going to say anything like that.”
(What does it mean? Now? Right now? You’re standing in the locker room. Your music is playing. I mean, how much does this win mean for this team?) – “Our spirits needed it. Our spirits needed it honestly, man. We haven’t really been down you know? But at the same time man when you lose five games in a row it’s always tough to start that train back over again and we started it back last weekend. To keep it going against a team like this it’s so important for us for the rest of the season and try to make a run and see if we can do it.’
(Converting that early 4th & 1 and just sort of playing fearless, playing aggressive, how important was that?) – “It’s big! You know they do the same thing! And I think we kind gave them a little taste of their own medicine and we found ways to make plays. We found ways to just… our will is stronger than yours. You know we went at them and I think that’s the thing that got us over the edge tonight.”
(What was the celebration?) – “This song right here. (Motorsport Migos f/ Cardi B and Nicki Minaj). “Take the air out the ball. Just so I can flex. This song right here! I’m not going to say the rest because you all are going to take that out of context again!”
(Were you deflating the ball or inflating the ball?) – “I’m taking the air out the ball! I’m deflating it!”
(What about the mindset that is required to beat, not just any opponent, but a team like the Patriots? I have this idea that sometimes teams are beaten before they take the field.) – “And it happens! And it happens! And it’s all about mindset you know? It’s all about mindset. It’s all about approach you know? And the biggest thing again for us… it’s not taking the field hoping to win, it’s expecting to win and we did that.”
Xavien Howard – December 11, 2017 (Postgame)
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Monday, December 11, 2017
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins CB Xavien Howard (transcribed by Jason D. Silver)
(What this meant for the team and then to have the type of game you had out there tonight?) – “Put a lot of work in. Just coming into this week we knew what we could do and what we could take advantage of. Just going out there and making plays for the team. Really just going out there…”
(You have four interceptions in two games. What’s happening? Why have things turned around so well for you now?) – “I’m just feeding off the last game. Watching film and stuff like that. They tried to come at me in the weakness that I showed on film so just executing the game plan.”
(And what happened on the two interceptions?) – “The ball was in the air. I just made a play on it.”
Reshad Jones – December 11, 2017 (Postgame)
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Monday, December 11, 2017
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins Safety Reshad Jones (transcribed by Michelle Stone)
(What do you think of this man here, CB Xavien Howard?) – “He balled out. That’s what he does. That’s what he does. He can be one of the best corners in the league.”
(How have you seen CB Xavien Howard get better as the season’s gone on?) – “He’s emerging. He’s coming on. He’s just got to keep it going.”
(Why does this team have so much success here against the Patriots?) – “We believe in each other. The camaraderie in this locker room, we’ve got resilient guys in this locker room. That’s what it’s supposed to look like.”
Jakeem Grant – December 11, 2017 (Postgame)
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Monday, December 11, 2017
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins WR Jakeem Grant (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(Can you believe this team is a game out of the playoffs with as much as you guys have gone through with losing five straight, losing your quarterback and all that? There’s a pretty good chance you’ll be playing in January.) – “We’re not worried about that. We have a one game mentality. We’re just worried about the next game coming up and just trying to win that one. If we keep playing like that who knows.”
(You’ve been thinking for the whole time you’ve been here, and you’ve said it before about what you could do at receiver, to haul in that catch on Monday Night Football against New England. What does that mean to you?) – “It means a lot. It feels great. I don’t care about the outside; I just wanted to make those plays for the team. They definitely knew I could make those plays but actually just going out there and doing it, and proving myself, means a lot to me. Now it’s just a stepping ladder. That’s the first step up the ladder and now I have to make more plays just like it.”
(It was a tough play against Patriots CB Malcolm Butler. Tell me about it.) – “It was a go route. He played it within five yards so I used my speed. I thought it was going to be an over the shoulder ball but Jay threw it up there and trusted me to come down with it so I had to make a play. Like I told Adam previously, I promised my kids I would score a touchdown for them so I had to. I was hungry enough to get that touchdown and come down with it. Also I wanted to make that play for the team to show them that you can trust me.”
