Matt Burke – December 8, 2017
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Friday, December 8, 2017
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(Opening Statement) – “Before you guys bombard me, I want to follow up at the end of (Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen’s comments), just something about Kenny Stills. For me, on the defensive side of the ball, he’s the most into us playing defense in the game of anybody on offense, for whatever that’s worth. Every single game, that kid gets his corrections and comes up and stands on the sideline and is either talking trash to the other team or cheering our guys on. I’m bumping into him half the time telling him to get out of the way to make my calls. I heard you guys asking and Clyde talking about him, and Kenny, as a team player and a leader and all of that stuff, he’s the most into the game from that side of the ball to when we’re playing, of anybody. I notice it. I said something to him about two weeks ago. ‘Hey man, don’t think I don’t notice you’re the only guy up – or not the only guy – but you’re the loudest guy, for sure; and the most energetic guy up watching us play defense and rooting for our side of the ball.’ He’s taken a lot of strides there.”
(Can you share with us maybe something you learned the first time against the Patriots calling defensive signals for the first time?) – “I think it just was an emphasis really for myself, going into the game, that you have to be quick with the calls. You have to get them out them. Even if they’re changing personnel groups and not necessarily going no-huddle, they’re probably the best in the league with (Tom) Brady and everything in terms of breaking the huddle, getting up and running their plays. For myself, it was a point of emphasis to get the call to the defense so they could get their eyes back to the offense so as they broke the huddle, they were able to line up and play. That was something going into the game that was a point of emphasis for me. I want to make sure that I don’t slow our defense down by being slow with the calls, so I really had to, for me, even be more on my game in terms of getting a huddle called out quick and anticipating what I wanted to get into so those guys could get the call and get their eyes back to the offense and be ready to go.”
(And were you able to do that?) – “I felt like for the most part, yes. They do a good job obviously. They roll personnel groups. They throw a lot of different things at you and they kind of pace the game. They’ll kind of be normal, normal, normal and then they’ll get up on you, then they’ll pull it back. They play that game. I didn’t feel like getting the calls out and getting the huddle call was an issue, which I felt like that was important for me to give our guys the best chance to compete.”
(No Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski on Monday night. Is that going to impact your game plan?) – “Yes, obviously he’s a great player. The thing that’s hard is even if ‘Gronk’ is playing, this is a team that game plans every game you play against them, and they’re going to change personnel groups. Not to sound like a total idiot but if anything, it almost creates a little bit more uncertainty. Obviously if ‘Gronk’ is playing, you know he’s going to be involved and he’s a factor that you have to account for. They’re always like this when you prepare for a team like the Patriots, but even more so now. You don’t know what they’re going to throw at you, really. They could come out and run unbalanced for the first 20 plays or they could go empty personnel. They could go three running backs. You don’t know. There’s a little bit more uncertainty. We always approach it like that. We’re going to have to be ready for anything between personnel groups and formational things and what they’re doing. Obviously, he’s a great player and he’s having another great season. Taking him off the field lessons some of the matchup issues you have. Obviously you have to account for him; but sort of the flip side is it creates a little bit more uncertainty in terms of groups they’re going to use and some of the ways they’re going to attack us. It’s an interesting approach to what we’re going to see here.”
(What do you hope that CB Bobby McCain takes from his first meeting with the Patriots in terms of the lessons learned?) – “I think it’s not just Bobby really. It’s everybody. You guys have been around Bobby. He’s a competitive kid and he’s feisty. That’s just something that we know they’re going to try to do. They’re going to try to get under your skin and it’s always been that way. Those guys are going to try to give him a little … Just let him know they’re there and try to irritate him a little bit. That’s fine. We just have to keep our composure. He understands what went on and how that came to be. I think we’ve moved past that. I think Bobby has. I think Bobby has been playing really well this year for us and having a great season and he knows we need him on the field. I think it’s just the awareness of that stuff doesn’t matter. If someone gets a little extra bump on you or if someone is holding you a little bit longer than normal or someone talks a little trash to you, that’s fine. We’re expecting those things to happen and we just can’t respond to it. We’ve just got to go out, play ball and execute our calls. I think Bobby will be ready to have a good game for us.”
(Is there any concern that if CB Cordrea Tankersley plays that him not being 100 percent would make him a target for Patriots QB Tom Brady?) – “Everyone is a target for Brady. (laughter) If we make the determination that ‘Tank’ is going to play for us, it’s because we think he’s healthy and ready to play a real game for us. So we’re not going to put him out there if we feel him dealing with whatever injuries and stuff he’s trying to fight through is going to affect the play. We’ll have other options for that. No, I would assume if he does play that they’re going to test him out but that’s just what they do anyways. They just try to find matchups and whether it’s a running back on a linebacker or a receiver on what they think is a less than 100 percent DB, or whatever. Or ‘Gronk’ on somebody, those types of things. They’re going to find the matchups they want. That’s what their plan of attack is always. We’re not going to make that decision unless we feel that he’s capable of competing for us.”
(When you see or notice a guy … Over the years, Patriots QB Tom Brady always finds a target. When you see or notice a guy who is being picked on by him, does that go into your thought process coaching wise or schematically?) – “Yes. Again, when you try to boil down what this team tries to do to you … For us, that’s what it’s about. They try to find matchups that they can take advantage of. For us, it’s trying to keep the matchups in our favor as much as possible. Whether it’s moving different personnel groups or moving bodies on bodies that we like better in terms of certain, specific skill sets or matchups for us. Or just trying to keep the target moving. It might look like this is a matchup you like and then the next play, we’re playing something different. That’s just the game you have to play with them. They’re going to try to put as many players on the field that they think are positive matchups for them, and find the one that they like the best and go to it. Our job is to try to take those matchups away as best as possible. You can’t take them all away, so whether it’s changing the target or changing the matchups, play to play, series to series or just coaching up. We have to tell our guys, you have to know if you’re lined up against this guy, that’s probably where they’re going, and you have to win that down for us. We’ll help you out the next down or we’ll change it the next down but we can’t protect everybody. Somebody’s got to go win some matchups for us.”
(With regards to CB Bobby McCain, to see him kind of lose his composure like that … Am I right that’s uncharacteristic of him?) – “It is. Yes, you’re right.”
(Do you expect that CB Bobby McCain is going to be tested?) – “I would assume. Yes, I think any team – not just the Patriots; but any time that you show as a player – not just Bobby but any player – that you show susceptibility to that, people are going to test you. Just anything or in matchups, right? If someone says he’s susceptible or he’s given up a lot of plays on this specific route or he’s done this, they’re going to test you and find out if you’ve corrected that or if you’re still going to go angry and react to things. There’s no doubt they’re going to test us. He’ll be ready. He’ll be fine. Bobby is going to play a good game for us on Monday.”
(How would you evaluate how CB Alterraun Verner did when he came in against Denver?) – “Yes, he did a good job. Again, that was something obviously we preach in terms of guys being prepared. ‘Tank’ essentially went down on the first play. He kind of went back in and tried to fight it out for a couple of plays and kind of couldn’t keep it going for us. I can’t remember the exact number but ‘Vern’ ended up playing 45 snaps for us or something. He did a really good job. He’s the ultimate pro. There have been times during the season where we kind of had him or told him ‘Hey, I think you might be up this time’ or ‘You might be doing this,’ and then he didn’t get to play. He’s been steady through the whole thing. He prepares like a pro. He’s always ready to play. He stepped in and competed and did a really good job for us.”
(What were some of the things that the secondary did much better against the Broncos than in previous games?) – “They caught the ball, right? That’s something we’ve both been talking about. (laughter) I wish I could bottle that up. Honestly, I’ll give (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) a little bit of credit. Some of the things that he’s done in practice in terms of just stressing and really putting the emphasis on getting our hands on balls and attacking things. We’ve talked. Even with a guy like ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) for example, who I felt has been playing good coverage and that was the final step he had to take. Now he’s getting five pass breakups and catching the ball and obviously doing those things. I think just taking the step of finishing those plays and not just being in pretty good coverage or not just kind of being in good coverage and still allowing catches but for us to finish those plays and obviously to get our hands on a few picks and obviously to break up a bunch of passes. That was something that we stressed all the time but it’s kind of just been a team-wide thing. I think from Adam’s side of things, his stress is not turning the ball over. He’s been emphasizing, even for the scout team guys, ‘Hey man, make us better. Attack the ball. Strip it. Go after it in practice.’ Then us from the same side, so as a team-wide thing, it’s become just more of an emphasis, just truly like ‘We have to protect the ball on offense and we have to attack the ball on defense.’ I think sort of the fruits of those labors are starting to show.”
(Aside from getting a victory, how do you know when you’ve done a good job of defending QB Tom Brady?) – “I’ll take a victory. That would be enough for me. Look, he’s a great quarterback and one of the greatest of all-time. He’s going to make his plays. I don’t think anyone in the building expects him to go 0-for-25 with seven picks. He’s going to make some plays. We measure everything by wins and losses. That’s how we’re judged. That’s how we should be judged. If we make enough plays on him to win the game … Obviously if he goes 30-for-31 with eight touchdowns, we’re probably not going to win the game. Whatever measure of success leads to us getting stops, getting off the field and trying to limit his success as much as possible … A win is a win. We’ll take it however it comes.”
(What was the skill with DE Cameron Malveaux that intrigued you guys? Is he stout against the run? What made you want to take a look at him these last few weeks?) – “He’s a big body for a defensive end for us. He’s kind of a little different body type than we have. He has been destroying the offense in practice and really getting after them. He does everything right. I know the cliché of being the first one in. He literally is the first person sitting in the meeting room every morning, waiting for stuff to start. In terms of skill set, he’s a big, long kid that is tough against the run. He sets edges for us. Even as a rusher, he’s not going to be super fancy but he does a good job in terms of long-arming with his length and speed-to-power and trying to just collapse the pocket and push guys, which is a benefit for us with our other guys that can do some things in the rush game and those type of things. And a little bit with losing a guy like Will Hayes, that provided us sort of that same element for us, we felt that was a nice complement to kind of fit (Malveaux) back in. Will did some of those things in terms of the run game and just power rushing and those things. We just felt it was a nice chance to get (Malveaux) up and give him an opportunity to go play and he responded. He had about 30-to-35 snaps and did a really good job for us.”
(With CB Xavien Howard’s improvement, is it just the natural improvement of a young player or did Defensive Backs Coach Lou Anarumo or you point out anything specific to him that’s been a chance in technique? What has led to these last three weeks of high-level cornerback play?) – “I’d like to take credit for that. I don’t think I will. You can ask Lou about his cornerback whisperer techniques. (laughter) I think ‘X’ has been in good coverage. Most of the year, I think ‘X’ has been in really good coverage. I think the emphasis on finishing those plays and that’s the next step. That was always the next step for him. I think we forget that he had somewhat of a lost season last year with all of the injuries and the limited time. As a young corner, some of the growing pains we’ve been going through with ‘Tank’ (Cordrea Tankersley), ‘X’ didn’t get as much experience as ‘Tank’ has got this year as a rookie. Early in the season, I think ‘X’ was still developing through that rookie experience and those sorts of things. Then, as the season started progressing, I think he was tighter in coverage and tighter in coverage and getting closer to what we were asking. Now, in the last couple of weeks, he’s kind of gone the next step and now he’s getting the ball out. I think it’s just a natural progression. Again, he’s just been working at it and I think he missed enough time last year that he wasn’t fully experienced through his rookie ups and downs and hopefully this is him turning the corner and really becoming what we’ve expected from him.”
Clyde Christensen – December 8, 2017
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Friday, December 8, 2017
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(In trying to explain why RB Kenyan Drake in this particular year has had more success than RB Jay Ajayi did during the first seven games, how much do you think is a function of has the blocking been better in your opinion for Kenyan, and what are some of the other factors?) – “No, I don’t think so. I’m not sure he’s had, in my mind, more success. It’s different success. He’s a home run hitter. We’ve used him differently. They’re two different guys. You’re comparing apples and oranges a little bit and Jay (Ajayi) would out-do Kenyan at what Jay does well and Kenyan probably is better than Jay at what he does well. So I don’t think it’s necessarily playing better, he’s just a different guy and he’s going to have those big strikes. And Jay had his share to; but Jay was a physical guy. Kenyan’s a fast, kind of a bounce … What he does is really special when he gets rolling. That run he made for the touchdown, which was an inside run, but it was still kind of his style with five moves in a 2-yard area right there and then comes out of it, squirts out of it for a touchdown is big. He’s really special with that kind of thing.”
(Aside from the fumbles, would you give him high marks in all of areas, aside from two fumbles?) – “Protection. I think he’s still got a ways to go protection-wise and ball protection-wise. Then, as I always say to you, he’s got to prove he can do it after you’ve started 10 games. See if you’re still doing it in January on frozen fields and below-zero temperatures, etc., etc., etc. So there’s a long way to go before we start making the bust of him quite yet; (laughter) but we’re off to a good start.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said yesterday that with RB Kenyan Drake back there ,it’s a little different for the offensive linemen.) – “Yes.”
(With RB Kenyan Drake’s lateral quickness, isn’t it an adjustment for the offensive line?) – “I think it is. Yes, I do think it is. Those guys have a different style and yes, I think it is. Just like when you have different quarterbacks in there, it’s a different thing. We’ve really stressed playing hard, finishing blocks. Jay (Cutler) in the pocket, Kenyan with the ball. The other thing that he makes it unique that all of a sudden an inside play goes around the corner and that’s where your holding calls come. So there’s a lot of factors that go into it. All of a sudden, you’re blocking the thing and you think he’s going up off my left hip here and then all of a sudden, I’ve got my guy locked down and all of a sudden he runs around the right corner and he starts to leave and I thought the ball was going … Now all of a sudden I’ve got to make sure that I don’t grab hold and restrict him. So yes, there’s a lot of things that go on and it makes it interesting for him; but it is different. It is different. Jay, you kind of knew where he was going to hit it and you just start bulldozing and pushing piles. This guy, it can go anywhere.”
(Are you seeing anything different from TE Julius Thomas in recent weeks?) – “Yes, production. I think the production has been different and up a little bit and I think that would be the biggest thing. Yes, I think he’s kind of getting in a little bit of a stride and (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase has done a good job getting it to him and giving him some good opportunities, so that’s encouraging.”
(We always hear about how Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick takes one thing away. What did he do last time and how do you adjust to that in game?) – “Yes, they’ve always done a great job there. They’re going to double Jarvis (Landry). They’re going to take away what you’re doing well and make you try to beat them left-handed. That’s what they’ve always done and they’ll do it a lot of different ways and so you never really have a beat going into the game. I think I’ve said that to you before that they do a great job of being one of the best fundamentally sound, one of the best fundamentals – leverage, hands, head, hands placement – they’re one of the best teams, if not the best team in the league, at (being) consistent that way and then their changeups don’t compromise their technique. They’ll do it a lot of different ways. They’re a good man coverage team. Now they may double the two inside guys. They could double anyone they want to; but their techniques are what is really, really good. So you focus on their scheme and you try and have good plays for their scheme and the next thing you know, you forgot that we’ve got to beat press coverage. They make you do things well and that will be a great challenge.”
(If they take WR Jarvis Landry or if they choose to take Jarvis away, do you force it to him, because I think he was seven for 80 last game?) – “Sometimes it happens that way. Sometimes it doesn’t. That’s a little bit of a … that’s a teach. When do you stay with a guy being doubled? There are some times, there are some routes where you have a chance to win even though you’re doubled, that Jarvis is just going to win anyway. There’s somewhere you’ve got to go ‘Hey, hooray for them. They took him away. Let’s move on and someone else has got to win.’ So it’s both. Both of the above and you don’t know when that’s going to happen. Some routes you feel good about, some routes you don’t. Sometimes they’re tight coverage, sometimes they’re loose coverage and the double comes from up top, above. Sometimes it’s from underneath and from the line of scrimmage with one of those (line)backers coming out. So it happens a lot of different ways and I think what they do a great job of is making you make your adjustments during the game. They’re not going to do exactly what they’ve done the last five games and you’ve got a beat on them and you scheme everything up for it and then they do it just exactly like you schemed it up. You’ve got to be ready to be on the sideline making some adjustments.”
(In what ways do you see WR Kenny Stills work to get even better in more areas? He got paid but it seems like he still puts in the …) – “I think he’s got some momentum. I think he’s becoming really, really one of the good receivers in this league and he just keeps working. I think the biggest thing, which no surprise, is he’s healthy. He stays on the field and he gets his practice time. That’s the best thing, right? If you’re on the field and you work, you’re going to get better. That’s in any field. That’s coaching. That’s whatever. If you just do it every day and you come to work every day and you work at getting better, you tend to get better at whatever you do, whether it’s writing and writing articles or coaching football or playing receiver, that just kind of holds true. That’s what he’s done the best thing of. He’s been working. He’s been really consistent. I’ve said to you before that when I got here, he was in this building. He made the conscious decision ‘Hey, I’m going to be a consistent football player.’ His words to me was ‘I’ve been good at times but I’ve been up and down,’ and I think two years ago he made a commitment that I’m going to be a consistent, steady, upper-echelon receiver in this league. I really think the sky is the limit. He’s a fast guy but he’s not just a big-play guy. His technique is good. He’s running good routes. He’s made catches this year that have been outstanding and one last week on the low ball was one of the three or four best I’ve ever seen in my life. That was a great catch. So he’s doing those things, which maybe he didn’t do as much last year. I think he’s becoming a well-rounded, good worker. The other thing I’ve said a lot is we’re dying for guys who you can say ‘Hey, do it like him. Work like him. Act like him.’ That’s what we’re dying for leadership-wise offensively. Just some guy that (you say) ‘Hey, he’s turning into a heck of pro,’ and where you say, ‘Hey, do you want to get better? Watch Kenny Stills. Watch how he works. Watch how he takes care of his body. Watch what he does on Tuesday on off days. Watch what he does after practice. Watch him during practice.’ He’s becoming that kind of guy, so that’s been great. It’s been fun to watch and he’s turning into a really, really fine receiver.”
(It’s only been a couple of week since the last meeting with New England but is that enough time to see any differences in the defense?) – “It really isn’t. It’s just weird. It’s a weird deal. It’s both ways, but we’ve played them so many times and you see them twice a year, and now you see them twice in three weeks that you know what they do. You know what you have to do, but it doesn’t make it easier to beat them. It’s still hard work to beat them and they do a good job. They’ll have their wrinkles and we’ll try to have a wrinkle or two but at the end of the day, it’ll come down to if we can block them, if they can tackle us, if we can beat man coverage, if they can cover us, if we can protect our quarterback and it’ll come down to the same basic things in football. It takes some of the scheming and all of that stuff out of it and makes it more about the fundamentals and who gets themselves ready and plays harder or longer.”
Darren Rizzi – December 8, 2017
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Friday, December 8, 2017
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(Can you assess the performance of your two new kickers this year?) – “Sure. I guess I’ll start with Cody (Parkey). Obviously, after training camp, we felt like just looking through the NFL that there was a chance to make an upgrade. We really kept a close eye on Cody, really since he’s been in the NFL. He’s really been what we expected and I expected. He’s a consistent guy. He’s got a great approach. He has really a professional approach. He’s a very good self-evaluator and a lot of times, it might sound simple; but as a kicker, that’s a big thing, being able to self-correct a lot of times. He’s got a great demeanor. He never gets too high, never gets too low. He’s been consistent since he got into the league and hopefully that continues; but I’ve had a pleasure working with him. He’s been really good, not only in the field goal area; but also on the kickoff area. We ask him to do a bunch of different things between deep kicks, short kicks, onside kicks. Whatever it is, we’ve asked him to do. I think he’s performed very well in that regard. So he’s been a great welcome addition. Matt Haack, so far through this year, I think everybody saw or has seen, at points, that his talent level is very, very high. He’s got a really, really good skill set. You saw last week his ability to pin the opponent was really big in that particular game. I think he had seven punts inside the 20. Really the one that he didn’t, he actually hit a great ball, it just carried on him into the end zone. I think he’s been maybe a little bit disappointed with some consistency stuff; but again, to me, any rookie at any position is going to have some peaks and valleys. I’m very, very pleased with his overall performance. I think he’s second or third right now in the AFC in punts inside the 20, or whatever it is. The sky’s the limit for him. He’s really just scratching the surface, in my opinion. He’s a young punter with a lot of ability. Again, being a lefty and all of those things, I know everyone’s talked about that; but really, he’s just a really good punter. Forget about lefty and righty. (I’m) really excited about his future. Both of those guys have been really welcome additions. It’s been great. Obviously, having John (Denney), the veteran there to work with these guys, and I know they’re different positions, but just the everyday mentality and approach, there’s not a better professional in the building than John Denney, and I’ve said that many times. For those guys to be able to work with him on a daily basis has been huge, as well. Cody kind of had that already; but for Matt, I think it’s a great thing to come in and have two guys that are really, with the approach and mentality that those two guys have, that’s really helped Matt out in his rookie season. It’s really laid a really solid foundation for him. The bottom line is I’m really pleased with where both of those guys are.”
(Do you have any great, deep stats or info on K Cody Parkey, like something that will just blow our minds about how awesome he is?) – “(laughter) Like I said, he really has just done really well in all of the areas. I know a lot of people will point to the three missed extra points and I get it. One was a little bit of a field thing and the ground. One was the last play of the game in the Jets game, and I’m not making excuses for him; but he’s been really consistent in all of the other ways. There’s not one stat I’m going to throw at you. I really like his every day approach. He knows exactly what he does. He has a routine. From the minute he walked in the door, he had a routine. ‘This is what I’m going to do and this is how we’re going to handle it.’ He’s really done that every step of the way, so I don’t have one stat on the top of my mind to blow you out of the water; but I know since he’s been in the league, he’s been a guy that’s made field goals, and hopefully that continues.”
(You’ve coached WR Jarvis Landry his entire career. How would you describe his importance to this team and then to your group?) – “Overall team, I think since the moment Jarvis got in here and started playing in games, everybody saw what he brings to the team in terms of he’s an electric guy. He’s an unbelievable competitor. No matter where I’ve coached – college and the NFL – this is my 25th season and I don’t know if I can say I’ve had a more competitive guy than Jarvis on game day. He brings a lot of energy to the team, to the sideline, he’s very into the game. That’s really contagious and when he first got here, he was a guy that obviously could wear a lot of different hats. He was a punt and kick returner. We know what he can do as a wide receiver; but even when he got here, he was covering kickoffs. Most people forget about that. He’s a guy that really has done a lot of things. He’s a guy that wants the ball and there’s something to be said for that. He’s a guy that doesn’t like getting the ball, he wants the ball. I think there’s a fine line between the two. He’s got an extremely high football IQ, understands the game, loves sitting in my special teams meetings and watching situations and things like that. He’ll talk about it during the game. Last week is a good example, we had two safeties. How often do you get two kickoff returns after safeties? We haven’t had one in forever and then we get two in one game. Then, all of the sudden, they’re kicking off from the 50. Those are all situations we cover every week and you can hear him on the sideline, immediately, talking the coaching points and regurgitating what we’ve been saying. We go over those every week, because you never know when they’re going to come up. So his football IQ is maybe something that gets overlooked. I think he’s got a really good knack and understanding of the game, so those are really the things I think he brings to the table the most.”
(DE Terrence Fede blocks the punt. I think he came close on another one. He had the one a couple of years ago. What does it take to block punts? What kind of skill set does that take?) – “Believe it or not, some guys have a knack for it and Terrence is one of those guys. It’s something that we actually work on a ton in OTAs and training camp, the actual skill of blocking a punt. I think it maybe sounds easier said than done. Number one, Terrence has tremendous effort. He’s really another guy, though 12 games, who’s been very, very productive for us in special teams in every area, not just the blocked kicks and the blocked punts. His effort has been great, but he’s also been on punt coverage, he’s been on kickoff coverage, he’s been on kick return. He’s been really, at some point during the season, he’s been on all six units: punt, punt return, kick, kick return, field goal, field goal block. That’s an impressive thing to say about a defensive lineman. As far as the blocked kicks go, he gives great effort, he’s a tough guy to block, he’s a bigger body, he’s a good rusher, he’s a good athlete for his size, so all of those things; and when you get to the block spot, a lot of the times, those guys get back there and you see guys using terrible technique, swatting at the ball and hands apart and things like that. He executes what we’re looking for. That’s just Terrence. Terrence is a guy that comes here every day, does exactly what we’re asking him to do, unbelievable work ethic and that’s been him since he walked in the door, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s having success.”
(You mentioned the importance that LS John Denney plays with your kickers, but can you give specifics on what he does?) – “Yes. Not only is John a great role model for the specialists, John’s a great role model for the team and really overall. What he does, I just think he sets an unbelievable example on what it is to be a pro, no matter the position. There’s not many long snappers in the league you could probably say – if you look at the 32 of them – that are going to be a role model. Because of his work ethic, and I could talk about him off the field as well – he’s a great father, he’s a great husband, he’s a great community guy – and that carries over. He’s a great leader by example. Apparently he’s a great violinist, as well. (laughter) I was actually joking around the other day, John’s one of those guys that whatever he decides to put his mind to, he does well. He’s one of those guys that’s always right here. He never gets too upset, never gets too down, which is a great mentality for his position; but I think a lot of other guys see that. He’s always in here working on his nutrition, working on his health, working on his body, working on the sports science stuff, so that’s why I think the longevity for him. He’s in great shape for a guy his age. So he’s just really a great guy to have around, not only for Cody (Parkey) and for Matt (Haack), but really for everybody. He doesn’t say a lot, and when does speak he’s like that old E.F. Hutton commercial. When he talks, people listen, because when does talk the things he’s saying are very (influential). He’s only been up in front of the team, maybe I can count on one hand in all of the time I’ve been here; but every time he speaks in front of the team, everybody gets something out of it. Again, he’s a guy that really has more importance in this building than people would understand.
(What actually is the upgrade with K Cody Parkey, when you talked about changing kickers? You felt like there was an upgrade to be made. What is the upgrade that you have made, specifically?) – “I just thought we needed more consistency at the position. Andrew Franks was a very talented kicker. I thought we were just inconsistent there the last couple of years. (Franks) made some big kicks and all of that. What Cody has done in his career is just the same thing over and over again. It’s not what you see, it’s what you get, more or less. It really is just that consistency thing. That’s where I thought we could make an upgrade, overall, in everything that we do: our kickoffs, our high kicks, short kicks, field goals, PAT’s, onsides kicks, whatever it is. I just thought it was a better overall upgrade across the board.”
Ndamukong Suh – December 7, 2017
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Monday, December 7, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(What’s the key to stopping that running game of New England’s? They got 196 rushing yards on you last time.) – “Yes, it was way too many running yards for anybody. We’ve just got to find ways to execute. I think when we went back and watched the film, it came down to tackling as well as execution.”
(What do you say to Patriots QB Tom Brady when you’re lying on top of him?) – “(laughter) Since I’m not much of a talker…”
(Do you make an exception in that case?) – “I usually don’t like going to the ground. I like inflicting pain and then going about my business and getting ready for the next play. I usually try to not stay on the ground (and) hop up quick.”
(Do you have to be careful? You don’t want to make Patriots QB Tom Brady mad, right?) – “I’d love to make him mad. My job is to piss him off and have him yelling at his offensive linemen for not blocking me, his coach and everybody on the sideline. That’s my job.”
(That’s the thing you guys really have to do, in all seriousness right? You’ve got to make him uncomfortable?) – “Yes, no question. Uncomfortable (and) off his spot. We know he likes to drop back and throw comfortably and have this nice pocket; but my sole job is to disrupt that at all costs.”
(When was the last time you saw that? When is the last time you created something where you saw there was some frustration from Patriots QB Tom Brady?) – “I think the last game we played them, we had some good hits on him and understood what they wanted to do. Personally, I can reach back to some times in Detroit where they actually pulled him from a game. (It was) a preseason game, so maybe it wasn’t that important; but it was important for us just to get a gauge to see where we were at. I’ve had some success against him.”
(The eight hits on Patriots QB Tom Brady last time, what does that tell you about the pass rush and what effect do you think it had on him and the game?) – “I think it was good in the pass rush concept but when we look at the run game, we didn’t do so hot there. I think they stuck with that and we have to eliminate that. I think when we eliminate both of those pieces and they’re not successful on both sides of the running and pass game, that’s when we’ll find ourselves successful.”
(How do you feel about taking days off from practice? Does it bother you when you have to do that, that you can’t be out there with everybody else?) – “It’s not really my decision. When I look at it, I understand why they have me do it; but then I also look at it from the standpoint that I wasn’t wired that way, to take days off. It’s not something that I’m used to, especially over my career. I think prior to – I want to say last year or something of that nature – I had only missed one practice due to being sick. I had, unfortunately, the flu in 2014.”
(That’s why I was curious about it though because you don’t seem like someone that would want to take a day off; but you also seem like someone who could understand the value of it. So I just wonder how much internal wrestling is there with you on a day like today, for example?) – “As I said, it’s not my decision. I take orders and I’m a good lieutenant or whatever you want to call it. How I look at it is it’s not my decision. I take it in stride. I’m not wired to take days off. I wasn’t built that way mentally or physically; but I do understand the importance of it and just roll with the punches.”
(Is that something that when you’re done playing, you’ll look back and say ‘Okay, I see why.’ Is it hard to do it as a guy that’s in it right now?) – “No, no, no. I can see it now, for sure. I see it with my trainer, I see it with the coaching staff and there’s other reasons as well; but it’s not like I’m getting the entire day off and I get to be at home. (laughter) I’ve got plenty of work and things that I can do and study. It gives me an opportunity to learn it from a mental standpoint. I think prior to being in the pros, the biggest way I learned and advanced myself in this game is that I was out during spring ball. I had a torn ACL, so I had to sit on the sidelines and learn the game from there, and I think it served me right.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase spoke really highly of DT Jordan Phillips today. What are you seeing from him both on the field and attitude wise?) – “I think Jordan understands his role and I think he’s understanding, really, his whole overall ability as a player; and he’s growing into that. I think the best thing for him is to just stay consistent. I think he understands the attitude he has and the effect he has on this team and how he can be a dominant force.”
(Having said that, how terrible was that sack dance that DT Jordan Phillips did?) – “(laughter) I didn’t see much of the sack dance, but I saw a lot of excitement from Jordan. It’s always good to see a young guy like that get sacks and make plays. You’re obviously happen for your line mates.”
(You guys didn’t run that dance back and forth on the film?) – “(laughter) We didn’t run it back and forth on film.”
(What about the TE Julius Thomas touchdown dance?) – “That was beautiful. (laughter) It was a great display of riding a Bronco, to say the least. (laughter)”
(You could tell right away that’s what it was?) – “(laughter) Yes.”
(You immediately knew that’s what it is, just riding a Bronco?) – “(laughter) Immediately. Just riding a Bronco.”
(The Pro Bowl announcements are coming up fairly soon. I was wondering how much interest you have in that still at this point and whether that means anything to you.) – “I’d sit here and lie to you if I didn’t say I was interested in it. I hope you voted, to say the least. You’re always curious to see how things pan out. I’m happy to see other guys make the Pro Bowl. I’m happy to see guys like Cam Wake and Reshad Jones and many other guys – (Mike) Pouncey – on this team make the Pro Bowl and be successful and get accolades for it.”
(Does the event itself, going to Orlando, have any appeal to you still at this point?) – “Yes, why not? It’s just up the road. It was obviously great when it was in Hawaii. I got to take that trip over there; but Orlando, I’ve had fun up in Orlando plenty of times. There’s some cool things that I know in Orlando that I could be a part of outside of just playing football and being in that game.”
(So if you were selected to the Pro Bowl this year, you would intend to go?) – “Yes, I would. I would have went last year if I didn’t have the situation that I had physically. It’s always my goal to go out there if I was graciously enough to be selected to it and participate in it.”
(What part do you like the best about being around all of the players from other teams from around the league?) – “I enjoy it. I think the biggest interactions that I enjoy is going against the other guys and being around them, at my similar position. I think one of the most fun times I had was interacting with like Philip Rivers and guys like that, where most of the time we’re at each other’s throats and trying to combat each other but everything is just fun living there (at the Pro Bowl). That’s how I kind of look at it.”
(Has Patriots QB Tom Brady ever said anything interesting to you when you’re engaged, after a big hit, or anything funny? How does he react?) – “No. He hasn’t really said much at all to me. I’d love to sit down with him.”
(How well do you know Patriots QB Tom Brady?) – “I don’t know him at all. Maybe you can create that. (laughter) You seem like you have all of the connections over there.”
Jay Cutler – December 7, 2017
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Thursday, December 7, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(From a physical standpoint, how taxing has the year been on you? Does your body feel it?) – “I had two weeks off (with) the injury. I feel good. I think the offensive line has done a good job. (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) has done a good job calling plays and trying as much as he can to keep the quarterbacks upright.”
(As you watch tape, it’s clear the run blocking seemingly has been better recently. Anything you attribute that to? Do you like the way G/T Jesse Davis and C/G Ted Larsen are playing? Anything you’d point to?) – “I think the guys are playing well upfront. I think we’re starting to kind of get in a rhythm with Adam (Gase) and ‘Kup’ (Assistant Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper) and ‘Guge’ (Senior Offensive Assistant Dave DeGuglielmo) and all the coaches kind of coming together. Anytime I think you go through what we go through, there’s going to be a little bit of a transition period of everyone figuring out roles and stuff.”
(What’s you approach when you see an individual receiver – like WR DeVante Parker has lately – kind of struggling? Do you take a little initiative on yourself to get him going in a game or do you talk to him at all during the week? Is there anything you do to try to help him?) – “Both. I think we challenge him. We encourage him. We try to feed him balls out there. We’ve just got to get him believing in himself and using his talents. He’s an immensely talented dude. He’s a good kid. He wants to do it right. It’s just finding ways to keep him confident and eager to go.”
(Have you had enough time with WR DeVante Parker where you feel like you kind of know how to get through to him?) – “Yes. He’s very approachable. He’s not a confrontational dude. There’s no real big ego there. He just wants to do it right and he wants to be a good to great player. We’ve just got to help him along.”
(So which is it? Do you try to challenge him or…) – “Both. Everything. We throw everything we can at him. I think challenge him after the game. We’ve been encouraging him today. We force fed him some balls a little bit to get him going. It’s going to come. It’s not something that I think won’t happen for him. It’s not something (where) I think he’s playing bad. You just look at him and I know he wants more and we want more. We’ve just got to keep encouraging him down that right path.”
(What’s different about a Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick defense?) – “I think it’s the whole team in general. It’s a very, very smart team. (They are) situationally aware. They do things the right way. I think they tackle well on defense. Their assignments are on point. I think he’s notoriously taken away your number one receiver. He makes you get to two and three. (He) makes you do things that are maybe a little bit out of your comfort zone. I think they do a really good job of keeping things in front of them, making offenses go the long road – three, four or five first downs – to score. We’ve just got to figure it out.”
(When you talk about they take away the number one receiver, I know one of their things is they usually figure out something that they want to take away. Is there any way that you can prepare for that coming into the game?) – “I think for us, if you want to take away … Who do you want to take away? I think we’ve got some guys who mix it up enough. ‘Juice’ (Jarvis Landry) is obviously … I think he’s up there in the league in catches; but Kenny (Stills) had a big game last week. ‘Juls’ (Julius Thomas), we’re starting to get him the ball a little bit more. We’ve got running backs coming out of the backfield catching the ball. We mix it up. I think Adam has done a good job with doing that.”
(For a guy who has been in the league a while, you haven’t played this team very much. What does that make this week like for you?) – “It’s a game. It’s a game both sides want to win. We’re in December, so these games count quite a bit.”
(For prepping for them and being into what they’re all about, have there been any surprises as you look at them and see?) – “No.”
(From what Head Coach Adam Gase was saying, it’s difficult because … It sounded like basically what he was saying was there’s no reference point for them. You don’t know what to expect because you get a different version of them defensively all the time.) – “You can’t say, ‘Hey, they’re a Cover 2 team,’ or, ‘Hey, they’re a 3-4 Buzz team.’ That’s not who they are. They’re going to play whatever defense they think gives them the best chance to win. It could be different every week. It could be different this week than what we saw two weeks ago.”
(Is that unique in the league?) – “I think there are probably a couple of guys that do it out there. Obviously, no one has done it as well as Bill (Belichick) and the Patriots have.”
(Has the fact that TE Julius Thomas has had more success in in the red zone, has it been a function of you guys working together more? Has it been a conscious attempt by Head Coach Adam Gase to get him more involved in the red zone?) – “I think it has just kind of worked out that way. Some of the defenses we’ve seen, he has made some plays for us. It’s just kind of a product of the offense and how things have played out for us.”
(You guys are averaging 25 points a game in Hard Rock Stadium. All good execution or is there anything to being at home, playing at home?) – “It’s my first year with this team, so I think that’s kind of hard for me to give you an accurate answer. I don’t know what they, what everyone did at home last year here. It seems like we’re comfortable here. We like our schedule here. Hopefully we can keep playing well.”
(You had either minimal or no relationship with any of the receivers here when you came in. What have you found WR Jarvis Landry to be?) – “In regards to?”
(In regards to a teammate, a receiver for you, an option when things are breaking bad?) – “He’s a guy that I’d want to play with year in, year out. I think he’s a heck of a teammate. I think he plays extremely, extremely hard. He’s smart. He’s tough. When things break down, he’s going to make plays for you. Whenever you get in the fourth quarter, he wants the ball. He’s going to make plays for you. He’s got a lot of production in this offense. For him as kind of a slot guy, not playing outside as much as some of the other guys throughout the league, it’s a lot of balls. It’s a lot of production he has had here.”
Kenyan Drake – December 7, 2017
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Thursday, December 7, 2017
RB Kenyan Drake
(What does your body feel like after that workload and what did you do to help it recover?) – “I just know it’s never going to feel as bad in a loss than a win, so I feel great in that aspect. I was pretty sore after the game; but it’s all about being diligent, so I just try to go get in the hot tub and cold tub, work with (Sports Performance Director) Wayne Diesel, our sports scientist. They do a great job trying to get everybody back on the field as fast as possible, so I just try to follow their lead and they help me get to where I need to be.”
(So 23 carries on Monday Night, are you up for that?) – “I’m up for whatever they put on my plate. Whatever helps this team win.”
(If you had to criticize yourself for what you put on the field, what would that criticism be?) – “I got (winded) a little bit earlier in the game, just because I didn’t catch my second wind earlier, so some of the routes when I came out of the backfield weren’t really crisp and full speed. I try to pride myself on having a high motor and going full speed, down-in and down-out, so I was a little disappointed seeing I put that on the film. So that’s something I’m going to try to work on this game.”
(The first thing people will mention, obviously, around the league when they talk about you is speed, but you’ve obviously shown you can break tackles and you’re a physical runner between the tackles. Is that a part of your game you think some people would be surprised about who haven’t seen you a lot?) – “I think anybody, if look at my physique and they look at my track record, they probably have some type of preconceived notions about me, whatever the case may be; but I just try to go out there and put my best foot forward and whatever you all say about me, whatever anybody says about me, that’s what they say. I just try to be my best player.”
(Were you curious before the game to see how you would react to a 20-plus carry game?) – “I for sure was. I felt like as the game went on, I kind of got stronger, especially with the o-line. They got stronger. Everybody just got stronger as the game went on and I feel like it was fed through the special teams playing well. Jakeem (Grant) did a great job with putting us in great field position after all the punt (returns) that he had. The kickoff return team, everybody played a part in it. Everybody just got stronger as the game went on.”
(I know you mentioned to us right after RB Jay Ajayi was traded that you don’t look at this as a seven-game audition to be a lead back; but your body of work is obviously going to be taken into account by the management here. Are you pleased with what you’ve put on tape to this point?) – “Like I said, I’m just here to help this team win games. At the end of the day, whatever assessment they decide to make with my body of work or the team’s body of work in general, that’s them. I’m here to play football and help this team win games.”
(But you have to look at this as a situation to become a starter. Even in Alabama, I don’t know if you ever felt like you got a real opportunity to be a number one back. This is your chance. Do you not look at it like that?) – “I look at it as a situation that we’re 5-7 right now and we’ve got the hottest team coming into our stadium on Monday Night Football. It’s a great chance for us to make a statement to the rest of the league that we’re not down and out. We’re ready to continue fighting the rest of this season and make a playoff push at the end of this year.”
(I know you’re part of special teams. How much of the room gave grief to S Michael Thomas for not picking up that blocked punt and running it in?) – “(laughter) You can’t forget about Walt (Aikens) because he tried to dive for it when he should have just let it bounce and pick it up and run it in. In any situation when there’s green grass in front of you, you just have to keep your composure. We got on them a little bit, but we were happy that (Terrence) Fede got that block. At the end of the day, everybody does their job as well as possible, so you can’t give them too much grief. It was a high pressure situation.”
(Earlier today, Head Coach Adam Gase was talking to us about before they drafted you, what you said to him about, ‘Even if I become the feature back, would I still get a chance to return kickoffs?’ Why is it that important to you?) – “I try to just harp on it every time I talk to you all. I want to help this team any way possible, whether that’s special teams, offense, whatever the case may be. Any time I feel like I can get extra touches, whether that’s kickoff return, punt return or even running down the field and making an impact play on kickoff (coverage), I’m all for it. I want to be a great football player, not just a great running back.”
(So even now with a game like last week with 23 carries, you would still be up for returning kicks?) – “Yes, if they ask me to go in there, whatever the case may be. If they call my number, I’m going to be prepared to step up and play in any situation.”
(Do you think your speed surprises defenders? I know they hear you’re fast, but do you think it surprises them in game?) – “Yes, because I’m not, once I get into the open field, I’m not too much with making too many cuts. I always feel like the number one priority is getting in the end zone, so I’m going to run as fast as I can until I get to that point. I’m not going to showboat, I’m not going to try to slow down, do whatever the case may be. I’m going to try to get in the end zone as fast as possible. I feel like it’s a 100-meter dash every time I get the ball. That’s my whole mentality.”
Adam Gase – December 7, 2017
Monday, December 7, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(With the first game you played the Patriots, obviously it was two weeks ago, what in that game that you like that you think you can build on? I’m not talking game plan-wise but obviously what did you see from that first matchup that you said okay I like this?) – “I think there were some stretches where we did a good job of executing things to where it either made it very difficult for them offensively or we moved the ball on a few series the way that we were looking to move the ball. We just didn’t do it very consistently. So we’re able to at least pulse really kind of the mistakes we’ve made, and really for us it’s about not duplicating those and not putting ourselves in a bad position, which I thought we’ve done all three times over the last two years where we get behind and it’s the wrong team to get behind as much as we have.”
(Following up on my question. Obviously I’ve talked to you about how difficult it is to play the Patriots because they just pretty much force you to play perfect. Are there any other teams that do that? I know everybody wants to do that but have there been other teams that put pressure on you to play a perfect game and when you do have that pressure, how difficult is it on players?) – “I think anytime you play a team that has – and there’s not a lot of them, not a lot of them left it seems like; the guys are either getting older or they’ve retired – but the guys that have the Hall of Fame quarterbacks, it makes it very hard. New Orleans obviously right now is rolling pretty good. A game, looking back at it, we were playing it well enough defensively and we just didn’t really match it offensively. When you play a team like Green Bay with Aaron (Rodgers), that makes it to where there’s not much room for error. Just being in that division and playing those guys two times and seeing him play when he was younger, it was even tough then. You have to … you can’t give them free possessions and you’ve got to make every one count. You can’t turn the ball over. You can’t have a special teams error to where you’re giving a guy like Tom Brady an extra possession.”
(Your three primetime games prior have been some of your worst performances this season. Can you put a finger on why and have you put any thought into the switching up the game plan going into this fourth one?) – “It’s hard to really put a finger on exactly why. Usually when you’re playing in those games, you’re playing good teams. They’re not going to just have you play anybody. We’ve played some … playing at Baltimore has never been easy and at Carolina, and then we had Oakland here. It was a game where we’re right in the mix and we didn’t do it well enough there at the end of the game on either side of the ball to help us get a win. I’d say two of those games weren’t the kind of performances that we want. The slightest error puts you in a bad place, and really the Baltimore game stands out on its own as we did not play well in any phase. Carolina, we’re right there right at the end of the half and then it just kind of snowballed on us.”
(How were the Patriots able to sack your quarterback seven times when they’re not really a ‘get after the quarterback’ type team?) – “They’re a little bit more difficult than people give them credit for. There’s a reason why they haven’t let up more than 17 points since about the fourth week of the season. They force you to get the ball out quick. We had a couple of protection errors. That really put Matt (Moore) in a bad spot where a few times he thought he was good and all of a sudden somebody came free in his face, whether it was o-line, running back, tight end – we all took our turns – play calling. There were a couple of those in there where I didn’t really give him a good chance and kind of put him in a bad spot. We’ve just got to do a better job of making sure that we handle that up front. They make it difficult because those guys, they do a good job game planning. They find your weakness and they try to maximize using the information they have.”
(How different is prepping for the Patriots without TE Rob Gronkowski?) – “It’s still going to be … It’s always difficult because (Patriots Offensive Coordinator) Josh (McDaniels) will do a good job of using the guys that he has and putting them in different positions and really forcing your defense to try to figure out where everybody is. He even did it last time by moving some of those guys around and showing some looks that our guys … You don’t necessarily see that exact formation and he makes you put stress on your defense that way where it’s just a constant adjustment on the sideline. A lot of times, he doesn’t even go … He won’t go back to it. So, you see it one time and then you’ll never see it again. A lot of times you’ve got one shot to try to make a good play. That’s why he’s really good. That’s why they’ve had a lot of success. They have good players; but at the same time, he puts those guys in really good position.”
(They didn’t play a perfect game against you. Their quarterback got hit a lot. They gave up a touchdown on offense. You had a turnover. So is that good news or bad news, because they scored 35 points?) – “Well, it was bad news because we didn’t come through on the other side of the ball. We turned the ball over when we were down in the red area. We didn’t score touchdowns. We have to … When we get our opportunities, we’ve got to make it count, and we didn’t do it last time, for sure. We didn’t play very good complementary football. All three phases we were just one side of the ball did well, then the other side stalled out. We were kind of hit or miss. To have a chance to win this game in the fourth quarter, we have to be on it in all three phases. If we get a short field, we’ve got to take advantage of it. If we get them backed up, we’ve got to try to hold them back there and flip the field position to our advantage. Until we do that, it’s always going to be difficult against these guys. We need to put one together.”
(I was trying to think of a good RB Kenyan Drake comp. I know you had RB Matt Forte in the past. Are there some similarities there or do you even have a better guy?) – “I don’t really have a good comparison. Him and Matt (Forte), really, they’re two different … I can’t speak to when Matt was younger though. I had him when he was like 30. I think Drake has got him on speed a little bit. I know Matt probably won’t like that. I think the versatility of being able to run the ball both inside, outside and be effective in the passing game is probably really as close as you can get to comparing those two. I think Drake is a unique guy. I’ll never forget before we drafted him, one of the first things out of his mouth was, ‘I’m still allowed to play kickoff, right, if I ever become the starter?’ The fact that that’s kind of his mindset, I love that. That special teams, that’s important to him.”
(When you watch the film of RB Kenyan Drake in that first showcase game, where are the areas that you say, ‘I like this, and this needs to improve?’) – “I think just getting used to being on the same page as the line. I think the more reps he gets, the more he understands when he should press the ball up, where he can help our o-line with some of the holding calls. When you have a guy with his ability to jump laterally and really get guys pulled off of the offensive linemen and they don’t expect you to do certain things, that’s where you have that miscommunication. That’s the good and the bad of having a guy with his ability. It’s really going to be reps of just understanding how much he has to press the heels of the offensive line to help them out and keep them on their blocks. I think over time it’s only going to get better. I thought he did a great job with his ball security this last week. I saw a different guy when he got into traffic, making sure that he protected the ball. You just have to keep growing from that. Any time you have a running back that you can count on down-in and down-out to make sure we have the ball at the end of the series, that’s what you’re looking for.”
(Are you expecting either RB Damien Williams or DT Davon Godchaux to practice today?) – “Damien, I would say he’s not going to practice. Godchaux, we’ll see how it’s going. It’s looking like we should have a chance for him to practice today.”
(Where are you at with the quarterback position right now, with QB Matt Moore, particularly?) – “Matt won’t practice today.”
(Is this looking like a long-term thing with QB Matt Moore?) – “Yes, I have to see how he feels after this week.”
(After this week, you said?) – “Yes, he got banged up pretty good.”
(What has LB Stephone Anthony brought to the table since being active?) – “I think he’s a guy that hasn’t really had a lot of opportunities this year. When you get this late in the season and you’ve got a guy that’s really, pretty much, been fresh and waiting for his opportunity, I think you’re seeing a guy that plays with a lot of energy and he’s played before. He (doesn’t have) that many years in the league, but he’s had a season where he was productive and I think he’s excited to be out there. I think it’s good that we can throw some other bodies out there and see how many times we can put him in a position to make plays. I’ve really been impressed with his overall attitude from the get go. It’s not easy sometimes to come in, and you think you’re going to jump right in and be part of it, and you have to wait around a minute. He never wavered. He just kept grinding.”
(From a speed element or athleticism, is there anything that you see there in LB Stephone Anthony that helps him out?) – “Obviously, he has really good speed laterally and he can cover a lot of ground. I always like a guy with that size that has the athletic ability. He really caused us a lot of problems on our side of the ball when he was on the scout team. He really turned a lot of people’s heads. He’d get his hands on a lot of balls. That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to elevate him and make sure that he was playing on Sundays.”
(With DE Charles Harris, do you feel him pressing at all? You say what he does goes beyond the sack numbers, why aren’t those sacks coming though?) – “I’ve said this before, I never really pay attention to sacks. I always look at pass disruptions. How many times are you hitting the quarterback? How many times are you putting pressure on the quarterback where he has to move off the spot and he has to get rid of the ball sooner than he wants to? As long as he keeps doing that, that’s all that really matters to me. Just keep getting better as a young player. I’ve said it before, he’s seeing a lot of things he’s never seen before, in the run game especially. His job is to get better every week and keep finding ways to just create pressure on the quarterback.”
(So you’re pleased with DE Charles Harris’ rookie year then?) – “Yes. I’m not going to complain about what he’s been doing.”
(I think you guys are averaging 25 points per game at Hard Rock Stadium. Is that all about execution or is there something to the comfort and familiarity of home?) – “Every game is kind of its own story, so it’s hard to really correlate anything when it comes to that. I think our guys have done a good job when we’ve played at home, especially the back half of the season, where we’ve moved the ball a little better. We need to eliminate the turnovers. That’s really the thing that’s holding us back. Some of the penalties really hurt us; but there is something when you don’t have to travel. I’m sure guys’ legs feel a little different, but the good teams always find a way to win, whether it’s at home or on the road.”
(When DT Jordan Phillips is at his best – and it looked like on three or four plays in the last game, he just destroyed someone – What challenges does he pose for the opposing offense?) – “He’s a big, athletic guy that when he’s rolling and he starts building confidence, especially early in the game, he’s a hard guy to block because he feels dominant. He feels unstoppable. I think he really brought a great attitude last week. He was a guy that you heard on the sidelines from the get go – the locker room, during the game, halftime. He’s been feeling it the last few games. I think he’s excited that we’re kind of at that part of the season where it’s do or die. We’ve got to get it going and he’s been a guy that’s stepped up and I think he sees what’s going on where some guys are banged up and he’s got to step up, and he’s done that.”
(The 42-yard touchdown by RB Kenyan Drake, was the kind of more of a freelance type deal where it happened off kind of a broken play or did it happen as designed?) – “When we called that play, I didn’t think he was going to do what he did; but when you call those plays … He knew there was going to be one guy unblocked. We kind of set it up that way and he did a good job of setting that guy up and then making him miss, and then the o-line had the rest of those guys taken care of and gave him a big enough crease to where once he got to that second level, he’s a tough guy to catch.”
(How reasonable is it to expect a big play from RB Kenyan Drake every other game?) – “I don’t think it’s unreasonable. I think it just happens. When you’ve got a guy with that much speed and he has the quickness to make guys miss in the open field, it’s something that you hope to expect, especially as his career goes on; but right now, I don’t want him pushing to try to do that. I want to let the play come to you. I think he’s trying to do that.”
Martin Luther King III and Bill Wachtel – December 7, 2017
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Monday, December 7, 2017
Martin Luther King III and Bill Wachtel
Martin Luther King III:
(Do you have any idea … I saw that everybody on the roster is registered to vote. How many do you think will vote at the next opportunity they have?) – “Well, I don’t know that anyone knows that about any person. The hope is that everyone – America, really – we need to vote, quite frankly. Obviously, we as a nation have a dismal track record. We are No. 138 out of 170 nations – democracies around the world – and 137 countries vote at higher levels than we do. At the end of the day, what our hope is – or my hope personally – is that these players will use their social media platforms to share that it is important to vote and encourage others to vote. That means that more than likely, they themselves will vote.”
(How would you describe the challenge of getting everybody signed up?) – “Let me say this, No. 1: I want to let it be known and say first of all that one of the Miami Dolphins players had begun addressing this issue by trying to encourage his colleagues – his players, his team members – to register to vote over a year ago. That’s Kenny Stills. He certainly should be applauded. When we arrived – the Drum Major Institute, Bill Wachtel, myself and others – the goal was to advance that scenario. Certainly, we believe we did that.”
Bill Wachtel:
“I’d also say that it was a matter of one day at the practice session and every single player was actually not only intrigued by the opportunity but to some degree felt gratified that they were in fact participating in this registration effort. If you ask how difficult it was, it was very easy.”
(What’s next for this program? Is this going to expand to other teams?) – “It has already begun expanding not only to other teams in the NFL but also to the NBA and the other leagues. Martin (Luther King III) has been traveling around the country and Martin might even share with them what happened on Monday. You were out at the L.A. Rams?”
Martin Luther King III:
“Yes, we were at the L.A. Rams training camp and actually, we specifically talked to the rookies. About 18 of the rookies, when I talked about the process of registering to vote, a number of them raised their hand and said ‘We’re registered.’ One of the guys who seems to be in leadership said, when the question was raised, ‘How many of you want to register?’ And he said ‘We’re all going to register.’ This is very positive because I think the climate in this country is sort of dictating, to some degree, that more people be engage. Certainly if athletes and entertainers are engaged, more and more people will want to be engaged because they look at them as role models.”
Bill Wachtel:
(Who are the other teams that you set this goal with?) – “I think that (Director of Player Engagement) Kaleb (Thornhill) or (Senior Vice President of Communications & Community Affairs) Jason (Jenkins) may be able to give you a list but we’re working in conjunction with (Owner) Steve (Ross). Obviously, this is all inspired by Steve Ross. It’s his leadership that has caused this all to happen, and his organization RISE (Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality), has on its board the commissioners of every single sports organization from the PGA to the NFL to the MLB to the NHL, including the USOC (U.S. Olympic Committee). The word is getting out. The word is getting out across all leagues, so hopefully by next year’s national registration date, which I think is September 25th, we’re hoping there is a ground swell of support. (Our) fingers (are) crossed. The fact that September 25th, 2018, that on that day we’ll be able to say that not just the Dolphins are a roster of registered voters but that teams through all leagues (are registered). (Our) fingers (are) crossed.”
(Is this the first team with 100 percent registration?) – “In American history, yes.”
(In the major sports?) – “It’s the first professional sports team in the history of America to have a full roster of registered voters.”
(How do you know that?) – “We know that because we’ve spoken to other teams and because we’ve let it be known that that’s the position we intend to take and no one has suggested otherwise.”
