Jay Ajayi – October 20, 2017
Download PDF version
Friday, October 20, 2017
RB Jay Ajayi
(The last time you guys played the Jets, it obviously didn’t go according to plan. What do you guys have to do this time, especially against that defense that’s very opportunistic?) – “Come out stronger, start fast from the first quarter, really execute and really just set the tone early.”
(We know it was a game that you were very disappointed in, just the way the offense was flowing. What has changed since then for you as well?) – “Just mindset – not getting frustrated too easy; and ust staying with it. We showed what we can do in the run game last week against a good team, so hopefully we can just carry it over this week.”
(Speaking of frustration, does it ever get frustrating at times when you guys are here focused on football, focused on the Jets, but it always seems like something else on the outside is bringing you guys into focus? Does it ever get frustrating?) – “Not really. We have a team. We don’t really get too worried about the outside noise. We just lock in when we come inside this building, come inside these walls, and just focus on each other getting better every day.”
(Have the Thursdays off that you’ve gotten, have they helped? Have you seen an improvement because of that rest you’ve gotten?) – “Yes, it’s been good to be able to have a coach that allows me to get a rest day during the week, just with the pounding of a long season. It’s been good. I feel like I’ve been fresh for games and I’ve been able to feel good on Sundays.”
(Do you feel better at this point in the season than you did last year?) – “Yes, I feel just about the same.”
(In terms of the pass catching, you’ve worked so much on it in the offseason, why is it not translating to the game?) – “I think it’s translating. I just think this last game, just (my) eyes, just making sure I get my head around on that one route and then just keeping my eyes to the ball. (I) just (want) to keep it going this season, staying consistent.”
(What’s up with the grill?) – “I’ve always had a grill. I’m just wearing it today.”
Clyde Christensen – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(How difficult was life without WR DeVante Parker last week and how do you anticipate moving forward this week?) – “We still just keep holding out hope. He’s had some Lazarus experiences out there where he’s showed up at the last second from the dead, so we still keep hoping. We’re so used to it now. I’m not saying that to be cute, we’re just used to it. People fill in and you go and we get a big play out of ‘19’ (Jakeem Grant) and so that’s just the way it is. I think the whole league, but certainly Miami, we kind of thrive on that stuff. It’s harder without him. It’s harder without him but guys fill in and go, and we’re kind of built for that, so that’s a plus.”
(Is your tight end package more evolution based on life without WR DeVante Parker or was that just game plan?) – “It was just game plan. Yes, it was just game plan, because we really didn’t know we wouldn’t have DeVante until the end of the week and kind of the same thing (this week), who knows. But it was just part of the game plan and its part of trying to get (Anthony) Fasano in there a little bit more, trying to change up the personnel groups a little bit. We knew on the road that we’re going to have to close the edges a little bit and run the ball, so all the above right there.”
(How do you explain all the dropped passes?) – “I don’t have one. I do know this, that you just keep trucking. We make an awful lot of one-handed catches and great catches too, and they’re going to balance out. You just keep drilling it and you keep emphasizing it and Jay (Ajayi) had a couple of them that I know he’d love to have back. With him, it’s kind of an issue that he doesn’t practice every single day, so he probably needs the extra reps in the passing game, but when you get him in there you want to get your runs called. I think he just gets more and more. He’s still a million miles ahead of a year and a half ago when we first got here, receiving wise – I’m talking about (Jay) Ajayi – but he’s not where we want him to be. He’s getting there. He works hard at it and then sometimes when they’re working on his knee and he has to rest that thing a little bit, then he doesn’t get that extra work. That’s where it takes a toll. I don’t see it as epidemic, maybe; but I do see it as a factor. We’ve got to make those plays and it’s not as much just dropping easy balls, it’s not making big plays. You just need big plays. You need someone to make a big catch. We need to catch the deep one to Julius (Thomas). We need to run that down and hook that thing up. We need to pull one off our shoelaces on that slant that can go for 40 (yards) or we’ve got to throw the ball better or something; but somebody – they’re kind of 50/50 deals where somebody has to make a play. We just keep emphasizing it. We keep emphasizing it and just keep working. I do think, again, it sounds like an excuse and it’s not, but just the more Jay (Cutler) gets comfortable with these guys and they get comfortable with Jay, I think it’ll make it easier. We make everything hard. We do everything the hard way for some reason and so hopefully that’s going to translate. We’re going to get better and better gradually at it and make some of those plays.”
(What did you like most about what C Jake Brendel do?) – “I liked Brendel because he jumped in there and went without a hiccup. I thought he played really well. I think he’d probably tell you he wants … There’s three plays maybe that come to my mind, that really weren’t hard plays and he would make them; but overall, (it was a) really solid performance. I think it was you’re in the bullpen, you warm up, (Mike) Pouncey was kind of fighting through that thing and so you’re kind of up, you’re down, you’re up, you’re down, then you’re in there. Then you’ve got the rest of the game and it’s not … For a center, that’s the hardest ballpark to go into because it’s on the road, it’s indoors, it’s noisy. For him to go in and us not to miss a beat, us not have to change anything was big, and I thought he really played well. It was really encouraging and I think he would have played great if you took three plays that he’s going to make this week if he gets another chance.”
(The improved play of the offensive line, was it anything you guys did minor that we didn’t see to clean things up or was it them playing better?) – “I don’t think so. I think we just played better. I think we blocked better, we got off the ball better, we ran better. We did everything better. So I didn’t see anything. I do think you saw some, a little bit of variation in the run game, some gap schemes and a couple of little change ups in there that may have given us a lift. They weren’t perfect but they maybe gave us a little bit of a lift there, just to give them a couple of looks they hadn’t seen, and Coach Gase did a good job mixing them in there. I think all of the above right there.”
(After the last Jets game, I think the first thing Head Coach Adam Gase said was, he said “They just beat the blank out of us.” What need to change? What needs to be different?) – “A really, really easy question. We have to be as physical as them. When we leave the field, we have to have out-physicaled them. They know it. We know it. Players know it. (It was) really, really obvious that they got after us physically. They were underneath us. They got their pads under our pads and we’ve got to play with better leverage and we’ve got to match their intensity physically and it’s going to be a physical ball game. Then we’ve got to make those plays. We were one-of-15 on third and fourth down. You don’t get many chances, you don’t get a chance to wear them down, you don’t get a chance for them to have to stay on the field a little bit, which is all helpful. We were dismal on third and fourth down and that leads to a lot of problems. That keeps them fresh, they’re not on the field very long, etc., etc., etc. But the bottom line is they did out-physical us in the ball game and that can’t happen.”
(You have no experience at all with QB Jay Cutler prior to this season correct?) – “That’s right.”
(So have you found QB Jay Cutler him to be interesting to work with based on the image that he might have had coming in and the reputation? Or what have you enjoyed about coaching him?) – “Really, Coach Gase and (Quarterbacks) Coach (Bo) Hardegree handle him the most. They have an experience with him so I’m not in there a bunch with him. I don’t know him great, but I think probably it has been fun, because you hear or you just watch … I had what you guys had – just what people said and then watching him on TV. I’ve found him to be really pleasant. He’s fit in. He’s got a humility to him and I think he just goes to work. He just works. I’ve enjoyed that about him and I think he’s improving. You love a guy who’s retired and just missed … He wants to play football. I appreciate that about a guy, that he wants to play football and he comes off the couch and catches a plane and everything we’ve asked him to do, he does. That’s probably the most impressive thing about him. And I think a calmness. A guy like him who misses all that stuff, right? You can could get really anxious and tight and all of those things and that’s not been the case with him. He’s been relaxed and he just keeps grinding in some tough situations.”
(We’ve seen WR Jarvis Landry get touchdowns in the last two games. Up until then, what have you seen from the way teams defend him in the red zone. Is it any different from other receivers for example?) – “I don’t think so. I think, again, we just have so few trips to the red zone. Again, it was a number of snaps, it was a number of trips. I think we were the lowest number by far of trips to the red zone. I think when we have gotten down there, he’s been extremely productive. We’ve just got to get down there more, which happened in Atlanta. Then all of a sudden you have a chance to dial up, right? Coach Gase has his little section on the game plan that he wants to get to and we have to get him to the red zone so he can use them. That happened in the game (last week) and (Landry’s) extremely productive. He has a gigantic catch radius. He can catch it with one hand, two hands, whatever he needs to do, and that makes him really dangerous down there, because all you need to do is find an open hand, stick it there and he is going to have a chance to catch it. He’s an extremely good red zone receiver and we’ve just got to get down there and get more chances to throw it to him.”
(Do you craft two different game plans? One with WR Devante Parker and one without him?) – “Not really. We really just game plan it. The trouble for us is just personnel-ing it up for Jakeem (Grant) to know, ‘Hey, if he plays and I may be in (three wide), I may be at Z. And if he doesn’t play, I may be at X.’ I think it does cause some cross training of those guys, but I don’t think it’s as much game planning as it is harder on the wide outs, it’s harder on the tight ends. ‘Where am I going to be lined up in this game?’ All of a sudden (Parker) shows up, he makes a miraculous recover, he’s in the ball game and bang, now all of the personnel groups … Something that maybe you practiced out of a different way when you were the left receiver, now you’re at the slot on the right. I think it’s more of that, and it kind of falls on Jarvis (Landry) and Kenny (Stills) to get us lined up correctly. That’s where the pressure really comes, almost more than the call sheet or dialing them up for Coach Gase. I think you make your plans without him. If you get him, he’s a bonus; but you can’t afford to base a ton on him and then all of a sudden he doesn’t play. I think you kind of make your game plan without him and if he shows up, great. Then we’ll adjust from there. We’ll find some ways to give him a couple of shots and then he’ll just fit into the game plan.”
(You had so much more success in 12 personnel and 13 personnel in the run game) – “Yes, I don’t know. I don’t know that. I don’t know. It’s just kind of week to week and something gets going. There’s probably no explanation for it. We do it a lot. We’re doing it a lot. I don’t really have an explanation for you on that. I didn’t see anything that jumped out. We’ll mix it up again. I think some of it is just the mixing it up. We got in (three tight ends). We threw the three tight ends in there a little bit and I think that gives you a different surface and closes some edges. That’s part of it. I think the change up, and I think again – I always say this to you guys – the more snaps you get, the more variation you give them, and the more they don’t get into a rhythm and you do get into a rhythm, and you can show some different stuff. That’s what I thought Coach Gase did a great job of in the Atlanta game is just mixing it up. It is three wide (receivers), then it is two wide (receivers), then it is three tight ends. He was kind of in and out of his stuff and it was because in the second half, we converted some third downs. You got extra snaps. That’s big. That’s really, really big.”
Adam Gase – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Do you recall how long it was after Vance Joseph left for Denver that you had a commitment in your mind that Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke could be the coordinator? Was there a formal interview type session with him?) – “When I hired him with Vance, that was kind of the plan. That was the main reason why we wanted to make sure we had him, because we knew what direction we were going to head. I really felt like Vance was only going to be here a year. So we wanted to get the system in place and then we didn’t want to change it, so we wanted to make sure we had somebody that knew that system that could step up and really just take it over.”
(How have you seen Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke put his stamp on this defense?) – “I think what he did was he took last year’s stuff … We kind of … We narrowed it down from what it was last year. We figured we were probably doing too much. Vance (Joseph) was trying to really figure out what was best for us. That’s what’s tough about that first year, it’s a little trial by error. I think this year coming in, Matt had a better feel for what our players did well and he could lean on that. That’s what he did. So far it has been … Everything has been going good. It’s all going to be about staying healthy at this point.”
(With the offense, obviously you guys rushed for 30 yards against the Jets the last time you played them, but they’re a team that’s struggling against run. What was the factor there outside of physicality?) – “Really, statistically – if that’s what you’re looking at – then yes. Statistically it’s not ideal for a defense. But really, it’s one run per game that gets them every once in a while. Somebody will pop a long one. It’s tough if that’s what you’re counting on. If there are 30 runs, the 29 other ones are not making a lot of hay. They’re tough to run against, because the front is stout, the linebackers are tackling well. They’re getting through there and making plays and then those safeties are doing a great job of getting guys down. That’s what makes it tough. It’s going to be about how well do we stay on our blocks? How physical are we at the point of attack? That’s really what it’s going to come down to for us.”
(Do you mention the last game against the Jets when you talk to your players?) – “No. We just do our normal scouting stuff. That’s what it was. We’re moving on from that. We can’t worry about what happened last time. We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do this time.”
(Do you have examples of how your nickel defense is different with LB Lawrence Timmons in there than previous plays or things you can do now?) – “The guy is … The guy is a really good player. I just know that wherever the ball is, he’s not far behind it. He’s got great instincts. He’s a really good tackler. He’s extremely effective when he does tackle because he squares guys up and he goes through them. He does a pretty good job in coverage. Every once in a while he’ll have one or two where he’ll kind of make the wrong decisions; but a lot of times he’s taking a chance of making a play. Really at that position, between him and Kiko (Alonso), when those guys do take a chance, I trust them that a majority of time they’re going to be right.”
(We noticed DE Andre Branch did not practice. I didn’t know if he finished the last game or what was up there?) – “I think it’s just something that came up after the game. That happens every once in a while where guys get through the game and then they come in for that run the next day to get that flush, do a workout and have a short run. Sometimes guys don’t quite feel right. Sometimes it even happens a day after that. We’re just going to be smart, keep an eye on him, make sure that we’re getting these guys to Sundays. We’re at that point right now where we’ve got to make sure we’re smart with Cam (Wake), we’re smart with (Ndamukong) Suh, because when those guys practice, they go hard. There’s not a half speed element to them. The same thing with Branch. We just need to be smart with these guys and do what’s right. Obviously we’ve got two games in a short period of time. There’s an element of understanding what 16 straight (games), what you’ve got to do.”
(When it comes to physical, aggressive play, how do your two young cornerbacks rate?) – “I think they’re up there. I like the way they play. I like the way they tackle. I like the way they try to get hands on receivers at the line of scrimmage. Right now, ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) is playing extremely well. He’s playing extremely confident. He’s talking a lot, which is great. I love it. ‘Tank’ (Cordrea Tankersley) is not short of confidence either. I do think the fact that those two guys are aggressive and mix it up in the run game is really helpful for us, because it’s eliminating big plays. I think the rest of those guys – linebackers and d-lineman – when they see those guys come up and tackle, that’s a big plus for us.”
(CB Xavien Howard’s ankle making progress?) – “We’ll see. It’s day to day. I don’t go down there and like feel it and check it out and stuff. (laughter)”
(With DE Andre Branch, it does sound like you’re optimistic. Was it more precautionary yesterday?) – “We’ll see. I always wait until the next day to see, ‘Did it calm down? Is it worse?’ We can say what we want when we come in, in the morning, but until guys go out there and start practicing, you just never know.”
(We’ve talked to all the coordinators and they’ve all said that the Jets were more physical than we were. When you have that sort of challenge, do you present it to the team and say, “These are the clips that show that they were more physical than us?”) – “It comes up when you’re going through your game plan and you’re showing guys what’s relatable to what you’re trying to do that week. It’s right there on tape as far as when that comes up on cutups or if that comes up on something that we’re preparing for in a situation, where we didn’t do a very god job in that game. We didn’t protect well, we didn’t run the ball well. Defensively, we were in good shape. A couple of things that didn’t quite go the way we wanted it to; but offensively, we were nonexistent. Really, for us, we’ve got to take what we’ve done the last game and a drive and try to replicate that to where we get positive plays and be more physical at the point of attack. Sometimes we’ve got to get downhill and actually grind out some yards.”
(Do you need to remind them at all how critical last year those division games were to get you into the playoffs?) – “You don’t have to remind anybody around here about how critical every week is. It’s pretty clear.”
Darren Rizzi – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(Your take on the punt that wasn’t a punt by Atlanta at the end. What did you see on that play?) – “It’s kind of like we’ve talked about before with our field goal block, I think our punt block/return team has also done a good job of pressuring opposing punters. Not only have we put that on film, I think once we got into the game, we had a couple of earlier really good rushes up the middle there, in the A gaps on the long snapper. Terrence Fede, to give him credit, has really, on both of those units – both the punt rush and the field goal rush units – has done a really good job and has put some really good stuff out there on film. So I know when our opponents are preparing for us, they’re, no doubt, they’re finding where he is. I think what happened on that particular play is we lined Terrence up in the A gap and I think their long snapper, earlier on, had a little trouble blocking Chase Allen on another A-gap rush. I think he kind of noticed where Terrence was and then I really think he tried to get out of there too early. He didn’t really extend and follow through with the snap and he just tried to short arm it and it slipped a little bit. Obviously, the result was not a good snap. I think you can see clearly on film, that he’s trying to get out to Terrence quickly, and I certainly think that affected the play. No doubt.”
(So you don’t think it hit anybody? The stat sheet said it hit the up-back, for example.) – “No, it did not. Initially, from the sideline … What happens sometimes with the long snappers, when they try to get out super early, they hit themselves with the ball. I’ve seen that happen before where a guy hits his own leg or his butt with the ball. I thought that’s what happened. I thought he tried to get out super early, he tried to jump back and nicked his leg or his butt on the way back. After reviewing it on film from the back angle, he didn’t hit anybody. It didn’t hit the up-back; it didn’t hit anybody. It was fourth-and-19, so I really don’t think they were running a fake there. A couple people have asked me that. Clearly on film, to me, he’s just trying to get out. Terrence is a presence there and he just tried to get out early, and obviously it was a huge play in the game.”
(How’s the kickoff and punt return game going for you guys?) – “We’re close. Last week we had one assignment bust on our first return of the game. Then the second one, looking at it really, really close, we’re really one guy off to having a really big play there. The return game is funny. You can have five or six games in a row where it’s going great, five or six games in a row where it takes a little bit of a dip. I’m not overly concerned. I think we’re really, really close. I told our guys watching the film, we’d all love our stats to be a little bit better right now in that department, but we’re really, really close. The guys are working hard. I’ll give our (opposing) punters credit. In the games against New Orleans and Tennessee, in particular, those punters had unbelievable days, our opposing punters. They painted the sideline, so sometimes punt return (has) a tough day there when the punters are punting that well; but I think we’re close. I think we’re really, really on the verge of having a big play there, so we’ve just got to keep working at it.”
(In years past, a big stumbling block for this team to make the playoffs have been games in the division. Buffalo for a while seemed like the one team that would keep you out. What is it about these division games and even if you look on paper and you wonder, ‘Hey, are these teams equal?’ The games area always seemingly close or they don’t go your way?) – “I think with any division games, it’s a really common opponent. Just like in any sport and any level, if you have a common opponent, the teams know each other a little bit better, the personnel’s a little bit better. It’s like last week we, played an NFC team. We played the Falcons. I’m harping on our guys (to) learn the personnel, know the matchups, because these are guys you don’t play very often. You get in division games, we’re playing these guys – when you include all of them – we’re playing six of our 16 games. It’s a common opponent, there’s a lot of carryover. I think the teams know each other very well in the division, so I think that’s why, not just in our division but in most divisions, you find out these division games end up being a lot closer and end up being really good games. I think that’s a big part of it. Obviously the rivalry and all of that stuff goes into it. These division games are obviously very, very important when you stack them up at the end of the year in terms of postseason and things like that, so there’s a little bit more, certainly, in these division games, no question about it.”
(What did you learn about that yourselves in that first Jets game?) – “It was our second game of the year. I think we’re a completely different team. I think you’ve got to take each game on an individual basis. That’s why in the NFL, the worst thing you can do is score comparisons in any games with any teams. I think we’ve grown a lot since then. We’ve had a lot of young players that have played a lot of plays. We obviously didn’t execute that game. That was the bottom line. We didn’t execute very well doing certain things. We’ve learned a lot from the tape and from these last few games that we’ve played, so I think we’re a different team from that. Even though it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago, I think we’ve grown a lot as a team.”
(You said the worst thing you can do is score comparisons?) – “Yes, I think the worst thing you can do…”
(Just because you don’t know? Teams change so much from one month to the next?) – “Yes. The general fan would say, ‘That team beat that team 27-20 so you should.’ That’s the worst thing you could do. Every game is an individual event. I think the worst thing you can do is start looking at scores like ‘that game was that score and that game was that score, so this game’s probably going to be that score.’ There’s a million examples you can give of how that doesn’t work out, so I just think it’s a bad way to look at it in terms of score comparisons.”
(How often do you notice a Buffalo, for example, in September, turns out to be a different Buffalo team in November? Like the Jets for example a month later could be…) – “Very common. A lot of things happen. You grow as a team or you go the other way as a team. Injuries obviously factor in, the bottom of your roster changes. All of those things are going to change. A team that’s Team A in the beginning of the year in September, as far as November, December goes, it could be completely different.”
(WR Rashawn Scott is back practicing. What is his special teams participation? And really among the backup three receivers, we know
WR Jakeem Grant has a role, but really WR Leonte Carroo and Scott, what is there special teams participation?) – “So obviously Rashawn just got back yesterday and so we threw him right back into the mix with everything that he was doing. Hopefully, he’ll pick up where he left off, but based on what he did last year, he gave us some good special teams plays and obviously was active for the playoff game. We felt like last year he was a core contributor. Like I said, yesterday was his first practice back. As far as his skill set and what he’s done in the past, we’re hoping here through the next – I think he’s allowed to practice for three weeks or whatever the rule is – hopefully we can get him back and caught up to speed. Those reserve receivers, special teams is obviously a very important role for those guys. Carroo obviously played a lot more offense last week because DeVante (Parker) was inactive, so that obviously plays into it. That’s obviously a week-to-week thing, but Carroo, Rashawn Scott, anybody that’s going to be in that fourth, fifth receiver spot, their special teams value is going to be very important. Rashawn obviously proved last year that he can do it.”
(You mentioned DE Terrence Fede earlier. How would you describe his evolution as a special teamer and how valuable is he to that unit?) – “His evolution has been – I don’t know what the right word to use is but it’s been huge because here’s a guy that played 1-AA football and had never really played special teams before, and as a defensive lineman, he’s matured in a lot of ways. He’s matured mentally, matured physically. He’s certainly improved in the special teams area big time. I thought he really did a nice job this offseason between OTAs, training camp, the preseason games, and now he’s carrying it over to the regular season. I was a big fan of his and a big supporter of him making the team and all of that because of the way he’d been playing. Now, he’s carrying that over into these games. He’s been a factor for us. I think he’s played close to 100 plays in five games in the special teams area, and so there’s a lot of different things he can do. He’s a valuable guy. His size, his speed, his strength, all of those things. When he first got here, he was more of a raw athlete that hadn’t really done it. I think he’s fine-tuned his game in a lot of different ways. I mentioned the rush game before. He’s part of our punt protection. We’ve run him down on kickoffs before. He’s on the back end on kickoff return. There’s a lot of different things, a lot of different jobs that he’s been able to grow into.”
(CB Alterraun Verner, what does he do on special teams? I’ve only noticed him on kickoff cover.) – “AV’s been a kickoff cover guy. He’s actually been out there as well on punt return as a jammer working on their gunners. Not every time, but he’s been out there certain times. He’s a reserve gunner. Right now Walt (Aikens) and (Kenyan) Drake are our starting gunners, but he works into that role at practice. He’s also a backup on our field goal block as an edge guy. He’s Bobby (McCain’s) backup as an edge guy. So he’s done all of that and it is stuff he’s done in his career as well.”
Matt Burke – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(Do you mind going over your three rookie defensive linemen and how you think each of them has played one by one – DE Charles Harris, DT Davon Godchaux and DT Vincen Taylor) – “No, I wouldn’t (mind). I think on the edge, Charles has done a good job for us. Honestly, it was kind of a big play on that first little flip they tried (last week). You see his athletic ability, for a guy like that to be able to sit his weight down and re-direct. Again, when he has rush opportunities, he’s been better kind of the last few weeks of getting chances and getting closer when he has his opportunities hitting the edge. I’m happy where he is in terms of his speed starting to show up and he’s getting closer and closer. When he’s had a chance or two, he’s gotten there. I’m happy there. Both of those tackles have done a really good job. They’re both just hard-nosed, tough kids that if you stick them in there … I said this the other day, it was funny. We started one of the series and all three of them were out there at one point. I was joking with ‘T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams), I was like, ‘Man, you’ve got three rookies. What are you doing to me?’ But I honestly don’t think about it. That, to me, shows the progress of those kids. I don’t know when Godchaux is out there or Vincent or whoever. It’s just we’re playing our calls. Both of them have done a really good job in the run game. They’re stout. They take pride in it. Godchaux is probably one of the best on the team at holding double teams. He’s just a squared off safe. He’s like an old-school safe. He just holds in there and hangs and doesn’t get moved. Vincent has a little bit more wiggle to him. He gets on edges a little bit more and can do some stuff in that sense. So a little bit different approach, there’s a little bit different technique the way they do it, but their mentality and their approach has both been kind of identical, so it’s been cool to see.”
(Regarding DE Cameron Wake, we know about the on-the-field relentless motor and off the field, the diet; but what are other reasons that, at his age, he’s playing at such a high level?) – “I don’t know. If I had that secret, I’d make a lot of money I think. (laughter) I don’t know. He’s a unique, unique talent. It’s always hard to say ‘Do what Cam does.’ Obviously you want to tell everybody to do that. You’ve got Charles (Harris) and young guys and you’re like ‘Man, just do what he does.’ But some of that stuff, I don’t know if you can. I think just the way that he prepares. When he shows up on game day, it’s like a lot of our veteran guys. He does it day in and day out. He does it every day at practice. He’s into it; it’s important to him, just the type of person he is. I don’t know if there is a secret formula. I’ve been around some guys like that. That’s why he’s playing the way he is. He’s a unique, special human being and with special talent. I don’t know. There’s not many molded like that.”
(We’re five games in. If people were to identify your imprint on this defense, what would you want that to be?) – “I don’t know. I’m just trying to put the guys in a good position to make plays. I think the guys have bought into the big picture of what we’re trying to do and being physical and being relentless and attention to detail and all of the stuff we’re doing. For me personally, I try to make a point on all of those things of why we’re doing what we’re doing and every play is important; every play matters and every technique matters. I think the focus has been really heightened and I’m happy to see that those guys are kind of feeding into that. Every practice rep counts. Every walkthrough (counts). We just came off the walkthrough field and they’re really dialed in. I don’t know that it’s necessarily me, but it’s been good to see that those guys are sort of focused. I preach a lot of just everything matters – every play, every rep in practice, every little technique we do, it all matters. Those guys are kind of buying into (it). The whole group is really kind of feeding off each other and if one little thing is wrong, they’re all over-correcting it and getting better. Hopefully we continue to just keep getting better and keep going that path.”
(Do you think they can possibly get a little bit overconfident now that people are talking about them being one of the best defenses in the NFL?) – “I don’t know who is talking about that, but nobody is reading anything in our room. No, absolutely not. There’s always stuff to get better at. We’ve definitely not played our best game by far, which is good. We always say it’s better to coach off a win and coach the mistakes. We made plenty of mistakes last week. It was a great win and a great effort, but there’s a lot of work to be done and those guys, I haven’t seen one sniff of those guys believing anything else.”
(Outside of turnovers, where else can you guys improve?) – “It’s everything. We gave up more explosive (plays) last week than we had in a while. We missed tackles last week that we hadn’t in the last couple of weeks. Again, just perfecting those crafts and getting better, continuing to tighten up in the passing game. All of those things. There’s a lot. There is plenty of work to be done across the board.”
(Does CB Xavien Howard have enough talent to be one of those sort of lock-down, shut down, shadow, matchup WR Julio Jones guys?) – “We feel he’s a pretty good player, yes. We feel he’s got that talent. He’s still a young player. I think physically he’s got all of the tools … in terms of his growth and development and learning and experience and playing some things and seeing some different things, we feel pretty confident in his abilities for sure.”
(On the long touchdown pass last week, just so I know, was that a one-on-one just got beat by speed or was it that play was actually designed to have safety help?) – “It was a little bit of a combination to be honest with you. I was thinking that it was a first down about the 40-yard line and I was thinking pass. I was thinking they might try to take a shot there. I kind of put … They had a nice play call. They kind of bought our help. (Xavien Howard’s) got to be on a little bit if I had a better call, we would have had a little bit of help there for him. They had a nice scheme for that play. They kind of caught us on that one, so it was kind of a little combination of both to be honest with you.”
(I think what the reporter was asking earlier is that Boomer Esiason said this week that you guys have a “championship defense.”) – “I’m just trying to win a ball game guys. (laughter) Look, I don’t hear that stuff. I really don’t. God bless you guys. I’m sure you’re all really good at what you do but I don’t read any of your stuff. (laughter) We don’t think like that. It’s one game at a time. These guys beat us pretty good last game so we’re not looking past anybody. We’re not thinking about defensive stats or championships or any of that crap. We’re trying to win a ball game and we’re going to do whatever it takes this week to do that. I don’t think that’s even crept into any of our guys’ minds.”
(How does the nickel defense change with LB Lawrence Timmons in there now as compared to the last time you played the Jets?) – “Again, he’s a guy that can run and hit and cover and overlap some zones. He allows us … He’s a versatile player. He allows us to pressure a little bit with him. He’s a good blitzer; but he’s also a guy that can, again, when we play some vision defenses and zone defenses, he can overlap and run and hit and tackle when throws are made, and those sort of things. He allows us to do a lot of different things.”
(Last year, you were more aware than anybody that you were putting together the linebacker room with bandages and Band-Aids. It wasn’t always the guys you really needed out there. Is that a resolved issue now? Is that group that you have on the field now, is that a group that you see as the solution?) – “Those are our starters today, yes. (laughter) You can’t account for injuries or anything else going on. We feel comfortable with the guys who are playing for us right now. We’ve kind of jelled a little bit and had some success there but, just like every other group, we’re getting the other guys ready. We’ve seen it (happen). I did experience it last year where we had to go through and move guys around and plug guys in at different roles. We feel good about our depth there too, to be honest with you. Mike Hull’s got some playing experience and Chase (Allen) has and Steph (Anthony) has been kind of getting into it a little bit and we’re getting him going. Sure, you feel good about the first snap of the game, having three linebackers that have played; but after that, who knows what’s going to happen. We’re happy with the way they’ve played but we’re getting all of those guys ready to go for whatever comes down the road.”
(What kind of season is DT Ndamukong Suh having?) – “He’s been great. He’s been really good. Really good, I don’t know if I can expound upon that. (laughter) Honestly again, he’s been really good and in-tune to what we’re doing. He’s been really giving a lot of feedback on the sidelines on game days. I come over to those guys a lot and what he’s seeing and guys like him and Cam (Wake), that have a lot of experience playing, and what they’re getting in protection and what they’re seeing in the run game. He offers suggestions. He’s been really good helping me with ‘Hey man, this is what’s going on. I think we can hit them with this or what if we did this.’ He’s really receptive to me telling him the same thing. ‘Hey man, I need to move you over here to do this.’ We’ve been trying to flip him around a little bit and take the target off him a little bit more than maybe we even did last year. I think he’s responded to that. We’re trying to keep a moving target on him so they can’t just hone in on where he’s lining up. I think he’s responded with some success there. He’s doing really well.”
(What have you seen in DT Ndamukong Suh’s evolution as sort of a leader or a teammate?) – “It’s funny. I’ve obviously known him for 10 years now or whatever it’s been. We drafted him in Detroit. I think just any time a guy like that matures and again, his experience. Probably the biggest thing I’ve seen is how he’s been with the young guys, really taking those two rookie tackles and even Jordan (Phillips) under his wing. Probably more than I’ve ever seen him, (he’s) really trying to help those guys. I think he sort of sees where he is in his career and (thinks) ‘another way I can help is to keep my legacy going with some of these guys and help them become good players.’ He’s been really, really, really good with the other tackles and even the ends and stuff, in terms of helping being another coach out there for us.”
(When you see an offense in their run game that can vary things up and have versatility as far as whether they go gap-scheme, power or zone, how is that beneficial to an offense? How can you combat that?) – “I mean obviously any time an offense can run multiple schemes, it helps them. I truly believe we’re at a point defensively that we’ve seen all that too, so I feel like we’re pretty multiple on defense. We have answers to combat whatever we’re seeing. If you go and game plan what you’re expecting to see and then things change in the first series, you’ve got to adapt. I think our guys have done a really good job of just being ready for all of that stuff. We’ve seen it all. We practice everything, every sort of scheme, over the week and again, we have some things that we can dictate what we’re doing on defense. I feel like we can match up with any run scheme that we have, to be honest with you. Some teams are better at it than others. Some teams do different things. Some teams philosophy is this is what we do. We’re going to run these three runs and that’s all we’re going to run, and we’re just going to be really good at it. Some teams are like we’re just going to throw a bunch of different stuff at you and try to keep you off-balance. But I feel like our guys have really taken to it and we’ve seen it all. We’ve just got to be able to adapt on the fly to what we’re seeing.”
Jarvis Landry – October 19, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, October 19, 2017
WR Jarvis Landry
(On playing the Jets this week) – “I look forward to everybody; but this is another opportunity for us to come out here, especially after the performance that we had the first time we played these guys, and put something better on tape and come out of here with a W. That’s the only mindset we really have approaching this game.”
(What difference do you see from this offense that faced the Jets the last time? You’re about to play them this Sunday, considering the game you guys came off of against Atlanta.) – “We just continue to make plays and for us, that’s going to allow us to have an opportunity to create some momentum. Hopefully we can get into some of the things that we’re hoping to see and execute. It’s up to us. It’s always been about us.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase made a point this week about how, as a group, you all have dropped the most amount of catchable balls. These are obviously good receivers that take pride in their work. How hard are you on yourselves when that happens? Do you go out and catch even extra balls?) – “I don’t know.”
(Divisional games, how much do you get up for playing the Jets, Bills, or Patriots?) – “Same as everybody. We don’t take anybody lightly and the approach is the same way, no matter who we’re playing against. Divisional games, obviously, we know the crowd’s going to be into it a little bit more; but we’ve got to have the same intensity, the same passion, the motivation that we approach every game with.”
(How much chatter has there been among the players about the last time you guys played the Jets and payback and making up for that performance?) – “The first time we played them they got after us pretty good. For us, it was something that we kind of got hit in the mouth and looked at ourselves after that game and then bounced back and got another one, got a W. (We’re) trying to create some momentum and coming into this game now, it’s trying to continue that – continue making plays on the offense, complement the defense, the special teams playing together as a team. That’s going to allow us to have an opportunity to win this game.”
(You talked about getting hit in the mouth. Is that something you can see when reviewing film? Is that something that you see in the tape room when you’re going over that game?) – “Let me re-phrase that. I guess ‘Hit in the mouth’ was the wrong thing, but I think we did a lot of things in that game that didn’t allow us to be set up for success. We were behind the sticks a lot, we had a lot of penalties and we really couldn’t get a chance to get in the red zone to have an opportunity to score. I think we threw an interception in the red zone on one of those drives, as well. I think we shot ourselves in the foot, so I’ll rephrase that one.”
(On the touchdown last week, it was obviously a really creative play with you going in motion and then reversing. Had that been in the playbook going back to last year? Have you been antsy for that play to come out and be used?) – “Yes, I was excited every time (Head Coach Adam Gase) puts that one in. Sometimes it gets called in the red zone, sometimes it doesn’t; but I was excited when he put it back in. It was in last year. It’s one of those plays that you’ve got to tip your hat to coach for designing and we made it work.”
(Is that something that you can’t use for a while now that it’s on film?) – “You never know. We’re going to just put it in the bag and we might find a way to hide it and bring it back out again.”
(Were you surprised at all about how wide open you were?) – “No. Literally, I’m telling you, every time we ran that play, it’s been wide open just like that. I was excited when he called it. I tried not to drop it. That was the hardest part.”
(What makes it so hard for a defense to stop that play?) – “It’s going to be tough. There’s a lot of options on that play and every week we do something a little bit different with a different guy depending on the defense and how they play in the red zone. You never really know who’s going to pop out from somewhere or how it’ll happen.”
(Is there a little bit of extra pressure catching a ball when no one is around you, when you’re wide open just because it’s just you?) – “Yes, and the touchdown right there too. That is the toughest one. Coach talks about it all of the time, ‘Make sure you look it in. See the ball first, then score the touchdown.’”
(Word association. I say New York Jets, you think what?) – “Who?”
(Word association. I say New York Jets, what do you think? What’s the first thing that comes to your mind?) – “I just said it. (laughter) I mean look, this has been a rivalry game for a long time and I’m excited to be a part of it and be on this side of it. We look forward to it. It’s a division game and, for us, we want to continue to make our way of taking over the division and really setting the tone inside of the division as well. To have played these guys twice, being the first team in our division that we’ve played twice this soon, we look forward to evening it out, 1-1.”
Ndamukong Suh – October 18, 2017
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(You have a business background. Would you recommend investing in the Dolphins at this point?) – “Investing in the Dolphins? Yes, because I’m on the team. (laughter) I’m not sure what you mean by that.“
(Is the stock rising?) – “Is the stock rising? Who knows. It’s too early to tell.”
(The last time you played the Jets, they seemed to control the tempo of the game. What do you look at that you think you guys need to do different this time around?) – “I think they did a good job of keeping it the way they like to play the game, which is obviously close. I actually don’t remember what the score was, but I believe it was close for the most part. We gave up (20) points, or something of that nature. Regardless, I think they like a tight game. It gives them the opportunity to control the game from a running the ball standpoint. Obviously, (they’re) methodical moving down the field where they have short passes, run game, play action, every now and then take big shots. We understand from a defensive perspective that we want to get them off-kilter and shut that down.”
(How much different do you think the unit is this time around? You have three new starters. The defense seems to be on the right…) – “Three new starters on our side?”
(Yes.) – “I think we understand what we have as a particular group. We understand what they want to do against us. They’ve obviously got some new twists. We have film on six or seven games of them now, so there’s some new twists that they’ve thrown out there that we’ve seen. I actually see a little bit of what we saw last week in the stretch game, so we’ve got our hands full for sure. ”
(Are the Jets an example of why it’s pointless to try and look at your schedule and say, “This team will be this and this team will be that?”) – “I would never do that anyway.”
(I know you wouldn’t.) – “Because the NFL is the NFL. Every team is good on any particular day – any particular Sunday, Monday or Thursday – so at the end of the day, you’ve got to respect each and every player and each and every team in this league. ”
(You do your work in the trenches. How has the footing been at Hard Rock Stadium last time you played there and in the preseason?) – “I think the preseason we struggled a little bit; but at the end of the day, I’ve seen all different kinds of conditions and as a professional you have to be able to adjust and adapt. I think (Equipment Manager) Joe Cimino and his staff do a great job allowing us to be prepared at any point and situation, so I wouldn’t say it’s an issue from my standpoint and let alone, our team’s.”
(Did you have to change out cleats at all, or anything like that?) – “Well, I’m a guy that understands, I’m pretty much good in molds. I did actually play in screw-ins when I was in London, just because that was my third time there and that field is a little bit different. Obviously, they’re playing a lot more games on it, so it wasn’t going to be as clean as it was in previous years. I took out the need for any worries. If I changed anything, it would be the length of my screw-ins; but most of the time I’m good in my molds.”
(What do you like about this defense?) – “What do I like? I think the fact that we’re learning how to execute and being able to be consistent to some extent. We’re not perfect. I don’t think we’ll ever be perfect, but we’re going to continue to strive to get there. I think the biggest thing is that, compared to probably years in the past where we weren’t fully built in understanding what we needed to get done, I think as we’ve grown, and gotten older, and obviously added some new pieces, people understand where they need to go and how to be successful.”
(How would you assess the impact that DE William Hayes has had on this defense?) – “I think Will Hayes has had a tremendous impact on this defense, especially in the run game. I don’t find it surprising because I’ve watched his film, but some other people may find it surprising that he’s a great pass rusher as well. He’s known (as) a run stopper, but he can, without question, pass rush.”
(Yesterday, three of the players on this team WR Kenny Stills, TE Julius Thomas, S Michael Thomas went to New York and were part of the meetings with the commissioner on social issues. Did they report back to the rest of the roster today?) – “I knew that was going on, but in regards to reporting back to us today, today’s our normal Wednesday and we’re focused on football. Obviously it’s something that’s important that I believe in and understand needs to be spoken about and addressed; but as we understand, when we come in these doors – I think I’ve said this in regards to Hurricane Irma and situations we’ve had to deal with on an everyday basis – when we’re in this building we focus on what we have to do and then outside of that, we take care of our business from there. ”
(Head Coach Adam Gase talked last week about how fired up WR Jarvis Landry and RB Jay Ajayi get on the offense. Who gets the most fired up on the defense?) – “(laughter) I’m definitely not the guy; but I would say probably Cam (Wake) is one of those big guys that speaks. (He’s) very vocal. He obviously brings our defensive and offensive line groups together before the game; but at any point in time, I think anybody feels that they can have that opportunity. I’m not sure if we have, outside of Cam – he’s really the main one that I think of that’s really super vocal from that standpoint.”
(So would you describe yourself more as a lead by example kind of guy?) – “Yes, I’d say for sure lead by example or more of a one-on-one conversation. Every now and then I’ll pull the group together, understanding the situation; but I’m not much of a rah-rah guy.”
(DT Jordan Phillips was talking, coming into the season, about wanting making some changes and change the course his career had been on, be more consistent, things like that. Have you – I know he’s been hurt – but have you seen some things, maybe even going back to August, behind the scenes that maybe show a different approach from him this year?) – “I think Jordan understands what he needs to do and he will continue to progress in that manner. I’ve been around him. He’s obviously trained with me before in the past, as well as this past offseason. It’s been tough for him of recent, just because of his injury and what’s taken place from that standpoint; but I think he’s in the right path and the right mindset, more or less, than anything.”
(Right mindset. Specifically, what do you mean by that?) – “A man focused on what he needs to do and get focused on where he needs to be. I think understanding, just like all of the other guys, asking questions, talking about the game and (I’ve been) seeing from that mindset, he’s grown from being a rookie, where he’s just focused on what he needs to get done.”
(You’ve got three really experienced linebackers, at the moment, playing behind you. Does that change what you do yourself in any way, and if so, how?) – “It’s a tough question because each and every guy is a little bit different. They’ve grown up in their own particular way. Obviously, (Lawrence) Timmons has been in the Steelers way of doing things, which is a little bit different than how we look at things. Kiko (Alonso) obviously has been on a handful of different teams, with Buffalo and Philly, and then Rey (Maualuga) obviously with Cincinnati for the majority of his career. So I would say, I wouldn’t change my game. I think playing off of each other is a little bit different. We have to understand how I like to play, how they like to play, and vice versa. It’s a combination of just understanding who’s behind you and how they fit, and really understanding where our defense is, plain and simple; and how we want to look at things. I know we talk about ways of cheating and finding ways to get in, and funny enough, I talked about this earlier today in practice with ‘Coach T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) in a particular play that the Jets like to run. There’s different ways that when you have experience, you can get further in depth with those things, without question.”
Jay Cutler – October 18, 2017
Download PDF version
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(The last time you guys played the Jets, it seemed like your identity was a little bit different, that you guys were thinking you were going to be an up-tempo, high-scoring offense. Now it seems like you’re a defense-led team is that accurate?) – “You are who you are. What we put on tape is kind of who we are. That’s how it has been the last four or five games.”
(Do you mind that or is this a case that it’s all about winning?) – “You try to win games, but at the same point, you try to get better. Offensively, we’re trying to get better. Defensively, they’re trying to get better. We’re all working for the same goal.”
(It may be an unfair rap, but some say you don’t show enough emotion at times. You did not lack in emotion on Sunday. Was that something that was surprising to yourself that you got caught in the moment like that, because you were pretty fiery out there?) – “No, it has been on tape before. It’s not the first time. I try to stay as calm as possible for these guys, but there are going to become points throughout the season where you go the opposite way.”
(Was there a point in your career where you made a conscious decision that, “I need to stay level headed to be successful?”) – “No. I think as you get older you just kind of see things a little bit differently. You experience a lot that this league has to offer. The highs aren’t as high and the lows probably aren’t as low. You’ve just got to try to stay even and realize that it’s a long season, and you’re going to hit a lot of speed bumps along the way.”
(On the first down to WR Jarvis Landry, the impact of that play on the game was what to you?) – “We’ve got some talented football players in there. We’ve got some guys that have a lot of pride in what they’re doing. It’s very, very important to them, and he’s one of them. He’s a prime example. He wants the ball. He wants to make plays. He’s going to do anything possible for this team to win.”
(You’ve said before that you’re not far away sometimes. You got in a little groove in the third quarter as an offense. Do you think that might be a sign of things to come? Did you seen anything specific?) – “It could; but we’re going against a tough defense. These guys handed it to us last time. That game we just had, it’s in the rearview. We’ve got to keep concentrating on what we’re doing. We’re worrying about the Jets now. We’ll try to build on it, but at the same point, we’re got to turn the page.”
(Why was this offense able to score 20 points without C Mike Pouncey or WR DeVante Parker out there?) – “We did what we were supposed to do. We had a long drive there to open the half. The defense was giving us really good field position there and we executed the plays. I thought (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) did a great job of dialing stuff up in the second half, keeping them unbalanced on defense. We made some big plays, too.”
(Do you allow yourself to look around what’s going on the league? It seems like there’s a lot of teams basically 3-2, 3-3.) – “There’s a lot of parity. There are some teams that go out and blow it up one week and the next week they struggle. I think that’s more and more so the life in the NFL. Defenses are really good. They show a lot of different looks and make it as hard as possible on quarterbacks.”
(The last home game that you played – you the Dolphins – fans were kind of chanting against you. I’m wondering if that even crossed your mind after that afternoon ended because now you’re going back to that same place.) – “We won the game. We won this past week. We’ll be fine. If they want to chant, they can chant. We’ve got to give them a better product on offense to root for.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase talked about Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles being very creative on defense. What did the Jets do last time in particular that made it difficult?) – “You get in third-and-longs like we had against them and you’re going to be an uphill battle. They kind of blitzed us early – a lot of walk around, edge blitzes. I think they used their personnel really, really well, and it caused us some fits; and then from that point on, we were kind of uphill. I think we stayed in a lot of third-and-longs at that point. We’ve just got to stay manageable on first and second down and give ourselves a chance at a run-pass on third down.”
(I know everybody makes mistakes. You’ve had maybe 10 dropped passes the last two weeks – both victories. Frustrating for you as a quarterback? How do you deal with that?) – “You’ve just got to go to the next play and just encourage these guys. I think we’ve got guys with really good hands that can make plays for us. Whether it’s lack of concentration or me putting the ball in a little bit different place for them, it’ll come. We’ll clean that stuff up along the way. If dropped passes are our biggest concern, I feel pretty good about that.”
(Do you ever talk to guys after things like that or do you kind of just leave them alone?) – “Most of the time I leave them alone. I might encourage them or something on the sideline. I don’t want these guys … They know when they mess up. They’re pros. I want them to move on and concentrate on the next play as fast as possible.”
(You’ve been here for about two months now. Have you seen any of South Florida aside from inside this building?) – “Nothing south of the stadium. That’s as far south as I’ve been. As far north as I’ve been, is about Sunrise (Boulevard), that street. That’s about as far north as I’ve been. It’s really this corridor east to west is my…”
(Have you made it east at all? Have you gone to the beach yet?) – “I live over there, that way. So I see it occasionally in the mornings when I’m coming in, if the sun is coming up.”
