Jay Cutler – October 15, 2017
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Sunday, October 15, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta Falcons
Dolphins QB Jay Cutler (transcribed by the Atlanta Falcons)
On rallying from down 17 points:
“It’s not easy to do, I can tell you that. It takes defense, and the defense went out there and they played the way they did in the second half. The offensive line did a great job all day. We were rolling a little in the first half but getting ready before halftime, we were kind of shooting ourselves in the foot. We felt confident going into halftime, we felt good about it. We just have to take it one stage at a time.”
On Jarvis Landry:
“He is just a football player. He has a high football IQ, tough as nails, competitor, wants the ball on the play. You know he sees those third and fourth down plays, he going to get a catch and he’s going to get more, he’s going to attack the defense.”
On this game being the win that will turn the season around:
“I mean, I think that the way the defense is playing if we can get a little bit better offensively. If we get it going offensively we will be okay. But we can’t be satisfied with this game. We have to take a look at it, fix our mistakes and we have to move on. This is one big business, we have the Jets coming in and the game was on the line the last time we saw them.”
On the confidence after today’s game:
“Once you go out there and do it, you put up some points, I’m talking about the offensive side. The defense has been solid all year. Offensively, we go out there and say this is an example of how it’s done, this is the feeling you should feel when it happens. You experience and you know it’s not just talk, you can make it happen.”
On one game being more important than another:
“I think that you look back after the season and I don’t think that any season you can have perspective on that. Each game is so difficult to win in this league that you just have to take it one by one. And then after the season you might look back and say, that one was a big one. But I don’t think that at this point in our season, or really anytime throughout the year we can do that.”
On this win feeling different than other wins:
“Yeah, offensively in the second half, we’ve got to get it going. The defense and those guys are playing their tails off, and we have to match their effort, intensity, and focus. If we do that as a whole team, we’re going to win.”
Jay Ajayi – October 15, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 15, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta Falcons
Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi (transcribed by the Atlanta Falcons)
On what the win means:
“It’s a great win for us. With how we have been playing, it was great for us just to finish a game no matter what the obstacles are. We were down early. This week we really put it on ourselves to stay together and not get frustrated no matter what we do as an offense or whether we put points on the board. We didn’t want our emotions to get us out of the game. I think this week offensively we were really able to lock in as well and keep our emotions in check. That was big for us, and we were able to create big plays down the stretch. The defense did the rest.”
On the run game:
“From the start of the whistle, my mindset this game was to be downhill and physical with these guys. We felt like we had a big opportunity in the run game to get a lot of things done. The offensive line did great getting bodies on bodies. After that, it is really about me running with a physical mentality and running downhill trying not to get tackled. We were able to do that early and stay on that pace. Then we like to grind people out in the fourth quarter, and we were able to do that as well.”
On the number of carries despite being down early:
“I always want to be able to be a factor for this team and help us win. Being that workhorse for us, I pride myself on that. It was a clutch time getting crucial first downs in scoring range, and I was glad I was able to help. The offensive line and receivers on the outside did their jobs, and I just run hard.”
On the state of the offense after the first half:
“We knew most of our stuff was self-inflicted. Really this week it was about us keeping our emotions in check and staying together. As we were able to stay united, we were able to start quickly in the second half and keep our foot on the gas.”
On handling adversity during the week:
“That has been our M.O. I think. Whatever it is, however it is, we just find a way to get it done. We have a lot of great personalities on this team that has helped build that culture of challenging and fighting adversity head-on. It was a great game to showcase that, and we did. That’s a great team we just played in the Falcons, so credit to them. But it was exciting for us to rally and really show that we can come together in all phases and close out the game with a win.”
Kenny Stills – October 15, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 15, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta Falcons
Dolphins WR Kenny Stills (transcribed by the Atlanta Falcons)
On how he feels about his team after the win:
“We’re just happy to get a win. We try to take it one week at a time and this week we came out on top.”
On how it felt to score the team’s first touchdown of the game:
“I think it made a spark, we had a couple of good drives in the first half, so to be able to just put some points on the board you could see how the momentum shifted and we were able to take over the game from there.”
On Jay Cutler’s performance thus far:
“Jay’s doing his job, it’s a team sport. For the average fan or person who watches football, it’s easy to blame one person. He’s been doing his job, we just have to do a better job of supporting him and helping him out, and I think we did that today.”
Cameron Wake – October 13, 2017
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Friday, October 13, 2017
Defensive End Cameron Wake
(Does it feel like as you guys are 2-2 right now?) – “Sure. We have a short memory but we know we let a couple of games slip through our fingers. We had a good win last week, but in reality all that stuff is over. I can guarantee the Falcons don’t care whether we’re 4-0, 2-2, 0-4, blah, blah, blah. It’s going to be a nail-biter.”
(Speaking of the Falcons, obviously their offense is very prolific with what they have. What do you guys have to do to slow that down?) – “Just play consistently. That’s the way defense is set up. As an offense, you’re going to have a few bad series and have two good ones and everything kind of evens itself out. Obviously the converse is true for defense. If you have a couple of series and then you let your guard down for a minute, in this league, they have lots of players – whether they be running backs, quarterbacks, receivers, whoever it is, tight ends – that can kind of change the course of the game in one play. You can’t ever let your guard down. You have to (be) locked and cocked every play, and that’s the only way to get it done.”
(A couple of your defensive linemen teammates have said that run defense was a big emphasis in the offseason. We saw that through draft, through free agent acquisitions, but what around here? I mean were there signs in the defensive room or did you spend more time in OTAs?) – “Yes. Well, signs don’t make you a better football player or change your defensive output in any capacity. It’s time, hours, blood, sweat, tears, the age-old mantra. It’s going out on the field and repetitions over and over. It’s being wrong. It’s making mistakes. It’s all the things that we’ve done from April until now and again, I think it’s also, I guess a sense of accountability to know that this is my gap, this is my job – whatever the scenario is – and I have to do this or else the entire team suffers. So all of those things combined I think is what it is. It’d be great to just make some signs and some t-shirts and then all of a sudden your defense changes, but unfortunately that doesn’t work or else I’m sure a lot of stores would be sold out.”
(Speaking of t-shirts. The significance of yours?) – “It that a rhetorical question?”
(Those in Vegas think you are underdogs this week. I think 13 is the line?) – “I don’t concern myself with Vegas.”
(Was it a conscious choice to wear the t-shirt with the particular message on it?) – “Sure. Every shirt I buy is a conscious choice. They all get worn at some point.”
(Are you speaking for yourself or the team there?) – “You all have great ideas, it could be any and all.”
(Nice kicks.) – “Yes, of course. The same classics. You know my story and you know the team’s story. It’s a badge of honor for me. I’ve always been counted out – every opportunity to be counted out, I’ve been counted out, and every opportunity I just keep putting my head down and working. I don’t think the team would be any different. I don’t think the defense would be any different. I’m sure a lot of other people will agree. So, whatever.”
(Is that the kind of feel you have this week, that you are underdogs going up there?) – “No. I just like the shirt. It matches my shoes.”
(Football is a team sport. Guys always talk about offense, defense and special teams. How can the defense help the offense pick up their flow?) – “I think it starts with repetition. It starts on the practice field. Even if it’s getting with a coach or a player, or maybe even the head coach – whatever it may be – offering wisdom. More repetition. ‘Hey listen, let me show you what you didn’t do right on this play.’ Or ‘If I was a player going against you, this is what I see, and what I would try to exploit.’ The same thing on their side. Doing the repetition and losing, and making mistakes and learning from those things. Again, it’s a conscious effort from everybody involved. It’s not just offense. The defense has to help as well because on Sunday there is no, ‘The defense won, the offense lost.’ The Miami Dolphins, either win or lose and you win or lose together. It’s going to take every man. That’s kind of the way to approach it.”
(But even within that, are there times where the defense would get frustrated at the offense or even vice versa? The offense. Do units get frustrated with each other at any point?) – “For me, and I think I can speak for most guys, when you sign up to play defense, you sign up to say it’s a whenever, wherever type of mentality. There’s no real script. I know you probably know this about offense, they come in and they have a play list of things (they’re going to run). ‘My first 15 plays, whatever we’re going to run.’ Defense doesn’t really work that way. The second play of the guy, it could be a turnover and you got the ball on the 6-yard line, goal line. ‘Get out there.’ You’ve got to stop them. You’ve got to get an interception. There’s no predetermined amount of plays or area on the field. It’s ‘here’s the situation, ready, go.’ If you don’t have the mindset that I don’t care where the ball is, I don’t care what you’re doing, I don’t care what happened two plays ago, I’m going to go in here and we’re going to stop the bleeding, we’re going to end the play, we’re going to get a touchdown. How about that? We’re going to score. We’re going to take it to you. If you don’t have that mindset then to me, not only have you already lost but I wouldn’t want you on my side of the ball at all. So to me, there’s no frustration. I accept the minute the ball is put down on the field that I’m going to be victorious, regardless of the situation.”
Adam Gase – October 13, 2017
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Friday, October 13, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Is it safe to say WR DeVante Parker is out for Sunday?) – “No. We’ve got him listed as doubtful. Last year, it looked at a point where we didn’t think he was going to play in that Baltimore game. I never count him out after what he did last year.”
(What have you seen from WR DeVante Parker this season that’s different from past seasons?) – “I think he just has a good rhythm of how to practice, how to prepare, how to get ready. When you’re a bigger guy, sometimes some of these smaller guys can just go out to practice, stretch a little bit and get going. He’s got to get loosened up and really have his body ready to go to really hit full stride there in individual, which that’s what we want. So he spends a little more time pre-practice to be able to play full speed in practice.”
(Last week you had to adjust on the fly with WR DeVante Parker out in the game. Does it help getting WR Leonte Carroo and WR Jakeem Grant a week full of reps?) – “Yes, absolutely. With those two, and you can throw (Kenyan) Drake in there too when Jay (Ajayi) doesn’t practice, just getting those guys as many reps as possible, getting them used to playing with the quarterback, it really helps those guys so much because they don’t feel like when they walk on the field they don’t get a rep in practice and all of a sudden they have to do it in a game. Being able to have as many reps as they’ve had this week is always going to be helpful for them.”
(How do routes change or play calls change when a guy fills in for another guy and he’s eight inches shorter?) – “It’s interesting. There’s some things that you just avoid and then there’s some things that you can still do the same thing. The quarterback’s really got to lower his target. It’s hard to see (Jakeem Grant) sometimes. There’ll be certain routes that we try not to do with him because you get a better feel … If you stand right behind the quarterback and you’re trying to see what he’s seeing, it’s tougher than you think because the line’s a bunch of big guys, a lot of them are extremely tall, and you’re trying to find those throwing lanes and all of the sudden you just see a little flash. It can get difficult sometimes.”
(How did WR Jakeem Grant play last week?) – “He did okay. I think it’s just one of those things where he was in a lot of plays that he’s never actually got a rep (of) before. The smallest mistake can get magnified. I think he learned a valuable lesson. I know he’s studying extremely hard. He does his own, I think him and (Leonte) Carroo go on their own and they almost do their own walk-throughs to go through the plays and talk through what each other would have. They’ve done an outstanding job of being consistent since the spring. Once they got past that first year and realized, ‘Okay, this is what it is to be a pro.’ I think Kenny (Stills) has really been the one that has guided those guys to make sure that they prepare week in and week out, and he really started helping them right after last season ended.”
(How do you reduce the completion percentage of opposing quarterbacks?) – “Try to stay as tight as you can. When you’ve got guys that can fit the ball into tight windows, it makes it very tough and when you do take away those throws, you have to be tight on their (receivers). Basically, I always say, what’s the quarterbacks out, whether it be the running back or the tight end? You’ve just got to try to stay as tight as possible. You’ve got to try to put extreme pressure on them and try to make him get the ball out when he doesn’t want to.”
(Has CB Cordrea Tankersley continued his steady progress since he went into the starting lineup?) – “Yes. He does a great job. He treats every day like a game. You can see a guy that really loves playing football, and it’s been fun to watch him work the last few weeks. I love his attitude. I love the fact that he thought we were all nuts for him not being out there sooner, which you love. I love the fact that (he’s got a) ‘Hey, it’s about time you guys put me in there’ kind of attitude. You talk about getting thrown into the fire, you’re going against Drew Brees and now, all of a sudden, Matt Ryan. It’s not one of those things where you’re playing small schools and then, all of the sudden, you get loosened up for conference play. Every week’s tough.”
(How uncommon was CB Cordrea Tankersley’s reaction to being put into the starting lineup, saying ‘It’s about time?’) – “I think a lot of guys wouldn’t be like that. They’d be like, ‘Okay,’ and just get ready; but he’s confident. That’s one of the things that we really liked about him was he didn’t care what anybody else thought. In his head, he feels like he’s one of the best guys on the field. At the end of the day, that’s what you want.”
(Is it likely that you’ll have the same group of defensive backs active?) – “We’ll have to look at that. We’re going to talk about that again today. We probably won’t make any hardcore decisions until tomorrow night. We’ll see how it kind of plays out for us.”
(On Sunday after the game, you said you scaled back the offense to help the group. Can you elaborate on that a little bit and what went into that decision?) – “Really the last couple weeks, we’ve been trying to figure out what’s worth having in and what’s really not important. Any time you find yourself a little bit out of rhythm or whatever you want to say it is, we haven’t been putting points on the board. We haven’t been playing well on third down. We really wanted to try to focus on things and make sure that we practice them and get multiple reps in practice with it and being able to walk through everything. Really at the end of the day, what we’re trying to do is say, ‘We’re going to give our players the best chance possible in these situations and allow them to execute at a high speed.’ That’s what we’ve been trying to do. We’re trying to find the right formula for this group, because what we did last year is really, at the end of the day, it’s irrelevant. What works with Jay (Cutler) and the group that he’s out there with and the o-line? It is 11 guys that have got to do it together. We’ve just got to keep finding a way to put ourselves in third-and-manageable and see what happens. Right now, we have the same amount of snaps on third-and-11-plus as we do on third-and-1-to-6, that’s not a good thing. We’ve got to flip the script on that.”
(How would you describe S Nate Allen’s performance through four games?) – “I think he has been a solid, solid veteran player for us. He has done exactly what we’ve asked him to do. He has done a good job. I think there has only been one or two times where I felt like where he missed a tackle that I felt like he could’ve made. He has done a great job. The big thing for us is keep everything in front of you and when somebody gets to you, get them down. Give us another chance. He has embraced that role. Any time that you bring in a new player from a different organization or that has been around for a while, you’re always curious to see how he fits in, and he has done a great job of fitting in with the guys and then contributing with really the role we’ve asked him to do.”
(When you look at a guy like Falcons LB Vic Beasley, what type of challenges does he present to your offense?) – “Any time you have a guy that has extreme speed, you have to be very aware of him. And then you throw in the fact that he’s an extreme competitor. You may block him on the initial rush, but he’s going to keep coming. When you play a guy like that, you have to bring your A game, because until the whistle blows – and if you think it’s going to be one of those where you just tie up and you slow down, it’s not going to be like that. He’s not going to quit on the play. He’s going to keep coming. Really at the end of the day, that’s a Dan Quinn coached defense right there, because I’ve been watching it since 2013. It hasn’t changed. It’s something he instills in those guys to where it’s relentless pursuit for the entire game.”
(Most important thing against Falcons WR Julio Jones for those guys who will be covering him?) – “We’ll kind of see how that all plays out as far as what we want to do. I don’t want to give you exactly what we’re doing. There’s going to be multiple guys that are going to have to cover him at some point, because he’s not going to be in one spot, fire a flare and let everybody know where he’s at. Everybody has got to be ready. We’ve got to be great at our leverage. We’ve got to make sure we know where our help is. Guys are just going to have to be very sound in our coverages.”
(How similar of a defense is this to the one Dan Quinn had in Seattle?) – “He has evolved over time. It’s close. The attitude is the same. That’s the sign of a really good coach of somebody that goes from one place to the other. It’s about that swagger, the intensity, the speed they play with. It just carried over, just different guys.”
(Do you think WR Jakeem Grant should’ve caught the ball that Titans CB Adoree’ Jackson broke up?) – “That was a tough one. It looked like he kind of mistimed his jump at little bit. I’ve seen him jump higher than what he did. It was one of those situations where I called it and you’re thinking one thing and it kind of played out a little different than I thought. And then when I saw the ball go up the seam, I was like, ‘This’ll be interesting.’ The ball looked like it came out pretty high. It was a good job. Jay (Cutler) put it in a pretty good spot to where they couldn’t do anything about it. I think if Jakeem times his jump a little different, we might’ve been able to pull that one in.”
Mike Pouncey – October 12, 2017
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Thursday, October 12, 2017
C Mike Pouncey
(Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen said there’s no finger pointing on offense right now. Do you see that?) – “No, no one is pointing fingers. We’re just trying to get it all figured out right now. It’s still early in the football season. We know that we’ve got to get our offense going now. It’s the second quarter of the season. We will. We’ll get it going on Sunday.”
(Is it more mental, because I’ve heard you and some of your teammates say the blocks are mental and some of the routes? Is it mental?) – “Yes, for the most part, the first quarter of the season it was a different guy on a different play. We’re trying to get that figured out now, get it sorted away. It doesn’t matter what coach calls, if 11 guys are doing what they’re supposed to do on that play, then that play is going to be successful. Obviously, we haven’t had that going. We’ve had spurts of it throughout this season, so far; but we’ve got to be more consistent on the offensive side of the ball.”
(QB Jay Cutler said yesterday it’s nothing magical right now that’s going to turn this around. What do you think turns this around?) – “Just going out there and doing what you’ve got to do. No one has to do anything extra than what we ask the person to do. At the end of the day, if you do your job, we’ll win a bunch of football games. That’s our mindset right now is get guys to do what they’re supposed to do on every play.”
(Fixing it during the week is one thing, but what about when you’re in game and the struggles are there. How do you approach it that way?) – “You come in at halftime, you try to figure it out. You sit there, you draw stuff up and figure out what plays worked for us in the first half and try and get back into those plays in the second half. A football game, sometimes you think you’re going to line up the way you practice all week and sometimes they just don’t do that. When we get into games, we’ve got to be able to figure that out. Right now, we’re trying to figure it out.”
(How personal do you take the struggles that the offensive line has had?) – “Big time. I’m one of the guys that’s one of the leaders on the offensive line. (I have) been here the longest out of all the guys. Whenever they talk bad about our offensive line, it reflects on me most, because I’ve been here. I just feel like we’ve been playing well on offense. We’ve just got to figure it out and keep being consistent on the offensive side of the ball and stop going three-and-out.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said there needs to be more of a sense of urgency coming out of the huddle as the clock winds down. Do you see that?) – “Of course. We see the snap count rolling down – or the play clock rolling down – and you just don’t want to be in those situations where you feel like you’re panicking out there. We’ve tried the no-huddle where we just line up on the ball. We just couldn’t get guys lined up right. Now we’re just trying get guys to do what they’re supposed to do each and every play. If we do that, we’ll win a bunch of games. We’ve got a lot of time on the offensive side of the ball.”
(You’re a quarter into the season, how do you feel physically?) – “I feel great. Better than what I expected. I keep rolling, keep going with the plan. 16-plus.”
(Every team obviously deals with adversity throughout the season. Do you think this team has had more on its plate in 4 or 5 weeks than some have in an entire year?) – “No, not really. We just deal with a couple things. As a football player, you come in and you focus on that day, and that’s all you can ask for. When you start worrying about outside stuff is when you start playing bad as a player, as a football team. Right now, we’re just focused on one day at a time, getting better.”
(What has Head Coach Adam Gase done to keep it together?) – “Just be the head coach. Motivate guys. Keep guys wanting to play hard for him.”
(What was your reaction to the events involving Coach Chris Foerster?) – “I was shocked. Chris is a good friend of mine. I hope he gets the help that he needs because he’s a great coach. He was always great to me. He treated me really well. I learned a lot from him in the year and a half we worked together. I just hate to see that he’s going through this.”
(Did you have any inkling that there was anything going on?) – “If I would’ve, we would’ve done something; but no.”
(With Chris Foerster obviously not here, Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen was saying you and G/T Jemon Bushrod are more involved now in overseeing things, along with Assistant Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper and Tight Ends Coach Shane Day. What specifically have you had to do more of this week that you might not do if Chris was still coaching?) – “Honestly, I just come in and be myself, do what I always do. I just motivate guys that want to practice harder, practice better. Obviously, we brought back in my offensive line coach that we had here my rookie year. We feel real comfortable with him. He’s a great coach. He brings a big personality to the offensive line room, something that we need. We’ll be good.”
(So in the room out front, is it Assistant Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper? Is it Senior Offensive Assistant Dave DeGuglielmo? How has it been the last couple of days?) – “Chris is running everything. ‘Gug’ (Dave DeGuglielmo) is there to help out. Me and ‘Bush’ (Jermon Bushrod) are kind of the guys to lead the rest of these guys to get everybody ready to go.”
(So it is going as smoothly as it could possibly happen?) – “Yes, it’s just a regular work day for us. Nothing has changed at all. Guys come in, the same meeting time. Nothing has changed.”
Jay Ajayi – October 12, 2017
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Thursday, October 12, 2017
RB Jay Ajayi
(Head Coach Adam Gase said yesterday in a light-hearted way that there are three hot heads on the team: himself, you and WR Jarvis Landry. How do you maintain your emotions on the sidelines?) – “Just trying to not get frustrated if a play is not executed the right way. We’ve got to keep our emotions in check just so that we can keep the offense rolling.”
(Is that something consciously you’re trying to do?) – “It’s definitely something that I’m working on now. I’m such a passionate player. I play with a lot of emotions, but at the same time, you can’t let those emotions affect the game or the team. Being in a role where we’re counted upon, and I feel like I’m counted upon in my role, I’ve got to just be able to hold my emotions in check sometimes.”
(The fact that the offense has not been able to hit big plays like last year, how is that impacting the running game for example in the way defenses approach you?) – “I think that once we can get those explosive plays, of course it’s going to help the run game. It’s also going to help if we can get explosive plays in the run game, which we haven’t been able to do that much. I just think it comes down to execution. If we can just really line up, do what we need to do, clean up the details, execute and make those big plays, our offense would be able to run a lot smoother.”
Adam Gase – October 12, 2017
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Thursday, October 12, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(With WR DeVante Parker a question for Sunday, last week the thinking going with WR Jakeem Grant for a lot of snaps compared to WR Leonte Carroo? Was it because of what Jakeem showed preseason, practice recently? And how did he do?) – “Looking back at it, I wish I would’ve mixed them both in there a little more. When you have a guy go down and you’ve kind of tailored the game plan to those three guys and all of a sudden you … It’s like the third play of the game. I was trying to go through and fix a lot of the formations. I didn’t want to mess Kenny (Stills) up either, because we had certain things in the game plan for him. We felt like Jakeem gave us as good a chance as Carroo. I probably should’ve just mixed them in there a little more. That probably would’ve helped us.”
(You guys are 10-0 when RB Jay Ajayi has 18 or more carries. Does that number have any significance, and if so, what does it tell you about what’s happening or what could be happening?) – “It’s hard for me to say that’s the only reason. I think it helps when your defense doesn’t allow a team to move the ball and special teams plays well. If we have a high amount of carries, there’s probably good reason behind it. We’re either ahead and we’re trying to finish the game out by running the football or things were going really well that day. I don’t know if that’s the only thing that correlates to winning and losing. If it was, it’d make it a lot easier.”
(Last year the success was run game, play action, big play. This year, no big play. What has happened to the passing game where that has just been non-existent?) – “Just kind of our opportunities have come up a couple times, whether it be something that hasn’t gone right. Even this last game, we had a couple shots and called them at the wrong time. They brought a pressure one time to where Jay (Cutler) couldn’t break the pocket and tried to get it to Jarvis (Landry). We’ve got Kenny (Stills) running down the field by himself but there’s nothing he can do about it. He basically had no laces and tried to throw the ball as well as he could on that one. The opportunities we’ve had, we hit a couple in that first game; but ever since then, we really haven’t been able to get too many guys downfield.”
(As talented as WR Jarvis Landry, WR Kenny Stills, WR DeVante Parker – as talented as those guys are and it’s ideal to have them on the field at the same time – are you seeing a little bit of a difference in the run game when you’re able to get more tight ends in the game as well?) – “It has been hit or miss for us. You go through everything and you’re looking gun, under center, how’s your play-action game, with personnel groupings, all of those type of things. Every game has been such a different story of what has been successful for us. Really, at the end of the day for us, it’s all about not having negative plays. When we have second-and-12 and we’re leading into third-and-7-plus, that’s what hurts us more than anything. Those are hard down and distances to convert. That’s why the league average is what it is when it comes to (third and) 6 to 9 (yards) being 25 percent or whatever and (third and) 10-plus being 10 percent. We’ve got to put ourselves in third-and-2-to-5. That gives us a chance. If we can do that and have success there … We just haven’t had a lot of opportunities.”
(RB Jay Ajayi only has three carries of 9 yards or more on 76 tries. Is it actually more important that he eliminate or lessen the runs for loss? Is that actually a bigger point of emphasis?) – “That’s an ideal situation. The less negative plays you have, the better. That’s what puts us behind the sticks. Obviously, we have some work to do on third down. I’ll give up some of the big, big plays for the consistency of positive plays and putting ourselves in third-and-manageable.”
(We hear from coaches so many times – you, others – over the years, ‘Don’t turn a bad play into a catastrophe.’ So, even though the optics – which you wouldn’t care about in this case – of QB Jay Cutler just throwing the ball away several times per game it seemed, even though that doesn’t look good, is that what you want him to do?) – “Yes. If you would’ve known what happened on a couple of those plays … We had a couple opportunities and we didn’t execute certain things. He did the right thing. What he did when he threw the ball away, he was right. When things happen unexpectedly, when your eyes start to go somewhere, and there’s nobody there, it doesn’t give you a lot of options.”
(Are defenses playing you any differently as the season has gone on, because of the lack of big plays?) – “I think last game was … What we’re seeing is what we’re getting really early. It just seems to be different with what a lot of teams have done in the past. What we’ve seen on film, we’re not necessarily getting that all the time. So we’re making in-game adjustments quite a bit. I think teams are kind of testing us to see if we’re going to start to be able to get the run game going. We saw a little bit more of the middle-field open. That was a good defensive front, which I can understand. You’ve got DeVante (Parker) and Kenny (Stills) outside, you don’t always want to go middle field closed and load up the box and let those guys test it out and see if this is going to be the game they break out. Coach (Dick) LeBeau did a great job as far as mixing it up and calling some pressures at the right time and playing a lot of middle-field open. It surprised us a little bit, and then we adjusted and started making some hay there towards the end of the game.”
(Is it fair to say that time of possession will be a huge stat this week’s game, because you want to keep that offense off the field?) – “It probably wouldn’t hurt us. I know that. Points will probably help us. That’ll probably be something that would be very nice to have against an offense that you know can get hot at any moment. If we do a good job of controlling the big plays from them and then finding ways for us to consistently move the ball, stay third-and-manageable, get in the red zone, score points, that’ll give us a good shot.”
(I was interested in something you said last week about QB Jay Cutler learning to play as a 34-year-old quarterback instead of playing like he’s 25. I know you have experience with him and other players in that regard. So, what’s the difficult thing … That seems like a challenge for all athletes: learning to play at your age at this point. So, what’s the process for working with him on it?) – “I think the biggest thing you try to get used to is in the past, he has been able to hop left, be off balance and throw the ball across the field and the ball would get there with good velocity. The older you get, the more you have to be able to set your feet, get aligned, make sure you’re using your entire body, because your arm eventually doesn’t give you the juice that you did five years ago, six years ago. Sometimes it’s that reminder of, ‘I have to do a good job mechanically – set my feet – to throw an accurate ball with good velocity.’ It just doesn’t happen like it used to. When he sets his feet and he’s aligned, that ball comes in there pretty good. He had some really good throws that we just didn’t come up with. The one he threw to the sideline and Jarvis (Landry) … That thing was moving. When I see him do that, and he’s able to set his feet and be in the right alignment, he has made some really good throws.”
(Players usually don’t want to believe – or maybe don’t believe – coaches when they tell them – not just in football, but in all sports – when you tell them that this isn’t there anymore. Did you have to show him … ‘You have to understand your new reality?’) – “No, not really. We’ve talked about it. The throws that he has made in those positions, not a lot of guys could make them to begin with. Most guys actually do have to set their feet to throw the ball. He does have like a freak gift of being able to really put some juice on the ball. It’s still there. It’s just not always going to come out as clean as he wanted. It’ll be a little inconsistent. That’s just kind of the reality of getting old.”
(I have a question for you about the play clock. So, I’m hoping you can teach me something. Is it really that big of a deal when you guys snap the ball with 1 or 2 seconds left? What’s lost doing that as opposed to snapping it at 10 or 12 seconds?) – “It’s just mixing it up for the defense … Some guys will watch the play clock – defensive ends. And when that clock gets down to 3, 2, 1, they try to time it up to where they know it’s either we’re snapping it or it’s a delay of game, so they just go. There are some guys that are special that are able to do that. It causes some problems. You can vary when you’re snapping the ball. I think that always makes it tough on the defense. You can kind of tempo it up sometimes. You can slow it down. You don’t want to be the same every time.”
(If you got up there at like 12 seconds, then there’s a little more guesswork for the defensive ends than if you’re getting up there late in the clock. They know it’s coming?) – “The faster you can get out of the huddle, the more things you can do – shifts, motions, cadence. You’ve got more options. You’re able to see a defense, you might be able to check out of something. The closer you get to 0, now you’re limiting what you can do.”
(So, was it better in your opinion this past week than it had been?) – “I still think we have a long ways to go. We’re not doing a good enough job of getting back to the huddle, getting in the huddle, getting our substitutions in there, getting the play call, getting to the line of scrimmage. We’re too slow. It’s something that we’ve really made a big point of emphasis on of just being better in little, tiny details of huddle mechanics, getting to the line of scrimmage, not walking around, come out of the huddle with a little sense of urgency. I know our guys, they’re working on it. They’re very aware of that’s something that we need to improve on.”
(Are you surprised at all with the number of veteran players you have on this offense – obviously, you have some young offensive lineman – that the no-huddle wasn’t more effective with this group, and is it still in the back of your mind?) – “When you do it, it just can’t be like two or three guys. It has got to be the entire group. All it takes is one guy that doesn’t know what to do and now you’re going to get thrown off.”
(You talk a lot about just that, a handful of guys every play do something wrong? Is it focus, is it attention? What is it?) – “That’s always a question that no matter what year it is, you’re always trying to figure out … There’s always something that goes on that you’re trying to fix. This is a sport everybody is trying to be perfect and the reality is it’s tough to do. You’re always trying to fight to get to that point where your execution is flawless. That needs to be your mindset. You’re always going to try and figure out, ‘Where’s my weak links? Who’s struggling with what and why are they struggling?’ That’s really the biggest thing you’re trying to get answered is why are we having problems with certain things. To me, it goes back to we have to do a great job of communicating and then the players have to do a great job of executing on the field; but it does take some extra time. What you do in the building, it’s not going to be, ‘Hey, I got it.’ Because once you think you’ve got it, you’re probably in trouble. Our guys are trying to do more. They’re trying to make sure, ‘Okay, I’m clean on third downs. I’m clean on red area. I have a really good sense of everything going on. If something else comes up, and I have to adjust, that’s a whole different animal you’re dealing with.’ So I think the guys are putting in the work. I noticed it, especially yesterday in practice. I felt like our focus was good. Our sense of urgency was good. We’re giving ourselves a chance to really compete on Sunday.”
(How many incompleted balls did you count as catchable from the last game?) – “I think we said we have five drops. They were big plays; and then we probably had a couple busts that were we’re talking about those throwaways. There was one in particular that we felt like would’ve been a big play that we busted on.”
