Cody Parkey – September 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 17, 2017
Postgame – Los Angeles Chargers
Dolphins K Cody Parkey (transcribed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
On kick difficulty with wind:
“The wind wasn’t too bad. It’s a smaller stadium and I think in the bigger stadiums it can sometimes swirl, so it wasn’t too bad. There was a little wind, but it wasn’t an issue. The weather in L.A. is pretty good, so I wasn’t complaining at all.”
On making game winning kicks:
“I’ve hit game winners, I’ve missed game winners, but I want to go ahead and say that [Chargers K Younghoe] Koo is a phenomenal kicker. He should just keep swinging. That’s all he has to do is keep swinging, keep trotting along and his time will come, but it is definitely good to be on this side.”
On what this win means for the team:
“It’s huge. We’re 1-0. That’s what we talked about doing. We have 16 straight [games]. Hopefully we just keep it going. There’s going to be some ups and downs, but we have to just keep riding the train and just keep going.”
Reshad Jones – September 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 17, 2017
Postgame – Los Angeles Chargers
Dolphins S Reshad Jones (transcribed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
On how he felt today:
“I felt great. I feel even better now with the win. I feel good.”
On Chargers QB Philip Rivers passing against the defense:
“I think he knew we had a strong front seven. He was just trying to get his ball out of his hands as quick as possible. We have to look at the film to see what we need to improve on. I think from the backhand standpoint we have to do a better job of getting our hands on the guys and not letting them get down the field.”
On the potential of getting sixteen wins:
“It’s a tough week to win and it’s going to be like that every Sunday. I think the guys in the locker room know that. We just have to keep fighting. Like I said, it’s going to be tough every Sunday. It’s a tough week to win.”
On the team calling timeout at the end:
“I got surprised a little bit. I got confused because I know they had one more timeout, so I was wondering where did the timeout come from.”
On what getting back to football means to South Florida:
“I think it means a lot to all of the hurricane victims that were affected by the hurricane. I think it means a lot to the city of Miami for us to go out, show resilience and win this game.”
Mike Hull – September 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 17, 2017
Postgame – Los Angeles Chargers
Dolphins LB Mike Hull (transcribed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
On the team’s performance:
“It was good to get out here and get a win, especially in that fashion. For me, it’s just trying to step in and do my job in a different situation, especially after the hurricane and everything that’s going on.”
On the hurricane:
“Week One bye-week. It was just crazy with the hurricane and being displaced in LA all week. We are not going to make an excuses. We are going to come out here and do our job and get it done every week.”
On the Los Angeles Chargers missing the field goal:
“Pure joy and relief. It’s been a long couple of weeks. It was great to get out here and get a win in the fashion that we did. It just goes to show that you can never be too sure about anything. You have to play until the last whistle.”
Jay Cutler – September 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 17, 2017
Postgame – Los Angeles Chargers
Dolphins QB Jay Cutler (transcribed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
On the Dolphins’ first win:
“It was eventful. The first half we kind of sputtered around a bit, shot ourselves in the foot. We have to find ways to get those guys going a little bit early. We made enough plays to win. It is hard to win in this league, so we will take it any way we can get it.”
On RB Jay Ajayi:
“I will tell you what: I think I have the best seat in the house. He is fun to watch. I mean breaking tackles and spinning. I think he has enough speed to get to the edge. He is a heck of a back and I am glad he is on our team.”
On WR Jarvis Landry and WR DeVante Parker:
“I think Jarvis got a lot of balls in the first half. We wanted to mix it up and get some balls to other guys. We wanted to spread the field a little bit because we were working Jarvis there in the middle. DeVante, since I have been here, every time I throw it up, it’s either a catch or a completion. That is what we like. [Dolphins WR] Kenny [Stills] made a big play. He got matched up with a linebacker, ran the ball well and it was a heck of a kick there at the end.”
On the offensive performance:
“We just have to clean a few things up, but we are right there at the edge of blowing the doors off. We have a lot of talent. I think that is one of the things we have to work through is being able to distribute the ball to everybody and keep everyone happy. That is a good thing.”
On his performance:
“I think I have done that a few times in the last month, or however long I spent. I am enjoying the fact that I am playing football. These guys, the locker room is contagious. It is a good group of guys. Young, enthusiastic, and they make me feel young. They are passionate and at the end of the game when the kick is missed, it is always fun to win the NFL, but this locker room is a little bit different. It is special.”
On the team’s toughness:
“There is definitely an edge to this team. It is a very young team. I mean we sprinkled in some veterans, but I mean it is a young team. You know even if we make mistakes or if something happens, this team does not get down. We bounce right back. They know that they are good football players. I think they lean on that. It is fun to play with these guys.”
On field vision:
“I thought it was good. There was one down the red zone that I wish I had back. I moved left, moved to the right, but I thought I moved well and made some plays on the edge. We did good going into scramble mode. We did exactly what we wanted to do. We made some big plays and continued some drives, so it was good.”
On the touchdown to WR Kenny Stills:
“I was waiting for him. He was matched on a linebacker, so it was just a matter of time for him to use his speed and get across. The whole line just collapsed and there was an opening that came up. I just wanted to buy some time and give Kenny [Stills] a little bit more time to get across. It was a good play called by [Dolphins Head Coach] Adam [Gase] and we executed well.”
Andre Branch – September 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 17, 2017
Postgame – Los Angeles Chargers
Dolphins DE Andre Branch (transcribed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
On the team’s performance:
“I know it was very important for us to bounce back. We had an early bye-week, which is untraditional. At the same time, we knew we had to come in here and get a win. That’s what we worked for and that’s what we got.”
On the close margin of victory:
“We have been here before. This is not our first time being down in the fourth. We are a team that is going to fight until the very end and it showed right there.”
On improving each week:
“I have to watch the film. We have a lot of new pieces. At the end of the day, we always just want to get better each and every day. We need to watch the film and correct what we have to correct and just go from there.”
On winning the game:
“Our offense put us in a position to win the game. [Dolphins K Cody] Parkey made an amazing field goal. It was up to us to stop them and we got it done.”
Jay Ajayi – September 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 17, 2017
Postgame – Los Angeles Chargers
Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi (transcribed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
On what the win means to the team:
“I think it’s huge for us to come out here even through all the adversity that we had to go through the past couple of weeks and just put out a performance. At the end of the day, we were able to get the win. It shows how resilient our team is. We were able to fight through some mistakes early and still end up winning the game. With toughness, grit and just relying on each other, we were able to pull it out. That is what these couple of weeks have been about, relying on each other as a team together.”
On what this win means to the people in Florida:
“I think they are probably very happy about it, just to have something to look forward to for the season. For us to get the first win, even with all of the craziness that has happened with the schedule, to start off with the first win is always great.”
On the last field goal try:
“I didn’t look. I wasn’t watching.”
On the toughest part of this week:
“The toughest part is just our routine. Everything was just out of order. Everyone was coming from different places just to get to California. We all just ended up meeting up here and just tried to get our game plan and our practices in. It’s a crazy schedule and we were still able to come out today and get the win. It’s just a great feeling for all of us.”
On his improvement from last season:
“Through this offseason and preseason I really pushed myself to be great and just work on my consistency to be that guy and increase my role on this team. I think that I was taking the right steps. The offensive line was doing a great job today being physical and I think that’s what we needed today to be physical and keep us in the game. At the end of the game we were able to get just enough to be able to put us in good field goal range and [Dolphins K Cody] Parkey hit it. After that, it was good.”
Adam Gase – September 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 17, 2017
Postgame – Los Angeles Chargers
Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
On going for the field goal and K Cody Parkey:
“I was trying to make sure they didn’t make a big play there. The guys did a good job on a play that I didn’t anticipate them playing. I wish I would’ve had a different call on but the guys did a good job of trying to get to work. We just didn’t get as much as we wanted to.”
On QB Jay Cutler:
“He was really good with the ball today. I thought he made good decisions. I was off calling plays. I wasn’t as clean for him as I thought I would be. I think I slowed him up a little bit.”
On WR DeVante Parker:
“He has a lot of faith in him, obviously. I think we were short on one and DeVante took it right off of the guy’s head. We had a couple other plays that were right there that he had a chance to make. When we have something interesting brewing with that group, we have three guys that are different types of receivers and they all have some strengths and they are all different strengths. We just keep working through that to see what we can create out of that.”
On winning this season compared to last season:
“We have a core group. The same guys we had last year and when it gets tight in the fourth quarter they just think they’re going to win. They don’t have any doubt and the energy on the sideline is awesome. You can feel it. Those guys believe good things will happen for us.”
On play calling against Chargers defense:
“That first drive was what we were looking to do. After that we just kept stalling. I was like one call off I felt like. I was not giving us the right play at the right time. I was calling a couple bad plays on certain coverages or blitzes. There are a few things I have to get cleaned up on my end. I thought those guys did a pretty good job of executing. They were trying to do what we wanted them to do.”
On the reason for the absence of LB Lawrence Timmons:
“That was a coach’s decision. I’ll be ready to talk about that tomorrow.”
On the performance of the offensive line and Ajayi:
“Anytime you have Jay back there, if you can get the guys to cover up he’s going to hit it hard enough to where if you graze him that’s not going to bring him down. He runs hard. He gives everything he has on every play. He’s been practicing like that through spring and training camp and it hasn’t changed. We saw him today. We saw what happens when he gets just a little bit of a crease. We did a few things that we didn’t really do last year and we did a good job. He executed the schemes well and used his ability to make more.”
On Cutler making big plays:
“For whatever reason he always seems to get one of these big guys and likes to throw it up. He made the right decisions at the right time. I felt like the one scramble he threw up and we ended up having a big play in the game. He made the right decisions there.”
On the helmet decal ‘One Florida’:
“It was one thing brought up and I think all three teams were willing to do that. Just us being out here we’re watching it on television. We are not there. [Dolphins DE Cameron] Cam [Wake] talked to the guys. He was back there and talked about some of the things that he saw and hearing some of the interviews that he saw around our area about the positive attitude that people in that area have. They’re just happy to be safe and have their families with them and not so much worried about material things. I thought that was a great thing for him to talk about last night. There’s more than just material type things. It’s about your family, it’s about us sticking together and trying to go out, play hard and win for each other and the South Florida fans.”
On pocket mobility:
“I think we tried everything. We did a lot of things that we’ve been working on since the spring. It kind of fits us. I thought we did a really nice job on a couple of plays and the touchdown plays were thrown really good from the pocket. He [Cutler] has a good feeling. He can break away sometimes from poor looks. You call a play hoping for one thing and it doesn’t look as good and then he creates something out of nothing.”
On the plan today:
“We had a number of plans. We’re trying to play guys to see what fits best and we’re going to keep evaluating and just see what really works for us.”
On WR Jarvis Landry:
When we go in, we really try to divide it up a bit and really try to spread the ball out. We try to get all positions to the ball. As the game goes on they start playing different coverages. Today was one of those games where the ball kept finding him. He keeps running his routes hard and good things happen.”
Cameron Wake – September 15, 2017
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Friday, September 15, 2017
DE Cameron Wake
(How ready are you for game day?) – “This is now the longest training camp we’ve had in … Not Dolphins history – maybe, I don’t know; you’ve got to check that – but, it has been a while. It’s long overdue. (I’m) anxious, excited. I’m actually looking forward to going out and seeing what we’re made of, really. We’ve done a lot of hard work in the offseason and now it’s time to put it under the lights. I know I can speak for most of the guys and say that we’re excited and we’re ready.”
(Last year you guys talked about that California trip as sort of a bonding experience that unified the team. Can you see the correlation with this one as well? Not to put words in your mouth.) – “(This one was) was (a) surprise. A little different than last year. We kind of knew what was to be expected (last year). I think in light of the situation, everything that was going on that caused this to happen, I think there is some bonding going on. Obviously, there are families out here. Guys have to come together and rely on one another for something obviously outside of football and bigger than football. At the end of the day, everybody got that taken care of and now we’re here and treating it as a business trip. You’ve got all your affairs in order and now your mind is on football, and it’s time to go play.”
(What do you imagine it’s going to be like playing in a 27,000 seat stadium?) – “To be honest, I have never really noticed stadium sizes as far as once you get on the field when you’re warming up. You look around and they’re cheering or telling you how terrible you are; but once the game gets going, it’s about the guy across from you, the guys next to you and getting you job done. Actually until you said that, I didn’t realize the size of the stadium and didn’t care if it’s 100,000 – (which) at Penn State we play in front of all the time – or 27,000. It doesn’t matter.”
(They’re playing Akron.) – “We already played them, didn’t we?”
(On the road I was saying, 27,000.) – “52-0 I think it was.”
(With this defense, so much was made about stopping the run last year, a franchise record 2,200-something yards allowed. What makes you convinced that this year will be different in terms of the run?) – “I think the guys that we have for the most part, we’ve got a lot of guys returning; but we’ve obviously made some key additions to the roster as far as the guys on the defensive side of the ball. I think those guys help; but also, I think being able to key in on your responsibility over the past six weeks or 12 weeks – or however long you want to consider it to be – those are the things that are going to make or break you. Up to this point, I think guys are all taking accountability as far as, ‘Alright, this is my gap. That’s your gap.’ We’re trusting each other and building that relationship where we can make that wall that you need to be a considerable force in stopping the run. But to be honest, that’s all on paper, that’s all in practice. We’ve got to go out there and we’ve got to do it on Sunday. Until that happens, I can’t say either way. It’s a put up or shut up, show me better than I can tell you, type of thing.”
(When you look at the talent on this team, where does this compare to you going into a season and your level of optimism that you can make a real run with these guys?) – “I try to be neutral every year, every season. We’ve had lots of teams talent-wise and on paper; but that’s always on paper, on paper, on paper. On paper has never won a football game nor has it lost one. It’s always the players; it’s always the plays. Again, until you’re out there with live bullets, all of that, OTAs and paper and who did what last year and the year before, really, it doesn’t matter; because they don’t care how many Pro Bowls you went to. They don’t care how many interceptions you had. They’re trying to beat you right now. Are you going to play today to the best of your ability to help the team win? If not, then you’re going to be on the bad side of things. All of the talent and all of the coaching staff and all of the facilities in the world doesn’t win a game. You’ve got to go out there and do your job. That’s to be seen; but I am confident in my guys, and I’m confident in this roster. I wouldn’t expect anything but.”
(Let me ask this in a different way, is this the most talented group you’ve played with in your time here?) – “I guess it’d probably be one of the most experienced groups I’ve ever played with. It’s definitely up there as far as the talent level. I’m in here going through my years of … (It is) all kind of one big mush; but it’s definitely up there. I’ve been on some really talented teams and obviously we haven’t had success in the past. Last year was my first playoff experience. So was last year the most talented? I don’t know, but it was the most successful. Are those two correlated? In football, probably not the same as other sports, as far as all-star rosters and winning the big show; but I think here, it’s team, not necessarily talent. Talent obviously helps of course, but I think that team is going to get you farther than a bunch of Pro Bowlers that aren’t together.”
(Once you got on the field out here, other than the weather being not as humid, did you notice any difference from if you were practicing in South Florida?) – “The weather is hard to ignore. It’s hard to miss. It’s nice. (I am) wearing (long) sleeves, which is not happening in Florida I can assure you. Other than that, it’s football. Once you shake off that novelty – that surprise – and you go out there, it’s a football field. It’s 100 yards and you’ve got to go out there, put your hand in the dirt and get after your work. To me, it was just another day at the office, just another location.”
