Adam Gase – August 28, 2017
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Monday, August 28, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What do you hope this year’s team can learn from last year’s 1-4 start?) – “Well, I think that’s something we’ve been really trying to focus on during training camp is start better, just overall in practice. That’s really where it starts for us is do a good job of coming out ready to go, right out the gate and that’s what we’re hoping that transfers over to games early in the season. In the beginning of the year, with one (preseason) game left, it’s hard for us to really focus on anything except what we’ve got going on Thursday. Then once we get past that game, we’ve still got time before that first game. So we’re just going to keep trying to fight to get better and just put ourselves in the best position possible.”
(I know guys are tired of training camp already. What about you as a coach? Are you ready for training camp to be over as well to get the real…?) – “I think it’s a fine line as a coach because you’re always trying to figure out a way to just keep improving and you never want to rush through anything. You want as much time as possible because you feel like you have so little as it is. For me to think let’s hurry up and get to regular season, I’m always … I’m good with keep practicing, keep trying to find ways to get better.”
(How much do you think things will change in terms of sharpness when you start game planning?) – “I think once you kind of hone in what you’re doing, because of training camp, you really have a better idea of what everybody’s going to be able to do and what we’re really looking to do. Then once you get into games, you’re hoping that it gets sharper. You have less guys to work with. You have less things to correct a lot of the time, especially when you’re able to keep your core group together from one year to the next. Hopefully we’ll just keep getting better at what we’re doing and I think right now, we’re trending in the right direction. We’ve just got to keep working on it every day.”
(There was a story/rumor about WR Jarvis Landry possibly being traded. Did you talk to Jarvis specifically about that and do you typically talk to players about that?) – “I did talk to him. I told him there’s no chance he’s being traded and if something that’s not true comes out like that and I’m informed of it, I’m going to approach the player and tell him what really is the story.”
(Was WR Jarvis Landry relieved or did you get the idea that he had been listening to that?) – “I don’t know if he was listening to anything. I just let him know, I was like, ‘There’s no chance that we’re going to trade you.’”
(Your defensive end group, it seems very deep, very talented. What is your assessment of them so far?) – “On paper right now, we look deep. I don’t think any of us will question the talent level there. It’s just once you get going, it’s about how healthy can you stay and how productive we can be down after down. That’s really … You’re kind of at the mercy of the season. You just don’t know what’s going to happen. So right now, it looks good. It’s just we’ve just got to keep working, stay strong all year and keep those guys healthy.”
(On DE Charles Harris, how you and Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke have assessed his first three preseason games?) – “Well, there was a lot of pressures. He was close quite a few times. I think I’ve brought this up before, I really don’t look at the sacks. I look at the quarterback destruction, and he’s been very disruptive. That’s really what we’re looking for. I remember when playing Oakland early in (Khalil) Mack’s career, that first year everybody kept talking about how he didn’t have any sacks and when you’re a coach and you’re watching tape, you’re going we don’t want to be the team that gets this guy rolling because he was close so many times. You know it’s just … that’s how it is. It’s one of those things where everybody wants to look at one stat; but as long as you’re forcing the quarterback to get the ball out quick and he can’t go through progressions because he can feel you, that’s really what you’re looking for.”
(Is there room for opportunity for DE Charles Harris as far as his ability setting the edge in the run game?) – “I think he’s doing a good job with what we’re asking him do. There’s going to be some times where it’s the first time he’s seen a couple of these schemes. We saw some good looks last week. Philly did some really good scheme runs on us that our guys haven’t really had the opportunity to see because of what we do in the running game, and that was a great, great experience for us because they got to see a lot of stuff. There’s a lot of things they did in practice that they didn’t show in the game that we got to see.”
(With the running back position, you’ve got three that are pretty good, but do you feel like you have enough depth there to consider keeping a fourth?) – “Yes, we’ll see how this all plays out. We absolutely are considering all options right now, whether it’s someone that’s already here or somebody that becomes available. I feel like we did get a little lucky last year by having three guys for the entire year that pretty much stayed healthy. We’re going to keep looking at that, we’re going to see how our roster shakes out, see what the health of everybody is after this game, and then we’ll make some decisions after that.”
(Looking ahead, do you have a sense of how Saturday, roster cut down day, is going to be? Is it going to be more complicated for you guys to fill holes, will there be more competition for players you’ve got to call them first?) – “It’s hard to predict anything because you may think you know what’s going on with other teams but you really don’t. You haven’t watched them practice. Some teams will keep guys you wouldn’t think they would keep, but they’ve seen them practice so much. They might not necessarily just say, ‘Hey, the 50 plays they got in the preseason is just a small part of the evaluation.’ For us, it’s always a challenge because we have a lot of guys that we like and we feel like we’re probably going to have to let go of some really good players this year.”
(Can you give us an update on QB Ryan Tannehill’s surgery?) – “You’re really putting me on the spot there, huh? (laughs) He’s still in those early stages, rehabbing. He’ll be back at some point, so I’m sure you guys will see him around. It’s probably still going to be a little time before he gets back around really to building and stuff. In my conversations with him, mostly through text just checking on him – I don’t want bug him too much. I know he gets tired of talking about it. I know he’s grinding already. It’s amazing how fast guys start rehabbing after having surgery.”
(Did you get the sense that it went as well as could be expected or hoped for?) – “Yes, I mean every time someone has surgery, the first thing everybody says is, ‘It went well.’ (laughter)”
(What’s your evaluation of this offensive line heading into the season?) – “We’ve improved. We felt like we had our plan pretty well drawn out, and then Ted (Larsen) goes down and then we had to shift some pieces around and give some other guys some opportunities. We’ll see how it shakes out. We’ve got to get through this game, kind of still do our evaluation here after this game and figure out who’s the right guy for us and are we going to use more than one guy. We’re still working through all of that. We’ve seen a lot of good. We’ve seen some things that we’d like to fix. So, it’s a work in progress right now. I feel good at a lot of spots, but we just want to make sure that we try to tighten it up here over the next 10 days.”
(A couple of injured guys, LB Neville Hewitt and WR Rashawn Scott. Do you have an update on either of them?) – “(With) Neville, we’re still working through some things. We’ll have some good days and then we’ll have a day where it might be a little bit of a setback, so we’re still plugging along with that. Rashawn’s working to just try to get back as fast as possible. It’s good to see him kind of start moving around again. That was a tough one for him to go through. He was a guy that always seemed to spark the rest of the group. He works so hard, doesn’t say much, and I felt bad for him that he didn’t have a chance to compete in training camp; but he’s a guy that we really trust and we feel like he does a lot of good things.”
(The PUP List is a tool you guys can use for WR Rashawn Scott?) – “Yes, absolutely. We’ll see how it shakes out.”
(With C Mike Pouncey, you were saying last week you had him doing four snaps per period, and you guys have had him on and off. Have you settled into the template of what you want to do this season with him?) – “Yes, we have a good idea. We want to see how he feels after today. We’ve been pretty consistent on what we’ve been doing. We’re going to see our practice schedule, when we finalize that, as far as what we’re going to do that first week. How that week goes is just going to be somewhat experimental for us; but we have a good idea of what we want to do and he’s on board with it. Now it’s just going to be how do we feel week after week? Do we need to make an adjustment? So we’re going to be very flexible with this. Really it’s going to be communication with him to see how he feels, and then, like I said, every week could be different.”
(This week, do you have guys that normally because of status or whatever would not play Thursday but you might want them to play Thursday because of continuity? For example, QB Jay Cutler got here a week or two late.) – “Yes, we’re going to talk about that here in the next day and a half. We have a decent idea of what we want to do but there are a couple of things we’re still discussing.”
(With the offensive line, you just mentioned the possibility of using two players at left guard. How deep have you considered that and what are you looking for from a starting left guard?) – “Well, it’s just when you go into the season and you’re not 100 percent sure who has won that job, you sometimes have to go through the season and figure out what’s best for you. Sometimes you might get in a game and somebody might be playing really well and you just roll with it. That’s what you’re always trying to do is figure out what’s the best fit for that game. It’s no different than when you look at personnel groupings, scheme, all of those types of things to figure out what’s the best fit to win that game. Last week, we moved some pieces around in the middle of a series with the ones by starting with Anthony (Steen) and then once Mike (Pouncey) went out, we put (Jake) Brendel in there and then Jesse (Davis) goes in there. It was good for us because we had a different lineup in there with that same group with the quarterback and the backs and with Jay (Cutler) and the receivers so just kind of moving those pieces around, that’s how it could happen in a real game. All of a sudden somebody goes down and we have to pop somebody back in there and re-shuffle some things around. It’s good for us to keep doing that and experimenting with that in practice and then if we can kind of get settled down in a game, that’s ideal. It would be nice if we could go with the same five guys all year long. It’s just a tough position to do.”
(You mentioned how you’re going day to day with DT Jordan Phillips and DT Davon Godchaux. Is it fair to say that based on the last few days, or a couple days, Phillips has had a better…?) – “I don’t know. Who’s out there first? We’ll just keep getting them reps with the ones and the twos. You keep shuffling those guys around. The biggest thing is those guys getting reps, playing each play as well as they can, as hard as they can, doing their assignment. They’re all going to play. We just want whoever is in there with (Ndamukong) Suh to get those guys as comfortable as possible to where they can work well together. It’s the same thing with the d-ends and the d-tackles. That’s all we’re trying to do. We just know we’re going to play more than one guy. I like the fact that those guys are competing as hard as they are and they’ve got their little battle going on, but at the end of the day it’s only making all of us better. That’s really what we’re looking to do.”
(With G/T Jermon Bushrod, pardon me if I’m wrong but I don’t think he’s missed a day of practice this camp.) – “Why do you have to bring that up? (laughter)”
(He’s 30-something…) – “(laughter) I know. I’ve got you. He’s done a good job. He does a good job of taking care of his body. He’s grinding it out. There have been a couple of times where we wanted to give him a day off and we just had so many injuries. I think one time we were down to like eight linemen for a training camp practice. He’s done everything he’s had to do to keep helping us out. Every once in a while we’d like to take care of him and give him a day off and it just hasn’t worked out. He’s done a good job on the days that we haven’t been practicing, he’s taking care of his body. He makes sure that he does every little thing right to help him stay on the field.”
(What is it about DT Davon Godchaux’s skill set and the things that he brings to the table – his attributes. What is it that allows him to…) – “I mean he’s powerful, explosive. He’s a violent interior player. That’s what you’re looking for. He’s done a good job of knowing what to do. When you’re a young player, you can kind of visualize what’s going on and you can talk about it and then execute it on the field. That’s what you’re looking for from all of your young players. The faster they can do that, the better it is.”
(You mentioned that you told WR Jarvis Landry there was no way he was being traded. Do you mind talking about for a minute why he is such a valuable piece to this team and to this offense?) – “He’s one of the guys that brings fire to the offense. All it takes is one play from him and it can ignite a lot of different guys. When he kind of gets in that rhythm where he’s getting targets and making plays that might be 3- or 4-yard gains for most people and he turns them into 15-20 yard gains, the way he does it, it’s so physical. It’s like real football plays. It’s not normal wide receiver plays. When he gets the ball in his hands, it’s like a running back. He really had incredible vision. He can kind of do some things that most guys can’t. You try to get him the ball as much as you can but the other team knows that we’re trying to get him the ball. They’re going to try to take him away and you have to get creative sometimes and try to figure out ways to get him the ball.”
(One other guard question. The body of work so far through camp of T Jesse Davis and C/G Anthony Steen. Is there much gap or do you think very comparable in what they’ve put on tape?) – “I think they’ve both shown some things that we really like. They’re still young players. The more experience they get, the better, and the more we can get them out there. The more looks they see, the better it’s going to get.”
(At the risk of the eye roll that I’m used to getting, when did QB Ryan Tannehill have the surgery and what was repaired? Was it two ligaments?) – “I’m not even going to answer it. (laughter)”
(Why is CB Byron Maxwell not playing like he played in the middle of last year?) – “I think we’ve had spurts where he’s played well. We just need him to keep the consistency that we got last year, especially towards the end. He really did a good job of getting hands on the receivers and making it really difficult for him to release and challenged a lot of balls. We just have to keep getting those opportunities, keep practicing hard, keep doing it right, keep doing what’s being asked of when we’re trying to play physical and really challenge the receivers and let out d-line get there. I think just keep that consistency going. If you practice hard and do it right, I think good things usually happen.”
(Is the technique different? Is he being asked to do stuff he wasn’t being asked to do?) – “No, but sometimes when you’re going against different guys, you almost have that one-on-one matchup. There’s a technique being taught and then sometimes you have to prepare for the individual guy too to where there is some movement within the technique that you can do. There are some tough matchups every once in a while. We just want him to keep working and finding ways to get better. Once the season gets here, we’ll have a better idea of where we’re going with our secondary and if we want to play more than just two corners or if we want to just stick with two guys and roll. We’ll just keep fighting through that with us upstairs and figure out what’s best for our defense.”
Davon Godchaux – August 28, 2017
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Monday, August 28, 2017
DT Davon Godchaux
(What’s your take on how you played against Philadelphia?) – “(I’m) just getting better. Each and every rep, I come out and get better, do things that (Defensive Coordinator Matt) Burke wants, (Defensive Line) Coach (Terrell) Williams wants. I just come out each and every game and get better and expand my game.”
(Now that you’re a starter, do you feel like you’re going to play in that fourth exhibition game against Minnesota?) – “I’m just doing whatever the coaches say. If ‘Coach T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) wants me to play, I’m going to play. If he doesn’t want me to play, I’m not going to play. It’s whatever he wants. It’s his call.”
(Do you feel like you need the snaps in the fourth preseason game?) – “Yes, definitely, as a rookie. You always do. As any player, you never can get so relaxed. You always want to get that extra experience, that extra play, especially as a rookie. I need those fourth game snaps.”
(Could you have envisioned being a starter right now? Did that cross your mind when you first came into camp or offseason workouts?) – “I just came in and worked. Whatever they needed, a guy to do the dirty work, get off the ball, be physical, that’s my style of play.”
(Where have you become a better player than the college player at LSU over the last 12 months?) – “I would say mature. (I’ve) just matured just being around with the guys, learning from those guys; but the main thing is being mature on and off the field. There’s a lot of free time we have and I have to be mature in those times instead of going off and doing foolish things.”
(We knew you had the pass rush numbers in college. Had you been, you think, undervalued as far as what you can do against the run?) – “I’m just playing. Like I said, whatever they want. If they want me on the pass rush team, it’s whatever the coaches want. I’m going to do it 100 percent.”
(During the first team snaps, how often has it been where you’ve gotten fewer offensive linemen to deal with because of DT Ndamukong Suh’s presence? Has that been a factor yet in preseason?) – “Suh’s a great help. A guy like that is going to get a lot of double teams, so sometimes I get one-on-ones; but mostly double teams too. It’s a great help having a guy like Suh, just learning, getting the calls from him, just things like that.”
(What is it going to be like for you to play in your first NFL game?) – “It’s going to be big. I always dreamed of it. As a little kid growing up, I always wanted to play in the NFL, so it’s going to be big. ”
(Have you surprised even yourself at all? To come in as a fifth-round pick and be a likely starter is improbable. Are you surprised?) – “The main thing, like (Defensive Line) Coach Terrell Williams) says, is being consistent and attack the ball. A lot of people make football hard, but it’s really just one-on-one, just beating your man. If you can beat your man, you can play football.”
(You mentioned beating your man, but one thing that you do very well is getting your hands on the offensive linemen first. Can you speak to the importance of that?) – “That’s something that we do in individual every day with (Ndamukong) Suh, Jordan Phillips, Vincent Taylor. We do that every day in individual; get off the ball, shoot your hands, get the first step. Each and every day, that’s something we do every day, detailed 20 minutes of individual.”
(With DT Ndamukong Suh, how much are you guys like students? I see him always talking to Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams all the time.) – “The guy is amazing. He teaches me a lot. When he talks to Coach Terrell Williams, they talk about things that I’m just sitting over there ear picking and learning each and every day. I try to get in their business, get in their conversations, see what new techniques they’re learning, and things like that.”
(Does it amaze you that a guy like DT Ndamukong Suh that’s so good still focuses on the little fine-tuning things that he does? – “There’s a reason every year he’s coaching at the Nike Open. He’s not coaching just because. He’s got to have some type of coaching abilities so he can go out there and teach those guys and then come back and teach us the things that he has learned each and every year, it’s so amazing.”
Andre Branch – August 28, 2017
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Monday, August 28, 2017
DE Andre Branch
(A couple of things on two of the rookies you’ve worked with obviously. How has DE Charles Harris dealt with just the ups and downs of being a rookie in preseason – ups and downs in production – and thoughts on what DT Davon Godchaux has done at defensive tackle? Those two guys.) – “Charles is great. (He’s) a student of the game; (he) wants to learn. He knows it’s not an easy league to play in, but he has all the talent to be successful in this league, that’s for sure. And Godchaux, he’s also great. Both of them are working their tails off and we’re just getting those guys acclimated and they’re going to help us a lot this year.”
(Are you surprised how good DT Davon Godchaux has been to come in, now that he’s been with your first team for three weeks?) – “The whole group has been great. I think the best thing about it is that they come in and they work each and every day.”
(You call them students. Do you older guys enjoy being the teachers of that group? I see you talking to them a lot.) – “I’m a student also. I learn from Cam (Wake) each and every day and Will Hayes. For us, we help one another. I think we have a room full of students, if you want to say that. We have one teacher in there, and that’s (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams); but everybody can help each other.”
(How anxious are you for the regular season to get here?) – “I’ve been ready for that for a while now.”
(You say that Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams is the teacher. Is DT Ndamukong Suh like his teacher’s assistant because he’s chatty there when you guys are going over stuff.) – “I think we all are. Suh is a very smart guy. He gets it. He knows every concept. He knows all the games and he knows every opponent that he goes against, so it’s great.”
(Defensive end could be the deepest unit on the team. What do you think about you guys as a group?) – “It’s great. We need a lot of depth. Last year some guys got tired towards the end, myself included. Just knowing that you don’t have to go as many plays back to back is awesome; but we prepare like we do.”
(What are you guys doing better as a group? Last year I know that setting the edge was a concern early in the season. What are the things that you can do better this year?) – “Communicate, and everybody does their job. I think accountability is the main thing for us. If everyone stays accountable and does their job, then the sky is the limit.”
(As far as the d-line, how do you compare it to the previous ones you’ve been on?) – “Probably the most talented group that I’ve been on. I’ve been on a lot of talented groups, but the younger players are extremely talented. We have the perfect veteran guys in our room. It’s great and everyone are brothers. We talk each and every day after we leave here. That’s the good thing. You never want to let your brother down and that’s how we look at ourselves.”
(I was wondering if you guys thought you were more talented this year than you were last year. Last year, a lot of the same guys, a pretty high-profile line but…) – “I think last year, no one knew who I was. We had a lot of talented players that had played at very high levels in this league; but at the same time, they were a little bit older. For us, just having that youth in our room is going to be great.”
(DT Ndamukong Suh seems like he has lightened up this year?) – “He’s always been. He’s been light with me since I got here. I’m going to force Suh to be light with me. (laughter)”
(So you all have seen this type of DT Ndamukong Suh?) – “I’ve seen this Suh since I got here. I’m going to talk to everybody. No matter who you are or where you come from, I’m going to force you to talk to me. It’s great. Those are my brothers and you can really see this thing getting together.”
(Is DT Ndamukong Suh funny?) – “Hilarious guy.”
(There’s like this whole side of DT Ndamukong Suh that we don’t know?) – “Yes, for sure. You might not meet it.”
(You might never meet that side of DT Ndamukong Suh, like for all of life.) – “Yes, but just take my word for it.”
(Is it just because DT Ndamukong Suh is intense and he’s focused on the game?) – “All day. Now when we step on that field, it is four killers out there, that’s for sure.”
(Are you amazed at what people ask you to take pictures and autographs for?) – “Yes, like sign a baby’s head. I’m not going to sign your kid’s head when he’s six months. There are some crazy things out there, but there are some diehard fans. It’s awesome. My mom once told me ‘sign every autograph you can because there’s going to become a time and place where people will stop asking.’ So I always sign them.”
(With the social media era, I’m sure people have asked you to take some pictures in weird places as well?) – “Yes, it’s crazy; but they get stopped too. It’s the way the world is now. You’ve just got to go with it.”
(There’s no way someone asked you to sign a baby’s head.) – “No question. Clemson University.”
(Back in college, someone actually asked you to sign a baby’s head?) – “Head. The baby couldn’t speak, wasn’t making any noise, literally probably four months. (laughter)”
(It’s good that you had more sense than the parents.) – “Yes, who’s going to wash this off? No, I’m not signing a baby’s head. (laughter)”
Jay Cutler – August 27, 2017
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Sunday, August 27, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(What would be something that you took away after you had a chance to review the film of the third preseason game?) – “A lot of good stuff. (There’s) some stuff to clean up in ball security there on the strip sack, and then just some stuff in the run game. I thought we were on the same page on the outside with (the receivers). We got the ball to a lot of different guys, so it was good and bad.”
(How do you improve on third downs as an offense?) – “Getting into third-and-manageable is key. I think early on we had a second-and-long and we took a shot to Jarvis (Landry) and missed, and that puts us in a third-and-long. So (on) second down, first down, just taking your three, four yards and getting yourself in third-and-5 or under is going to be the first key; and then after that, we’ve just got to make plays, and that’s myself included.”
(How do you feel a couple of days removed from playing an extended amount of time?) – “I feel good. I probably took the biggest hit I’ve probably taken out here in practice today. (laughter) So other than that, I feel fine.”
(From DT Jordan Phillips?) – “Yes. He got pushed. It wasn’t his fault.”
(How close would you say you are to being ready for the start of the regular season, both mentally and physically?) – “Mentally, I feel really good. Physically, I feel good. I think these next couple of days, just getting some more reps (will be important). Then just getting into game week, where we’re really game planning, honing things, getting the game plan exactly where we need it to be. That’d be good.”
(Is this a tough week for veterans, who likely are not playing in that fourth preseason game?) – “Yes, I think it is. As you get a little bit older, I think you see it as valuable time to work on some stuff, because the stress is off. You’re not playing, for the most part, so you can kind of work on some things and help the younger guys a little bit. So that’s what I’m going to try to use the next couple of days for.”
(How covered does WR DeVante Parker have to be for you to throw it to him downfield?) – “Not open at all. Covered. (laughter) As long as there’s just one (defender), the ball’s going to go up to him.”
(You spread the ball to a lot of receivers against Philadelphia. I think you completed five passes to four receivers. Was that by design? By matchup?) – “I don’t think we really go into games, especially preseason games, thinking about matchups or where the ball is going to go. I think (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) does a really good job incorporating these guys early on and making sure that we get them all involved in the first 15, 20, 30 plays. Then we’ll kind of see what happens after that; but with the amount of playmakers we have, I think the ball is going to get pushed around a little bit.”
(Do they appreciate that? TE Julius Thomas and WR Jarvis Landry and the other receivers?) – “They all want the ball. That’s pretty standard throughout the league; but they’re really unselfish guys. They block for each other. They run off (defenders) for each other. They’re doing every little thing possible to help each other. I think whenever we do score or guys make big plays, you can see the other guy is excited for them. That’s genuine stuff and that’s good.”
(There was that one play against Philadelphia where you were under pressure and you were able to avoid taking a sack by throwing it at the running back’s feet. How has your ability to respond and react to situations like that evolved over your career?) – “I think in my first game, something like that happened in Denver, and I threw a pick. So you kind of figure things out (as far as) when to push the envelope and when just to take the sack and say, ‘Hey, they won. They won that play. Let’s just save it for another down.’”
Julius Thomas – August 27, 2017
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Sunday, August 27, 2017
TE Julius Thomas
(How aware are you guys that QB Jay Cutler likes to spread the ball and you can get the ball at any time?) – “That’s just how our offense is, and Jay is doing a good job of executing his responsibilities at quarterback. Going into every game, we know the differences in coverages we’re going to have and every guy has got to be ready to make a play each and every time we snap the ball. It’s something we want to do. The more people out there touching the ball, the more ways we’re attacking the defense, the tougher it is going to be on them. Every offense’s job is just trying to be explosive, gain yards and score touchdowns.”
(It seems like QB Jay Cutler likes to throw the ball downfield. Can you compare him to other quarterbacks you’ve played for? Is he about average in that respect? Does he like to do it a little bit more than some of the others?) – “I can’t really say. It hasn’t been long enough for me to say exactly what’s his favorite places to throw and how. Ask me again midseason and I’ll have a better answer for you.”
(How quick did that ball get on you in the end zone for that touchdown on Thursday?) – “It seems like it’s quick when you’re watching it, but when you’re in that moment and you get your head around, it takes a little bit longer for me than for everybody else. It was definitely perfect timing. He put it in a great spot. I was able to get my head around and bring it in.”
(You said that it has slowed down for you, so you’re ready for the season to start?) – “Yes, absolutely. I think when the ball is in the air, that’s when things are going the slowest probably in my whole life. It’s that moment when you’re so focused on something. It just seems that things go by so much slower than anything else.”
(As an offense, how do you improve on third downs?) – “As an offense, we have to improve in general. There’s no part of our game that’s where we need it to be right now. Now we start game planning, we start executing and understanding that in training camp, you have hundreds of plays that could come up at any moment. Now we’re going into the season and we’re going to go into a week (with) 150 plays or so. You get to work those. You get to go over those. We’re going to really go through and define it. Mainly, to improve on third down, we have to be third-and-manageable. It’s no secret. Everybody in the NFL, you want third-and-short or no third down at all. We’ve got to try to get those third-and-1s, third-and-2s, and we’ll do a much better job of executing.”
Rey Maualuga – August 27, 2017
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Sunday, August 27, 2017
LB Rey Maualuga
(Let’s address the first, most controversial thing. How come you don’t have a number yet?) – “00 (laughter). It’s still in the works. I’m just trying to wait out my options. There’s only one number available (right now) – 72. I wouldn’t mind wearing 72 but I’m waiting on someone to lower their price a little bit (laughter).”
(Oh, so it’s a financial decision?) – “Yes. We’ll see if that turns out in my favor or not.”
(How do you feel first practice from a conditioning standpoint?) – “I feel good. Obviously it’s been a couple of months since I’ve put the helmet and shoulder pads on – January 2nd. But for the most part, individual felt good. They’re slowly putting me in there and trying to progress, get my feet under me and seeing how things go from there. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some reps in practice and go further than just individuals.”
(Is the goal to play in that fourth preseason game?) – “Yes. I just don’t want to show up to the first game and just get thrown in there or whatnot. The goal is to get some reps in Minnesota and see how things go from there but at the end of the day, it’s not my decision. I’m going to leave it up to (Head) Coach (Adam Gase) and see what he decides. By then, I think physically (and) mentally, I’ll be ready. It’s been the same scheme that I ran in Cincinnati. There are some different words here and there but for the most part, I don’t think there’s going to be a drop off for me.”
(When is the last time you played inside in that scheme?) – “The last time? January. It’s the same defense. (Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke) carried over some of the defense from Cincinnati and he’s got his own little plays here and there but like I said, for the most part, it’s about the same defense. Some of the words are different but it’s still the same thing.”
(Do you have every confidence that you’ll be ready for Week 1?) – “I have all of the confidence in the world. (Head Strength & Conditioning Coach) Dave Puloka has done a great job at getting me there. Like I said when I first got here, you can never get yourself physically prepared in the Miami heat unless you live in Miami. Cincinnati, it’s hot and humid, but the Miami heat is something different for me. I’m getting there, slowly but surely. Things will work out.”
(When are we going to see a number on you?) – “I’m waiting on someone to hand it over but it’s not going to be cheap. (laughter) I’m still trying to negotiate that in the locker room and we’ll see if he pulls through with the number he wants – the amount he wants.”
(When you do play and you have the advantage of DT Ndamukong Suh, DE Cameron Wake, DE Andre Branch and guys like that in front of you, what type of opportunities do you think that can help create?) – “That will make any linebacker’s dream, or job, a lot easier, to flow over the top and get to your gap faster and get to your progression faster. With those guys up front, I can’t wait to get in there and start moving around with those fellas and let them know that I’m here to work and try to get the job done and do whatever I can to help these guys get better.”
(What did you see from those guys in the last game, being able to see it?) – “The defense as a whole? Everyone is quick. Everyone is disciplined and everyone is fast to the ball. You don’t see one or two or three people running to the ball. You see the whole secondary and the front seven running to the ball. That just shows heart and determination and everyone just wants to win here.”
(You see DT Ndamukong Suh blows up a lot of stuff in the middle.) – “Yes. (laughter) He’ll make a middle linebacker’s job very easy.”
(So No. 58 is the number? Is that what you’re going after?) – “(laughter) I’m not saying it is No. 58 but I would love to get that number. It’s been eight good years with that number, including college. So we’ll see what he wants. (laughter)”
(You’re going to put a little pressure on him.) – “Well, they say that (Jay) Cutler set the table high – the mark. Well, I’m not Cutler. (laughter) If we got paid the same, things would be easier. (laughter) I think everything will work itself out. If not, whatever number I get, I’ll do my best to represent that number the best I can.”
Adam Gase – August 27, 2017
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Sunday, August 27, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(As far as the cornerback position, are you thinking of any changes there? Are you just taking looks?) – “We are taking looks. We’re moving guys around. We’re trying to see what the best fit for us is going into that first game. We’re going to keep moving pieces around. We’re going to keep trying to figure out who can do what, what side is best for everybody, if we want to make someone exclusive to where they matchup with somebody every week. So we’re really going to dig deep here the next few days. We’re going to really get back in that training camp type mode where we’re competing against offense and defense and trying to find ways to get better.”
(Is there a way CB Alterraun Verner could maybe break through to that starting five, I guess?) – “Yes, I think everything … all options are up. We’re going to play the best guys.”
(Will CB Alterraun Verner or anybody competing for a starting job play Thursday?) – “Yes, we’ll have some guys playing Thursday.”
(How would you describe what you guys saw from CB Byron Maxwell in the last game?) – “There were a couple of things that looking back on, that I wish he would have done different; but that’s the whole preseason process of you’ve got to clean some things up, keep competing and finding ways to get better and taking a look at each play individually. That’s where it really goes back to coaching, players taking coaching and just making sure that we’re always trying to get better. We’re always trying to find ways to correct the mistakes we made. You don’t want to make the same mistake twice. So that’s the best part about the preseason is they don’t count right now. We have another opportunity this Thursday and we have today being one, but we have three practices this week where we have a chance to get better and correct some mistakes. I think when you do make mistakes in a game, you have to learn from them. And that’s all of us. I know I learned a few things this week that I may have thought I’ll do it different next time. So that’s what you’ve got to take out of all these games.”
(We talked obviously about that Philadelphia Eagles WR Torrey Smith touchdown, but S Reshad Jones reaction, were you comfortable with how that went?) – “If I ever have an issue with anybody’s reaction, I’m going to speak to them on my own. I’m not going to make it a public deal.”
(Now that you’ve had a chance to look at film, what are the corrections you feel need to be made for third down? Both offense and defense?) – “We might not want to get there anymore, the offense. (laughter) But we’ve got to stay third-and-manageable. I think a lot of it comes when we’re third-and-7+. We kind of put ourselves in a hole and it’s tough in this league because the pass rush is coming. They know you’re not running the ball. We just have to do a really good job of tightening up protection a little bit, getting the ball out on time, being in the right spots. It takes a full group to really … to do it right. A lot of times, it looks good on paper; but sometimes it’s going to be a lot of ad-libbing that gets you the conversions. On defense, it’s more about getting them to third down. On first and second down, we need to improve on. That was probably the biggest thing (Defensive Coordinator) Matt (Burke) and myself were talking about. Let’s get them to third down because that should be one of our strengths with our pass rush and the coverages we’re playing behind it and the pressures. He has some really good stuff and we’re executing better. We just need to get to third down more.”
(I didn’t notice T Laremy Tunsil or TE Anthony Fasano out there.) – “Both are personal. I know where they are and they were excused from today.”
(How is the punting competition sizing up in your eyes?) – “It’s competitive. It’s good to see both those guys hitting the ball the way they have been. In practice, we get a lot more looks, and (it is) very competitive. In games, we’ve seen both guys really hit some really good ones. We’re just going to keep letting those guys compete until the end. Really at the end of the day, when we look at it, we’ll get with ‘Rizz’ (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi) and ‘Mouf’ (Assistant Special Teams Coach Marwan Maalouf) and figure out what’s best for us.”
(With that punting competition, P Matt Haack was holding the 56 yarder for K Andrew Franks. Was that to give Haack a look or because the competition…) – “We’re always mixing those guys up, because that’s one of the … It’s an important job. For the kicker, it can kind of mess with you a little bit if you’re not comfortable with a guy, so we’re always trying to put both those guys in situations to where Andrew has a good feel for both of them.”
(A couple other special teams things: the opening kickoff, I think was it RB Senorise Perry fielded it and RB Storm Johnson telling him to stay in and it was like 1-yard deep or the other way? Was that a good decision?) – “I was fine with what they did. Whatever is decided by the up guy, that’s what we’re going to roll with. It’s a split-second decision. I’m never going to question those guys, because that’s not an easy job. Whatever we do though, we just need to be on the same page.”
(I didn’t notice many starters on the special teams. I think maybe CB Bobby McCain might’ve been the closest on field goal or extra point block. Are you taking a look at other guys or trying to stay healthy?) – “One hundred percent (trying to look at other guys). We’re trying to make sure that we see as many guys as we can on special teams, because we want to find out … When you get to that back part of the roster of guys that possibly can make it, we want to make sure we have as many guys that can play special teams as possible.”
(With CB Alterraun Verner, what has he shown you throughout camp and the exhibition season so far?) – “Consistency. (He) knows what to do. He has been a pro since the day he has got here. (He’s) competitive. He’s always as tight as you need him to be. He’s always … Hands are on the ball. He just makes it really tough for the quarterback. I really like what I’ve seen from him; I know the defensive staff has as well. For signing him as late as we did, we feel really good (about) where he’s at right now.”
(We talked to LB Rey Maualuga today and he said – obviously, he practiced today – that he’d like to play on Thursday and that he’ll be ready for Week 1. Is that your understanding?) – “Yes.”
(Do you expect him to play?) – “We’ll see. I’ll get through tomorrow. And I’m sure tomorrow, I’ll say the next day. (laughter)”
(How open would you be to a C/G Kraig Urbik return at some point?) – “We’ll see how that plays out. That was a tough one yesterday, to lose him. He did such a great job for us and stepped up at the right time for us last year. I know this training camp was tough for him, because I don’t think he realized how hurt he was. He’s an old-school tough guy. You’ve really got to try and pull it out of him injury-wise. We knew something wasn’t right. When we finally sat him down and kind of really kept asking him and asking him, and when we got it checked out, obviously the result was what it was. We’ll see how it kind of plays out through the next so many weeks.”
Ja’Wuan James – August 27, 2017
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Sunday, August 27, 2017
T Ja’Wuan James
(Considering this game most guys won’t even play, how ready are you guys?) – “We’re staying ready. We need the work. We have a lot of stuff to work on. We have a lot of guys in there rotating in and out, so whatever we need to do to continue to build continuity, especially between our o-line.”
(How important was it for you to be able to get in a game?) – “Very. I missed those first two (preseason games). I’ve been wanting to go out there but it’s good to finally get back in the game. It’s been since January (since I played in a game). It’s fun, just out there competing with our guys. Like I said, we just need to clean some stuff up and do better on the turnovers and do better at doing our assignments.”
(Is the shoulder strong?) – “Yes, it’s getting better.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase mentioned that there’s a pain issue for the shoulder. How much pain? How do you manage the pain?) – “I don’t care now, honestly. I’m happy to be out there playing again. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do, honestly, to help this team and to help myself.”
(I think there was one play where a guy ran around the edge on you. If you remember what happened on that play, could you help us out what happened?) – “That’s me doing the wrong technique at the wrong time for the assignment. It was the one ‘MA’ (missed assignment) I had in the game so I’ve just got to clean up on that and do better on that. Like I said, all of us together, we’ve got to make sure we’re on our stuff so we can’t have little plays that set us back like that. We were doing great on drives. We’ve just got to be able to finish them.”
(So that was a mental error, not a physical error?) – “Yes.”
(I noticed that you were involved in RB Jay Ajayi’s successful runs. How was the offensive line able to create space for him?) – “Just credit to how we work every day, how we come prepared and also to Jay. Jay is running like its midseason right now and that’s a credit to him and him being able to break tackles and do what he does. It’s our job to get him to that second level and we believe if we can get him to those linebackers, he’ll make anybody miss.”
(QB Jay Cutler seems to like to throw it downfield. We saw it to WR DeVante Parker and WR Kenny Stills, and to WR Jarvis Landry also. Are you guys aware of that as an offense?) – “It was great to me my first time playing with him. Just to see him flying around, stepping up in the pocket, delivering balls and taking chances downfield, it gives you hope. It’s exciting because anything can happen on any play. Like I said, it was a great experience for me going out there and playing for the first time in a while, to have him as our quarterback. Shoot, he knows the offense in and out. It doesn’t seem like he’s missed any time really. He’s an exciting player.”
(When you have a quarterback like QB Jay Cutler, do you have to hang on a second or a second and a half longer?) – “It makes you want to in general. We’re out there blocking, but if you know that you can hold your guy to a second or third move, then we’re going to make a play – DeVante (Parker) or somebody downfield. It’s a good feeling.”
