Demore’ea Stringfellow – August 10, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver Damore’ea Stringfellow (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(On that play you made one move and then all of a sudden hit a different gear) – “I saw the end zone and that guy gave me a push and I took off.”
(How did it feel the second you crossed that end zone? What was going through your mind?) – “I really was trying to stop but I couldn’t so I just jumped into the bleachers. Like I said it was a blessing man. I really didn’t know how to embrace the moment but I met all my teammates in the end zone and it was a good feeling.”
(Do you go into these games thinking you have to prove something to the coaches?) – “For sure, being a rookie especially undrafted you start at the bottom of the list. So anything you do, everything you do is under surveillance. You have to make sure you get all of the details and make sure that your are playing hard at everything that you do.”
(Overall how do you feel the offense played today?) – “I feel like we did pretty good. We still have some work to do, but overall we did pretty good.”
(How did it make you feel when you saw half the team chasing you as you turned the corner out of the end zone) – “Man it was exciting. I was really trying to catch my breath but it was good to see all the guys right there by my side. It was a blessing.”
Kenyan Drake – August 10, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Running Back Kenyan Drake (transcribed by Savanna Bell-Stevens)
(If you could just talk about the game overall offensively what the plan was coming in, and if you felt like you guys executed and accomplished what you were looking to do.) – We were just looking to come out there and get a rhythm the first game. We’re trying to see who can go out there and play live action. We got a win, so that’s the most important thing.”
(Did you feel like there was a lot of rust to get rid of? The chemistry was clicking early. It seemed like it took you the first half to get it going and then the second half.) – “Preseason game, so we’ll see when the regular season comes. We’ll just try to see how we play now.
(Final question about next week: is it too early to tell what you might be looking to improve upon or if there are any changes that you are going to look to do to improve?) – Personally, just run lower. That comes with game experience. As a team, we are just trying to go and get another win.
David Fales – August 10, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Quarterback David Fales (transcribed by Ted Leshinski/Daniel Chavez)
(I just wanted to check in with you on the game today, on the rotation of the quarterbacks. Were you comfortable with the way they worked you in?) – “Yes. I try not to think about it. This is my fourth preseason, so you start worrying about when you’re going in. You just have to be ready at all times because you know it is going to happen. They let me know before (the game)the rotation.”
(Was it an even-balanced first half and second half with the rotation?) – “Yes, I think so. Yeah, I think it ended up being pretty balanced. I don’t know exactly how many snaps we each got, but it just works out differently.”
(Any indication about the quarterback rotation, going forward for next week,) – “I’ve got to look at the tape and see what’s going on.”
(But overall you’d say you were pretty happy with your performance, the offset moving offense?) – “Yeah I wish I would have started a little faster on my end, there’s always something you got to clean up. There’s definitely a couple things that I felt were a little sloppy on my end so I just have to get better, watch it and get better.”
Davon Godchaux – August 10, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Defensive Tackle Davon Godchaux (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(How do you think you did today) – “I think on a couple plays I played dominant whether it was a double team two or three technique. I just need to keep doing what I do. Stop the run, stop the ball, and get off the ball. That’s the main thing, it all starts with getting off the football.”
(Why do you think you’re getting this opportunity to start) – “Ask the good Lord. I’m just blessed. I’ve been through a lot in my past and just really think that woke me up and it’s a lesson. Going fifth round, which I knew I should have went higher, but that’s over that’s the past so I’m taking advantage of the opportunity my D Line coach has given me.”
(What do you need to do to keep this job) – “Stay consistent is the main thing. You look at a rookie coming in, even as an older guy, the biggest thing you want to see is ‘is he consistent’. Is he being consistent each and every time. Make a tackle for loss that play, can he do it the next play. Just staying consistent in technique. One step at a time, each and every day, just come out and get after it each and every day.”
(Do you feel like you did that tonight? Setting the bar what you did at training camp did it carry over to tonight’s game?) – “Yeah. Like I said came out and was a little rusty, getting my feet wet in the NFL. But so far attacking the ball I had a couple dominant plays. I know one play I ran over the guard just getting after it. I’ve been playing football my whole life, just try not to think so much and just get off the ball and go.”
Matt Moore – August 10, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Quarterback Matt Moore (Bruno Zayas)
(When you know you’re only going to play just a couple plays, what do you try to accomplish or get a feel for when you’re barely able to play?) – “Yeah I mean, it’s tough; but just going up against a different defense, getting everybody lined up, getting in and out of the huddle, getting the snap, just the fundamentals I think, when it’s such a short time that you’re out there. You just try to execute the plays that you’re in and kind of get your feet wet a little bit.”
(I know that as veterans you know what you can do but the young guys, what did you see from some of the young guys tonight, or ytry to see?) – “Yes, there were some big plays. Some of the receivers with some big-time catches. I thought the running backs ran pretty hard. The protection was decent most of the night, which is good. Big plays late in the game, it’s not every day you see a 99-yard touchdown, so that was pretty cool. We will watch the tape and you’re going to learn a lot. There will be a lot of good and probably a lot of bad, but that’s what ‘Preseason 1’ is. It was fun to see the guys go out, compete against somebody else, make plays and really see what kind of player they are in a real ball game.”
(Some aggressive play calls. Do you think this was done more because its preseason or just because…) – “I don’t know. You never know with (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase. He likes to open it up sometimes and take advantage of maybe what we were getting. We had press (coverage) late in the game, which (opened up) some deep balls – some long ones – and our guys ended up making some plays, which was nice. (We had) a couple of nice throws. I don’t know if it’s going to be something we’ll major in but it’s definitely going to be part of our offense, for sure.”
Adam Gase – August 10, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by Michelle Stone)
(Adam, there were reports about [LB] Raekwon McMillan having a torn ACL. Is that true?) – “They haven’t told me anything yet, so unless you have better sources than I do…I’m the head coach.”
(You don’t know about the severity of it?) – “No.”
(Adam, what went through your mind when you saw Raekwon injured in the first special teams play?) – “I was kind of really asking what happened. We were talking about how he was going to have to possibly be on that team. We had to give him some reps, especially in the game. It’s tough to see a young player go down, not knowing what happened.”
(Adam, if he is in fact out, how devastating would it be to see him go down?) – “It’s the NFL. It’s the next man up. It’s how it goes. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of days.”
(Adam, what happened with taking that time out before the opening play of the game?) – “That was my fault. I screwed up. I thought they were in different personnel and changed the call and didn’t have enough time.”
(Adam, the adjustment [WR Leonte] Carroo made on his touchdown catch, was that pretty much a continuation of what he’s done in camp?) – “It was a great play by him and I love the fact that Brandon [Doughty, QB] gave him a shot. That wasn’t really what the play was meant for, but he made a good adjustment and made a great play.”
(Adam, what do you think – there were a couple of younger guys, [WR] Jakeem Grant and [DT] Devon Godchaux seemed pretty active out there. What did you think of each of their performances?) – “I like all of them. All of our young guys tried to play as fast as they could. It didn’t feel like we had a lot of mistakes, but we’ll go back and look at the tape and see what happened. We tried to stay very basic, let our guys play fast, and show us where they’re at. I felt the guys…they fought and kept playing hard when guys were trying to pull themselves out of the game. We had to call a time out on that one just to pull that one defense out of there. I know the guys are trying to get good work in in these preseason games and a lot of guys are competing for spots. It was good to see the effort we saw.”
(Did you like how Doughty played out there tonight?) – “Yes, I just wish he would have thrown that one away, but that’s the growing pains of a young quarterback.”
(There’ve been a lot of things – this is just the first preseason game, but it seems like there have been a lot of things that have happened since we came back in the spring and the summer. How do you approach, manage, handle when things go wrong?) – “Just keep going. Keep plugging. Keep encouraging guys to step up. That’s what our guys do. Our guys handle adversity just as good as anybody. They just keep going. We seem to find guys that, if they’re in a back-up role they’re ready to be starters. They just get after it and try to fill in for that guy.”
(Offensive line-wise, were you looking for individual performances or how different duos or trios played together?) – “Probably individual more than anything. We had a lot of guys rotate around. We had a lot of guys play a lot of snaps. We had four or five guys down right from the get go, so we were a little bit thin. We had some guys try to play a full game there.”
(Back to Raekwon, without knowing the severity of the injury, just how disappointed are you though that tonight you could have at least gotten the chance to see what he could do? Were you expecting him to play full snaps defensively?) – “He was going to play the first half. That’s the NFL for you.”
(How do you feel the running back group played tonight? Did anyone stand out for you?) – “I thought all those guys, they ran hard, they tried to stick with their run reads. It’s tough to play Dan’s [Quinn, Atlanta Falcons Head Coach] defense. It’s carry over from Seattle. They have one more than you most of the time and they’re low and they’re daring you to pass it. It’s tough sliding around the ball sometimes. You really have to do a good job of everyone getting on their man and holding their blocks. They’re physical and they’re relentless on defense. That’s why they had the year they had last year and you could tell with the way they play that it’s not going to change.”
(Storm Johnson [RB] had that big kickoff return – had you seen that from him at all in practice?) – “It’s hard to tell sometimes because we don’t go live a lot of times. A lot of times you’ll just see them fit up and it looks good and that’s why these are great. Everyone wants to see who can cover, who can tackle, who can return, how can they block up, how do guys work together in a kickoff return and the kickoff as well…that’s probably one of the better things about preseason games. Even though we don’t have a ton of them in the regular season it doesn’t seem like anymore, it’s a good way to find out who can do what.”
(Adam, can you talk about the decision to air it out there from your own one yard line?) – “I was trying to call something else. I was trying to call a shorter pass and David [Fales, QB] was just like, ‘Give him a go route. I’ll just throw it up to him.’ So it was a good call by him.”
(Third down, two minute warning, throw deep for a 28-yarder?) – “We’re trying – these guys have been working hard all spring and in training camp. We’re not going to go out there and stop playing. We’re just going to keep playing and in the regular season maybe we do something different, maybe not. Our job is to try to win the game and not put the defense out on the field.”
Brandon Doughty – August 10, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Quarterback Brandon Doughty (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(The first preseason game kind of got off to a slow start. It picked up there, especially with that touchdown to WR Leonte Carroo. How do you think you did today?) – “I give myself a C. I’ll remember that interception more than I’ll remember the touchdown, just because you can’t make bad decisions out there. You can make a bad play worse. I’ll learn from watching the film and I’ll move on.”
(Can you explain what happened on that play to WR Leonte Carroo? He made a nice play on the ball there.) – “Yes, he did. Carroo is a heck of a player. He’s here for a reason. I just tried to give him a chance at it. I tried to make him or nobody was going to catch it so (I just wanted to) give him a shot at the ball.”
(How did it feel when you see WR Damore’ea Stringfellow taking that pass 99 yards?) – “That’s a rarity. We were just talking about that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 99-yard touchdown. That guy is having a good camp. He’s just got to stick with it, stay in the playbook and he’ll do just fine.”
Leonte Carroo – August 10, 2017
Download PDF version
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Postgame – Atlanta
Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver Leonte Carroo (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(You’ve received a lot of kudos from the Head Coach Adam Gase this past week or so. That must keep you on their good side, right?) – “I’ve just been working as hard as I can. The coaches and my teammates have been noticing that. That’s all I wanted to do is be able to show them that I put in work this offseason. I’ve been working as hard as I can every day to get better and better in this training camp.”
(When you caught that ball, what was going through your mind) – “Like I said before, just make a play. Things were kind of rolling slow on the offense at the time and I just wanted to go up and make a play and kind of give us a spark and energy. Just go up and make a play. In college, I was known as a playmaker, so those are some abilities that I have and I can go up and make catches like that. That’s what I wanted to do for the team.”
(It has to be pretty rewarding that the hard work you put in during the offseason and into training camp shows up during the first preseason game.) – “Yes, I still have a lot of work to do. I’m still not there 100 percent; but like you said, I’ve been putting in some work. I’m happy that what you reap is what you sow. I’ve been putting in a lot of work and I’ve been getting a great outcome so far.”
