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.”
Jay Ajayi – September 15, 2017
Friday, September 15, 2017
RB Jay Ajayi
(In terms of other things you’ve done with your running style, obviously we saw you running over an awful lot of people last year. Is there anything specifically that you’ve added that you feel that much better about? You were so effective last year.) – “I think just the consistency this year. Game in and game out, bringing that consistency. Like you said, I was effective last year. Having those o-line guys healthy and blocking well is exciting for me every week. I’ll have that same mindset and at the end of the game, we’ll just look at what’s on the stat sheet.”
(When you’re going against … You’re running downfield and you’re looking at linebackers and those are big men, yet you’re running over and through them. What’s that feel like?) – “I’m not too worried about the other defenders. I’m just running hard and trying to make big plays for my team. Whoever’s in the way that’s just … They are in the way. You have to either make them pay or make them miss.”
(What does it feel like when you actually go through a guy or carry a guy five extra yards?) – “You feel good. You don’t want to get tackled by anyone. It’s always good to make someone miss or stiff arm someone and keep the energy going and keep the intensity going in the game.”
(So 1,272 yards last year, what’s your goal this year?) – “I’m always looking to improve, so anything above that – that’s the goal. More everything, not just for me, but for the whole team as well. We were able to get to the playoffs (last year) and we want to do even more than that. Just more everything.”
Adam Gase – September 15, 2017
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Friday, September 15, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(We need an update on WR Jarvis Landry? When did that surface?) – “Really, this morning. He just had some swelling. We’re just careful with what he was doing today and we feel good that we’ll be ready to go on Sunday.”
(If WR Jarvis Landry is not the slot receiver, what is your contingency?) – “We have kind of plans for if we ever lose a guy and how we move guys around. I’m not going to sit here and give you the exact game plan, but we’ve prepared for if one guy ever went down, what we were going to do and how we’d shuffle things around.”
(With WR Jakeem Grant, I know he worked in the slot last year. How much has he retained of that stuff?) – “I mean these guys, the way that they’ve trained really, they learn more in concepts than really letters. So for us, if we were really worried about a letter, we’d be able to formation things the way we need to do it to get guys where we need them.”
(What’s your kind of instruction or approach with QB Jay Cutler as far as just dealing with pressure in the backfield and obviously San Diego’s got some guys up front? I mean the Chargers I mean.) – “He’s been good in … The year that I was with him, he had a pretty good feel for things when things started collapsing of either getting out, getting rid of the ball or taking a sack if it’s just one of those situations where you have nowhere to go. I know Philly was a good experience for us to have just because we had a couple of situations. One, I figured it would have been really hard for anybody to really feel the guy come around the edge as fast as he did, and it’s a little bit of a learning, kind of getting reacquainted with how we need to play, when you do want to take a sack, when you can throw it away, things like that. I do feel good where we’re at right now. A lot of practice time and then he played enough in preseason to know the right thing to do.”
(On that note, just observationally, you probably have the actual data but observationally in the past it seems like WR Jarvis Landry has been kind of the emergency outlet in those situations for QB Ryan Tannehill or QB Matt Moore. Is that a relationship thing you kind of see already with QB Jay Cutler even though he hasn’t been in there in a lot games?) – “It’s hard for me to say just one guy right now. I feel like the ball has been spread out so much. I think this year, the way that we’ve kind of structured it, we’re kind of moving guys around a lot, spreading the ball out quite a bit to where all of these guys are on different levels. I think we’ve used Jarvis down the field a little more this year than we have in the past, or at least last year, what we did; and we’re trying to give guys opportunities at all levels of the field. If he’s underneath, he’ll flash; but it could be a different guy from play to play.”
(How ready are you for Sunday to finally get here?) – “I think it’s just … We’ve prepared for a week and we’re ready to go for the game. You know last week it was we were preparing and then it wasn’t there. It will be exciting for our guys to just finally stop practicing and play a game.”
(You have, obviously, a lot of moving parts to make these practices happen. Has there ever been a request to Equipment Manager Joe Cimini and the equipment guys that you were not able to meet? It seems Herculean what they do.) – “No. The way that really our operations, equipment staff, training staff (work), I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word ‘no.’ These guys move quickly and they get things done at an extreme rate. This getting put together as fast as it did and how efficient it’s been, and what’s been available to our players and coaches and everybody that’s really been out here has really been unbelievable.”
(Has there been any limitation to what you can do this week, practice-wise?) – “No.”
(When you think about arm strength and the throwers you have on your team, where do you rank Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen among those?) – “(laughter) Probably second. I think he’s got a stronger arm than Ryan (Tannehill) and Matt (Moore).”
(Second only to…) – “Well, if we’re talking about a 7-yard radius…”
(Only one throw. You’ve only got to make one throw, not forty.) – “I don’t know. It depends how loose he is; but I know if you’re within 7 yards, that thing is coming at you pretty fast.”
(With the tackle situation and as much pressure as Chargers Des Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa bring and how they move, do you have to help these tackles?) – “It’s different from play to play, down and distance. It’s really going to be about how balanced are we? If we want to make this a throwing fest, those two guys are going to cause you issues. You have to do a good job running the football, you’ve got to be efficient in your passing game, you can’t stand back there and hold on to the ball forever because they’re not going to let you. Those two guys are coming and they’re relentless in their pursuit after the ball is thrown down the field, (which) is really remarkable. They really put a lot of good things on tape last week and we just have to make sure we do a good job, get them covered up, get the ball out on time, get open fast. When we’re running the ball, the same thing – getting guys covered up, letting Jay (Ajayi) hit the holes, whatever’s there, and be efficient in our running game, because if they make you one-dimensional it could be problematic.”
(In regards to the hurry up offense, when you do that, at what point can you begin communicating with QB Jay Cutler and how many things do you relay to him during that process?) – “Really, when the play before is over and that shot clock starts going, you’re supposed to be able to click in – it doesn’t always work that way. Then at 15 (seconds left on the play clock) they cut you off. Jay always says I talk too much; but I don’t care, he can deal with it.”
(It seems like QB Jay Cutler takes small little jabs at you quite a bit, like he’s fully free to say what he pleases to you.) – “Yes, I always tell him he gets away with a little bit because he played well for me in 2015. We have a good relationship. We’ve known each other for 10 years. That’s kind of how it is, though, in our meeting room. I’m as likely to get ripped on as anybody else. We’ve got good things going on in that offensive meeting room.”
Laremy Tunsil – September 14, 2017
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Thursday, September 14, 2017
T Laremy Tunsil
(On helping the Miami Central High School football team return from Las Vegas) – “I always wanted to give back, especially (to) people that went through a hurricane and couldn’t make it back home and see their family. It’s just a big thing to me – always giving back. I love giving back. That’s my main priority right now is giving back.”
(Did they come to you and say, ‘Here’s the situation.?’ How did you find out?) – “They told me about the situation, and I was like, ‘I’d love to help.’ Anything (with) giving back, I’d love to do that.”
(Can you imagine being a high school kid, you don’t know what’s going on at home and you’re stuck all the way in Vegas?) – “I can’t imagine that. That’d be crazy. That’d be crazy.”
(You’ve got a tough challenge this week facing what I view as probably the best defensive end tandem in the NFL.) – “Hands down. Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa are actually pretty good ends. It’s going to be a big test for me and Ja’Wuan (James), but it’s always good to keep your head up going into that game and get prepared to protect Jay (Cutler).”
(What’s it like to begin your season with arguably your toughest challenge?) – “It’s fine. Like I said, I feel like my whole schedule is a tough challenge. I’ve got Von Miller, Khalil Mack, Melvin Ingram, Vic Beasley. I’ve got all the good pass rushers. You’ve just got to look at it in a positive way.”
(Do you feel like you’re settling in a little bit more at the left tackle spot?) – “I’m getting used to it. I’m getting back used to being home. I was at left guard, so I had to get used to that for a year or two; but like I said, it feels good to be back out on an island. I’m happy.”
(At guard, what did you learn from that, that you can take that’ll help you at tackle?) – “Just playing a different position, you really learn the whole offensive line. I learned left guard, what the center does, what the right guard does, what the right tackle does and what the left tackle does. Playing left guard was a plus – an advantage for me – by learning the whole offensive line.”
(How did being out here change preparation for you guys?) – “I feel like it didn’t change at all. It’s the same thing. I still feel like they’ve got us in Davie in the middle of nowhere and you’re focused, focused on our challenge.”
(What about not playing a Week 1 game?) – “It’s fine. We were just really worried about our families and the hurricane.”
(Does it feel like Week 1 or does it feel like Week 2?) – “It feels like Week 1 actually. (laughter)”
(No different?) – “No different at all.”
(With the offensive line, how do you prepare for the unexpected? You guys went through a lot of unexpected stuff last year.) – “We always keep our head up. Like I said, we always have bumps in the road. We’re always going to the film room together and watch film, listen to the coaches (and) what they have to tell us, and listen to them with the game plan.”
(It’s a different role than what you have, but some of those other guys that are required to train at different positions and they’re doing a lot of grunt work. Do you have a good respect for that even though it’s such a different job that what you have?) – “I always have respect for somebody that puts in work, no matter what they do.”
Jarvis Landry – September 14, 2017
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Thursday, September 14, 2017
WR Jarvis Landry
(On assisting the Miami Central High School football team that was stranded in Las Vegas.) – “It was something that was brought to our attention by our media department (Senior Vice President, Communications and Community Affairs) Jason (Jenkins) and his crew, and we had an opportunity to step up, and that’s something that God has blessed us with this platform to be able to do. We just took advantage of it, that’s all.”
(Did you think of yourself as a teenager, that first trip, being away from home, all of that?) – “Yes, I couldn’t imagine how scary it was for them and then the hurricane back at home and things like that. As unfortunate as it has been for those guys, we’re just glad that we could be a part of the efforts to try to get them back home.”
(What runs through your mind when you see some of the pictures? Every day new things are revealed. The keys are devastated and that sort of stuff.) – “It sucks. It sucks because these are people’s homes. It’s where people go just to get away and those places don’t look like that anymore. They aren’t so pretty; but that’s part of being an American. That place is going to rise again and people are going to fill it up again and that’s just a part of it. That’s what we believe in.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on helping out the kids from Miami Central High School?) – “I was just saying that (Senior Vice President, Communications and Community Affairs) Jason (Jenkins) and his staff brought it to our attention and myself, (Ndamukong) Suh, Kenny (Stills), Reshad (Jones) and (Lawrence) Timmons stepped up and tried to find a way to, as nerve racking as it must be for them – these teenagers – to have an opportunity to be stuck there, but to have an opportunity to get them back home means a lot.”
(What’s the biggest challenge about when you do go up tempo with QB Jay Cutler?) – “For us, it’s finding out the Mike (linebacker) point. Once we get the Mike point, it’s seeing who we are hot off. A lot of our offense, we do throw hots, so it allows us that when teams blitz us, we have to know where the point is and things like that. So for us, that’s probably the most difficult part; but a lot of times, (Head) Coach (Adam Gase) puts us in a great position where we don’t have to worry about hots and sights. We just play fast.”
(So he decides when it’s time to go up tempo. What is he usually deciding it based on?) – “Based on whether it’s a big play, whether it’s just something that we want to come out and do that drive. A lot of our offense is no huddle. We just decide to slow it down. We’re not really a huddle team. We’re a no huddle team that decides to huddle when we want to. That’s a better way to put it.”
(What does it say about QB Jay Cutler, who has been here a month, that he can he do that and take over an offense and decide the pace of the offense?) – “It’s like I’ve been saying since the moment he got here, it shows so well and goes a long way that he’s been inside this offense already. Nothing has changed. Maybe the terminology a little bit; but as far as the concepts and things like that, nothing has changed. I think the biggest part was just getting used to our body language, coming in and out of routes, and that’s been about it. He’s doing that really well.”
