Ndamukong Suh – September 13, 2017 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh (Conference Call with Los Angeles media)
(First of all, I hope everything is good for you back in Florida after Hurricane Irma What’s this week been like, football-wise, preparing for a game coming off of something so important back home?) – “First and foremost, thank you. (It is) much appreciated. In regards to football, in my personal opinion, it’s just back to business as normal. I got here on Monday. I’ve been watching film the last couple of days, and we’ve had our first couple of meetings already, so really it’s just having an opportunity to take my mind off a little bit of what’s going on back home in Florida and focus on what’s important out here, and then obviously we’re not worried about football and taking care of that stuff. Obviously the real world hits hard, but it is part of life.”
(It’s a unique situation, you had your game canceled and you have so much time to prepare for the Chargers. How did you guys go about that? Did you watch the Chargers game on Monday night? When did you guys really start prepping for this Chargers team?) – “Yes, it was definitely different. I think everybody’s situation was different. Some guys stayed in Florida and then flew out with the team. I personally left a little bit earlier; I went to go train back home and get prepared in that particular way for myself, assuming that we were eventually going to come out to LA earlier, looking at how the storm was preparing itself and moving along through the weekend. And tell me what your last question was? Sorry, I missed that.”
(You had so much time to prepare for an opponent, almost like a bye week. When did you guys start watching film on the Chargers and did you watch their game Monday night? How did the preparation for the Chargers go for you guys this last week and a half?) – “Like I said earlier, I started Monday and obviously we got into it as a team today for the first time, and also watched some film as well on Tuesday, in working with my coaches. I did watch a little bit of the game on Monday; but for me, I prefer not to watch so much live TV as I like to rewind and look at different things and whatnot.”
(What did you see, in the film you’ve watched so far, that may be different from Chargers teams from the past that you’ve seen, with the new coaching staff and any new personnel you’ve noticed?) – “Yes, (they’ve got) a fairly new offensive line. Matt Slauson is the main consistent guy, I think as well as with their right tackle (Joe Barksdale). Watching overall, primarily in the run game, they have some of their head coach’s (Anthony Lynn) inklings of how he likes things to be done. I think he’s been a running backs coach for the majority of his career and at this stage, that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I’ve watched a little bit of the pass game and obviously seen what they’ve done; but I have an idea of what they plan to do. At the end of the day, understanding and playing against them many times, I believe they’re going to have a particular scheme for us up front, as well as our overall defense, so I really can’t just say that overall they’re going to do this against us.”
(You guys are in a unique situation because of QB Ryan Tannehill’s injury you brought a quarterback in late in the process with QB Jay Cutler. How has he come along and is he up to speed with where he would have been had he been at camp and what’s his effect on the locker room?) – “Jay, in my opinion, has stepped in and it’s been a great situation. I think it’s awesome what he’s been able to do and accomplish with (Head Coach Adam) Gase in Chicago when he was the (offensive coordinator) there. I think the offense he’s familiar with. It didn’t seem like he had too many hiccups. I think the biggest thing that they’re going to have to get used to on the offensive side of the ball, going up against them in camp, is just the timing – different athletes, different guys that he has. I think we’ve got a great core group of skill players that he’s excited about. Obviously, I’ve spent some time with Jay and talked to him and whatnot, so I think overall, we’re not going to find out how great he’s going to be and how great our offense is going to be until we have live bullets, which will be this Sunday; but I think we’re moving in the right direction from obviously going up against him in practice.”
(With Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph leaving, how different has the defense been or has it been pretty much the same philosophies and schemes as you had last year?) – “I think (Defensive Coordinator Matt) Burke has definitely had his own taste on it, which I enjoy. I’ve been with Burke since really my rookie year. We both were rookies in Detroit together, as it was his first linebackers job officially in the league and me coming out of the draft. Vance is a great coach, I enjoyed him and congratulated him on his win this Monday (against the Chargers). I definitely miss him because he’s a great person, but I’m excited with what we have here with (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) and Burke, as I said before. I’m excited about the season and what we’re going to be able to do. I think we have a great plan and as we’re getting into this week, and really seeing what we’ve got prepared for Tampa, if we played that game, I have a lot of excitement and enjoyment looking forward to the season overall.”
(This is going to be a unique situation, I think for everybody on Sunday, where no one really knows what to expect at an NFL stadium with 27,000 people in it. You’ve played, obviously, in huge games throughout your career. Do you think it can even be loud with that amount of people there? What do you think the environment is going to be like in a stadium that’s so small?) – “Honestly, I’m not too concerned about it. It is going to be a smaller stadium, and obviously less fans, and things of that nature. I can’t think back to a situation in the pros or especially not in college, as Nebraska has 90-100,000 people; but I guess I would just go back to saying it’ll be similar to a high school or a small college, wherever it may be. I could say going out to Florida (International) I believe is where we had our first prep practice and live scrimmage my first year down here in Miami. I can think back to that. That was a smaller stadium and what not; but at the end of the day it’s not really a big focus for me. I think it’ll be loud and exciting and I look forward to just playing.”
Jay Cutler – September 5, 2017
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(With this hurricane headed our way are you having second thoughts about coming to Florida?) – “(laughter) No. It’s still warm right now. Obviously we’ve got to be prepared for what’s coming, but I think everyone in South Florida has kind of been through the drill and is well prepared.”
(How weird is it to not know where or when you’re going to play this game?) – “Yes, I mean it is what it is. I mean luckily enough for us, we started Monday, so we’re kind of ready … ready to go. I mean if they want to do Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, we’re kind of open to anything and this team is young and flexible and they’re ready to rock.”
(In Houston after Hurricane Harvey we saw athletes like JJ Watt, James Harden take the lead and try to galvanize the community to help. Do you see that and you think what as it pertains to what could possibly happen here?) – “I think it’s great. I think it definitely gives you a blueprint for what could happen here and what the aftermath could look like and what is, for football players and other pillars of the community, I mean sometimes you’ve got to step in and help out.”
(A couple of network commentators who have said this is the best offensive talent that they believe you’ve played with. Do you agree with that?) – “Every year is different. These guys can definitely play football. I don’t really want to compare these guys to really anybody else because you never know. Really, it takes 11 guys – up front, the guys outside, running the ball, play color – but I like this group. It’s a really good group.”
(Can you put into words what this opportunity for the Dolphins means to you personally?) – “I mean it changes day to day. I’m excited though. Coming to work with these guys and with (Head Coach) Adam (Gase), it’s been a lot of fun. Every day’s a new challenge, but every day is exciting and I’ve just enjoyed it. It’s been fun.”
(Do you appreciate having a fresh start in some sense at 34 years old?) – “I don’t know. I feel grateful I was in the same spot for eight years. There’s a stability to that. There’s a factor you can kind of grow there; but there’s something to being said with a fresh start. Every situation is different.”
(What do you feel like you have to prove at this point in your career?) – “That’s for you guys. I’m really honestly on Tampa Bay. We’re one game at a time here and today was third down and that’s kind of where my mind is at.”
(You were obviously at peace with ending your career after last season had it turned out that way and I know you’re not in the mood for big picture questions, which I totally get but would there be something …) – “But you’re going to ask it anyway (laughter).”
(But would it be satisfying or significant for you to go out on a winning team in a winning … you know contributing to winning again as you had done earlier?) – “Right now it’d be satisfying to go 1-0 and that’s kind of where we’re at. We prepare for Tampa and if we play here, if we play in … you know I’ve heard anywhere in the Southwest. It depends on where we go. If we start 1-0, that would be satisfying, then we’ll move from there.”
(Going no huddle, is that something that would be appealing for you to do a lot? Have you and Head Coach Adam Gase talked about that?) – “Yes, it is part of what we do here. It’s (in our) arsenal. It’s a piece of the puzzle, though. If we can go no huddle and if we’re picking up first downs, if we’re going three-and-out, three-and-out, then we’ve got to re-assess the situation and maybe slow it down and make sure everyone’s on the same page. We haven’t talked about what we’re going to do this game. We kind of have everything up and we’ll play it by ear as we go.”
(You mentioned playing somewhere in the Southwest this weekend?) – “I made that up. I haven’t really actually heard that. (laughter) That was just … I was just kind of throwing that out there. We can play in … I don’t know where we could play.”
(I was going to ask if there was any scenario that’s been discussed with you guys and you mentioned that.) – “No. Do you know something? (laughter)”
(No. no.) – “I mean everything is up in the air. I don’t think they’ve really come to any conclusions. You guys know about as much as I do. You guys probably know more than I do.”
(You had a rough time against this Bucs defense last November. What’s your recollection of this group in your scouting report?) – “Their front seven is really good. You’ve got to take care of some guys up front. The secondary, they’ve gotten better. They mix things up. They’re not afraid to blitz you. They’re not afraid to bring some zeros. A talented group and anytime you play somebody in the first game, they’ve got all offseason to get ready for you. Everyone wants to start 1-0. We’re going to get these guys the best punch.”
(Do you know anything more in South Florida or this area than an hour drive from whereever you’re staying?) – “A few restaurants and that’s probably about it. I mean I’ve been … how long have I been here? Three weeks or so. So I mean it’s pretty much been football and I assume it’s going to continue to kind of just to be football until, if we get a bye this year. I don’t know.”
(How conditioned as a professional athlete are you to leave all that stuff behind when like a hurricane like this is coming at us. Just to think about what you have to do on the field?) – “I’m in a different situation than probably most of these guys because my family’s not here. A lot these guys have a lot on their plate and moving their families and you’ve got people coming in and your house and your cars. I’m kind of one of the few lucky ones that, I’ve got a car here and a bag full of clothes and that’s kind of it. But you’ve got a lot of guys in that locker room that are going through a lot of things in their head and we’ve got to be mindful of that and kind of help them any way possible.”
(How do you keep that from affecting if you play a game, affecting the results of that game?) – “I think these guys are smart enough and kind of mentally tough enough to know when we’re in the building, we’ve got to put some stuff on the backburner. I think the Dolphins organization does a great job of putting people in place to help, help these players in any way possible so they can concentrate on the field.”
(So I assume this is your first hurricane?) – “Yes.”
(And how’s your family with that?) – “I haven’t …. I think they’re fine. I mean I think (my wife) Kristin … We’re probably leaving, I’m assuming? I’m assuming we’re leaving, probably? I don’t know. But if we do, I don’t know. We haven’t had many conversations about it. I’ve kind of been focused on Tampa.”
(How much would changing the bye week, not having a bye week, sort of impact the football team?) – “It’d be tough. It’d be tough, but we’d make it through it. Obviously we’d have to. But I mean our guys kind of need that bye week to get healthy and kind of push through the second half of the season. This is kind of my latest bye week I think I’ve ever had. It’s what, (Week) 11 or 12? Whatever we’ve got. But it’s not an ideal situation not to have a bye for us.”
Jarvis Landry – September 5, 2017
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Tuesday, September 5, 2017
WR Jarvis Landry
(What do you think about the storm coming? Worried for the community? Worried about your own property? Worried for your friends and family?) – “Of course. I think at any time, especially like this, the concern of safety for everybody that could potentially be affected by this is of high concern. I think for us, it’s just finding safety, finding shelter, evacuation routes if need be and kind of go from there.”
(I know you’ve been through this before, but is it tough to worry about football, your own safety and you were getting so hyped up for the first week of the season. Is it kind of tough to balance all that?) – “In a way, but I think for us, one of (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase’s biggest things is when we step in this building – we step in between the lines – we’ve got to be where our feet are. For us, when we’re here, we’re just trying to focus as much as possible as if the game was tomorrow, Sunday – whenever it is. That has been our main focus, main concern and outside of that, our families and taking the necessary precautions to evacuate if need be.”
(Can you talk a little bit about QB Jay Cutler and your impressions of him over the last month and what kind of season do you think he’s capable of having?) – “He’s a stud. He’s a stud. He threw a couple post balls today that got the team fired up a lot. Just the way he has handled himself around the building, just the way he has come in here and communicated with us so well, from the o-line to the receivers to the running backs, it’s really trickling down through the team. It’s allowing us to develop chemistry that is going to allow us to do special things this season.”
(When you have a quarterback like QB Jay Cutler with that level of aggression, in terms of the passes that he throws, how excited does it make a receiving corps?) – “Very. When you have somebody like Jay (Cutler) back there, it’s honestly … There’s not a matchup on the field that he’s not willing to take, especially with DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, Julius Thomas – even when the backs come out of the backfield – to have an opportunity to really pick where he wants to throw the ball and trusting everybody to make plays and he is going to put it in the right spot for us to have an opportunity to do that. Having a guy like Jay even to extend plays, it’s going to be big for us.”
(What’s QB Jay Cutler’s personality like? What does he joke about? What do you guys joke about with him?) – “Jay is laid back. You would think he would be a bit of a talker, but he’s laid back. He’s here to win. I think that’s his biggest thing. You can see that in the way he handles himself in the building. Again, the way that he communicates with his teammates and with the coaching staff to make sure that we’re one accord.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said during camp that he and QB Jay Cutler kind of have similar personalities. Do you see that in the huddle? Does it feel like maybe Adam Gase is in the huddle there with you guys?) – “At times. He and Jay definitely have a unique relationship. You can tell that they spend a lot of time together there in Chicago, and it has carried over. You can tell that their relationship continued when Gase came here. The way that those two guys handle themselves, it’s all for the betterment of the team, and that’s the biggest part about the whole thing.”
(QB Jay Cutler has done well in no-huddle throughout his career. Do you expect to do more of that this year than you guys did last year and do you like that approach going fast, no-huddle?) – “We’re hoping to. Whatever puts us in the best situation to run more plays, run more effective plays, not allow the defense to substitute as much. Jay definitely loves to go on the ball, so that’s something that we’ve been trying to emphasize a little bit. It has helped us with our conditioning. Not only being the heat but it has helped us run a little bit more and get our wind up. So, it’s definitely something that we want to take to our advantage.”
(Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. and you are going into the season tied with career catches. Have you had conversations this week as the regular season is about to start?) – “No, they haven’t. Our relationship has always just been like a friendly competition, brotherly competition, kind of understood, not said. I wish him all the best this year. I wish his whole team the best. I wish we get an opportunity to play him in the Super Bowl. That’d be epic right there.”
(Do you anticipate seeing much of Buccaneers CB Brent Grimes in this game?) – “Yes, I hope so. Honestly, we’re looking forward to the matchup, period. This is the first game of the season. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time. A lot of anticipation, a lot of hype built up from last year. We want to come out and take it one game at a time this season and Tampa Bay is the first team that we get a chance to do that with.”
(Would moving this game to the bye week would it drastically impact you or the season?) – “Like 16 weeks straight?”
(Yes.) – “Yes, man. Listen, it’s a long season. Let’s be honest about it. It’s a long season, and I think the stretch after our bye week is probably one of the toughest – if you want to be real about it – probably the toughest in the NFL. That bye week will give us an opportunity to kind of get some guys healthy. In this NFL, in the league, you’re going to get banged up week in, week out. For us, that bye week, it comes at an appropriate time. For us, to keep it there would be huge; but I know there are unfortunate situations and it’s out of our hands and it’s up to the NFL and the teams to decide what happens; but we could use that bye at that time.”
(So you would rather – not to put words in your mouth – but you would rather the game be relocated than pushed to the bye?) – “I would play today if we could. Obviously, again, that’s up to the team, the NFL, both organizations. If it is moved and we’ve got to play 16 weeks in a row, it’s something that we’ve got to do. We’re going to embrace the process, embrace the challenge and we’re going to make it happen.”
Ndamukong Suh – September 5, 2017
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Tuesday, September 5, 2017
DT Ndamukong Suh
(What are your thoughts about the concerns about the hurricane relative to preparing for a football game.) – “Honestly, we’ve gone through this last year. Looking at that situation and looking at where we are right now, all we can do is really focus on football. Let the higher ups from (Head Coach Adam) Gase and our ownership and our front office be concerned with the game and us prepare. Whether we play it Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, I believe this team will be ready.”
(How much would moving the game to the bye week – Week 11 – impact you from a football standpoint and from a team standpoint?) – “Like I said, I don’t know what the plan is and I’m not going to really focus on it. I’m just going to be prepared to go against Tampa’s offense, and that’s what I think everybody else is planning on doing. That’s the message that we are, as leaders, going to continue to emphasize on and then when we know we have to play, we’re going to play.”
(Are you worried on a personal level? You have a family, home, everything with a Category 5 potentially heading at us. What are your thoughts about that away from football, about the community and how dangerous this could be?) – “I’m definitely concerned about the community in South Florida as a whole. Really the whole state, especially with a state of emergency. Luckily, my family doesn’t like me so they’re up in Portland, Oregon and Detroit and up north. (laughter) They’re safe for the most part but myself, we’ll figure something out.”
(Any message to the fans about thinking about them or anything like that?) – “Oh yes, I’m definitely thinking about them. Please be safe. Be smart. Obviously listen to all of the messages that are given to people and like I said, be smart.”
(Is there any sort of level of frustration on the players side just wanting to know when the game is going to be?) – “No, I wouldn’t say so. I think our mindset and personally, my mindset, is all concerned about the (Buccaneers) offense and understanding that. This is our second day of practice and (we’re) getting real familiar with Tampa and their particular offense. I’m excited. I’m looking forward to when we will play; but not too concerned because whether it is Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, it’ll eventually hopefully happen soon.”
(When you’re playing a team without a starting running back – Buccaneers RB Doug Martin has been suspended for this game – how do you prepare in terms of who you prepare for with the backs?) – “I think you prepare for multiple backs as you do for any game. At the end of the day, we know Doug is most likely going to be out. I believe he is suspended; but Jazquizz Rodgers is a great player. I played against him when he was in Atlanta. I’ve known him since he was at Oregon State and I look forward to playing against him and whoever else he has in their committee.”
(What lessons have you taken from last year’s slow start to avoid that and have a fast start this season?) – “I think it’s good for this young team – even though I’m an older guy – that they went through that experience and knew how to fight their way out of it. At the same time, when we look at this particular season coming up, we know it’s a situation we don’t want to put ourselves in. It wasn’t easy to get out of and we didn’t get out the best way; but at the end of the day, it’s a new season. We have new focuses and we understand what we need to do and that’s taking it one game at a time.”
(Most of your season you’ve played 82-85 percent of the snaps. Do you see any change in that? Do you foresee any change in that this year?) – “I’m a guy that loves being on the field so it’s very hard for me to pull myself off. Even though I may be getting older or whatever it may be, I honestly go back home and train to play every single snap as possible. At the end of the day, I’m going to be out there and go 100 miles an hour when I am. When ‘Coach T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) pulls me out and asks me to sit and whatever it may be, obviously we’ve got great young guys that can play in (Davon) Godchaux and Jordan (Phillips) and Vincent (Taylor). If I happen to be on the bench for a couple of plays here and there, so be it. I’m going to cheer those guys on; but when I’m back on, I’m going to go 100 miles per hour.”
(So how does that work? Do you ask out? Do they make you come out? How does it get determined when you’re not there?) – “I don’t know if there’s a true method to the madness. I think if we’re on a 10-play drive and I’m only at 60 percent, it’s time for me to come out; but if I can still go at 100 miles an hour after 10 or 15 plays, I’m going to keep going. I think that’s what the great thing about our defense and our defense is that we’re all interchangeable. All of us can come in and play any particular position whether it’s end, tackle and vice versa.”
(Have you watched any episodes of Hard Knocks this summer and if so, have you taken anything from it?) – “No, I haven’t watched any Hard Knocks. I saw that (the Buccaneers) were on it but no, I didn’t take the time to peak in as I was in camp myself.”
(Your career parallels that of Buccaneers DT Gerald McCoy quite a bit, going back to your days in the Big 12. Is he somebody you’re friendly with and how would you compare your game with his?) – “That’s probably why I was laughing because Gerald was on the face of Hard Knocks and I saw his video. We were together on, I believe, an ESPN shoot this summer. I’m definitely friendly with him. I’ve seen him obviously coming out. We’ve known each other since college. (He’s a) good dude. I love being around him when we’re not going against each other.”
(Speaking of shoots, you were in a commercial there with New Orleans Pelicans C DeMarcus Cousins. How was it and what was that experience like?) – “That was great. I love being able to work with other guys, especially from other sports. Guys that I’ve respected and seen them grown up in their own ways. Especially when he was at Kentucky, he was with some other younger guys that I know from back home that he played with. It’s always fun and exciting to do cool things together so I look forward to more opportunities like it; but it’s good to be around those types of guys and see how they view the world.”
(When they made that pitch to you in terms of playing on your personality, what was your initial reaction to it?) – “It’s always fun to make fun of yourself and be lighthearted. I think as you get mature, you can do more and more of that.”
(Who was the better actor between you and New Orleans Pelicans C DeMarcus Cousins?) – “I don’t know. You have to look at the body of work and he’s done a little bit more. (laughter)”
(In the commercial, there was a license plate that said BLM. Is that more of a subliminal message or is it…) – “Honestly, somebody brought that up to me. I didn’t know about that until somebody mentioned it to me so I really can’t speak on that.”
(As pro athletes, you guys are conditioned to just think about what’s going on here. Do you almost have to be like that when you have a situation like this where there is so much uncertainty?) – “I think to some extent, yes, especially when we’re in the building; but I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. When I go home, I’ve got to take care of my house and do certain things, check in with my parents and make sure …. My dad keeps texting me ‘Make sure you get away and do what you have to do.’ At the end of the day, like I said, we come in here and when we’re in these walls, we focus on what we need to focus on. And then at the same time, you have to be human and understand what’s going on and be able to adjust and adapt to certain situations.”
(How do you feel physically after going through all of training camp and then having a little bit of a break there?) – “I feel great. I think ‘Coach T’ (Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams) did a great job for us older guys. There are very few of us but I feel honestly great. I look forward to going into the season and playing all 16 plus.”
Adam Gase – September 5, 2017
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Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Head Coach Adam Gase
(What, if anything, can you tell us about this weekend?) – “Nothing. I don’t have an update. I don’t know.”
(There was a report there was a conference call this morning and there’s no…) – “I was in meetings, so I wasn’t involved in it.”
(How are you handling practice? Is there any change based on certain things that could happen?) – “No.”
(At this point you have no idea if you’re having a game on Sunday or not? Is that what you’re telling us?) – “I mean as far as I know, we’re practicing like we’re playing a game somewhere, sometime this week.”
(So it’s your expectation you will play somewhere this week then?) – “I don’t know. I mean, sure.”
(Have you guys ruled out playing it here this weekend?) – “Nobody’s told me that.”
(Is there anything that has been ruled out definitively?) – “No. I’m not asking those questions. Once somebody tells me something, I’m not going to waste my time speculating on anything. We’re going to keep preparing like we’re playing Sunday. Where and when, we really don’t care.”
(Who would make that decision? The NFL or the team or what?) – “I think it’s conversations between us, Tampa and the NFL.”
(Are the players just as concerned? I mean they have families.) – “No, I mean they would just want to figure out what’s going on, so then they can make plans.”
(You have a football family and then you have a family at home. I know my wife is a little worried right now. Can you tell us about your family?) – “She’s handling … She deals with it on her own. She doesn’t … She isn’t waiting for me to tell her anything. She’ll tell me what she’s doing.”
(Any talk from the players at all about being nervous or thinking about it or anything like that?) – “Nobody said anything to me. They just said when you know something, let us know.”
(Do you have a preference regarding finding a way to play this week versus playing 16 in a row and giving up the bye week?) – “Whatever they tell us to do, we’ll do.”
(If it turns out that you have to move the game, how do you prepare, especially with potentially at least tropical storm force winds potentially being here on Friday?) – “Prepare for…?”
(Do you just prepare like you would normally, like assume you’re going to have a game on Sunday?) – “Yes, I mean we’re going to keep practicing and getting ready for the game until somebody tells us different.”
(Did the threat of Hurricane Matthew before the Tennessee game last year prepare you in any way for the threat of this game possibly being moved, a change of practice schedule?) – “I mean, this was kind of our … I don’t know, this might be the last time we do the whole Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday thing. We’ve done it twice and both times, you get the same result.”
(Have you been briefed fully by like your operations side as to what’s going on, like everything that’s going down?) – “They’re doing what they’re supposed to do and that’s make preparations for every scenario they can think of. I really would rather not hear about it. They know what to do. That’s what they get paid to do.”
(Have you ever been part of a game that’s been shifted?) – “No, I haven’t.”
(Have you guys explored how this might affect your upcoming week where you’re supposed to travel to the West Coast?) – “No. I’m not worried about that. Once whenever this week ends, then we’ll move on to the next week.”
(Obviously you’re here for football questions as well, just on a couple of your rookies. CB Cordrea Tankersley, did he show you during training camp that we was maybe advanced beyond the point at which you all might have thought? He made a lot of plays on the ball.) – “That’s what we were expecting when we drafted him. I think when you play that position sometimes, that learning curve … You’re always hoping for acceleration and understanding that every guy you go against is really … They’re all fast. They’re all physical. They’re all quick, and that can be a little change of pace for you when you’re coming out of college where you may see some guys on some teams that aren’t upper-tiered type players at that level, where in this league, it’s really kind of no matter who you go against, it’s not an easy matchup. They’re always tough matchups and you’ve got to bring you A-game every day. With (Tankersley), his big thing is size and speed and being physical at the line of scrimmage. It’s always going to be when you get those smaller, quicker guys out on him, his game plan going into it, how are you going to handle that? What are the little things you’re going to work on to make sure that you take that advantage back by using that? I think it’s been a good learning process for him because he’s had to go through and go against so many different body types. When you’ve got a guy like, one day you go against DeVante (Parker), then you go against Jakeem (Grant) and then (Leonte) Carroo and then Kenny (Stills), I mean it’s just every day is a different battle for him.”
(When you see a young guy like that be able to drive on a slant and pick the ball off, what type of instincts and footwork does it take to be able to do that?) – “It’s that ability to stick your foot in the ground and accelerate and be right on it. It’s all good until that guy runs a double move and you’re nowhere to be found. That’s part of the learning process. That’s why when you see the really, really good ones, they seem to not get beat on those type of plays. They kind of feel what the receiver is doing. They can tell whether it be by body language, the way he comes off the ball, if something is different like that. That’s why when you find those special corners, it’s hard to … You want to get as many as you can. There’s just not a lot of guys like that.”
(I know you talked about starting fast a couple times this summer. You’ve been on both sides – fast starting teams and slow starting teams. What is the difference in those?) – “It’s hard to put my finger on it exactly why some teams I’ve been on have started fast and some have started slow. Sometimes you have those games where one or two things don’t go quite your way or you don’t do things exactly the way you need to do them early and it kind of snowballs on you, where it’s the opposite – a couple of things do go your way and then it starts going really right for you. It’s amazing how one or two plays can affect one game that can lead to four or five games – confidence when you win one of you kind of get it rolling.”
(You mentioned the possibility of a corner – CB Xavien Howard or whoever – being able to have the flexibility to follow one receiver. What goes, in general, into the thought process about whether or not to do that or not, to stick with just the left and right?) – “You really have to feel comfortable that you match up well by doing that and you don’t want to do it to where, okay, one guy is good, but now you’re having problems somewhere else. It really needs to be the right combination of what the other team has and what you feel like we can do defensively. You would think it’d be really easy, but there are a lot of factors you’ve got to think about.”
(What lessons from last year’s start did you take away that you can apply to going into this season?) – “The beginning of the year last year … What really put us in a hole a little bit was we mis-executed a few things early that were critical plays in the game in some of the games that we lost. We did not play well in the New England game at all. The Seattle game, I thought the effort, the energy (was good) – we hadn’t done it enough together. There are little, tiny details that I feel confident about this year that we would do. At least that puts us in a position to make plays. Last year we kind of took away from that. A couple of those games, we just didn’t play very good. We didn’t coach good enough. We didn’t play well enough. That’s probably the reason for a few of those games early. The longer we were together and we all started to get a feel for each other, I felt we started clicking there. We had a really good feel of how we did it. As the coaching staff, the players, we got a good feel of how they wanted to … What we could do to use their strengths and then they really took to it and took off with it. That’s really what you’re looking for. Coming out of training camp, our confidence level should be higher than it was last year, because we’ve done it together for a longer period of time. There are a lot of familiar faces in that room. You look up and the only two new guys you really see outside of the rookies are Anthony (Fasano) and Julius (Thomas). One of them has already been in the offense. You feel you’re ready to play a game.”
(You got two premier defensive tackles in DT Ndamukong Suh and Buccaneers DT Gerald McCoy. When you have one of those guys, how do you take advantage of him to maximize his effectiveness when you go against him? What are you options to limit his effectiveness?) – “You try to do everything you can to get one-on-one matchups. It’s hard, because the other team is thinking the same thing you are: don’t let them get one-on-one matchups. When you’re going against a guy like that, it can cause problems. It can take away a lot of the things that you’d like to do. He can make you one dimensional. There’s only probably three or four of them in this league that are like these two guys. There might be one other guy. These guys, they’re so disruptive and it’s a constant. It just seems like these guys – the special ones – for some reason they seem to be able to play 70 plays a game at a high level the whole game, where a lot of guys at that position, you hear, ‘He played 30 plays. He played 35 plays.’ These guys are (different). They’ve got a different motor. They’ve got a different mindset. They’re tough to play against.”
(With CB Xavien Howard’s skillset, is it reasonable in Year 2 to expect high level cornerback play from him all year?) – “I think if you asked him, he would say yes. As coaches, you’re never going to get ahead of yourself. You want to put the guy in the best position possible. You want to try to help them develop. You don’t try to jump the gun and say ‘This is where he is compared to the rest of the guys.’ As a player, you want a guy that’s just confident and thinks he’s one of the top guys in the league. I like how he’s worked. I like how he’s developed. We just want to keep him healthy and keep him rolling.”
(CB Torry McTyer, a guy with his speed, how was he missed? What was it that enabled him to…) – “I can’t explain all of that. All of us have … I’ve had bad play calls. I’ve misevaluated guys before or misused guys before. In scouting sometimes, you think you see some … A guy is one way and then he comes in and he’s a different guy. He just shows something different or he’s a better fit than he was in college. You just never know. I went through it in Denver with Chris Harris. He came in and all of a sudden you kept hearing him talked about on special teams and the next thing you know, he’s starting for us. How can you explain that one?”
(What was it that enabled CB Torry McTyer to kind of be more of a fit here or to make this roster?) – “It seems like most of the guys that ended up being undrafted guys that make it are … They’re playing for their lives every day from the day they walk in. There’s a different mindset. They know nothing is given to them. They’re fighters. They wouldn’t be doing it if they didn’t love it because no one else thought they were good. You like that. That’s why I like those guys that we’ve got. They’ve got a different mindset.”
(What went into the organizational decision to extend S T.J. McDonald?) – “Well, I think he came in and that was one of the discussions when we brought him on board was just do right and work hard and show that you’re a fit here. Anybody that watched him practice and play, I would say I don’t think there would be too many people arguing.”
(Buccaneers DE DeSean Jackson, what are the challenges when you’re playing a guy who is averaging 17 yards per reception in his career?) – “It’s tough. When you can stretch the field like he can, the way he runs routes, you always feel like he’s going vertical and then all of a sudden he hits the breaks and then there’s 7 yards of separation. When you have that kind of speed and quickness, it’s a tough matchup. You try to do the best you can, stay high on him and stay as tight as you can. The biggest thing is, when you’ve got a guy that is making plays down the field, you have to do everything you can up front to get to the quarterback fast, just so he can’t run 20 yards down the field and then break in or out. You’ve got to hold onto the ball for a second. You’ve got to create pressure on the quarterback and stay as tight as you can and just make the window as small as possible. It’s tough to stay extremely tight to a guy that has that kind of speed.”
(Have you or did you adjust your schedule at all – meetings, practices, anything – with the idea that maybe if the game is moved up, you’ve done work that you expected to do Thursday or Friday?) – “No. We had this … That’s what I’ve been saying is it’s strange that this is happening again because we were planning on going Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday this week. It’s just kind of weird how we’re practicing and now this is coming into range later in the week. It was just kind of coincidence.”
(Are you worried at all? Personally, are you worried? I would assume you have to be like everybody else is, a potential Category 5 hurricane coming in and the devastation that can cause. But have you given it much time to think about what the impacts of this could be if we get any kind of direct hit?) – “I’ve never really been through anything like that, so it’s hard. I don’t know what to expect. For me, the closest I came was last year in that Tennessee week, and I don’t think that was really … Most of the people around here said that was nothing; it was a strong breeze. I just want to make sure our players, players’ families … I just want our group of people just to feel like we know what we’re doing and everybody can handle the business they need to handle and let our organization do what they do and everybody do their job.”
(Any message to the fans who are wondering what do we do with our tickets or anything like that?) – “I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far yet.”
(Are there people facilitating players and maybe their families who maybe this is also their first time going through a hurricane?) – “Yes, that’s one of the things that (Director of Player Engagement) Kaleb Thornhill … That’s why we have him and (Player Engagement Coordinator) Yves (Batoba). Our player engagement guys, they do a great job and make sure they’re talking to our guys and making sure who knows what to … Who has people that are here that are not really sure what to do and how do we go about handling everything. We have a lot of communication going on down there with those guys. The biggest thing that they’re waiting for me is what’s the next step? They’ll just keep going about their business until somebody tells them different and that’s kind of how those guys have to go through this.”
Julius Thomas – September 4, 2017
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Monday, September 4, 2017
TE Julius Thomas
(Talk about the chemistry you guys have been building with QB Jay Cutler here in this short time. He has only been here four weeks, but it seems like you guys are already gelling as pass catchers.) – “I think it really helps that he’s very confident in what he has to do as a quarterback. To have that advantage, to have the advantage of him being in this offense before, it really has (decreased) the time that it normally takes to get good rhythm, but it’s still going to take more time. We’re every day going up the mountain. We have to continue to keep working on things and keep on detailing it. We’re not where we want to be yet, but we’re on our way.”
(You always hear that cliché you want to get off to a fast start, but it seems like you might have to get off to a faster start if the game might get changed and you guys get moved up to Thursday rather than Sunday or whatnot.) – “We could play the game on Thursday, it would be fine with me. Whatever is safest for everybody, especially (because) a lot of guys have families. That’s a big, heavy concern on their hearts. If we were able to play Thursday, I’m sure everybody here would be okay with it, and we’d be ready to go out there and put some good tape on there.”
(I know you probably have an idea of what this offense is going to look like. I know you and a bunch of guys are new. Are you anxious yourselves to see what it’s going to be like for real when you get out there?) – “Yes. We come practice every day, but you never really know what it’s going to be like. You never really know each season what those plays are, what those schemes that you’re going to do to really affect the defense. We’re really looking forward to coming out there and playing. We have a lot of dynamic athletes. We’ve got some guys that are very explosive. We feel like we’re able to stretch the field, we’re able to run the ball and we’re able to attack the middle of the field. We’re just going to do our job to make it as tough as we can on defense and execute to the best of our ability.”
(A lot of hype on this Tampa team. They’ve been talked up a lot. What do you expect out of those guys?) – “I think that every team in this league is going to bring their best, especially when you’re a playoff team and you’re coming and everybody has respect for you, and they’re going to give you their best shot. I expect Tampa to come in with a great game plan. They’ve had a really long time to prepare for us. Usually going into that first week, teams get that extra time to prepare, so you’ve got to be prepared for them to be very sound. There’s going to be a lot of energy, first week. Everybody should be feeling pretty fresh, not too banged up yet. We know we’re going to get their best shot.”
(What do you think of the possibility playing either Thursday night or Friday night?) – “I like it. Let’s do it. Let’s play when it’s the safest for everybody involved. Not even a little bit of a worry from me in that area.”
(How would you describe Head Coach Adam Gase the play caller?) – “Competitive. A lot of people probably don’t think that when you’re calling the plays, you can be very competitive. He’s extremely driven to put us in the best position each and every play. If there’s something that he’s thinking about before he goes to bed at night, it’s how can he put us in the best positions, how well does he know that defense and what do we have to do to execute at a high level.”
Cody Parkey – September 4, 2017
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Monday, September 4, 2017
K Cody Parkey
(On how he found out he was going to the Dolphins.) – “My agent called me and told me that I got picked up off waivers by the Dolphins. Obviously, I was pretty stoked; and then Mike (Tannenbaum) called me and told me they were bringing me in and I was their guy and that he had a lot of confidence in me, so it was really good news.”
(How would you describe your roller coaster of emotions this weekend?) – “Pretty crazy. I went from having a really good camp in Cleveland to getting cut, unfortunately; but it couldn’t have been a better spot for me to land (than) here. I’m close to home and I grew up a Dolphins fan, so this is pretty awesome. I get to kick in some warm weather, which is also good news.”
(Whose poster did you have on your bedroom wall growing up?) – “I don’t think I had a specific player, but just the Dolphins logo. To this day, I still get the updates of the halftime scores and stuff, so after the games on my phone I’m like ‘Oh, the Dolphins won.’ So it’s pretty neat.”
(So you could not have picked a better destination?) – “No, this is awesome. This is incredible.”
(Did you come to a lot of Dolphins games growing up or was the distance a factor from your hometown of Jupiter?) – “It’s only like an hour, so we would come to maybe one a year. Nothing crazy; but we were definitely watching on Sundays growing up.”
(So your parents might come to a few more games this year?) – “Yes, I think so. I might have a few ticket requests. (laughter)”
(Any flashbacks to that last game that you played here?) – “Not really. It doesn’t really matter about the team, necessarily. That was a pretty tough situation. I own it. I had a bad game; but I came back and had a strong season.”
(What is it like to go through that and then show up here? Do you have to meet people? Do you know people?) – “Unfortunately, I’ve been on three or four teams now. (It’s the) same as other guys, so I know a few guys from other teams. So you start there and then you meet John Denney and Matt (Haack), and we just build a rhythm together. But yes, you’ve just got to meet everybody. You learn about 100 names on the first day and just keep rolling from there.”
(What do you know about Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi?) – “(He’s an) awesome guy. (He’s) been here for nine years (and) was at Rutgers before this. I’ve heard nothing but good things from former special teams coaches that I’ve had, about him, so I’m really excited to work with him.”
Kenny Stills – September 4, 2017
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Monday, September 4, 2017
WR Kenny Stills
(I know it’s only been four weeks but it seems like you guys are gelling really well with QB Jay Cutler.) – “Yes, I mean that’s our job, right? With any quarterback that’s in, we’ve got to get on the same page as him if we want to get the ball, if we want to win games. So you see us spending extra time before practice and after practice, like I said before, and just communicating in the meeting rooms. That way we’re on the same page and we can connect and make some big plays.”
(What is it that QB Jay Cutler brings to the table take that you guys really embrace and like here thus far?) – “He’s just a veteran presence in the locker room, in the meeting rooms, on the field. He’s been through it, so he just brings that experience to table for us.”
(You saw us talking to WR DeVante Parker. You were teasing him a little bit. Just talk about his development that you’ve seen being in the league a little bit longer than he has, just how he’s developed this far?) – “It’s exciting to see the way DeVante’s developed these past couple of years and we’re all anxious to see what he can do this year. Obviously he’s had a great preseason and a great training camp and the buzz is building around him, so he’s going to show us what he’s got on Sundays.”
(How would you describe Head Coach Adam Gase the play caller?) – “That’s difficult. I mean I feel like he does whatever he has to do to make sure we win the game. Last year when we were struggling in the pass game, we went to the running game and then when people tried to stop that stuff, we went over the top. He’s a little bit unpredictable and he’s going to do whatever he’s got to do with the pieces that he has to make us win.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase came here with the reputation of being pass happy but then RB Jay Ajayi goes and runs 1,300 yards, so obviously there’s more to it than that, like you’re saying.) – “Yes, I think to your average football fan you’d think he’s a pass-happy coordinator, and then to the analytics people that pay attention, you can see he’s more balanced than people think.”
(How anxious are you to see what this thing looks like for real? Do you have an idea or how anxious are you to see what it looks like for real?) – “What’s that?”
(What you guys have on offense.) – “I mean we know what we have. It’s about all of us just going out there and playing together, playing team offensive and defensive football. We know what we have, so we’ve just got to go out there and do our job.”
(How would you feel about playing Thursday night?) – “I’ll play whenever they tell us to play.”
(How difficult would that be to ramp up three days early?) – “We play professional football. It’s football at the end of the day. If they tell us to play tomorrow, we’ll play tomorrow. I’m good with whatever they’ve got.”
(Is there much buzz among the guys about the uncertainty of the situation?) – “We know that there’s potential, or people talking about the game being moved or cancelled or whatever; but all we can do is handle what we can handle, and that’s going out there and getting prepared for this game, and when it comes it comes.”
