Raekwon Davis – August 24, 2023
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Thursday, August 24, 2023
DT Raekwon Davis
(What’s this training camp been for you? This is Year 4. I know everything is not new to you anymore but how do you feel your progression is? Coach McDaniel talked about putting up the film from your OTAs last year to this year. What did that feel like?) – “You know, with compliments. I love him, but you know, I was taught rat poison from Nick Saban. But it’s been a great camp this year for me so far. Just got to keep it going, maintain my diet, maintenance, keep progressing, little things like that.”
(It seems like you spend more time in the backfield against the passing game this camp. How have you added to your pass rush this offseason?) – “Just sticking with the moves I know, just two or three moves and just get them down pat, practice on them and just work them when I’m out there in team.”
(Do you feel your offseason training kind of translating into that?) – “Yeah, I did a lot of pass-rushing training this offseason, just to get better because I know I’m going to need it for this year. Going into this new defensive scheme, I’m definitely going to have to be able to pass rush and keep a high motor.”
(How has it been working with DT Da’Shawn Hand?) – “Man, he’s so funny. We talk about old stories all the time, because we have so many memories at ‘Bama. Funny guy, bro. He’s being doing great. I love him here.”
(What do you think of the camp DT Brandon Pili is having?) – “Oh, great camp. He’s been one of the young guys that’s producing real well and going in the right direction.”
(What was your reaction when he told you you’d be wearing that orange jersey?) – “You know, (shrugs his shoulders and laughs) that’s cool. I just go and continue to do what I do each and every day, in and out. It’s just an orange jersey.”
(How long have you been working on that playlist? It seemed like you had a good mix of old school and new school.) – “Most of those songs are what I listened to on a day-to-day (basis), so I already had it queued up. I just sent it off to them like, ‘Hey, play this, play this, play this.’ I actually didn’t send the order on how to play it. they just played it. It was a great order.”
(If they would have put you out here for the one-on-one competitions, who would you most liked to have cooked on the offensive line, receiver versus corner?) – “If they put me out there? What am I playing, DB?”
(Whatever you want.) – “I don’t know. I’m not that type of fast. Listen … I’m not just that great yet. (laughter) No, I’m not going out there and pull a hammie. I’m not doing that.”
(You’ve been one of the players who’s known QB Tua Tagovailoa the longest, been with him the longest. What’s it like when you hear people criticize the work that he’s put in to get ready this offseason?) – “Honestly, they don’t know anything Tua does. He just works every day, in and out of here. He just does his job and he continues to practice his technique. They just talk. That’s what they do. They don’t know what he does. He’s having a great camp too, so they can say what they want to say.”
(Where do you feel you’re at right now in your career? How comfortable are you?) – “Right now, I feel this is probably going to be the best year for me. I’m feeling the best. That’s probably how I’m feeling.”
(That’s what Head Coach Mike McDaniel said, you look the best right now. How much confidence does he give you guys?) – “He gives us a lot of confidence, but at the same time, we have to just keep working and going out there on the field to prove it.”
(CB Kader Kohou said yesterday that Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio in the meeting room in defensive meetings works with every single position. He’s not just talking to everybody as a whole. Is that something you’ve noticed as well?) – “Yeah, when we’re doing individual drills, he’s at every drill. He’s just going around, looking at everybody’s technique. He’s also coaching us, too, at the same time as our (position) coach is doing. That’s awesome, man. That’s pretty great.”
(Is that something that’s commonplace? I don’t want you to put down anybody in the past.) – “Coach Saban did it, I’ll say that. How about that? He did it.”
(Are you happy that after today’s camp, you start regular practice? Training camp comes to an end, you’re probably happy about that?) – “I’m just one day at a time. I’m just taking it day-by-day, whatever the next day is, that’s what the next day is. Right now, we’re really still in camp, so that’s what is.”
(You don’t feel a difference?) – “No.”
(How do you fit into the defensive tackle mix? Is it just rotational?) – “Honestly, I couldn’t really tell you scheme. As far as scheme goes, it’s game by game. I can’t control that. My coaches can’t control that so it’s just by games. Whatever grouping that is, that’s the grouping that is.”
(What were your thoughts when you saw Teddy Bridgewater wearing No. 50?) – “Nah, that’s hard. I like that. (laughter) I was like, okay that’s different. Yeah that’s real different. It was nice though. He’s switching it up. I meant to ask him why he went to 50, though. But it’s cool to me. If he loves it, I love it.”
(Do you have any goals or any individual accolades that you want to achieve this year?) – “Yeah. I’m not going to say it right now but I’ve definitely got a lot of goals for myself. I hope to – I’m going to achieve them.”
(With the diet, what were some things that you changed?) – “I mean, just the regular. Just eating better, having my body in shape. That’s it.”
Andrew Van Ginkel – August 24, 2023
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Thursday, August 24, 2023
LB Andrew Van Ginkel
(How ready do you think the defense is for the regular season?) – “I think we’re ready. Obviously, we have one more preseason game to still iron things out. It’s been learning curve obviously learning a new defense with (Vic) Fangio coming in and implementing his style of play. We got one more game and hopefully we can figure out our identity and roll after that.”
(What’s one thing this defense accomplished this training camp, got better at?) – “I would just say communicating. There’s a lot of different parts to the defense and you have to be on top of it. Playing off each other and recognizing the calls and how you can adjust from there.”
(What were the stakes there at the end of practice in those 1-on-1’s?) – “Just a little friendly competition. He called it an ‘all eyes on me,’ so everybody is watching and wanted to see guys compete and show what they can do.”
(I saw you play some off-ball linebacker this camp. How do you think your skills at the edge position benefit you and did you take anything away from that position when playing both of the spots?) – “The more you can do, you get a bigger picture of everything. Being on the edge, I know how the defensive end is going to fit or how the outside linebacker is. Just being able to play off that, it just gives you a better anticipation for the game. It allows you to play faster.”
(What do you say to some of the guys either in this practice or this last preseason game that are trying to make the team?) – “Just go out there and leave everything on the field. Everybody says that, but if you want to make an impression, you have to go out there and make an impact play, one that the coaches will remember, your teammates, everybody. If you’re not on the team here, you’re putting your best foot forward for every other team across America. That’s what I would say to them.”
(Where do you think you’ve grown the most in your cross-training at inside linebacker?) – “Being able to recognize the plays. Obviously, it’s a different game being an inside linebacker. Just being able to see the bigger picture and see everything in front of me and relax my eyes.”
Mike McDaniel – August 24, 2023
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Thursday, August 24, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(DT Zach Sieler we saw leave eventually yesterday with a leg issue. We didn’t see WR Tyreek Hill practice. Are they okay? And who’s going to play quarterback in Saturday’s game?) – “So (Zach) Sieler, I think if you were really locked and noticing, which I know you were, he was going back and forth throughout team drills. It’s because he was dealing with something that was nagging him that it didn’t hurt him to continue, but that was painful. So it’s not anything serious; however, for his individual experience, pain is not always awesome. So he’ll be day-to-day, but nothing to worry about. Tyreek (Hill) was one of those classic coach-to-player protection things that had to do with where we were in training camp, really what he did the day before. He really took it upon himself to dictate the terms of the energy and he did that going full tilt. I think he had the highest sprint yardage and was the fastest player that day and so I really liked where he was at, didn’t want him to take a step back so that’s kind of my role in that. So you should see him today and if I’ve seen enough of him today, you’ll see him stop playing football at some point or he might play the whole practice. I’m just connected with each individual for that reason.”
(On the quarterbacks in Jacksonville, is QB Mike White even able to play?) – “So Mike White is still in the protocol and I’m no genie. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I feel like it would be promising for him to clear protocol, but regardless, you’re not going to see him on Saturday.”
(And so QB James Blackman, will he play on Saturday and do you have an appreciation for someone in his situation where he’s got the opportunity to put something on film, undrafted rookie, called back?) – “I would say I’m expecting him to get some snaps. I like preseason games for a multitude of reasons. They are cumbersome in terms of it’s an extension of the season, but what an opportunity for a guy that deserves it. All he’s done is really put his best foot forward and that’s a tough job sometimes when your literal job is to learn and not as much through action as – you don’t get into playing football so that you can go to meetings. And sometimes that’s his role. Sometimes the most burn he gets in practice is one-on-ones. Sometimes he takes some team reps. All of that, I think him and his teammates really have a strong appreciation of the earned right that it’s one of the reasons I appreciate the preseason; guys get opportunities to do something they’ve really worked at their craft or they’ve really worked on and committed to for their lives. So I’m fired up for him and I think his teammates are, too. He’s a guy that does things the right way and is always prepared for his opportunities regardless of how many there are.”
(There have been multiple reports that the Dolphins have made a trade offer to the Colts for Jonathan Taylor? Are those reports accurate?) – “Here’s the thing with reports. First of all, I think my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter just Tweeted a report. Credence to that, I think as far as that goes, it seems like…”
(What did her report say?) – “That every player in the National Football League is coming to the Dolphins, because I feel like that’s kind of on-trend. So whatever that is. Me, I’ve said this before. I’m not going to speak about other players. And then how many times do I have to explain like, Chris Grier’s job is to work. He works at it a lot and keeps me abreast when the real, generally, when things are real. I don’t have questions about them. There’s been kind of a consistent pattern where we’ve talked about all sorts of players, so reports, whatever. That kind of seems like the noise that is around the business, however, let’s just say I would be doing a terrible job as a head coach – I’ve got 90 players that that collection of players, this will be last practice that they have together in its entirety. That’s a journey that starts for players being in shape and whatever, but as a team, April 17 – this is the 45th time that we’ve had something on the field together and this is the last one and I’m very much just concerned about all those guys and anything less, if I’m worried about whatever hasn’t come to my desk yet, I think that’s an opportunity cost that I’m not willing to pay for all those players and I’m excited to go coach today. It’s a big practice for a lot of guys and something that we see as an opportunity to get better, not worse, and there’s only one direction. It’s either A or B, better or worse. Hopefully my daughter stops Tweeting.”
(The follow-up I have is trend-wise in the National Football League, teams have gone away from valuing the running back. It seems like this organization deeply values the running back position. Can you talk about that philosophy?) – “Let’s just go simple math. It’s a very physical game. There’s let’s say in an average season with 17 games now, let’s say you have 1,200 plays on each side of the ball and how many of those plays are the running backs touching it? It’s a valuable position that you have to have depth at and I think it’s one of the reasons – think of it this way. You’ve gone to practices and you’ve seen two games and pick a day, pick a game and you’ve seen a running back make plays. A running back. Which means there are different ones every time, which speaks to the competition that we have in that room and that’s why I’ve always valued the position. It’s a big portion of your touches and you understand that in that process, you have to have a good solid group really for the team and for your offense for the whole year. I got my feet wet really in NFL game planning in the run game so it’s near and dear to my heart.”
(It’s been a while since we’ve seen the orange jersey. Do you think it will make an appearance today?) – “I think it may today. I think it might be a large orange jersey for a big human being whose name is Raekwon Davis.”
(How do you think his camp has been this year so far?) – “I made a big point in the team meeting today and showed a clip of individual (drills) from yesterday. We were talking as coaches and it kind of triggered my mind, a rep of the same drill back in the last OTA’s, so 2022 OTA’s. It kind of represents one of the main focuses and appreciations of being a coach in this great game, and something that you really hope to see everyone go through, which was a complete and utter transformation in mind and body. His attention to detail, he’s in the best shape of his life by far and you can see it with his play. He’s adding different tools to his game and he’s always had a lot of love from the locker room. You can feel that as a coach and you can feel his teammates really appreciate where he’s at, what he’s done to control what he can control. The Miami Dolphins are better for it so that’s a big and deserving jersey.”
(You told us about the playing status of QB Mike White and QB James Blackman so I have to ask what are the plans for whether QB Tua Tagovailoa plays or not on Saturday?) – “By and large, things always fluctuate depending on variables that are both with play and personnel around players. My plan has been, in the back of my mind, the starting point was more than a series, less than a half for all the starters. That is dependent on today’s practice and overall you’re just trying to prepare guys for the regular season. I had in the back of my mind, if all things were even, Tua would play on Saturday, but that’s something that I’ll revisit with the coaches after we’ve completed this practice and kind of solidify that. But he’s been prepared to all week. I told him that after the last game. He’s prepared as though he is playing and we’ll revisit that after today’s practice.”
(Did Jacksonville’s strategy affect that, with Head Coach Doug Pederson saying he might play his starters into the second quarter?) – “No, unless Jacksonville’s box scores during the season affect our box scores, which I don’t think we can borrow points or subtract points. No, it doesn’t really. I think an important part of this job is to adjust to your particular team and do what your team needs. I’m sure that Doug Pederson isn’t that concerned with whether we are or aren’t playing our starters. And I think that’s something independently you just do what’s right for each individual unit, which is what we’ll do.”
(Yesterday, QB Tua Tagovailoa came to his own defense in regards to being criticized about his physique. I wanted to know if you have any comment on that. You see him every day, you see the work he puts in.) – “I was starting to get annoyed, I was hoping for the opportunity to talk about, if I understand your question correctly, how Tua’s offseason has been. I can say hard facts that I’ve seen with my own eyes. And its top five on the team in terms of, we’ve had a lot of guys really stepped their game up. If you want to talk about somebody that’s committed to doing what he’s doing for the right reasons, he was already invested before this year, but then taking a bunch of things that have happened, he really put an onus on controlling what he can control. So you want to talk about every metric that (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach) Dave Puloka and his strength staff really track, which is pretty much everything to the degree of blinks, every metric of strength that is measured, he’s shattered his previous highs. And in some instances, he’s almost twice as strong with things and that’s been a daily commitment that he hasn’t wavered from. He’s taken his nutrition to another level. He’s taken his commitment to what he’s trying to do and really thought outside the box and really, really worked at it, so I couldn’t be happier with the work that he’s put in and what I’ve factually viewed from my own eyes. Basically, you’re happy for guys as a coach when you can see in the present that down the road, they’re going to have no regrets, meaning the results are what the results are, but you know that without any shade of gray that you’ve put your best foot forward, and he really he really has. And I think his teammates would agree. We are getting the absolute best version of Tua that’s existed.”
(I wanted to ask you about the composition of the 53-man roster. When you’re in those meetings, hammering that stuff out, Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio said that it’s easy to do the 1-40. It’s the 8 to 13 open spots left that are pretty much the challenge. What goes into your mind and factor when you’re putting that back end of the roster versus practice squad?) – “Well, it’s an ironic situation, to tell you the truth, because good problems to have are that much more complex. And the better your competition and your roster depth is, especially with the people that we’ve assembled, and the coaching staff and the front office, we don’t take it lightly and the competition is real. So you have to factor in a ton of things that really get challenging. From my experience, just in the NFL, this is one of the most high intense, competitive across the board situations that I can remember. So in times like that, when there is a plethora of talent and you have minimal distinction between certain guys, like what Vic’s alluding to you, you really have to let the whole process play out. You have to fight your urge to try to, in your mind, figure out who those people are – the competition from, how we rank them from really 40 to 90, it’s a real cool representation of what you want the competition to be like on your roster. However, it makes it that much more difficult. So you have to factor in a ton of things. And a position’s gain is another position’s loss. And that balancing act makes it incredibly difficult. We have multiple position groups where you could go heavy on this team. So what position groups are those? Which individuals are those? The only thing you can do is allow everyone to get their full opportunity. Communicate actively, but let all the information layout because in the game of football, who knows what can happen today? Which is why it’s so exciting that you guys are going to be at practice. It’s the last one. And we’re hoping for it to be good one.”
(Bigger picture question. When you come from a running background the way that you did to speedy receivers like you did, how did you go about meshing together your personnel and scheme? And a year later, do you view that differently?) – “I think from my vantage point, our vantage point here, it’s up to coaches to adapt to their players on that given team. And I think it’s important to be versatile. Thankfully, I’ve had that rep across my career with multiple (stops). It’s one of the positives about only lasting places for like three years and then get booted out is you get a lot of reps at different players and your job is to put forth the best offense you can. I think we’ll always adapt to our personnel and really what defenses are doing. So I think that will forever change. I think it’s hilarious when people talk about the Dolphins offense as one stagnant entity that will always be evolving, depending on all these different variables. I think there’s things that we did pretty well last year, and there’s things that we didn’t do as well as we’d like. So we’ve tried to focus on getting better at those things while maintaining the things that we’re good at. Then you’re just trying to attack defenses where they’re vulnerable. They kind of have a hand in that by the hand they play. And so you have to be able to take advantage of their overplay to one particular phase or the other. So I’ll always be changing what our offense is. I’ll tell you tomorrow. (laughter)”
Bradley Chubb – August 23, 2023
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Wednesday, August 23, 2023
LB Bradley Chubb
(How close is the defense to being regular season ready right now?) – “I feel like you don’t know that until we get there. But from what I’ve seen, we’ve taken the mistakes we have made in the past and corrected them. We’re growing as a unit, as a d-line, I know for sure, because we’re communicating a lot more, figuring out different intricacies of the defense where we could take our shots. I know the DBs are doing the same thing as well, so it’s coming along real well. I don’t know, like you said, if we’re game ready, but I feel like we are and when it comes to that time, we just have to go out there and prove it.”
(Kind of piggybacking off of that question, you’ve been in this defense before. Where do you feel like everyone’s comfort with the scheme is at this stage?) – “I feel like everybody is pretty comfortable. Like I said, now it’s just about mastering the scheme. Everybody knows what to do. Now it’s about, ‘OK, when this happens and this happens, how can I react to that?’ Just trying to take it to that next level, and I feel like everybody is on – out of 10, I’d say everybody is on level seven, six or seven, right now. We still have some time to get it to ten, but I know when we get to 10, it’s going to look real good.”
(This is the second time you’ve been part of a Vic Fangio install for the first time in the system. How would you grade his ability to make it happen quickly? Because we often see new systems take some time to gel. How does he make it expedited?) – “That’s a good question, because I don’t know what he does to make it do that, but I feel like everywhere I’ve been, he gets it in pretty quick. I think it’s a complicated defense in terms of scheme and how the offense sees it, but for us, it’s kind of easy to learn. Especially the outside linebackers, we don’t have too much verbiage and stuff like that that we have to go through. So it’s easier for us, but I know those guys on the backend, they work together, they study together, they do all those things to make sure they get it. That’s a good question. I’m not sure what makes it click like that so easily, but whatever it is, he’s got it, for sure.”
(Is this week a bit of a change of pace going from training camp style practices to more like looking at it like a game week?) – “Yes, for sure. It’s a great change of pace, getting a chance to kind of hone-in your craft (and) better yourself. I mean the last two weeks we were doing that as well, but it was against other competition and all that. You kind of sacrifice the – I wouldn’t say the fundamentals just to win, but the competitive edge comes over. Now it’s a good changeup just to really better yourself, better everybody around you and take it into Saturday full steam ahead.”
(Speaking of other competition, what was T Laremy Tunsil like to go up against?) – “It was dope. It was dope to go against one of the better tackles in the league, get a full week of work with him. He got his, I got mine, and at the end of the day, we made each other better. That’s all you can ask for out of those joint practices. That’s one of those guys that last year I went against him twice. The first game to the second game, I felt like I was a better player. It was kind of cool to see that translate over again in the joint practices, too. So it was a good experience, man. I’m glad we did it.”
(RB De’Von Achane got slammed to the ground twice last week. He’s 188 pounds. As a defensive player, do you think, not that you’re going to hurt anybody, but do you think, “Alright, I’m going to get a good shot in on this guy?” Or is every guy like RB Derrick Henry?) – “Everybody is the same, but it’s actually crazy you said that because I thought it was illegal to pick somebody up and slam them. We didn’t really get a flag on that, so hopefully they take a look at that. When it comes to hitting people, everybody is the same. You’ve got to understand how to tackle people. They have different ways to avoid, making defenders miss and stuff like that. So you have to know how to approach it, but when it comes down to the force, everybody is the same.”
(I know a lot of times, vets will use camp to kind of work on something they want to improve in their game. Is this the week where you transition from that mindset to let’s get ready for the season?) – “Yeah, for sure, man. I’ve been doing it the past two days when it comes, in terms of just rushes and stuff, trying different stuff out because throughout camp I was working on what worked for me. ‘OK, I like this. This is my go-to. I’m going to do this.’ Now it’s kind of more of a, ‘I know what my go-tos are, what could be my change up?’ If it’s third down and the team needs a play but I’m tired? ‘OK, let me see if I can do this, how this works and stuff like that.’ It’s just kind of – the next couple practices, like I said, are a good change of pace because you can work on yourself, work on being a better version of you instead of just competing 24/7.”
(I don’t know if you’re aware, but QB Tua Tagovailoa takes a lot of criticism externally. A lot of it is unfair. Do you protect the guy? What do you do when you hear someone taking shots at your quarterback?) – “I mean, it’s a little bit of both, because you know at the end of the day, he wants to hold that on his head, as the leader of this team, he wants it all to be on him. But at the end of the day, man, you try not to listen to the noise. You try not to listen to the distractions and just love him up as a person. It’s more than just, ‘Oh, he’s the quarterback.’ He’s my teammate. He’s somebody I go to work with every day. He is a person I’ve grown to love and know as a person. When it comes to the criticism and stuff, it’s crazy because when I first got here, I was like, ‘Bro, why is everybody always talking about you?’ He just laughed it off, ‘Uce, man, I don’t know.’ It doesn’t phase him, so as long as we’re being the people each and every day, I feel like it’s going to be good for him.”
(I know S Brandon Jones is a close friend of yours. What sense have you gotten from him in terms of patience, frustration, as he works his way back from somethings?) – “Brandon is a maniac when it comes to working out. He’s like 24/7 always on, always on, always on. I kind of went through the same process in 2020 – going into 2020 from my ACL. Just kind of giving him the knowledge I had from that point of view and telling him all the experiences I had. You’re not going to be 100 percent when you get back on the field. Stuff is going to act up. Your knee has been surgically repaired. They cut open to where your bone has been sawed into. You’re not going to be who you think you can be those first couple of games, first couple of practices. I would just tell him to stay patient. Yeah, you want to work hard and do all of this, but you can’t push it balls to the walls every day because your body doesn’t know how to react to that just yet. Just having those conversations, and he’s getting it. You see him maturing as a player, as a person, each and every day so it’s been dope to see. Every time he’s out there, I give him those words of encouragement because like I said, I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to be feeling like you’re away from the team and then when you’re back, you’re not yourself. Whatever is going through his head, I’ve been there and try to give him those words of encouragement.”
(Along those lines, we saw DT Zach Sieler get treatment for a knee ailment or whatever it was and he went back in there. As a player, where do you draw the line between I know the regular season is coming, or I need to get some work? How do you decide when you should come out?) – “I feel like we’re professionals and we’ve been doing it for a while and you just know your body. If you feel like you could work through something, then ok try to go out there. But at the end of the day, like you said, the regular season is coming up, so everybody has been pretty smart when it comes to things that they are feeling. It’s just about knowing yourself, knowing your body and understanding that the big time is coming up now. For him to be back out there, you know it’s not that serious. It’s something that he’s going to take care of throughout the rest of this day and tomorrow. He’s been a pro since he’s been here, it’s just finding that balance.”
(You were talking about your relationship with S Brandon Jones a little bit ago. I know you got here midseason last year. How is your bond with the other guys in your group?) – “In my group, especially it’s been amazing. It was amazing even last year coming in and having those guys take me under their wings in a sense from the team perspective. I just saw the love and all of that, that they poured into me. So I’m just pouring that same thing into them, and pouring that same thing into the rookies as they come in, and the new guys. I feel that’s how you build that team bond, how you build that camaraderie. It’s just talking to guys, being cool with guys, and understanding that this is more than just football. Caring about guys off the field. It’s been getting there. It’s been fun to see where I was day one and week one last year versus now, so it’s cool.”
(I know there has been a lot of talk and you probably don’t listen to it. But you and LB Jaelen Phillips could be a really good duo together. I’m curious how you guys work. I know you have different personalities, but maybe it’s off to the side, or how you talk through things, can you give me a view of how you guys feed off of each other?) – “Just those little things like talking in between plays. One day I might not be feeling it, but he might be feeling it. ‘Hey, do your thing man. I’m going to do what you need me to do, but do your thing. Go out there.’ And vice versa. He may not be feeling it and I’m feeling great. I’m running around and giving him the energy trying to pick him up. We just try to feed off of each other, because at the end of the day, those two positions are going to make or break the defense. Not to put pressure on it or make us think we got to do the unthinkable, but we’ve got to go out there and set the tone for the defense, and make sure we’re holding up our end of the bargain.”
(You said when you first came here, you asked QB Tua Tagovailoa why is everybody basically on you all the time? He did say today, that if he needs to get scrappy, he’ll get scrappy. Have you seen that?) – “Yeah. I’ve seen it for sure. At first, the outside looking in, you don’t see it. But you see the dude walking around and see how he responds to things. You see how he navigates through it. He’s not going to give anything attention unless it needs attention. That kind of just trickles down to the whole team. Nobody is worried about the small distractions. Ok, yeah it’s going to come, but if you’re talking a little too much then we’re going to have to stand on our name too, at the end of the day.”
(What’s the skill with LB Garrett Nelson that stands out to you?) – “His ability to learn, and to not make the same mistake twice. As a rookie, you’re going to mess up. You’re going to forget the call, you’re going to do the wrong thing every now and then. But he never did the same thing twice in terms of bad stuff. He’s been getting better each and every week of practice. You see it one day. ‘You could’ve ripped a little bit better,’ and then that next day he’s out before practice working on that rip, working on that rip. Then the team period comes and the rip just set him free for a sack. It’s been dope to see his progression, how he takes stuff and how he takes those losses and turns them to lessons.”
Kader Kohou – August 23, 2023
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Wednesday, August 23, 2023
CB Kader Kohou
(I know this time last year and if you were one of those guys that were maybe on the right side of the bubble or wrong side of the bubble. What goes through your mind thinking about where you are a year from then, being established on the team roster?) – “Growth. Happy to be where I’m at but I have to keep working.”
(Where do you feel like you improved the most so far this camp and preseason? Where have you seen the most growth?) – “Just being more consistent. Last year, I felt like I made splash plays, but then kind of have down plays. So just staying more consistent and not letting a bad play affect the next play.”
(Have they given you, the starters, any indication on how much you’ll play on Saturday? And do you think that this defense is regular season ready?) – “Nah, that would be a better question for the coaches. But as a defense, I feel like we do a lot of good things, but we still have a lot to work on. So we’re still just working.”
(How challenging is it to go from the slot to the outside in the same game or in the same practice?) – “It’s not that challenging. I feel like when I’m playing slot or outside, you’re playing man or just zone, so there’s not that big of a difference. It’s not that challenging.”
(Are you still renting or did you buy a house or condo?) – “(laughter) I got the same apartment I had last year.”
(What about a new car? Did you get a new car for this year?) – “Yeah.”
(Is it fancy?) – “(laughter) It’s not fancy.”
(How much have you talked to CB Jalen Ramsey since he got hurt and how’s he been?) – “Jalen, his mentality is different. When you talk to him, it doesn’t seem like he’s hurt. He’s just ready to come back and play. He’s always texting the group chat trying to give us pointers and stuff like that. He’s been great even though he’s not on the field with us.”
(Do you embrace the challenge for the time that he is going to be out, taking a little bigger role?) – “I was going to do that anyway. It’s the same mindset I had going into camp …”
(Last game, RB De’Von Achane got slammed down once and another time a 300-pound defensive lineman fell on him. Have you seen that happen out here during practice? Has anybody slammed joint practices or anything? I’m wondering if there’s anything that he can do as a running back to kind of prevent that?) – “I’ve never played running back, so I don’t know what to do. But we don’t really tackle at practice so I can’t really tell. I didn’t even see the play so I can’t really give too much info on that.”
(You didn’t see that? I know you don’t watch the offense.) – “No, but he’s a great player though.”
(You mentioned consistency as a goal for you this year. What are some things you’re doing to try get more consistent?) – “Really just building into a routine. Last year, I felt like it’s a problem for most rookies. You come in and it’s hard to find the things you do on a day-to-day basis. You get ready for practice or games or watching film and stuff like that. So building a better routine keeps you on track to make everything and settle you down and just play football.”
(Some of your teammates have been really complimentary of you and your play the last year or so. What does that mean to you? Knowing that game recognizes game and how does that make you feel?) – “Especially coming from my teammates, I go to war with those guys every Sunday. If they feel like I’m good enough to play with them and compete with them, it’s a great feeling.”
(What’s one thing CB Xavien Howard does that you make sure that if you didn’t do before, you’re like, ‘I have to do that because he’s doing it?’) – “He just plays the ball like crazy. Ball production. That’s the biggest thing he makes. Playing corner, you have to have a short-term memory. He has that down to a pat. He’s really good at not letting anything get too high or too low.”
(We heard from Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio yesterday. He said something interesting that in the meeting room is when you study, on the field is the exam and he likes to leave you guys alone and let you play. Have you noticed that hands-off approach from him when you’re on the field?) – “Most definitely. I feel like on the field, I don’t even hear him. The only time I hear him talk is when we go to the team defensive meeting room. He’s always the one leading the meetings and he coaches every position on every single play. So whatever he said, yes it’s true.”
(He coaches every position on every single play?) – “Every single play. When we’re watching film, he goes and talks about the d-line, switches the view, then talks about linebackers and then the DBs.”
(That’s unusual from your perspective?) – “I’ve only had two defensive coordinators in the NFL, but even my college coach didn’t do that. We always had separate meeting rooms.”
(We also keep hearing that Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio is funnier than he looks.) – “Yeah, he’s funny. I thought he was going to be one of those guys that was football 24/7, like military and stuff. But no, he cracks jokes here and there. He’s funny without even trying to be.”
(He was talking trash about your guys’ music choice though. Is there anything he pushes in the meeting room?) – “Vic doesn’t know what we listen to, but what did he just turn yesterday – 65 (years old)? I don’t think we have the same kind of music. (laughter)”
(I think he called it noise.) – “Yeah, my grandpa calls it noise too. (laughter)”
Tua Tagovailoa – August 23, 2023
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Wednesday, August 23, 2023
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel hasn’t said whether the starters will play in the preseason finale. If you don’t get action in the final preseason game, do you feel good about the state of the offense entering Week 1?) – “I don’t think you ever feel good until you get live action games in a real season, real defensive looks, not just normal coverage. You’re getting pressures, you’re getting different looks on third down. I guess we’ll never know until we actually go out there and have to really play. So, we’ll see.”
(We saw you get hit in the game against Houston. Was there some jiu-jitsu? Your head stayed up. Was that it?) – “Yeah, I would say we’ve been practicing it once a week, just in case. Try to build that muscle memory for the falling aspect of it. I think it worked out pretty good. It felt good to get back in there, to get hit, to get tackled a little. It was pretty good.”
(Does it feel natural to you at this point where you’re not thinking, ‘I’ve got to do this as I’m falling?’) – “Not yet. Just continuing to practice it.”
(Does the jiu-jitsu continue as you get closer to the season or did you stop?) – “No, I think I’ll continue it. It’s almost gotten to a point where it has been in the flow of things with how I’ve been doing things throughout the week.”
(How unusual was today with no WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle to throw to? Was that the first practice without both of them and how unusual was it?) – “I think it was the first practice. It’s a little unusual not having your guys out there. But it also gives other guys opportunities to showcase themselves with the first group and then also build chemistry with those guys as well.”
(Understanding the process of throwing a football with your left hand, knowing you do everything right-handed. When that first came about, how challenging was that and how long do you think it took for you to master that craft?) – “I can’t remember how long it took for me to get used to throwing with my left hand. I just got to a point where it felt natural throwing with my left and shooting with my left. But I can’t remember how long it took.”
(Ryan Clark on ESPN had some criticism about you, saying that you didn’t hit the gym in the offseason. You didn’t follow nutritionists’ advice. If he were here, what would you say to him?) – “I mean, he probably knows more about me than I know about myself. I don’t know. Ryan’s been out of the league for some time. I don’t know. It’s a little weird when other people are talking about other people when they’re not that person. It was just a little weird. Like my background is I come from a Samoan family. Respect is everything. But if it does get to a point where – hey, a little easy on that buddy because I think we’re pretty tough-minded people and if we need to scrappy, we can get scrappy too. Just saying.”
(How hard did you work in the offseason?) – “I think we all worked hard throughout the offseason. And I’m not someone to talk about myself the entire time, but it takes a lot. Do you think I wanted to build all this muscle? To some extent, I wanted to be a little lighter. There’s a mixture of things that people don’t understand, that people don’t know about, that are talked about that go behind the scenes. So, I’d appreciate if you kept my name out your mouth. That’s what I’d say.”
(It’s Week 1 for a lot of high school students for football. Do you have any advice or words of wisdom you want to share to them as they prepare for their season?) – “Just prepare. Lean back on your training. I think a thing to remember is Jason Jenkins. He’s someone that had a great impact here at the Dolphins. I’d say I had a pretty good relationship with him throughout my years here with him. I just think this is a time to continue to remember his legacy here as a Miami Dolphin.”
(You guys had a 14-play drive in the game on Saturday that you engineered. Last year you had one of the most explosive offenses. How important is it to you as an offense to strike that balance between being able to score quickly and possess the football?) – “I think it’s very encouraging to see for our offense. Adversity hit quick within the first two plays and we were able to knock that off and just continue to sustain the drive. We converted our third downs and we were able to finish those so I thought it was really good.”
(I know this is a day-by-day league, but the opener is not too far away. I don’t know what the plan is for Saturday, but when does your focus even start to go to the regular season opener?) – “I think our focus starts here with Jacksonville. We’re treating this as if it were a game week, so just preparing the way we would on a normal day-to-day week. Normal down-and-distances, third downs, red area and we’ll see what they give us. So I’m preparing as if I’m going to play.”
(Is that a nice change of pace from practice to be able to get to do that? To go from training camp, training camp to that?) – “Yeah, it feels good to practice against other teams, get other looks. The preparation is a little different when you’re joint practicing, but when you’re able to practice on your own, get looks from the scout team, I think that definitely helps in preparation to play on the weekend.”
(You were asked about obviously the Ryan Clark comments. Do you think some people kind of clout chase for lack of a better word? They make their names off yours a little bit?) – “Make their name off of mine?”
(Yeah, like they look to boost engagement because they know QB Tua Tagovailoa is a guy people want to talk about.) – “I don’t look at myself as someone who chases clout. I stay out of the media as much as I can. I try to live my life as private as I can so if they think it’s chasing clout, buddy, I’m the wrong person. There’s nothing about me that tells you that I’m chasing clout, so I mean, go find Jake Paul or go find Logan. Go find those guys if you want to chase clout. Like those are the guys you want to chase.”
(Has that trend in your career of listening to the outside noise, has that changed at all or evolved at all in the last couple years?) – “No. No. The person who bears all the bad news to me (is the PR staff). (laughter) That’s how I figure things out. So other than that, no one in my family tells me anything. My wife doesn’t watch news outside of regular BBC news, all of those things, what’s going on around the world. Also prayers back home still to the people out there in Maui. There’s still a lot of people missing. There’s still a lot of things that haven’t been – shoutout to the news, but prayers and thoughts out there to the families and a couple of my friends that live out there.”
(How has that process been with the relief efforts, you balancing that with day-to-day? How has that been going?) – “It’s been going good. The thing with that is – I mean, they’ve been down with power for some time, so they don’t even know what’s going on. Like who is all missing, where this thing is, what’s happening. There’s a lot of things going on back there and so we just continue to pray. I do know there’s a lot of people that are out there willing to help and willing to help fund the relief needs for those out there in Maui.”
(When you’re not playing in the preseason games and you’re talking to Head Coach Mike McDaniel, how much do you sort of cherish those moments to see his vision in a game context while you still can? You seem to be having a lot of fun as well when something goes right.) – “Yeah, when everything goes right, it’s a reflection of our offense. It’s a reflection of our team, so when our guys go out there, no matter who it is, you want to see them succeed. You want to see them do well because you know that they’ve been studying, they’ve been understanding what is needed to have been done in this particular defense with our offense and you know they’ve been working really hard. So just going out there and seeing them succeed, it means a lot. It means a lot because guys are working for a job and guys need to beat out people. It’s a competition. That’s what it is here in this league.”
David Long Jr. – August 22, 2023
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Tuesday, August 22, 2023
LB David Long Jr.
(What do you think you’ve shown so far early in camp on a new team here?) – “Off the bat, just the instinctive player I am. I’m just trying to get a feel for the whole defense around me. Coming to the end of training camp, we’re growing into an actual team. Some ways to go as well, but we’re building that core.”
(Is that what you showed when you had the tackle for loss in the game? Instinctual?) – “Yeah, it was just knowing pre-snap. I’ve been playing the game for (a while). Read the tight end and tackle, just knowing what’s coming, high red. Houston has a strong back. I’m pretty familiar with him, and just being familiar with the scheme.”
(I asked Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio what he seen and he said some of the same things, but he said he wants to see you more consistent. What do you think are some things you need to show to be more consistent?) – “I could say a number of things. Just taking the coaching from the field and then applying it. In the film, just going back and looking at things that can help me be a better player.”
(What do you like about this defense? In two preseason games, you guys have let up one touchdown. What do you like most about what you guys are doing?) – “I would say the mentality. We all have our individual talents, but it’s about us growing into a defense and how we can play off each other. It’s just good seeing it. We have new pieces coming in every week like Parry (Nickerson) and guys just being able to learn on the run. Taking that individual mentality that we’re going to have that dawg and playing fast. I feel like it’s coming together.”
(Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio said he’s impressed but you also have to take it with a grain of salt maybe because first and second team and said you’re probably going to face Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence. How excited are you to get reps against a top-flight quarterback?) – “I played against him the last two years. I’m pretty familiar with their scheme. I’m just excited to see how this defense has been coming along to the end of camp. Right now, we have a lot of players here getting time. We are just trying to find out who’s going to be with us at the end. Now we’re just building that core, and excited to see who’s going to build off that.”
(Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio said he has a dry sense of humor.) – “Very, very dry. He’s got little jokes. Sometimes I really can’t tell if it’s a joke or not. He will say something with a little smile. Vic’s a funny guy. We’re in the room with him. Just getting to know Vic as a coach and as a person as well. For sure, he keeps you on your toes.”
(Thoughts on the young guys, LB Aubrey Miller II, LB Channing Tindall, and being a mentor and helping them out.) – “It’s been good, especially with Aubrey. He’s undrafted. I’m sixth round. He’s undersized. Just being able to relate to him on so many levels. Coming in with guys in front of you and just be able to learn from their mistakes. Don’t go out there and do the same thing. As far as undrafted, it’s a little different. You have a shorter leash. You don’t have that many times to make mistakes. Just keeping him on his toes and helping him and Channing learn from my mistakes as well.”
(There’s a band around your leg. Is that just for compression?) – “Yeah, I got used to it. I just feel comfortable with it. Anytime I stand there, I take it off and do a little instead of getting cold. I feel sometimes people feel like – if you have a band on you. But I’m just comfortable like that.”
(Preventative?) – “Yeah, just little work in between reps and stuff.”
(I don’t know if you were asked about the tackle for loss in the last preseason game. What does that feel like, that moment you realize they’re about to get the guy behind the line of scrimmage?) – “It feels good. At first, I was just excited to get back. I haven’t played since last year, so I was excited to get back out there. I was just trying to, that whole drive, make a play. My big thing is making a play behind the line of scrimmage. I was trying to get a read when it gets to practice all week, and just getting a read for the tackle’s stance and how heavy he is and his hands and getting back into my pre-snap reads and football mode. It felt good to actually trust myself and shoot and continue to build on that.”
(I paused that tape. When you were at the line of scrimmage, the running back was just getting the toss, so obviously your anticipation was pretty good on that play. How does that come together pre-snap? Is that something you notice before they snap the ball, like I’m going right now?) – “Yeah. That play I was like if the tight end blocks down, I’m shooting this gap and that’s exactly what I did. A couple plays later, it was the same play, but the hole was too big. I’m just getting a feel for the game again and getting back into my style.”
(Do you also process how you’re going to defeat a block? I saw you slip one. You obviously ran through others. Is that in the moment as well?) – “It’s in the moment, but it’s on the run as well. These are some big guys, so they can get a jump on me and not even have square up and run through or square up and shed. It’s just being able to get a feel for the game.”
Kendall Lamm – August 22, 2023
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Tuesday, August 22, 2023
T Kendall Lamm
(We talked at the beginning of camp in terms of what you wanted to accomplish. Do you feel like you’ve done that?) – “I mean, to be honest with you, bro, today’s just kind of another day. The culmination of camp hasn’t come to a close. So to be completely real with you, regardless if it’s camp, regular season, practice, whatever comes, I approach each day as each day as its own entity. So it’s like, yeah, you want to do certain goals. You want to get comfortable on the left, comfortable on the right. You want to get comfortable with the guys you’re working with, of course. But in my opinion, that’s chopped wood, carry water mentality. You’ve got to do that each and every day. So yes, sir.”
(Where did you get the chopped wood, carry water mentality from?) – “I don’t know if you can see my shirt, but I wear my college stuff all the time. When I was up on the mountain in Boone, we were Division I-AA. That’s nine, 10 years ago now. A lot of people didn’t really give us too much credit. But from my perspective, I really could care less about other people’s perception and what they thought. We just went out there and did what we did every day. I tried to bring what I took on the mountain, then what I did in Houston, then Cleveland, then Tennessee, and I approach it the same here.”
(How do you feel a second year in the system has helped you play better, play faster?) – “Familiarity with anything helps. Espe ially being with the guys, especially hearing the calls. Last year when I came in, to be completely real with you, when I came in towards halfway through the season it’s like, I understood, but at the same time, not being able to go through this time and this process is major. Especially this being year nine for me. I look forward to training camp because this is the time when you really get to grind. This is the time where I get a feel. This is the time where I truly get to put the weight on someone each and every day. Then at the same time, of course when the season comes, we don’t necessarily do this as much. So for me, hearing the calls, getting on the same page with Liam (Eichenberg), Isaiah (Wynn), Rob (Jones), Rob (Hunt), I just love being able to do that now. Not having that last year was different, but it’s been beautiful to do it now.”
(It was like 30 snaps last year in the Patriots game. Do you use those reps on tape to go back and learn or is it the Dolphins in general last year that you use?) – “The biggest thing for me, I look at a culmination of everybody. I see it from T’s (Terron Armstead) eyes. Last year I saw it from Greg Little’s eyes, ‘B Shell’s’ (Brandon Shell) eyes. I always picked their brains and saw what they kind of see through the same set. But now that I’ve had the ability to do it more, and now that I’ve had the ability to put my hand in the dirt on both sides and get a good amount of reps, I go off of that. But don’t get it twisted. I never forget what we talked about in those situations because when certain things happen, you always want to pull from that.”
(Does having the perspective of playing either tackle spot throughout camp kind of give you a more broad view of what you’re trying to do or does it matter?) – “I mean, as I said before, to be honest, left and right is its own entity. I go from left, you go to the right side, it’s a brand new place, brand new field. That’s like CEO, the COO. That’s just how I look at it because it’s completely different. Your timing with your hands. Your timing with your steps. Opening up a certain way. Kicking a certain way. It’s beautiful to be put into that conflict, to be honest, because to do it now, especially against (Bradley) Chubb and (Jaelan) Phillips, like they’re very good. So when I go to the right tomorrow, or whenever, I get to see Jaelan. When I go back to the left, you see Chubb. So you’ve got to bring your A game no matter what because they’re very good. It makes you really get with the program real, real fast.”
(Is your comfort level the same at left and right tackle?) – “For the most part, yeah. Like I was telling (Offensive Line Coach) Butch (Barry) in OTAs, during OTAs I took majority of left, which was cool with me. It didn’t bother me. But I always ask them, please, please, please, let me get some right. Because I know as the season progresses, you snap your fingers and when it’s called upon, it’s called upon. So I try to get as comfortable on both sides but that takes time.”
(In that first half against New England on January 1, 2023 and throughout camp, you’ve proven to be reliable. Is that an important thing? Does Offensive Line Coach Butch Barry or Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith ever use that word or any words like that to you?) – “Like I said, this is my ninth year. This is not my first rodeo. I’ve seen the multitude of defenses from the various teams I’ve been on. The one thing that Coach Mike Devlin told me a long time ago, he said, just put your head down and get comfortable being uncomfortable. So from my perspective, like I told you guys a few weeks ago, if they tell me to play right that day, that’s what we do. If they tell me to play left the next, it’s what we do. That’s kind of my journey and what I have to do, so it doesn’t bother me at all.”
(So you asked to play right?) – “One-hundred percent. I mean, think about it from my perspective. If I get into the game – I mean God-willing, and whatever’s going to come – we get into the game and something happens, you can’t say ‘oh my god, I don’t want to go to right now.’ You have to be able to do that. So why would I not ask to be able to do certain things? Even if you’re swinging in practice, put me in uncomfortable situations so I can try to work through those and build the process in my mind and go from there.”
(You talked about obviously playing in a lot of systems. Is this one similar to a spot that you’ve been in before?) – “Yes and no. Football is football. When we run outside zone, it’s going to be outside zone. You skin a cat a few ways. But you want to, of course, get the objective done. We have a lot of speed here. Everybody knows that. So when we come off the ball and do certain things, we want to make it look a certain way. But I mean ball is ball. If I’m asked to run inside zone, left, right, that’s what it’s going to be regardless if it’s Houston, Tennessee, Cleveland or here. It always stays true.”
