Jarvis Landry – August 21, 2017
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Monday, August 21, 2017
WR Jarvis Landry
(On joint practices with the Eagles.) – “It’s good. It’s always good to finally get some different competition. Different competition and all the things you kind of work on against your defense. Speaking from an offensive perspective, all the things you work on, they kind of figure it out after about the fourth or fifth day; so it is good to run some of the things that we’re going to try to work on this season out here against these guys.”
(You were productive again in the red zone. How much is that an emphasis for you, scoring more touchdowns?) – “It’s a big emphasis; but not only for me, I think it’s a big emphasis for this team. I think we struggled a little bit in the red zone last year, so for us to have the opportunities to put the ball in the paint as many times as we can get down there is huge for us. So it’s good.”
(A lot goes into being a slot receiver. You’ve got a new quarterback here. How are things going with you and WR Jay Cutler as far as the timing and just that relationship?) – “Well everything’s good now, just for the simple fact that he’s played in the system before, so he knows all the checks. He knows where guys are supposed to be. So now it’s just getting him used to our body language, when we come in and out of breaks, and he’s done a good job of that so far and we’ve just got more work to do.”
(What do you make of going up against CB Ronald Darby today?) — “Good. That’s a guy we saw twice a year, him being in Buffalo. He’s definitely a scrappy corner that make plays. I think he had an interception there at the end. So he’s a great corner.”
Byron Maxwell – August 21, 2017
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Monday, August 21, 2017
CB Byron Maxwell
(On what happened in Philadelphia and how that translated to Miami) – “I think the things that happened in Philly made me a better leader for Miami. It made me a better football player and a better person. I was able to handle getting benched in Miami and bounced back. It was tough in Philly – just losing, losing your coach; so it helped going through all that.”
(Did you ever wonder why this team decided to trade you? Players always think about something. Did you ever think about that?) – “It was obvious. You need a quarterback.”
(But they didn’t know they could get all the way down to do that.) – “I mean, that’s what it was though.”
(So you felt that was reasoning that they needed to trade you?) – “I just said that.”
(You had some battles with WR Torrey Smith out there today. What was that like?) – “It was good. It was good work. We needed it. I needed it. It was three days off, but we were getting back into the flow. It was needed. It was good work.”
(How about WR Alshon Jeffery too. Going against him, he’s a big, physical guy.) – “Definitely. He’s very physical. Getting off the line, you definitely need that too. Philadelphia, they’ve got different receivers that can do three different things. You’ve got (Torrey Smith) that can take you deep and Jeffery’s a guy that uses a body well.”
(How beneficial is it practicing against somebody else?) – “Like I said, you’re seeing different receivers. You’re going to see different receivers on game day. You get used to the guys that you go against in training camp, just their body language, how they run their routes. So it’s good to see different receivers and how they run routes. It’s different plays too; just keep your mind moving, keep your mind thinking. You pretty much know what they’re running in training camp. So it’s good.”
(What did you think of QB Carson Wentz?) – “He was good. He did well. He threw a couple of passes.”
(Do you keep up with stuff like that? Do you think about, do you see QB Carson Wentz’s name in the paper and think ‘Okay, I got traded, let’s see how this guy is doing?’) – “Well, yes. I would be lying if I told you I don’t want to do better than the Eagles do. I do. I want to win more games than them. I want to prove them wrong, so yes.”
(Does it seem kind of weird that from two years ago when you were here there’s only one receiver that’s left and you’ve gone against in practice?) – “Yes, Nelson (Agholor); but we knew then that Nelson was going to be good. He had all the tools. He was willing to learn. He asked questions. So we knew … I knew he was going to be a solid receiver.”
(But does it seem kind of weird that he’s like the only one left from when you were here only two years ago?) – “That’s the NFL. If you’ve been in this business long enough, you’re going to win. They’re pretty much getting everybody out. So that’s how it works.”
(After the Eagles traded you, does that attitude with Philadelphia apply to Seattle also? I guess you left them voluntarily. Do you still want to do better than Seattle too or is it just Philadelphia?) – “No, only Philly. (laughter) No, no, Seattle. Seattle, too. Also Seattle, yes. (laughter)”
(You mentioned that you got traded so this team could move up and get a quarterback, but it also seems like you’re still using the trade as motivation. How are you still using it as motivation?) – “That’s just what I do. You could call it petty. I don’t know what it is. That’s what I do. That’s how I feel. I mean, that’s just realistic. I know what it is, but I still want to do better than my old team. I don’t think any player wants to … when the team gets rid of you and then they do better, to be honest with you.”
(In the year after they traded you they had cornerback problems here. They had cornerback problems at the beginning of camp this year before making the trade with Buffalo. Do you think they missed you more than they realized?) – “Yes.”
(Did you talk to Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson at all before he got the job?) – “No, I hadn’t. I think as soon as he got the job, I got traded. I don’t know.”
(Did you talk to Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson at all today?) – “No. Not at all.”
(You talked about being benched last year. What kind of led up to that and how did you get through it?) – “To be honest with you, I have no idea; but from the bench, I learned what the team needed from me and what I needed to do. From then on, I executed.”
Kiko Alonso – August 21, 2017
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Monday, August 21, 2017
LB Kiko Alonso
(Did you miss these guys at all or no?) – “Yes, I’ve got a lot of good friends on the team.”
(Any in particular?) – “(Eagles TE) Zach (Ertz). There’s a lot of them. Zach, (Eagles TE) Trey (Burton), those are just some.”
(CB Byron Maxwell just told us that he uses that trade to the Dolphins as fuel. Do you at all?) – “No, not really. I just go do what I do.”
(Was it nice being back out here today?) – “Yes, it was nice. It was nice (to) see the guys I played with. It was fun.”
(How did the knee injury factor into your year in Philly in terms of your productiveness?) – “It was good. I was fine. The knee was good.”
(Did you have confidence in your knee the year you were here? It seemed like you hurt it early in the season again and that you weren’t quite sure…) – “No, I was good. Obviously I hurt it early on, but I was good to go.”
(How do you look back at the year you spent here with the Eagles?) – “How do I look back? Obviously it wasn’t the year we wanted. It is what it is.”
(Were you surprised to leave the Eagles via trade?) – “Not really. It was obviously the second time I had gotten traded. I was definitely more surprised the first time around (when I got traded from Buffalo to Philadelphia), but given the year (the Eagles) had (in 2015), I wasn’t that surprised.”
(How beneficial was it to be going up against another team in practice?) – “(It was) very beneficial. We’ve been going up against our guys every day. It’s good to see a different offense and they run different things, so it was definitely good.”
(At this point, is it almost better off these joint practices because you’re not playing very much in the preseason games early on, so do you get even more out of these practices maybe?) – Yes, definitely, because they run some different things. It’s good to just mix it up a little.”
(You’re out there for a longer period of time than even in the game.) – “Yes, it was a little longer. It was good work. I think it was good work for both teams.”
(When the coaching change was made here in Philadelphia, did you kind of have a feeling that you might not be here for the next season?) – “(The Eagles) traded me and I was like ‘Alright, I’m going to Miami.’”
(Is the Miami scheme a better fit for you?) – “I think we run pretty much the same defense as Philly. I could be wrong, though.”
(No, the scheme you were in when you were in Philadelphia.) – “No, I don’t think so. I’ve played in a 3-4 defense my whole career so it was more of a transition to go into the 4-3 defense (in Miami).”
(Do you like the 4-3 better?) – “I like them both.”
(Do you still have a pretty good relationship with former Oregon and Eagles Head Coach Chip Kelly?) – “Yes, he came to one of my practices in OTAs and I saw him. Yes, we’ve got a good relationship.”
(What did you observe today from Eagles QB Carson Wentz, going up against him?) – “He’s a good player. (Philadelphia’s) got a good offense. They’ve got a lot of weapons. They’ve got a good offense.”
(Do you ever think about Eagles QB Carson Wentz and think, ‘Okay this is what the Eagles did when they traded me? Do you take an interest in how he’s doing?) – “(laughter)”
Cordrea Tankersley – August 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Thursday, August 17, 2017
Postgame – Baltimore
Miami Dolphins CB Cordrea Tankersley (transcribed by Savanna Bell-Stevens)
(So what happened, you got the game ball today?) – No, I just took my first career NFL ball you know, you don’t get too many of these, they hard so I took this for me, preseason or not.
(Did someone find the ball for you or did you hold on to it?) – No I held on to it for dear life. Um I just took it. Them boys was like let me get the ball so I can get it I was like nah I got it, but somebody took it and said they’ll hold on to it so whoever did it I appreciate it.
(Walk us through that play that was kind of a bang bang play, you kind of stripped it from him on the way down) – “I just saw him run a slant, I just wanted to break on it you know and then I knew, my new. My neuros were to just get the ball out, swipe it. And then once I felt it go to the other side, I just like tugged it, I was like I got the ball, so score. It happened so fast you know.
(You got a lot of playing time today, what did you think of your own performance?) – “I think I did pretty good, still a lot of stuff to clean up technique wise and also assignment wise, but there’s always room for improvement so it’s back to the drawing boards.
(You talk about technique wise, talk about the importance, or how difficult it can be for a cornerback to drive on, or pick off a slant.) – It’s really hard, it’s definitely really hard, because you never know what you’re going to get in this league. I just went with my gut instinct, coaches put us in the right play and I just went and made a play.
Adam Gase – August 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Thursday, August 17, 2017
Postgame – Baltimore
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by Michelle Stone)
(What was your assessment of QB Jay Cutler?) – “I thought he was good his first time out. He looks like we really weren’t apart for a year. I thought his tempo was really good. I think we have to get used to that a little bit, the rest of the guys, because he’s ready to go a little sooner than everybody else. That’s going to take a minute. It’s going to take game experience. It was probably good for him to get hit and to have to move in pocket. He did a good job there and he made some good throws.”
(Was the attitude going in with QB Jay Cutler, ‘Just a couple of series and that’s it?’) – “I wasn’t really sure. I just told the starters to be ready to go half. I went off of that and once you got enough pocket movement and we kept getting in those third-and-longs, we had that screen where he got hit pretty good and I was like, ‘Well, he’s experienced everything so…’ I didn’t want to overdo it and plus I wanted to get Matt (Moore) in there with that first group.”
(It looked like they were getting a pretty good rush in there.) – “Yes, that’s how it’s going to be. It’s the NFL. These guys are coming pretty good. When you have your ones in there and you’re in the second preseason (game), everybody knows there’s only so many snaps that you’re going to get, and every guy is going to try and make the most of them.”
(What was the decision process to play RB Jay Ajayi and how do you think he did out there?) – “I thought he did (well). It’s preseason. You’ve got to play. It’s part of the process.”
(RB Jay Ajayi took a shot, took a pop there towards the sidelines – did he shake it off? Is everything alright?) – “Yes.”
(QB Ryan Tannehill – did he have knee surgery today?) – “No.”
(Was the idea going in … it looked like QB David Fales and QB Brandon Doughty got most of the work today.) – “I was just trying to switch up who went first. I really thought – my plan initially was once David had enough plays, I was going to try and get Brandon like a whole half. It didn’t work out as well as I wanted it to. Next week we’ll flip them again and we’re just trying to get those guys as many reps as possible and get as much tape to keep evaluating. We just couldn’t really get anything going with either guy. We kind of had some busts and missed a couple of opportunities. We just couldn’t really sustain anything. Nothing was clicking, really.”
(Your cornerbacks, they seemed pretty active – CB Byron Maxwell caused two fumbles, CB Xavien Howard had an interception, CB Cordea Tankersley had an interception…) – “It was good. It was good to see. I thought it was an unbelievable catch by ‘X’ (Xavien Howard). It was good to see that. And then ‘Max’ (Byron Maxwell) – I guess that was my experience going against Max so many times, he comes out of nowhere and knocks the ball loose. That’s kind of his ‘M.O.’ It’s good to see our guys active. It was good to see that first team defense. They only gave up seven yards rushing, I think, in the first quarter.”
(LB Mike Hull, I think he had five tackles, or six tackles, one tackle for a loss – was he active enough and good enough for you?) – “Yes, he’s always going to be active. That’s what he does. It was a different scenario for this year. Last year he was filling in for Kiko (Alonso) and we were playing with other guys who were our second-string type guys. This year he’s got ‘L.T.’ (LB Lawrence Timmons) and Kiko next to him. That makes it a little different.”
(The special teams overall had some miscues there.) – “That’s the fun part of the preseason. You’re looking for guys. When you get to the second, third group, you’re looking for guys on the bench because they’re playing defense and then you’re running them back out there on special teams. You’ve got 90 guys on the sideline. You’re trying to find guys. It’s not easy. We had 10 guys on the field on the one where we snapped it (early). That was a disaster. We had a fumble. It’s just unlike our special teams.”
(T Sam Young had a couple of holding calls. I think one was negated. Do you worry about him?) – “No. I don’t worry about Sam.”
(What about the decision to start T Jesse Davis at left guard?) – “Once C/G Kraig Urbik wasn’t going to play, we just wanted to make sure that we didn’t have two centers on that starting line. We wanted to make sure that we were good throughout the game.”
(With QB Jay Cutler, how do you strike that balance between doing things that he’s comfortable with, as he said, ‘putting good things on tape’ with guys he’s not used to yet, but also kind of pushing him out of that comfort zone since it’s a game situation.) – “It will come naturally for us. I’ve got a pretty good feel of how to call plays for him. He’s really honest with me as far as what he’s feeling and how he’s seeing things. I feel really good with where we’re at right now. This next week will be really good for us because going against another team and playing that third preseason game. We’ll just keep trying to improve and get in that game flow. I liked what I saw tonight. I’m ready to get this going next week.”
(That chemistry between QB Jay Cutler and WR DeVante Parker. It seems like they’re already on the same page.) – “I think Jay’s had a lot of experience playing with a lot of different guys. He’s able to adjust. He comes in nine days ago, figures out what these guys do, and gets them the ball.”
(On kickoff returns, is WR Jakeem Grant still in the mix?) – “Yes, we just don’t want him back there. We wanted to see what these other guys could do, too.”
(Did WR Jakeem Grant injure a foot?) – “He’s had a couple of things bothering him. We’ll hold him out every once in a while when it starts bothering him and see if we can kind of get him right again. (With) a couple of days off, he’ll probably be feeling better.”
QB Matt Moore – August 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Thursday, August 17, 2017
Postgame – Baltimore
Miami Dolphins Quarterback Matt Moore (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(Not sure how many plays exactly you had out there. I think you had one series though. How did it feel?) – “It was good. It’s always good to get live reps. Midway through the preseason here you always want to see how it’s going and what you can do better and what you can learn from. So, I thought it was alright.”
(Where do you feel you can improve the most?) – “It’s football, pick anything. We’re getting better every day, constantly working on things individually, as a unit. It’s an everyday deal at getting better.”
(There wasn’t a whole lot of offensive production from the whole team today. Was it just a fact of you guys trying new things out?) – “There are a lot of factors. We’re experimenting. That’s a good defense over there. We’re halfway through the preseason here. And again, I think as a unit, we’re evaluating and seeing where we’re at. There was some good stuff to learn from, for sure.”
(What do you think of QB Jay Cutler’s first start?) – “I thought he looked good for a guy who hasn’t done it since whenever it was – November or whenever it was. I thought he moved around good. I thought he threw it good. It was fun to watch him out there.”
(Explain the experimenting.) – “I’m not calling the plays, but you’re in camp, you’re running everything. You’ve got the whole book that you’re trying things from as opposed to the regular season where you’re probably more narrowed down and things like that. There’s a lot that can be called and a lot that we are running. I think that’s it.”
Davon Godchaux – August 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Thursday, August 17, 2017
Postgame – Baltimore
Miami Dolphins Defensive Tackle Davon Godchaux(transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(How hard was it for you to keep focused and keep moving?) – “It was very hard but I knew where I wanted to go the whole time. I took that as my motivation.”
(When did you figure it out?) – “Growing up when I saw the streets. I could have easily gone in that direction but I went the opposite way.”
(How did you go into LSU freshman year and do what you’re doing here and turn heads?) –“Somebody got hurt and it’s the next man up. That’s what we play the game for. It’s part of the game. You know someone is going to get hurt and you have to be the next man up.”
CB Xavien Howard – August 17, 2017 (Postgame)
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Thursday, August 17, 2017
Postgame – Baltimore
Miami Dolphins Cornerback Xavien Howard (transcribed by Lexie Balboni)
(You had inside position the whole way right?) – “I had the position the whole way, just trying to make a play on the ball.
(You had him covered like a glove, like a book. Why would they throw the ball there?) – “I guess they were trying to see if their receiver could make a play and I ended up making a play. I just saw the ball in the air and I took it.”
(You had a pick, CB [Cordrea] Tankersley had a pick, two forced fumbles from CB [Byron] Maxwell, what can the secondary do?) – “We’re just getting better each day. Each week we’re trying to learn from what we did last game and try to get better each day.”
(How is this preseason different from last preseason?)– “Last year I only played in the last preseason game. I didn’t really do much because of the injuries. I’m just trying to get better each day. Each preseason I’m trying to learn from other games that I’ve had and just trying to get better each day.”
(Where are you physically right now?) – “I am physical. I’m healthy. I’m really just working every day. Right now I’m just healthy and I’m just continuing to try and stay healthy the whole season.”
