Tony Lippett – December 17, 2016 (Postgame)
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Saturday, December 17, 2016
Postgame – at New York
Miami Dolphins CB Tony Lippett (as transcribed by the New York Jets)
On his interception….
The receiver did a stutter and then took off. When I looked at him his eyes got big. Back when I played wide receiver, my eyes got big when I was about to catch the ball. I just tried to turn on (the speed) and play the ball. I came down with the ball.
On filling in for Byron Maxwell…
I just I had to play. I knew I would be over (Brandon Marshall) a lot. Sometimes you just have to go out there and play ball.
On containing Brandon Marshall…
It’s a team effort. The coaches put us in good positions and we just tried to execute the game plan.
On the win…
It feels good. It’s a division game so you throw out the records. They are a great team, this is a great place to play, and it’s primetime ball. We knew they would come out and give us their best shot, we just tried to give ours.
Jarvis Landry – December 17, 2016 (Postgame)
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Saturday, December 17, 2016
Postgame – at New York
Miami Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry (as transcribed by the New York Jets)
On the performance of Matt Moore…
Like I said last week, Matt prepares like he’s the starting quarterback. Every week he’s done that. For him to come in and play with the confidence he played with, to a lot of people it was unexpected, but for us it was something we already knew.
On reaching back to back 1,000 yards seasons…
For me, I’ve never really been the player to emphasize personal accomplishments. When you win, the accomplishments come. Honestly, 1,000 yards was a goal I set out for myself individually. It’s something I expect to reach.
On the team’s current 9-5 record…
This is an amazing feeling to be in the position that we are in. We are basically in control of our destiny. I can’t remember in past years, how many Dolphins’ teams we’re above .500 at this point in the year. So for us to be where we are, it is a testament to the hard work we put in.
On the aggressive play-calling by the offense…
It was time for it. It was time for the receivers to be trusted a little bit more. Kenny Stills made a big play to start it off, and from there we kind of took over.
Adam Gase – December 17, 2016 (Postgame)
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Saturday, December 17, 2016
Postgame – at New York
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (as transcribed by the New York Jets)
On how he would rate Matt Moore’s performance…
I thought he did a good job. The short week, we were just trying to put this thing together as clean as possible, get him to feel as comfortable as he possibly could. It’s no secret it’s been a while since he’s started a football game in the regular season, so you just want to make sure he felt good coming into this game.
On what impressed him about Moore’s performance…
I thought his command. We took some shots, too, and he hit them. (He) missed a couple that I know he wanted back, but (he) kept his head, kept plugging along. The run game wasn’t exactly what we thought it was going to be. We thought maybe we’d have a little more success, but they did a good job as far as getting penetration and causing some problems for us. Jay (Ajayi) was running hard for us and he was trying to find some lanes, but we were just a little off in the run game.
On Moore’s approach to the game…
He was great all week. It was interesting to see the roles kind of switch between those two guys and just how their personalities have just switched. It was pretty interesting to go through this week. Matt all of a sudden became all serious and Ryan (Tannehill) was joking around. It was an interesting process to go through.
On Cameron Wake’s performance…
The defense did a great job. Just the turnovers, just causing problems, the pressure was relentless, guys were playing hard. I know there are a couple of things (Vance Joseph) is going to want to clean up. Those guys are perfectionists and want to make sure they do everything right. I know (Bilal) Powell had a good day and we just need to get tighter on some of those check-downs and tackle a little bit quicker. But there’s a reason they’re getting into those check-downs, because the coverage was pretty good outside and guys were keeping those receivers, the coverage was really tight.
On what ensuring a winning season means…
I don’t know if we’re really worried about final records or anything right now. We’re trying to win one game at a time. I know I’ve said it before. It gets boring. But that’s what it is. Our guys are focused on just making sure whatever opponent we have next, that we come out of that week 1-0.
On Xavien Howard’s performance…
It looked like he was pretty good to me. He was competitive, got his hands on some balls. He looked like he never really left us. That was a surprise, when (Byron) Maxwell went out, that was the first thing that went through my head, “Alright, so, how many snaps is he actually going to get this game, considering we were only thinking he was going to get 15,” and I know it was way over that.
On how reassuring it is to have a backup like Moore…
Well, it’s really been our mantra all year. We’ve had quite a few guys go down and we’ve had some really good players go down and the entire team’s had that next-man-up mentality. And no matter what the position’s been, somebody’s either stepped up or the rest of the guys have stepped up around him and made sure that all the pressure wasn’t on one person and they’re trying to do it as a unit. And whether it’s been a team, special teams, defense, offense, that group has tried to pick it up.
On the television broadcast reporting Tannehill tore his MCL off the bone…
That’s hard for me to answer. I didn’t hear it. I just know whatever I told you guys is what I was told.
On Ajayi and Jarvis Landry both surpassing 1,000 yards on the season tonight…
Any time that you hit those numbers it’s a great accomplishment. I think it’s hard for either of those guys to focus on that right now. I know they’ve never spoken to me about it. I’ve never really heard them speak about it around their teammates. I think it’s just one of those things that at the end of the year when your season’s over you may look back on it and say that was a number you were either shooting for or people thought they would get, but I don’t know that either of those guys are worried about individual statistics at this point.
On why the team has a knack for big plays…
I think guys are just playing hard and on defense it seems like a lot of guys are in the right place at the right time and it just comes from effort and pursuit. And on special teams it just seems like the same guys show up over and over again, put themselves in position to when something like that happens, they end up getting a big play off of it. It just seems like (Mike Hull) seems to be the guy that’s really making a huge impact on special teams, which he has been, it’s just now it’s resulting into points. Offensively, we had a couple opportunities where they were aggressive as far as what they were calling and we finally hit a couple there in the third quarter that swung the game for us.
On Wake’s performance…
I think when you have a player of his ability that has played as long as he has, he has that knack for timing. It just seems like he knows when there are those moments in a game where if something could swing a game, he just seems to find that moment and make it happen. I know him intercepting (the ball), he’s dropping into a zone blitz. Sometimes when you’re a quarterback you just don’t see that guy, you don’t anticipate that guy being in that spot. A lot of times the defensive end just has to catch it. It was interesting; I was watching him catch balls in warm-ups thinking to myself, “Why is he catching balls in warm-ups?” And all of a sudden I look up and he picks one off. So maybe he knew something that I didn’t.
On if the deep ball after stopping the Jets on fourth down was intentionally taking a shot…
No, that was just something we called. I was getting tired of just sitting back and trying to throw quick. It was just a good opportunity to start pushing the envelope a little bit and stop being so conservative.
On the confidence boost the game gives Moore…
I don’t think there ever was a lack of confidence by Matt, ever, at least as long as I’ve known him. I think this team felt like whoever stepped into that role when Ryan went down was going to do a good job with what we asked him to do and they had a lot of confidence that the rest of the guys on offense would step up and make plays.
Adam Gase – December 14
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Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(How did QB Matt Moore look today?) – “Good. He did a good job. When you’ve got an experienced guy, you know he’s taking every week as though he could be playing. That’s what you get when you have a true pro as your backup. He knows exactly what he needs to be ready for every week and this week is no different. It’s just now he has a different role. He was on it and guys responded well to him.”
(How much rust do you really have to work off when you have not played in five years as a quarterback at that position?) – “That’s a tough one to answer. It’s rare to see really to have that much time in between starts because something usually happens and this organization has been fortunate as far as having the same guy behind center game after game, and this is an unusual situation for us. We’re on unchartered waters, but Matt’s (Moore) such a … He works so hard day-in and day-out to prepare himself just in case. I think it would have been easy for him to not be ready because nothing’s ever happened. But it was obvious that he went in that game and he knew what to do. He knew where to go with the ball. He made plays, especially in a critical situation and adverse conditions. That was not an easy situation.”
(With QB Matt Moore there on the sidelines with you, based just on his feedback, do you think you have a feel for what he likes? What he prefers?) – “I feel like I do have a pretty good feel for a lot of the things that he really does like. There are a few things I feel like I know that he does not like, which is good, because we want to do what he feels comfortable doing, and when people say, ‘Well, how much does the offense change?’ It doesn’t change from a schematic sense. It just might be a few different things that he likes a little better then what Ryan (Tannehill) did, or maybe there are a couple of things he didn’t like as much. So the communication he has with me on the sideline is very valuable, because now I can use that information moving forward.”
(Are you guys certain that you’re going with QB T.J. Yates as the backup quarterback this weekend?) – “Yes. Yes.”
(And what went into that decision as opposed to promoting QB Brandon Doughty?) – “I just felt like that was the right decision for us to make, and I wanted a guy that had kind of been in some situations where he’s had to play in a regular season game, and we’re still really … I don’t want to put Brandon (Doughty) in a bad situation to where all of a sudden now he’s thrust into this situation where we’re still kind of in the developmental stages of making sure that little tiny things that sometimes some people don’t really see, that we’re still developing. He’s got a great grasp of the offense. He’s done a good job as far as making sure he’s been ready every week. It’s more this is what I wanted to do moving forward here, at the end of the season, to make sure that Matt (Moore) has somebody with some experience behind him.”
(Also about center, are you in open competition or are you set with C/G Anthony Steen?) – “We work more than one guy every week. Right now, I don’t see anything changing. If something changes throughout the week, then it does; but you are always working guys and trying to make sure we’ve got the five guys we want out there for that game. We kind of make a determination at the end of the week.”
(With QB T.J. Yates, how quickly can he learn the offense and is there some carry over on what he’s done in the past?) – “There actually is. There are a couple systems that he’s been in that have been close formation-wise, and then there are a couple of systems he’s actually been in that have some of the same terminology. It’s more about what really sticks in his head. When we get to the game, I’m probably going to have to go through and just make sure there are certain things that will trigger really fast, and he can go play fast. There are probably a couple of things where it’s brand new to him that I would try to avoid.”
(What went into your decision on DE Dion Jordan and what do you think his future is here?) – “He just wasn’t ready.”
(Is it the knee or because of his play?) – “Because his body’s not ready to go. His whole … his game is explosion off the ball, being able to redirect, that burst that you want a guy that plays his position have, and it’s not all the way back. That’s just what it is. Some guys it comes back faster than other guys. We had a setback and had to start over, and we didn’t have enough time. We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing as far as getting him better day-in and day-out. He’s done everything we’ve asked. He’s always here. He’s trying to figure out a way to just get his body back to where it was, and sometimes it takes a little longer than you think.”
(Did you see enough in terms of talent that you would like him back?) – “It was hard to tell. He wasn’t … He couldn’t move the way that he’s moved in the past. It’s going to take some time.”
(RB Jay Ajayi was huge for about a month there and he couldn’t be stopped. He’s come kind of back to earth a little bit now. What has to happen for him to re-gain, not 200 yards a game, but production to where everything is not on the passing game?) – “Coming off some of these injuries we’ve had upfront, some moving pieces, and we played some good defensive fronts, that’s the one thing that myself and coaches have been reminding him of. Just remember we have played some good teams, and we’ve played some really, really … And the teams that have been good on defense, it’s been the front seven that has been the strength of all of these teams that we’ve played. When we have some guys that have some limitations as far as ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert) is playing with one hand. (Laremy) Tunsil comes back from an injury and he’s not 100 percent. There are certain things … I mean we’re a shoelace away so many different times to where all of a sudden that 5-yard gain is going to be 25. I don’t want him to change anything he’s doing, because he’s doing exactly what we need him to do and he’s doing exactly the same thing he did when we had those big-time rushing numbers. He just can’t get frustrated thinking it’s something with him, where that’s why the running game can be special sometimes, because it takes the entire unit. It takes the front, it takes the tight ends, it takes the quarterback making sure he’s doing his job and making an out. It takes the wide receivers blocking down the field, and then it takes him just being patient and doing exactly what everybody knows he’s supposed to do. And he’s done that. We’ve been close quite a few times. Last game, there were a couple of them that were just so close to being explosive runs. I know everybody wants to get caught up with the numbers, but we’re kind of looking at each play individually and saying, ‘Okay, this was good. We’re close. We’ve just got to finish this a little better.’ So I’m not getting discouraged by numbers right now. I know if we keep giving him touches and giving him opportunities, and we get back in a rhythm and we get guys healthy as we finish this thing out, I think we’re going to start having the number production be better.”
(Is it correct that today was a little lighter practice than you would normally have?) – “Well, we did the same thing. I think we’ve done this a couple of weeks in a row now of doing this type of practice. We want to try to get as many guys out there as possible. Last week would have been … We would have probably had eight guys not practice.”
(So this is something that anybody really could have participated in?) – “Yes. I mean it gives us a chance to give guys looks and so they can get out there and actually do some things. We still have a couple of guys that are banged up. If we would go full practice, we wouldn’t be able to go. Last week, like ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert) and (Laremy) Tunsil wouldn’t have been able to participate because we were still kind of recovering from the game. It’s more important for us to have as many guys be able to see the looks, see pressures, kind of walkthrough some of the things that we’re doing. The good thing is the guys are moving faster. Some guys are moving faster than others. So it’s really more of we’ve been banged up for a while. We’re just trying to get guys out there and move them around and making sure they get as many of the looks as possible.”
(You’ve been saying it’s up to CB Xavien Howard to determine whether he’s ready to play. Has he told you anything about where he’s at?) – “I haven’t talked to him yet. But we’ll have a discussion here towards the end of the week. Things look good for him right now, as long as we don’t have any setbacks, which hopefully we don’t. He was moving around pretty good today. He was playing at a different speed than probably a lot of other guys, just because his body’s feeling better. He hasn’t played in a while, so he’s got a little less tread right now. It’s looking like we’ve got a good chance to get him up.”
(So you know QB Matt Moore likes to go down the field? He likes to look down the field. In 2011, he had 13 games and 14 fumbles because he was waiting [in the pocket]. Have you had a conversation with him about ‘Dude, get rid of the ball because a fumble is like an interception?’) – “Some of that is what you call. You understand, when you hear a call, you kind of know what you’re looking for. It’s that discussion you have leading up to the game of, ‘Here’s how we want to attack certain situations. Here are your opportunities when you are looking down the field, but then at the same time, here is where your outs have to be.’ That’s a long time you’re talking about. There is a lot of time and experience that have gone from the last time, 2011 until now. I feel like the way that he operates is different than what he did in the past. I feel like he does have a good clock. He does have the ability to feel the pressure, as far as things aren’t right getting the ball underneath. So it’s a different guy now after five years. When you’re young, you’re aggressive. You want to make the big play. You want to make the impact play. Sometimes the older you get, the more you realize sometimes checking it downs isn’t the worst thing in the world. All of a sudden, you get it ‘23’ (Jay Ajayi) and he gets you 12 yards on a check down. We got 15 the other day on a quick-game play that was a 3-yard throw. Matt – that’s experience. You get used to doing that, and he’s done it in practice, and I just feel like I’m not going to see anything different than what I’ve seen since training camp or really the offseason.”
(When RB Damien Williams finished the game, was that…) – “No, that was my fault. I did a bad job as far as, when we got that penalty, Jay (Ajayi) should’ve went back in. I should’ve got him back in there for that last, those last two plays. He should’ve been in there. That was bad on my part.”
(One of the moves you guys could have made would have been to put QB Ryan Tannehill on injured reserve. Have you gotten more information since Monday, are you more optimistic?) – “I have not. I have not gotten any information as far as a second opinion, or anything like that. Obviously being on the practice field, I haven’t had time to really talk about it. It’s just one of those things where they’ll grab me at some point tonight. We’re in no rush. We’ve got plenty of time. If we felt like there was a situation where IR is an option, then we’ll get there. But right now, we’re still gathering information, and figuring out timetables and seeing what happens. We have to play a game Saturday, then we’ll go back and talk about everything again, and see where we’re at. Right now, we’re taking things slow. I’m not going to rush him back, I know that. I’m not going to put his health at risk to try to hurry up and get him back for any game.”
(How much did C Mike Pouncey fight you, on him being on IR?) – “He was disappointed. We had been talking about him coming back for a long time, and he’s been really on me as far as, ‘I’m good, I’m good.’ It’s just … It’s one thing to be tough, and the willingness that he wants to be out there with his teammates. You appreciate that as a coach, because you know he means it. He does not … This is what he wants to do, period. If he could do this forever, he would. It’s just the information that I had, and the timetable we had, and how much time we have left in the season, I was not going to put him out there and take a chance of hurting a guy’s career. Somebody that we feel like is very valuable to this organization, to take a chance of him playing one or two games and then something happens and now we don’t have him for a longer period of time, I wasn’t going to put him in that spot. He wasn’t happy about it because he’s a competitor. He wants to be out there. When you’re missing out on stuff, you just want to be one of the guys that contributes.”
(Jets QB Bryce Petty hasn’t played a lot of games for the Jets. Does he look like a guy that’s looking to take a shot down the field when it’s there?) – “A lot of times it’s, once again, it’s what you’re calling, what are your opportunities, what’s your time. You kind of get a feel for when you’re first playing with a coordinator and you’re trying to get a feel for each other, at first you’re not really sure when that opportunity is. You kind of get a feel in practice, but it’s not the same as when you get in a game. You can kind of tell when the time is when you do what to push the ball down the field. Sometimes you’re looking at matchups as well, then what the defense gives you, what the coverage dictates you can do. So I think when he gets those certain calls where he knows he has those opportunities and he gets the right coverage, he’s going to definitely take them. But if it’s not what their game plan is, if it’s not exactly the coverage they want, then he’s going to go underneath.”
(Does 1,000 yards still mean the same?) – “I think it does. It’s not an easy thing to do because you see running backs nowadays. You have two or three guys playing now. To have guys that just carry the load all season long and stay healthy for the entire season, I think it’s kind of rare. A thousand yards is still 1,000 yards. You’re seeing more guys that are more 13, in that 12-13 (hundred) range, and we kind of lose a little bit of respect for how tough that really is. And for these guys, the wear and tear that they go through during those games, it’s a tough position to play.”
(Who takes more pride in it, an offensive lineman or the tailback?) – “That’s hard to say. I think offensive linemen do take a lot of pride when they can turn around and say, ‘I have a 1,000-yard back behind me.’ And they know they’re a part of that. That’s the lone statistic … I think that and sacks are the two things they can always lean on as far as, ‘We’re a good line because we have a 1,000-yard back and we’re fifth in sacks.’ Or whatever it is. That’s their lone statistics they have. They don’t get a lot of love for anything else.”
(With C/G Anthony Steen, we know he has what sounds like a very bad ankle injury that he’s had all year, as well as the neck. How bad of shape is he in physically to be out there playing?) – “I think a lot of our guys are … When you play the line, every game you walk out of, if you’re 100 percent healthy, that’s unheard of. These guys are all banged up. I know the ankle for him, that was real. That was a problem for him and he kept trying to go. I’m sure he played a few games that were not the most comfortable thing for him to go through. When you’re a center and your neck is not right, and you don’t have the movement you want, that’s a problem too. I know there were a couple of games where he wished he had a little more movement in his neck; but he always seemed to recover in time for the game to where he felt good enough to be able to go. We have a lot of guys playing banged up, up front. It just shows the toughness and the willingness to try to help us win.”
(QB Matt Moore had a baby. Did he miss any time? Any meetings?) – “No, because they had lifting and then the next day was off. So he was on his own a little bit as far as what he could do preparation-wise. I don’t know if he had an iPad or anything in the hospital. I don’t want to assume anything. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
Matt Moore – December 14, 2016
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Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Quarterback Matt Moore
(Was it more nerve-wracking the birth of your child or coming in on Tuesday, 11 o’clock, ready to go?) – “Everything was good. Obviously, the baby, everybody is healthy, everybody is good and I’m here ready focused on the Jets.”
(What has your week been like? Describe the roller coaster. Is that the right term?) – “Yes, any time you have a kid, it probably throws a little wrench in there. But no, it’s been good. It’s been pretty normal. Monday, it was nice to have the day off and then kind of got rolling. It’s been really normal, to be honest with you.”
(Son or daughter? And what’s the birth weight?) – “The birth weight? That’s very specific. It’s a boy. He’s just under seven pounds.”
(What’s his name?) – “Wyatt.”
(Like Earp?) – “Just like Earp.”
(In the delivery room, were you thinking about football a little bit in the back of your mind? Be honest…) – “No, no. I was focused on my wife and the baby. You’re having a kid, it doesn’t happen all the time. So I was wearing that hat at the time.”
(This week doesn’t happen all the time either though. What’s it like for you?) – “It’s an opportunity. I’m just focused on getting better and winning one game. So that’s where my head is at. I’ve done this before, so like I said, I’m just trying to jump in and have these guys and myself really not miss a beat. I’m just preparing for one game and one focus.”
(How much has the experience or just instincts of having done this before have you ready where you know you have a short week…?) – “Yes. I mean having … Like you said, just having that experience, knowing what to expect, knowing the schedule and how quickly things happen and what’s about to happen on Saturday with the game and everything. Having done it obviously makes it easier. Having been around for a while and obviously watching guys prepare and being with Ryan (Tannehill) for so long, that helps. Like I said, playing and being around for a while definitely helps.”
(When you saw that hit could you imagine that QB Ryan Tannehill didn’t tear everything in his knee?) – “I actually didn’t see it. I didn’t see the hit, but I saw his reaction and I knew it was tough. But after seeing it on tape, yes, it’s pretty crazy. So I don’t know where he’s at with everything, but he’s a tough guy. He’ll be back full force I’m sure.”
(The center/quarterback exchanges, where are you with that and do you feel comfortable in your communication now with C/G Anthony Steen?) – “Yes. There are no issues with any of that. We work on that. It’s something we do every day. As far as communication goes, that’s normal. It’s part of playing the position, so I have no issue there.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said that you usually don’t have a problem with any plays and say, ‘Yes, let’s run it.’ You had no problem running it for QB Ryan Tannehill and you had no problem running them for yourself.) – “I can’t speak for Ryan. We’re different; but yes, because Gase will ask what do you like and what do you not like, whatever. The easiest answer is just call it and I’ll make it work or we’ll move on. But I have this fear of asking for something specific and having it not work out, so I just let him call it and we’ll make it work.”
(From your teammates to Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen today, the word ‘gunslinger’ keeps coming up. Do you embrace that?) – “I think you have to. I think it’s a compliment. It’s just how those guys see it and that’s fine. But like I said – I think Sunday I answered a question like this – but I’m trying to execute the offense and those guys can call it whatever they want to call it.”
(Is this the biggest start of your career? Beyond being the next start, is this the biggest start?) – “It’s the next start. (laughter) Sorry.”
(You haven’t started a game in five years. What’s this week like for you?) – “It’s exciting obviously. My routine during the week as the backup quarterback and now, there is really not much change other than obviously I’ve talked to (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase more. I’ve probably talked to (Quarterbacks Coach) Bo (Hardegree) a little more. But nothing crazy has changed. I’m obviously excited. It’s an opportunity to win another game and keep us going in the direction we’re going.”
(How much quality time with Wyatt do you figure you’ll have this week?) – “I’ve got to make time. That’s very important. I’m not sure how much, but it’ll get done.”
(The ‘gunslinger’ term, where does this come from where you’re not afraid to air it out? Where does that come from?) – “I don’t know. I think part of it is probably my college offense. We were playing for Mike Riley. We threw it down the field a bunch. So I think that’s just how I was brought up in competitive football. It has just kind of been my style and what I like to do; but again, we’re trying to execute what’s called and I’m going to do my best to do that. So that’s how I’d answer that question.”
(How would you kind of, like a big picture, how would you describe your whole career journey to this point?) – “It’s been good. I don’t know. I think I’ve filled my role the best I could and I’ve had opportunities to play and it’s gone well. There have been some tough times. There have been some good times, and this is another opportunity. I’m lucky I’m surrounded with a great team. I’ve got great guys on offense to work with, and like I said, I’m focused on the game plan, executing and moving forward that way.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase says he has plays for you, but he’s got to know you pretty well. You’re like in his back pocket the whole time right?) – “Yes, we’ve got a great relationship. We talk all the time, so yes. He knows. I don’t worry about that at all.”
(It’s been so long. Did you at any point think, and unfortunately it took an injury to get this opportunity, but did you at any point think, ‘Maybe I won’t get this chance again.’) – “I don’t really think that way. I think in this game, there’s always that chance. There’s always an opportunity. I think I was just always ready. I don’t know if I had thoughts of whether it would happen or not happen. But I just tried to stay ready for a situation like this, and here we are.”
(You’ve had a lot of opportunities to move on the last five years, does this reward your loyalty? Is this something that…?) – “It could’ve happened anywhere else too.”
(But this situation.) – “Sure. That I don’t know. I don’t know. I came back for whatever reasons I did, and this is my role on this team right now, and that’s just how I’m approaching it.”
(What has QB Ryan Tannehill said to you since the last few days?) – “ Just normal conversation. He was asking me – I saw him just now – he asked me how today went. He’s in there. I’m sure he’s in there grinding and finding ways to help offensively. But it’s been normal.”
Jarvis Landry – December 14, 2016
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Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry
(How has everything been going with QB Matt Moore back there now, and how fluid does the passing game look?) – “He’s only been back there for a day, but we have extreme confidence in him. The thing about Matt is he’s a pro. Since I’ve been here for the last three years, he’s trained, he’s practiced, like he was the starting quarterback. For us, it’s another opportunity for another guy to step up.”
(Do you personally reach out, maybe not so much to QB Matt [Moore] but at least to QB T.J. [Yates] to kind of help him acclimate or give him tips or anything?) – “Today was the first day, I don’t know if he signed today, or when he signed. Today was the first day getting an opportunity to see him, to see T.J. But he’s been with the quarterback’s coach all day, so I haven’t really had much time to chat.”
(How much realistically does it change in preparation for an offense, whether there are limitations or not, and what you can do going in with a game plan with a new quarterback?) – “There are no limitations. There are no limitations, and again, I say Matt (Moore) has practiced like he was the starter. He’s taken all of those mental reps, and he’s taken some of those physical things too – reps as well. For us, it’s continuing to do the things that we do well, and win one game.”
(As far as the nuances of the game as a receiver, just the ball placement, when he throws the ball, just the way the ball comes in, anything like that. Is that different at all? Does that take much preparation or change for you?) – “I get paid to catch the ball. I get paid to catch the ball regardless of who throws it, how it’s thrown, where it’s placed. It’s our job to make it right. Our receivers coach, Coach (Shawn) Jefferson, he puts that standard over our head. That doesn’t play a factor for us.”
(How much have you been looking forward to meaningful football here in December?) – “I think this whole … If you’re a Miami fan, you’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. Just being here, and to just to see how things have evolved, where we came from and where we have the position to be heading to, it’s amazing. It’s something that definitely makes you jump out of bed in the morning and come to work with a smile on your face.”
(Does it matter the elements when it comes to football at this time?) – “It does not. The elements does not matter. Just winning one game, that’s all that matters.”
(That’s good, because it’s going to be kind of cold and rainy.) – “Well, we’ll figure something out to stay dry, and to stay warm.”
(Do you know how many yards away from 1,000 you are?) – “I don’t.”
(You’re 77 yards away from 1,000 yards.) – “Well, as long as we get the win, I’m sure it will come. It’ll be in there somewhere. As long as we get the win, I’m fine with that.”
(Is that benchmark important to you?) – “Of course, but it’s one of those things I honestly don’t really pay too much attention to. I kind of already expect it, so I don’t really pay attention to it. It’s more of the victory, like I said, it’s more of the victory. Those personal things, they’ll come.”
(Talk about the fans getting used to, maybe this time of the year not seeing this team in the race. And obviously they are now. How much … They’re obviously following the standings. How much are you guys following the position, the standings, the tiebreakers, what you need to get into the playoffs?) – “Head Coach (Adam) Gase does a great job of re-gaining our focus, just to the task at hand. Not looking forward, not looking back, but looking at who we’re facing, the New York Jets. And that for us is key. It’s crucial for us that we approach each week like that, and try to go 1-0 instead of trying to think of where we will be placed. It’s not our … If we don’t win these games, it doesn’t matter. So for us, we want to go 1-0 every week.”
Darren Rizzi – December 14, 2016
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Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(There’s a lot of focus this week on backup quarterbacks. What about the challenge of grooming a backup long snapper? Can you talk about that?) – “I did not think that was going to be the first question, I have to be honest with you. Having a backup long snapper is interesting. You’re only going to carry one on the roster. It’s one of those jobs that you look … Every time you have a guy come through as a rookie, you kind of see what his background was – if he ever did it in high school, if he ever did it in college. Usually sometimes you can find some backups. For example, Mike Hull was a backup long snapper – surprise, surprise, right? Mike Hull. The more you can do … But Mike Hull was a snapper at Penn State. He was kind of their backup guy. He snapped in high school. Jason Taylor is a guy when I first got here was a backup snapper. He had done it in college and high school. So we’re always looking for those kind of guys. There have been years where we didn’t have anybody that did do it, so we trained a guy. So like Jason Trusnik a couple of years ago was our backup snapper. We started with him from scratch and just tried to teach him how to do it. We worked with guys like MarQueis Gray, who was a quarterback. Sometimes those guys who at least knew how to throw the ball can throw between their legs. A lot of times you’re looking for a guy that gets you out of a game, if you ever have an injury, knock on wood. I know it happened with the Eagles with (Special Teams Coordinator) Dave Fipp this past weekend. I knew he was going crazy. They were trying guys out on the sideline over there. You always have a plan. You’re always going to have a guy that you know is going to be the next guy in. In a rare situation, I think they were down to their third guy or something like that, which is crazy. All of the specialists, you have to have a plan for all of the guys you only have one of. You have one kicker, one punter, one snapper. You’re always having a backup holder; you’re always having a backup snapper, backup punter and backup kicker. You always have a contingency plan, but it’s certainly not easy, especially because most of the time that guy has never really done it a lot in games or ever in a game. A lot of times it’s a guy that has maybe just done it in practice and was ready to go as an emergency guy.”
(Is LB Mike Hull your [backup long snapper] right now?) – “Hull is our guy right now.”
(How much does LB Mike Hull practice [long snapping]?) – “We practice it every week. If we don’t get him into the actual team period – because now, as the season goes on, the team periods get shorter – so we’ll work with him on the side. Again, he’s a guy that’s done it at least through high school and college. He’s at least worked at it.”
(What did you tell K Andrew Franks both before and after his game-winning kick and how important was it for him to make that kick?) – “It was extremely important. It was a game-winner, so it was definitely important. Before the kick, I told him absolutely nothing. After the kick, I told him congratulations. (laughter) We prepare for those situations all the time. That’s not – in my opinion – that’s not the time for a pep talk. He trains himself and he trains his mind and body to put himself in those situations all the time. Certainly it was a little different with the rain. Ironically enough – because we kind of looked at the weather forecast – on Thursday at practice we did some wet ball drills with the snapper, holder and kicker. They worked on the side and it’s a little tough to do that in South Florida sometimes when it’s 80 degrees out, but we had some balls out and John Denney worked some wet ball drills with Matt (Darr) as a holder, so we actually simulated that situation. We didn’t do it with 1 second left, but we simulated the situation. Andrew, as I’ve said many, many times, is a very mentally tough guy. Again, I’ve always felt like, as a special teams coach, that’s the last time you want to start putting your arm around a guy. You just want to keep it business as usual. Heck, by the time I got to him, he already had 50 people congratulating him. I don’t even know if I saw him until I got into the locker room. I tried to get to him but he was getting mobbed so I kind of let him enjoy the moment. Good for him.”
(Cardinals Head Coach Bruce Arians went on the radio last night and mentioned something about an illegal snap count. I didn’t hear it myself, but I saw that Alex Marvez reported that you illegally shouted a snap signal that led to a botched extra point. Had you heard that before and is that accurate?) – “Someone brought it to my attention last night. I can tell you that we didn’t do anything illegal, so I’m a little bit taken back by it. Quite frankly, I’m a little bit offended by it. It’s really accusing of cheating, to be honest with you. I was a little bit offended by it. We certainly didn’t do anything illegal. We did our normal field goal block procedure, so I was a little bit taken back by it. Other than me making it rain when they had the ball, we didn’t do anything. (laughter) There was nothing that we did that was illegal. Seriously, we went through our normal procedure. The thing that is kind of ironic about the whole thing is, if I’m not mistaken, I watched them in pregame and they have a non-verbal snap count on their field goals. So I don’t know why a word or something would have set them off. To be honest with you, I don’t know which one of the three he was talking about, because they missed three (kicks). The very first one, they had three guys jump offsides and the play really should have gotten shut down by the officials. If you go back and watch the play, their long snapper, left guard and left tackle all moved, and they really should have shut the play down. I don’t know if that got their rhythm a little bit off. Then, obviously, their other two, they hit the upright on one and we returned the other one for 2 (points). I was a little bit taken back by it. I can tell you that none of our players did anything illegal. Nothing that we’ve ever coached is illegal. We don’t simulate a snap count, nothing like that. Do we have calls? Yes, of course we have defensive calls that we make and stuff like that. Every field goal block team does; but there was certainly nothing taught nor executed that was even close to illegal.”
(When you face a team the second time and the first time you took a kickoff to the house, do you expect to see totally different special teams on their part, as far as kickoff coverage? What normally happens in that situation?) – “There is only so much you can do in kick coverage, only because formationally you’re kind of limited in what you can do. You can only put six guys on one side, things like that. What some teams will do and the Jets do is they’ll motion guys in and they’ll have different lineups and try to hide people. I’m sure we’ll see a new look. Usually when you play these division games, you try to change things up, and everybody does it – offense, defense and special teams – and not give the same exact look that you’ve given before, because obviously when you’re going to practice, you’re going to practice against things you’ve seen. We really are anticipating a new look and anticipating for them to throw a new wrinkle in, if you will, in those situations. We’re going to be prepared like we are every week. They’ve done a decent amount – more than most – of pre-kick motions and shifts and things like that. We’ll be ready for all and any, for sure.”
(The blocked extra point, can you talk us through that?) – “First of all, it’s a great job by Jordan Phillips of penetrating the A-gap. We actually moved him last week into a new spot and good for him. He kind of got penetration there. They had a little problem there with their operation. They had a little bit of a high snap and a low kick; but at the end of the day, he blocks it, and then (Andre) Branch gets his hands on it first and then loses the ball and ironically knocks their holder down and the ball spits out and Walt (Aikens) scoops it up. The thing that I really liked was all of the guys out in front blocking. You saw Mike Thomas, you saw (Lafayette) Pitts, you saw Jason Jones, you saw (Tony) Lippett kind of giving him a convoy – if you will – down the sideline. Those are big plays and the ones that have happened this year in the NFL, the run-backs for 2 (points) off conversions, whether it’s a 2-point try by the offense or a blocked PAT, we try to watch all of those and learn from them and explain how important those can be. Obviously that was a big play in the game, so I was real happy with our guys on that.”
(You mentioned DT Jordan Phillips being moved along the front [of the field goal block team]. What led to that?) – “It’s just personnel every week. We just move our guys around. Like I was just saying, you try to give different wrinkles so we were kind of getting into a situation where we were lining them up in the same place a bunch of times. We just thought personnel-wise, we had a better matchup back there in the A-gap. He’s a big guy, obviously a big, tall guy, and does a great job of getting up off the ball. It all worked out for us.”
(Sometimes you watch games where athletic guys line up 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage and then jump the center and block the kick and it looks beautiful. Seahawks S Kam Chancellor has done it and Patriots LB Shea McClellin did it for New England. Why doesn’t that happen more? I know that you can’t touch the center. Why doesn’t that happen more? And more specifically, why doesn’t it happen here?) – “I’ll touch upon it a little bit on the first part of that. Every field goal protection scheme is a little bit different. I’ll start with like our field goal protection. We have a little different scheme inside – where some guys really stay low. You see that a lot of teams are doing that against teams that stay down and stay low. Our guys inside, (they) really work to a position where they strain and they’re up. My guess, my hypothesis if you will, my coaching hypothesis is that’s why no one has tried it against us, because our guys inside get a little bit higher and you can’t hit anybody. So if I go to jump and I make any contact, you’re going to get a flag. Really, our field goal block unit week to week, we kind of look for the best options that we can do. It’s a timing situation and it’s really, really difficult. Some teams will try to keep you off-balanced with their timing, so you really have to do a good job. The other day, the Patriots did a great job of timing up the Baltimore (kick). Now, if Baltimore did a double-cadence or something, New England is going to get a penalty there – or if they hit the snapper. As you jump – the thing that most people don’t realize is, when you get to that point, if the long snapper snaps the ball – if you’re over (the long snapper) as he snaps it, that’s a penalty – a pre-kick penalty – because you can’t cover the snapper. So that guy that’s jumping actually has to be more than a yard and a half off the line of scrimmage as the ball is being snapped, so the timing is very important. It’s the most important part. If the Ravens had held the ball for another half of second, he would have covered the snapper, they would have gotten a penalty and it wouldn’t have counted. So I know everyone talks about the Seattle one earlier in the year against the Cardinals where he brushed the center. You can’t leverage, you can’t gain any height advantage and you can’t land on anybody – your guys or their guys. It’s definitely a risk/reward. You’ve got to feel really, really good about it going into the game. We’ve discussed it. We discuss all the options every week. Everything is always on the table, so it really depends more about the field goal team you’re going against it, the timing and how good you feel about the person doing it. All of those things.”
(But you are confident it wouldn’t happen? Because it’s embarrassing when it happens to you.) – “I’m sure at some point somebody will try it against us. I think the reason we don’t see it a lot against us is because of our scheme. Our guys are a little bit higher than most. A lot of guys that go low in the middle there, in the A-gaps, in the past – like the Patriots have tried to do that same thing, I think it was with Jamie Collins a couple of years ago, but they did it in a different gap. They didn’t do it over the center. They jumped him through like the B- or C-gap, because we’re a little bit different there. So it really just depends. Nobody’s tried to jump our long snapper. No. 1: John Denney is a tall guy. So when he does rise up, you probably have a pretty good shot at getting a piece of him. No. 2: The way we play our guards.”
(I’m still not sure how S Walt Aikens did that, downing the ball at the 1-yard line, when he’s reaching out. It’s a pretty cool photo. In your experience, what percentage of time is that ball stopped inside the 2-yard line when there is a shot at it?) – “It’s something that we try … We work on it a lot. You see us at practice all the time. Walt has a very good knack of it. Walt played a tremendous game that day. He got our game ball on special teams. He was really all over the field. Walt in the past few years, if you look back at the film, has done that a few times. He’s a longer guy so certainly his long arms helped in that situation, keeping that ball out of the end zone. There was one earlier in the game that we missed. He kind of turned the wrong way and (Cardinals CB Patrick) Peterson was coming at him. It’s definitely a timing thing with the punter, where the ball lands. A lot of times, the punter doesn’t get enough credit for that too. Matt does a heck of a job of dropping it down and giving him a chance there. Again, we work on that. Two or three times a week, we work on those going-in punts because downing the ball there inside the 5(- yard line) obviously changes field position, especially in a weather game like that. We know how important that is. It really was a great play by Walt.”
(When you consider the degree of difficult for K Andrew Franks on that game-winner, it appeared that there was some pressure coming from the left, from around TE Dion Sims. Is that true? How close was it to being blocked or not close at all?) – “(Cardinals CB) Justin Bethel, I’m going to say this, is probably the best edge rusher in the league on field goals. He’s blocked a number of kicks. He’s obviously been a Pro Bowl player. He is the best guy, so that certainly was nerve-wracking for me, because of the weather. I was trying to … When you combine the fact that it was a weather game plus Justin Bethel. They had Justin Bethel and Patrick Peterson on their edge rush, two of the better players, special teams and athletes in the league. He was close. Dion Sims was our wing out there and he did the right thing. (It was a) great job by John (Denney), Matt (Darr) and Andrew getting the ball off in timely fashion in that weather. It’s a thing where, it probably at full speed is a little bit closer than it really is in reality. Justin Bethel, like I said, has done that a number of times. There definitely was pressure there. My degree of certainty in the weather there, there was no certainty. I look at what happened on their three kicks. I look at what happened really all day with the ball bouncing all over the place. When you talk about that end of the game situation, when we were talking through it, usually on a dry day when you get the ball on the 1-yard line, we might have played the end of the game a little bit differently. But because of the weather, we certainly were keeping that in mind.”
(Did you want to run out and tackle RB Damien Williams on that last play?) – “I did. (laughter) I did. I know (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) has addressed that one. It’s funny. I was talking to the official when Arizona called timeout to kind of ice Andrew (Franks). The official had walked over and he said, I heard him say to me and Adam, ‘You called that timeout with 3 or 4 seconds. We would have never let that go to 0.’ I think it looked a little more hairy than it was, getting down to 1 second. But yes, I did want to tackle Damien. I still want to tackle him. I think I’m going to go back in and tackle him now.” (laughter)
Vance Joseph – December 14, 2016
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Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
(How many starters are you going to have back this week?) – “How many? We’re hoping to get Kiko (Alonso) back. We’re not sure about Jelani (Jenkins). We’re hoping ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) can hopefully play some this week. But we’re not sure until we get through practice today and tomorrow. We’re hopeful for those guys, but not sure.”
(With LB Mike Hull, how did he perform last week and what are the areas of growth you’d like see from him?) – “I thought Mike played fine. It’s tough when you’re making your first start and you’re the signal-caller. Most of his problems came with the signals. As far as playing football, he was fine. He was solid. He was where he should have been most of the night. His issues came … It was rainy. It was a wet day. He’s wearing the communicator. It was kind of muffled. That’s where he struggled. So outside of that, he was fine. He played well.”
(Now with LB Kiko Alonso, is there a concern about him out there playing not at 100 percent?) – “Absolutely. Especially versus the Jets, where they’re in four-wides a lot of times on first and second down. Our first game versus the Jets, Kiko played very well. That being said, he ran vertical with receivers the whole game. Obviously with a hamstring issue, that can hamper his performance, so we’ve got to be careful if he’s not right – how to play him, if we play him.”
(What goes into the decision to have CB Byron Maxwell shadow somebody? I know, I think earlier you talked about big-bodied receivers. What other factors might go into it?) – “It’s just that. It’s a matchup league. Obviously, Maxwell’s our most experienced corner, and he’s probably our strongest corner between (Tony) Lippett and Bobby (McCain) and those guys. So when you’re playing a guy like Brandon Marshall, who’s a big, physical target, it’s good to have a guy who can match that kind of strength, and that’s Byron (Maxwell) for us. So again this week, he will match his guy this week. Absolutely.”
(CB Tony Lippett’s done pretty well.) – “Yes.”
(But for CB Tony Lippett to take the next step to become a really good corner, what are a couple of things he’ll need to focus on?) – “It’s experience with ‘Lipp’ (Tony Lippett). ‘Lipp’ was a college wide receiver, so he’s played corner about two years of his life – so more experience obviously. He’s a tall corner, so controlling his body is a major issue; but as far as the kid’s work ethic and his engagement every day, he’s fine. He’s got great ball skills because he’s an ex-receiver, but more experience than anything.”
(The numbers of the run defense. I know you always want do better.) – “Absolutely.”
(Are you at the point where I’m not going to really worry about that? Or where are you with that?) – “I’m concerned about it all the time. It’s a weird deal, even this week. The Johnson kid (Cardinals RB David Johnson) had about 75 or 80 yards rushing. We gave up a 55-yard reverse and that’s happened twice this year, so I’m not overly concerned about the run defense because it’s been pretty good the last month and a half. Honestly, it has been. The numbers may not speak to that, but it has been good enough to win games. Obviously, run defense, if you’re really good, you like it. If you’re not, if you’re not good at it, you don’t worry yourself about it. You kind of contain it the best you can. In this league, you score points by throwing the football. So if we can maintain our pass defense, our third downs and our pass rush, we can win games.”
(How much cat and mouse is involved when you play a division team for the second time, in terms of you do what you do versus what you adjust to based on the first meeting?) – “A lot, because what you did well, they’re going to probably adjust to. So you’ve got to make adjustments. You can’t go to the same game, the same game plan. Not playing professionals and professionals coaches. You’ve got to make some, not major changes, but enough changes where you’re not having your guys vulnerable. When you play guys twice, especially playing them within a month and half, it’s always important to have some different wrinkles, especially early on, because what they’ve worked on, you want to show different and then go back to what you’re good at.”
(On some of the shallow crosses, I know it was raining and things like that, but coverage seemed a lot tighter. Were you pleased with the effort and what kind of went into that?) – “Well, it was a different coverage we played. We played more of a vision coverage. Obviously when it’s wet out like that, you don’t want to be playing too much tight match coverage. You want to play more vision coverage and drop in areas and make the QB throw it into areas. So that was … It was really a different coverage, but also, after the Baltimore week, I was going to play more vision to help those guys with the crosses. It kind of helped us that it was raining, also it was the plan.”
(So when you talk about vision coverage, can you explain?) – “Well, when you’re playing match zones, it’s zone but in your zone, I’m matching this guy across. When you’re playing vision zones, if you run by me, I’m not going to chase you. I’m going to watch the quarterback and just stay in my zone. So when it’s raining out, guys can’t cut as well, you want to play more vision and allow your guys to kind of not play guys, but play the quarterback’s eyes.”
(What was the impact from the defense of having Jason Jones back last week?) – “Huge. Huge. Energy, being an inside rusher, that helps. It helps to free up ‘Cam’ (Cameron Wake) and free up (Andre) Branch. When you’ve got those four vets out there rushing with (Ndamukong) Suh and Jason (Jones) inside, it forces one-on-ones on the edge because Jason’s (Jones) a really, really quick inside rusher. So it helps the edge rushers.”
(It seemed like he showed up quite a bit as well, didn’t he?) – “Absolutely. Running game. Pass game. He’s a guy that has been solid for us all year, when healthy, especially as an inside rusher. But first, second down, he’s an edge and that can play the run game also for us. He did a fine job.”
(Did you guys study some Baylor [film] of Jets QB Bryce Petty?) – “We have not. We’ve got him on tape from preseason. He’s got two starts now, so we’re studying what he’s done right now, even its 75-80 snaps. That’s what he’s good at, and that’s what we think he’s good at, so that’s what we’re studying. Not the Baylor stuff. It’s so different.”
(What do you see from Jets QB Bryce Petty?) – “He’s got a strong arm. He’s athletic. He’s no stiff back there, so that’s a concern; but he’s got a strong arm and he’s aggressive. Most young guys playing, you know playing right now – he’s got four games to play or whatever he has to play – he should be aggressive. Show them want you can do and he’s trying to do that.”
(Are you at the point with this defense where you expect big plays as opposed to hoping for them, whether it’s a sack or an interception or a fumble recovery?) – “Absolutely. I expect us to play well every week. The players tell me I’m crazy and I feel that way sometimes. After those wins, I’m never satisfied. I always find something that goes wrong, but that’s my makeup. I’m never satisfied, but this defense can be good. So that’s my standard for them. That’s my expectation for this defense. We can be a dominant group.”
(When you lose your starting quarterback, as a defense, does that kind of change your mindset like it’s on us now?) – “Not really, because every game (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) and I talk about how to win this game. So whoever’s playing quarterback, whether it’s Ryan (Tannehill) or whether it’s Matt (Moore), it’s always a conversation of how to win this game. I think Matt’s (Moore) going to do a fine job obviously, but we have not discussed that yet, honestly. From my perspective, if we play well, it helps us win – whoever’s playing quarterback. Right? If we can hold them to minimal points, it helps us win.”
(What did you guys see in the three weeks where you had DE Dion Jordan out there on the field and what ultimately was lacking?) – “Well, Dion (Jordan) showed us that he’s a good athlete, obviously. He’s a big body who can help us in the future. But he’s lacking health. We tried to get him back out there and move him around a little bit, but he just wasn’t ready physically, and the time ran out. Dion (Jordan) has to go back and just rehab and get himself healthy. He’s a young player. He’s got a bright future, if healthy. So that’s what we didn’t see. We didn’t see the kid healthy enough to play.”
(LB Mike Hull, going back to him. What did you see as far him and his ability to try to see where the run is coming from and fit the run? Because he looked really good.) – “Yes. Mike’s a Penn State inside linebacker, so he’s been coached his whole life to be a linebacker. So I wasn’t surprised that Mike (Hull) played well. Obviously, being his first start, certain things came up that shouldn’t have, like a couple of his drops and again the communicator. But as far as playing football, Mike’s (Hull) a good football player, so I wasn’t surprised he played well.”
