Jay Ajayi – October 9, 2016 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Postgame – vs. Tennessee
Miami Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi (transcribed by David Norwood II)
(Your team didn’t do as well you hoped…) – “Yes, definitely. We lost. That’s just the matter of fact, so we’ve got to go back to drawing board and figure it out and we got to get some moves.”
(How frustrating is it now to be 1-4?) – “I mean, at the end of the day it’s a long season. It’s frustrating for the simple fact that we want to win games and this is not where we want to be at this point. At this point right now, it’s still early and we’re basically going to take it one week at a time, one game at a time, and see what happens at the end of the season.”
(Jay, do you feel like you got into a little bit of a rhythm in the running game today. You seem to have more carries than you have gotten…) – “Yes, I feel like I was able to do some good things on the ground; but at the same time, we have to be able to execute and stay on the field longer and keep those drives moving. We’re going to go back to work this next week and look to how we can improve, and come out next Sunday hopefully better.”
Ryan Tannehill – October 9, 2016 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Postgame – vs. Tennessee
Miami Dolphins Quarterback Ryan Tannehill (transcribed by Sara Perez)
(Ryan, as tough a day as you’ve had out there – a lot of pressure on you, six sacks, trying to get rid of the ball seemed to be tough. How tough was it on you?) – “Yes, it was a tough day. I think all around, offensively, we have to be better.”
(What do you do to get better? When you look at the points per game and three-and-outs and all that, it seems to be very similar numbers week in and week out. How do you resolve that? And you got to resolve it, obviously, in a short time here.) – “Every man has to be better, starting with me. We have to feel better. We have to block better. We have to move better. It’s just (about) going back to work, there’s nothing drastic. All we have to do is come to work and get better each and every day. Every man controls the things he can control, work at the things he needs to work at, and we’ll be in good shape.”
(Scheme-wise you’re happy with it? When you look at tapes it’s just one guy breaks down on one play and another guy another play. Are those the situations you’re seeing?) – “It was a couple situations today where they did a good job on defense, caught us in a coverage. We hurt ourselves by getting to third-and-long and then you’re playing the guessing game of what they’re going to be in. We have to keep ourselves in third-and-manageable. Penalties hurt us. A couple negative plays hurt us and put us in third-and-long. Those are always going to be tough. We have to be consistent on third-and-manageable and then convert them when you get those opportunities.”
(Obviously, you heard the fans chanting. How do you react to that?) – “I just have to keep playing. I have to play my game, keep my focus on the things I need to do and play for the guys around me. I love being on this team. I love the guys in the huddle with me, and I’m going to do everything I can to go out and play the way they expect me to play. So, do I like it? No, but it doesn’t affect how I play or how I think about myself.”
(Ryan, as far as this team, do you see progress being made or what do you think big picture?) – “Yes, I think big picture there’s definitely progress. We’re getting better. Obviously, we need to make a big stride. All it takes is one week, one good week for us to kind of get things rolling, and I think we’ll be headed in the right direction. Obviously, that needs to be this week.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said that you’ll be the quarterback the rest of the year pretty much no matter what. What’s your reaction to that?) – “I know (Head) Coach (Adam Gase) has confidence in me – I have confidence in myself – and I think the guys on offense have confidence in me. We’re going to go out and play. I’m going to go out and play. I’m going to push myself in practice, do anything I can to get better and expect to play better.”
(Offensive line guys – G/T Laremy Tunsil misses, T Branden Albert misses. Frustrating? At the start of the week, it looked like there was a chance with C Mike Pouncey coming back that, that offensive line would be intact. Frustrating?) – “Yes, it’s tough. You think you’re getting ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert) back and then he has an illness. Then you lose ‘L.T.’ (Laremy Tunsil) day of the game. That’s tough. It puts those guys that are put in spots they’re not used to playing in tough positions. It puts our offense in a little bit of a tough position, but things happen. You have to be able to adapt and find ways to move the ball and score points.”
Adam Gase – October 9, 2016 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Postgame – vs. Tennessee
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by Michelle Stone)
(Adam, G/T Laremy Tunsil – how did he get injured?) – “He was getting ready for the game. I’m still kind of sorting everything out right now. We’re trying to get ready for (the game) and all of a sudden he lets you know that he’s not going to be able to go so we had to make some quick adjustments.”
(I know you’re not going to want to make any excuses, but a lot of injuries – all seven inactives were projected starters coming out of training camp. How much did that impact the game?) – “I mean, it happens. It happens as far as week-to-week, usually you have a couple of guys down. You never like to have this many guys, a couple of them being some fluke-type of thing. We didn’t think that ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert) was going to be down at the beginning of the week, but he loses 12 pounds throughout the week and we can’t put him out there. He tried to practice. It just would be wrong for us to try to do that. Obviously, those guys can help you; but I feel like we have plenty of guys that can fill the roles that we need them to fill. We just have to do a better job.”
(Coach, you pretty much knew what they wanted to do coming in. There were a lot of three-tight, they wanted to run the football, and that’s exactly what they did – 224 yards rushing at the last count for me – that’s got to be a disappointing afternoon for you.) – “It was surprising considering that we were doing a pretty good job as far as fitting it – we weren’t finishing our tackles. That’ll kill you every time, especially with a running back like that. One guy misses, and they block it up well. Our guys were fitting everything right and it just takes a one-on-one match up, he makes him miss, now all of a sudden he’s in the safety, and a lot of times he’s going to make that guy miss. We have to do a better job as far as our tackling goes. It’s tough because the d-line is doing their job, and now all of a sudden, they want to go try to make a play to help, and now we’re moving out of our gap. It’s one of those things where you spring a leak somewhere else and then somebody else tries to plug it and then another one springs. We have to make sure we go back and we’ve got to figure out a way to do a better job of tackling.”
(Offensively – you look at the numbers, six punts, five of them three-and-outs, two of them interceptions…) – “We’re inept right now. We’ve just got to figure something out. We tried to slow it down today, and huddle, and we only had 41 plays and eat up 23 minutes. We’re not getting enough first downs. We had a chance there on the third-and-1, and the ball gets batted down. We think we’re in the end zone to be down by three and we get a holding call. It just seems that we can’t get out of our own way right now. We’ve just got to go back to work. We’ve got to clean up some of these things. There’s nothing really great that I can point to in this game, especially for the offense. I know that Jay (Ajayi) ran hard. There were times where there were free runners in the backfield and I thought that there were going to be two or three runs that were negative plays and he found a way to get to the line of scrimmage and get positive yards. That was encouraging for me as far as having a guy who you can lean on to try to get positive yards. There were some bad play calls in there that put our offense in a bad position. We’ve got to go back to work. We’ve got to figure out a way to do a better job of consistently executing play in and play out.”
(Coach, was there any point in the game where you considered taking Ryan Tannehill out of the game?) – “No. He’s not coming out. You can ask me a hundred times. He’s going to be in there the rest of this season.”
(Adam, what do you make of the season now that you’re 1-4? The big picture…) – “Well, the whole NFL is a mess, isn’t it? How many teams have the same record or are one win above us? You’ve got to play the whole season. Everybody counted Kansas City out. The one year New England is 2-2 and the sky’s falling and all of a sudden they rattle it out and go to the Super Bowl and win it. You better play this thing out. You never know what’s going to happen.”
(Adam, I know you have a lot on your plate right now after that performance, but what tops your priority list in terms of what you need to fix?) – “A lot of times, I look at it offensively. I know there’s some fixes we can have there as far as we hold onto the ball, we get first downs, the time of possession changes, and it helps the defense. That’s why it’s irritating for me, as far as if we could figure out a way to be more consistent on offense, it’s going to take a lot of pressure off the defense (and) keep those guys fresh. We built this defense to play with a lead. We just haven’t come through on offense yet. We had some changes. We’re trying to figure out some ways to get guys the ball, get the ball out quick, not put Ryan (Tannehill) in a bad position as far as holding onto the ball. It just didn’t work out the way that we wanted it to.”
Mike Pouncey – October 9, 2016 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Postgame – vs. Tennessee
Miami Dolphins C Mike Pouncey (transcribed by David Norwood II)
(Mike, I know it’s your first game back it’s just a sense of frustration just how things went for the offense four sacks, got picked off twice Ryan.) – “We got to look at the film, see what went wrong. Obviously we want to play a lot better. We got to get some guys healthy and get back to our full strength.”
(Is that the key because the offensive line is banged up and Ryan’s [Tannehill] back there he’s going to take a lot of the blame for this.) – “We’ll see. We’ll watch the film, we’ll see what went wrong. I know we all have to do a better job. That’s every player on the offense. It ain’t just one person. It ain’t one group. We all have to do better to win football games.”
Clyde Christensen – October 7, 2016
Download PDF version
Friday, October 7, 2016
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(On Head Coach Adam Gase talking about restricting the running back rotation and how he thinks that’s going to affect the offense and if it is to get one guy into a rhythm) – “Yes, I think that’s what he’s hoping. I’ve told you every week kind of the same thing. We keep rotating through the guys and hoping someone just grabs hold of that position and takes it. I think he’s got a plan; I know he talked to you guys about it. So I think in the back of his mind, he has some thoughts; but again, it’s really just been keep trying guys and hopefully someone jumps up and goes.”
(On why nobody has taken hold of that running back position yet) – “I don’t know. That’s a good question. A lot of things – a trillion things – some self-inflicted by them, some game situations. I talked to you a lot about just a lack of snaps. There hasn’t been enough for anyone to get into a rhythm. I do think that some of that is (the) circumstances. So Arian’s (Foster) injury, maybe it was going to be Arian and all of a sudden he gets hurt. I think there are probably 10 reasons you could give why it hasn’t or that could be possible explanations, but it hasn’t.”
(On if he’s talking about the running back rotation in game situations because the team is averaging 4.2 yards per carry, which is above the league average, but has the fewest amount of carries in the NFL) – “That’s right. And I think we’re darn close to the least amount of snaps (in the NFL). I think that they are all tied together, sure. I think the third downs affected everything. The poor performance on third downs affected everything and then you kind of invest in Arian (Foster) and then he had an injury and now you’re going with the next guy. So it really has been kind of a musical chairs and a different reason each time that the chair opens back up.”
(On how tough these last four weeks have been on him) – “Yes. I think it’s frustrating. One thing, and we talked to the team, you contract for 16 weeks. I don’t let myself go get too high or too low; but you want to see it go well. You want to see it go well for the guys. I want to see one of the backs have 450 yards right now. You want more snaps. You want more balls. You want all those things. I think there is a frustration level that is kind of a personal hurt if you will. As far as just going up and down, I just have refused to do that and hope the unit has refused to do that. Just keep playing. Just keep playing and then let’s look up at the end of 16 weeks and see what we’ve done. That has to be the mentality. If you’re looking at the scoreboard … It’s the same thing. If we were 4-0, I’d be saying the same thing, ‘Hey, steady as she goes.’ We’ve just got to keep improving and go from there. On a personal level, it’s been frustrating. You just want it to go well for the guys, and for the unit, for the city, for the team, for the whole deal, for Mr. Ross. And it hasn’t so far; but it’s a long ways to go. We just finished the first quarter. We put ourselves in a hole. The reminder is … The two facts of the matter are this: It is only the end of the first quarter and we’ve got 12 to play and a lot can still be written differently. Right? We’re not anywhere near through with this chapter of the book, if you will – the story. But the other fact is we’re not playing very good football on offense and we have to play better. So those are two facts. We are only at the end of the first quarter, but there’s no guarantee it just turns around just because you want it to either. You’ve got to play better football. That’s the emphasis. We’ve got to play better football and who knows? The examples from last year – if it’s Kansas City or Houston. There are a trillion turnaround stories that 1-3 is not fatal in any stretch of the imagination in this league, which we all know. But playing bad football is fatal. It doesn’t turn when you’re playing bad football. We have to play better football.”
(On what gives him confidence that this is the week it will turn around for the team) – “Every week is the week for coaches. Every week is the week. This is the week. I haven’t gone into any of them thinking we weren’t going to win the darn thing. I go into this one thinking, ‘Let’s go play good football and win this thing. Let’s look up at the end of 60 minutes and … (Let’s) play good football for 60 minutes and look up and see what happens.’ There are no guarantees in this league – no guarantees whatsoever – which is one of the fun things about it. But the one thing that’s encouraging to me is that the guys keep working, that we have been steady, that there haven’t been big dips in effort. There haven’t been those things. They’ve come out to practice and work. It hasn’t been one of those where you just fold it up (and are) not in the games. They had a chance to fold up at halftime of New England. They’ve had some chances to fold up, and it hasn’t even come close yet. They just keep playing, and that’s the encouraging thing. Now, we’ve got to fix the things like third down, turnovers and those things, and we’ll see if they do that – see if we do that. If we do that, I think this thing will turn. If we don’t, then it’s going to be tough sledding.”
(On whether having all five starting offensive lineman this week changes play calling or personnel packages) – “I don’t think it has. You do just feel like there’ll be some continuity. (Mike) Pouncey is one of the best at his position. (Anthony) Steen did a good job. I really haven’t felt like … I haven’t felt one of those, ‘Gosh, we have no chance until we get Pouncey back.’ Any time you get your leader back – any time you get one of the heartbeats of this thing back – it’s big. Even beyond the play – even more than the play in my mind – is the presence, the veteran presence. (If) we’re shaky, that gives us a veteran presence right down the middle of our offense. That’s really important, and he is a veteran guy. He’ll give us some enthusiasm. He’ll give us some confidence. He’ll give us a little bit of swagger. We got a lot of young guys and a lot of young guys have to worry about themselves. It’s hard for them to influence the unit, because they have to take care of their own mess. Pouncey is a guy who can do his job and encourage some other guys to do theirs and lead in that way. I think it’s a big … It’s big getting him back. If everything keeps going the way it’s going and we get him back for this ball game, I think it’ll be big (for) not even just the football – not how well we block their nose guard or something like that – but more in the blood of this thing and the lifeline of this thing.”
(On the best way to utilize RB Kenyan Drake) – “The best way would be for him to earn the starting job and get 40 snaps a game, getting himself in shape and do everything right. That would be the best way. We have to keep understanding that he’s a rookie, and we got to keep feeding him. He’s a talented kid. He’s a good kid. He’s going to be a good player. We just got to find ways (to use him). We’ve used a little two-back stuff. We can continue to do that a little bit. We can use some bits and pieces to try and showcase his ability to come out of the backfield and catch the football. We’ll continue to do those things. We’re always looking for ways to get him in there and give him a chance to show what he can do. He is a special talent. Yes, he’s in shape, but there’s no way to prepare for this league, especially for a guy like him (on) special teams. Special teams for a rookie who hasn’t been here all year-round and hasn’t been through it, I think it takes a little time to play yourself into shape. All of a sudden, you’re covering a kick and all of a sudden it’s first down, you’re handed the ball and then (it is) third down and here comes a big ‘backer off the edge and you got to block him and all of a sudden you don’t convert the third (down), you’re on punt team, you’ve got to cover the punt. I do think that … I think by average standards, he’s in good shape, but in the role that he’s in right now, you’ve got to be in great shape. I think every week he gets closer and closer to that. To give an impression he is in bad shape would be a … That would not be the situation. It would not be that. It would be more that he’s fulfilling a bunch of roles and all of a sudden those run together when you’re in there on third down, fourth down, first down.”
(On if there is enough information to have a sense that RB Kenyan Drake could be an NFL starter) – “My sense would be, ‘Yes.’ My sense would be that the more we see him I think that he could be a really good pass protector. I think he could be a third-down (running back). I think he could be a special teams guy. I think he could be a returner, and I think he could be a first and second down guy. He has been very, very impressive. If he does it, we’ll see. I’m really encouraged with what you see talent-wise. It’s hard to do it week in and week out, day after day after day. That takes a special guy. There are a lot of talented guys that have come and gone through this league. We talk a lot about just being a pro. There are a lot of NFL players; there are not that many NFL pros. There’s a big difference – big, big difference. A lot of guys got the sweat suit and the shield on their arm. That don’t make you a pro. That just makes you an employee of the NFL. That just makes you an NFL player. But (being) a pro, that’s hard to do. That’s hard to do. That’s why there aren’t that many of them.”
(On how he would assess QB Ryan Tannehill’s play this year and where he would like to see improvement) – “I would say this: I would say … He would be the same dido as the unit. At times he has done things really, really well. At times I think he’d love to have a do over, if you would. Just like the offense, we’ve done some things really, really well, and then there’d be a lot of times you where you’d love to have a do over, which don’t exist. We all know they don’t exist. The answer would probably be not as well as he would hope, not as well as we would hope. The same as the unit. We haven’t played as well as we would hope or they would hope. I wouldn’t put him any further above or below the unit. I put him with the unit. This year has been one of those where everyone is taking their turn. Everyone is taking their turn jumping offsides, missing a throw, dropping a pass, calling a bad play. I include myself in all that, too. Everyone has taken their chance (like) giving up a sack-fumble. We’ve all taken our turns. That’s what I’m talking to you about, that level of really playing good pro football. To really play at a high level of football, you got to do it play in and play out. That’s what the teams that get in the tournament do, and the ones that win do it longer and harder than everybody else. We got to get into that group. We’re not in it, yet.”
(On what would be the area of improvement for QB Ryan Tannehill) – “I think he has been really, really good on his deep throws. I think when I came here everyone said that it was a deficiency, and I haven’t seen that. I think he has done a good job with his deep throws. I think probably (it is) just the consistency. I think there are probably some third down throws … You probably measure a quarterback by third down and red zone and two minute. That’s what I put a double weight on – those three areas. (With) third down, we’ve had a couple where we got to convert it, where him and Jarvis (Landry) have to be on the same page. We took a look at them, and they ought to be conversations (where) someone makes a play – someone makes a catch, someone makes a throw. Again, it’s harder to assess blame as much as … There are a lot of plays in this league that happen. I don’t know who, but someone has to make that play. It has to be a better throw, it has to be a better catch. Somehow we get the situation right, (and) we have to be able to convert those third downs. That’s what we haven’t been able to do. So, I would say probably – if you pinned me down and say I got to say one – then it would be that (we) just convert third downs, somehow find a way to convert them. I think we got to use his legs a little bit on third down, too. Every week you look up and there’s a third-and-12 and the quarterback takes off running and converts a third down where everyone was covered or something. Those things aren’t as clean and pretty as the way you draw them up once that pass rush tees off on third down. We got to find some way to make those plays.”
Vance Joseph – October 7, 2016
Download PDF version
Friday, October 7, 2016
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
(On losing CB Xavien Howard due to injury) – “Obviously, (we are) disappointed by that; but we’ve got (Byron) Maxwell back in the fold. He has worked hard. His attitude has been great. I’m excited to see him play come Sunday.”
(On where he hopes to see improvement from CB Byron Maxwell) – “Overall improvement. He had some issues with soft coverage and obviously missed tackles, but the last two weeks in practice, he has rectified those things. He’s a press corner and I want him to press most of the time. He has got some splits where he was forced to play off and it led to him being off too often. The tackling stuff, he has to tackle better, he has to play better. He recognizes that, and he’s working that way for us.”
(On how CB Xavien Howard’s injury occurred) – “He got tangled in one-on-ones with Kenny (Stills). It was an innocent play. He jumped and came down on the knee. He didn’t even realize he was hurt at the time. I watched it on tape and it was that play.”
(On whether CB Bobby McCain and CB Jordan Lucas can play in place of CB Xavien Howard on the outside) – “Absolutely. Obviously, Bobby will be the next guy outside, and we’ve got Lucas going outside. Michael (Thomas) also plays nickel, so we’ve got some flexibility in the back end as far as who plays nickel and who plays outside corner.”
(On whether the plan to have S Michael Thomas and S Isa Abdul-Quddus split time at safety changes due to CB Xavien Howard’s injury) – “No. We shared some time last week with Michael and Isa. It worked out well for us. Bobby (McCain) is playing so well at nickel, we didn’t want to waste Michael on the sideline. So, we spilt reps at safety and let Bobby have more nickel reps.”
(On what went into the decision to split time between S Michael Thomas and S Isa Abdul-Quddus) – “Getting Michael more reps for the most part. He is practicing very well. He has played very well in games. So, I didn’t want Michael’s snap count to go down at all. We figured we would split reps there and let Bobby (McCain) play more nickel. Simple as that.”
(On how LB Spencer Paysinger, LB Neville Hewitt and LB Donald Butler played last week against Cincinnati and who will replace LB Koa Misi this week) – “I thought they all played well. I thought ‘Nev’ (Neville Hewitt) played really well. He had a couple things where he can correct, but as far as running and hitting, I thought ‘Nev’ played well. Butler – he played well for his first start. He had a couple things with the pressure package he had negatives on, but as far as the run game, cover-wise he was fine. ‘Spence’ (Spencer Paysinger) played well at dime ‘backer for the most part.”
(On the key to limiting Cincinnati to 76 rushing yards) – “I think the key ingredient was fitting our gaps. It was a nice deal, because we played most of that first half in shell coverage. I was afraid of A.J. Green, because over the top, so I played more shell coverage knowing that the run game was important to be stopped. It was a step forward for us. Most of the time you’ve got to play single high and fill every gap. We didn’t do that. We played shell coverage – four and two – and the run game was stuffed. It’s a good feeling.”
(On whether the Week 4 performance against Cincinnati gives him hope about the run defense) – “Absolutely. The first three weeks, I would say this: out of 40 runs in a game, I would say 30 were fit perfectly, and we had four or five that weren’t fit perfectly. It wasn’t an overall problem where I was so concerned about this scheme or the players alike. It was more of a pop-gap here, pop-gap there. It wasn’t (an) overall problem, it was just a player here, a player here. It wasn’t a big concern, but it was nice last week that it was finally stopped, even in shell coverage.”
(On containing RB DeMarco Murray) – “I’ll say this: it’s a run-first offense. They’re averaging 5.7 run yards on first down. Obviously, stopping DeMarco is going to be a huge deal for us. Everyone else (on) offense, we have to hold our own there; but he is definitely the main focus this week.”
(On whether focusing on RB DeMarco Murray puts pressure on the defense to not miss tackles and not have breakdowns in coverage) – “Absolutely. When you’re closing the middle and you’re adding a guy to the run game, everyone is in single coverage. Both corners are in single coverage. The middle of the field is closed, so the post patch should beat him. But outside routes, quick hitch routes – those things become a problem, because if you miss a tackle there, no one is out there to help you. Those things run off for 40, 50 yards. It’s always a problem when you’re stopping the run game with more than six-and-a-half men. It becomes a single-high pass game, and that’s always an issue.
(On who will play strongside linebacker this Sunday) – “It’s going to be (Donald) Butler.”
(On whether LB Jelani Jenkins will play on Sunday) – “I’m not sure yet. He ran today. I’m not sure where he is, to be honest.”
(On what he likes about LB Donald Butler’s game) – “He is an experienced linebacker. He has played on good defenses. He’s obviously a tough inside ‘backer that can fit the run game. And in coverage, he has been fine.”
(On whether it is a challenge having cornerbacks playing one-on-one coverage with a mobile quarterback like QB Marcus Mariota) – “Absolutely. But each week, it’s an emphasis on what you have to stop. This week it’s the run game, obviously. So, closing the middle, that’s part of the plan, obviously. And if (Mariota) takes off, it’s in the same boat as Russell Wilson. We’ve got to plaster on the back end, keep our rush lanes tight. If he takes off, we’ve got to plaster him, just chase him down.”
(On using DE Cameron Wake against a run offense this week and moving forward) – “Cam, he’s our specialty rusher. So, obviously to use Cam more, it’s got to be more of a passing game. The last four weeks haven’t been that. Maybe Cleveland was kind of like that in the middle of the third or fourth quarter. His role won’t change much. Hopefully we get a lead and Cam can get more snaps; but until that, he’s going to be a third-down rusher for us or a sub rusher.”
Darren Rizzi – October 7, 2016
Download PDF version
Friday, October 7, 2016
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(On his thinking of using WR Jakeem Grant versus WR Jarvis Landry on punt returns) – “Really, we’re just going to continue to do what we’ve done in terms of having both guys available. It has been a four-game sample, so we’re not going to overreact over anything right now. I’ve seen plenty of what Jakeem can do between the preseason and now. I think some people get tied up in the numbers. A couple of his better returns have gotten called back for penalties – keep that in mind. We had a couple of decent ones against Seattle that got called back and there was one more, I believe. Like I said before, I’m very happy with the way he is progressing. At some point, I think you’ll see both of those guys back there together – between Jakeem and Jarvis – on punts, just like we have multiple guys back there on kick returns. We’re going to keep doing the same thing (depending on the) game situation – keep it situational, keep it game-by-game and kind of game plan it.”
(On how many phone calls he got about his reaction after the roughing the punter penalty at Cincinnati) – “There was a video? (laughter) I’ll put it this way, I have three teenagers that live under the same roof as me. They waited for the right time. They were smart enough to let it pass a little while (before bringing it up). I have an 18-year old in college and a 15-year old daughter and a 13-year old son, so they were all too happy to share the meme with me. It took me a second to even know what a meme was, for the record. I’m not really a social media (guy).”
(On if he saw that the NFL had some fun at his expense) – “No. What was it?”
(On the NFL Twitter account sending out a meme of him) – “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
(On research about deferring the opening kickoff) – “It’s a great question, because prior to this new kickoff rule, I’ve done plenty of research. Now with this new kickoff rule, there’s only four games worth of data. I’ll start prior to this year: When you look at teams’ first drive of the game, a long field, the numbers will tell you to kickoff first, without going into great detail about the exact percentages. If you can make a team go (on a) long field on the first possession of the game, the percentages are in the defense’s favor. There is also the thought process of … I think one of the things that’s really interesting to look at is the last possession of the first half and the first possession of the second half. How teams have done – number one: the teams you’re playing and number two: just from a general standpoint, I think there are some people …Tthere are different names for it – the double-whammy and all kinds of names, the double-down. If you defer and you can get that last possession of the first half and you end up with the football and get points and then come back and get the ball again (in the second half) and get points, there’s a high percentage – the numbers are really high – in terms of winning the football game. If you can finish the first half with points and start the second half with points – whether it be a field goal or touchdown – that number is high. Now, you have a new rule (on kickoffs) and with the ball coming at the 25(- yard line after a touchback), now some people will say the numbers aren’t going to change that much. It’ll change a little bit. That 5 yards, believe it or not, is the difference a lot of times in whether you’re going to punt or kick a field goal, so it certainly changes that aspect. Now, with a lot of teams kicking the ball high and short, if you can pin the team down inside the 20(-yard line), then even better. Obviously, the numbers are going to go up for the defense and down for the offense. There’s definitely some interesting (research there).”
(On when deferring became popular and if there was a recent rule change) – “I don’t know the exact year that deferring came into (play). I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t know the exact year. It might outdate me a little bit. But since the defer has been an option, I know you have a lot of defensive coaches, the defensive head coaches – a guy like Bill Belichick came through on the defensive side, Bill Parcells came through on the defensive side – you got coaches like that … John Harbaugh has come through on the defensive side. If you look at their history – the defensive coaches – they kind of do it all the time. The defensive coaches would tell you … Now you have an offensive coaches … We do (have an offensive head coach here), but I think so far, Adam (Gase) has been great in terms of going through … That’s what we do in the offseason. We really study those things, those game management things. In perfect conditions … Obviously, wind, rain, all of those things are going to affect it in terms of what you’re going to do. For example, (if) the forecast (says) it’s going to downpour from the second quarter on, then you don’t want to defer. (You want to) get the ball early when it’s dry. So there are going to be different aspects that go come into it. But when you’re playing in a dome or you’re playing in good conditions or things like that, numbers will tell you – and again if you talk to different people, they’re skewed – but numbers would tell you that deferring is probably the best way to go, just in terms of the way the percentages have worked out over the last, let’s say 10 years in the NFL.”
(On the new kickoff rule and if it makes sense to return kickoffs that are in the end zone) – “It’s a great question. What you’re really seeing – and I was even watching last night’s (Cardinals vs. 49ers) game and it was the same thing – what a lot of people are trying to do is get that ball right to the goal line or just over, because now that returner – even if you’re playing 5 yards deep in the end zone and the ball is in the air – if you caught the ball and I ask you, ‘Where are you right now?’ It’s hard for that guy to realize where he is, because he’s focusing on the football. So, if you look last week at the Patriots (vs.) Bills game, the first kickoff the game, the guy is like 1-yard deep. He’s not sure if he’s out (of the end zone), he stutters, he comes out, then all of a sudden he realizes he’s on the field, he starts to run and gets tackled inside the 10(-yard line). Those decisions are becoming harder and harder. Now, those guys need help back there – the guy fielding the ball – with the communication. I’m going to stand here and tell you that we have not done a good job of communication at a couple points this year. That needs to improve, and it’s something we’re working on every day. But it’s a really good question, because a lot of people are kicking it high and short. When it lands on the 1- or 2- or 3-yard line, it’s obvious, you’re going to roll with it. But it’s that minus-1, minus-2, right at the goal line, those decisions are what you’re seeing in the first four weeks, where guys are going to get caught in that purgatory, if you will.”
(On if a year ago, guys would have just gone for it when catching a kickoff just inside the end zone) – “100 percent. Most of the time, I would say maybe there’s a couple of teams in the past where, if it was in the end zone, they were staying in. They were just more conservative approaches. In the past, usually you see – and again, this is generally speaking – usually you see teams line up their guys 6 or 7 (yards) deep. If (the returner) is coming forward, and it’s within the numbers, and he’s coming forward downhill, he’s coming out with the ball. Now you’re not seeing that. You’re seeing those guys staying in, and you’re seeing those wide kicks out by the numbers where it’s a really uphill play – guys are staying in. The problematic kick has been the one that’s just over the goal line, because let’s be honest, those guys that are back there, they want to make plays. Those returners, they’re all playmakers. When they can get the ball in their hand and get an opportunity, they want to make a play. It’s no different than Kenyan (Drake) or Damien Williams or Jakeem Grant. All those guys, they want the ball, and they want a chance to help the team and make a big play. It’s the decision-making and the communication on the back end that a couple of times this year has gotten us and gotten a lot of other teams too. When the NFL instituted this rule, I don’t think they thought out of every last detail; but one of the interesting details that I think is really neat is you’re finding that the kickoff return formation and personnel is completely changing. You look at team by team and then look at the kickoff teams … In the old days where you had – I say the old days, (I mean) five years ago – you had much bigger people busting up wedges. That’s kind of come to an end. You’re seeing teams with seven, eight (and) nine defensive backs, receivers (and) running backs going down because people want speed on the field, because you’re going to kick it high and short. The play is almost turning into more of a punt return, if you will, where you don’t see as many double teams and kick outs and bigger guys out there like we’re used to growing up with the old kickoff. You’re not seeing that. So, the play has changed. To me, because of what I do for a living, it’s really become a neat strategy type of thing. The play has changed dramatically.”
(On what would happen if he put a big return unit and the opponent still had little guys out there) – “It’s hard for a big person to block a little person if he’s quick and fast in the open space. More on special teams than anything, because a lot of times, it’s hard. You have those guys back there and they’re kind of sitting and waiting. That guy has a 40, 45-yard head start, and he’s running full speed, and he’s doing this and weaving, and he’s a skill guy. That’s hard for those (big) guys to move in open space, which is why you’re seeing a lot of these plays getting tackled inside the 25. It’s become an interesting deal. Last night, opening kickoff, if you watch the game – San Francisco and Arizona last night – San Francisco pooches one, Arizona blocks everybody up, and they had a huge return. It can go both ways. Not every pooch kick is getting tackled inside the 25. I think that’s a little bit of a misconception as well. Not every single time you’re pooching the ball is it staying down there. But I think what you’re looking at is – percentage wise – the high and short kicks, the majority of the time they’re getting tackled inside the 25 right now. But it really has changed the dynamic of the play. It’s a totally different play. Then you have kickers that can do everything. (They) can kick it deep, kick it short, kick it right, kick it left, directional. Now it really adds a different dimension to it. It’s definitely a strategy type of thing, for sure.”
(On how the loss of CB Xavien Howard affects special teams) – “He provided some depth. Obviously, it’s the next man up type of thing for however long he’s out. I don’t know the timetable right now with that. A guy like Jordan Lucas, for example, that may not have been active every week, a guy like that comes into the mix potentially. We’ll obviously talk about the inactives and where we are. But he hasn’t been a guy that’s been active every week, so certainly he’s going to be part of the discussion. Some of the skill guys – the receivers, the running backs – those guys will come into the mix and the discussion of who is going to be active.”
Adam Gase – October 7, 2016
Download PDF version
Friday, October 7, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On how good it was to get T Branden Albert back in practice today and if he will be good enough to play) – “Yes. If he feels better, we should be in good shape. Obviously he’s got something going on there, as far as some kind of virus. I don’t know what’s going on as far as the actual diagnosis of anything; but he’s just got to keep hydrating. He obviously feels better than he did yesterday and the day before that. I think it’s less about the actual injury he had and more the sickness.”
(On if he wishes to share his plan of attack at running back) – “No. I have a good idea what we’re going to do, but we’ll wait until Sunday on that one.”
(On if CB Xavien Howard needs knee surgery) – “Yes. So he’s going to be obviously out this week. He had a meniscus repair. Same knee. Different than what it was the first time. As of right now, he’ll still be on the active roster. It’s really going to be kind of how the rehab goes, how fast everything … as far as him being able to come back. Obviously for us, it’ll be a week-to-week deal. We’ll just kind of see how well everything basically takes for him. It’s tough when you just went through this and then now you have to go through it again. It becomes part mental and physical at this point.”
(On if he feel like he has enough cornerbacks to make it through that stretch) – “Yes. We’re just going to have to keep getting better out there. I know guys are competing hard and trying to make sure that they’re ready to go and doing what’s right. We’ve had a couple of good days of practice and obviously we feel like (Howard’s) a really good young player and he’s brought a lot to our defense. We need guys to just go and do their job and make plays.”
(On how close CB Chris Culliver is to returning to practice) – “Once we kind of get into that PUP range, he should be out there. We’re still just making sure that we can get him as strong as possible. Obviously we have that window to keep evaluating him when we can get him on the field. When that time comes then obviously he’ll be in the conversation very fast.”
(On the odds that he will have all five starting offensive linemen on Sunday) – “It’s pretty good. We’ll see. Like I said, we’ll see if we have anything come up here in the next day and a half or so; but we should be in good shape and hopefully we can get those five guys out there.”
(On C Mike Pouncey getting through the week well) – “Yes, it seems like it, unless something comes about here in the next 48 hours or so. We should be in good shape.”
(On if he anticipates those five starting offensive linemen falling into a rhythm since they haven’t been out there together) – “I don’t think we have a choice. If we get those five guys out there, we’re just going to have to try to grow quick together and that’s including the way we game plan, the play calling, unning backs, those guys. It takes the full group to kind of make this thing roll. We’ll try to get it going as fast as possible.”
(On there only being five games since 2004 that T Branden Albert, C Mike Pouncey and T Ja’Wuan James started and finished a game together) – “I don’t know. I was at LSU in 2004. Wow, I didn’t realize we had that kind of …” (laughter)
(On T Branden Albert, C Mike Pouncey and T Ja’Wuan James only starting and finishing seven games together since 2014) – “I can’t explain that. I know this. It would be nice if we could get through a game and whatever five we’re starting with, finish with those five and just kind of see what our result is.”
(On what has encouraged him this week) – “I think the energy level, the way we executed in practice (and) how guys have been on it in meetings. For me, I feel like guys are taking it home with them and trying to make sure when they come back the next day, that they know what to do and we’re able to play fast. I think guys are starting to get comfortable as far as what’s being called, when things are being called, where they’re supposed to go, their job assignments – all those type of things. I think guy,s when you start getting deeper and deeper in the offense their first year, that’s what should happen. That’s why those first four games, you can’t go one way or the other. You just keep working to get better.”
(On if he changed his approach at all this week) – “I think really the one thing that we encouraged this week was let’s get our energy level going, just making sure every day we go out there its full throttle, it’s game speed (and) we’re competing. We encourage the scout team to try to pick balls off. We encourage them to try to compete with the wide outs and make sure we make it as tough as possible. I think the scout team defense did a great job this week as far as challenging those guys and then those guys responded as far as practicing fast.”
(On if CB Byron Maxwell is back in the starting lineup with CB Xavien Howard out) – “Yes. He will. He’s going to go back in there. That’s why in this league, you can’t get all upset about what happens one week from the other because things change fast.”
(On how CB Byron Maxwell responded) – “Obviously when it initially happened, he wasn’t happy; but he never changed in practice. You could tell because we know. The way he was … (his) professionalism was great the last 10 or so days.”
(On what he hopes that fans will see from this four-game home stretch about his team) – “Improvement. Basically all the way around, all three phases. And we’re looking to play as a full group instead of one side doing good and the other side’s not so good, special teams carrying us. We need to have three phases coming together and then we need to start playing better complimentary football. If we do our job on offense, it’s going to help the defense. (If the) defense does their job, it’s going to help the offense. Special teams, (if) we make some kind of game changing play and shorten the field up, that’s going to help their entire team. That’s where we need to start heading. These four weeks are going to be critical for us because we don’t have to travel. We’re able to play at our home stadium in front of our home fans, so this is a great opportunity for us.”
(On if he feels like we’ve seen the real identity of an Adam Gase team) – “I think we’re still a work in progress right now. I think we’re headed in the right direction as far as what we want to develop as our organization. Guys are putting in the work. That’s really what you want it at the beginning of the day and that’s what you’re asking for as a coach. You want guys to come in 0-0 every week, put the time in, and then on Sundays, you should see the result you want. (For) us, having a four-game stretch here at home, this is a great chance for us to kind of get things moving in the right direction.”
(On if LB Neville Hewitt or LB Donald Butler would start in base with LB Koa Misi out) – “We’ve got different packages. It depends what (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) decides to call. Obviously, with (Misi) being out, we’ll have some moving parts. I know last week when they used a whole bunch of different personnel groupings on that side. We’ll kind of see … how they start sometimes dictates how we start.”
(On if one game and one win change the trajectory of a season) – “I don’t think any one game can ever, one way or the other. In this league, you better bring it every week, no matter who you’re playing, and then when that week’s over, you’ve got to reset everything and start over again. That’s the key. If you get beat bad, you better come back quick. If you win, then next Sunday nobody cares. You better come back out there and do it again.”
(On if he believes in momentum) – “It just changes so much in this league.”
(On what he sees in young wide receivers and weapons the Titans have on the flanks such as WR Tajae Sharpe) – “Any time you’ve got young guys playing at those positions, there’s the good and the bad. One: you get a guy that … young guys are always confident coming into this league all the time. When you dominate in the college level, you expect the same thing in this level, and when you get a guy that comes in and he’s confident, but then he works and he gets to go against these pro corners in practice, if that confidence builds, it makes it tough during games because they still feel like they did when they were in college. Sometimes it can work against you too. When you think you’re too good and you don’t work as hard, that’s where you can get in trouble. And that position, usually you go one way or the other. That’s the toughest part about coaching that position. You need guys that can work and want to get better and really want to compete every day because if you don’t, it’s not going to translate to the game. If you don’t work hard in practice, it won’t translate and you have to make sure you go out there and compete every day. That’s why, with our guys, and they’re young, and they get a chance to go against our corners. Every day you’ve got to compete.”
(On how much of a relief that the game is being played here) – “We were ready to go. We would have been fine with whatever happened. Wherever we played, we would have been good to go.”
