Adam Gase – August 14, 2016
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Sunday, August 14, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On what he thought about the offense after he reviewed the film of the first preseason game) – “It would be nice to get into a little bit of a rhythm and get more than seven plays. I think our guys knew they weren’t going to be in there long and pressed to try to get something to happen. It just didn’t go the way I think any of us thought it was going to go. I felt like our guys felt really good about being able to at least getting that first first down and get going – that’s usually what it takes. It didn’t go the way we wanted and now we go back to work this week and have another shot next week.”
(On if there will be any lineup changes – specifically at left guard) – “I know everybody is really itching to fire everybody and bench everybody. (We ran) seven plays. I understand everybody’s concern about every little thing. When certain people have history with guys that have been here in the past, but I said this right when we started this thing – everybody has a fresh start with this crew. Our job is to evaluate what we see. I’m not putting … Anything that happened in the past is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter to me. It does not matter. Every guy is going to get a true evaluation and we’ll make our final decision the first game of the season. That’s what we are going to do. This is going to be the process that we go through.”
(On how G/T Laremy Tunsil played Friday night) – “He’s got a lot to learn. We need him to keep getting better. His thing is it’s new for him. That (shift from tackle to guard) inside, that’s a different animal. He’s learning and the thing I love about him is that he works hard. All those guys came out to practice today and they turned the page from that game and whatever reps they got, they made them count.”
(On if he has talked with G Dallas Thomas about getting a fair shake at the left guard spot) – “I feel like it hasn’t been necessary for me to sit down and try to explain anything because he hasn’t put anything towards me like he’s concerned. He’s been going out there every day and he’s been working hard. I feel like he’s focused on himself and not worried about anybody else. I think that’s what I’ve appreciated about him is that he’s not worried about what anyone else says. He cares about what his position coach says, he cares about what his coordinator says and he cares about what the head coach says, and that’s all that matters to him. He’s going out there and he’s trying to do everything he can to put himself in the best position and then he’s working to get better. That’s all we’re asking our players to do.”
(On how he goes about correcting mistakes that happen in games) – “The way that we’re doing this, we come in every morning and we’re right out of the gate and we start practicing. We have a lot of meeting time today so we’ll be able to get through as much as we can (while) trying to get this practice going plus installing a little more tonight. It’s going to take a couple days to get through the whole film but it’s a good process because you’re removed from the game so the emotional part of it is taken out of it. Now it’s about getting yourself better and making those corrections throughout the week. That’s the one thing that I do love about doing it a couple of days after is you’re not still worked up about what actually happened in the game. Now it’s a learning experience.”
(On if there are guys that the media doesn’t publicize that he thought stood out in the first preseason game) – “It’s a small sample size. I don’t want to say one guy has done better than the other. I love the way that our young guys played. All of those guys that played in that second half really showed me a lot as far as not having a lot of reps and then being able to get through a lot of plays in that game. It just shows that (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach) Dave (Puloka) and his crew did a great job in the strength and conditioning program of getting our entire team ready to go and then a lot of those guys did a great job this summer of making sure they came in in shape. They’ve been doing the extra things in the weight room whether it be on the field or after practice so for them to go in there and all of a sudden you get 50 plays and you’ve been getting eight reps a day, that’s a big swing. So I was happy for those guys to be able to go out there and compete but the conditioning level that they showed was pretty good.”
(On what he thought about the run defense in the first preseason game after watching the film) – “Early, we were in position, I thought (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) made a couple of really good calls where we had one more (in the box) than they did and we’re in position to make the play but we missed some tackles. That’s what the preseason is for. You’re going to see that throughout the league. It’s not just going to be us. That’s part of the preseason – you’re going to have missed tackles and you’ve got to correct them. As you get going and your ones start getting more reps, they need to try to clean that up as fast as possible because when you hit that first game, if you want to be one of the better teams earlier in the season, (tackling) could give you an advantage. As you get going throughout the season, that’s usually when you see a lot of the tackling gets cleaned up throughout the NFL.”
(On what he saw out of QB Brandon Doughty on Friday night) – “I saw a guy that was very comfortable. I felt good calling plays for him. I didn’t have any concerns. I wasn’t sitting there (saying), ‘I can’t call this, I can’t call this.’ I felt good, for myself. Watching him react to everything I called, it was like there was nothing that was bothering him. He’d get hit, he’d bounce back up (and) he’d look right at me. I love that part of him and then his progressions were really good. He was always in the right spot, which is good to see (because) it’s different in practice. (Laughter)”
(On if QB Brandon Doughty’s performance was typical of a rookie based on his previous coaching experience) – “Probably not. I’ve been (around) a few times where it looks like, ‘Uh oh, what’s going to happen?’ He was good. The under-center stuff, he’s been in the (shot) gun a lot in his career and we probably have to just keep working on that. If there’s one thing that I would say he needs to really work on is just to make sure that he feels comfortable working under center.”
(On what he learned about WR Jakeem Grant in the preseason opener) – “Well, after I saw him cut one up (field) and just put his head down and try to run about three guys over, there’s no mistaking that this guy is as advertised. (Texas Tech Head Coach) Kliff (Klingsbury) had told me that you’re not going to find a guy tougher. He just said to bypass his size because he’s strong and he’s tough and he’s not afraid of anything, and that was true. It’s fun to watch him return kicks and return punts because the whole time you’re sitting there thinking if he makes one cut and gets in the open field, he could be gone. That’s an excitement … It’s fun to be a part of that on the sideline, just watching. I felt that there were a lot of guys that every time there was a punt or a kickoff return, everybody was creeping up (to the sideline) to see if he can do something here.”
(On if it is worth it for WR Jakeem Grant to keep taking kickoffs out of the end zone since touchbacks are now placed at the 25-yard line) – “In the preseason? Absolutely. You want to see what he can do, for one. But then you also want to see the guys up front, how we block things or certain schemes you want to work on. So in the preseason, that’s your time to say we’re bringing this thing out unless it’s X number (of yards) in the end zone.”
(On if the kickoff return philosophy will change in the regular season) – “I’m sure it will. We’ll talk about that when we get there. I don’t think … (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren) Rizzi is going to understand our situation as far as we can really get an advantage if we take a touchback here. But who knows? Maybe it won’t. Maybe we’ll say let’s give this kid a chance to house call one. He’s a weapon and he can change field position.”
(On S A.J. Hendy and if he just has a nose for the ball) – “It seems like it. In OTAs it was the same thing. I just remember his name being constantly brought up. Anytime you get your hands on balls, it’s going to get (the) coaches’ attention. Guys are going to turn around and be like, ‘Who’s that? Who’s that? Who’s that?’ His name just keeps coming up and that’s one way to keep trying to find a way to get on this roster.”
(On if WR DeVante Parker participated in any team drills today) – “No. We did individual (with him), which I always love when we do individual with (Wide Receivers Coach) Shawn Jefferson and then take him out of team. It doesn’t make any sense to me because that’s harder than team. (Laughter) But we wanted to make sure we put him through a running program to really get him feeling good about ‘I’m in a good spot right now.’”
(On why CB Byron Maxwell was held out) – “We just wanted to make sure that he was all good. That kind of crept up on all of us as far as him not playing. We thought he was going to play and then he just could not get going. He just felt tight. That was my decision. I’m not taking a risk on that.”
(On if anything is different for him logistically on the sidelines) – “I feel like I’m lucky having a guy like (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren) Rizzi and you’ve got (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph), you’ve got (Linebackers Coach Matt) Burke (and) you’ve got (Offensive Coordinator) Clyde (Christensen). We’ve got a lot of guys down there that make life easy. Rizzi is all over the place. He was in rare form. Maybe that’s normal. I’ve seen him on film a lot of times but he almost ran me over about three times.”
(On if he trusts Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi with the red challenge flag) – “Absolutely. We’re doing that just to protect me from myself because I’m sure I’d be a little … if a player walks by me and (says), ‘Yeah, it wasn’t a catch,’ and I’d probably throw (the challenge flag) so (Rizzi’s) a precautionary measure.”
(On how important it is to get the first team more playing time this week at Dallas) – “That’s the plan. We’re going to get … I told those guys, ‘Listen, let’s not put a play count on this thing, let’s just go. Don’t worry about how long you’re in there. Let’s just play.’ I feel like that’s partially my fault of putting pressure on those guys of, ‘Hey, we’re playing X amount of plays. You’re playing 8-10 plays and then you guys are out.’ So I feel like they were trying to get something going and we just need to go out there and play and not worry about how many plays we’re playing. Let’s just go play until we feel good about it.”
(On what he and the team did during the weather delay before the Giants game) – “A lot of guys were trying to stay loose. There was a point where you’re trying to debate what the right thing to do here (is). Do we put our ones in or do we take those guys out? You’re trying to figure out the right thing to do because I know if I had pulled out the ones on offense, they were not going to be happy with me because I could tell they were ready to go and they were itching to go. I know we didn’t have as many guys on defense that were playing. The energy level was good, it was just guys trying to stay loose because you come right in off the field and you feel like you’re ready to go and then all of a sudden you have to sit for almost an hour.”
Mike Pouncey – August 12, 2016 (Postgame
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Friday, August 12, 2016
Postgame – at N.Y. Giants
Miami Dolphins Center Mike Pouncey (transcribed by the N.Y. Giants)
Q: Obviously it is going to take a while to get the chemistry of the offensive line together, how would you evaluate the performance so far?
A: I think we are doing pretty good, we are enjoying the process and right now we have a bunch of different guys rotating at different positions. So hopefully by the time we are done with the preseason we have the best five guys on the football field. I think all units did pretty good tonight.
Q: In terms of first team offense, two drives, two three and outs, how troublesome is that?
A: It is tough to evaluate all six plays, but we have seen that we can do a lot better in certain areas. We will fix that when we watch the film as soon as we get on the plane and we will just learn from this game. Obviously once we get to playing more reps and more snaps, we can evaluate our offense.
Q: You know what Jakeem (Grant) can do, but once you actually see it, how do you guys react to that?
A: He looks so fast out there, man. His legs move so fast. We hope that he becomes a heck of a player for us. He did a great job tonight and he made a lot of plays on the opposite side of the ball and made plays on special teams.
Bobby McCain – August 12, 2016 (Postgame)
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Friday, August 12, 2016
Postgame – at N.Y. Giants
Miami Dolphins Cornerback Bobby McCain (transcribed by the N.Y. Giants)
Q: For one night you had good defense. What’s different about it from practice?
A: It’s just the competitive nature that we have. We’re trying to build a culture, a defense that has a culture of taking the ball. That’s what we’re going to have to do to win ballgames.
Q: What did Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph say about that? I’m sure he stresses it a lot.
A: Yes, all the time. We go through practices and that’s the biggest thing for defensive backs and the back end guys. We have to get the ball away. The more turnovers you have, the more possessions the offense has. And that one extra possession may win you a game.
Q: Are you guys doing any drills designed to create takeaways?
A: Yes, we are. We do drills for takeaways. We just go out and practice, and competing. That’s our job.
Q: How much have you worked on the boundary and how comfortable are you out there?
A: I’m comfortable out there. I work inside and outside. Last year I played a lot of inside and the end of the year, I played a lot of outside. My whole life I’ve been playing corner, so I’m comfortable wherever they put me.
Q: Do you have a preference for inside or outside?
A: No not really. I just want to play. I just want to compete.
Ryan Tannehill – August 12, 2016 (Postgame)
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Friday, August 12, 2016
Postgame – at N.Y. Giants
Miami Dolphins Quarterback Ryan Tannehill (transcribed by the N.Y. Giants)
Q: How would you summarize your game today?
A: I thought the young guys came out and played well. The defense got their hands on the ball multiple times and it really turned the game around for us. Offensively, we didn’t get much going in the first half – first or second group – but then they started getting their hands on the ball and it flipped the momentum and it really got the game going for us. I’m really proud of those guys with the way they came to play, and the way they made plays.
Q: I know it was only two series, but how did the game go from your perspective in those two series?
A: We didn’t move the ball like I wanted to. We had a couple completions short of the sticks. Then, in the second drive, we kind of got going in the run game, and then a penalty put us back behind the sticks, and that’s not where you want to be. So – frustrating. Frustrating that that was our limited sample size there, but there’s some good things in those plays that we did well. We have things we have to clean up and have to clean up as soon as possible. It’s definitely something to build on moving forward.
Q: Did [Olivier] Vernon tell you he was going to start chasing you all over?
A: (Laughs) Yeah, he hit me pretty hard on that first one. He made it count. But, no he didn’t give me much warning. I talked to him after the game. He’s a heck of a football player and he’s going to make a lot of plays for them. I enjoyed my time with him in Miami and wish him the best.
Q: Ryan, do you start evaluating the first team offense with this game, or do you wait until you have a larger sample size?
A: I mean, we’re in the process right now, so we’re not coming to any conclusions or jumping to assume what we are or are not. We’re in the process and this is just another step in the process – Preseason Game One. We’re just going to stay the course; keep getting better every day and moving forward. Nothing to stress or worry about; things we can do better and things we did well. We just have to keep moving forward and moving the ball forward.
Q: Ryan, is it fair to say that one of the things that need to be done better is [to] protect the quarterback?
A: Well, it’s going to be a big part of every football team in the NFL. You’ve got to be able to protect the quarterback and get the ball out and get the ball in playmakers’ hands. We have a lot of playmakers and we want to get the ball in their hands. You have to protect to do that, so yeah, we want to protect, we want to get the run game going, we want to protect the ball, we want to run the ball – it’s all part of the formula to great offense, and it’s a big factor for it.
Q: Ryan, we’ve made a big deal about your empowerment at the line-of-scrimmage from Adam Gase. How did that come into play tonight and how did it feel for you?
A: It felt good. We didn’t have too many checks in my two series – maybe a couple – but I felt good at the line. I felt confident in what we were doing. We knew exactly what we were doing. Our guys were confident in what we were doing. They made a couple plays on us upfront and forced us to get the ball out quickly and kept us short of the sticks, so you have to give some credit to them. We left a few plays out there – we had Jay [Ajayi] in the flat there and weren’t able to make that play. Then in the run game, we had the holding that really set us back. We have things that we can clean up, and they’re going to be good for us, but there were some good things in there as well.
Q: When you see that you guys are 2-for-3 in the red zone; I think you rushed for more than 100 yards. Do you look at that as starters-reserves, or the offense?
A: Yeah, we’re all in this thing together. I don’t think it’s categorized in our minds. Obviously, we know who we played with and who was in, but we’re a team and we’re in this thing together. I was proud of those guys – the way they battled and took advantage of the turnovers the defense made. That’s one of the big things in this game – when the defense makes a play and gets their hands on the ball, the offense has to take advantage of that and get points, and we did that several times tonight. I’m proud of both sides of the ball there for making plays. We had some young guys – [Thomas] Duarte – on a fourth down, able to catch it and cut it up into the end zone. Matt Hazel, you know, coming back in and getting one from Matt Moore. There’s a lot of good things that happened in that game, and things we can build on.
Q: What type of role could you envision Jakeem Grant maybe having?
A: I think we saw some as a return specialist tonight. It was pretty fun to watch – just the moves he can make and the creases he can hit with being how small he is. The tiniest little crease makes one guy miss, and he’s moving. I definitely think he’s going to help us a lot on special teams and we’ve seen what he can do as a receiver as well at practice. He’s a guy who can get open and make plays in the pass game, so I think we’re going to keep developing there, but you see already his impact on special teams.
Adam Gase – August 12, 2016 (Postgame)
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Friday, August 12, 2016
Postgame – at N.Y. Giants
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by the N.Y. Giants)
Q: Your thoughts on the two starting units, offense and defense?
A: I thought we were in a good situation with defense. We get a penalty, thought we were off the field, and that’s what usually happens when you hurt yourself on third down, something bad usually happens and, you know, it just didn’t quite work out for us on that drive and they scored a touchdown. On offense, we just once again, second and three, run the ball, we get called for holding, and now we’re back in a backed up situation and we’re third and long and it’s not ideal for us.
Q: And what do you think about the reserves—twenty-seven unanswered points?
A: I love the fact that those guys came out, great energy, flying around the field, playing the kind of football we’re looking for. I feel like we’re going to get a great evaluation off this tape when we watch it tomorrow.
Q: Bobby McCain did some good things, playing almost out of position, right?
A: I think he kind of got thrown out there last minute. I mean, we knew we were going to have to put them out there at some point in the game, but I think it was a little sooner than we thought and he got a pretty good rhythm in tight coverage and doing what he’s coached to do and that’s what we’re looking for.
Q: Did you change your mind at the last minute on [Byron] Maxwell?
A: No, actually I was walking in and I noticed he was just full sweat, running around out there and he said he was tight and he was trying to loosen up and couldn’t get loosened up, so we went back in and then our trainers and the rest of our crew went back out there, VJ [Vance Joseph] went back out there and we just decided it was smart to not take a chance of something happening to him. He’s had a good camp for us, we just want to make sure he really goes when we start the season.
Q: How much will you take from what the starters did? How seriously will you take it? How harshly…?
A: It’s just part of the process. You know, that’s the boring answer for you. But that’s what it is. I mean, it’s a couple of drives. You know you get better from it. Obviously we can’t have the penalty; that just kills us, so we’ve got to get ourselves in third and manageable. We didn’t do that with the ones. A couple of the other groups had better opportunities as far as keeping themselves third and manageable, makes the third down conversion easier.
Q: How did Jakeem Grant do? Is that about what you expected him to do?
A: Yeah, I mean it’s, I’ve been waiting for this, for a little bit—since we drafted him. Just to get him out there, throw the ball to him and just see him getting space, see what he can do.
Q: How do you think that Matt Moore recovered?
A: Great. I was shocked when he threw the interception. That surprised me because that just wasn’t, that was very unusual as far as what I had seen from him running exactly that play in practice and I think he just waited and he had what he wanted, but they did a good job of recovering off the play action. I think he came right back and he was like that ball shouldn’t of gone there, he knew it right away, but I almost feel like it loosened him up and then the best part was our defense ran out there. They do a great job of sudden change defense, which I love the energy the coaches were bringing on the sideline as far as that happened and those guys were, they were excited to get out there and make it…
Q: What were your thoughts on getting Laremy [Tunsil] a lot of playing time and how do you think he did?
A: I mean I’m going to have to check the tape. I mean it’s hard to watch. You know we’re calling plays and then we’ve got [Darren] Rizzi going crazy on the sideline, so we’re trying to figure out what was going on half the time. But with him, it was great that we got him in there and got him a ton of reps because this is going to be our best evaluation. It’s harder in practice because it’s just, it’s not real, but when you come out here, it’s as real of a game as you can get and this is our best evaluation.
Q: Did [Brandon] Doughty look about as comfortable as ever?
A: Yeah, that’s the beautiful thing about him is he never looks like he’s under any kind of duress. He’s calm even when he got hit a couple times. A couple things were not correct. He just never seems like he’s got any kind of panic in his face, just a real calm demeanor. That was a good job as far as keeping his huddle calm, so it was good to see him get out there and get in a of couple situations.
Q: A couple of numbers and I’m not sure that I’m totally right on these, but I want to know how seriously you guys take them. I think you guys had a four to one in turnovers. I think you guys were two for three in the redzone with touchdowns. How seriously…
A: I mean that’s usually the formula to having your best opportunity to win when you win the turnover margin. You score touchdowns in the redzone and you’re not kicking field goals, that gives you your best chance. Two out of three is what you usually want to be at. Sixty-seven percent, I think. So if you can be around there, you’re going to be in good shape.
Q: The running game, [Isaiah] Pead and I guess Daniel Thomas were fairly effective, had good numbers. What did you think overall?
A: It was good. It was good to see both those guys, we were trying to see and just get some kind of a drive going so they could get in the flow of the game and had to get a little bit of a rhythm. That’s why we kind of went to the back-to-back series with both those guys and then once we still had a couple left, we started alternating who was going in. I felt like they ran hard and they were sticking their foot in the ground and getting north and getting us those positive yards.
Q: With [Laremy] Tunsil, how do you evaluate the mental part or the physical going against two’s?
A: It’s going to be. It’s everything. I mean, whether you’re in a one, a two or a three, you’re going out there and all these guys, they’re not in the NFL if they’re not good. So he’s going out there against NFL competition and you know the mental side of it, obviously that’s a big evaluation when you’re a rookie, to make sure you’re doing the right things because when you’re in there with the veteran guys, you’ve got to make sure you’re on it because there’s two guys next to you counting on you to be right.
Q: Regarding Ryan [Tannehill], do you judge him just on how the offense did or do you look at his so-called empowerment at the line of scrimmage? His demeanor?
A: I’ll look at what he did. I mean I’ll watch it tonight when we’re flying back, but I don’t know how much of an opportunity he really had to do anything. The first throw, I think we were kind of waiting to see what would happen and he held onto the ball waiting on Jarvis to come back out of that thing. It just wasn’t an ideal situation as far as what we called and what they played.
Adam Gase – August 12, 2016 (Halftime)
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Friday, August 12, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase (Halftime)
(On what he liked about the first half) – “I liked the fact that our defense, especially after that first series, came out and did a good job of getting their hands on some balls and causing some turnovers. And then (the defense did a good job) not panicking on that sudden change. That could have been an easy score for them. They did a good job of holding them to a field goal. It changed a little bit of our mindset. It was good because our guys kind of changed their attitude on the sideline with a great stop and tried to get something going. Offensively, we just couldn’t get into a rhythm. We’d get a positive play and then we’d move back.”
(On scoring 17 straight points) – “I liked the fact that our guys kept playing hard and they’re having fun and just flying around.”
Chris Culliver – August 10, 2016
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Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Cornerback Chris Culliver
(On where he is at in his rehab and how far he is from being ready to play) – “Everything is going well right now. I’m just taking my time (and) learning the defense. I’m glad to be here. I’m just taking my time and progressing so I’ll be out there soon.”
(On if he is running yet and what he can do) – “(I’m) running (and) doing light cuts, doing my thing and just progressing. They’ve got a good training staff here and I’m just glad to be here and to keep progressing my training.”
(On why he signed with the Dolphins with other teams interested in him) – “(It was) the best fit for me. (It was) the best fit overall for me – the organization and how they do things. I’m just glad to be here and I’ll just keep continuing my progress and see how it goes.”
(On the team’s sales pitch to him and if they told him that he could compete for a starting spot when he’s healthy) – “Oh yes, definitely. That should be anybody’s mentality. You want to come in and you want to compete and you want to play; but you’ve got to get yourself ready first and as long as the process keeps going well, you’ll see me out there soon.”
(On when he first talked to the Dolphins) – “A little bit ago. We’ve been in contact and things and came out here and visited and everything was good. (We) just went forward from there.”
(On when he thinks he’ll be healthy enough to get on the field) – “The next couple of weeks. (I’ll be on the field) here soon.”
(On the most difficult part of his rehab) – “It’s not really hard, it’s just a process. You’ve got to be patient. That’s the hardest part – being patient. You want to really get out there now but evaluation and things like that – you don’t want to set yourself back. You want to keep progressing and keep climbing that hill.”
(On how his career has gone and if he is pleased with where he is right now) – “There’s a lot more – a lot more that I want to do and a lot more that I want to accomplish. My biggest thing – you know (what) I do – (is) I compete. That’s what I’m going to do. That’s what I’m going to do here and I hope to look forward to that.”
(On his strengths as a corner) – “Press man. Cover 1. Me against you.” (laughter)
(On if he talked about his style with Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph and how it would suit his game here) – “Definitely. That was one of the parts here; portraying the defense and things like that. They have a great defense – a great defensive line, great halfbacks, a lot of good pieces. I just hope to be here and contribute.”
(On if he has played with or has any connections with players on the Dolphins) – “Yes, I have a couple of connections. (Mike) Pouncey (is) one of my guys – cool people. ‘Mike T’ (Thomas) – that’s my guy. We played together in San Fran(cisco) for a little bit together. I know a couple of other guys but yes, (I have) a couple of connections here.”
(On if he has a timetable to practice) – “(There’s) not necessarily a timetable to when I’ll be practicing. You guys will see me out there running around and doing a couple things and things like that. I’m just (going to) keep progressing.”
(On if he was surprised the Washington Redskins didn’t show him patience or if he saw the writing on the wall once they made some roster moves) – “I’m not really worried about their moves and who they made or what happened. I just keep going and keep doing my thing. I don’t look back at anything about what they’ve done or anything like that. I’m a strong man so I’m going to do what I’ve got to do regardless.”
(On if we won’t see him in a game until October) – “I wouldn’t say that. You said that. I’ll be out there soon. You’ll be surprised when I get out there and touch a couple of people. Then you’ll know.”
Jarvis Landry – August 10, 2016
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Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry
(On whether the offense is ready for the preseason game on Friday) – “Yes, I think so. (We are) coming out here the day before we travel with the opportunity to fine tune things that we want to go out there and do and get ready for a game week, finally.”
(On how comfortable he feels in the offense) – “Real comfortable. We’re forming our identity, and that takes time. But I can say that the growth of the offense as far as (with) the little details, we have to find a way to continue to make the plays, move the chains and score in the red zone.”
(On the quarterback-wide receiver connection with him and QB Ryan Tannehill) – “It comes with trust. It comes with all the hard work that we put into individuals with (Wide Receivers) Coach (Shawn) Jefferson helping me get in and out of breaks and allowing us to attack the football. The thing about the quarterback (position is) when the house is burning down and you see your color flash, you want to throw the ball. For me, I want to be open as many times as not.”
(On his chemistry with QB Ryan Tannehill) – “I think it’s continuing to grow, and this offense allows the ball to be touched by a lot of different people. But in doing so, it’s also an offense built and predicated off matchups. If we get the right matchups, I understand before the play where the ball is going to go. Me and Ryan’s connection has been something we’ve been working on since I’ve gotten here.”
(On the differences between this year’s offense and previous year’s) – “Our main focus has honestly been on this offense. It hasn’t been (on) what we’ve done in the past. It has been focusing on this 2016 offense and having the opportunity, again, to get numerous guys the ball, to create matchups – mismatches – and take advantage of scoring in the red zone. I think this offense is going to allow us to do that.”
(On how he feels in the new offense) – “Again, like I said, (Head Coach) Adam (Gase), (Offensive Coordinator) Clyde (Christensen), (Quarterbacks Coach) Bo (Hardegree) – those guys go up there in those meeting rooms every day and try to find the best possible ways to get guys the ball. I can’t wait to see it come to life against a real-life opponent.”
(On whether it is too much to expect that he will catch more passes this year than last season) – “Too much to expect? (laughter) I want to catch more. I think for me, again, I’ve never really been one of those accolade guys or too much into the numbers. I’ll take the win any day. But as many times as (Ryan Tannehill) throws to me, I want to catch it. If he throws more than last year to me, I want to catch more than I did last year.”
(On how the offense can improve scoring in the red zone) – “It’s a little bit about everything, but I think at the end of the day in the red zone, it’s about trust, because those windows get tighter back there, defenders use the back line as another defender. It’s about trust and timing. I think that’s something that – as you’ve guys seen – we’ve worked the red zone a lot. (It is about) trying to develop that timing, develop that chemistry – especially here – (and) put that ball in the box.”
(On whether the offense has cleaned up what it needs to from last week’s scrimmage) – “I can’t wait to see. It’s kind of hard to judge not having that scrimmage aspect these last two days, but having the chance to go up against another opponent – and having them try to match our intensity, try to match our tempo – is something that we’re looking forward to seeing.”
(On what he has seen from WR Leonte Carroo) – “I’ll tell you what, he made a hell of a lot of plays today. For me (it is about) watching him grow, watching him mature, watching him be coachable. (Wide Receivers) Coach (Shawn) Jefferson, he’s a tough coach. He’s a tough coach, but he coaches us on the fine tune things and the details that we need to do to be fundamentally sound when we step out here on the field. I see the kid every day step up to the challenge, and he’s rising to the occasion.”
(On what his advice to WR Leonte Carroo and WR Jakeem Grant would be before their first preseason game) – “Trust your technique. Trust your fundamentals and detail everything up. What you put on film is everything, especially here in the preseason. It gives the coaches a skill to where you guys will fit in as far as when (the) regular season starts.”
(On whether QB Ryan Tannehill throwing to the receivers from the 6-yard line to the end zone are red zone specific drills or for timing purposes) – “For timing purposes. Of course, without the DB, it’s a little later than usual. But Coach Bo (Hardegree) – the quarterback coach – he tries to do a great job of getting those guys to throw as soon as their plant foot hits. If it’s a hitch and a throw, they try to get it out on time. For us, we try to get our head around and make the plays and understand it’s going to be tight windows and contact catches.”
(On whether the timing drills help with building trust between the quarterbacks and wide receivers) – “Absolutely.”
(On what he wants to improve on this year) – “(I want to) continue to hit the details as much as possible, honestly, and make those tough catches on the outside, try to be an outside receiver, continue to grow as an outside receiver and not just a slot receiver. For me, (I want to) make those catches, compete against bigger corners and keep matching up that trust that me and Ryan (Tannehill) got.”
(On whether he would like to continue returning kickoffs and punts this season) – “I’m the starting returner. We’ll see how many reps I get in preseason, but I’ll be excited to see what Jakeem Grant and those other guys can do as well.”
(On whether the goal is for him to return full time or selectively) – “Right now, I don’t think there’s a number on it. For me – like I’ve told coaches – it gives me an opportunity to get the ball in my hands and make a play and create some energy. That’s what special teams means to me as far as returning.”
(On there not being many receivers that play in the slot and outside) – “There aren’t many, but I would never want to be a guy with limitations, honestly. This offense, honestly, it allows guys like myself … (It allows) guys (with) a bigger body like DeVante Parker to come down to the slot and a smaller guy than DeVante – me, Kenny Stills – to be able to work on the outside as well. This offense allows us to come out of our comfort zone a little bit, but at the same time not limit us to being a particular slot receiver or outside receiver.”
(On the offense’s goals for the first preseason game) – “Have a great first drive – have a great first play, honestly – (and) test their defense. And then from there, watch the young guys go a little bit.”
(On whether the speed and tempo of the offense is the biggest difference between this year’s and last year’s offense) – “Right, and that’s the whole emphasis of this offense – trying to make defenses match our intensity, match our tempo. That’s how we get our mismatches. Defenses have to communicate a lot more than we do, so the faster we get to the line and get the play going, the more efficient it can possibly be.”
