Adam Gase – November 1, 2016
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Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(The window for CB Chris Culliver is one week left. He says he’s ready to play in the locker room today. Just curious of where you see him right now in practice?) – “We have time still. We’re still going through our process and he understands that. He understands that we don’t have to make any decisions right now. We’re just going to keep going through practice and seeing where he’s at (and) see how he feels. Every day is a different day as far as how well he feels, how well he moves. I feel confident as far as where he’s at with the knowledge of the defense and things like that. Being as sharp as he is and the experience he has, that was never really a concern. It was just getting him as close to what you can be in the NFL of 100 percent, which is tough to do, especially when you’re going through what he’s been going through, trying to get his body completely back together. We’ve got time to make any kind of decisions that we need to make and obviously we’re going to take the full amount of time that we need to take.”
(Do you talk big picture with your team about if you win this game you’re back at .500, you’re in the race and then do you mention the word playoffs around the team?) – “I think we’re more focused on one week at a time right now. We’ve been talking that way since before we even started the season. It’s about winning one week – being 1-0 at the end of the week. (This week is) a division game, a team that obviously has a lot of really good players and a well-coached team. We’ve got a big-time challenge ahead of us.”
(That being said, did you watch the game yesterday and do any math in your head when you see some of the results?) – “No. You don’t worry about it. It’s a long ways to go.”
(You put together the front four that you thought were going to be the strength of the team. The guy that leads in both sacks and quarterback hurries is your defensive tackle. How would you describe the season that DT Ndamukong Suh is having?) – “Unique. I think it’s been pretty consistent as far as what he’s done over his career. When you have a guy that plays the position he plays and gets double- and triple-teamed as much as he does and still somehow finds a way to get through, it says a lot about him as far as one: his preparation, work habits (and) the way that he prepares his body throughout the entire year. His knowledge of the defense is really a benefit to him because he knows all the ins and outs. You talk about a guy that’s scheme sound and does his job a lot? He’s probably the guy that does it better than anybody. That’s why he has success. That’s just taking away his physical talent.”
(Has DT Ndamukong Suh’s play been consistently good throughout the season from game to game?) – “Yes. Unbelievable.”
(With DE Mario Williams and DE Jason Jones, they both move inside to defensive tackle from time to time. What is the downside to moving them, not moving them there full time, but playing them more instead of just pass situation?) – “It’s just the different … It’s like o-line, the same thing. It’s these different angles, different vantage points, views, how you set things up as far as your movement, patterns and things like that. I think sometimes it’s good to move those guys around. It’s hard to … Who’s doing what? Who’s going to be the guy that we would want to run around in stunts? Who’s picking? Who’s the guy wrapping around? Things like that. Who’s penetrating? Any time that you can grow the menu of things that you’re guys do, it makes it tough for the offense to get ready for. Hopefully you can try to pigeonhole them into a little box there to where they always have to do something the same. ‘Hey, we have to run this type of protection because at least we know we can pick everything up.’ When you have guys that are as flexible as that whole group is – I mean those guys can move all over the place – it makes it tough on the offense. I know (that) from the other side of the ball, just going through training camp and OTAs and just trying to figure out where everybody’s at. They do everything different but they can do a lot of things the same. It makes it really tough protection-wise to consistently pick up.”
(You guys have struggled pretty much on defense most of the season, but there’s one area – third down efficiency – that you guys are pretty dominant. How is it that you can struggle in so many areas but be so dominant on third down? That doesn’t make much sense to me.) – “I know (Miami Herald columnist) Armando (Salguero) is going to disagree with me on this, but I think if we would’ve done a better job on offense, we wouldn’t have been in the situation that we put our defense in where they’re having 75(-plus) plays a game. It changed the whole dynamic of why we put the defense together the way we did. We built it to play with a lead; we built it to where they can pass rush. Those first four or five games, all they did was play the run. The last two games, they haven’t had to do that. They’ve been able to get after it. Fifty-five plays to 50 plays makes a big difference for those guys, because their energy level is high. You get into the third and fourth quarter, and all of a sudden they’re still flying around, when you’re on the other side of the ball and every possession counts like that and you go three-and-out, it stings. All of a sudden you start pressing and you’re trying to pass the ball more to get bigger plays and score at a rapid rate so you can get the ball back. It makes it hard on the opposing offense. We didn’t do a good job earlier in the year on offense, which put our defense in a bad spot. That’s why you’ve got to take the full 16 games. You can focus on one thing right now, but we’ll see what happens over the rest of the season and see basically where we’re at, at the end of the year.”
(How much did TE Dion Sims do today?) – “He can do … basically he could do individual, and then he can’t have any kind of contact.”
(The NFL trade deadline is about 45 minutes away. Is there any chance that you guys do anything? Or is this the team you’re going to roll with?) – “I don’t know. When I get back in there, then I’ll have an idea of what’s going on. Obviously, it seems to be different than most sports, right? You don’t see (trades in the NFL) as much. It’s rare to be involved in trades in the NFL, it seems like. When something happens, it’s an explosion of news. Right now, we’ll see what’s going on in there, but I haven’t heard anything.”
(The Jets are rated last in pass defense and CB Darrelle Revis is uncharacteristically giving up a lot of big plays. Just curious of what you see of him on film compared to the Darrelle Revis we know of the past few years?) – “Well, last year I didn’t see him. Actually the year before, he was a nightmare, at least when we played him. I mean, he shut down a pretty good group of receivers that we had and the guy I see on tape is still a guy that plays physical and when he figures out what you’re doing concept-wise, you better be careful because he’s a smart player. He has seen a lot of things in his career. You put that ball anywhere near him, he’ll have it. So I know when you’re in a position he is and you go against a number one every week, it’s not always going to look the way everybody wants it to look – zero catches for zero yards. I mean, there are good players out there and he has won his fair share. I know that. And over his career, he has been one of the best ones probably ever to do what he does and play that position.”
(How has the frequency of eight-man fronts you guys see changed, say maybe from even the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers to all the way through?) – “It hasn’t changed. I mean it has been pretty much the same. We’ve seen the same stuff throughout the entire season.”
(Your offense is among the league leaders in yards per play and yards per rush. You’re last in the AFC in first downs, which would say lots of big plays. Is that what this offense is or do you think it’s going to change?) – “I would say it was a lot of three-and-outs early in the year. I mean, we got … we were so bad early. The last two weeks have been different. You have 25-plus first downs the last two games, it makes a big difference. We went through some growing pains. We had some things happen that obviously we wanted to be better at what we were doing (and) we weren’t. So we made improvements, we’ve made changes. We’ve got a couple things going that has put us in a better position to be in third-and-manageable and then convert on third down. You just want to keep that going as much as possible.”
(Has DT Earl Mitchell been practicing and what could his return mean?) – “Yes, today is the first day that he could actually go out there and practice; but I think we still have some time here before he can actually have a chance to be activated. So we’ll go through our process on that just like the rest of those guys as far as the date that he can come back and everything’s good to go and we don’t have any setbacks.”
(How much did DT Earl Mitchell do today?) – “We just tried to get him going. I mean, I don’t remember the last time he practiced. You don’t throw him out there and say, ‘Hey, take every rep at practice.’”
(DT Earl Mitchell can’t play until two more weeks right?) – “Yes.”
(You’re going to London next year. So philosophically, is that something you like, hate, don’t care about?) – “I’ve been involved in it one time. To me, it happens so fast it’s just kind of part of what you’re used to in this league. Whether it’s flying to the West Coast, going to London, you just know you’re going to travel. Obviously being down here, anytime you go near the West Coast, it’s a hike. We went to Seattle this year. I mean, whether we stay here or go to London, it’s just part of what the NFL is now. It’s more worldwide and we’re one of the teams that are going to go over there. So we just do as told.”
(Does it bother you to lose a home game?) – “I think looking at this (with) us having the Super Bowl here and things like that, there are certain things that we ended up … We’re going to London. It is what it is. That was … We know that was possibly going to happen. For us, like I said – players and coaches and staff – we just roll with the punches.”
(Panthers QB Cam Newton complained about taking a lot of hits and treatment of quarterbacks. Your quarterback has taken a lot of hits. Has there been anything excessive? Do quarterbacks in general need more protection in this league?) – “It has changed since I started, and it hasn’t been that long. But I do remember when it seemed a lot more violent, so I guess it has toned back a little bit. That’s a tough job. You can’t always see everything (when) you get all those guys around the quarterback. I know he’s in a position where being a bigger guy sometimes, he takes some shots, and he hangs in there. But at the same time, when they miss it – when you’re in that position and you get hit, whether it be around the knees or you get hit late – it frustrates those guys, because there are certain rules in place, and you just want them enforced. It’s a tough position to play. You take some shots and eventually your body … You start feeling it.”
(With LB Kiko Alonso, is there anything about his game that, maybe, you didn’t know – or about his preparation – that surprised you?) – “I think the intel that we got before that whole trade went down was pretty solid. We had a good feel when we made that deal as far as what we were getting. It was about keeping him out there and figuring out what was the right position for us at the time. I think that was the biggest evaluation process we went through is, ‘Is it Mike or Will (linebacker)? What do we want to do with it? What do we want to do with him?’ That was really our biggest thing we had to go through with him. But he has been pretty much as advertised of what we thought.”
(With the linebacker unit, you’ve made some changes where now LB Jelani Jenkins is now exclusively the nickel and LB Neville Hewitt and LB Donald Butler are the base guys. Has that altered how that unit has performed?) – “I think it has helped us as far as we feel confident as far as trying to spread those snaps out. I know Jelani is coming off of a few injuries here, and we just want to make sure that we have him for the rest of the season. If that means we take a few snaps off of him – and he’s not banging around in base defense – I don’t think that hurts us to the point where we’re deficient. The guys that have stepped in, in that base unit have done a great job, and they’re assignment-sound, and they’re making plays. (Linebackers Coach) Matt (Burke) has done a good job as far as getting those guys ready. Whoever’s available … He has had a couple situations where we’ve gone into some games where we’re one guy away from really having some issues in a game. Those guys have toughed out some things that a lot of position groups would be frustrated with and a lot of coaches would struggle with.”
Ndamukong Suh – November 1, 2016
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Monday, November 1, 2016
Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
(You guys can get back to .500, put yourselves in good position for the postseason with a victory, is that a consideration? Is that thought out there about playoffs and getting in position right now?)– “The most important thing is just focusing on the game at hand, which is the (New York) Jets. I think to be … we would understand the implications and things of that nature, but the biggest thing we’ve got to do — which we’ve done the last two weeks before the bye week – was focus on the game that we had at hand, take care of business and everything will fall in place where we want it to be.”
(How are you guys feeling, as a defensive front, front four, as a playmaking unit right now?) – “I think we all understand that we have the ability to make a lot of plays and be effective on the game. And that’s what we want to go out there and do each and every week. Just going out there, having opportunities and making the most of it.”
(As far as the bye week, how important was it for you to just kind of go away from football and just kind of relax?) – “I think it’s important. I try and do it every single week – clear my mind of football, get prepared for the upcoming week and go from there. So it’s important to have a bye week. I think it came at a good time, being in the middle of the season and go from there.”
(How do you feel coming back? Do you feel pretty good, pretty refreshed?) – “You feel as much as refreshed as possible. But I mean, you still (have) seven or eight weeks and (training) camp on you so at the end of the day, it was a good break. Like I said, (you) catch it in the middle of the season and get prepared for the long haul. We’ve got, I think eight more games, nine more games. Then we (have) a West Coast trip, so first and foremost, you (have to) take care of the (New York) Jets.”
(Are you able to forget about football for that week as much as you try?)– “Forget about football? That’s pretty much impossible but it is life. You find ways to keep busy and at the end of the day, spend time with friends and family, and get prepared at the same time.”
(Did you watch any [football] over the weekend?) – “No, I actually didn’t watch any. No.”
(Better feeling in this locker room right now? I know obviously with two victories there would be but … and if so, is it a tangible thing or more of a subtle confidence?) – “I mean, I’m not really sure. You’d (have to) ask each and every person but for me personally, I think we, like I said, finished the last two weeks off going into the bye (week) really well. Obviously, (we) have a lot more room to grow. Now it’s important for us to make sure we come back home and take care of business against the (New York) Jets.”
(How do you grade the season you personally have had so far?) – “I haven’t graded it and probably won’t until the end of the season.”
(And why is that?) – “It’s not important to make a grade midway through the year. It’s about what you can do each and every week to be successful and find ways to help this team win.”
(The past couple of games, the offense has been able to control the ball pretty good amount of time as opposed to what was going on earlier in the season. How have you felt physically, like in the fourth quarter in those past two games, have you felt that much fresher?) – “I felt no different between Week 1 and Week 7. (I’m) ready to go, eager to play in the fourth quarter (and) have an opportunity to obviously win the game, and go out there and produce and play my part.”
Ryan Tannehill – November 1, 2016
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Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill
(How did Halloween go for you and your family?) – “It was pretty low key. We put the son down and then got into bed early.”
(No costumes this year?) – “No costumes, unfortunately. My wife made some (Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtles costumes but the son went down early so we didn’t get to put them on or anything.”
(So hold on, wait a minute … no trick-or-treaters?) – “No trick-or-treaters. Nothing.”
(No trick-or-treaters? Nobody wants to come to the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins’ house?) – “No. I guess the gate kind of deters people.” (laughter)
(So you’re going to eat all the candy, right?) – “I don’t eat candy, no.”
(C’mon, you don’t have any sweets at all?) – “Not never, but rarely.”
(You’re not on the DE Cameron Wake [diet] regimen then?) – “No. I mean look at me and look at him.” (Laughter)
(Is this like your worst holiday? Are you better with the other ones?) – “Yes, I’d probably say Halloween is probably the worst. I did watch a scary movie last night.”
(What did you watch?) – “What did I watch, what was the name of it? It’s one of the newer ones.”
(Who was in it?) – “No one famous.” (Laughter)
(It sounds great… [laughter]) – “It was a good movie. I’m not doing it justice. I was entertained.” (laughter)
(Let me change the topic here … The locker room, I know two victories helps morale but is this a tangible different feel in here? Is it more subtle? Or is it a different feel?) – “We’re just excited about where we’re at right now. I feel like this whole season we’ve just been staying the course, just trying to keep getting better each and every week, each and every day. Obviously it’s great to see some fruits of the labor, so to speak, as far as having success on Sunday. That’s what you play for. I think we’re on the right track right now. I think there’s a good feel, a good energy in the building, and we just have to keep on that track and keep it going.”
(Have you guys or have you or the team talked about playoffs? If you get this victory, you’re 4-4, you’re back in the race. Has that word been talked about or that thought in your mind?) – “Well, that’s what we’re playing for. We’re focused on the Jets right now and just one game at a time, but the end game is to be in the playoffs and to compete for a championship. Obviously we all know that’s a possibility. There’s a lot of football out in front of us; but it all starts this week with the Jets, taking it one game at a time.”
(The Jets defense, what do you see?) – “I see a good defense. I see a solid front. I think their strength is their front guys. They have some stout guys – solid, strong football players. They do a good job of shedding blocks up front, pushing the pocket, trying to collapse the pocket on the quarterback and just make it tough so that it’s hard to get the ball out down the field. It’s going to be a challenge for us up front to handle those guys and establish the line of scrimmage.”
(Guys always say they want to get away from football during the bye week. Can you?) – “A little bit. (I) still talked a little football and watched some tape. But it is – I guess – away from it as much as you can be during the season.”
(Were you in [the training facility] over the weekend at all?) – “I wasn’t in the building, no.”
(You watched tape at home?) – “Yes.”
(You’ve played against N.Y. Jets CB Darrelle Revis a long time. I’m wondering if you see the same player or a different player this year.) – “I have a ton of respect for Revis (and) his career he has had, and he’s still a good player. You see him shadowing Larry Fitzgerald the whole game against Arizona. We don’t know exactly what their plan is going to be with him, but he does have the ability to shadow a team’s best receiver. (We) have to see what their game plan is going in and adjust accordingly. Like I said earlier, (I have) a ton of respect for Revis and what he can do.”
(Have you felt like you’ve sped things up at all in the last couple weeks in terms of processing going through progressions or any of the part that happens from the time you get the snap to when you make the throw?) – “I think we’ve had a little bit more time from the snap to the throw. Guys are getting open. (We are) still getting the ball out relatively quickly, I think. But it’s having that time. I think everyone is … Since we’re huddling more, everyone is more sure of exactly what to do and how to do it. There’s no indecision going to the line of scrimmage of what they have. They know what they’re doing, and we’re able to be more effective in what we’re doing.”
(The run-heavy attack you guys have had the last couple weeks has really decreased the number of hits you’ve taken. Physically, how do you feel right now compared to maybe a month ago?) – “I feel great. Obviously, the last two weeks – and then the bye – (I have had) to rest up. So, (my) body feels really good right now.”
(Having said that – because you guys were on such a roll – where you anxious to get back in here?) – “I’m always anxious to get back in after a long weekend. But (I am) just excited more than anything (about) the nine games we have in front of us and the opportunities that we have. I think we have something good going right now. It’s just a matter of pushing ourselves every day to get better.”
(In the past, the team has played really well for stretches and then you kind of slid back. How do you guard against that and, maybe, make this consistently how you play from now on?) – “It’s about how you prepare – how you go about each and every day during meetings, during walkthroughs, during practice, keeping the foot on the gas and not letting up at all.”
(Could this starting offensive line – if they stay healthy, God-willing – be the best offensive line you’ve played behind here you think?) – “I think so. I have a ton of confidence in our offensive line. I think we’ve seen what they can do the past two weeks – both in the run and pass protection. When those guys are rolling and set the tone early, it really opens up whatever we want to do. We’ve seen Jay (Ajayi) have a ton of success. We’ve seen the pass game be more efficient, not taking a sack. When those guys are playing well, it really helps us go.”
(You mentioned huddling. Is that the norm now as opposed to the no-huddle?) – “The past two weeks it has, yes. We’ve definitely been in the huddle a lot more. We still have the ability to go no-huddle, but we’ve been in the huddle a bit more the past two weeks, and we’ve had success, so we’ll probably stick with it.”
(With the success that RB Jay Ajayi has had recently, what do you expect from a defense? Do you expect a lot in the box focusing their game plan on stopping him? How do you react to that?) – “You have to adjust as the game goes on. Obviously, you anticipate more middle safety and another guy in the box just to combat. We’re playing a lot with two tight ends and those types of sets, so you can see base defense versus our nickel personnel. There are a lot of different ways that teams can combat it, but (we) have to figure out what their game plan is going to be going in and adjust.”
Bacarri Rambo – October 26, 2016
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Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Safety Bacarri Rambo
(You played with S Reshad Jones at Georgia for one year, correct?) – “I played with him in 2009.”
(What did you learn from that one year playing with him?) – “He gave me my concussion. (laughter) Reshad is a great guy. I love him to death. He’s like a big brother to me on and off the field. During this whole process of not playing football, I always shot him a text or gave him a phone call, (and) he always answered and gave me good advice to stay in shape, keep my head up, keep my faith and everything would work out.”
(Have you talked to him since signing with the Dolphins?) – “Yes. I got here Monday, and I went by and saw him after he got out of surgery and kind of returned the favor about coaching him up on surgery and talking to him and giving him advice. He gave me advice (about) – if I came here – what to expect, how I’m going to like the scheme. Anything I need to ask him about, he’s always just a phone call away.”
(How did the concussion take place?) – “I was in coverage, and my man ran down the field, and I broke on the ball. I was saying, ‘Here comes my interception,’ and I had the ball in my hands. Next thing you know, I see another red helmet coming dead in my chest, knocked me out.”
(Kind of ironic a bit that you’re joining the Dolphins to take S Reshad Jones’ place?) – “He also said that God works in mysterious ways. He was just sitting there talking to me about it, and then next thing you know … I don’t wish an injury upon no one. I know he’s going to come back better than ever. In my opinion, Reshad is the best safety in the NFL. I’m not here to replace Reshad. I’m here to just be me. I’m not trying to be Reshad; I’m not trying to be anybody. I’m just trying to be Bacarri Rambo.”
(What do you bring to the Dolphins secondary?) – “Turnovers. (I am) a guy that’s going to study this film, know what’s going on, know what he has to do and do it to the best of my ability.”
(Since entering the NFL, what are one or two things that you feel you’ve made improvement in, in your game?) – “Becoming a student of the game and watching film. Basically, I took that for granted coming into the league my first couple years. When I got to the Bills, they really sat me down and really taught me how to study film and break down the team.”
(With the bye week, you’re going to have plenty of time to do that.) – “Yes.”
(You’ll probably get it under your belt, or what?) – “I don’t need a bye week. I had eight bye weeks. (laughter) It has been tough, but I’m going to stay here and get in my film and learn the playbook, so I can go out and play full speed.”
Jarvis Landry – October 26, 2016
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Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry
(Does the bye week come at a good time or a bad time, considering you guys are on a little bit of a roll?) – “It’s a good time. I think it’s a good time and I think it gives the guys an opportunity to get their body back, get their legs under them again, and go into a stretch before we go to L.A. Of course, we face the (New York) Jets before them, but it’s a good time to get that rest.”
(Do you do anything different, as far as take a little bit of time off, get away or…?) – “Just try to get off my feet a little bit, but also catch up on the family time and get an opportunity to go back home and see my grandmother, and just kind of get away, like you said, get away a little bit.”
(Is there a renewed sense of confidence considering two big wins against two good teams?) – “Yes. It’s definitely a motivating thing for us to win those games like we did, being behind in one and pretty much having to hold the lead in the other. So for us, it’s something that has built our confidence up to a point where, going into the second half of the season, or third half, that we look forward to it.”
(How did you find out that RB Arian Foster was retiring?) – “He texted a group of us individually, just kind of stating that he was hanging up and stating his piece.”
(What do you think about the decision?) – “Obviously, he’s had a long career. He’s done things in this league that ranks him up there with a lot of guys and he felt that it was time. If he can walk away from the game healthy, then that’s what I want for any guy.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase has talked a lot about RB Arian Foster’s leadership and how important it has been. Do you miss something, not having him around?) – “I think this whole locker room is filled with leaders and to lose one, I think of course we hate to see it happen; but it’s under his own terms and I think he leaves behind a steady group of leaders that’s going to continue to lead this team in the right direction.”
(I understand you weren’t aware of the the rule on spinning the ball and taunting. I was just wondering what your thoughts are about where the league is drawing the line on celebrations, the ‘no fun league’ criticism, what are your thoughts about that?) – “It was something that I honestly was not aware of and I feel it takes away from the game. I think at the same time, the passion, if nothing is too excessive or extremely taunting, I would say that those things are okay; but the league is trying to regulate those things, so for us it’s something that we have to stand by.”
(Do you think fans like to see that kind of stuff?) – “I think it’s just part of the game. I think it’s just part of the game. I think you see a lot of guys’ personalities when they make big plays or when they make first downs or when they do things like that. Spinning the ball has always been a traditional thing, especially for a receiver, when you make a first down. You’ve just got to know not to do it on an opponent’s sideline.”
(Have you heard from the league regarding your hit on [Buffalo Bills S Aaron Williams]?) – “I have not. I have not.”
(Buffalo Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan had some harsh words on you the other day, I’m sure you probably heard about them? He called it a dirty play, said he was disappointed in you for making that hit. What’s your response?) – “I truly don’t have a response back to him. Honestly, for me I play the game with my whole heart and for these guys in this (locker) room. The protection and safety, of course that matters to me. I would never deliberately try to injure anybody or hurt anybody regardless of whoever says whatever. For me, I’ll leave it at that. It was a football play and I’m playing football, and that’s it.”
(Have you had any further contact with Buffalo Bills S Aaron Williams?) – “I have not.”
(Any plans for when you go back home? Got anything special?) – “Yes. Going to do some stuff with my mom, with (NBC), get a chance to check out my brother’s high school game and surprise my cousin for his wedding on Saturday night.”
(How different is it now when you go home?) – “It’s always fun. It’s always fun to catch up and see old friends. Even when I left and went to college, it was 30 minutes down the road so to come back home, it was kind of like a (reunion). Just to have that support system that I know have back at home, to be around those guys is definitely something that I need in my life right now.”
(What are you doing with [NBC]?) – “Just a little segment with me and my mom about me and my mom, my childhood, my college career and my high school career leading to the NFL.”
(Is that going to air on Sunday?) – “Yes. It’s a national thing.”
(Did you just ruin the surprise on the wedding?) – “No, no. Not that wedding. (laughter) (My cousin) actually came to town today. We’re going over the details. We’ll be alright.”
(In general, how important to you is blocking as a part of what you do? I mean, you seem to be a very determined blocker.) – “It’s everything. It makes me who I am. I think that if you put on any tape from high school to now, you will see that in all my games, that I play physical, that I embrace contact. For being here, you see guys running the ball like we’re running the ball right now, that’s on the back of 10 other guys. It’s amazing to see. It’s something that we all do.”
(What aspect of the passing game would you like to see improvement in, if any? – “I mean, I think we’re doing a great job. I think we’re real balanced right now. With Jay (Ajayi) doing things that he’s doing. We’re moving Ryan (Tannehill) around. Ryan is making plays by himself, being mobile, running the ball if he had to. For us, I think our offense is in a great spot moving forward.”
(You said the offense is in a great spot right now, what about with RB Jay Ajayi, what he has done the last two games? It seems like now you guys are not one-dimensional, they got to look for not only the passing game, but for this guy who’s run for over 200 yards in two straight games?) – “That’s what I mean. It means everything. There’s going to come a time where teams are going to start putting more people in the box than in the passing game. Then they back them up and then we run it. So you pick your poison. For us, having that balance and to be able to have Jay running and get to the second level like he is, it means everything for us right now.”
Adam Gase – October 26, 2016
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Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Did RB Arian Foster indicate to you that he was contemplating retiring? Were you caught off guard and when did you find out?) – “I don’t think I was caught off guard. Sometimes you can tell there are a lot of things going on in somebody’s head. I think the relationship me and him have was really good. We had a lot of conversations over the time that we were together. He definitely was guy I connected with very early. But I did get a text (at) about 5:30-ish on Monday. It was like one of those things in my gut. I felt like that’s what it was going to be. I was hoping I was wrong, but he did a lot of good things in a short period of time for us. I know the injuries really were frustrating for him because when he got hurt in that New England game, we had a couple of times (where) he was trying to rehab, strengthen up and would have these little setbacks. I know that was frustrating for him, because his body wasn’t responding the way he wanted it to. I know our guys really tried to do every they could to strengthen him up as fast as possible, and he kept itching to get out there. I know in that Pittsburgh game he was trying to be available as much as possible for us, because he knew we needed as much leadership as we possibly could get. We knew that was going to be a tough game. We were in a very tough spot for our team where we needed some good things to happen for us. He did everything he could to try to get as healthy as he could as fast as he could. It was a tough conversation to have with him as far as him explaining to me things and just kind of on the way I was thinking at the moment knowing how much he has helped our football team and our organization.”
(Are you upset at the fact that he retired in the middle of the season?) – “I’m not upset, because I want what’s best for him. If there was anything that was pulling him to where he couldn’t really be all in – and his body wasn’t all in – I’m not going to be upset about that, because I had a great relationship with him. He’s a guy that I really enjoyed being around and enjoyed him around our players and the way that he communicated. The way that he helped that running back room is one of those things you just can’t measure. We are very young in that room, but he did such a good job early on as far as when we had some bumps in the road, he kept those guys together and educated them. He did a lot of things here that I don’t know if he has done other places as far as when you’re as smart as he his – and picked things up as fast as he did – some of the little things that he tried to do to show those guys the right way to do it, he didn’t have to do that. He did it to try to help us, and I will always be appreciative towards him, because he tried to do everything he could to be all in with us.”
(You pointed to the running back room as an example of how you would like the team to be going forward. Has that changed a little bit now that RB Arian Foster is gone?) – “I think the one thing that I’ve noticed from that room is (Running Backs Coach) Danny (Barrett) has done a good job of trying to help those guys grew up as fast as possible. I think Jay’s (Ajayi) emergence – especially the last three weeks – has helped him grow up really quickly, and I think the rest of those guys are following suit. They’re seeing his success and realizing, ‘Wow, he’s doing everything right – all the little tiny details right – and now he’s benefitting from that not only as far as us having more success on Sundays as far as wins, but also personal success, winning awards – thing like that – and it’s all, because he kept going to work trying to get better, understand the ins and outs of everything that we were doing for that week, and he made it happen on Sunday.’ I think those guys are seeing that, and they’re following suite.”
(Will RB Arian Foster be around here in any capacity? Do league rules allow that, or is he just goes and takes care of his state of mind?) – “Basically his kind of conversation with me was, ‘I’ll never be far away.’ Obviously, he has great relationship with those guys. I’m sure if he see something during a game – or on TV – he’ll be very quick to place a phone call.”
(How might the absence of RB Arian Foster impact the roles of RB Damien Williams and RB Kenyan Drake?) – “It’s something that we’re trying to really figure out right now and go through the process. The fact that we have a bye week this week we have to figure out, ‘What’s our next step? What’s the right move to make? Do you bring in another guy? Do you promote somebody from practice squad?’ We have to figure out all these things, because Damien, for one, has a huge role in our special teams. The more plays he plays on offense, it makes it tougher for him on special teams. And then Drake has not as big of role on special teams, but he does play quite a bit. I think I’ve said it before as far as it has been rare in my career to have two running backs that are as involved in special teams as those guys are. So, whether we move things around on special teams, or we decide that we’re just going to play one guy more than the other … I know my trust level in Damien, obviously, he has done a lot of good things for us in the limited role that he has had so far. It seems like every time he gets in, (he has) one or two huge plays a game, usually game-changing plays. Drake hasn’t had as many opportunities, but he’s going to be, obviously, given the opportunity to really step up and do things right and be consistent. You can see that Arian leaving puts pressure on those two guys to be right and do things right, and we have to grow up quickly.”
(Are you okay with three running backs?) – “I’ve done it quite a bit in my career. I think we have to … Really, we’re going to take a look at it. Between (Executive Vice President of Football Operations) Mike (Tannenbaum) and (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and myself, we’ve spent a lot of time the last couple of days reevaluating everything, and we got the rest of this week (to) try to make a decision by Tuesday as far as what our roster is going to look like going forward. We have decisions to make, especially with the PUP guys. That’s going to come quick, and we’re going to have to make a decision in that area as well (about) roster spots. Who moves in? Who moves out? Do we get through next week completely healthy? I mean there are a lot of things that can happen here over the next 13, 12 days. We’re going to have to make some moves to try to make sure that we feel like our roster is good going forward.”
(Since you were at five running backs, you’re now down to three. I know you said you’re contemplating. Does three feel uncomfortable?) – “Not really. The only thing that is in the back of my mind is just the fact that Damien (Williams) is such an impactful player on special teams. Like I’ve, said it’s rare, especially at that position to have a guy that impactful. But he’s a good running back, and he does a good job for us. He’s a game-changing guy.”
(On a different topic, how easy of a decision was it to have LS John Denney replace S Reshad Jones as a captain? What are the leadership qualities you like about him?) – “It’s never easy to replace a guy like Reshad, especially with what he has done since I’ve been here. When you get to a place, you always do as much research on everybody as possible, and everybody told me, ‘(Jones) doesn’t kind of say a whole bunch. He’s a really good player, but he’s quiet, and he does what he needs to do and leads by example.’ We asked a little more of him, and he did it. He did a great job as far as being a vocal leader and coming out every day and showing young guys how to do it and speaking up when he felt like something wasn’t right. Trying to find that next guy wasn’t … It’s not that easy sometimes, because I’m not in the locker room every day. John Denney was able to speak on Saturday night before we played Pittsburgh. I think he really made a strong statement to our team. It hit everybody. When he talks – because he doesn’t say a whole bunch – when he talked, I think a lot of guys really listened to what he was saying. That was a clear cut to me the fact that he has been here longer than anybody else. He has been through a lot, and he has leadership qualities that I think a lot of us didn’t’ really realize and guys respect him. We felt like that was the best move for us as far as giving our guys another veteran guy to be able to turn to and somebody that I appreciate and will listen to if he ever brought something to me.”
(Why S Bacarri Rambo and what will you see and envision him playing?) – “We’ll still be going through our process of what’s our next step with that. Obviously, we’re very … I don’t even know if we’re 24 hours off of doing that. We’ll go through the rest of this week and go through practice next week. That makes it easier to figure out what everybody’s role is going to be, who’s going to be active – all those type of things – how fast can he pick everything up. We keep trying to figure out a way of what’s best for us, work guys out. I know (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and (Executive Vice President of Football Operations) Mike (Tannenbaum) constantly are having these Tuesday workouts to see if there’s anybody that fits what we’re looking for. That’s going to be a wait-and-see process for us. I don’t have anything for you to say, ‘It’s going to be this.’”
(Does it trouble you that S Bacarri Rambo has been out of football since January?) – “I think we have a couple of guys on our team that have been in that situation a little bit. Our guys felt good about him. Our defensive staff obviously felt good. We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t feel good about the situation that we were about ready to get into.”
(What did you like about S Bacarri Rambo?) – “There are some of us that have either competed against him and been around him before. (With) his skill set, his knowledge of the game, his play making ability – we feel like we got a guy that possibly can come in here and contribute. Obviously, we’re going to have to take some steps here as far as getting caught up, seeing how everything fits in. It’s going to … This is not going to be like Tuesday when we start practicing, ‘Here’s what it is.’ It’s going to take us a second to figure some things out.”
(Regarding RB Jay Ajayi, 54 carries the last two weeks. I know he’s young – I know it’s a bye week – but do you monitor his carries? He does have an injury history the last year and a half for whatever reason. Is it too early for that? Do you look at that in December? What’s your approach?) – “You’re trying to jinx me here. This I like saying ‘You have your starting five (offensive lineman) next,’ and then we’re having shower incidents. (laughter) I think you’re always going to be smart. Obviously, I do need to be aware of where we’re at carries-wise. I think last game didn’t feel like that. It is kind of a … He needs to be a good sounding board to me as far as – as we go through this with the nine games left – of, ‘How is your body feeling? How are you recovering each week? How many reps is he getting in practice?’ We’re going to have to be smart about it if we’re going to be giving him that many carries. I think he has done a good job as far as getting back in here quickly after a game, getting his body back. That is … When you run the style that he’s running right now where it’s physical, he’s taking on a lot of hits, but he’s breaking a lot of tackles. Over time, that’s going to take a little bit of a toll, so we just have to make sure we monitor throughout the game. But at the same time, we don’t want to be overly cautious, because he is a guy that has had a lot of carries in college, and he knows how to take a hit, he knows how to run through contact. If we can just continually go through our season and be smart about how we practice him and let him get to Sundays and make sure he’s feeling good, that’s going to be the biggest key.”
Darren Rizzi – October 24, 2016
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Monday, October 24, 2016
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(What is the challenge when you have got so many core special teamers having to come off your unit because they are now starters or regular contributors? How do you re-generate that unit again?) – “It’s a great question, because it’s every special teams coach’s – I don’t want to call it a struggle, but challenge during the year – is when you have guys through injuries. And everybody’s got them, we’re not alone there. If you look throughout the league, everybody’s got them. That’s why OTAs and training camp is so important for a special teams coach to prepare everybody that’s got to play. It’s got to be next man up. It’s easy to make an excuse and say this is the reason, but if a guy’s out there playing, we expect him to do well. It is a challenge, but then you have to find that delicate balance with a guy like Mike Thomas for example, who played a lot of defense yesterday. We didn’t take him off of everything, but he came off of some teams. The next guy up has got to play and we had some guys play that haven’t played a lot yesterday in the game. Again, like I said, that’s kind of the special teams coach’s challenge. It’s my job to get those guys ready. We didn’t perform as well as we’d like to. It certainly wasn’t good enough yesterday in my opinion. But, again, throughout the (game), we had a lot of young guys out there – you saw some young guys out there making some mistakes, I’m sure, as you guys probably noticed. But that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to keep getting ready. We’ve got a lot of football left to go and those guys who are out there, if they’re part of the 46, they’ve got to play and they’ve got to be ready. We’ve got to get them ready.”
(How do you reinforce that to them? That this is your chance, your opportunity, your job now.) – “That’s very clear, I can promise you that. That’s very clear. We’ve enforced that from Day 1, that at some point, this is going to be an opportunity that you’re going to have. If you’re one of the 11 guys out there, we expect you to do well. We expect the leaders of our special teams unit guys that have been here– like Mike Thomas, like a Spencer Paysinger, the guys that have been around a little bit – to kind of take that leadership role in trying to get those guys ready. We knew going into the game that it was going to be a … and these last couple of weeks with some injuries. And it’s a trickle down effect, and it always comes down to special teams. It’s always going to be that way, and when you have injuries – it happens. I’m a little more disappointed, quite frankly, in some of the guys that had played before and made some errors yesterday too. But again, they’re getting more chances on offense and defense. So we’ve got to find the right formula, we’ve got to find it quick and then we’ve got to play better than we did yesterday. That’s for sure.”
(There was an exchange I believe, on the RB Kenyan Drake hold, and then the ensuing punt was deflected. A) was the hold legit when you looked at it on film?) – “Yes, in this league, when you take guys to the ground – the chances of them throwing a holding call is pretty high. And Kenyan ends up on top of the guy on the ground. We had two penalties on that play. Someone said to me ‘Oh gosh, you had two rookies have penalties on that play.’ At this point in the season, we can’t … I’m not looking at guys as rookies anymore. Like I said before, if they’re out there on the field and they’re playing plays for us, it doesn’t matter if it’s a rookie or a 10th year guy, they’ve got to get it done. Yes, that next play shouldn’t have ever happened. Let’s be honest, Matt Darr hits a beautiful punt, we’ve got them pinned down inside the 20, and then all of a sudden the field position completely flips for the entire game on that, because we are playing a play that shouldn’t have occurred if it’s not for a penalty. Again, he didn’t need to hold on the play. If I was officiating, I probably would’ve called it myself. I can see why they called it, and again, those are the frustrating things. We’re going back now … we’re going back to play another play, those guys just protected, they just covered for 50 yards and now they’ve got to come back and replay a play. That’s just not something easy to do and we have a mistake on the next play, the ball gets tipped and fortunately it wasn’t a bigger play. Any time you get a guy with a hand in the kick zone like that, the ball could’ve went the other way. We’re fortunate that it went over the line, it could’ve been a bigger one.”
(You’ve dealt with WR Jarvis Landry on special teams, he’s an emotional player. He had that block yesterday on the crack back. I think he had a punt last year where there was a sideline violation. Have you ever talked to him about his emotion and is it at a point to where it might be working to his detriment?) – “That’s a good question. Yes, Jarvis is a guy that plays right up to the edge. He plays right up to the line. He’s an emotional player. I think he’s probably gotten to this point in his career because of that. I think it’s probably, I don’t know if you want to call it a blessing and a curse maybe at times. But Jarvis is an emotional guy. I certainly wouldn’t want to change his personality. The official came over and explained that penalty after the play. It’s one of those fine line things. He spins the ball. The way the official came over and explained it to us – if he had turned around and spun it the other direction, there’s no flag. Because he spun it towards their bench, it was a flag. I’m not going to get into all the dotting-the-I and crossing-every-T on the exact rule book and all of that stuff right now. It’s not going to get me anywhere. Again, getting back to Jarvis, I love the way Jarvis plays the game quite frankly. I wouldn’t mind having 46 Jarvis Landrys out there with the way … his intensity, his preparation, his enthusiasm and all of those things. Can we afford those 15 yard penalties? No. We can’t and that’s not just a Jarvis, that’s a team-wide thing. We cannot have … we can’t have those penalties. I’m sure (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase has already addressed that as well, and that’s something that we are going to continue to address with the team. We want the guys playing up to the edge. We want the guys playing up to the line. It’s a fine line in crossing over it and costing your team. I’m sure, like I said, I’m sure Gase has already addressed that.”
Vance Joseph – October 24, 2016
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Monday, October 24, 2016
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
(How much of a difference has DE Cameron Wake made out there, both against the run and against the pass, where it seems like he’s getting closer and closer to the Cam of a few years ago?) – “He makes a lot of difference (with) the energy he brings in the run and pass game alike. He puts so much pressure on the tackles – again, in both phases of the game – where it condenses the run game and (in) the pass game, he’s obviously pressuring the quarterback. Even with (Andre) Branch on the right side, those guys make a difference, because of the energy they bring to the game.”
(With DE Mario Williams, what went behind the decision to move him inside at parts of the game?) – “Just bodies. We want to get our best four rushers on the field at one time. Sometimes we have to play Mario inside to keep Branch at the right end. It’s having your four best guys on the field at one time.”
(So it’s just in obvious passing situations getting your four best pass rushers?) – “Absolutely.”
(Would you say yesterday was DE Mario Williams’ best performance of the year?) – “I would say the effort … He played with great intensity yesterday. He had two TFLs (tackles for loss). He had two quarterback hits, four QB pressures. He played well. Obviously, that was his old team, so I think inside he wanted to play well. He didn’t say it all week, but he wanted to play well against Buffalo.”
(How would you assess the safety play yesterday?) – “Okay. Obviously losing ‘20’ (Reshad Jones) was going to be … That’s a huge deal for us. But I thought Isa (Abdul-Quddus) played well. Isa is a smart player. He’s always in good spots to make plays. He tackled well. I thought Mike Thomas, for the most part, played solid. He had one issue with the long pass. It was Cover 2 defense, and he was too far off the hash. Outside of that, those two kids played solid. They won’t ever be what ‘20’ would be in a football game. That’s not fair, but they can play solid for us and those guys help us win.”
(How much did you know about DE Andre Branch before you got here and what do you really like about him?) – “We watched Andre on tape in the spring. You can watch an entire game on Andre and say, ‘He’s just okay,’ but you can pick 15 plays and say, ‘Boy, he’s special.’ We weren’t sure what he was going to be. But obviously, he’s talented enough to be a special guy. Right now, he’s focused. It’s a chance to be a starter; that’s huge. He’s in a contract year; that’s huge for him. So, I’m not surprised by what he’s doing as far as the talent perspective. He’s a gifted guy. He’s tall. He can run. He’s aggressive. It has been good for us.”
(The last two weeks have seen the defense play at a very high level. Can you point to one reason why the first four, five weeks it wasn’t that?) – “I think having Cam (Wake) out there full time, Andre (Branch) playing more snaps – that has helped. That has been different for us as far as the ends having more energy out there. The back end guys have been really solid. (Byron) Maxwell has played better and better each week, the last two weeks. That has helped also. But I think the energy that Cam brought and Andre brought, that has been the biggest difference in my opinion.”
(Have you done anything schematically?) – “Every game is different. The game plan changes each week going through who you’re playing, so that’s no difference. It’s different every week.”
(You’ve haven’t gone to like a 3-4 team?) – “No.”
(Are you noticing a big difference physically now in DE Cameron Wake from the start of the regular season?) – “Absolutely. Cam, he has come a long way. The first three weeks, he wasn’t Cam. Now he’s back to being Cam. If he’s one on one with most tackles, he’s going to win a majority of the snaps. So, he’s back to being what Cam was in the past.”
(I know that when players aren’t playing to your standards, you tell them. Do you think it affects them more when you let everybody know? Like here?) – “We don’t hide much on defense. If they’re not playing well, we’re all going to know it. Every player is going to know it, every coach is going to know it. If you ask me the question, I’ll tell you. If you don’t ask me, I won’t tell you. But our players trust us enough to know that if I’m saying it publicly, it has already been said in private. They trust us. It’s just an honest way of doing business here. ”
(Is it gratifying that players that have been – I don’t want to say called out – but that you’ve told are not playing up to snuff, that they’ve brought their level of play up a little?) – “Absolutely. With Mario (Williams), he has definitely come back the last two weeks and played harder. Once he played harder, he was going to play better. We all knew that. (Byron) Maxwell has played better also. So, I guess it’s gratifying to know that they’re hearing you. If you ask them to play better, you hope they’ll play better, and that has happened in those two cases.”
(You all did a pretty solid job of bottling up QB Tyrod Taylor as well, not allowing him to break free and escape. How were you able to contain him?) – “The front four. We had a hell of a rush plan this week. They pushed the pocket inside and crushed the can on the outside. When he escaped, he escaped out the back door, which that’s what you want. You don’t want him to step through and escape vertically. That’s huge gains. We knew he was going to escape some, but for the most part, the front four did a great job.”
(What the defense has done the last couple of weeks – the pass rushers getting after the quarterback, producing turnovers and sacks – is this sustainable or are these outlier performances do you think?) – “No, that’s who we can be. In my opinion, every game we’ve played, we’ve shown that kind of ability to play that way. From Seattle to even Tennessee, we’ve had some moments where we can be a special group. It’s just about being consistent, everybody doing their job and playing hard all the time. I’m not surprised that we’re playing well the last two weeks. That’s what we’re expecting. Our front four should be a good unit. That’s why they’re here. I’m not surprised that Cam (Wake) and Andre (Branch) and Mario (Williams) are playing good. And obviously (Ndamukong) Suh has played well all year. So, that’s expected.
(How can you get better defensive tackle play?) – “Hopefully, (Leon) Orr … He has been here for only two weeks. That’s tough. Chris Jones is a guy that does things right. The bottom line is Jordan (Phillips) has got to play better overall. Out of 35 plays, Jordan is playing a solid 25 plays very solidly. He’s having four or five plays where it’s not very good. I think Suh is playing well. I think Suh gets doubled a lot, but I think Jordan could play better. Obviously, getting Earl (Mitchell) back in a couple weeks, that’s going to help us there. Losing Earl was a big deal for us inside, because now you’ve got probably three inside starters. Getting Earl back in two weeks, that’s going to help us a lot.”
(How disruptive was DT Ndamukong Suh yesterday?) – “Very. He’s a three technique, so he’s doubled by a lineman every play, but he is disruptive in there, especially on pass downs. He can push the pocket. His sack, he was a decoy on that sack. He clubbed his guy and made a play. He can be special. But obviously, every play he has got two guys on him most of the time. It’s tough to be special every play being doubled.”
(With CB Byron Maxwell, what particularly has contributed to his improved play or the level of cleanliness of is play?) – “I think just doing it right. Byron came from a system in Seattle that did play Cover 3 every down. For a corner, that’s simple. That’s more physical than it is mental. Here, it’s a multiple-coverage scheme, so he has got to play a certain way every down. Early on, he wasn’t doing that. Now he’s doing that better. It looks better for Byron. He’s jamming receivers. He’s on top of vertical routes. It looks better when you’re doing it right in this system, but it’s also … It can be cornerback friendly if you do it right. He’s figuring it out. If you do it right – play your proper leverage – you can play in this system and play well.”
(With the linebacker play, everything seems to have improved in terms of gap integrity. Was that players getting comfortable in the scheme? Was it the addition of LB Donald Butler? Is it a rotation between LB Neville Hewitt and Butler?) – “I think it’s overall. I think the front guys are fitting their gaps better, staying square on blocks and playing blocks better. I think the linebackers are playing better fitting their gaps. Kiko (Alonso) has been solid all year. I think Butler has been here now for, what, four games I think? So, he’s getting better in his assignments. I think Neville is playing better and better each week. Neville is a young player, but he has played better and better each week. And Jelani (Jenkins) is playing more dime than he is base down. So, it’s just overall, everyone fitting their gaps better. Everyone is staying in their gaps. That has been a big difference in the run game the last two weeks.”
(You’re encouraged that S Isa Abdul-Quddus will be available in two weeks?) – “Absolutely.”
