Clyde Christensen – October 24, 2016
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Monday, October 24, 2016
Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen
(Head Coach Adam Gase mentioned that you guys need some new running plays because you’ve used them all. Is that what the next two weeks are going to be about?) – “Yes. He gets that rash from calling too many run plays, so we’ve got that under control. (laughter) Calling the same run over and over gives him a little bit of a rash, but other than that, it’s been pretty darn good for turning this thing around and certainly helping Yes, it’s been good stuff. It’s been good to see it rewarded. We’ve worked hard on it. We had a commitment to that outside zone. It really is, from a coaching stand point, you like seeing that, that you keep preaching it. It’s easier to face you guys after saying the same thing over and over. ‘This thing is coming, this thing is coming.’ It’s the same with the team. ‘Hey, this is going to happen.’ So to get some success on it helps make your job easier, helps sell the message (and) get the message sold to them. So it’s important. It is funny, but it is important too. As a coach, you’re selling, ‘Hey, if we do these things, this is going to happen. This is going to be the result.’ So it’s easier press conferences, but it’s also easier meetings with the players. So that’s the truth of it.”
(You said that you guys are committed to being an outside zone team. But I saw some trap plays mixed in there is that kind of what…) – “Yes. That’s been what we’ve been and that’s what we started out to be – that we were going to be an outside zone team and we were going to mix in a couple of the gap-schemes that are important. And we do a little bit of everything. The quarterback read was big. We had a chance to pop that one down there in the red zone. I think the point being, we just continue to try and get better at what we’re doing rather than (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase could have panicked when things weren’t going quite the way we wanted in those early games. We really have admired how he just stayed with it and we kept getting better at it. That’s not easy to do in this league, right? It’s not easy to do between just the feeling that, ‘Hey, we have to change something to get better,’ or ‘It’s not working and we have to go in a different direction.’ That’s hard to do. He has been, both on a game level and on a season level, he just kind of stayed with it and believed in knowing … just had a deep confidence that it was going to be good and it was going to work. So it has been good to see some rewards from it, some pay off from it.”
(Can you explain how a running game can work even when they out-number you in the box? And it seemed, based on what [Head Coach] Adam [Gase] said, they seemed to know what’s coming.)– “I don’t know if I’d give them quite that much credit but any time you’re a three-wide team and any time … every single defensive coordinator says the same thing in the Monday meeting: ‘Hey, we’ve got to stop the run. We’re going to get an extra half a man or a man in the box to stop the run.’ So how you run on that extra man in the box will determine how good a run team you are. The days of, ‘They’re scared of the pass,’ and you get Cover 2 on first and second (down), we don’t see them (anymore). So how you handle that extra man in the box is really important. I think the question was, how do you run successfully? Knowing just who that guy is and where you’re going to leave him, is really part of scheming the thing. The back being able to make that guy miss, makes you an NFL back. I’ve said to you, we’ve said it in here before, if you can’t make the extra guy miss, whether it’s the free safety or the strong safety showing up off the edge, that’s the deal. To be an NFL running back, you have to be able to make that guy miss. You’re not blocking all 11 and its open running lanes to the end zone. So that’s all part of it – the place where you get your movement and trying to push someone in, where at least that extra guy has an obstructed path to the running back. So all of that goes into it, but that’s our weekly job. ‘Hey, how do we handle that extra guy in the box?’ The play action has to help handle the man in the box. It’s kind of a multi-faceted answer, but it’s really important – all of them. The naked (bootlegs), right? We’ve been really efficient with our quarterback movements. That helps handle the extra man in the box. We’d love to get … we had a couple of shots yesterday that we didn’t … we hit one but we didn’t hit (one) … but there’s some play-action shots to be had that, that extra man, all of a sudden, it cost them. You have to be able to make them pay. You see a lot of people … little posts in behind that extra guy. All of those things. The little bubble (screens) you see us run, that helps handle that man in the box. So there’s a bunch of ways to help, but you have to handle that guy. When you’re handling him, it’s hard-sledding because they’re 1-, 2-yard runs. You’re not always going to get them, but overall, the good running teams in this league, have a plan for that guy and effectively handle him, not all the time, but regularly.”
(What makes you confident that this can be a consistent approach that leads to success for this team as opposed to a two-game aberration?) – “Good question. You don’t. Other than just, I believe in what we’re doing with all my heart. I’ve seen it work for a long, long time and it’s based on the right things –being hard-nosed, coming off the ball, starting with the run, being a good play-action and movement team. It helps your quarterback. It takes a lot of pressure off your quarterback and those were two really hot defenses, as we kind of talked about in the press conferences the last two weeks. Those are hot defenses. Those are hard-nosed, Mike Tomlin, and the Buffalo Bills. They’re known for being hard-nosed teams. That’s encouraging to go have some success running on those guys. They’re hard teams to run it on. They built their whole reputation on being hard-nosed, tough, stop-the-run guys. If we keep doing what we do well, if we keep just improving and if we keep doing those things, I just believe it’ll be more than a two-game thing. It’s not going to be 200 yards a game. It’s not that easy. And some of those are an aberration, an exception, an outlier, if you will; but the fundamentals of blocking, running, play action-ing, getting third downs shorter, possessing the ball, your defense – those are tried and true principles that I think we’re trying to build this thing on a solid rock that will hold, and it will hold up in December in Buffalo and New (York). It’ll hold up for year, after year, after year. And you can get your right kind of guys in here and you can get people sold on this thing. I don’t think it’s any secret formula. It is football, but it’s, as we say, ‘It’s simple, but it’s not easy. It’s simple, but it’s not easy to do.’ They’re not novel concepts of being hard-nosed, running the ball, getting movement on double-teams, making the extra guy miss, all those things. But we’ve seen it. You’ve got to convert some third downs. It’s all tied together, and it is hard. This league is dad-gum hard to get 100 yards rushing. It’s hard to run the football in this league. It’s extremely hard.”
(Do you think you guys didn’t know what you had in RB Jay Ajayi? RB Arian Foster was signed. There was an attempt to sign Broncos RB C.J. Anderson, Cardinals RB Chris Johnson and re-sign Texans RB Lamar Miller. Did you maybe not realize what you had in RB Jay Ajayi?) – “No, that would not be the case. We really felt like … He didn’t have a lot of data out there. He was a young guy. But we felt very, very good on him. I think the veteran presence that we were looking for in Arian – and looking for as we looked around – was more for the (running backs) room than an indictment that we didn’t think we had running backs. We loved Damien (Williams) from the get go, from the first film we watched on him. He’s a playmaking, tough sucker just like he has shown to be. And we felt like Ajayi could really be a big physical guy and do those things. There wasn’t enough data to say, ‘He’s an established guy.’ (It) wasn’t that. It was a bit of an insurance policy, but it was a bit of having a veteran presence. That’s a young room in there. Who would have seen Ajayi having the two weeks that he has had or any running back having the two weeks he has had. Jay is a tough guy. This thing means a lot to him. I’m really glad that he has seen some results from all his hard work. He has worked his tail off and gosh, he’s protecting the football. He has bought into what we’re selling and how we want to do things. It has really been fun to see him enjoy the success. You love seeing a guy like him who just works hard and for it to go right for him.”
(What were your thoughts on the WR Jarvis Landry hit after you watched it on tape?) – “Just that we got to target lower. It was a good call. It was a penalty. We can’t go high, and the league is emphasizing that. The effort, I don’t think it was malicious in any way. You can tell by even right after the hit that he has a concern for the wellbeing of the opponent. I just think that this thing is a high-aggression thing. You get the adrenaline going. Gosh, you love the effort. We got to lower that target a foot and get under his ribcage without putting any damper on the energy. That’s one of the great challenges of football is getting wide receivers to block. That’s not easy in this league. You just love what he has done for us tempo-wise, but we don’t want to hit anyone in the head. We don’t want to get 15-yard penalties, and we just got to lower the target. We can fix that. We can correct that. That’s an easy correction. The hard correction is to get someone who doesn’t want to block to block. We can lower the target and get down in there lower. That was my impression of the thing, but I thought it was a good call. It ends up being helmet to helmet, and we got to lower our target.”
(You talked about the running backs and also the extra man in the box and sometimes he’s not blocked up and the running back has to account for that. Do your running backs in that running back room, do they feel comfortable, or do they actually look forward to defeating that guy? Because often times, that’s what running backs look forward to, because they can break a long run because of that extra guy.) – “It is one of the top criteria for being an NFL running back. When we inserted the first run the first day we got here with the players, the thing (was), ‘You have to make that guy miss. If you can’t, then there’s probably not a position for you as a running back in this league here or anywhere else.’ Yes, I think they do look forward to it. I think there’s something fun about it. Sometimes you house them and run over them and sometimes you run around them, and everyone has got their own way of handling that guy. Jay (Ajayi) last week kind of jukes the corner and goes for a big one, and we’ve seen him lower his shoulder and run over them. When you have both pitches, then you got something, which he has going right now. If I’m a DB (defensive back), and I go sticking my nose up in there, I’m not sure he’s not going to try and launch me out of the stadium, or he’s going to side-step me and go. Now when you have the two-pitch working, and you’re not just a single-pitch guy, then you really got something. He’s unique that way. You better not tiptoe up in there, because if you do catch his one-pitch and he lowers that shoulder, that’s a load. He’s a load. But yes, the answer to your question is absolutely. I think they know that, and it’s kind of fun. That’s kind of fun to turn on the film and handle that guy. (It is) equally frustrating when you don’t handle him, and that guy takes you down. It’s hard. It’s really hard, because there’s no answer. There’s no answer for that extra guy. You only have so many blockers, and they got an extra guy in there. That’s why it has to be the running back.”
(Can you give us an update on your rookies – G/T Laremy Tunsil, RB Kenyan Drake, WR Leonte Carroo and WR Jakeem Grant – where they are in terms of understanding the offense and their performance?) – “Yes, I can. Tunsil, I think, is just improving in big strides. Big strides. I was teasing today, his first pull … if you watch his first pull in the game, I think he could have played for Vince Lombardi and run the Green Bay sweep. We talked about him struggling pulling because he just hadn’t done it a bunch early and he goes tip-toeing through there and he’s agile and he locks him up. It was really impressive. He’s improving. He’s a professional guy. I’ve said it all along, I love the way he’s approached this thing from Day 1. It means a lot to him. He’s really improving. He played his best game (on Sunday) and his last two weeks have been really good. Jakeem, we’re trying to get more and more plays for him. He’s a dynamic guy. He won’t show up in the box score but as soon as we stuck him in there on Damien (Williams)’ run, you saw everybody on the (Buffalo) sideline pointing at him and (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) called a little fake reverse – a fake reverse to him. It influenced a couple of guys, which helped Damien get the (touchdown). That’s another way to handle the extra guy in the box – having a Landry or having (Grant go in motion). He’s improving. We’re trying to get him more and more involved in the offense. We’d love to have a package for him each week. He’s a dynamic guy. He’s a playmaker, so he’s picking it up. He’s improving. Carroo has improved a tremendous amount. We’re really pleased with him. I think a lot of it is just understanding the heat. He’s got himself in great shape. He was in good shape but it’s a little different playing down here. We’re really pleased with him. He continues to improve. I think you’re going to see him more and more and more. Percentages say – hopefully not – but percentages say there’s going to be a point in this year where he’s going to have to play some key snaps. So we’re stressing that and we’ve got to work him into some games early so we’ve got some deposits in the bank when that time, if it does come, comes – whether it’s this year or next year, it’s coming – and he’s going to have to come in there and make some big plays for us. So we have to slip him into some of these games a little bit earlier and it’ll also help us rest some of the guys who are in there. A lot of it is hard to do just because of the no-huddle and when we’re tempo-ing and all of those things. The last one was Drake and I think you’ll see more and more of him. He continues to improve. He’s growing up into this professional football thing and I think the big thing with him is that we throw a lot at him because he has the special teams plays. All of a sudden you’re having to learn the special teams and you’re having to learn this and the protections. He’s one of those guys that can do so many things that it’s a blessing and a curse. It helps you get on the field but it also … he has magnified study from the average guy because he’s learning a bunch of different positions. We split him out a little bit and then also the special teams. I think all four of those guys, the arrow is pointing up. We’re really, really pleased. I think they’re really going to be good, fun football players for the Dolphins fans and for us. I think you’re really going to see them affect some games, even more so – those three skill guys – before this year is over, you’ll see them affect a couple games in a big way, which they already have. Tunsil has, just by his play; Jakeem with his punt return. But I think all four of them, you’re going to keep seeing them show up on that box score and say, ‘Man, they had an impact.’”
(You mentioned RB Arian Foster’s presence in the running back room. For veteran presence, now that he’s kind of more of a secondary type of guy, does that now need monitoring to make sure he stays engaged and doesn’t get down on the situation?) – “He’s like everyone – he’s got a role. I don’t know if he’s been secondary as much as he’s been recovering from an injury. He hasn’t been healthy. He’s been nursing that thing. He’s been fighting to get back on the field. I’d probably stop short of saying a secondary role, his role is still really, really important for us. Maybe it’s not in carries, which would be the out-front thing you measure, but as far as presence and some of the things we ask him to do, yes. He’s no different from anybody; he’s got to keep fulfilling his role. We won a couple of games. There’s a long way to go in this thing. We’ve got to keep improving and everyone’s got to keep doing what they’re supposed to be doing and he would fall in that category too. It is bigger than carries, if you will, in a lot of cases.”
Adam Gase – October 24, 2016
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Monday, October 24, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(When you’ve won two in a row, is it a good time for a bye? Do you like the momentum continuing six days from now?) – “I think where we’re at right now, this is probably a good time for us to have this week. I think if guys keep doing what they’ve been doing the last three or four weeks as far as their preparation, that has really been the biggest thing for us, and it’s translating to Sunday. They’ve stuck with everything that we’ve been talking about since the beginning. They’ve amped it up as far as how they’ve gone about their business and not listening to outside noise and staying together as a group, and they kept fighting. So, that was … That has really been our main reason for improving on Sundays.”
(Aside from the victory, what did you like most about your team’s performance?) — “I think just two weeks in a row now we’ve had the type of energy, attitude, speed that we’re looking for on Sundays. You didn’t see anybody waver when we were down. You saw a bunch of guys just kept fighting. You saw both sides of the ball trying to encourage each other. They were playing off each other. They were doing the best they could to do that. We let up a long touchdown, then we have a good drive on offense. We had some response instead of everybody, where earlier in the season (we) probably had a couple situations where heads went down. But you didn’t see that, especially the last two weeks. You just saw guys kept plugging along, understanding it’s a 60-minute game. It’s a new series every time we go out on the field and what happened the last series is irrelevant.”
(The sixth offensive linemen, what was the thinking behind that? Did you wind up doing it more than…) – “No. That was kind of our game plan. We wanted to go in. We were down on tight ends, and obviously ‘Q’ (MarQueis Gray) is one of our better special teams players. So, we just felt like that was a good way for us to give him a little bit of a break. Plus, you know having Sam (Young) there, I know he’s going to do the right thing, and he’s going to max out and give everything he has. He did a good job with what we asked him to do. We felt like that would maybe help us even in the run game a little bit. Dion (Sims) had been very effective for us for most of the season as far as a run blocker, and I didn’t want to put ‘Q’ and ‘D.J.’ (Dominique Jones) in a position to where they were doing a lot of things that they haven’t really had a chance to do. It was a way for us to get some snaps off those guys and, at the same time, see if Sam could help us in the run game.”
(Can T Sam Young run a seam route?) – “No.”
(Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan said after the game that they tried everything to stop the running game. How good is it as a play caller, how good does it feel to know that everybody knows what to expect, but they still can’t stop you?) – “It is a good feeling, because you have a lot of room for error. I think when you have the five guys we have up front, I have a lot of trust in those guys, and I have a lot of trust in our offensive line coach as far as putting together a great run game plan every week. We’ve stuck to our process. I think the attitude (of) the offensive line has been unbelievable the last two games, because they basically said, ‘Put the entire team on our back, and we’re going to flip this thing.’ They’ve done that, because it has made a difference on defense. Now the defense has had two games in a row of 53 plays. That’s what we’re looking to do, and I think the credit really goes to the offensive line. Jay (Ajayi) has done a good job of doing exactly what he had been doing since the spring – getting better, figuring out a way to where does he fit in this scheme. Now, he has a great understanding of how he needs to run behind this line, and it has paid off, especially the last two weeks. His production has been through the roof. He has been so decisive that even when we are wrong upfront, he makes them right.”
(What is the most special thing about RB Jay Ajayi? What is the thing that really separates him?) – “To start off – like you guys would say – I anointed him before there was really a competition. The reason why I felt so comfortable with him early was he understood the why, and he made the least amount of mistakes. He was doing a good job. He had a couple of setbacks here and there. Then like I keep saying, we had a rough 10 days. But he stuck with this process. He got back and centered himself and then started over and did the same thing. He knew what to do. He knew how to do it. He kept making improvements. When we hit that Tennessee game – and he had more carries and we were trying to make him … Really, the carries were centered around him. We just didn’t have a ton of plays, so it didn’t feel like that to anybody. Everybody was like … We had 44 plays. I think he had … I can’t even remember. It was like nine carries, 13 carries, right? That was kind of our starting point and if you guys remember when I came by, I was like, ‘He played well, and he was one of the few people that did play well.’ You kind of build off that and then when we got to the Pittsburgh game, we had more plays. We were able to give him more carries, and then you could see how effective he was, because that’s a big man running hard, not slowing down, sticking his foot in the ground, getting north and guys are trying to tackle him, and he’s running through arm tackles. Now all of a sudden we started getting all these explosive plays, and it carried over to this week. We went with the same mindset of, ‘If we get him going, let’s let him keep going.’ He makes it hard to go away from the run, because it’s just positive plays so many times. You just know if we’re in third down, it’s going to be third-and-manageable.”
(With the offensive line, I’ve heard them make that pitch to, ‘If we run the ball, we can be good,’ for years. What made you actually buy into what they were selling?) – “When you get into situations to where … It really comes down to third down. If you’re in third-and-10 all day and you’re running the ball on first and second down, the chances of you converting – the percentages – are very low. But when you’re first down, second down, first down – or anytime you do get to a third down – and it’s third-and-5 or less, that makes you want to keep staying with it, and that’s them basically saying to me, ‘We can run the ball. Keep it going.’ Really, it’s all about positive plays. If you have tackles for loss, or you’re having no gains, that’s when it makes it tough, because now you’re in long situations on third down. They’re hard to convert in this league. These guys have done a great of making sure that we’re having a lot of positive plays in the amount of rushes we’re having.”
(So, it’s their success that makes you say, ‘Okay, let me stick with it?’) – “I think when you’re a play caller, you’re thinking ahead all the time. When we’re on second down – and it’s second-and-6 – my mind is going right away to, ‘What’s my third-and-6 call? What’s my third-and-2 call? What’s my short-yardage call? What if it’s first down? What personnel?” There are a lot of things going through your head, and these guys make it easier, because it’s second-and-6 and then we’re first-and-10. I’m not having to worry about a lot of these things, because these guys are doing such a great job of executing everything that we’re calling in the run game, and you’re seeing the movement off the line of scrimmage. I mean Jay (Ajayi) is getting 2 yards before he gets anybody near him. These guys have taken our scheme and (are) executing at a high level, which is a lot of reason we’re having the success.”
(From a physical standpoint, it’s physically taking a toll on their bodies. How can you manage that to make sure that it stays at a high level?) – “I think they’re doing a good job as far as I see – that group especially – but you’re seeing a lot with the defensive line as well, and a lot of the guys that have to do a lot of the hitting on defense, to where they’re doing things on Mondays and Tuesdays to try to re-generate their bodies. That’s the key in this league is availability. If they keep doing the right things as far as when we’re not playing and not practicing, that’s going to give us our best chance to keep these guys healthy. But it’s the entire week. They’re not going to make it to Sunday in the weather down here, as far as conditions go, if they’re not good Monday through Saturday. That’s hydration, eating, the way they do their activation, the way they practice. Everything they do is going to add up on Sundays. If we’re not taking care of ourselves during the week and expect Sunday we’re going to be alright, that’s when we’re going to have issues. But guys have done, especially the last two weeks, they’ve done everything right leading up to the game. That’s why we’re having different results.”
(A couple of questions about WR Jarvis Landry from yesterday. Have you talked to him about his actions, and also, when you went back and watched the clip, what did you think of that hit?) – “I think as far as the hit goes, obviously hitting him high, that’s what’s going to get the flag. I think it was such a fast play. His job is to come back on that play. His job is to take care of the safety, and that guy showed up really fast. He was coming downhill hard, and he was in a low position. I think, for him to make that hit, he has got to lower his target zone. It’s just like on defense. The rules are set up for players’ safety, and we have to do a better job as far as adjusting. When we put ourselves in that kind of position, you have to understand the situation that we’re going through. I know the way that Jarvis plays, it’s going to be aggressive, it’s going to be intense. And for anybody to start thinking (it was a) dirty play and things like that … I’ve been around the guy for less than a year; I haven’t seen that from him. I’ve seen a guy that tries to go … When we coach him up on things, he’s trying to do it the right way. I know things happen really fast in the NFL, but those rules are put in place for a reason. We have to do a better job as far as coaching it and explain to him how he has to go about that play and then we need him to do it right, so we don’t get that kind of situation (and) then you’re avoiding guys getting hurt as well. So, that’s going to be something – moving forward – we have to just do a better job of it.”
(Have you sat him down though and talked about these things?) – “I’m not going to change the way he plays. I call plays for him early in the game for him to set the tempo. When he goes down in the Pittsburgh game, and we’re first-and-20, and he gets 22 yards and puts his head down and runs three guys over and our entire sideline explodes and it sets the tempo for the game, that’s why he is who he is. The taunting penalty, that’s not what I want. But I need him to play the way he needs to play. We need to be smarter on those things. Between taunting and the post-play activities, we need to be smarter there, because we’re losing yards; but I want him to keep bringing his intensity every week.”
(With RB Jay Ajayi and the offensive line, do you feel like you guys have established an identity on offense?) – “I think we have a good idea of what we can do. I mean, we’re going to have to … every week, you’re going to have to prove yourself over again. I know when we do get to the (New York) Jets, we’re going to have to prove it all over again because they’re not going to care what we did last week. They’re going to come in and they’re going to be like, ‘Okay, run it, because we’re going to stop you.’ So, we’re going to have to go back to work when we get out for practice for that week and re-establish everything all over again. This league has not changed for I don’t know how many years. It’s all about what you do the next Sunday.”
(You touched on WR Jarvis Landry and you’re not going to change him for nothing, when his first down celebrations are starting to become legendary, I know that one caused him a penalty, but you kind of…) – “I guess I don’t really notice them because I am on to the next play. All I know is, if we get a first down, I don’t care what he does if it’s within the rules.”
(Are you surprised at all by how well the offensive line played the last two weeks because of the fact they weren’t together at all the first five weeks?) – “Not really. I mean they had the mindset from the get go, if that group got together, that there was going to be a big-time change in what happens. That starts with (Mike) Pouncey and I think ‘B.A.’ (Branden Albert) is right there with him. Ther ewas something different last week. When we played Pittsburgh, those guys let me know early. ‘You just keep calling runs and don’t worry about the quarterback, he won’t be touched,’
(How tempting is it to go play action when RB Jay Ajayi is running so well?) – “It … I mean it’s tough. It’s tough for me sometimes. What we did yesterday was best for what we needed to do to win the game. We called some play actions and there were a couple times where we either got to get open or … they actually, there were a few times where they called some really good coverages against what we had called on offense. Ryan (Tannehill) made the right decision. He bailed some of those play calls out, especially … the third-down play that he made to Jarvis (Landry) was … I mean he had nothing. We had leakage and he made a great play. It’s nice when you run those play-action passes, being two-man routes though, sometimes it’s tough. You don’t have a lot of options and you need the wide outs to win and if they play the right coverage, they can take everybody away.”
(S Michael Thomas played every snap plus 17 snaps on special teams. He took responsibility for the touchdown to Marquise Goodwin. How did you assess his performance and what does it say that he accepted responsibility for that bad play?) – “Well, that’s why he’s one of our captains. That’s why he’s a leader. Obviously, with as far as the coverage goes, sometimes we overthink things – players and coaches. The thing at the end of the day we have to remember is: that’s why there are 11 guys on the field. Everybody’s trying to do a job and it takes all 11 to be able to cover that route and make sure that doesn’t happen. So we’ll learn from that. Him playing that many plays, he’s almost doing our team a solid. He’s selling out for our team because he knows if he comes off of special teams, that’s going to be a big void for us. That’s one of the reasons why it’s probably good this bye week happens because we do need to re-evaluate some of the situations we have as far as who’s our guys on special teams. Damien (Williams) played quite a few snaps on offense as well. Obviously, he’s very impactful for us and he’s one of our core special teams guys. (Kenyan) Drake, same thing. So we need to keep figuring out a way to balance between playing offense or defense and special teams. Obviously, Mike (Thomas) is in a different role now. We need somebody else to step up so when (Special Teams Coach Darren) Rizzi puts these things together there’s a trust factor there. Yesterday was a good example of when you lose one guy, sometimes it can start a whole chain reaction. And that’s kind of what happened to us yesterday, where we had a couple of poor things happen to us on special teams and now we have to go re-evaluate and figure out the right guys to put in those situations.”
(Can you disguise coverage first of all, and do you feel like that’s kind of what took place there?) – “I mean, absolutely. If you disguise … You have to get to your landmark. It’s really, what can you do to get to your landmark? And sometimes, once again, you overthink it. You try to make sure … The quarterback is late kind of identifying what’s going on, but if you can’t get to your spot, that’s what happens. The angle is not right for you and you can’t make a play. I mean it’s an experience thing for the most part. A lot of guys you see that are veteran safeties know how to do it. The more times you get to do it, the better feel that you have for it. The way we have to practice, especially if you get thrown in a week, you tried in practice but going in a game and playing against that guy and having scout team run are two different animals.”
(The bye week, do you guys do a lot of self-scouting as coaches? What are you going to be doing?) – “We had that Thursday night game, so that kind of helped us a little bit as far as getting ahead of that. We’re going to go back and re-assess some things we have been doing. Obviously, the way we’re running the ball right now, we’re going to have to just make sure … like yesterday, it almost felt like we didn’t have enough in the running game. I kept trying to reach for formations and trying to make some stuff up there just trying to figure out a way to disguise some of the stuff we were doing. I feel like they pretty much knew what was coming a lot of the times. We’ll have to go back through and just kind of make sure we’re putting our guys in a good position and if we’ve got to formation some things different, but I’m pretty sure most defenses will be able to figure out what we’re doing in the run game.”
(Are you and your staff taking any time? Are you getting away from football?) – “Yes, I’m sure we’ll take some time here at the end of the week. We’ve got a process of how we want to do things. It’s really kind of on our coordinators how hard they want to work these guys this week. So they might have a mutiny on hand.” (laughter)
(How do you re-create more runs?) – “Just formationally. You try to hide them. I mean teams know what’s coming. We’ve just got to do the best job we can to try to put our guys in position to where we’re leveraged right, just disguising the formation, the personnel groups, things like that. You just keep mixing things up and keep executing what your game plan is as far as what you do well.”
(How difficult is that? I mean, you’ve been on the other side where a team has a new identity during the season.) – “It can be tough on the defense if you start moving things around. And then offensively, it’s not as hard because it is just formationally, it’s the same scheme. The thing that you can do, you can put yourself in a bad position if you’re doing something that gives them better leverage than what you’re looking for. So you just have to be careful there. Sometimes there isn’t a whole bunch of things you can do. You just line up and you say ‘We’re doing this and go ahead and try to stop it.’”
Michael Thomas – October 24, 2016
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Monday, October 24, 2016
Safety Michael Thomas
(There are guys who want to have a bye week or guys are winning and want to continue to play. Where do you stand on that?) – “It’s always good to have a bye week in the middle of the season. Guys (are) a little banged up, even if it’s not significant. So, (we will) get the bodies back healthy, keep that intensity up, get your mind away from football a little bit, but don’t forget about the Dolphins too much. Come back ready to go; ready to work.”
(Any big plans you’re doing?) – “(I will) probably do some hurricane relief out in The Bahamas. I know Terrence Fede is going to Haiti. Some guys are going to be doing community work, but for the most part, guys are spending time with their family.”
(I noticed you played 100 percent of [defensive] snaps and then also had 17 special teams snaps. How hard is it to do all that?) – “I had to do it in the later part of last year, so I was mentally prepared for it. The team was smart, trying to take me off a few special teams (units), even though I am a special teams captain. Congrats to John Denney for getting that ‘C’ (captain’s patch) on his chest now, too. (I) had to be prepared more mentally and go out there, go as hard as I can and be smart about it. When the team sees I’m fatiguing a little bit, (it’s the) next man up on special teams and next man up on defense.”
(Why was it important for you to go on Twitter and set the record straight about that deep pass?) – “Because 1) Vance Joseph wants to create a culture about truth. Every man has to be accountable for his actions, and he made the perfect call right there, and I let disguise jeopardize my responsibility right then. It was important to me, because as a leader on this team, I want to make sure every DB (defensive back) – every player on this team, especially all the DBs – know I got their back, and I’ll never let them hang out to dry. If it’s something that I have to get cleaned up as a man, I owe that to my teammates. That’s my job. That’s something that I have to do. And if I can’t do it, they’re going to put somebody else in who can.”
(Is there a point where disguising coverage for too long can …) – “Definitely. That’s why you’re never supposed to … that’s a rule that can never happen. You’re never supposed to let disguise jeopardize your responsibility and I did just that. I broke that rule and that can’t happen. On that one play, 10 other guys did their job and I was the guy who didn’t.”
(Bills WR Marquise Goodwin is one of the fastest men in the world. Is that basically … the question is what role did Marquise Goodwin’s speed play?) – “You saw exactly what role it played. (laughter) He hit the gas on me but that can’t happen. I have to understand what type of play that is and just make sure that I’m able to get my job done right there.”
Branden Albert – October 24, 2016
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Monday, October 24, 2016
Tackle Branden Albert
(RB Jay Ajayi gets the headlines but the offensive line he has to run behind. How much pride do you have to block for back-to-back 200 yard games, only the [fifth] time that it has been done?) – “It just says a lot about the progress we’re making each and every week. We’re doing what the coaches are asking of us. All five of us are doing a good job and the running back is doing a good job running the ball and everybody on offense – the wide receivers are blocking, the tight ends – it’s a whole unit getting the job done.”
(What does it feel like to be the group that is setting the tone for the entire team?) – “It feels good. We can see the potential we have as a group but we still have to get better at certain things and we’ve just got to keep working.”
(A lot of people gave up on this team at 1-4, how rewarding is it now to be back in it?) – “I always tell people to get their panties out of a bunch, but all of you all laugh at me when I say it. (laughter) It’s the truth. We’re not trying to toot our horns or nothing, but it’s still early season and I know things (were) looking ugly for us in certain games, but we didn’t have all of our guns in. Now we’ve got everybody healthy and everybody working, and we’ve just got to continue doing our job.”
(Having said that, is it a good time for a bye week? You guys have it rolling.) – “My body hurts right now, I’m not going to lie to you. It’s a good time for a bye week but we’ve got to get back to work when we come back.”
(How do you get that body right again? I know rest is going to help.) – “Sleep, drink a lot of water and just enjoy the time off – get away from football for a few days. But at the end of the day, when we come back Monday, you know you’ve got to work.”
(A lot of massages between there?) – “Yes, I’m getting a massage today and probably before the weekend is out.”
(You seem like you could use a nap too.) – “Yes, it’s been a long morning; but we had a long game – a long last two games. It takes its toll on you.”
(When you watch that film and you see RB Jay Ajayi running and you see the lanes that you guys are opening up, what reaction do you get?) – “To be honest with you, we’re doing our job the way we’re supposed to do. I think Jay is doing a good job of … he’s making his own holes sometimes too and making guys bounce off of him. ‘D-Will’ (Damien Williams) ran the ball pretty hard yesterday too. I just think guys are finishing and we’re getting in the right places and Mike (Pouncey) is getting us in the right place and when he’s doing a good job, we’re doing our jobs.”
(When you watch RB Jay Ajayi year over year, from last year to this year, are there any differences that you see?) – “I didn’t know that he had it in him like that. I really didn’t. I knew he ran hard, but I didn’t know he ran this hard. It seems like the more we get into the game, the more he gets better. That’s an added bonus for us.”
(You mentioned that RB Jay Ajayi is a guy that sometimes makes his own way when things aren’t necessarily blocked up the right way, how inspiring is that for the offensive line?) – “That’s real inspiring because it’s not going to be perfect. We’re not going to be perfect. Sometimes we’re going to get beat. I know yesterday on a back-side play, I got a guy … sometimes things happen and someone else makes up for your mistake. That’s part of being a team.”
(You personally, how do you feel like you’re playing in 2016?) – “I’m playing okay. I’m never saying I’m playing great or good. I think I’m doing good enough to help this team wins and that’s all that matters.”
Jay Ajayi – October 24, 2016
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Monday, October 24, 2016
Running Back Jay Ajayi
(Obviously this is a platform you can get used to after doing what you’ve been doing the past few weeks?) – “Yes. It’s been a good past two weeks. (I’m) just trying to continue being consistent, keep doing a good job on offense and playing together as a team.”
(You were like a kid in a candy store when people reference the fact that you’re one of only one of four backs to ever to that in back-to-back weeks and you ran down the list and said how you can appreciate being in that company.) – “Yes, I mean it’s amazing company to be with. All of those guys are Hall of Fame players, guys that pioneered at the running back position and so to be in that list is a great thing to have. Now it’s about continuing to build off of it and just keep winning games. I mean that’s really the best thing about all of this stuff is that we’re winning finally, and so we just want to keep that up.”
(How’d you feel getting out of bed this morning?) – “I felt good. (I’m) still kind of sore, just from the usual game of playing in an NFL game. (I’m) just back to the normal routine of re-gen and therapy, but other than that, yes I feel good.”
(What is your routine for re-gen and therapy?) – “I try to come in and do some stuff with the trainers – either ice down (or) get in the cold tubs. I go do cryotherapy as well and also getting stretched, working with (Director of Sports Performance) Wayne (Diesel) and the sports science staff. So there are a lot of resources and tools we have here to use, and I try to use as much of them as I can.”
(What is cryotherapy like?) – “It’s cold. It’s a thing I just started actually doing this season. I had never really tried it before or done it. I got to start doing it and I think that it’s been doing really well for me. I like doing it so it’s something I’m going to continue.”
(Can you talk about the effectiveness of the offensive line, the blocks they’ve been giving for you, the downfield blocking as well and how much that’s aided in what you’re doing?) – “Yes, I think there’s a very good confidence level right now that we have with those guys going into the game. All of those guys, being healthy, I felt great running behind them. I know they’re going to open up creases and holes for me to get to the second level and it’s just about running hard. I also think we’ve done a great job of keeping ‘Tanny’ (Ryan Tannehill) off his back and allowing him to go through his reads. The success of our offense is definitely a big credit to what those guys have been doing.”
(T Branden Albert said that he isn’t interested in any dinners yet. He said that you offered to take them to dinner and he said, ‘No, we’re not ready for that yet.’) – “Yes. I mean last week, I just wanted to show some appreciation to those guys. They kind of just told me, ‘It’s not a one hit thing,’ and ‘Let’s do it again.’ And lo and behold, we did it again. Really, we’re kind of just saving (the dinner) I guess for after the season when we can look back on what we’ve accomplished this year and really be able to hang our hat on something. Right now, it’s about just pushing forward and keep building.”
(What’s been the biggest difference for you, year over year, or has it been a matter of opportunity?) – “I think it’s been a little bit of both – taking your opportunity and making the most out of it. I think also, with me, just personally, I’m learning a lot about myself. (I’m) taking each week by itself and kind of just pushing to get through what happened earlier this year and move forward from that. Now being in this position, it feels good, and we just want to keep building off of that and not be satisfied.”
(You have to be careful. Those offensive linemen and dinner. That can get a little, you know?) – “It’s worth it. To keep those guys happy, keep them wanting to keep blocking their tails off for me and for the rest of the offense. I think we’ve been able to do some really good things on offense and we’re starting to play collectively as a team. We just want to keep this rolling. It feels really good to win. You guys have seen how it is kind of when you get those losses piled up. So now, we’re starting to kind of catch a rhythm and we want to keep it going through this bye week.”
(Have you talked to your peeps that didn’t start you last week in fantasy football and I’m sure they did this weekend.)– “Yes, they didn’t make that same mistake. They trusted me and I paid off for them.”
(You talked about learning about yourself, what did you learn about yourself?) – “Just to put my head down, get back to work, get back to focusing on what’s important and just work on being consistent. And to be ready for that opportunity when it came and to just really take it and run with it.”
(Do you realize how big this has gotten? I mean, you’re on SportsCenter now and it’s a national story. Have you gotten your head around how big this is?) – “It’s crazy. Every now and then I catch a clip or something on TV. I mean, it’s crazy. I just want to keep it up, though. I just want to keep building off of it and see where this can go. I mean I’m just really excited of where this team is at more than myself because I think that we still we have a lot of room to go and we can reach our goals if we just continue to just take it week by week and play consistently together.”
(There’s a lot of talk about the tackles that you break. When you have the ball, would you rather run around the guy or over him?) – “I think, when it comes down to it, when I run it’s a lot of just instincts and kind of not thinking too much. So, there’s times where my body tells me to just try and run through someone or try and make them miss. And so, really it’s just about constantly trying to pick up positive yards for this team (and) make big plays. So when the ball is in my hands and I can see those creases from the o-line (offensive line) and then I just hit them, it’s about trying to make a big play and get in that end zone.”
Adam Gase – October 23, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 23, 2016
Postgame – vs. Buffalo
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by Michelle Stone)
(Two games, very similar. Is this becoming a pattern for your football team?) – “This was the way we thought we were going to have to play this one. We knew it was going to be this style of game. We wanted to make sure that we established the run game as early as we could. (We) tried to do the best we could as far as … We wanted to move Ryan (Tannehill) around a little more, but they did a really good job of shutting down the edges, which caused some problems as far as getting him outside the pocket. We were trying to do the same thing, make it a shorter game for our defense. If we could have got them … We let them kind of make it a one dimensional game. We could never really pull ahead early.”
(How much did it help you in that first quarter when RB Jay Ajayi went for 49 yards and was ripping holes and ripping yards through the line of scrimmage?) – “Anytime that happens early, it gets everybody’s confidence up knowing that, ‘Alright, we have a good rhythm,’ really before you anticipate it. He did a good job of running through arm tackles and our line did a good job as far as sticking on guys and finishing blocks.”
(What can you say about back-to-back games over 200 yards? Only the fourth in the NFL to accomplish that.) – “I think it’s a great job of those guys up front opening holes, and then he has done a great job of being decisive and hitting it and just getting every inch he can. He has done a great job with his ball security. He has done exactly what we’ve needed him to do.”
(You seem to be very patient with the running game – staying with it, staying with it, staying with it. Was that your plan going in?) – “Jay just seems like … He’s really a rhythm-type guy where it might take a second sometimes for us to get some of these runs going, but he has popped a few earlier than I anticipated. For myself, I keep reminding myself to stay with him, because he seems to find the right hole and pops it, and it becomes a 10-, 12-yard gain. That’s my biggest challenge is always just staying with it. Sometimes it’s easier to start throwing it around, because the yards come quicker, but staying with him and letting him get into a rhythm is really critical for us.”
(You spent the first five games looking for a go-to back to step up to the plate. You got one now? Do you feel comfortable with Jay carrying the load now?) – “I think we’re just going to look at each week differently. We’ll see how it plays out (and) what’s best versus that team. Obviously, he’s the guy that has done everything that we’ve needed him to do, especially these last two games. We’re going to into the next game, we’ll see what the best thing is for us that week.”
(To talk about the next game, after two good wins like this, is it almost disappointing that you have a bye week coming up?) – “No, I don’t think so. It’s pretty late in the season for us right now. Our guys have been practicing hard and playing hard on Sundays. Our guys are probably ready for that bye week. We’ve been pretty banged up. We finally got a little bit healthy, but after every game, our guys are hurting. They’re coming out to Wednesday’s practice, and they’re still not right. We probably need this week.”
(What do you think is happening on third down – the last two weeks being so much better on third down conversions?) – “Quarterback has got a nice pocket. That’s the only difference. He’s not on his back.”
(Is it sometimes that simple, the difference in your team the last two weeks?) – “Yes. It makes a big difference when he can actually take a three-step drop and not get smoked.”
(What did you see on RB Damien Williams’ go-ahead touchdown run? It looked like a couple of guys carried him in.) – “That’s how he runs. This is every game. Every time he plays, you just know – especially in the fourth quarter – you give him the ball, the first guy is not going to get him. He’s going to take two or three guys with him.”
(Your team’s disposition today, its physicality – without S Reshad Jones – specially on both sides of the ball, what did you think of it? Was it the best it has been all season, the most efficient? How would you describe it?) – “I think the last two weeks, our guys are trying to come out, they’re trying to hit. We’re running the football. Their team is going to run the football. Our guys are doing a better job as far as assignments on defense and trying to make sure that we’re not having huge plays, and we’re tackling better, because we’re gang tackling. I think it really comes down to guys are playing with energy, effort, physicality. They’re trying to make sure everything they do, it’s about physicality for us right now.”
(They went ahead 17-6, and you got the ball and you ran eight times in 10 plays on that touchdown drive. Were you tempted to pass? What was going through your mind when you went out in the second half?) – “A lot of times when you get into those situations, my brain almost goes to, ‘Stick with what’s working.’ You’re trying to think, ‘Okay, what was successful?’ The one thing I do know is that every time that No. 23 (Jay Ajayi) kept getting the ball, he was popping a run. It was just leaning on him, leaning on the offensive line. I’m sure (Mike) Pouncey walked by me like 25 times and said, ‘Keep running it.’ That might have gotten into my head after a while. I trust those guys up front. Those five together play well together, and then Jay just seems to have a good feel for how they’re blocking things. And our tight ends did a great job as far as covering up the edge and doing everything they could to either seal it off or widen the guy out to where Jay could hit it.”
(Your defense, especially in the second half, really kept you in the game. You had some opportunities. You had some good field position. They really weren’t able to come up with anything until that last touchdown.) – “That’s what we’re trying to do as far as just playing a little bit of complementary football. We’re still a little spotty at times to where one side gets hot and the other side kind of fizzles out. It would be nice if we could play together a little bit better. But that was the big thing. We kind of stalled out there in the third quarter and our defense did a great job as far as making sure (we were) holding them, whether they punted or a field goal on a short field. (Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) did a great job getting those guys ready and making sure all the things that they do … It’s a tough offense to stop, especially when the running game is rolling.”
(A lot of penalties. Do you disregard that because it’s a victory?) – “No. It’s dumb. The penalties we have, they’re not the kind of penalties that you say, ‘We had a holding call, because the guy stood back inside and he held them.’ The things we’re doing right now, it’s just absolutely dumb.”
(Special teams – you had the punt blocked. What went wrong?) – “We’ll take a look at it. It’s hard, for me sometimes to tell right after the game. When you’re in the moment, when you’re trying to communicate with (Special Teams Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach) Darren (Rizzi), I’m flipping all over the place as far as offense, defense. We had the punt. We had a couple of things that didn’t quite go the way we wanted to on kickoff return. I know he’ll take a close look at this and try to figure out, ‘Okay, who are the best guys to have out there?’ I know he has lost a couple of guys the last couple weeks as far as now they’re playing more on defense. It kind of puts him in a bad spot. He has got some new guys playing on a lot of his teams. So, we’ve got to get some things cleaned up and this will be a good week for us to do it.”
(The home stand – overall, now you’re 2-1, the bye week, and then the Jets. What have you thought about this home stand? Have you protected the home? Have you established an identity? What have you done in these three games?) – “How many games have we played? Seven. We’ve got a ways to go.”
Cameron Wake – October 23, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 23, 2016
Postgame – vs. Buffalo
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(The mentality, the physicality that you guys have had the last two weeks – is that what you thought this team would be coming out of camp or has that just kind of evolved and taken you guys by surprise? ) – “Definitely not a surprise. At some point you’ve got to draw a line in the sand and say that’s enough. We knew coming into this game it was going to be that kind of game. They had been running the ball well. The front seven, that’s something you’ve got to take personal. I think guys, top to bottom, put into their mind that that’s not going to be something we’re going to allow. So today we went out there and put our foot down.”
(What’s different from the past couple of weeks opposed to the first six weeks of the season?) – “Consistency. Even the first few weeks of the season we’ve shown that we can do it. Again, you can’t play seven, six snaps and let the last four go. The good or bad thing about defense – you can have six great series and one bad one and it kind of ruins everything. Offense may not be that way. You have five great plays, five touchdowns, you get a pat on the back. Vice versa on defense. You play 99 percent great and give up a few scores, it doesn’t work. You have to play the entire game, every play, because you never know which one is going to be the one that changes the game.”
(You just didn’t win two games, you beat two hot teams. So what does that say about where your team is at now?) – “To me, I don’t look at it like that. Every time I go out there it’s going to be a tough battle, it’s going to be a good team. You’ve got to fight to win every snap and I feel like the guys we have on this side of the ball, the guys we have on this team … when we play together, play complimentary football, whether it’s offense doing their thing driving the ball, eating up the clock, defense goes out there and gets the ball back to the offense, I think we’re going to be tough to beat. Because, again, that consistency that we were lacking, whether it was offense maybe not doing what they were supposed to do or defense not getting off the field … kind of messing up the complimentary styles, that’s where you get in trouble. So I think from top to bottom, again, it was a team win. Offense did what they were supposed to do. Defense did what they were supposed to do. And again, no one can beat us when we’re playing that way.”
(I know that winning is the bottom line and it doesn’t matter how you do it but the last two weeks you won in a physical nature. You beat the other team up a little bit. Does that make it sweeter? Does that make it more fun for a guy who plays at the line of scrimmage?) – “I personally like getting in there, getting a little dirty. I’ve always had that pit bull mentality. You don’t bring a Chihuahua to a dog fight. That’s the mentality you’ve got to have. It’s just man versus man. It’s my gap. I don’t care who’s going to be in there. I don’t care what you think. It’s mine, plain and simple. There’s no C+ in football, it’s pass/fail. I think every guy across the line, front and back end as well, that win it all mentality, where I got to win my match up. And that’s the only way we’re going to stop a team. Again, I was excited about somebody coming in here and saying that they’re going to run the ball down our throat … yeah, not so.”
(Besides getting one in the win column, for your first-year coach, these kind of wins, do they pay dividends for guys believing?) – “Well I’d like to think that guys who’ve been around this team from April believe … if you just started believing today then you’re kind of doing everybody a disservice. I think from the beginning of OTA’s when guys got together we knew what kind of team we were going to have, and like I said, getting that complimentary football together where the offense was doing what they need to do and we have their backs and vice versa. The last few games that’s what we’ve been doing. That belief, to me, that started back in March when guys started coming into the building. It’s just getting out there and getting back out on to the field and I’m looking forward to having more games like this.”
(You’ve been around long enough to know that when things don’t go well the quarterback gets a lot of blame. How do you feel for Ryan Tannehill when he gets time … you know Ryan’s personality; he’s not going to say it but is it unfair to judge him when he doesn’t have time back there in the pocket?) – “The mob is fickle. That’s just the nature of the beast. One minute they’re singing your praises, the next minute they’re trying to cut off your head. That’s football. And as a football player you have to know that going into the game. There’s no difference between the quarterback or anybody else. You’ve got to know the nature of the beast and you have to focus on your job at hand and the guy that you have playing with you. Again, I know him and have played with him every snap he’s ever played and I think I can say if he’s concerned with other people’s opinions he’d be doing the team a disservice. That’s not the way he’s built. He’s got the guys in this locker room, the guys in this building standing behind him 100 percent. He goes out there and does his job and every game he’s better and better. I don’t think he worries about the mob.”
(From a defensive player’s perspective on what we’ve seen from RB Jay Ajayi these past few weeks, what is he giving the defenses? What are you seeing?) – “Running the ball downhill. I like it. Obviously another guy from the moment he got here I knew the ability he had and just waiting for him to get his opportunity. Obviously, as a defensive guy sitting on the other side watching him – first down, first down, eating up the clock. We got guys getting on the bikes, staying warm. Long drives, putting up good yards. The run helps the pass. When you got that going it helps everybody out. From that standpoint I couldn’t be any happier for the guy.”
(Getting there on a consistent basis, how do you feel about your game personally playing in running situations the last couple weeks, how do you feel about your game personally?) – “Well, they say you’re only as old as you feel and I have a young mentality. Go out there and just, again, do whatever I can to help the team win. My role is kind of flexible and whatever the situation may be, I’m ready to go. Again, I’ve worked with the coaches from an injury standpoint, from the playing time, to the situation, all the things we’ve been working closely together about maximizing it for not only myself, but for the team’s best interest. I feel good. Any time I’m out there I want to do what I can to help the team win and if that means getting to the quarterback, let’s do it. If that means getting down in 3-technique and throwing around some guards, I’m ready for that too. The more the merrier, especially when the W’s keep piling up high, I’m all for it.”
Mario Williams – October 23, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 23, 2016
Postgame – vs. Buffalo
Miami Dolphins DE Mario Williams (transcribed by Armando Gonzalez)
(Two weeks in a row two big running backs have come in here and really not done much; is it a testament to what you guys have been doing upfront?) – “I think the biggest thing is simply us just going. It’s the same guys up there we’re rotating in and out trying to keep guys fresh and then on top of that the offense is doing a heck of a job. Hats off to them for sure the last two weeks, that is the biggest thing, it’s not something that you can hide it’s giving us the opportunity to take a breather and get out there and mix it up.”
(What does it mean to the defense when you know your offense even though you guys were down, they kept running and they didn’t abandon it?)– “It’s just being physical. We’re definitely trying to change the culture here and it starts with that. Being able to run the ball, being able to throw the ball off of that, as long as we keep it going we will be alright.”
(Early in the game, Reggie Bush, you lined up right across from him you guys were one and two in the 2006 draft, have you had an opportunity to talk to him at all?)– “No not during the game [laughter]. We’ve spoke before but we’re not like pen pals or anything but, he’s cool, I’m cool with him.”
(What have these two wins meant at this point of the season when it looked pretty bad and now you know?)– “It’s meant a lot but at the same time it’s two wins. When we come back from the bye week it doesn’t matter. We have to take it one game at a time no matter what we’ve done in the past. Just like the losses that we had we can’t let it affect us, we have to win this game.”
