Ndamukong Suh – October 19, 2016
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
(The Bills have been running big on a lot of teams. Could this be the biggest challenge you’ve faced just from the standpoint of an opposing running game?) – “Yes, they have a great running game. Obviously, I’ve played against LeSean McCoy plenty of times when he was in Philly. Obviously, he’s now in Buffalo so I’m excited to go against him and their overall offensive line. It’ll be a good challenge for us in the running game and (we’ll) go from there.”
(Was there much improvement you saw from the defensive line against the run? Obviously there was a long run by [Darrius] Heyward-Bey, but it seemed like there was progress holding Le’Veon Bell to 53 yards. Was there progress you think, playing the run last week?) – “I think that’s up to the interpretation of people and their own judgment, but at the end of the day, we did what we needed to do to stop the run game enough. I never think it’s perfect unless somebody has 0 yards. At the end of the day, we have to do what we need to do to be successful and find ways to win.”
(Are you pleased with your season so far, just from a personal standpoint?) – “I haven’t even looked at it like that so I don’t have an answer for you.”
(Any change in terms of, obviously defensive ends changed last week, any different for you in terms of playing with Cam [Wake] and Andre [Branch] more?) – “I play with everybody so I mean I know how to play with Cam and Mario (Williams), as well as Branch and ‘J.J.’ (Jason Jones). I obviously played with ‘J.J.’ a lot more in previous seasons. I’m excited to play with whoever is out on the football field.”
(Ndamukong, do you guys feel a difference on the defensive side of the football? Maybe playing less plays against the Steelers compared to some of the other games where you played. Did you feel fresher at the end of the game?) – “I honestly didn’t focus on that. Just going out there and having opportunities to play, I thrive at playing a lot of the plays, so whenever we get an opportunity to go out there and play and produce, it’s exciting.”
(It’s a team sport and you’re only one guy but how much personal responsibility do you feel in terms of elevating where you guys rank against the run? You’re 31st this year, 28th last year. Do you put that on your shoulders, even being one of 11 [players]?) – “It’s early in the season. We have a long way to go so I think we have a lot of great teams, obviously Buffalo in front of us, who we need to play against – great run defense. We’re going to have plenty of challenges, plenty of opportunities to get where we want to be.”
(Reshad is out. How much of an impact is that on this defense?) – “I’m not sure of the situation, so I can’t really comment on it, but if Reshad is out, if he is or not, we’ve got to have a next man up mentality. But, it would be a great blow to us. He’s obviously a great player – Pro Bowl safety – and a guy I enjoy playing next to.”
Mario Williams – October 19, 2016
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Defensive End Mario Williams
(How did you think you performed in the last game?) – “The situation and the offense maintained the ball very well. The time of possession was good. With the few plays that I was out there, it could have been better. With more plays, have more of a rhythm. But the situation at hand is the situation.”
(What was it like for you to not start the ball game on the field?) – “I mean, that was different. But at the same time, what I’m asked to do is what I’m asked to do. You just go out there and play and try to capitalize on the opportunities you get.”
(What is it like for you to go against your former team this week?) – “For me, it’s another opportunity just to play football, do what you love and go out there and play. It’ll be great to finally play against the guys live for the first time. I still have a lot of friendships and communication with those guys, so I’m sure it will be interesting.”
(Is there any extra motivation since you’re playing Buffalo this week?) – “No. The only motivation each and every week that I deal with is simply having the opportunity and the blessing to be out there on Sunday.”
(What kind of a gut punch is it for arguably one of the best defensive guys to possibly be out in Reshad [Jones]?) – “With his leadership and everything, that’s definitely something that’s going to be hard to replace. But you know, we have to step up. In situations in the NFL, things like this occur, anywhere across the board. So, it’s something that we all have to deal with and we all have to make adjustments for.”
(Is there any air you’d like to clear about your time in Buffalo and how it ended? Is there anything you’d like to say?) – “No. No, because I’m here. I’m in Miami and that’s not something that I speak about.”
(Do you expect to be still coming off the bench this week?) – “I have no idea. Like I said, it’s just whatever the coaches say as far as schematically or the amount of plays or whatever. That’s not my call on that part.”
(Coach said last week that changing the starting defensive ends is partly because you got gashed by Tennessee. Do you look at this as a challenge, not starting? Obviously not starting is unusual for you in your career. Do you look at it as a challenge as I got to get better?) – “By all means, I’ve got to get better regardless. Not even talking about the fact of that, I’ve just got to get better. I think that each and every one of us has to do the same in order for us to get to where we want to be at. Each and every one of us, we still has a lot of work to do, we still have a lot of rhythm to catch up with situations in the pass game, run game and whatnot. I think everybody will say the same thing.”
(Was the news of not starting a shock initially?) – “No, I had already talked … That had been … it’s an open locker room for us. We had already talked about different ways to get guys sparked or get guys going, try to manage snaps and things like that. The first five games were pretty heavy on the defense as far as the amount of snaps and things like that, so no, that wasn’t a surprise.”
(Who would you say is one or two of your closest friends on the Buffalo Bills?) – “Probably Jerry (Hughes).
(Which guy?) – “Jerry Hughes.”
(What do you guys have to do to get LeSean McCoy stopped because he seems to be going on a tear right now?) – “The biggest thing with him is, obviously he’s a great athlete. He makes plays all over the field, no matter where it’s at. I think the biggest thing is the more hats to the ball, the better chance you have to minimize … You’re not going to stop an athlete like that completely. It’s very rare. If you don’t bring guys to it, he’s going to do it more often than you want. So, I think the biggest thing for us is that we all have to have those extra hustle plays.”
(You didn’t want to talk to the Bills media this week?) – “I didn’t?”
(They asked for you on the conference call. It never got to you?) – “I’ve got a good filter, I guess. (laughter) I never got (that).”
(I didn’t know if you knew it happened) – “I know now. No, I didn’t know.”
(I just figured you put it behind you, if that was part of the decision) – “It would have been but I didn’t know. I really didn’t know that one.”
Cameron Wake – October 19, 2016 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Defensive End Cameron Wake Conference Call with Buffalo Media
(How do you like how the defense responded as a unit against a very good offensive Pittsburgh Steelers team last weekend?) – “I think we did alright. For a while, I’ve been preaching that as a unit – not just a defense, speaking as a team – we’ve got to come out and play complementary football. The offense does their job and helps out the defense. The defense does their job and helps out the offense. The same is true for defense – front end, back end, side to side – everybody has to play complementary. I think we did a decent job of that.”
(We read the reports coming out of Miami last week that [Head Coach] Adam [Gase] really may have tried to kick you guys in the pants in some ways by saying you have to play better. Did people make too much of that? Or did you guys maybe respond to what Adam said?) – “To be honest, we’ve needed to play better for about four weeks. It’s not something that is any different. Obviously he is a guy who is good at motivating the team. He’s got practice set up so that we’re put in tough situations and making sure that we try to simulate the things that we’re going to be seeing in a real-world game situation. Needing to play better, is there more made of it by guys on the outside? I think that’s just a general rule in football. We have to take care of the business that we take care of in this building and I think when we do that, we’ll be alright.”
(What have you seen from Mario [Williams] since he has joined the team?) – “(He’s a) hell of a guy, great football player, great teammate, and I’m glad that he is on our side.”
(What have you seen from the Bills running game so far this year, especially the last couple weeks) – “It’s something they’re doing well. It’s a situation, of course, where on our side, we’re focusing more on getting our job done. It doesn’t matter who you put back there or who you are playing, if guys are doing their job and in the places where they’re supposed to be, I think most of the things will take care of themselves. It’s just another week where you have to focus on your job at hand and I think the rest of the stuff will take care of itself.”
(When you look at what [the Bills] are doing with that run game, a lot of power runs and LeSean McCoy running as well as he has in his career, does it seem like a daunting task for a defense that obviously has had issues against the run) – “It’s a daunting task to play football in the NFL. No matter which team you’re playing, which week you’re playing, you’re going to be playing against the best of the best, the best to do it ever, the best in the world, so on and so on and so on. We did it last week and we’re going to do it next week and the week after. That’s just what happens when you play in this league. Any week where you’re not playing up to the best of your abilities, teams are going to find that missing link or find somebody out of their gap or find somebody not doing it right and take advantage of that. It’s no different this week, next week and for the next 10 weeks of the year. Daunting? It’s always daunting. Every week.”
(Is LeSean McCoy a different kind of back – unique – where maybe you have to approach him differently when he comes into a hole, because he’s so shifty and has such great vision, like maybe even slow-play him a little bit, whereas maybe other guys you can be a little more aggressive with, otherwise you might miss?) – “What do you think? How would you play him? (laughter)”
(Probably that way. I don’t want to tackle him. You have to do it.) – “You have to play your game. Be aggressive. Again, (LeSean McCoy is) a great running back. We played great running backs before. There will be more great running backs to play. There will be great receivers. There will be great quarterbacks. If every week you’re playing to them, then you’ve already lost. So, it is another week. Like I said, we’re going to go out there and do our job. When we do that, it doesn’t matter who’s the running back.”
(Are you surprised that Mario Williams got so few snaps last week?) – “I wasn’t surprised or unsurprised. I don’t really count snaps. I don’t even know how many snaps he played or not.”
(Mario Williams played 13 (snaps). It’s kind of small for a guy that got such a big contract.) – “Really?”
(I’m just wondering … You mention him being such a great teammate, a big part of the addition this offseason, I thought maybe you might have noticed that he wasn’t on the field that much.) – “No, I was worrying about the great football players I was playing against when the ball was being snapped.”
(Some people here questioned Mario [Williams’] effort, including his teammates. What have you noticed from him in that department?) – “I haven’t had any issues or noticed anything of that nature. Like I said earlier, he has been a great football player, great teammate, great guy. We’re semi-locker mates. We have great conversations, long walks on the beach – all that fun stuff.” (laughter)
(Have you noticed anything different? Is [Mario Williams] extra excited or nervous for the Buffalo game?) – “You have his number?” (laughter)
(No, I was asking you. You’re locker mates.) – “You want to call him (and) ask about what he’s got going on? (laughter) Honestly, I’m worrying about the quarterback, the running back, what plays they’re playing, how they’re playing, the tackles. I’m not a psychologist worrying about other guys and how they feel and what they’re doing. I couldn’t care less about of that business, because it doesn’t help me on Sundays. That’s really all I’m concerned about. If you all want to ask him when his birthday (is) or his astrological sign, maybe you guys should call him and find out about that. It’s not really (any) of my concern, and this is really a pointless conversation as far as football is concerned.”
(What do you make of the Bills offensive line, speaking of what you have to face, and how they seem to be working as a unit coming back in tact after last season?) – “The guys play well together. That’s something I think that – being a guy who has played against not this exact unit, but played against the Bills – that’s something they’ve been good at for a few years. Again, that’s another situation where we as a front, we’ve got to do the same thing. We’ve got to match as far as any kind of schemes or whatever they got put together. We’ve got to go out there and put it on the line. That’s the nature of the beast. If they’re going to be running the ball, you’ve got to be out there and play physical and play hardcore and see if they’ll be able to match our intensity.”
Adam Gase – October 19, 2016 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Buffalo Media
(Adam, what was the biggest difference you noticed last week that got you guys back on track?) – “I think the biggest thing that we did different was that we did a better job of executing our game plan and guys were on it from start to finish. We didn’t have too many mental lapses, which we’ve had in the previous games. That was really the biggest difference for us. Our energy level was really good and guys were really into the game and it was just 60 minutes of good football.”
(Why wasn’t Mario Williams more involved last week?) – “We made some changes. We’ve been moving some guys around. We’re just trying to find what the best lineup is for what we’re doing. We cut back some of his snaps to try to make sure that we use him as efficient as possible (and) put him in on some situations where there were more pass-down emphasis and just trying to make sure that when he’s able to go, it’s full go. We’ve had a lot of snaps on defense leading up before this last game. We were averaging close to 75 plays a game on defense and our guys were playing a lot of the run and between Mario and ‘J.J.’ (Jason Jones), they were getting pounded on pretty good. I think it just finally caught up to us as far as those guys taking so many snaps.”
(And you have been happy with [Mario Williams’] effort so far this season?) – “He’s done a good job in practice and there have been a lot of positives coming out of training camp and through the beginning of the season. I think some of our issues as far as what has happened to us on defense is we’ve done such a poor job on offense that we left those guys out on the field. When you’re taking on the blockers that they are the amount of times they are, I think our guys got worn down a little earlier than what we needed to. Last week we were just trying to get some fresh bodies going and try to get these guys back to being as healthy as possible and as fresh as possible.”
(Do you sense any added motivation from [Mario Williams] this week playing against the Bills and playing against Rex [Ryan]?) – “I haven’t talked to him about it yet. I know he’s had a couple of really good weeks of practice. He did a good job last week in the game. He made some plays. In the amount of snaps that he had, he was impactful for us. Hopefully we can just keep putting him into position to where he can make more plays.”
(Coach, is Reshad Jones definitely out and if you can tell us if he is, what kind of impact that has on your defense?) – “Yes, he will be out. We won’t get him back this season. It’s a big impact. Any time you’ve got a Pro Bowl player and you lose a guy … the leadership that he has brought for us has been something that I’ve asked of him about him speaking up on certain things and becoming more of a vocal leader, which was something that was outside of what he had really done in the past. But he embraced that role and has really done a great job as far as leading on and off the field. The thing we have to do now is we have to step up. Guys have got to move into some positions here that they need to make some plays and we’ve got to play great team defense.”
(Is there one player that will kind of take his spot so to speak? I know that he’s not a very replaceable player but how will your personnel look behind him?) – “We’ll go through this week of practice and kind of figure out what our best personnel package will be back there. We have a lot of moving pieces as far as what we like to do with defensive packages. We play a lot of different guys.”
(What did Jay Ajayi do to earn a bigger role and what made him take advantage of it last week?) – “It just kind of came where when Arian (Foster) got hurt in the New England game, we were trying to get a feel for what was the best way to go about it. We were rotating four backs there for a little bit. We just didn’t have a lot of plays. We went into the Tennessee game thinking that he was going to carry more of the load. For the amount of plays that we had, he was our high guy as far as attempts. He only had 13 carries but we only had 44 plays or something like that. That was kind of the point of emphasis going into that Tennessee game and then this last game, we finally put ourselves in some third-and-manageable situations, converted on some third downs, kept drives going and went more first down, second down, first down and stayed on the field, so that allowed him to have more attempts and he took advantage of it.”
(How do you approach it now though, with Arian Foster trying to get healthy, Jay Ajayi has a giant game, do you play the hot hand? Do you go that way? Or do you still try to have some kind of a mix?) – “Every game is going to be a little different. It’s really the flow of the game. That’s at least how I’ve gone in the past of how to figure out how you’re going to go about rotating the running backs. The hot hand thing, that’s real. When you get into a game and a guy really starts rolling, it’s hard to pull him out of there. We go in there with a certain plan of how we want to play guys. Obviously, it makes it easier as a play caller to have an idea who’s 100 percent, who’s healthy and what you can use guys (for) in certain situations. We need to go through this week of practice and figure out where Arian is at. I know last week, I felt like he wasn’t really where he wanted to be, but he knows his leadership is important for us. Guys really respond to him when he speaks. When he’s out on the field, there’s a comforting factor there, because of his veteran presence. I feel like I put him in a couple bad positions considering he wasn’t healthy. He wanted to be out there. He wanted to make sure that he could help if he could, as far as trying to help us turn things around.”
(Coach, can you just shed some light on the time you spent growing up in western New York before your family moved out to Michigan?) – “That feels like forever ago. I think I was there three years. I remember high school a little bit, but I don’t remember much before that. I enjoyed it. I remember going to a lot of Buffalo Bills games with my dad when Jim Kelly and those guys were still playing. That was fun to be around, because they were so good. Watching those offenses back then was impressive. It just felt like the ball was moving up and down the field all the time and remembering how dominating that defense was.”
(You spent one year at Williamsville South [High School] or how long were you there?) – “I was there one year.”
(What have you noticed about [Bills Head Coach] Rex [Ryan’s] defense and what makes it a challenge to prepare for?) – “I think the first thing you notice is how fast everybody is playing, how well that they’re flying to the ball; they’re getting turnovers. It looks like he’s able to keep his multiplicity of looks. We’ve seen – at least I’ve experienced in the past – to where guys are right with what they’re doing, and they’re executing what they’re putting in from week to week. They do such a good job as far as putting their guys in great position to where they can make plays. It makes it tough on the offense. You try to figure out what possibye could be going on, but at the end of the day, you need your players to react, because there are going to be some things you haven’t seen before. You try to put together a good game plan to where your guys aren’t confused by what’s going on, which is hard to do, because there is going to be looks that you haven’t seen yet.”
(Is the role you had in place for Mario Williams last week sort of what you envision for him going forward considering the effort you guys had on defense?) – “Every week is going to … It’s going to vary a little every week. We don’t try to put ourselves in a hole and say, ‘This is exactly what we’re going to be from here on out.’ We’ll make changes when we need to make change and if guys start playing well, we’ll start giving them more of a role. Every week it seems to change. It seems like somebody’s in one week and then out the next. So, we keep evaluating what we’re doing scheme-wise and then seeing who fits right – and where we’re at health-wise as well – plays an important part in that whole decision-making (process).”
(Coach, how does the potential return of Shaq Lawson to a defense that’s already doing a great job of pressuring the quarterback [and] getting sacks, impact what you’re doing?) – “I think any time you get players that can affect the quarterback and you get them back in the lineup, it just makes it that much more tough to prepare for. You have to find ways to make sure that you’re not putting your quarterback in a bad situation where he’s taking a ton of hits. It’s a tough assignment to do as an offensive lineman, because it’s one more guy coming in there that can affect the quarterback and affect the run game. We have to be on it as far as making sure we get guys covered up the best we can. The hardest thing with these guys (is) they play at a speed that’s tough to match sometimes. We have to do a great job as far as making sure we play the entire play.”
(Coach, what have you liked from Kiko Alonso this year?) – “He has been kind of our bell cow. He has done a great job as far as chasing the ball all over the field. He’s borderline reckless with his body. I know you guys got experience with him. You talk about a guy that just sells out every play, he’s the poster child for that for us. The good thing last week was we did a better job as far as our run-fit goes. So, he wasn’t saving the day as much last week as what he had to do the previous weeks where there’d probably be some more explosive plays if it wasn’t for him with his pursuit and just straight effort.”
Adam Gase – October 17, 2016
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Monday, October 17, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(Adam, we know, obviously, what DE Cameron Wake can do as a pass rusher over many years. We saw DE Andre Branch get 1.5 sacks yesterday. How did they play? And not only yesterday, but what’s your perception of them as run defenders – those two guys?) – “I thought they both did a good job. (They did a) really good job of executing the plan that ‘V.J’ (Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph) and those guys had in place. When they tried to run the ball, they were … a high percentage of time they were in the right gap and doing the right thing. Obviously, everybody had mistakes across the board, whether it be players or coaches. The good thing is a high percentage of time we were right. So, that gave us the best chance to have a lot more smaller gains.”
(Why go with that switch now at this point?) – “Every week we’re always going to look for the best lineup for us for that week. That was the lineup we wanted to go with this week. I know Vance and myself – just in the discussions we’ve had – we felt like we needed to move some pieces around (and) see what we could do different.”
(So, it was matchup specific?) – “I think a little bit of it was the fact that we got crushed by Tennessee, and they ran the ball all over us. We’re not going to stay the same. We’re never just going to shrug our shoulders and be okay with poor production, so we made a change.”
(Adam, there was a real sense of a turnaround yesterday. How confident are you that what happened is something you can build on?) – “I think it all goes back to when you come back today, you fix what you need to fix on film and then when you come back Wednesday and you’re 0-0 again. If we come back and think that winning one game is more important than whatever happened the previous weeks, then that’s when you’re going to put yourself in a bad situation. We need to come back Wednesday, and we’ll start over again. We’ve got to get ready for our next opponent. When we hit Sunday, nobody is going to care what we did the last week.”
(How’s TE Dion Sims?) – “He’s in the concussion protocol. That’s where it’s at right now, and that’s out of my hands.”
(Adam, your highs don’t seem too high and your lows don’t seem too low. Has that always been the way you’ve modeled yourself, or did you learn that from someone?) – “I think a little bit of it was the experience that I have had, whether it be being with Coach (Nick) Saban, leaving college to where we won quite a bit – won an SEC championship – and then going to Detroit (and) being there for five years and then just realizing this league is very difficult. The talent is so tight and every week is so different. You just never know what team is going to come out on top every week. It doesn’t matter where you’re ranked in the power rankings. Nobody cares on Sunday. It’s about guys going out there, doing their job, being ready for that game. That’s why when you lose a game, you do everything you can to not let one become two. Same thing when you win. You do what you do as well as you can, you win, you clean things up and you try to perform better the next week and try to make it two wins. In this league, you can’t go one way or the other. You better be ready to go the next week.”
(You’ve been critical at times of your own play calling. When you went back and watched yesterday’s game, what were you glad you did?) – “I think Kenny (Stills) coming back after that first – I think it was a third-and-10 and we threw an incompletion to Jarvis (Landry) – and him coming back and he told me, ‘Next third down just take a shot. They’re going to sit all over anything.’ So, that’s what we did. It was the 2-minute, I think, when we had that double move with Jarvis. That’s good player information coming back, because you can’t see everything all the time. You’ve got guys up in the booth, but the players are your best source of information, because they can tell you exactly how a guy is playing (them). Him coming back, that was big for me, because that put that in my head – wrote it down – and then once we got that opportunity again, it was giving one of those guys a chance to make a play. Ryan (Tannehill) did a good job of getting the ball out there. Jarvis did a great job of making that catch, because that was not an easy play just for the fact that he took a good shot to the back. But that was a big play in the game.”
(Adam, you’re pretty much even keeled, but there was a point there in the middle of the third – toward the end of the third – you got everybody together and there was a message – a clear message – there. Were you feeling in a good rhythm?) – “I don’t even remember, so that’s not good.”
(You have three players that are eligible to come off PUP or NFI. How far away is DE Dion Jordan from being able to practice? Do you think CB Chris Culliver will be limited this week or might he be able to go full-go?) – “I think we’ll have Zach (Vigil) and (Chris) Culliver be able to go through individual (drills) and see where they’re at. I don’t expect the same for Dion (Jordan). We’ll see where that is. I think this is going to be really week-to-week for us at this point, with all these guys. You can feel good at about one guy thinking, ‘We’re way ahead of schedule,’ or ‘We think we’re in good shape,’ and all of a sudden they go out there and it’s not right. We’ll have to go about our process (with) trainers, sports science – that whole crew that we deal with – doctors, and we’ll see where it ends up at the end of the week. We’re in no rush for anything. We just want to make sure those guys feel as good as they can before we actually activate anybody.”
(What makes you confident that the success that you guys have running the ball can be sustained?) – “Because of the five guys up front. That’s, maybe, the biggest difference for us. We actually had our five starters. Jay (Ajayi) did a great job as far as he saw a hole, he hit it. That’s part of the process of going through a new offense. Guys start feeling comfortable, they understand what’s going on, they know what their job is. The receivers did a great job of blocking. Tight ends did a great job. Guys knew exactly what they were doing, they knew why we were doing it and that started with the fact that the preparation was great. We had a good week of practice. Guys took extra time, made sure they knew why we were doing everything. When you do that, it gives you your best chance. And then obviously, with our five starting offensive lineman getting ready to play, it made a big difference.”
(How does disguising coverage as long as you guys did pre snap, how does that benefit the defense?) – “I think it gives them … It’s like being a step ahead. It makes the quarterback think maybe that half-second more than he wants to. You know in this league, the rush is coming quick. You’ve got to make a decision. When you’re a little bit late, that’s going to (cause) problems. That’s why we were constantly … We want to give that pass rush a chance to get going. If we can do some things and disguising coverages to where it makes them hold onto the ball a little bit longer, that’s beneficial to us.”
(Adam, was there any level of apprehension before the game regarding the offensive line, because it was their first game together, the five of them?) – “No. I felt good about it. Thinking back to the (preseason) Dallas game, that was really probably the last time where I really felt like we were rolling. So, I felt really good.”
(Adam, there was a play in the game where QB Ryan Tannehill rolled hard left and threw across his body down the sideline deep. What did the tape show you on that throw? It looked like one of the best throws he has had in a long time.) – “Especially rolling to the left, he never set his feet and then he threw it a long ways it seemed like. I don’t know the exact yardage. I know it was over 50 yards, but it was a good throw. Good play by him, because the scheme was really garbage, and he didn’t have anywhere to go, and he made a play.”
(How did RB Arian Foster get through the game?) – “I think okay. Obviously, you could tell that he wanted to have an extra gear there. I know he was trying to hit it a couple times. I don’t know if he’s really even close to 100 percent, but I know he felt like him being dressed and being out there and trying to contribute was beneficial to us, because his leadership means something to a lot of guys, and he does so many things right for us. He made some good plays in that game, especially in the passing game and the protection. I know even though he’s not 100 percent, he brings a lot to the table, and I know a lot of guys … He’s one of those guys. He has a calming effect on a lot of people.”
(QB Ryan Tannehill’s escapability showed in this particular game. Do you think that’s something that he could build on going forward, and do you think that can be in him?) – “I think a lot of guys will build off of this game. As far as what he was able to do, this game was good. I think it starts with the fact that our o-line was very good in protection. He didn’t get hit a whole bunch. The one time that he got hit was on that third-and-10, which was really good protection. We kind of just got stuck there in the back of the pocket. He was trying to hit that thing in rhythm and kind of got too deep on his drop. The other time was a quick pass and he just got bumped a little bit. I don’t know if he got hit really the rest of the day. Those guys did such a good job it made his job easier, and then all of a sudden it opens up the running game, because they start playing a little more two-high, because they’re trying to stop the passing game, and then all of a sudden the run lanes were opening up. It’s all phases of the game playing off each other, but it started with the o-line being able to be very good in pass protection, and then they were very good in the run game.”
(What has surprised you most about RB Jay Ajayi?) – “I don’t know if anything surprises me, because he did yesterday what he had showed us all through the spring. He had done it in training camp practices. I think I’ve said it; he had a rough seven days between the last preseason game and the first game, or 10 days, whatever it was. But every other part of it, he has been the same guy. I felt like yesterday was a good example of letting him get into a rhythm, and he’s a big man running down a hill at a good rate, and he can break tackles, and he knows where to go as far as what we’re doing in our run-scheme. If we get him going, we just keep trying to get him the ball.”
(How much did you enjoy WR Jarvis Landry on the first punt return coming face-to-face with a Pittsburgh player instead of going out of bounds are trying to evade him and basically lowered his shoulder?) – “That’s his game. He’s never going to shy away from anybody. We talked about trying to set the tempo for us. We felt like that was a big deal. We need to start playing more physical as an entire football team. I think he saw an opportunity there and he took advantage of it and wasn’t going to shy away from contact.”
(How big has it been for you guys to have this long home stretch to kind of get things turned around and not really have to worry about travel?) – “In this league, you go with the flow with those kinds of things. What we have is rare. I don’t know if anybody’s really been able to do this before. The fact that … I know the answer to that, I was joking on that. I know being able to be home this week, a bye and then home again, that’s good for our guys for things as far as injuries and being able to kind of sleep in your own bed and not worry about making two-day trips and staying in hotels. That’s always kind of a refreshing thought for players and coaches.”
(You have (Dion) Sims and (Jordan) Cameron in the (concussion) protocol. Have you seen enough from (Thomas) Duarte on the practice squad to justify maybe bringing him up or might you have to look outside?) – “I’m not sure what I’m really looking to do right now. (General Manager) Chris (Grier), (Executive Vice President, Football Operations) Mike (Tannenbaum) and myself will get together tonight and we’ll kind of plan out what we want to do. But we’ve got a lot of options, whether it be him or someone else, or not bring anybody (in). We’ll just see how this whole thing shakes out.”
(TE MarQueis Gray and TE Dominique Jones, did they exceed maybe what you expected yesterday? We saw some great blocks and obviously 90 receiving yards between the two of them) – “They’ve been doing a good job. ‘D.J.’s’ (Dominique Jones) been with me a couple of times. I’ve always felt comfortable with him. That was one of the main reasons he’s back is he knows the system. He knows how to operate in it. He did a good job and run blocking. ‘Q,’ (MarQueis Gray) he did an unbelievable job as far as being able to step in and he knew exactly what to do. And Dion (Sims) was doing a great job as far as the physicality part of the game and ‘Q’ (MarQueis Gray) did a great job of stepping in and keeping that rolling. They were very aggressive with the outside linebackers and d-ends. It was good to see those guys really step up.”
(Any update on TE Jordan Cameron and his possible return?) – “Not really. He’s still in the protocol. We’re kind of just going through the steps that we have to go through. It’s one of those things that you have no control over it. I talk to him just to see how he’s doing and get as much of an update as I can, but the league kind of handles all this and then we just play off of that.”
(Is there point where you’re going to have to make a decision on TE Jordan Cameron?) – “I don’t think we’re on any time table or deadline or anything like that.”
(What impresses you about Jarvis Landry, technically speaking as far as a receiver?) – “I think what he’s trying to do as far as, you don’t have many guys that are going to try to set the tempo of the game. Even that first reception he had, he wasn’t trying to run out of bounds. He tries to cut it back in and takes on the defender head on. He’s always trying to get every inch he can and you appreciate guys like that because it’s rare. I mean you don’t see a lot of guys do that. You don’t see a lot of receivers really fight for every inch. When he is the primary guy and he knows it, he’s going to make sure he gets open. When you have a guy like that, it’s kind of that I won’t be denied attitude, it makes it really easy for the quarterback because you don’t have to look anywhere else.”
(And the effort WR Jarvis Landry gave you on Pittsburgh’s onside kick?) – “Yes. That makes you … I know this, when I saw them go in that direction, there’s a comforting feeling knowing that he’s the guy that’s going to be handling the ball. He’s one of those guys that will just get the job done, no matter what it looks like, no matter how hard he’s going to get hit. That ball went up in the air, I saw him going at it and I was like, ‘We’re good.’ And that’s a good feeling to have.”
(Speaking of onsides, take us through your thinking in the first half?) – “We were looking to steal a possession and it didn’t work out. But it was good. It was a good thought. That’s kind of what … We wanted to be aggressive in this game. We felt good because we had so many guys healthy. We felt like we had our team ready to go for this game and those guys were ready to go. We told them we weren’t going to play scared in this game. We’re not going to play … We were going to play to win.”
(What was the difference from the defensive standpoint, outside of the edge setting, that made you guys so successful in the pass coverage?) – “I think the first thing that helps is they had 53 plays instead of 76. They did a great job that first series of getting off the field. We had a long drive, they’re on the sideline, they’re fresh, they come back out, three-and-out and we have a long drive. I mean it just … It makes life a lot easier for those guys when they don’t feel like on offense we are going three-and-out, three-and-out, three-and-out and they’re trying to hold everything together. That’s how we built this defense was we need to figure out a way to get a lead so those guys can do what they do. And then, we have good pass rushers, and we want to get a lead so the other team has to throw it, so we can go after them.”
(This might be a dumb question. You have a touchdown called back on T Ja’Wuan James, the illegal formation?) – “That wasn’t Ja’Wuan’s (James) fault.”
(They called it back. They check … don’t they review every touchdown? Couldn’t they check the formation?) – “The penalties … Once the penalty is thrown, that’s it. You’re not going to get that one back. And (the officials) weren’t wrong. I thought they were but they weren’t wrong. (laughter)”
Ndamukong Suh – October 16, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 16, 2016
Postgame – vs. Pittsburgh
Miami Dolphins DT Ndamukong Suh (transcribed by Jason D. Silver)
(What was the feeling in the locker room? We could hear it from here. It sounded like it was pretty enjoyable for you guys.) – “Yeah. I think we played a pretty good game without looking at the all the film and all the details, but obviously came out with the W. That’s what we wanted to accomplish. We always want to accomplish it when we are at home and especially take care of our home field advantage.”
(Pittsburgh you’d expect, I’m sure, of them to come out and run the ball. Much like you saw last week. What were you guys able to do differently to keep them from success?) – “Personally I think we understood exactly their running game. In my personal opinion it’s not very complicated. They just have great running backs and a pretty good offensive line – allows their running back to find holes and make plays. He’s very patient. We allowed them not to be patient. We made him make decisions and had to go and tackle him and that’s what we did.”
(You guys had one sack in the game but put on a lot of pressure and make Ben (Roethlisberger) move back and move around the pocket. What were you were guys able to get done there?) – “We knew we were going to have an opportunity to get back there, especially with Ben, him holding the ball and when we got an opportunity to get back there we wanted to make sure we put him down on the ground no matter what. Obviously got to him. He went out for a little bit, came back in. Still wanted to put pressure on him.”
(How much confidence for this team does a win like this bring to you?) – “I think it’s good. I think we understand that we can still play at a very high level and it’s about cleaning up our mistakes. I think for the most part we did that and it proved us right that we could obviously come out with W’s when we do that.”
Cameron Wake – October 16, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 16, 2016
Postgame – vs. Pittsburgh
Miami Dolphins DE Cameron Wake (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(Cam, defensively you guys made a lot of plays and put a lot of pressure on Ben Roethlisberger and caused a lot of problems for him, knocked him out of the game. How did you feel going into this one?) – “It started way back probably Tuesday evening, Wednesday. It started with good a plan from the coaching staff and the guys buying in. Everybody saying, ‘Listen, I’m going to do my part,’ not over complicating, not thinking about all the stuff going on but just beat your man. And if everybody does that individually, we should have a good day. It started from the top and coach put a good plan together and guys executed.”
(You got the start. You got more opportunities. Does that give you a better chance to get a feel of the game and to play a game to the level you want to play at?) – “Well, everything seems to be a little bit more fun when you win. I’ve been a guy who believes in the process, believes in the coaching staff. They told me that I’d probably get a little more action this week, with the situation of the game and the plan, and I just made sure I was prepared for it. Things kind of worked out to the benefit of everybody and it was fun being out there.”
(How do you build on this game and help it to benefit you going forward through the rest of the season?) – “Well, the process doesn’t change. Regardless of what happens on Sunday – whether you’re out there licking your wounds or celebrating – Sunday night, Monday afternoon-ish, that’s kind of where you’ve got to put everything behind you and move forward. So, of course the guys and everybody are feeling good about themselves and I told them to celebrate tonight, but tomorrow afternoon it’s time to move on to the next one. I know the guys will enjoy it. We got another one coming up soon so we’ll have to be ready.”
(It was a strange week. You start the week off with a couple of guys being released, changes being made. Did any of that affect the way you guys played going into this game?) – “I like to think that football is a game for men. Part of this game is you lose guys – whether it’s a shoelace, hamstring or business. We made some changes on the roster but again, that’s not new. That’s happened over and over again through the history of football and you have to know, ‘Hey, next man up.’ If that’s the situation, you’ve got to be ready. You’ve got to be ready to go and you’ve got to move on with the guys you have in the locker room. I think the guys we’ve got here know what’s expected of them and, of course, the guys went out and they played hard today on both sides of the ball.”
(Cam, what can you say about how your DB’s did back there? It seemed like they got into Antonio Brown’s head a little) – “Well, a pass rusher’s best friend is always the guys in the back end, so doing whatever they can do to help, the quarterback makes bad decisions or maybe throws the ball errantly; and up front we’re doing the same things, trying to help them out and today they played to the level that’s expected. It’s not surprising to me. It’s not something out of the ordinary. I think that’s the way we expect them to play, day-in and day-out. We’ve being saying it for weeks – (we have to) play complimentary football, whether its offense, defense, front end, back end, all around. That’s the only way you’re going to win. You can’t just have the DB’s playing great and the front line stinking up the place; or the offense playing great and the DB’s dropping the ball. It has to be all facets – front to back, side to side, playing together and that’s the way you win games.”
(Cam, off the ball on the snap it seemed like you were really fast, even more than usual. Did you feel like you timed it better?) – “I looked faster than usual? What do you think? I guess I ate my Wheaties this morning, I don’t know. (laughter) I just felt good going out there and getting after it. I’d have to go back and watch the tape to see if I agree or not. But again, just getting out there and getting into a rhythm. My number was called and just going out there and doing my best to help the team, that part was fun. Of course the win helps everything feel a little better, and I look forward to the next one.”
(We saw one of the Steelers defensive players late in the game throwing up on the field. Did you feel like they were gassed?) – “Was it hot? (Laughter) It felt like a beautiful summer day out there in South Florida. That’s kind of what we’re used to. I didn’t notice anybody throwing up. To me, it’s just another day in South Florida. We practice in this every day. We play in it every day. What’s the temperature in Pittsburgh? I have no idea. It’s probably autumn already up there. That’s just part of football. Later in the year, we’re going to be in places where it’s freezing cold and you’ve got to deal with the elements. But, again, I think that’s why it’s the greatest game in the world because there are so many other factors you’ve got to factor in. You’ve got to beat not just your opponent but the heat, or pain, or whatever it is. That is just the nature of this business. You’d have to ask them if they were gassed.”
(Cam, what part about the way the defense preformed today can fit into sort of the ideal identity of the group moving forward?) – “It’s just complimentary football. I spoke about it earlier; it’s about the front end and back end playing together. You can’t, like I said earlier, you can’t have DB’s playing their butts off and the front end dropping the ball. It doesn’t work that way. You’ve got to play together. For weeks we’ve been saying, ‘Hey listen, once we get this thing a full game, 60 minutes, front end, back end, offense, defense, playing together, playing complimentary, I think everybody will be happy with the outcome.’ Today, that’s something we did well and, again, it’s fun for now but we’ve got to make sure we move forward and continue to build off that and take it into the next one.”
(Do you believe in the idea of statement victories or signature victories, and if so, would this qualify?) – “A win’s a win. It’s hard to win in this league. I don’t care who it is. I don’t believe in a win like a statement – to who? To you? Oh well, it’s a win. It’s a game where every game, every time you got to go out there, you’ve got to fight, you’ve got to scratch, you’ve got to claw. So to me, every game’s a statement.”
(At the beginning of the season you seemed comfortable with the plan they had for kind of limiting you a little bit to get going. Do you feel physically ready now for your regular work load?) – “Regular is a relative term, I guess. I’m ready for whatever situation calls for my services. If it’s the way it was before, if it’s the way it was today. I know that the situation of the game or the plan for the week can change. That’s just the nature of this game. When my number is called, I’m going to go in there and do everything I can to help the team. I’ve been comfortable with that since the day I stepped on the field.”
Branden Albert – October 16, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 16, 2016
Postgame – vs. Pittsburgh
Miami Dolphins LT Branden Albert (transcribed by David Norwood II)
(Opening Statement) – “We wanted to a statement today. We don’t want to get overconfident, but we are healthy – all five of us. I wanted to see what we can do, and I think we did a good job. We can play ball. We can play physical.”
(Are those power inside runs in terms of what you guys were doing?) – “We were doing everything today – whatever coach called. It was inside, double team, outside zone. We did it all today.”
(How comfortable were you given you had everybody out there?) – “I felt good. We had all our guys for the first time. It was good. (We) had our Pro Bowl center (Mike Pouncey), our Pro Bowl right guard (Jermon Bushrod). I was the left (tackle), Pro Bowl left tackle. We had our two young guys playing right (tackle) and left guard, so it was good today, man. It was a good feeling.”
