Tony Lippett – September 1, 2016 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
Postgame – vs. Tennessee
Miami Dolphins CB Tony Lippett (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(On making plays like the interception showing the advantage of being a long, tall corner) – “Yeah, I guess . . . I just tried to go up and make a play on the ball, that’s it.”
(On having receiver instincts after making the play) – “Yes, I knew once you catch a pick, usually that wide receiver will come back and try to strip the ball. So I tried to peak and see where he was at. I saw that he was blocked so I just tried to make something happen.”
(On feeling more comfortable this season) – “Yes, every day is a grind. Every day you try to get three percent better. You just continue to continue getting comfortable playing corner.”
(On your pick being a nice way to cap off the preseason) – “Yes, I guess it was a nice way. It’s not the end. I’m going to keep going into the season and keep striving for greatness and continue to try to make plays.”
Kenyan Drake – September 1, 2016 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
Postgame – vs. Tennessee
Miami Dolphins Running Back Kenyan Drake (transcribed by Jason D. Silver)
(How did your hamstring respond tonight?) – “It felt good. Just (going) out there (and) just running around felt good. (I) got a lot – a little burst – and look forward to continue the growth through it in the weeks to come.”
(You had a short run where you made a lot of moves, kind of changed direction, made a guy miss, it might have been a 3-yard play, but how did that run feel? Tell me what you saw from your perspective?) – “Well, obviously, I guess the first thing is, it’s not college anymore so I’m not going to outrace people around the edge when I am trying to reverse field. But it was good to kind of get a feel for the outside zone scheme in this offense and just continue to rely on my patience and rely on my blocks there to keep continuing to develop.”
(Can you talk about on the kick return, when your eyes lit up like ‘Man, I see a seem there’) – “Yes, it kind of felt weird because when I was trying to run, I felt like I was trying to move a little faster than my legs were trying to go, so I kind of lost my balance then. I’m a little disappointed in that. But like I said, just being back on the field, just getting my feet wet a little bit, I was happy to be there.”
Brandon Doughty – September 1, 2016 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
Postgame – vs. Tennessee
Miami Dolphins QB Brandon Doughty (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(What were your expectations after tonight?) – “Sit and wait and pray that I don’t get a call. I was kind of saying my goodbyes to some of these guys in case something happens. I’m really hoping that I make the 53 (-man roster). That’s a goal; it’s dream of mine. In reality, we know this is a business and numbers kind of don’t work your way sometimes.”
(Do you feel like you’ve done enough to prove that?) – “I wish I would have played a little better in the last two games. We’ll see what happens. (Head) Coach (Adam Gase) is in control, and we’ll see what happens come tomorrow and the next day.”
(What kind of relationship do you have with QB Zac Dysert?) – “We have a really good relationship. I don’t really look at it as me and Zac were battling. I know that was kind of cool on Twitter and stuff, but I don’t really look at it like that. That was just an opportunity for both of us to show what we got, and I thought Zac played pretty well. He made a couple of mistakes, but that’s part of the game. It happens. I just tried to take advantage of my reps and tried to play it one play at a time. I got away from that a little bit in the last two games.”
(You said before the game that your family had season tickets here. So what was that like to come back and play here?) – “It was a little surreal. To look – on the field – up at your season ticket (seats), it’s like ‘Holy cow. Am I really doing this?’ The stadium looks unbelievable. It doesn’t really look the same. If it was like an exact replica of (when I was younger) when we were playing (tonight), I think I would’ve threw up on the field.” (laughter)
Adam Gase – September 1, 2016 (Postgame)
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
Postgame – vs. Tennessee
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Adam Gase (transcribed by Michelle Stone)
(On Xavien Howard’s and Kenyan Drake’s performances) – “Well, obviously we’ll be able to go back tomorrow morning and look at the actual details, I look up the one time, I think X (Xavien Howard) got the ball caught on him. It was pretty tight coverage, a good throw-and-catch. Drake had a couple of good plays. I know he had a good load of work on special teams. We’re just trying to make sure, kind of see where we thought he’d be good for us. We kind of put him into a couple of different spots. I was hoping to get him some more carries. It just didn’t seem like the times that we got him that we had drives going on the series he was in.”
(On interchanging players at the offensive guard position and if he thinks anything has been settled after tonight’s game) – “I think we’ll have a good idea of what we want to do for that first game but I think I said it a couple of days ago, there might be a chance that we play multiple guys in this game. We’ll just keep working through where we’re at in that situation and if we’re playing two or three guys in the game that’s what it is. Until someone just takes a hold of that thing, we’ll just keep moving guys around.”
(On Laremy Tunsil being the only rookie not playing and what lead to that decision) – “Well, the other day, obviously, was a little bit of a scare for him, so we were just being smart. In fact he did miss a day of practice. We were just trying to make sure, his health is the most important going into this thing. He said he was ready to go, so he was kind of probably a little more lobbying than what we were thinking. We were just like, once he went down, we decided that it probably wasn’t the best thing for him to play.”
(On feeling pretty good about what you’ve seen from him (Laremy Tunsil) this preseason) –“Yes, I’ve seen a guy who’s improved since the first day he’s been here. And obviously pass-protection is his strength so he’s done a really good job in that area. We need to get some things cleaned up in the run game. A lot of times it’s just calls coming out quick, understanding the angles, how the linebackers fill, so there’s a little bit of a learning curve there.”
(On assessing the running back situation) – “I like our depth. The fact that it seems like we’ve had a lot of guys have success, whether it be in practice or in the preseason games. I know it hasn’t shown as far as our total group, but it seems like somebody’s flashed a little bit every game. The only disappointing thing is that we’re never healthy at the same time. Every time we went out to practice it was four different guys. I feel like DT (Daniel Thomas) might have been the only guy that was consistently out there. We’ll see how this shakes out here in the next two days, and see who we wind up keeping on the roster.”
(On his final impressions of Jay (Ajayi) – “I was a little disappointed that he put the ball on the ground. I feel like what he’s shown me in the spring and in training camp as far as being a guy that is reliable in the passing game. I don’t know the exact ball placement on second down – I’m not sure if it was behind him or if he dropped it – I know I have a lot of faith, even if the ball’s off target, he usually makes that play. I know it’s the fourth preseason (game). Everyone kind of looks at this game and shrugs their shoulders but any time you walk on that field it’s important. I would’ve liked to see him not – I don’t think we saw a ball on the ground the entire preseason as far with the running backs. To have that happen, I guess I expect better from him. I have higher standards for him.”
(On did he like what he saw from Brandon Doughty) – “Yes. He did a good job. He went in there with confidence, which, I don’t know if any of you guys have been around him, but he’s a very confident kid. He looked like he was loose. He was having fun and that’s what you want. You want him to be able to go out there and go through his progressions and make throws. The last thing we talked about with him was just, Hey, make plays. Find a way to get completions. He was loose and he did a really good job. The thing about him that’s been very impressive (is) he stands in there. He’s not afraid to get hit and deliver the ball. His toughness is very impressive.”
(On how he feels about the team being prepared for the season opener in Seattle) – “I think we’ve grown a lot. I know from the spring, just thinking back to where we were when we started that first voluntary mini-camp, the growth that we had through the spring and through training camp…sometimes you had ups and downs where one guy dominated the other side and I feel like we’re levelling out some. As far as the competition goes, I feel like there’s been more days of steady competition between offense and defense. Heading into this game, we feel like we’re fairly healthy. I know we’ve got a couple of guys we need to reevaluate in the next couple of days and see where we’re at going into this game. I like our guys’ mindset. I love the way they practiced all training camp. I just don’t remember a day where I walked off the field thinking, That was terrible on both sides of the ball. I know at the scrimmage I was disappointed in the offense as far as the limited amount of snaps that we had and not performing, but for a really high percentage of the time the guys came out and they worked every day.”
(On which positions he feels will be the toughest to evaluate during roster cuts) – “I think a lot of it is going to be in the back end. We got to go back – you keep looking at the roster and seeing where you can kind of keep guys. Really, sometimes, the injuries play into it to. We have some things that we have to clean up as far as getting with our medical people and figuring out where everyone is at. Once we do that we can finalize that and figure out where really the tight spots are for us.”
(On how he feels the team performed this preseason when it came to turnovers, penalties and dropped passes) – “The penalties…as far as if they’re aggressive penalties, where you’re playing hard, you’re trying to do the right thing, I can live with those. Any time you have false starts, any time you have offsides, those are the ones that are frustrating to take. Illegal procedure penalties…I feel like we haven’t had a lot of those. I know in training camp we’ve had some rough days where both sides of the ball were taking their turns. But as far as turnovers go, obviously we’ll always be happy if we keep getting the ball like that. When we protect the ball, I thought our offense did a great job. They are getting their hands on the ball, especially in practice we haven’t really been turning it over on offense. So the fact that they are doing it in preseason games, it’s very encouraging.”
Adam Gase – September 1, 2016 (Halftime)
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase (Halftime)
(On QB Zac Dysert) – “We had a little good. That (interception) was bad. He has to be smarter. That ball needs to go high in the back of the end zone, and you’ll have a touchdown or an incompletion.”
(On CB Xavien Howard) – “It’s tough for me to tell from here. I know he got the one throw on him, but whatever ends up happening today, we’ll look back and evaluate it. Obviously, we feel like he has been practicing well.”
(On RB Kenyan Drake and if he’s happy with his kickoff returns) – “Yes. We’ll go back and, especially with the protection stuff, I want to look at and see how he did. He’s going to play a little more in the second half so we’ll have a better idea at the end of the game.”
(On having three takeaways in the first half) – “Yes, that’s good. We got our hands on two balls, had some good returns and getting that fumble there at the end gave us a chance. We should have had points.”
(On if there are still jobs that can be won or lost in the second half) – “Absolutely. Every snap (counts).”
Tom Garfinkel – September 1, 2016
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Thursday, September 1, 2016
President & CEO Tom Garfinkel
(On whether work was done on the stadium up until today) – “There’s a lot of preparation to get the first game open, regardless of whether there’s a renovation or not, whether it’s pumping water out of the parking lots. We had a couple of minor snafus earlier today that had to get addressed. We have some soda lines on the 300 level that weren’t working, so we switched to packaged soda up there for $4. Just some things like that. Some of those things could have happened whether there was a renovation or not. That’s usual stuff. It’s definitely exciting to be here and have all the fans here.”
(On whether a lot of amenities were in the stadium last season) – “A lot of them. This phase (with) the shade canopy was certainly the big thing we worked on this offseason. It’s really incredible when you think about the amount of steel that was lifted and the number of pieces, the number of bolts. There were 600,000 bolts that had to be bolted in and all of these pieces of steel lifted. Again, it’s because of Steve Ross’ commitment not only financially, but to be personally invested every day – the phone calls, to driving it to conclusion. We had over 600 workers here, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for eight months. That’s what it took to get it done.”
(On when the 24-hour shifts ended for the workers) – “Just up until maybe a week ago. It’s not completely done. We’ll have some “pardon our dust” signs up on the video boards for people. You’ll notice that the ETFE – which is the translucent material that lets the light through, but not the heat – is on the south side and the east side. It’s not on the west side or the north side yet. That still has yet to go in. There’s some paneling on the outside of the roofing that still needs to go up. But that’s mostly aesthetic in nature. The structural elements of the roof are all in place and have been now for a couple of weeks, as you know. There will be some ongoing work and as we get to September 25, it’ll be all done.”
(On feedback regarding the modernization of the stadium) – “The feedback has been incredible from fans. It’s really fun seeing the players and the coaches get here, because a lot of them haven’t seen it yet. And having played here or coached here in the past, they’re just kind of blown away, like, ‘This feels like a totally different building.’ So that’s been a lot of fun and obviously seeing the fans’ reaction to it. It’ll be a lot of fun, again, on the 25th when it’s a 1 o’clock game and the fans are sitting in the shade and more comfortable than they had been in the past.”
(On how the stadium handled rain this week) – “It handled the rain fine. There’s a very sophisticated drainage system in the roof up there that basically takes the water down to the eight super columns and then out through the drainage system and then out into the canals. There’s still some of what they call flash work that goes on, sealing work that goes on with some of the ETFE in those things. So, if we got significant rain tonight we’d probably have some drips and things. But fortunately it doesn’t look like it’s going to rain, and we should be fine. But in terms of the roof structure itself, there’s also a big aperture in the middle, so depending on if the wind’s blowing, it’s not designed to keep everybody 100 percent dry from the rain. It’ll keep the upper deck and the 200 level completely dry, but some of the 100 level – depending on the direction of the wind – would get wet from the rain even when it’s done. But it’s all in place and ready to go.”
(On the field) – “The field is in amazing shape. I think the new paspalum (grass) is really incredible. I don’t know if you had a chance to be down there on the grass and actually put your hands on it and feel it. Next time you’re at camp, one of the fields is bermuda and one is paspalum. You can get down there and kind of dig your finger in bermuda and make a divot. You can’t do it in the paspalum. I think it’ll last longer aesthetically. The bermuda’s a fine grass, but this is more durable, aesthetically better, a little softer. So, the field is incredible.”
(On his most memorable exchange with a fan tonight) – “To be honest, I’ve been wandering around talking to you guys tonight, doing some other things. I haven’t had a chance to really interact with fans other than on Twitter so far today, but I’ll definitely get up in the stands and talk to a bunch of fans. I had a couple of memorable exchanges with coaches (and) talking to them about what they see and players. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a credit to Steve (Ross), again, and his vision and his commitment to get to this point at all.”
(On his most memorable exchange with a coach today) – “(Defensive Coordinator) Vance Joseph was just kind of standing there in awe when I was standing on the field talking to him for a little while. This is just a totally different place. I think, talking to (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) Darren Rizzi and ‘Mouf’ (Assistant Special Teams Coach Marwan Maalouf) about sort of the special teams implications, we want to get them out here before that game to get some punts and kicks in so they can feel what the roof looks like and what it’s going to feel like. But all the feedback really has been very positive.”
(On whether the wind will be different within the stadium) – “You know, it’s a great question. In terms of the wind studies that we did prior to it being done, there’s certainly going to be some difference in terms of how the wind moves around. But it’s mainly … The roof sits, as you can see, above the top of the stadium, so the air flow through there and then the air flow through the corners actually creates more air flow at the seat level. On the field, it doesn’t change things a whole lot. The acoustics are very different, so it will be a lot louder. The crowd noise will stay in the bowl a lot more, which was a design, proactive intent on that one. But the wind shouldn’t be too much different.”
Adam Gase – August 30, 2016
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Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On if there is a sense of urgency to get a look at RB Kenyan Drake) – “I think a little bit. With the minimal practice snaps we’ve really had (with him), the little time he was out there we were feeling good about his progress compared to where we were at in spring. At least mentally, we were feeling lightyears better. (With) him not practicing as long as he has and (he hasn’t) really been hit in a real game yet, (so) this will be important for him.”
(On what part of RB Kenyan Drake’s game he is most interested to see in a game setting) – “Obviously I’d love to just see what he can do as far as routes go and what he can do in the pass game. But at the same time, he’s shown us in the run game that he’s very effective, at least in the limited snaps that we saw of him in practice. I think we’d like to see if we can get him going in a little bit of both but you never know how this game is going to play out. You’d like to get him touches in both areas of that part of the game.”
(On what he is looking for G Jamil Douglas and if it will be tight for him to make the 53-man roster) – “I think that whole back end of the offensive line group is battling for only a couple of spots there. He’s a guy that with the positional flexibility he has, there’s a lot of value to that. The center – anytime you have a guy that you know has at least played in a game at center … It’s just going to be about keep trying to find ways to not make mistakes in a game situation, being able to make changes (and) executing as well as you can with the group you’re out there with. My conversations with him have always been about (being) right as much as possible, because obviously you’ll always have mistakes; but be right and just show that effort to where you’re always showing up on the screen.”
(On what he is looking to see from WR Leonte Carroo and WR Jakeem Grant on Thursday) – “I think for me it’s to the execution point of knowing what to do (and) being in the right spot. Both of those guys have had those moments of having those mistakes where the quarterback thinks they’re doing one thing and they do something different. We’re making strides in that area, you just want it to happen as fast as possible. I think this game – with the game plan where it is and who knows what the weather is going to be like so I’m not sure how many times we’ll actually get to throw it – we’d like to see them be as sound as possible as far as what they’re supposed to do. And then you try to develop the techniques and the little details of the routes.”
(On what he’s seen from WR Leonte Carroo in the preseason) – “Obviously he can catch the ball. If he has a defender draped on him, he’ll pull it in. I see a guy with strong hands. You see a guy that can move defenders off the ball. He has a quick first step but at the same time, he can stretch the field vertically. I think he doesn’t even know some of the things that he needs to know to really help himself. That’s a little bit of experience and as this route tree keeps growing for him, just finding, ‘How do I do each route? How do I get open? If I get pressed, what am I going to do? What’s my adjustment versus certain coverages and zone?” He’s got a little ways to go here but the thing I love about him is that he works so hard. He spends so much time in the classroom and every time he gets an opportunity out there, he doesn’t waste it.”
(On how LB Spencer Paysinger is coming along with his chemistry with the other linebackers and the defensive line) – “He’s a guy that I think so many guys on our defense trust. When you’re a guy that can play all positions, that’s so valuable for us because he can jump in there and play any of those (linebacker) spots and he does it well enough to where he is very accountable. I think those guys up front know that he’s going to be in the right place at the right time.”
(On the roster moves with DE Dion Jordan and DE Chris McCain) – “Well, as far as Dion goes, that’s hard for me to answer because I’ve never actually seen him play live. In 2014 – that seems like a long time ago. Once we get to that point, we’ll figure that out as far as how much he can help or what role there is, when we get to that point. Right now, the biggest thing for me is helping him make sure that he’s doing everything right as far as in our building and outside of our building. After we feel like that is in a good place, then I’ll worry about as far as his body goes. The biggest thing to me is let’s get him right. Let’s get him to where he feels he’s back and his mind is right and he’s ready to take the next step as far as, ‘I need to get my body straight. I need to get my strength back. I need to get into football shape.’ When we get a chance to get him out on the field, then that’s our next step. As far as Chris goes, I think he was in a situation where he was battling on the back end. When an opportunity came to us as far as possibly moving him, it’s a really good opportunity for him. Where here, he would have been … Would he be active? Does he make (the team)? How much is he going to contribute? I think the situation that he’s getting to go to is really good for him. I know that at least when I talked to him, he seemed excited for the opportunity to go to a place where he’s going to get an opportunity, get a ton of snaps (and) be able to do what he wants to do. Really, at the end of the day, every player wants to play as much as possible and I think that’s a better opportunity for him there than what he had here.”
(On if it’s too dramatic to say that one of the quarterbacks will win a job on Thursday) – “No, I think that’s real. I’d like both of those guys obviously to play. It comes down to how the game is going to unfold, what the weather is like (and) will they have the opportunities they really are looking for. Obviously both of those guys want us to call as many passes as possible. It’s going to be interesting to see how this thing unfolds on Thursday.”
(On how he feels about playing the entire starting offensive line and for how long) – “We’re still kind of talking about that. I feel like we do have a good feel of what we’re going to do. We’re going to have at least a couple of those guys go. I don’t know if all of them are going to go, but we’ll make those final decisions tonight and let those guys know what we are doing. Like I said, there are only a couple of guys that know they are not going. The thing we keep preaching to our guys is, ‘Hey, you’re going until someone tells you different.’ It’s going to be me that tells them that (they’re) not going to go. We’ll see how tonight goes, as far as the discussion, where our health is at and everything. Plus, you’re trying to make sure in this game, when you do sit a whole bunch of guys, you’re putting a lot on some of these younger guys. All of a sudden not only are they playing 60 snaps on defense, they’re playing 25 snaps on special teams. You’re talking about a lot of plays where they haven’t had the opportunity to go that long. To me, it almost becomes a little bit of a concern health-wise, because now you’re pushing guys beyond limits that they haven’t had a chance to do out here. The more guys that you can have up for this game – if you can take a few series off, some of these guys are going to play most of the game – that’s always beneficial as far as getting great tape out for these guys (and) getting a good evaluation where you know you can get them playing well the entire game.
(On the running game averaging 3.3 yards per carry) – “Obviously, we’d love to be better. One of the things that I always look at is that I’m more into the efficiency of the runs because sometimes you look at that average and you can get down on it. But sometimes it’s me calling a play to where it’s not built to get four yards. If we’re in a second-and-1 situation and we run a quarterback sneak, now that goes against your run efficiency. But hey, we got a first-down. That’s an efficient run. Or you run a dive play for 2 yards, but you get the first down. Now by standards, it’s not a good run, right? Because you got 2 yards. But, you got the first down. So to me, I look at efficiency. It’s not where we need it to be and obviously we’re trying to spend more time as far as getting better in these situations. I know the defense is doing the same thing. That’s why we’re trying to emphasize it in practice. We’re nowhere where we need to be on either side of the ball as far as run defense and the whole goal throughout the year is to continue to get better at it. We’re going to have to practice in pads and make sure that when we’re outside, we take full advantage of that.”
(On how much he expects the tight ends to contribute in the passing game this season) – “I think we’ll see a little improvement in the passing game. We’re getting a better feel, at least now the deeper we’ve got in this thing, and the more I’ve seen actually with Jordan (Cameron) especially, I’m starting to get a good feel for what he likes. I’ve had a lot of conversations with him over the last couple of weeks as far as, ‘What do we need to do different that I can get you a little bit in a rhythm?’ I feel like we’re kind of starting to hit some of those things. Dion (Sims), I feel comfortable in a lot of stuff. He’s one of those guys that kind of has a little bit of sneaky speed as far as getting vertical. He doesn’t look like he’s going to be a fast guy but once he kind of opens it up, all of a sudden he seems to get behind guys. So I think as this grows, I think they’ll be a little more impactful than what they’ve been, as far as the preseason goes. And then as far as the run game goes, both of those guys are so willing and work so hard on their technique. I know (Tight Ends Coach) Shane (Day) does a great job as far as constantly coaching those types of things up. You don’t see a group going in there just talking about the passing game. They spend so much time on the running game because they want to be part of the solution and not the group that is the reason we’re not getting positive yards or efficient runs. They’re doing a really good job because when you watch that tape, I know we always look right at, well, Jordan (Cameron) had a drop. Everybody just wants to come down on that but no one takes a look at the fact that he did a really good job in pass protection. He really did a good job as far as chipping out and making the tackle’s life easy. And then the run game, we score that touchdown because he did a great job knocking his guy basically off the path to get to Arian (Foster). Then Arian (Foster) gave him an opportunity to get a clean cut. So we’re seeing what we want to see out of our tight ends and it starts with willingness. That’s the hardest thing sometimes out of a tight end (is) to understand positioning, angles and then the willingness to go in there and dig a guy out.”
(On if it comes as a surprise to him that CB Xavien Howard is covering some of the faster receivers) — “I think we felt really good about him coming out. He was a very high target for us and I think we were just shocked that we got him when we did. We didn’t think he was going to be there and, really, he kind of fell to us. We were excited about it. We felt like that was really for us. Both those first two guys we got. We never thought we’d get both of them like that. We never thought we’d get the first guy (Laremy Tunsil) to begin with but for (Howard) to fall to where he fell to us, I was just surprised because we loved his skill set. We thought he was exactly what we were looking for.”
(On WR Kenny Stills, WR DeVante Parker and G/T Laremy Tunsil all being back at practice today) – “Kenny (Stills), if he would have went down on the first time when we had one of those deep balls and ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) kind of rolled up on his leg, that’s when I thought something was going to happen. He came back. It was just a strange kind of … he went to pull away from ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) and his back locked up. (It’s) something that he’s had in the past and obviously it kind of peeked his head there for a second. He felt a lot better today. DeVante (Parker)’s going to be day to day right now so we’re just going to keep working with him and strengthening him up. When you’re a second-year receiver, I feel like I’ve been through this a couple of times. I just go back to Demaryius (Thomas), when we were in Denver. It just felt like he was always hurt. It was just one of those things, it was just like one thing after the other. The thing is, these guys, the longer they start doing this, the more they realize how much they have to take care of their body, how important it is to practice fast every day and make sure they really push themselves because now, all of a sudden, when you go to turn it on, especially on game day and your body’s not ready for it, this is when you can possibly have these kind of issues. So that’s been our point of emphasis with him is all the little tiny things that you have to do off the field, in the building, and then when you get out to practice you have to treat every day like a game. Sometimes it takes some guys a little longer to learn than others. Eventually it gets to the point where you get tired of being the guy standing on the sideline. I do think he’s a little frustrated as far as he’s been the odd man out all the time. Kenny (Stills) and Jarvis (Landry) have been out there working together now and he’s kind of had to watch. We’ll keep working and he’ll eventually figure it out to where he knows his routine; he knows how to stay healthy. He knows how to push through certain kind of pains where it’s not going to really deter him from where he’s going to miss some games. It’s a fine line there, especially at that position. You really have to be locked into your body.”
(On if WR DeVante Parker will play on Thursday) – “No, he won’t be out there.”
(On G/T Laremy Tunsil) – “Laremy (Tunsil), he’s alright. I think he just got scared more than anything. His foot got caught in the turf when we were doing individuals. It wasn’t like a contact or anything. He took a weird step and his cleats got caught. I think it just scared him a little bit more than anything and we were just being precautionary at the moment. If we were playing a regular season game, he’d be ready to go.”
(On if G/T Laremy Tunsil will play on Thursday night) — “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him yet.”
Xavien Howard – August 30, 2016
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Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Cornerback Xavien Howard
(On his excitement to play on Thursday night) – “I’m very excited. I can’t wait for the opportunity I can get to play Thursday against the Tennessee Titans.”
(On how he feels physically) – “I feel great. I have no setbacks. I’d say I feel good.”
(On how he feels about his preparation mentally) – “I was getting mental reps during practice with the older guys and stuff like that.”
(On staying with speedy wide receivers and what he attributes that to) – “It’s the technique, I would say. I’m used to playing fast receivers. I went to Baylor so during practice, I had a lot of fast guys (to go against) at Baylor so I’m used to it.”
(On if Cleveland Browns WR Corey Coleman was one of those fast receivers he practiced a lot against at Baylor) – “Yes, sir.”
(On if he thinks it is possible to win a starting job off one preseason game) – “No. Everybody is competing. I’m going to control what I can control right now so I’m just doing my job.”
(On how important it is to him to be a starter) – “It’s a very important role. It’s a big role coming in as a rookie. If I do start, it’s a big step.”
(On which guys in the secondary he is leaning on for advice) – “I’d say all of the guys. I’m learning from all of them. When I was injured on the sideline, I was looking at all of the guys.”
