Vance Joseph – October 13, 2016
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Thursday, October 13, 2016
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
(On if he has been surprised by the play of CB Byron Maxwell) – “He has not played overall well. He’s a guy that is here every day. He’s working hard, he studies, he watches film. It has not come together for him. That happens to players – a different scheme, a different place to play. So I’m not totally down on Byron. He’s working at it every day. He wants to be good and when a guy is working at it every day, it’s going to turn for him.”
(On CB Bené Benwikere and how he can help the team) – “Well, he’s a guy that’s played nickel and outside corner. He’s played on good defenses. It’s tough right now. He’s been here two days. Hopefully going forward, he can learn the defense and help us win in the future.”
(On if he has a specific position envisioned for CB Bené Benwikere) – “(We have him) as an outside corner right now and hopefully in the future, he can play inside as a nickel. But right now, our need is outside corner.”
(On the challenge of containing Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Le’Veon Bell and WR Antonio Brown) – “It’s tough. We’ve played those guys in Cincy five times in two years. We’ve played them with Ben, Bell and Brown together probably three out of the five times. It’s tough but you have to pick your poison. You can’t let Brown have a field day. You can’t let Brown totally go off on you. Obviously Bell as a running back, running the football out of the backfield and catching balls, it comes slower with Bell. Our first business is Brown because he can make it happen quickly and in huge margins, so stopping Brown is our first objective there. Obviously Bell, per call (and) package, we can contain Bell also. It’s a challenge because if you play single-high, you’ve got Brown one-on-one, if you play shell, you’ve got Bell with a soft running box so it’s a challenge.”
(On QB Ben Roethlisberger’s ability to buy time in the pocket and the pressure it puts on the secondary) – “And that puts pressure on the front. As we rush Ben, we have to rush and contain him and get him on the ground. The best thing Ben does is buy time. Unlike (Seahawks QB) Russell Wilson and last week with (Titans QB Marcus) Mariota, he’s going to buy time with his size, just breaking tackles. So we have to rush and get him on the ground, and obviously stay in coverage.”
(On who has played the run consistently well in the front seven besides DT Ndamukong Suh) – “I would say this, out of our front four, no one has. There have been weeks where we have done well, but each week it has been one guy here and there. To be stout in the running game, it has to be consistent across the board. It has to be the front four, linebackers and secondary fitting the run. It can’t be one guy busting the gap here, one guy missing a tackle there; it has to be everybody on the same page and it hasn’t been that way.”
(On how big of a blow losing LB Koa Misi is to the run defense and if LB Donald Butler will remain the starter there or if there will be more of a competition) – “I think losing Koa … that hurt us a little bit. We’ve adjusted with Donald. He’s playing fine but I think it’s overall, just guys doing their jobs more consistently and when the gaps are full, making tackles. Our issue has been if someone pops a gap, it’s a 6-yard run or we fit it perfect and someone misses a tackle. So we have to overall play better in the run game.”
(On if he went to different packages last week) – “Yes, because losing Koa (Misi), that hurt us in the aspect of having variety in our front packages, because Koa is a big Sam ‘backer that can play on the line or off. With Koa, we can play 4-3 or 3-4, so losing Koa, we put Cam (Wake) at the Sam linebacker last week and it helped us a lot to have a five-down front in the run game. And it worked outside of missed tackles. In that front last week, they probably average 2 yards a carry, outside of the four missed tackles. So that front did help us playing Cam at the Sam ‘backer, which he has done in the past. It’s our job to get our best guys on the field. That’s the key here. So as we lose a guy here or there, we have to find our best 11 to play and help us win.”
(On DE Mario Williams playing 53 snaps without recording a statistic last week and what can be done to get more out of him) – “He’s got to play better. He’s got to play harder. He’s got to play better. Obviously he’s being allowed to rush the passer, but the games that we’ve been in, they have been more run-first, pass-second games. For us to be a great rush team, we have to earn the right and stop the run. All of us – Mario, (Ndamukong) Suh, Jordan (Phillips), all of those guys up front. If they want to rush more, stop the run more consistently. So I think Mario has to play better. He has to play faster and more consistent.”
(On how LB Kiko Alonso has played) – “He’s played very well. He’s played solid. He’s making a lot of tackles in the run and pass game alike so he’s been solid for us. He’s been a bright spot for us on defense.”
(On if it is a good thing that S Reshad Jones is one of the NFL’s leading tacklers) – “Not really, even with Kiko (Alonso). That being said, we need more guys up front making more plays in the run game. If you’re being blocked, we have to tear off blocks and make tackles. Kiko is averaging 10-12 a game, even Reshad (is averaging) 10-12 a game – that’s too many for the second-level guys. Our front four guys have to make more plays.”
(On RB Le’Veon Bell having a pick-slide motion in the backfield and patience and what stress that puts on the linebackers) – “It puts stress on guys not popping their gaps because he’s so patient of a runner. If you’re supposed to be in the A or B gap, stay there, because if you pop your gap he’s going to find it. He’s kind of buying time, buying time (and) hoping someone pops their gap. So this week, we have to be really, really good at staying in our gaps.”
(On if the linebackers have to be more patient as well when facing RB Le’Veon Bell) – “Absolutely. Fit your gap and stay in your gap until the play is over.”
(On if CB Jordan Lucas is an option from scrimmage) – “Yes. He’s a young kid who is working right now. He’s more of a nickel/safety guy. He’s been up a couple of weeks now. Obviously, if his turn comes, he’ll be fine playing for us.”
(On if CB Jordan Lucas is at nickel or safety) – “He’s still a nickel/kind of a safety. (He’s a) defensive back for you. That’s what he is playing right now. He’s working hard.”
(On DE Cameron Wake playing at Sam ‘backer and if we could see more of that) – “It depends. Each week is different. This week it’s going to be a one-back, three-wide receiver game, so he won’t be a Sam ‘backer this week.”
(On S Reshad Jones’ injury and what the plan will be if he doesn’t play) – “It’s going to be a game-time decision probably with Reshad. If he doesn’t play, it’s going to be Michael Thomas and Isa (Abdul-Quddus) at the safety positions.”
(On if he wants an open competition at cornerback once CB Chris Culliver comes back) – “The best guys are going to play. Obviously with Culliver, he hasn’t played in a year so that’s going to be a stretch for him to come back and become a starter right away. Hopefully he comes back and can practice and prove he can play, and then we can determine who are the best two or three guys who are going to play for us. But the best guys are going to play, absolutely.”
Ryan Tannehill – October 12, 2016 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill Conference Call with Pittsburgh Media
(On what he remembers most about the game in Pittsburgh in 2013 and if he can use any of that knowledge to his advantage this week) – “2013 – that’s probably one of the most fun games I’ve played in. Just the snow there, it’s a great stadium, great atmosphere. The ending of that game obviously is one I’ll never forget. It’s a good team. It’s a fun place to play up there and I think they’re playing really well right now. I don’t know exactly how much can carry over as far as to now; but I know that they’re a good, well-coached team and they’re going to show up again this week.”
(On if the defense is simpler now than it was then) – “I think they’re a little simpler maybe but they’re still going to throw some exotic stuff at you. They put a lot of exotic stuff on tape – some pressures that they’re going to try to overload you. (They) maybe a touch simpler but they’re still have a package or a few packages where they’re going to try to mix things up and confuse you a little bit.
(On the Steelers not allowing many passes down the field this year) – “I think they do a good job of keeping things in front of them. They don’t let guys behind them very often. They do a good job. They’re a sound defense and know their responsibilities, so they’re not going to give up cheap plays down the field.”
(On if that limits what he can do) – “Well I think we have to stretch the field, obviously. We’ve got to find our shots but understand that we’re going to have to just play smart. You can’t force it. If it’s not there, we’ll definitely stretch the field as much as we can. But we’ll just have to play what’s there.”
(On Head Coach Adam Gase discussing a new staff and culture and how that transition has gone) – “It’s always a process whenever you change staffs and are changing cultures in the building. It’s not an overnight process; it’s something you have to grow into. I feel like we are growing into it, obviously we haven’t quite got the results on the field that we’re looking for; but I think around the building, the culture we’re building here is heading in the right direction, and we have to get results on the field to go along with it.”
(On what he has seen from the Steelers’ tape where they have gotten a lot more pressure on the quarterback this season) – “They’re just a relentless defense. They are going to play to the whistle every snap. The front guys are good, even if they are getting double teamed, of just fighting through blocks and relentless pursuit of the quarterback. I have a ton of respect for their front and the guys they have rushing the QB.”
(On the importance of getting T Branden Albert and G/T Laremy Tunsil back) – “It’s huge. Obviously the last game was tough not having them in there. We get them back this week, hopefully they’re healthy and ready to go, and it’ll be nice to have them back.”
(On the ending of the Tennessee game with the crowd getting on him, taking shots and what gets him through those moments) – “Yes, it’s tough. The crowd’s frustrated, we’re frustrated as a team – things weren’t going the way we wanted it to – but you just have to keep your head down and keep working. You can’t overthink it too much or really put too much into it. It’s just a matter of staying the course, stay with the process and just keep doing everything you can to get better and win football games.”
(On if that was as hard as he’s been hit in a while) – “I took a few good ones in that game.”
Adam Gase – October 12, 2016
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On the decision making that went into yesterday’s roster moves) – “It probably started on Sunday night. We started talking about if we wanted to make some changes and discussed it Sunday night, Monday, went through the morning on Tuesday, and we decided to make some moves.”
(On what prompted him to make the moves) – “We were doing our evaluation process on certain guys, and we felt like it was time for us to make a change.”
(On whether the roster moves were performance-based) – “Yes.”
(On whether releasing RB Isaiah Pead was numbers-based) – “It was a little bit. Hopefully, we’re going to get Arian (Foster) back here pretty soon. We’re getting pretty crowded back there, and we got to make some moves on some other positions as well. We’re a little bit unhealthy (at) certain spots and need to add some depth.”
(On G/T Laremy Tunsil practicing today) – “He was limited today.”
(On G/T Laremy Tunsil will play Sunday) – “We’ll see how we get through the week. I really don’t know for sure right now, so we’re keeping all doors open. We’ll see how it goes as the week goes on.”
(On how exactly G/T Laremy Tunsil fell) – “I don’t know. I didn’t want to get too deep with him on it. I just know he didn’t play on Sunday. I don’t know. Ask him.”
(On whether he asked G/T Laremy Tunsil about his fall) – “I might’ve. But I was just like, ‘I don’t want to know.’ I started asking him, and then I was like, ‘You know what? I just don’t want to know. I know you didn’t play.’”
(On CB Bené Benwikere and CB Chimdi Chekwa and if his expectation is if they will compete to start eventually) – “I think we’ve got a long ways to go before anybody is going to be able to get caught up that fast, and we’re pretty deep into it right now. There have been a lot of schematic things that we are doing a little different since the last time. Chekwa has been here for sure. Obviously when you’re learning a new defense, it’s going to take a minute.”
(On S Reshad Jones’ status) – “We’ll see. We’ll see how the week goes on. I don’t know how much we’re actually going to see him in practice. It’s going to be a game-time decision for us.”
(On S Reshad Jones’ injury) – “I think we have a groin listed.”
(On whether he was sending a message to the team with yesterday’s roster moves) – “I think it was we wanted to make a change at a few spots, and a couple of those guys were offensive lineman and (at the) running back position. That’s what we thought was best for our roster at the moment.”
(On his message to QB Ryan Tannehill this week) – “Really, it’s, ‘We’ve got to go out there. We’ve got to get the ball out quick (and) do a good job of processing what’s going on. Make good decisions. We’ve got to play turnover-free football.’ That’s going to be key for us – the entire offense – and we’ve got to create turnovers on defense. That’s going to be a big factor for us this game. Obviously, we can’t give them short fields, because it’s tough enough to defend this offense as it is. We have to do a great job on offense making sure that we hold on to the ball.”
(On whether yesterday’s roster moves being seen as a message to the team is a negative team) – “I don’t know. You’d have to ask them. I just know that we’re trying to get the best guys we can possibly get to play on Sunday and play at max effort and do things right and do their assignments right and get guys that are going to play as a group and try to figure out a way to get a win.”
(On if this is something we might be prepared to see going forward) – “Every week’s a new week. In the NFL, it’s hard to keep those seats in that room. There’s a reason why you go through this whole process throughout the season. It’s about trying to figure out who are the guys you want in this organization, who are the guys you want to build with and create something good.”
(On QB Ryan Tannehill’s lack of protection and dealing with it by making plays by escaping) – “Yes, when things are going bad, you have to figure out what your options are. Sometimes play calling can help you in that situation. We got a little bit, towards the end, where we had to try to drop back pass, we tried to do a couple of max protections. He wasn’t able to hold onto the ball for more than basically to hit the back of his drop. Somebody was either hitting him or in his face. It really didn’t matter what we did.”
(On the Steelers using max protection and how are they able to be so explosive when only releasing two guys down the field) – “Because their receivers are really good. That’s why. When you’ve got their caliber of guys and you’ve got a lot of time and their QB can launch it and then he can buy more time, you start to get into scramble-drill type moments, it’s tough. It’s hard to hang with you guys. You’ve got linebackers dropping out after you get play-action protection. You’ve got guys running all over the field and all of a sudden one of those guys finds a crease. It’s a dangerous deal if you let them loose.”
(On if he has any update on TE Jordan Cameron) – “Yes, he was in the building today. We’re still in the (concussion) protocol.”
(On how CB Byron Maxwell is handling the rocky start) – “He keeps coming out and working, I know that. He’s trying to spend a lot of time. He watches a lot of film. He’s always asking questions, he’s really engaged in meetings. He’s trying to figure out a way to contribute and be part of the solution.”
(On who are his first string corners) – “The same guys we had last week.”
(On who would be his first guard off the bench right now) – “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
(On whether the first guard off the bench would be C/G Kraig Urbik or C/G Anthony Steen) – “It could be anybody on the roster.”
(On the challenges Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell gives the linebackers that have had difficulty fitting their gaps) – “It takes the whole group. You’ve got to make sure you do a good job of bottling him up. You can’t let him loose and when you get one guy that gets a hand on him, you better have a whole bunch of guys coming after him. It has to be a gang-tackling effort. I don’t see a lot of teams bringing him down with one guy. His patience is impressive. He’s done a lot of different schemes in his career coming from college to this level here. He’s obviously one of the best running backs in the league for a reason.”
(On if the linebackers need to be slower to committing to stop RB Le’Veon Bell) – “Well if you do that, he’ll make you pay for that too. It doesn’t matter what you do. If you get a glove on him, you have to make sure that you hold on and everyone else has to rally to the ball.”
(On his views on accountability and what would he say to the players about accountability) – “Doing your job. Doing what you’re supposed to do at the right time under pressure. If you do your job, and the next guy does his job, you’ve got a better chance of having success on that one play.”
(On how many of his players he thinks have done their job) – “It’s more than what, probably, I make you guys feel like. It’s just, our expectations, we expect guys to work for perfection. I mean that’s how you win. It’s as many guys as possible trying to do it right so we have a chance at the end of the game. It’s going to be a 2-minute drive one way or the other, and that’s the situation you’re trying to put yourself in.”
(On why the offensive linemen moves weren’t made after training camp) – “A lot of times everybody thinks it’s really easy to just say, ‘Hey, let’s go grab this guy.’ I mean who’s out there? We’ve got a list of guys that we’re always tracking and evaluating. This is part of our evaluation process. At the time, that’s where we were at. That was the roster we went with and we decided to make a change.”
(On the assessment of the new CB Bené Benwikere) – “Well, anytime you get a young player that you have good grades on, and obviously we’re shifting some things around on our roster, we had a chance to pick him up. That’s why our personnel department does what they do. They bring a guy like that to the table and then we sit down, we make a decision and then we add a guy and we’ve got to make another move. It was something that we had an opportunity. We took a shot at the guy. We got him. It worked out for us.”
(On CB Bené Benwikere’s ball skills) – “For us, we’re always trying to find guys that, when the ball is in the air, if we can get our hands on it and we have a shot to get a turnover, that’s what we want to do. The more guys that you have confidence in that can turn the ball over, you want to get as many of those guys out there. We’ve got a couple of guys that have the ability to do that. We haven’t put ourselves in position to do it quite yet. But moving forward, hopefully we can keep improving in that area.”
(On CB Chris Culliver being able to come off of PUP next week and if he’s thinking he’s someone that could help him out after the bye week as opposed to the Buffalo Bills game) – “We’ll see how it goes. I don’t have any definite answers there.”
(On having nine defensive linemen on the roster and what went into the decision of moving DT Leon Orr from the practice squad) — “We had an available spot. We felt like he was the next best guy. We’re just trying to find ways to keep practicing, see what our best fit is for game day, and this gives us another opportunity.”
(On what the process is for WR Jakeem Grant to earn more time on offense and if that takes place on the practice field) – “Pretty much. For the most part, we have certain things that we like to do with him. We’re (not) going to try to put too much on his plate because what he is doing is a big job. I know a lot of people think that it’s really easy to go back there and do what he does; but when you’re a first-year player and we can get him to focus on what he needs to do because he can make game-changing plays – that benefits us. If we find some things on offense that he can do, that’s beneficial. He’s usually, a lot of times when you have a return specialist, you don’t get that. But with him, he’s an actual wide receiver that we’re training and trying to get better and making sure he knows exactly what to do all the time. It’s not easy to pull one of those three guys (WRs Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker) off the field. I feel really comfortable with those guys. We’ve just got to keep building on this thing with those three guys and find ways to get them the ball and give them a chance to make some plays.”
(On if WR Jakeem Grant has ever worked as a running back) – “Maybe.”
(On how RB Kenyan Drake played Sunday) – “He did pretty good. The drop was very uncharacteristic of him. That’s one of the main reasons why he is a valuable piece for us is his ability to do all three phases of the running back position. We’re always going to try to find ways to get him involved and get the ball in his hands but we had 44 plays in the game. We tried to get something going there with Jay (Ajayi). We start pulling guys in and out and now Jay (would have) seven carries. I think he had what, 13? We were hoping to get more like the 20-25 range. Those guys kind of were … (we were) spot playing those guys in certain situations, trying to get them involved a little bit. We were trying to get our running game, something going there with one guy.”
(On how he would describe DE Mario Williams’ performance after five games) – “I think we’ve been a little up and down. We’ve had a couple of games where he’s done well – he’s done his job, he’s had some production here and there. You’re always looking for consistency. I think every position is; every guy. You always want to be able to walk out of the game and say, ‘Hey, we counted on this and we got more.’ You never want to say you got less. It’s one of those things where when you’re in a situation to where you’re playing the run as much as we’ve been because we’ve been behind, teams are trying to run the ball on us. That team last week, we knew that’s what they wanted to do. We signed him, we wanted him to pass rush, and what we haven’t done is held our end of the bargain on offense. We haven’t had any production. We haven’t given our defense a chance to pass rush. That’s the thing we’ve got to change most of all.”
(On if this team has played as they’ve practiced) – “No. These guys practice hard. They do it right in practice. We just have to transfer it into a game.”
(On if it is possible to get RB Kenyan Drake and RB Jay Ajayi in the game at the same time) – “Possibly.”
Adam Gase – October 12, 2016 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase Conference Call with Pittsburgh Media
(On the biggest challenge in changing the culture in Miami) – “I think, for our coaching staff, what we’re really trying to establish is how we like to do things. I think any time there is change, it takes a second to get used to – just the way we want to practice, the tempo we want to set, the way that we want to prepare for games and then, obviously, the way that we like to execute. We’re going through some tough patches here and there where we’re not quite getting some things done the way we need to get done. Sometimes there is a little bit of a learning curve as well, as far as play-callers offensively and defensively understanding what our guys really excel at and some of the things that our guys struggle at.”
(On if it is tougher for the players to get used to him or him and his coaches trying to get used to 53 guys) – “It’s probably right down the middle. I think it is tough. I know I can speak for myself, as far as being a play-caller, and thinking that we’re good at one thing and then we get into a game and we quite don’t do it the way that we did it in practice. Sometimes when a team makes an adjustment within the game and we don’t react the right way, that’s where that learning curve comes into effect of, ‘Alright, maybe we didn’t rep this enough to where our guys know it in and out and we can make those adjustments.’ Over time, you start to get a little better feel when guys can make those adjustments within a game to where when something happens unexpectedly, they make the adjustment themselves without us having to have a meeting about it.”
(On what went into the decision to cut two offensive linemen this week) – “We were just thinking it was time for us to move on from some guys. We wanted to see where we were at as far as some of the other guys that we wanted to work with, and a couple of guys that we had been eyeballing about bringing back that we had before. We felt like this was the right timing for us, and that’s what we ended up doing. We’re moving on and working on this week and getting the guys ready that are here.”
(On what he has seen from WR Sammie Coates) – “Obviously, he had some big production the last game. When you have this many guys that are as impactful as they are, it makes it hard on a defense to focus on one guy. And obviously with probably the best receiver in the league there, there are a lot of one-on-one matchups going on with other guys. When those guys are able to win their one-on-one matchups, now they start making plays and now you have a big-time problem. You’re looking at a guy that’s really been effective in causing problems for teams.”
(On WR Jarvis Landry) – “The thing that he does is being able to play inside and outside is always a valuable key. When you have a guy that comes through for you when you really need him to come through for you, that’s really the most critical thing that I keep looking at is, ‘Who can make the play when everyone knows the ball is going to you?’ Those are the guys that you really have to keep in your organization, make sure that they’re always involved in the game plan. Sometimes you kind of get lost in the game and don’t realize, ‘Hey, this guy needs to be more of a guy of focus for us.’ Last game, we didn’t give that guy enough chances to make plays for us. When we have a guy like this that every time we call his number, he seems to find a way to make something happen – whether he is covered or not – it’s disappointing to me that I didn’t call good enough plays last week to give that guy a chance.”
(On the value that Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph provides this week going against a team he is familiar facing) – “It always helps when you have a guy that came from the division, because obviously, you play each other twice a year, so you know each other so well. That’s why those division games are always tough. Myself being in the AFC West as long as I had been, it seems like every year I’m playing the same division the last three years. I know from my experience, it makes a big difference because you know the players, you know the personnel, you at least have an outline of how you should possibly plan for that week. Then you have to adjust that plan to the personnel that you have to try to see if you can correlate it a little bit. Obviously, the personnel is a little different here compared to where he was before, but at least he knows what weapons are going to be used that week for them and what’s the best way to try to take things away. They’re going to do a good job of getting their main players touches. They’re going to get yards. It’s going to be about how well do we handle any kind of adversity for us in this game and then how do we figure out a way to at least limit some of these explosive plays that occur.”
(On the Steelers pass rush and what challenges it presents) – “I think right now for us, we have to play one of our better games as far as upfront and protecting our quarterback and giving him a chance to go through some kind of progression. As of late, we haven’t been able to do that. We’ve had some injuries and we’ve had some guys shuffling around. We’ve gotten some guys back. We’ve lost a couple guys. At the end of the day, we have to do a better job of playing the play longer than the defenders. We haven’t done that up to this point. There have been certain times where it has looked pretty good, there have been times where it has looked okay and there have been times that have looked terrible. Our biggest focus has to be making sure everybody is doing their assignment, and then finish the play. That’s one of the reasons why this defense does what it does is, (because) they play the play longer than the teams that they’re playing, more times than not. And when they get around the ball carrier, it’s not just one guy. It’ll be five, six guys hitting the ball carrier whether it’s a running back or a receiver. We have to make sure we do a great job of playing the play as long or longer than they do.”
(On the availability of T Branden Albert and G/T Laremy Tunsil this week) – “Hopefully today, if we get them out at practice, that will be good for us. Branden – I feel more confident about him right now, because what he had last week wasn’t necessarily an injury. He was sick. He lost 12 pounds during the week, which it would have been wrong for me to put him out there with no practice time. He wasn’t feeling right. He had lost a lot of weight. He was dehydrated. Especially in the heat down here, it could have been a situation that was already bad, we could have made it worst. As far as Tunsil goes, we’re just going to have to see where he’s at. If we can get him out at practice – and try to get some individual going and actually get him involved in practice – if he feels alright, we have an opportunity to get him to go – great. If not, then we’ll have to go to our contingency plan.”
(On if G/T Laremy Tunsil’s injury was the most freak injury he’s come across) – “I wish I could say yes, but in 2009 – our first game at Denver – we actually had our inactives in (and) we had a guy slip on sunscreen in the training room and separate his shoulder like 20 minutes before going out for warmups.”
(On if that makes him wonder what may happen next) – “No, I don’t want to think about it. (laughter) I do not want to know what’s going to happen next. I don’t want that to happen anymore. That’s a bad phone call to get when you think everything is good to go and then all of a sudden, you’re making all of these adjustments a couple of hours before the game.”
(On what he has seen from LB Mike Hull and how he has stuck on the roster) – “I think he has whatever ‘it’ is, as far as pure guts and determination. All of the things that people say of, ‘You’re too small. You’re not fast enough.’ They give you all the negatives, but he keeps making plays. When you’re a special teams guy and that’s your role, he knows what the other team does so well. He knows what we do, and he uses those two things to his advantage. He basically wins a lot of times with his mind and then puts his body in position and then he makes a play. He’s not afraid to pull the trigger. We talk about all the time of guys selling out and playing every play as hard as they can, and he does that. That’s why he does have success in his role and what we do – whether it be special teams or defense – because he sells out. He’s not afraid to where if he misses a tackle, he misses a tackle; but he’s going a thousand miles an hour to make sure he’s putting himself out there. He’s not going to pull back, because he’s like, ‘I’m not really sure if I can make this play.’ He just goes, and he tries to make a play.”
(On what it is about the Steelers offensive scheme that fits QB Ben Roethlisberger well) – “I think over the years, playing against him, just seeing him go from (former Offensive Coordinator) Bruce (Arians) to (Offensive Coordinator) Todd (Haley), the multiplicity makes things so hard for the defense. The fact that all of a sudden you’ll feel like they’ve gone big, they’re going to pound you, and then all of a sudden they’re big and then they spread you out, then they get little and they start running the ball, then they’re in empty, then it’s play-action – there’s so many things that they do. And then his ability to extend plays. I’ve been on the other end so many times where you think you have him, he gets away, and then all of a sudden somebody is 50 yards down the field wide open. He takes the offense – the outline of the offense – and then he makes it better because of what he can do physically of buying time, letting guys get freed up, creating plays if something’s not exactly done the way it’s drawn up. When you have a guy that does those type of things, it makes it very hard for a defense to handle.”
Arian Foster – October 12, 2016
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Running Back Arian Foster
(On how much he is able to do physically at this point) – “Right now, I have to wait. I haven’t practiced yet, so I have to wait. But I feel pretty good. I feel confident in it.”
(On what he has done so far) – “I’ve ran. I’ve sprinted. I feel pretty good.”
(On if he anticipates practicing today) – “Yes, I’m going to be at practice today.”
(On how he wants to see his body respond before deciding if he will play on Sunday) – “I want it to not hurt. That’s the goal.”
(On if it has been hurting) – “Obviously.”
(On how long it has been hurting) – “The last three weeks, three and a half weeks.”
(On if it wasn’t right late last week) – “It doesn’t hurt. It’s just not where it needs to be. There’s a certain amount of confidence you have to have in soft tissue injuries in order to explode like you want to explode.”
(On if the roster moves the team made sends a message to the rest of the team) – “It’s a business. You kind of forget that sometimes, but when you see guys get let go, you get reminded very fast that they have a certain standard that they want on their roster. If they feel you don’t meet that standard, they’ll go in another direction. You always have to keep that in mind if you’re in this league.”
(On if the roster moves were what he expected from Head Coach Adam Gase) – “I don’t get involved in transactions. That’s not my business. I’m just here to be a good teammate.”
(On if it is a warning sign that nobody is safe and if you don’t do your job that you’ll be looking for work) – “You should feel like that anyway in the NFL. I’ve always been of the mindset that upstairs, they’re looking for somebody to replace you every single day and it’s your job to have them not do that.”
(On if it has been a frustrating season for him so far) – “Yes. You want to be out there and help the team with as much offseason work I’ve put in to get back healthy from the injury I had, and a little thing pops up. But it’s part of the game. You can’t scream at the universe. It’s not the universe’s fault.”
(On if his groin and hamstring injuries are related) – “They’re cousins (laughter).”
(On if the injuries are first cousins) – “Distant.”
(On if the injuries were related) – “Yes. They’re cousins. Same bloodline.”
Ndamukong Suh – October 12, 2016
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
(On yesterday’s offensive line roster moves) – “(I) don’t focus on it. I just focus on my small box and my two guys I got to beat.”
(On the run defense) – “We got to execute when it counts, and that’s obviously in the games. (We have to) understand what our tasks are and each and every guy has to get done in their job and tackle. That’s what it’s going to come down to.”
(On challenges to Steeler’s explosive offense present) – “Yes, they definitely have an explosive offense. (They have) great receivers, great running backs, obviously a great quarterback who has a strong arm that likes to push it down the field as well as a get lot of short passes in their passing game. We have a lot on our plate that we’re going to have to deal with, and I think first and foremost we understand we have to stop the run.”
(On how important is it is to wrap up QB Ben Roethlisberger) – “Yes, (Ben) Roethlisberger is a very slippery quarterback. People don’t necessarily see him as a very athletic guy, but he can move around in the pocket – (he is) obviously great at that – and get outside the pocket to hurt you. You got to continue to rally. No matter what, the play is never over. We just have to go out there and make sure we get him down on the field.”
(On he sees that as an opportunity to make plays if the Steelers push the ball down the field) – “I think when they do that, they choose to max protect and you have to continue to fight double teams, triple teams, whatever it may be. Obviously, they keep their tight ends in on certain situations – usually about two-man routes when they try to push it down the field. At the end of the day, you have to find a way to be slippery and get back there and cause havoc.”
(On RB Le’Veon Bell’s strengths) – “I haven’t seen a ton of film on him, but I played against him before. Obviously, (he is) a great running back. I’ve seen him at Michigan State in his early days. Obviously in the league he has run really well. He’s good out of the back field as well as a pass catcher. At the end of the day, he’s a weapon that we have to contain.”
(On facing a running back as patient as RB Le’Veon Bell and how difficult that is on the defensive line) – “If he’s patient that means he’s hopefully stuttering his feet and that gives us an opportunity to take a shot at him and get him down while he’s in the backfield. At the same time, we have to find ways to penetrate and don’t allow him to get started so he can be patient and follow behind his offensive linemen and things of that nature.”
(On the 1-4 record) – “There’s no explanation, honestly. We didn’t do what we needed to do to take care of business to have more wins than we have loses. At the point we’re at right now being 1 and 4, we have to find a way to figure out a way to win this game and then go from there.”
Ryan Tannehill – October 12, 2016
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill
(On whether releasing players sends a message to the team) – “I think it sends a pretty clear message. Obviously, it’s a tough part of the business. (They are) guys that you spend a lot of time with – good people – but it sends a message to everyone on this team that, ‘You’ve got to get your job done, or we’re going to find somebody who can.’”
(On how he is health-wise) – “I’m fine.”
(On whether he was sore on Monday) – “I was sore, but I’m alright.”
(On whether Sunday’s game was one of the worst games he’s had as far as taking hits) – “I don’t know. I’ve had a few rough ones. Hopefully, we can get the ball out and not have as many hits.”
(On the difficulty of reading progressions without time to throw) – “It’s tough whenever you don’t have a chance to even really start your progression, or if you do, to get to (the) number two (progression). There’s no chance of that. It makes it tough. It makes it tough on everyone. The receivers have to be able to get open quickly. I think several of those were on third down situations, so it’s tough to get to the open guy if you don’t have time. Part of that is on me being able to move in the pocket and find an open guy.”
(On if he thinks the team should move the pocket more because it has been a strength of his in the past) – “We always have that available to us to be able to move it a little bit. (We) have a couple things in this week, so we’ll see what ends up coming up during the game.”
(On trying to escape the pocket when he doesn’t have time) – “You have to be able to move. Some of it is … You have to have time to move. If your eyes are downfield and you’re looking at one (and) you get hit from behind, it’s tough to move at that point. As a quarterback – as a guy who has the ability to move – I feel like I need to be able to escape the pocket some and get out of harm’s way.”
(On the team’s mood) – “It’s tough. Obviously, we’re nowhere near where we thought we were going to be. But the reality is that’s our reality. We only have one real option and that’s to keep working and find a way to win games.”
(On what his leadership role means now) – “Just keep pushing. Keep pushing guys around me to get better. Push each other in practice. Hold people accountable for how we’re walking though, how we’re practicing. Making sure the details are right, because the details have been what has hurt us during the games. (We) have to make sure everyone is on top of the game, whether they’re in the rep or behind watching. We have to be getting that mental rep. If there’s a mistake in practice, that we make the correction and everyone gets the correction. It’s not one person got corrected, and we get the same mistake by another person during the game. We have to be on the same page and clean of … If we make a correction, then everybody gets it.”
(On where he was when he learned about yesterday’s roster moves) – “I was here yesterday when I found out. I don’t remember exactly how I found out.”
(On if his baby boy helps when he has a bad day at work) – “He definitely helps. Everyone knows there have been some tough times here at work lately. It’s always nice to be able to go home – even if it is late – and get a smile before bed. It really caps off the day in a nice way.”
(On his son being too young to know the outcome of games) – “The nice thing is he doesn’t care. It’s like a better version of a dog. (laughter) Dogs don’t care what happened on your day. They’re happy to see you no matter what. A kid is the same thing, just even better.”
(On if he fired the family’s dog) – “They probably feel like they got fired a little. Not nearly as much attention as they used to (get), but we try.”
(On the explanation for the 1-4 start) – “We haven’t played well enough, especially on offense. The defense has played a few good games and really given us an opportunity. On offense, we haven’t done a good job of playing complementary football. When the defense gets a stop – a three-and-out – we have to be able to move the ball, keep them off the field and score points. That’s what it comes down to, is finding ways to score points.”
(On Pittsburgh’s offense and that 20-22 points won’t be enough to win) – “They’re one of the top caliber offenses in the league. They have the ability to score and score in bunches. So, as an offense, we have to be clean on what we’re doing, take care of the football, keep ourselves on the field, keep our defense off the field, and that’ll give us a good chance to win.”
(On the message from Head Coach Adam Gase to him since the last game) – “Stay the course. We’re trying to make some changes, make some corrections and keep doing everything I can to play the way I’m supposed to play and good things will happen.”
(On adjustments he has to make if he continues to remain under pressure) – “I have to find a way to get the ball out. Receivers have to be able to get open quickly. I have to see them get open quickly and use my feet, if necessary. Hopefully we don’t have that continued issue. It’s tough in any situation when you’re getting quick pressures. I think the offensive line is working hard to correct that and skill positions are working hard to be able to get open and get the ball out quickly.”
(On whether there are times on film where he sees that he can do something to prevent sacks) – “It definitely comes up. I don’t know a specific number, but it definitely comes up when there’s a movement you can make or maybe escaping the pocket – something like that. It’s not every time, but it does come up.”
Adam Gase – October 10, 2016
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Monday, October 10, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On what happened with G/T Laremy Tunsil yesterday) – “From what I gathered, he slipped in the shower and when he fell, he jacked his ankle up. I don’t know how it actually happened. I know sometimes when something like that happens, you really don’t know exactly how you did it because you just know you’re in pain. And then I’m driving to the game – and I’m actually with our o-line coach (Chris Foerster) – he gets a phone call and I hear him talking on the phone and I’m kind of going, ‘Who is he talking to?’ And then I just (hear) ‘Alright, ‘L.T.’ (Laremy Tunsil), I’ll see you at the stadium.’ And I’m kind of like, ‘What just happened?’ Then I get a little bit of the details of what happened and then now it goes into, ‘What’s the next step?’ Once we found that out, everything kind of went in motion. Then it was more about how hurt is he? Because we didn’t know; he’s at the hotel. So we had to get him over there, x-ray him, all those type of things. I had to move on it quick as far as, ‘Okay, what’s our plan now?’ And make some adjustments and trying to reconfigure what we needed to do in the game.”
(On how hurt is G/T Laremy Tunsil) – “So we’re still kind of going through, as far as how long … or is it day-to-day? Week-to-week? Every day can be different, because once again, everybody heals differently. We’re just going to have to see. We’re going to see how he feels tomorrow. He feels a little bit better today. How’s he going to be tomorrow? How is he going to be Wednesday? Obviously the sooner that he gets back, the better for us.”
(On if G/T Laremy Tunsil was sober) – “He’s at the team hotel. It’s 8:30 in the morning or whatever. We got mandatory breakfast and then the guys drive to the game. I mean the guy was taking a shower and slipped. It’s not the first time I’ve seen something weird happen pregame. In 2009, I saw a guy slip in Cincinnati because they were putting sunblock on him and he had cleats on. (He) separates his shoulder and we already had the inactives in. It’s like one of those one-in-a-thousand, one-in-a-million type deals. When it happens, it’s a bad deal because when you talk about unexpected, that’s an unexpected thing that happened.”
(On if G/T Laremy Tunsil is on crutches) – “No. He’s walking.”
(On taking a shower four or five hours before a game and if that is fairly [normal]) – “He woke up. I took a shower before I came to the game. I jumped in the shower and got ready for the game and was heading over to the stadium.”
(On G/T Laremy Tunsil and if he was disheartened or frustrated) – “I’m sure it’s a cross between embarrassment and, ‘Really, I’m missing a game because of this?’ He knows him being out there makes us better. He’s a competitor and he knows we count on him being healthy and being a part of our offense.”
(On how much G/T Laremy Tunsil’s absence hurt) – “Any time you lose a starter, it doesn’t help you, and especially the way that we had practiced all week and kind of what we had going and planning and what we planned on doing during the game. All of a sudden two guys get thrown out of position that they weren’t expecting to play at.”
(On how far ahead of time did he know that T Branden Albert would not be able to go?) – “We pretty much made that decision … I think me and him starting texting, I want to say maybe Thursday, that he was kind of like, ‘Something’s not right. Something’s not right.’ Then as more texts came to me, then we realized there was no chance for us to get him out there. We couldn’t do that to him. I mean he lost 12 pounds. He looked – even Sunday – he still looked like he was drained. He couldn’t eat. So we just got to figure out and make sure that we get his strength back and get his weight back up.”
(On mono was ruled out for T Branden Albert) – “They did. They know what it was. They went through all those tests. I think there’s some kind of legal precedence that I can’t talk about it or something. We’ll go with that one.”
(On if other players came down with it) – “No. It’s nothing contagious.”
(On why G Billy Turner went to left tackle and not G/T Jermon Bushrod) – “The one thing about doing that is you don’t know unless you’ve actually had to do this, but (Bushrod’s) played right guard since he got here. And to throw him out at left tackle with no reps … it’s just something that, since we’ve been so deep as far as who would play left tackle. We felt like that gave us our best chance.”
(On G Dallas Thomas playing left guard and not C/G Anthony Steen) – “Well, Anthony (Steen) was up just in case. I mean originally when we heard this, I was going, alright, so (Anthony) Steen, I wasn’t even sure was going to be able to go on Sunday and I started making contingency plans in my brain of, alright, so if Dion (Sims) has to play tackle … That’s what I started thinking of because I thought we were going to have six linemen up. Then I went to the trainers and they were like, ‘If something really happened to where he had to go in the game, he can play it’s just he doesn’t have full strength.’ He hadn’t really leaned on guys to test it out to that extreme.”
(On how C Mike Pouncey did) – “Really well. Really well. It was like he was never gone.”
(On saying QB Ryan Tannehill is his quarterback for the rest of year and if quarterback is a different position for him) – “Well, I know when we have 18 drop-back passes and he’s hit or sacked on nine of them, and then the completions we do have, he’s got guys in his face. So I’m supposed to blame him for that? I get a look at the whole picture. I’m calling the plays. I know what it’s supposed to look like and it’s not looking like that right now as far as what’s going on around him. When we start cleaning some things up and we give him a chance to perform at the level that I think he’s going to perform … if he doesn’t do it, that’s one thing. But I need to see to where we get a chance in protection. We’re right on a lot of the other things that we’re supposed to be doing. Everybody is (saying), ‘Is he going to have mistakes?’ Yes, that last interception. I told him before he went out there, I was like, ‘When I call this play, you’re going to have to fit it in.’ He tries to fit it in and he gets jacked to the point where I thought he was going to get his rotator cuff blown out and his knee blown out. And then everybody gets pissed at him. Everybody wants to blame that position. It’s the easy one to do because you can see completion, incompletion, interception. When you hit your back foot and you get sacked, there’s not much you can do about it.”
(On if he feels he can make a decision on QB Ryan Tannehill after 16 games if protection stays like it is) – “I mean that’s so far away right now. I know everybody wants to rush to judgement. I mean we’re five games in. I know this. We’re going to go back to work on Wednesday and then we’re going to figure out a way to get better.”
(On how much protection can get cleaned up this week if you’re getting two guys on the left side back) – “That always helps. The closer we can get to that starting line, the better. Just keep tinkering. My biggest thing for me as a play caller is I have to find what do we do well and then try to emphasize that. There are times we’re doing certain things where I feel like that’s who we are starting to become, and then something will fall off and we have some kind of issue, whether it be protection or somebody running the wrong route or we make a wrong read. The biggest thing for us is we need to kind of separate ourselves as what type of team are we, as far as offensively. It’s been a little bit of a struggle for us. One, we just haven’t had enough plays to really kind emphasize anything.”
(On T Ja’Wuan James not playing good this year) – “To say he’s not good, I think that’s a little extreme. I would say this, if there’s … I don’t want to say 75 because we’re averaging like what 50 (plays per game)? But if there’s 50 plays in a game, he’s having 45 really good plays to where he’s doing things right and then we’re having five rough plays, or five bad plays. It’s just something (that) when you’re at tackle, those five bad plays really stick out. That’s the thing. I know we’ve changed some technique things that we were trying to do with the tackles and some guys, it takes to quicker than others. Some of the things that we’re trying to do with him are different than what he’s done in the past. It’s about sometimes trusting your coaching, trusting the scheme that we’re trying to do and selling out and being all in. Sometimes what happens is when you’re in the middle of the game and bullets are flying, you’re trying to just figure out a way to get the guy blocked. And then you go away from a certain technique, and it’s a group working together, that can put you in a bad spot. That’s what’s happening a couple of times. I know he’s trying to do it right. It’s just we need him to kind of pick up the pace of doing it right all the time.”
(On Titans OLB Derrick Morgan’s sack yesterday) – “He wasn’t the only one messed up on that. Everybody was. I mean, we’re running a slip screen and we’re totally wrong upfront. Everybody. Everybody’s wrong. That was just a full … that was a full bust by everybody.”
(On which units are making progress) – “The one thing I know I was encouraged about was the way that Jay (Ajayi) ran. Even when we had a couple miscues upfront where we had a free runner, he found a way to either make that guy miss or get us to the line of scrimmage. There were a couple times where he got 9 yards on nothing and he made it happen. The fact that I saw a guy that was not allowing somebody else’s mistake become his mistake, he was trying to make something happen. That was big for me. I told him today, I was like, ‘What you did yesterday was outstanding,’ as far as the way his ball security (was) in traffic, the way that he found a way to try to keep us ahead of the sticks. That was very encouraging for me. We did have (Mike) Pouncey being back. We had no issues upfront as far as communication with the Mike (linebacker) points. He played really well. But getting him back, we need to get a little bit of that chemistry going back. At some point, we’d like to get our starting five in there.”
(On whether he has thought about evaluating players from other teams) – “We do that … Every Monday, we come in and we end up having a meeting at night saying, ‘Is there anybody out there? Do we need to make any changes?’ We’re constantly having those discussions. I know (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and his guys in personnel, they’re always looking at other teams’ practice squads. When something comes up, it’s brought up in a discussion and we make the best decisions for us at the time. Every week changes. Every game is another evaluation stage for us (to) figure out where we’re at. Sometimes, injuries come us where guys go up and down on IR (Injured Reserve), PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) – things like that. Eventually, we’re going to have to make some changes, because we’re going to have these guys coming off of PUP.”
(On whether there was a mismatch between WR Jarvis Landry and a linebacker in the first series and what happened there) – “In that formation sometimes when you pressure, you end up getting receivers matched up on linebackers or safeties and things like that. For him, he wasn’t the primary on that one. His progression – if we would’ve been right on a progression – got off of what he wanted to do originally. The way they pressured us, we got some pressure in his face to where he had to get his eyes off it. (We) probably would’ve had a chance if we dump it down to Dion (Sims). Even though it’s under the sticks, we had a chance to run for it. That’s why it takes everybody. It’s not just one guy back there. (If) you lose vision on something – you don’t see what’s going on – all of a sudden you don’t convert.”
(On missed tackles and containing the edge) – “It was probably the worst we’ve had as far as missed tackles. I would think … The thing – for these guys – that ends up happening on defense is when you have missed tackles and then guys start trying to help themselves instead of staying with their assignment and cleaning those types of things up, now all of a sudden you got another guy out of his gap and then it creates another hole. When you got two guys like they have (DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry), who have the ability to see a lot and they can make adjustments and a guy doesn’t fit right, they’re going to find where you screwed up and they’re going to expose you. That’s why you see an 8-, 15-yard run ripped off. That’s usually what happens. It’s hard to block everybody up perfect and find that hole and have an explosive play. A lot of times what happens is when you have explosive runs, it is because somebody misfit the run. We had way too much of that going on yesterday to where one guy is trying to do somebody else’s job to compensate for what happened earlier in the game. Like I said yesterday, it’s one guy putting a finger on the dam to stop the leak and then here comes another one and another one. You can’t do that and then be successful versus the run game, and that was the story of our game yesterday.”
(On how frustrating it is to not fit the runs with eight in the box) – “It’s frustrating for everybody, because you’re trying to take away what everybody knew what they were going to do. But it comes down to doing your assignment right, making sure that you’re fitting it correctly. As a coach, when you’re working on it as much as you do during the week, you want to make sure when you hit the game, you have to do it right. Right now, we’re at that stage where things are being fitted right in practice, and we have to transfer it to the game. It’s about performing under pressure. When the lights come on, we have to make sure that we’re translating practice to the game.”
(On who stood out on defense) – “We have some good, some bad, so it’s hard for me to say one guy who stood out, because we took our turns all over the place. I know Reshad (Jones) always seems to be a guy making a lot of plays, but he has his mistakes, too. But a lot of times his mistakes come from … When you’re at that position, you can gamble. When you’re a player of his caliber, you make that gamble and usually make the play. The problem is when he does miss, it’s usually … It could be really bad, but good thing for him he’s such a great player that he ends up making those plays.”
(On wanting to turn the pass rush loose) – “When you look at the situation that we’ve been in all these games is, the defense has so many plays. It’s one thing to stop the run, but it’s one thing to stop the run for 60 plays or 50 plays. It’s because they’re on the field as much as they are, because we’re not doing what we need to do on offense and we’re behind, so the other team is running the ball and our guys are getting pounded on, and it wears on those guys. Over time, it’s really going to affect us, because we built this thing to where, if we can stop the run early and we get ahead of them, all of a sudden you let those guys do what they do best, which I’d obviously love to see Cam (Wake) pass rush more. I’d love to see Mario (Williams) and (Ndamukong) Suh and ‘J.J.’ (Jason Jones) be able to rush the passer as much as possible. But when you’re down by 10 or 14 or seven (points) for most of the game, now that team is able to stay balanced. It doesn’t put us at our strength.”
(On how the defense can rush the passer more often) – “You keep moving pieces around. You keep trying to figure out a way or a different type of personnel grouping that we want to throw out there. We did it yesterday. We played some different fronts and defenses and had some different guys in there and played some different fronts, trying to find ways to slow down the run. We didn’t do a good job of fitting it up and making plays when we had chances to make plays. (When) we have a free runner through the hole, the defense is designed that way, we have to make the tackle. It really comes down to guys selling out and going fast through there and finishing the play.”
