Jarvis Landry – September 25, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 25, 2016
Postgame – vs. Cleveland
Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry (transcribed by Armando Gonzalez)
(What can you say about how that game went today?) – “Well it ended how we wanted it too. It had its rough patches, but being in that position three times in a row, three weeks straight and having an opportunity at the end for us to finish the game. We didn’t, defense went out there man, guy missed a kick, got it in overtime and we were able to battle through some adversity and find a way to score.”
(What did you think you learned about your team today?)– “Just what we have always known. We’ve always known that we battle through – perseverance, we have perseverance, we battle through a lot of things and for us we just needed another opportunity. It was no doubt in our mind that we were going to win this game.”
(What was that play on the 32-yard reception?)– “It was just a double move, a double move that we have been working on all week. Well actually it was a late install, we threw it in there and their corners are aggressive. We called a pick on the first drive obviously, so we decided to go after the same guy and it worked out.”
(How late of an install was that?)– “Like a Friday addition, so we got it two days ago. It was just something that just seeing how their corners play we figure we have a shot at it.”
Cameron Wake – September 25, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 25, 2016
Postgame – vs. Cleveland
Miami Dolphins Defensive End Cameron Wake (transcribed by Ted Leshinski)
(Adam Gase looked more like a coach that lost than won after the game. Did he relay that feeling to you? Could you blame him?) – “Well, I think everybody is frustrated. But you rub a little W on it and it makes you feel better. Guys fought all the way through to the end and beyond. But to be honest we still got things that we need to work on. But to close out games and to move on and do things we want to do during the season we got to play better at the beginning of the game.”
(What do you want to clean up first on the defense? Run defense? What concerns you most?) – “Just consistency. We go in there sometimes three and out, sometimes they can’t do anything. And then they’ll go in there with an explosive run, a power run. Just making sure that everyone is detail oriented. Making sure the ability that you have is not just one series here, one series there. If we focus in on those details we’ll be better off.”
(Cam, what’s the primary challenge of going on the road for a Thursday night game? Is it the game plan or keeping your body healthy? What’s the big challenge?) – “Well, I’d like to think everything is even. (Cincinnati) just had a game as well. The turnaround is quick for both teams. The challenge is playing in the NFL. You have to do everything right. The travelling may be a little more taxing on the body but the reality is you have to go out there and win. I don’t care if it’s Thursday night or Sunday afternoon. It doesn’t matter. Whether it’s here or whether it’s there, that’s the situation.”
(Cam, did you lobby for a bigger role for this week?) – “My role is usually predicated on situations and sometimes a situation calls for more of me and sometimes it doesn’t. But again, I work with the staff and we work together that whatever the situation is that’s best for the team.”
(Cam, this team as a whole seems to have the same issues – looking for consistency on offense and consistency on defense. As a unit, how do you come out and play the way you want to play?) – “I think the most important thing is to start out fast. We’ve had a couple of games where we rally the troops and fight at the end but that’s not the way this league is. You’ve got to go out there from the first snap and first whistle and give it your all. I think that’s definitely something we have to focus on. It’s encouraging to see the ability. It’s there. I know I said it earlier but we’ve got to be more detailed oriented; starting fast and making sure we’re not rallying behind or scratching for a win. “
(Cam, I saw some frustration from number 67 (Austin Pasztor). I think he had six holding penalties. I think they had a sack and a half against him. He had a long day out there.) – “Hey, that’s the NFL. You got to go against the best on both sides of the ball. Every time I step on the field, that’s my job. Whoever I’m going against is hopefully having a bad day. I just hope that that continues.”
(What were your emotions like on the big strip-sack fumble and when Bobby McCain is running into the end zone and then that happened.) – “You never want to see yellow flags on the ground, especially after a big play. But that’s football. I don’t know if they said I lined up off sides or if I jumped into the neutral zone but that’s something I have to make sure I fix. I’ll look at the tape and hopefully that’s a good call. I don’t know yet but we’ll see.”
(Are you not sure you jumped the gun on that one?) – “You all have the video somewhere. You tell me.”
(Yes.) – “Yes. Ok.”
(Obviously we had a moment of silence for Jose Fernandez, the tragic death of a superstar. As another Miami superstar, what are your thoughts?) – “I actually literally minutes before I went out there heard about it. I still don’t have all the details but it’s just … It’s so funny because we go out there and we’re playing a game and there are so many things going on that are bigger than football, bigger than sports. And to have someone lose their life … again, I don’t have all the details but it’s just seems early. The moment of silence is obviously well deserved. I know from speaking to guys that he’s a great player and a hell of a person as well. I think to everybody here and around the city he’ll definitely be missed.”
(Cam, Ryan [Tannehill] said he couldn’t believe it when that last kick was missed. Your reaction was?) – “I think everybody was willing it wide left, wide left. But again, that’s what I mean about the frustration. I feel like we shouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with because odds probably say that that’s a made field goal. But you wouldn’t want to be in that situation 10 out of 10 times because nine out of 10 times they’re probably going to make it. We shouldn’t have to rely on someone else’s mistake. We should be in the forefront with the game in our hands whether it’s offense or defense because we have the guys in the locker room who can do it.”
Kenyan Drake – September 25, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 25, 2016
Postgame – vs. Cleveland
Miami Dolphins Running Back Kenyan Drake (transcribed by Armando Gonzalez)
(Overall, obviously a back and forth game, and then the second life with the field goal miss at the end. What were your thoughts when he missed the field goal, when it probably looked like the game was over and then you turn around and were able to win in OT?) – “We just have to take advantage of that opportunity. Obviously playing against professionals, they don’t make many mistakes, so when they do, we’ve got to capitalize.”
(So do you look at it, a win is a win, it does not matter the fashion that it was an ugly game, you guys pulled it out?) – “Oh yes, it does not matter at all.”
Reshad Jones – September 25, 2016 (Postgame)
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Sunday, September 18, 2016
Postgame – at New England
Miami Dolphins Safety Reshad Jones (transcribed by Renzo Sheppard)
(How do you assess the defense’s play?) – “We’ve just got to break down tape. We;ve got to look at it tomorrow and look at the things that we didn’t do well; but any time you get a victory in this league, it’s always a plus.
(You banged up your knee late in the game and went back in the game. How does it feel?) – “I think I’ll be fine (with) short turnaround (and) a little treatment. I have to give credit to our (training staff). We have some great guys and I think they’ll have me ready to play Thursday.”
(You’ve been playing at a high level and had a big game today, is this as well as you’ve played in your career?) – “I’m just trying to be consistent and do everything I can to help the Miami Dolphins win football games. I think that’s what I’m doing.”
(How hard was it to play when the Browns continued to rotate QBs?) – “It was pretty tough, but I think we were prepared. We knew what we were going to face. We knew Terrelle Pryor Sr. was going to come in and do the ‘Wildcat’ and different things like that. So, I’ve got to give credit to ‘Coach VJ’ (Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph) for getting us prepared and getting us ready for those kind of things.”
(How much did you see the ‘Wildcat’ in practice this week?) – “We’ve seen it a couple of times. We were prepared for it.”
(Was it a normal locker room after victory today, or was there relief?) – “I think it was normal, the first win at home and like I said, it wasn’t pretty. It didn’t go the way we wanted it to go. But we have some resilient guys in this locker room, we kept fighting and found a way to win the football game.”
(How do you get your run defense better?) – “Practice, breaking down the tapes and seeing the things and the gaps that we misfit and different things like that. Making tackles, yards after catch, we have to do a better job tackling.”
(The only good thing that Head Coach Adam Gase said after the game is how you played and he compared you to Brian Dawkins. Does that make you feel better despite the fact that the defense didn’t play well?) – “We didn’t play well. Like I said, I had a pretty good game, but that’s my job. That’s what these guys rely on me to do. I’m a leader on the defense. I’m expected to go out there and have those type of games.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase praised your consistent effort day in and day out. How do you impart that to everyone on the team so it’s more of a unified effort?) – “I’ve never been a vocal leader. I’ve been the guy to try and go out and have my play and have guys follow. (I) try to lead by example, (Head coach) Adam Gase said that he wanted me to be more vocal and be a leader on this team and on defense. I took that role on and wanted to step it up a notch and do whatever I could to help the Miami Dolphins win a football game.”
(What makes Terrelle Pryor so difficult to line up against?) – “He’s a big body. He’s fast. He played quarterback in college all of his career. He’s good. He’s a good player. You have to give credit to that guy.”
Adam Gase – September 23, 2016
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Friday, September 23, 2016
Head Coach Adam Gase
(On who the starting running back will be this week) – “I don’t think I’ve narrowed it down as far as who’s going to actually start the game. Obviously, it’s going to come down to what we’re going to do for the openers. We’ve got a bunch of different packages as far as who can go in when and certain things that we can emphasize with them. So, I don’t really have a great answer for you right yet.”
(On whether the starting running back will be package based) – “It’s probably going to be package-based as far as what we’re going to do.”
(On what the team has done in practice to address starting games fast) – “The start of practices have been good. Guys are executing the way we want them to as far as practice goes. Now we have to translate it to the game. We’ve got to be on our assignments. We’ve got to make sure that we don’t have any kind of mental errors or any kind of hiccups going on across the board. We need 11 guys doing their job together, and that’ll give us our best chance to get that first, first down and get going.”
(On RB Arian Foster) – “He’ll be out this week. We’ve kept him inside and done, obviously, some rehab stuff. We’ve been trying to work with him and didn’t really want to bring him outside. We’ve been doing some strengthening things. We’re going to hold him out for this one and reevaluate after this week.”
(On WR DeVante Parker) – “He looks good, but he’s still … It’s just not 100 percent yet. It’s probably going to be like that for a little bit. He’s going to have to keep gaining strength, doing the little, tiny things right – as far as after practice, before practice – making sure he’s doing our activation-type things with our strength staff. He needs to make sure he stays on it as far as hydrating, making sure he’s doing the right thing as far as eating, make sure he’s sleeping. If he does all those things, that’s going to give him his best chance to recover day in and day out. I feel like he has been really making a point of emphasis to himself to try to do things right, so he can be as healthy as he can on Sunday.”
(On an update on DE Jason Jones) – “It was one of those things where … I personally didn’t find out until after practice. (There was) a little bit of a scare there as far as we weren’t sure how bad it was. We felt like holding him out today was our best chance for him to be able to play on Sunday. I think things look good. It’s going to be … Does anything set him back over the next day and a half or whatever we’ve got left? I think we’re going to be alright, but obviously we’ll always have a backup plan as far as if for some reason he couldn’t go, we’re going to have to have the next man up, and then we’re going to have to make sure that we have some things taken care of as far as what we’re doing schematically.”
(On the philosophy of practicing on the indoor field) – “That was something that we’d brought up with Mike (Tannenbaum), and he has done a great job as far as trying to research, ‘Is there something wrong in there? Is there something we can do better?’ I know Mr. (Stephen) Ross is always trying to figure out ways to (do) what’s best for the players. No matter what the dollar amount is, he wants to try to make sure that they’re taken care of and we’re staying healthy and we’re giving them the best resources possible. A few of them have been some oddball injuries. I think a little bit of it is we really don’t practice in there a whole bunch, so I think when we get in there, the speed does pick up. When guys are playing faster and all of a sudden one little thing is a little different, it seems like somebody is getting caught or somebody is getting rolled up on. When we get in there, we have to probably be a little smarter as far as what we’re actually doing. I know a couple times we’ve made some adjustments to practice to try to make sure we’re not putting ourselves in bad positions. A couple of them have been fluke things. That one yesterday (with Jason Jones), I’m not really sure if it’s fluke or it’s because of the turf or what. I know a lot of teams practice indoors a lot and play on turf. We just don’t do it a lot, so I think when we do go in there, it changes what we’re doing as far as how our guys are playing. It is a faster surface.”
(On whether practices are faster on turf) – “I’m not sure. It feels like when we look at our data with our sports science guys it’s like the intensity picks up. You’re not working in the heat, so obviously, when you work in it here you get drained as practice goes on, which is a good thing for us, because that’s getting us in shape. And then when we go (inside), it’s like we’re fresh the whole practice and they’re not as tired, so that intensity and speed maintains throughout the entire practice. When we come out here, that’s like a conditioning drill almost. You guys have stood out there long enough during training camp … Just standing there, it’ll drain you a little bit. So, it changes our practice. At the end of practice, it’s different.”
(On whether any adjustments have been made to get WR Kenny Stills more involved) – “I feel like we’ve had some good things in for him. We’ve had some opportunities, and we’ve missed a couple, and we’ve hit on a couple. I think it’s going to be a matter of time before we get all these guys into the right places and doing the right routes specifically to certain guys. A couple times his number has been called, and the ball has gone somewhere else due to coverage. I wouldn’t read too much (into) the numbers, especially right now, because it’s one of those things where one guy might have eight (receptions) one game, and the next game he might have three and then somebody else has eight or 10. Every game is going to be different. Somebody is going to try to dictate to where you go with the ball, and that’s when somebody else has to step up. Obviously, he’s a guy that I have a lot of confidence in, and he has really impressed me since the spring.”
(On whether QB Ryan Tannehill is doing a good job with what defenses are showing him) – “He has been really good as far as the decision making goes. There have been very few times where I’ve really thought, ‘Are we just trying to get the ball to this guy?’ I don’t even thing that’s really happened in a game, yet. He has done a good job of sticking with what our progressions are, what the coverage is dictating. It can get tough. If you ever have one of those games where one of your better players isn’t getting the ball and you try to force one to him, the discussion I’ve had with him is, ‘Every time I’ve ever tried to get somebody the ball, it just never seems to work out.’ When you kind of let it happen naturally, that’s when it usually starts building as the game goes on.”
(On how much he thinks the touchdown pass that TE Jordan Cameron caught last week build his confidence) – “I think anytime you make a play like that in a game like that, that has to be a confidence builder. I’ve never really spoken to him about anything like that because he keeps showing me improvement in practice. I thought (in) training camp he got better and even after we had a little rough spot there in the Atlanta game … You’d love to be 100 percent on these things but tight coverage in the NFL and the ball’s coming in there hard, sometimes you drop the ball. It’s about really the guys that can come back the next time and just keep attempting to make plays. He doesn’t say much and he just goes back to work. Which that, for me, I appreciate because that helps him get the right mind set. If he’s not thinking about what happened before and he can move on and get the next thing right. That’s really what you’re looking for in your players.”
(On TE Jordan Cameron saying at one point it was a confidence issue and what a play caller has to do to get him out of that rut) – “You keep going at him. You work him out of it. In practice you try to script things to keep throwing the ball at him. Putting him in some situations where you have to make a play. To me, that’s the best time to do it – in practice.”
(On the Patriots winning last night with their third quarterback and this being a no excuses league) – “As long as I’ve been here, I’ve never heard anybody give the pass to you on any game, no matter who’s playing. As a coaching staff, you just try to put the best plan you can together for that week, that team, that you have going to the game and obviously they did a good job of operating in that game to where they used their strengths as well as you could do it. They dominated the field position game, obviously. Just seeing how they took care of the football. – they got takeaways. That was a very impressive performance by that whole team, which shows you this is such a team sport, and obviously everybody’s trying to do the same thing. You’re trying to make this as much about everybody instead of just saying its one or two guys.”
(On how to slow down a guy like Browns Duke Johnson) – “You just try to be careful with your matchups. You pick your timing when – whether it be a linebacker or safety – if you’re ever worried about those kind of matchups. You try to pick your spots situationally to where possibly it may not hurt you so much if that guy ends up getting shaken free. When you have a running back that is multiple like that, you do have to be very careful with your calls and, offensively, you’re always trying to expose that matchup. Defensive coordinators, that’s what make it tough sometimes, especially in this league right now. You’re starting to get all these guys that can do different things because they’re being trained like that in college. It seems like you get a lot of these guys that were running backs and then they’re wide receivers or wide receivers to running backs. So now all of a sudden, they’ve got these multiple skill sets, and now defensive coaches are trying to figure out, ‘Well, what’s the best way to stop this guy?’ And a lot of times we’re looking for man coverage and hoping we can get linebackers on running backs.”
(On why CB Jamar Taylor was traded during the draft and what he brings to the table as a Cleveland starter) – “I think for us, it was probably both sides. I felt like he was ready to maybe start over. I don’t have a great answer for you as far as what the exact, I mean it feels like 10 years ago that this happened; but I know it was only six months ago. But for him, being able to go over there and there and getting that starting job and going out there and competing every week, I know for him it has to be an exciting, just kind of fresh start for him. Anytime you can walk in the building and you feel like you’ve got a clean slate, whatever happened in the past, you move on and then you just go out there and you sell out. You try to put your best foot forward and just constantly keep working hard to get better.”
(On if he watches all the game when the Dolphins don’t play) – “Last night, I mean I watched a little bit of it. I had it on in the background and then I turned it off after a while. I just didn’t want to watch it anymore. Monday nights a lot of times I don’t get to watch it.”
Jarvis Landry – September 22, 2016
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Thursday, September 22, 2016
Wide Receiver Jarvis Landry
(On if he wants to lead the league in receptions) – “Of course, I want to lead the league in every category. Tackles if I can. (Laughter) Any category there is, I want to lead the league in it. But obviously, me being a receiver, I want to lead the league in catches, yards, touchdowns, all of that. But at the same time, I want to be able to have W’s to go along with those accolades or numbers.”
(On the ceiling for the receiving corps if WR DeVante Parker is healthy) – “I don’t think there is (a ceiling). I think that there’s so much potential in every guy, especially on the offensive side of the ball. You just look at our room, having DeVante on the field, having a healthy DeVante, having Kenny Stills out there – guys who pose different threats – it allows us to attack teams. Kind of almost like pick your poison. Having guys like Arian (Foster) back out there and stuff like that will help us a lot.”
(On how does the team not allow two losses become more) – “You don’t look into it. You just go one game at a time, focus on that game and attack it. But for us, I can say on the offensive side of the ball, we need to start faster and just play a complete game together – offensive, defensive and special teams.”
(On if he is looking forward to playing in the renovated stadium, with the crowd being louder with the new canopy) – “Yes, I’m excited. (I’m) excited to have the opportunity to really play in there. (There’s) nothing like trying to get a W. We get to start the new season with a W at home.”
(On has there been any talk about his comment earlier this week about ‘We can’t be an almost team’) – “No. Honestly, I think it’s something that kind of goes without saying. It’s something that we understand. We understand what we have as a team, as an organization. It’s boiling down to a mindset thing for us.”
(On how important it is to get a quick start in this game) – “The last two weeks, we’ve played tough opponents and you give them credit for that; but at the same time, we’ve shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers (and) a couple of three and outs. It’s things like that. We have to find a way to get that first, first down and move the ball effectively and play the first half like we played the second half.”
(On if the pass opens up the run and does the team need to run the ball better) – “I think they complement each other. You can’t pass the ball effectively if you don’t have a running game (and) you can’t run the ball effectively if you don’t have a passing game. They complement each other. We’ve just got to find a way to do it effectively, especially on the first drive of the game. (We have to) find a way to get that first, first down. That’s the critical part.”
(On avoiding trying to do too much) – “(We) just (have to) stay within ourselves. Like (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase always says, ‘Play the play. Don’t think about the score. Don’t think about the next play or the play before that one. Just play the play.’ And that’s something we have to take to heart.”
(On what he thinks attention to detail means to him and the wide receivers) – “Just fine-tune things. I think a lot of times, just looking at the grand scheme of our offense, it’s predicated on details. It’s predicated on outside releasing if the play is demanding you to outside release and not just going vertical. Just little details like that, that allow certain guys to get more separation or allow the offense to open up the way that we want it to. I think that’s kind of what he was talking about right there.”
(On how much WR DeVante Parker’s presence means to the offense and himself) – “He’s a major key. He’s a major key to this offense and we see that every day. Just having him out there and having his presence, like you said, it gives us an opportunity again to pose another threat. Any time we can go over the top and him being a bigger body to be able to box corners out and still make contested catches like he does for us, it’s something that this team needs. It’s something that we count on, for him to make those type of plays.”
(On how much of the offense has yet to develop) – “A lot of it. We’re a building group. We’re building more and more chemistry every game. Again, like we talked about earlier, we can’t be an ‘almost’ team or a second half team. We can’t leave the defense out there for 50 plays in the first half and we only get 15 and expect them to stop people – after they’ve been out there for 75 plays – on the last drive. We can’t put it in their hands. We have to complement each other.”
(On some of the young players getting their chance and if he is excited to see what they can do) – “Man, everybody gets a shot. I think the thing about our coaching staff is, they get every guy ready. Every guy is treated as if he is a starter or as if he’s a vet. That’s something that, in this organization, it’s allowed the young guys to really come along early.”
(On the flyer in his locker) – “It’s a little motivation. Out of the 100 best NFL players, I was 98. So I fail to believe that 97 players are better than me. For me, it’s a little motivational tool that I use every day to come to work.”
(On him being the No. 1 receiver right now) – “That’s fine. We have a long season. We still have a long season. (There are) a lot more numbers to go.”
Mario Williams – September 22, 2016
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Thursday, September 22, 2016
Defensive End Mario Williams
(On New England getting the ball out quickly last week and if it’ll be different this week with Cleveland) – “Every game is going to be different, for sure. I think the biggest thing is, we’ve just got to take care of our responsibilities, play sound football and get off (the field) on third down.”
(On going against a quarterback that has never started an NFL game) – “We look at it like going against anybody. Each and every one of us, individually, we’re in the NFL for a reason. You don’t go in and take situations lightly or overlook things. You go out and execute your game plan. The biggest thing with that is taking care of our responsibilities and not worrying about other stuff. If we do what we need to do right, we’ll be fine.”
(On the biggest challenges of going against a running back like Browns RB Isaiah Crowell) – “Obviously, he’s a heck of an athlete. It’s just one of the things that we’ve got to do, and it all just goes back to the same situation of taking care of our responsibilities – tackling, (being) fundamentally sound, not letting things spread out further, no yards after catches, runs, whatever. Just stop it right there and then get off the field on third down.”
(On the challenges he faced last week not practicing and then going into a game situation) – “It was difficult. I didn’t realize it until being out there; but definitely not doing anything for a week, having to go through the protocol for the safety of myself or anybody in this situation. Having been in the protocol, I mean you can’t do anything. You know, wind and actual physical activities (were) gone for a week, pretty much. So it was kind of a shock; but getting back into things and physically. you’re running around and everything like that. So it’s getting better. I’m good.”
Vance Joseph – September 22, 2016
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Thursday, September 22, 2016
Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph
(On his relationship with Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson) – “That’s my man – Hue Jackson. He’s a brilliant coach, brilliant offensive play caller, very aggressive. He has got some tricks that we won’t know that’s coming, that we’ve got to prepare for. But (he is a) good football coach and a good friend.”
(On whether he has spoken to Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson) – “Not this week. (laughter) A couple weeks ago we talked a little bit, but not this week.”
(On DE Cameron Wake’s snap count) – “We want Cam to probably have 25 to 30 rushes a game. He had last week probably 14 to 15 plays maybe (that were) all passes. The first week, the game, it was a little whacky with Mario (Williams) being hurt. Last week, it turned into a four-minute game. We’re down by three scores within the first quarter, so that game changed also. If we get into a normal game, I think the plan for Cam is to play 25 snaps on pass rush downs. (There) can be a time where he can play more. He probably should have played more last week, but it was more four-minute – it was double team – so we didn’t want to put him out there. It’s week to week, but our plan is to play Cam 25 snaps on pass rush downs. That’s the plan. It hasn’t worked the last two weeks, obviously, because it has been two different games. But that’s the plan.”
(On whether DE Cam Wake will not play on running downs) – “No. If Jason (Jones) is tired or Mario (Williams) is tired or (Andre) Branch is tried, he can definitely go in on running downs. But we prefer not to do that with Cam.
(On whether the vision is to have LB Donald Butler have a couple series in relief of LB Jelani Jenkins) – “I think going forward, yes, that would be ideal if he could steal two series at Sam or Will (line)backer for Koa (Misi) or for Jelani (Jenkins). He has played a lot of football in this league at a high level. If we get him caught up, that’s the plan.”
(On whether LB Donald Butler will likely play two series per half or per game) – “Probably per half if he’s ready to go that way. Per half.”
(On what makes it difficult to coach against Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson’s offense) – “You’re not sure what you’re going to get each week. With a young quarterback and a young football team, they should simmer down some. In the past, he has been a multiple guy. He has run zone read. He has run speed option. He has run counter plays. He has run outside zone plays. It’s multiple with Hue. It’s a vertical pass game – always has been – so we’re expecting some vertical shots and a lot of run plays that we haven’t seen in the past. Obviously, the crack toss, we’ll see that play after seeing it last week three or four times. That’ll come up in all personnel groups.”
(On whether playing a young quarterback changes the way the defense goes about things) – “Not really. This week is about us. We’re 0-2 trying to get a win. We’re going to play sound this week, and hopefully get them in the third-and-long and rush the quarterback like any other quarterback would face. It wouldn’t change our package that much.”
(On how he would assess CB Xavien Howard’s play) – “He has played really well for a rookie. (To) miss an entire training camp and play in one game in the preseason, he has played really well. He has covered his guy, and that’s what you want from a guy.”
(On DT Ndamukong Suh’s snap count in the final series against New England) – “Most d-lines have a rotation going. Once it gets past five or six snaps, it’s tough for those guys to play at a high level. So, we usually rotate those guys six snaps for two and put them back in the rest of the series. It was a six-play sequence where he came out for two and went back in. He has played really well first of all, and he has played the most snaps in the whole league as a d-tackle inside. So, I’m not concerned about that at all. We’ve got guys that are NFL players. They should go in there and do their jobs. I’m not concerned about that.”
(On the defensive backs pressing during last week’s game) – “We’ve seen a lot of cut splits or reduced splits. We’re, obviously, a press team, and that’s what (Byron) Maxwell does really well is play press coverage. But he has seen a lot of cut splits where they’re cutting the splits so he can’t press the receiver. It has been quick glances. It has been play-action over routes. So, it has been tough for him to chase those routes. He has got to do it, because he is a press corner, so that’s what’s going to happen on game day. He has got to get better at chasing over routes. I’ve got to help him with more shell coverage. That stuff is happening to him. It’s definitely an issue when you’re a press coverage team. They reduce the splits and run away from you. I’ve seen it in the past.”
(On whether LB Donald Butler can play in the middle when LB Kiko Alonso is not in the game) – “Right now, Kiko is the Mike (line)backer. Donald is working Sam and Will. If something would happen to Kiko, (Butler) can always play Mike, because that’s his natural position. But right now, he’s working Sam and Will.”
(On being strong defensively in the middle because of DT Ndamukong Suh, LB Kiko Alonso and S Reshad Jones) – “Suh has played really well. He has been a dominant force inside. Kiko has played really well at Mike (line)backer, very productive. Our problem in the run game has been the edges, not setting the edges, being sealed and being cracked on the edges. We have to do a better job at defensive end of setting the edge, and that has been an issue. That (was) an issue (in the preseason) against the Cowboys, and we fixed it against Atlanta, and it came back last week. That’s an issue that we’ve got to rectify quickly.”
(On how important it is to maintain effectiveness in base packages) – “Absolutely. Being good in your base package is very, very important. Sometimes you have matchups where the wide receiver is the guy you want to take away, and you have to put a (line)backer on a tight end and keep a safety in the hole to help the nickel player. It’s weekly. But you’re right, if you’re going to be good on defense, it has got to be out of your base package. Most of the time, we’re in our base package playing in our base defense. If we feel good about a matchup with a tight end versus our (line)backer, we’ll do it. But most of the time, it’s a safety on a tight end that’s a nickel in the slot, and that’s what we want to play.”
(On the defensive backs causing turnovers) – “They have been fine. We’ve had some moments where it wasn’t great, but overall, they’ve punched balls out, they’ve picked balls off. We had a chance to pick off two or three balls on Sunday that we didn’t do. We were close Sunday. We didn’t make those plays in Sunday, and that was the gist of the game – not making contested plays at all on Sunday. But overall, they have been a good group.”
(On the defensive backs’ play against New England) – “We were a step off on four or five plays that we didn’t make on Sunday. That’s disappointing. We had a good week of practice. It was sound. We had good pressures. We had free blitzes on the quarterback, and the ball is gone, and the guy wasn’t covered tightly enough. We had guys there, but it wasn’t good enough.”
(On whether the defensive backs needed to turn their heads on plays against New England) – “Absolutely. We had two or three of those where it was a vision defense, and guys weren’t playing with vision. So, you’re right (with) what you saw.”
(On defense staying on the field for 80 plays against New England and Head Coach Adam Gase blaming the offense for that) – “That’s our fault. Third downs are key. First of all, first downs are key. If you win first down and they’re in second-and-long, you’re probably going to end up in third-and-long. If you lose first down, (and) you’re in second-and-4, you’re probably going to be in first-and-10 again. So, that’s our fault. If we’re playing 80 snaps, we’ve got to do better on third downs. The first week was a different kind of game, but last week it was solely on the defense to get off the field. In the first half, they were four out of six on third downs, (a) nine-play drive, touchdown. That’s on the defense. That has nothing to do with the offense. They played good enough to win the game last week, and we didn’t.”
(On the defense’s morale) – “They’re fine. We watched the film, and as a group we can see there were plays to be made that we didn’t make (like) not staying high in the zone, not covering a guy – simple stuff that we hadn’t done in a while here that we didn’t do last week, and I’m not sure why. But we’ve got to fix it and go play better. That’s the truth.”
