Raheem Mostert – December 3, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023
Postgame – Washington Commanders
Miami Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert
On how he felt about the rollercoaster touchdown dance:
“Awesome. It was perfect execution. We did it one time in practice and executed it very well.”
On what is working so well for him this season:
“First off, I have to always give kudos to the offensive line. We’ve had some mixes and matches here and there. The guys have bought in and you can only thank them. They do a hell of a job. Me, I’m just trying to use my vision as best as possible and try to make that big play.”
On how important it is that the team starts December with a win after a losing streak last December:
“It’s very important. Then, you also need to think that with December ball, that’s when teams have their best ball. For us, we just need to keep this stride going and take it one week at a time. That’s all we can do. We can’t focus on the end of the year. We can only focus on what’s going on now and moving forward to this week.”
Xavien Howard – December 3, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023
Postgame – Washington Commanders
Miami Dolphins CB Xavien Howard
On what this win means to the team:
“It means a lot. We take it one day at a time. We’re 9-3, we have our next game Monday, so we have to keep going and keep striving.”
On how special the defense is:
“We’re special, we can be special, guys on the back end were starting to pick it up and make plays, but the whole defense is special. One of our main guys [LB Jerome Baker] went down, [LB] Duke [Riley] went in there and balled, [DE Emmanuel] Ogbah did too.”
On the importance of having players who can step up after an injury:
“Next man up mentality, that’s how we have to go about it. This is a tough game and people go down but the next man up.”
De’Von Achane – December 3, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023
Postgame – Washington Commanders
Miami Dolphins RB De’Von Achane
On how it feels to get extended playing time and play how he did today:
“Yeah. It’s always good when you’re on the field. Just being on the field and making plays and being productive. So, I’m just glad that I can come back and be 100% and help this team win.”
On how much it ate at him being out for a couple of games:
“Yeah, that’s mostly the hardest part. You know, rehab and sitting out. You know the game of football like I do. You always want to be on the field. You know that injuries are a part of this game, so I am just glad that I can come back healthy.”
On when in the game he started to feel like himself again:
“Once you get in. You know, a couple tackles the first time you get the ball. After that, you go back to being yourself. You go back to being you.”
On what stood out to him the most in his performance:
“I’d probably say the last drive, because of the amount of carries I got. The fact that I wasn’t tired, I was like ‘Okay, I’m back. Like I’m not hurt. I’m 100%’.”
Andrew Van Ginkel – December 3, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023
Postgame – Washington Commanders
Miami Dolphins LB Andrew Van Ginkel
On his pick-six:
“It starts during the week in preparation and [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] puts in good play calls. He does a good job of explaining throughout the week what to expect in certain situations. It’s something that was kind of on my radar. When I saw the tackle [Andrew Wylie] kind of do his, he kind of does the same thing on wide receiver screens, so, I kind of expected it. When it happened, I couldn’t believe it and the rest was history.”
On the defense’s ability to be successful despite dealing with injuries:
“First off, I just want to give a shoutout to [LB Jaelan Phillips] JP. He had a successful surgery and things are looking up for him. He reached out to me before the game, he said ‘Go do you and ball out.’ I think it starts with Vic’s defense, he’s a very successful coach, he has been for a very long time. He puts you in good play calls to be successful. He kind of does a good job throughout the year in how to build and puts you in good positions to succeed.”
On what LB Jerome Baker means to the team:
“I pray that it’s nothing serious. Obviously, he’s a leader on this team, he’s a great player, and he consistently proves himself year in and year out. Like I said, I pray that it’s nothing serious. It’s tough that obviously last week with JP and this week with the uncertainty of Bake, its tough. Those are guys on our team that are great players.”
On today’s weather:
“To me, it was perfect football weather out there like this. I mean, this is as good as it gets. About 60 [degrees], you feel like you can run all day. Obviously, going to [The University of] Wisconsin, I’m used to the cold weather. Some guys that grew up in the South, sometimes they’ll be like this is cold, I’m like you don’t know what cold is.”
Tyreek Hill – December 3, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023
Postgame – Washington Commanders
Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill
On his thoughts on scoring a touchdown on the third play of the game:
Yeah man, it’s all film study, mostly. Some teams typically do the same things throughout that season on third down and it was just one of those looks that it was a favorable matchup. [QB] Tua [Tagovailoa] noticed immediately that there was a backer on [RB De’Von] Achane because if you watch the whole play, they have a backer on Achane, who ran a really good route on the other side. So, he really could have picked, you know, either side for a touchdown. So, he signaled me cause that wasn’t originally my route and we was just on the same page.”
On if QB Tua Tagovailoa audibled him into a different route:
“Yeah, yeah, so he has that freedom to be able to do things like that.”
On how Tagovailoa has taken ownership of the offense throughout the season:
“Yeah, and that’s just us, you know. Preparation on Thursdays, you feel me. So, our coaches they do a good job of reminding us of certain looks and that was one of those situations that ‘Hey, we get this certain look, you know, be ready for this signal’ or you know so we don’t have another situation that we had against KC [Chiefs]. So, yeah, he did a great job of it, signal and I was able to lock eyes with him and say ‘Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.’”
On if it surprises him to see no safety help over the top at this point in his career:
“Not for real, man, because those guys are great at what they do and they also get paid, man, but at some point, it’s like man. I don’t know, man, I just appreciate it, you know. Thanks for, you know, not respecting me I guess, so yeah.”
On if it surprises him that a rookie was guarding him on the first touchdown:
“Nah, like I say man. Most teams, they do what they typically do throughout the whole season and we knew that they favor the safety playing over their backers. Like I said, there was [RB De’Von] Achane on the outside and the safety was favoring that side, so it was just one of those looks, you know.”
On if he thought today’s game could be a big day for him:
“Not really, man. I came into the stadium worried about how I feel man cause I didn’t practice throughout this whole week, so it was like one of those that I was worried about just how I was going to be able to perform because every team is good in the NFL. I’m not saying that it’s easy, like our job is hard. It may look easy. Those guys, they do a great job on the other side of the ball.”
On if he locked eyes with Tagovailoa on the second TD:
“The second touchdown, it was like surprising, man. It was like a Cover 3. I believe it was Cover 3 and the way that I ran my route, I thought I ran a perfect route and I was looking this way and I had to adjust back this way and it was just one of those things that, you know, Tua, he does a great job of throwing the ball exactly where it needs to be and, I thought he was wrong, went back and watched the film. He threw it exactly where I was supposed to be because I was bending it in and I wasn’t supposed to bend it in, so it was just one of those things just put it up, man, he down there somewhere.”
On if he watched the film for his second TD with Tagovailoa:
“No, so we watched it right after it happened because we got iPads on the sideline. And I was like ‘Bro like you can’t throw me like that bruh like’ and he was like ‘Bro, I threw it exactly where like we teach it’. I was like ‘No way’. He pointed out on film and I was like ‘Yeah, you’re right. My bad, so’”.
On where he is in terms of mindset towards the end of the season and with 9-3 record:
“So, I’m about, man, taking it one week at a time, man you know. We know that each and every week is an opportunity for us and that’s how we gonna take it, you know, one step at a time. Continue to do what we’ve been doing all season, you know. Practicing hard, playing for one another and being deliberate. That’s something that we say across this whole organization a lot, so it’s what we gonna do. 9-3 is a beautiful thing and the way that this league, if you somehow get complacent, if you somehow start feeling yourself, it’ll catch up with you fast. So, we got a great group of leaders on this team on both sides of the ball that have been in situations like this throughout their career, so I think we’ll be alright.”
On relation between rollercoaster TD celebration and the football season:
“It was sweet, right? I think it explains, man, how football is. There are ups and there’s down, man. Credit goes to [WR] Jaylen [Waddle] on the touchdown celebration. It was sweet though with the whole hand in the air and the seatbelt. That was nice.”
On where the idea for the celebration came from:
“No idea, man. We always come up with ideas on Friday and that was one of the ideas from [WR Jaylen] Waddle, [WR River] Cracraft And [RG] Rob Hunt, so those guys added a lot of things and I was like ‘Okay, whoever scores we’re doing it’, so it didn’t matter who scored, we were gonna do it regardless.”
On if he thinks this is his best season:
“Yes, I think I believe I am having my best season, even if I didn’t have the numbers, you know what I’m saying. I feel like I’m doing a great job of being in the right spot for the quarterback and making sure I’m doing a great job blocking and just understanding this whole offense. I think this past offseason, I really had a chance to just look back and just understand my mistakes from last year and I took it head on because I’m the type of player, I put a lot of accountability on myself. I feel like as one of the leaders on this team, I just had to step up and be better. Obviously, the stats looked good last year, but there was a lot of room for improvement for myself and I was like ‘You know what? I’m not gonna settle for that’, you know. I feel like I can be a whole lot better, so that’s just me believing in myself.”
Tua Tagovailoa – December 3, 2023 (Postgame)
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023
Postgame – Washington Commanders
Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
On his first touchdown pass to WR Tyreek Hill:
“Yeah, I saw it was a one-on-one matchup. We sorta got the look that we wanted on that play. Not just for Tyreek but for the running back. We got a linebacker to go out with him. They played man and just depending on where that free safety was, we’re gonna throw off of him. We liked our matchup with De’Von [Achane], and we also liked our matchup with Tyreek. So happens that he was pushed over more towards De’Von’s side and just left Tyreek on that side.”
On if he was surprised that Tyreek is still getting that deep on defenses:
“You know, nothing’s starting to surprise me anymore in this league. Some people will do what they deem as best for their matchups within their coverages of the defense. You know, sometimes you’ll get looks where you’ve never seen them on film against our team, and it’s because it’s just specified for our team with how they wanna play us. But, I don’t think anything really surprises me. Whether they cover Tyreek, whether they wanna man him. I’m just gonna really make sure that they’re covering either him or Jaylen [Waddle] or any of our guys before I start moving on in my progression.”
On his film study, and how the Commanders often provide no safety help on one-on-ones:
“Well, I think it is tough for their safety in that instance when you have guys like Tyreek, guys like Jaylen who have one-on-one’s and then you put a backer out there with De’Von. I mean, I don’t know what you would expect them to do. If you expect them to cover Tyreek’s side, then we’re gonna throw to De’Von. I mean, we liked our matchups, but it definitely is tough when you go man across the board, and it’s press against really fast guys like that.”
On what he saw this week from the team in their practice and preparation:
“Yeah, I think everyone is locked in. I think everyone has started to handle their job. Not more seriously, but everyone’s starting to do a little more. You see guys staying a little longer, watching film together. Meetings, you know there are no meetings after practices on third down days, you see a lot of position groups meeting and staying back a little longer. We’re starting to see a lot of guys staying out on the field a little longer as well. I think that’s what Mike [McDaniel] is seeing is everyone knows that we can do something special this year and no one on our team is trying to waste that opportunity.”
On the second touchdown to Tyreek:
“On that play, specifically the ball is designated to go at a certain spot with what we tell our receivers. On that play, Tyreek was to expect the ball on the inside edge of the numbers. Now I can bleed him in more, but you know, I try to throw them away from the middle of the field safety. If you go back, it landed on the inside edge of the numbers. Phenomenal, phenomenal job by what Tyreek did. That’s tough to do, especially going as fast as he’s going. That is tough, it’s remarkable.”
On not being surprised anymore by Tyreek’s ability to track the ball while running full speed:
“You know I wouldn’t say with that it’s something I have been accustomed to. I still get surprised with the plays that our guys make. But at the same time, everyone has their standard in which they play to. And you know, Tyreek expects to make those kind of plays. You know for me, I expect to make a greater throw. Everyone has great accountability on our team.”
On the team’s roller-coaster touchdown celebration:
“Oh, that was a 10 out of 10. I loved it. I loved the roller coaster celebration. I think one of the other cooler things too was as we’re warming up and as we came out on our sideline, there’s just a lot of Dolphins fans. I can’t remember an away game where we’ve had that much support, that much love from our fans. I mean none of that goes unnoticed, and we really appreciate that as players.”
On avoiding turnovers and using this game as a model to replicate that going forward:
“Really, I just went out there and played the way I normally play. With, you know, having in the back of my mind certain throws, you know, should you throw it? Should you not throw it? I had to make quick decisions on those. But for the most part, I don’t think you can go out there and be timid and expect to push the ball downfield and expect to score points that way. So I just went out there, and literally took what the defense gave me.”
On how fun this offense is for him:
“This offense is fun. I think any offense is fun when you’re scoring a lot of points. It helps to go out there when you’re scoring points. Guys get into rhythm, guys get into the flow of the game. You know, you get the crowd going and everyone just enjoys the success that we all have because of it.”
Jalen Ramsey – December 1, 2023
Download PDF version
Friday, December 1, 2023
CB Jalen Ramsey
(The next time you take the field it’s December. What’s different about December football?) – “When you are in a position like this team is, you have meaningful games because you can solidify playoff spots and where you’ll be in the playoffs. That’s really about it.”
(Are you one to keep up with the standings? Do you guys where you are in the running for the number one seed in the AFC?) – “Yeah, I’m a football fan, so yeah, I see it. We’re somewhere in the top four or something like that. But there’s a lot of football to be played, so it can change up. You can’t really worry about it too much.”
(You’ve been around CB Xavien Howard some since the Pro Day in 2016, but what have you learned about him just by being a teammate? Anything you gained an extra appreciation for being a teammate of his for a few months?) – “Yeah, he’s a great teammate. Obviously he’s been elite in this league for just as long as I have. It’s great to team up with him. He teaches me new techniques that I hadn’t tried yet or maybe that I’ve been put in the back of my toolbox for a little bit and he brings them back up. That’s been good. We just challenge each other.”
(Have you gone up against Commanders WR Terry McLaurin in person? If not, what did you pick up from him on video?) – “I went up against him before a couple years ago when I was in L.A. But that was then, and now is now.”
(A home playoff game, is that part of the conversation, part of the goals you guys have as a team?) – “Of course.”
(What would it mean to have that opportunity? I mean, it’s been so long in South Florida. What would it mean?) – “It would mean a lot…”
(One thing that truly has stood out this year is how much time you spend mentoring and helping the young guys – CB Cam Smith, CB Kader Kohou, on and on. Why do you do that? Is it just because you want to help as much as you can? What’s that thought process?) – “I want to be a good team.”
(We’ve heard CB Xavien Howard say that you told him this team is better than the Rams team that won the championship that you were on. What made you have that opinion now? Do you still have that opinion?) – “This team has the capability to be better. We have a lot of similarities between the teams. Then we had a good secondary. I feel like we have a good secondary here. We had the Offensive Player of the Year that year. I feel like we will have the Offensive Player of the Year this year. We’ve got some weapons on offense, just like we had weapons on offense there. We have edge rushers there. I feel like we have edge rushers here. Yeah, I mean y’all can do the same thing that I do. Just look at it on paper and who we had on the roster in L.A. then and you put this Miami team on paper and look at our roster, and there’s a lot of similarities. So we have the capability of being that. I understand it’s y’all’s job to ask about our goals and our future and all that, but I’m being so serious, we cannot think about that all the time. We have to go game-by-game, week-by-week, day-by-day really, because if you get caught up in all that, you’re going to get lost and there’s no need for that. You have to keep growing every day. But yeah, we definitely have the capabilities of doing that. We have to put that work in.”
De’Von Achane – December 1, 2023
Download PDF version
Friday, December 1, 2023
RB De’Von Achane
(How much pain was there the last couple weeks? How much mobility limitation was there?) – “It wasn’t much pain. It was just me basically, just me getting my confidence back up and me knowing that I can go out there and give 100 percent. I just wanted to get to it and get it 100 percent. That’s all. It wasn’t like pain or anything.”
(Do you feel back to normal?) – “Yes, sir.”
(Was there any concern at all in the process that surgery might be needed? Was that a worry of yours?) – “No, there wasn’t any concern about that.”
(So basically soreness and mentally, you didn’t feel comfortable with that?) – “Basically we were just going by the day-to-day process. When I went out there, it kind of like shocked me a little bit. It wasn’t nothing too bad, it was basically just me being more confident in myself and being confident that I can go out there and perform at a high level.”
(How difficult has it been to be sitting out after sitting out?) – “That’s always the hard part because I love football. I always want to be out there on the field with my teammates. That probably really was the main part, just me trying to get back on the field and help my team.”
(Have you had a knee issue ever before in high school or college?) – “No, this is my first time.”
(You guys could have the most running backs that you’ve had healthy all season with you, maybe Chris Brooks, Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. What could that do for the offense in situations, the play-call and everything?) – “It does a lot. Like you said, there’s a lot of us and we all can go out there and perform. We all can go out there and be productive. It just makes it hard for the defense to gameplan on just one or two running backs.”
(One thing Head Coach Mike McDaniel told us this week is thankfully there was no risk with this particular injury of making it into something super, super serious. Was that comforting to hear from doctors?) – “Most definitely. That’s always the main thing when you get your MRI, basically just worrying what it’s going to say. The fact that I didn’t need surgery and it wasn’t just horrible, that was a good thing. It’s always good to hear.”
