Zach Thomas (Third Quarter) – October 15, 2023
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Sunday, October 15, 2023
Third Quarter – Carolina Panthers
Hall of Fame Dolphins LB Zach Thomas on CBS Broadcast
(I am joined by a special guest in Zach Thomas. Zach, congratulations on your induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You were just honored here at halftime, how cool was that for you?) – “Well, what was even cooler was running out with my kids for one last time. That was special. I miss those days. This organization’s been so good to me, but to be able to end it on that was amazing.”
(Give us a shot of that ring, it’s pretty awesome. Take us back to August when you were actually inducted into the Hall of Fame. Is there a special memory that stands out from that?) – “I think the gauntlet. When you’re walking down the gauntlet and you’ve got all these Hall of Famers there, guys you used to look up to, Larry Csonka and Dan Marino, it’s just amazing to give them a hug and be part of that team. It’s surreal.”
(Zach, you’re one of the best defensive players of all time. What would it have been like going up against this incredible Dolphins offense?) – “Wow, they do so much movement and motion and everything, it’s just a confusion to slow you down. It would be tough.”
Zach Thomas (Halftime) – October 15, 2023
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Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023
Halftime – Carolina Panthers
Hall of Fame Dolphins LB Zach Thomas (Halftime Ceremony)
President of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Jim Porter:
“The mission of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is to honor the greatest of the game, preserve its history, promote its values and celebrate excellence together. Today, we get to celebrate that excellence by presenting and honoring Pro Football Hall of Famer Zach Thomas with his Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence presented and created by our great partners at Kay Jewelers. The Ring of Excellence along with the bronze bust and the gold jacket are the three iconic symbols that represent inclusion into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Over 300 million people have played this great sport of football, 30 million on college campuses and just 30,000 in the NFL. Zach Thomas is one of only 371 Pro Football Hall of Famers. This game is built upon the shoulders of men like Zach, and Zach thank you for all you’ve done for our great game.”
Miami Dolphins General Partner and Owner Stephen Ross:
“Thank you. It is my thrill to be able to introduce Zach Thomas. We all know Zach Thomas and what he stood for. We know where he came from. A fifth-round draft choice to become one of the greatest, if not the greatest, defensive Dolphin of all time. He is everything you could ever want in a ballplayer. To this day, his legacy remains among every single day. I know when we’re in the draft room when they’re evaluating players, everybody asks, ‘Could this be the next Zach Thomas?’ We are proud of all of his achievements, for what he has meant to this team, as well as this community, and what he has meant for the National Football League. It is my pleasure to introduce Zach Thomas, as we are so proud to enter him in the Hall of Fame as a Miami Dolphin.”
Hall of Fame Dolphins LB Zach Thomas:
“Thank you, Miami! I want to thank Jim Porter, I’m grateful you’re leading our Hall of Fame team. I want to thank Stephen Ross and Tom Garfinkel for making this Hall of Fame experience so memorable and extra special for me and my family. My deepest gratitude is to God, my family and friends, the entire Dolphins organization, my teammates, coaches and staff. Most importantly – I want to say this very clearly – I thank each and every one of you fans for helping me get to Canton. Your energy fueled me every Sunday, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you Miami. This is my home. I am a Miami Dolphin for life. God bless you all. Go Dolphins, and now let’s win this second half!”
Mike McDaniel – October 13, 2023
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Friday, October 13, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(We were all wondering about OL Robert Hunt. Did he injure his knee, unfortunately, during practice yesterday? And do you expect him to play Sunday?) – “We list all ailments and the good news is he’ll be practicing today and he’s going to be good to go. So don’t have any issues with that.”
(And with OL Connor Williams, this week, did he reaggravate the groin during Sunday’s game or subsequently, which has resulted in him not practicing this week? Or have you just opted to rest him this week so that he can play Sunday?) – “Well when we made the decision for him to play last week, we know there’d be residual effects from that just because that’s why we’re so overly cautious about soft tissue stuff. We expected it to be hurting him and it has. So we’ve been adjusting on the fly. He won’t practice today but he’ll be doing stuff with the trainers, kind of like our normal process with guys that we need to find out more information, but we don’t want to put them through the rigors of the entire practice. He’ll be doing that, we’ll assess that and then make a call on his game day status.”
(Have you made a decision on RB Jeff Wilson Jr. on whether to activate him for Sunday?) – “We have one available roster spot right now, otherwise we’d have to do moves. There’s kind of a lot of things going on with regard to the entire roster. So we’re going to let Friday play out, this very important practice that’s the most important of our lives, and we’ll make the call then. But he’s certainly prepared himself adequately so if we went that direction, he would be ready to go.”
(Are CB Nik Needham and OL Robert Jones not going to be activated in time for this game?) – “So those are the other two, in particular, that we’re kind of digesting today. And it’s really more about just the whole roster, and what the game day active (list) will look like. There are special teams things that are involved in that. Just the overall complexion of everybody. We’ll be making that call here after practice.”
(How have OL Robert Jones and CB Nik Needham looked in their second week of practice?) – “I would like to use this opportunity to pump up our training staff and our strength department because for all intents and purposes, as you know, there’s not enough hours in the week for coaches. You are expressing all those hours as best you can and generally, you have to have enough focus on the guys that are going to be out on the field. So you have guys that are hurt that are on the team and big parts of it, that are around, but you don’t quite know what that’s going to look like. Both Rob and Nik have looked outstanding as their window was opened, so that’s a credit to a lot of work and them, specifically. They look good. We’re fortunate to have some availability.”
(And LB Jaelan Phillips?) – “Yeah, we’ll make sure he gets through stretch and practice. I’ve got to tell you, he’s the most dangerous player to himself. We have a lot of them. But he’s not used to being injured so he wanted to play last week. So triple that down this week. That’s one of the reasons why there’s some stuff up in the air is we’ll let today progress and see where he’s at and then make a call that will have to be the best thing for him and the team, regardless of what his words say.”
(Whenever coaches use the phrase, ‘we need to find out more information,’ it always kind of raises red flags. Not intentionally, on your part – could there be something serious – but with regard to OL Connor Williams, in terms of needing to find out more information, is there a concern that he could have torn his groin and be out multiple weeks or do you still think it’s short-term?) – “Well, thank you for the qualification of your follow up, follow-follow up. That’s not of issue. It’s not did he do something more significant or do a different type of injury or make it more severe. This is maintenance of something that we kind of knew the residuals and just we don’t want to – we are at that fine line where we’re trying to make sure that we do best and not have it linger all season, knowing that it will be an issue. How much discomfort and ability is taken away? It’s kind of complicated. It’s not an easy answer. But as far as the injury being something different that the game presented, no, it’s not.”
(Is center a position, I mean, I know that there’s a lot that goes with that position. In fact, talking to OL Liam Eichenberg, he kind of outlined some things that I did not know about responsibilities.) – “The mark of a humble man. Just out front, I didn’t know it and he taught it to me. I love it. (laughter)”
(Is that a position where you can not practice and then play in the game?) – “That’s a good question because that one in particular is very unique. Because from a physical standpoint, there’s not as extreme nuances from game to game on how defenders play. So you’re inherently more qualified to do that from a physical standpoint. Then it goes down to mental and the reps at diagnosing the defense and what type of problems that particular scheme has. Because Connor (Williams) has been so durable, I mean, that’s probably the longest-tenured player relationship that Tua (Tagovailoa) has in regard to playing with somebody directly at their responsibility. So he’s a little more qualified in this particular situation, relative to – the system has grown with them together. That being said, it’s definitely not ideal. I don’t think I would have been comfortable in that scenario last year with Connor. I think I would be comfortable with that this year with Connor and that speaks to him and his development and the coaches helping him simplify a very complicated position.”
(Hopefully this isn’t too much in the weeds, but as you talked about OL Connor Williams, it made me wonder the difference between OL Connor Williams and OL Liam Eichenberg maybe snapping the ball speed wise, flow wise, and does that affect at all the timing of your offense?) – “So that’s one of the reasons why I was – I meant what I said, there was some really cool stuff when Liam (Eichenberg) last got to play a whole game at that position. It was the first time he’s ever done it and there was some really cool stuff. Usually, that’s a huge issue. We do a lot of timing, we do a lot of – if you guys hadn’t noticed, we motion a lot. That has different cadences and different timing. We do a lot of movement stuff where if you’re in shotgun and you have outside zone, you’re snapping it directly behind you and moving that way. So usually it’s a huge issue. The fact he was able to execute and really, really master the ability to match the tempo and speed and when you’re snapping the ball. Typically with centers, you have a ton of procedural penalties that are like the guard moves at a different time than the tackle moves. Those types of procedural penalties. The fact that – that’s to his credit and why it was impressive to me, because, you think you have an idea, but you never know when someone’s thrust into uncharted territory, what it’s going to look like. And when the bullets are flying, that’s what I mean – the game is not too big for him. So we’re fortunate that he’s able to really allow a lot of players to do their jobs when he’s in there.”
(This might surprise you, but in the media room, we spend a lot of time for perseverating or ruminating about running out of available short-term designated to return IR slots with the team this year.) – “How do you guys sleep? That sounds stressful. (laughter)”
(All this time spent worrying about it.) – “That sounds stressful.”
(So you have seven guys, at this point, who could be brought back from short-term IR? Have you and General Manager Chris Grier talked about any concern about getting through the season with enough slots to bring guys back who are not out for the year? Because potentially WR River Cracraft and WR Erik Ezukanma, at this point, would be six and seven. You have five others who assuredly will return.) – “Thank you for joining the party. (laughter) Yeah, of course. It’s a huge part of the decision-making process that we’re very aware of. That factors into how many players you put on IR, and you do the best thing that you can for the team knowing all the information. So that’s on the front end of those discussions is, ‘OK, well, who’s going to potentially be available from a physical standpoint? What implications does that have on the rest of the roster if we didn’t put them on IR, or if we do?’ Then the obvious rules and regulations of the IR system in present day. So you don’t have concerns with best judgment decisions that are of the appropriate intent and really thought through. It’s definitely on our radar, so you guys can go back to sleep.”
(When you guys finalize whether or not to have WR Chase Claypool active, what will be two things most seriously discussed?) – “Really there’s a third day of evaluation, which is today, that because I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I’ve been very pleasantly optimistic. He’s done an impressive job. The system that he’s going in is very specific. A lot of different words mean different things, and he’s definitely hungry and ready to contribute. Just there’s a lot of things in play there in terms of the specific defense and what we actually need in this particular game. But it’s really just evaluating that and what he offers to the team in his current state relative to the other guys and what roles would those be. So a lot of that intentionally has to be cloudy for competitive purposes.”
(On RB Jeff Wilson Jr., given what you’ve seen from him in practice this week and if he is up, what’s realistic as far as a workload that he could manage given the time off?) – “I think I wouldn’t put – yeah it’s tricky, because with the way that we like to rotate backs, to an exact number, I don’t think unless we play 120-play game, that we would be doing anything above 25. But that’s kind of our first game back. It’s kind of something, that’s a number we kind of talked about with regard to the medical staff. But, again, that’s kind of the exact numbers kind of dictated by the play of the guys out there. When you have a lot of skill and every single back we have has attributes that the other doesn’t. Every single back we have, I’d honestly be comfortable starting. So in situations like that, I’d feel remiss if I’m deciding this game, this person, is going to be the best. You kind of make sure that they have opportunities early, and then assess how they do. It’s not just like, hey, that was a long run. It’s like how are they playing? And that kind of dictates the terms. So if there’s a back that we feel is really in their zone, we’re not going to compromise that to hit a rep count. And so it can look a lot of different ways. More often than not, coming out of the game, the rep count, I wouldn’t even try to guess what they would be before the game. You have feelings, but I prefer facts, and facts are on the field.”
Tyreek Hill – October 12, 2023
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Thursday, October 12, 2023
WR Tyreek Hill
(Are you done with all of the speed narrative, speed talk?) – “I was just talking.”
(What in the world happened with the league? Why do they not object to not wearing socks? Where did all of these fines come from?) – “I have no idea at this point. I don’t want to further talk on it. I feel like my job as an employee of the NFL is to comply, so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to comply, I’m going to give in. Usually I bite the bullet and try to fight back, but once they start digging in your pocket a little bit, there’s really not much you can do. Plus in some kind of way, it gives me an advantage. That’s what they said with me not having on socks, they said it gives me an advantage. I was like, ‘So y’all are going to drug test me for not wearing socks?’ At this point, I’m not going to say nothing, I’m just going to comply.”
(What might have been your thinking about not wearing socks at times? Is it just a more comfortable feel for you?) – “It’s not even that. I get IVs before games and sometimes the timing just doesn’t allow me to put on socks in time, and I don’t want to miss plays. Sometimes I have on socks, and it doesn’t cover a certain length. The NFL has certain rules that have been here way before I’ve been playing this game, and they are going to be here well after, so it’s my job to comply.”
(You didn’t hear back from the NFL about the touchdown celebration right?) – “No, not yet.”
(What are you thinking, like a half a mile per hour faster?) – “Exactly. I was like, if anything I’m slower with them. When I used to wear socks back in the day, I would’ve scored that. I don’t know, they’ve got their whole philosophy behind it. I’m just going to do what I can to keep my hard-earned money in my pocket.”
(The fines are piling up? Were you told they would get really high if the violations continued?) – “It’s just one of those issues that if it’s a recurring thing. Obviously, you’ve got a first penalty, a second penalty, and third penalty and things continue to multiply. Luckily, I’ve been putting to use some of my leverage to get some of those reduced. Like I said, from here on out, I’ve just got to comply.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle said that he is not only faster than you, but proved he’s a better quarterback than you yesterday. What do you say to that?) – “What position do we play again?”
(We saw you out there playing. He said he had you, he got you.) – “I swear all of my questions be about speed all the time. I just want to talk about who we’re playing against. We play the Carolina Panthers. That’s where my focus is right now.”
(Going up against a team like the Panthers, so desperate to get their first win of the season, how do you mentally prepare for something like that?) – “They are a really good team. A very young team that plays hard. We’ve noticed on film – yes, I watch film – that they fly around the ball very well on the defensive side of the ball. They’ve got a great talented young group of corners. It’s going to be a great matchup for us. A lot of people are maybe looking at this like, they’re 0-5, but they’ve got a really good football team.”
(Aside from film, what did you pick up on them from playing Madden?) – “I would say this, No. 49, he flies around the ball and that’s going to be fun. I love guys that play the game like that. That shows how much they really care about football, so it’s going to be a fun game.”
(What are your first impressions of WR Chase Claypool on the team? He’s a tall guy.) – “He’s a big dude. What’s crazy is he looks like a vending machine out there when he’s running. Very fast, very fluid in his routes. He’s definitely going to be a huge addition to this team, whether it’s blocking, whether it’s receiving the ball, whether it’s whatever this team needs him to do. I’m very happy to have him here. I feel like with the group that we’ve got everybody is competitive, everybody wants to get better each and every day. That’s going to help him get better. It’s all about challenging each other. At the same time, I’m telling these young guys, ‘Y’all are making my job easy.’ I’m excited to have him.”
(Is this offense one where a new guy can come in right away and just fit right in?) – “Yes, for sure. We definitely got the team for that. Obviously, everybody is battling for reps, but at the same time the mentality is all about winning, the mentality is all about team. I think that’s what Coach (McDaniel) was aiming for. I feel like Chase Claypool gets a bad rap for probably not being a team guy, but from what I’ve seen, he’s been a heck of a teammate so far. He’s even offered to wash my car, how about that? (laughter)”
(Have you guys hung out outside of practice at all?) – “Not yet, not yet. I haven’t had a chance to hang out with him, but Fridays are usually the day that we hang out with each other. So I’m looking forward to that.”
Frank Smith – October 12, 2023
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Thursday, October 12, 2023
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(What dimension do you think WR Chase Claypool gives you that maybe you didn’t have with the roster as it was?) – “I just think that anytime we have a chance to acquire players that can help us in any way, we’re always going to be in the business in doing that. I think that’s what we’re doing right now, the assessment of just seeing where we can use his skillset, where he fits and just assimilate into the offense. I wouldn’t say right now we’re pigeonholing one thing to say, ‘He does this.’ It’s more of right now, getting him up to speed operating with us, so we can be able to fit him where we need to as we go forward with the season.”
(What do you like about WR Chase Claypool’s skillset that you’ve seen on tape?) – “He’s a big, fast wide receiver, good catch radius, blocking skills look up to par – everything you’re looking at from a complete skillset. And then now it will be just teaching him how we operate, because like everything, plays are plays. Players make plays come to life, but through their ability to execute the techniques and fundamentals, that’s what makes it come to life, and that’s where – whenever you acquire someone in the season, they’re missing that offseason of the build through the process that we had. It’s easy to bring someone in right away, but then also it’s OK, they may have taught a route this way, but we teach it this way. They look the same, but yet the variance is a little different. That’s the biggest thing that he’s getting up to speed with is our terminology and what our expectations are. But as far as the skillset, everything looks really good so far.”
(How quickly have you ever seen, other than RB Jeff Wilson Jr. who could read your offense, how quickly have you ever seen a guy come into a program and get it down pat and as Head Coach Mike McDaniel says speak Spanish?) – “In my past, we signed (Darren) Waller off the practice squad and he was playing next week. It’s very doable. It’s all about the relationship between the position coach, the player and understanding it’s just a process to do it. I don’t think there is any limitations as to the timeline, it’s just what volume are you going to require him to be able to carry, what length of the offense do you want to carry. Those are the variables that play in, but especially talking to him, I don’t think there is any limitations physically or mentally. We’ll be excited for the growth for the next foreseeable future.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel is really big on being a really good teacher and teaching guys the why and whatnot. In your history of life, are there any notable teachers that stick out to you whether it’s grade school, whether it’s when you were coming up the coaching ranks that taught you that this is the way to pass along information to other people so that they can do their job well?) – “The first one I’d ever had was Gary Westerman, and he was my track coach in high school. And coincidentally he was Alec’s (Ingold) high school coach at Bay Port High School in Green Bay. Explaining the why to what you’re doing and how it’s going to make you better, that’s the only way my college coach Terry Hoeppner spoke. If I’m going to ask you to do anything, this is why. So naturally when we got together and explaining things, that’s the only way things make sense to me. I have to ask question of, ‘Why am I doing this?’ And then once you tell me, got it. Now everything else falls in line. I think as far as all of us, the minute the ‘why’ as opposed to ‘just do what I say,’ well when do most communications break down in all relationships? It’s when you say, ‘Just do what I say because I say it.’ Then when it goes wrong, you don’t know why the intent is. You’re just being told to do something. That’s the really fundamental part of this program, is we teach why we do things. Therefore you can own it, and you can evolve through the process together because we all understand what we’re trying to do.”
(You guys had probably one of the most interesting opening plays I’ve seen. 31 personnel, I think WR Jaylen Waddle came into the backfield and RB De’Von Achane runs for 25 yards. Can you give me the idea of the timing and the why that play in particular?) – “Putting your players in position to give a different look to the defense, also making them have to adjust to us and seeing also what that personnel group provides and running core concepts for us that we can execute together. It really wasn’t one specific reason, it was more of, again, as we had that personnel group other plays, we had two more plays off of it. It’s like what are they going to do and how they are going to react, then through that, what can we do to attack the defense. It was really more of, ‘What do you think they’re going to do if we had this off to him in the opener?’ OK, well I guess get an explosive run. So it’s more of like, for us, using our collection of talent, putting them in the right spots and then seeing how the defense is going to react appropriately. Most of the times, we kind of have an idea of what’s going to happen, and if it doesn’t, why and what’s a complementary play with it.”
(Just following up there, it was intriguing to see all the movements you had, but the timing seemed perfect. I guess for the timing element of that, can you maybe give me an idea of what that looks like for you guys to make that final version look so succinct?) – “Teaching the defense so we understand reactions and what we anticipate. Show it to them on paper, show the clip of the reaction you think you’re going to get, walk through it one time, run it in practice, and then go into a game and then follow your rules and adjust if it’s not what we thought it was going to be. I mean it’s kind of, again, process-driven so you have that concept that we’ve run out of different variants. Now you put in that grouping, and if they understand the defense and they understand the play’s intent, they can handle the variation. Was it a variation that we didn’t inspect? So how do we move and how do we operate? I mean, it starts with back in spring when we teach how do we move and snap points, who’s moving when and why. If you were to put that play in by itself in the season, I think it would be a lot harder as opposed to that’s part of our process of our whole system of why we move to move. It’s because we’re moving for a reaction to the defense in what we anticipate.”
(I’ve got a very football 101 question that got T Terron Armstead excited a couple of weeks ago. Can you explain the significance of the second step for an offensive lineman?) – “Yeah, it’s essentially I’m creating power and I’m transferring power now at the angle that I’ve set with my first. So if I’m not able to get my second step down, I don’t transfer backside power into the block. In all movements, if I’m going to transfer, it’s got to be the second. So that’s the key. That’s the key and the fundamentals of blocking that really aren’t just offensive linemen, it’s all players. When you know the secret to a good second step, you can probably hold the clinic at the Glazier Clinic next year. (laughter)”
(How long does it take a player to understand that concept? Is that like high school or college?) – “It’s simple to talk about the complexities, the variance. You normally are always getting different reactions from the defender. So you’re always learning and you’re banking reps as you go. It’s as simple as, but then OK, what did you do, what was his reaction, and you work through it all. So I think ultimately, it’s an ever-evolving learning process. You talk to all, especially offensive lineman, they’re always talking about ‘Yeah, second step.’ Because really, you’re transferring power into the defender.”
(You guys feature one of the more aggressive offenses in the league. You’re the most productive offense in the league, but you also have a few turnovers this year. Do you think there’s a correlation between aggression and turnovers? And if so, how do you properly calibrate that?) – “I don’t know if it’s really they follow with each other, I think it’s more of just, why do things occur? It’s easy to say, ‘My knee hurts.’ OK, why? OK, well, throw some ice on it and then maybe you’ll feel better. OK, well, my knee hurts still. OK, well, maybe you need to look at it some more, and then they see, OK, well, you need surgery to fix it. So ultimately, when you’re looking at things, you’ve got to look at why and not just kind of gloss over things, because it’s easy to look at something and go, ‘Hey, it’s this.’ Well, what was the root of it? I mean, was it ultimately, when you have a turnover, was it poor fundamentals? Was it a gameplan specific play to the week that maybe our understanding wasn’t as good? Was it playing outside of the progression? There’s many variables that go into it, and that’s ultimately what we’re looking at is making sure how do we ensure we’re minimizing turnovers and it all starts with fundamentals and intent. That’s always what we go back to. It always seems so simple, because I know around here, you guys hear us talk a lot about our process and our fundamentals and technique. But I mean ultimately, that is offensive football. It’s our execution of these simple things collectively to make something come to life. Because if 10 are doing the right thing and one is not, one player I should say, then that’s where you can get off. So ultimately, that’s where like as the quarterback is playing, he’s counting on everyone, guys blocking, guys running routes, timing, distribution. I don’t think it’s ever something as, ‘Hey, we’re aggressive, so this happens.’ It’s more of, ‘OK, why did that happen here?’ Then you get to the bottom of it together.”
(Losing RB De’Von Achane is obviously a big loss, but does it kind of soften the blow knowing that you can go back to what you were doing in Weeks 1 and 2 when you had RB Raheem Mostert and RB Salvon Ahmed at the top of the running backs depth chart? Also with the added incentive you might get RB Jeff Wilson Jr. back?) – “Yeah, I think the nature of the offseason, how we had the room, the way the guys worked and just how really good we felt about it all collectively. Because I mean, when you look to Salvon (Ahmed), in the Houston game, he had two explosive plays that I can just recall off the top of my head. So that group has done an outstanding job of all rising to the occasion together. I think ultimately, as the season goes, if we have one down, the next guy’s up. Eric (Studesville) has done a great job with them, and I think they all understand the intent. We couldn’t be happier just overall with the way the runners go in and just how they’re able to really work with each other, play off each other and accomplish the same thing together.”
(Did RB Jeff Wilson Jr. look to you yesterday like a running back who’s ready to play in a game after four-week layoff?) – “Yes.”
(I’ve heard you and Head Coach Mike McDaniel both talk about knowing defense and defensive players’ roles and knowing what they should do and adjusting to that. I typically think about that as like a quarterback responsibility, but I think you’re speaking to all 11. I’m curious maybe the teaching process of that for maybe your left guard or your tight end or your receiver of knowing the linebacker is supposed to do this, and that’s affects how we run this play?) – “It starts really – if you don’t know your job, you can’t really look past and learn. You have to get to a point at which, I know what I’m doing. Now I know what I’m doing, my intent, now I can see what my defender’s trying to do. It’s always hard and the hardest time is when you’re coming together in Year 1, and you’re trying to learn your system and you’re trying to learn what I’m trying to do, the intent and purpose of this play and the technique you’re asking me to do, the evolution. That’s where it’s constant teaching, because when you can start to understand the defense and what they’re trying to accomplish, where they’re vulnerable, that’s where now the player can play with reaction. Because he’s not thinking about it, he’s reacting to what he’s seeing because his anticipation level is heightened because I know what I’m trying to do. Now my vision is focused on these maybe two or three variables that I’m expecting. That I think, ultimately, is what you’re allowed to do, especially in this second year of the system is now guys have a greater understanding of what we’re doing and they’re really diving into the intent of the defense and how they fit in the concept to attack, whether it’s run or pass.”
(Do you think it’s a correlation that you and San Francisco have the best offenses in the NFL right now? Or just coincidence?) – “I guess we can answer that question at the end of the season. I mean, right now, I don’t know. It’s really cool, but the way they teach is the way we teach, so I can see a correlation. I don’t know if it’s – at the end of the year I guess you could say, ‘Well, maybe.’ But right now, the way they teach their process is similar to the way we teach our process. Yet both of us are built a little different. It’s actually just interesting to really see how it is because it’s a fun process when they’re coming together and you really realize like from spring to now, so many things that you started off going ‘Eh’, and now they’re coming to life in October that are things that I know Mike (McDaniel) talked about early on when they were in San Francisco and things they had to grow through. I guess we’ll see at the end of season, but it’s pretty cool so far.”
(To build on top of that, because I think fans might misconstrue that ‘I guess we’ll find out at the end of the season?) – “Oh, no. It’s just like, I don’t know – it’s October. (laughter) The swings and everything is always – if you lose track of now, and you don’t stay in now and you start looking at all those other things, because in 2011 in New Orleans, we set all these statistical things. We beat Indy 62-7 and then went to St. Louis and lost and it’s like, ‘Why?’ Because if you lose track of now. That’s when the problems come in the league, wherein that team went 8-0 the rest of the year. So it’s like, that direct focus to being present and executing is the No. 1 thing. The greatest thing is we have a bunch of staff that’s all experienced it and players that are hungry to get better today.”
Vic Fangio – October 12, 2023
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Thursday, October 12, 2023
Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio
(With the way S DeShon Elliott is playing now, do you prefer to stick with both safeties playing all the snaps as opposed to weave in DB Elijah Campbell or S Brandon Jones?) – “Yeah, we’re going to stay with DeShon (Elliott) right now. There’s always a possibility of weaving guys in during the game, but if things are going good back there, we kind of leave it alone.”
(What went into the decision to put CB Eli Apple back at outside cornerback and move CB Kader Kohou inside? Do you foresee that as a permanent thing?) – “Well, as we said before, nothing is permanent in the NFL. But yeah, that’s the way we’re going to go right now. It’s two-fold. It was get Kader (Kohou) back inside in the nickel where we think he does a good job and thought Eli (Apple) after a couple weeks of inactivity can get back out there and let’s give it another go.”
(How does the defense adjust without LB Jaelan Phillips in? Do you do anything different with LB Andrew Van Ginkel and DL Emmanuel Ogbah with LB Jaelan Phillips out?) – “No, just allows those two guys to play more outside. (Emmanuel) Ogbah got a good bit of reps last week. ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) is the starter in there without Jaelan (Phillips) and takes ‘Gink’ away from playing ILB very much like he had been in the early games. That’s about it.”
(Is LB Andrew Van Ginkel making a case to stay out on the field on the edge even when all edge rushers are healthy?) – “Yeah, he’s making a case for that, but we’ve got the two other guys (Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb) that are playing good for us when they are healthy. We’ll try to ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) as many snaps as we can between the edge and the ILB position.”
(The inside linebackers spot, we’ve known LB Andrew Van Ginkel for a while and he’s always around the ball. What makes you think that inside linebacker would work for him?) – “There was a point in the offseason where I saw him when I was watching some tape, and it was really just crossover tape, I wasn’t watching it to watch him. I saw a play or two that made me think maybe he could be an inside linebacker. So I had one of the other assistant coaches pull up all his snaps over the last couple years that could relate to being an ILB. He did that, and I watched it, and it really wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. It wasn’t like, ‘Yeah, definitely.’ So for about three or four days I said, ‘Ah, we’re not going to do it. Just leave it alone.’ But then I said, ‘The heck with it. We’re going to do it, because I still have a gut feeling he can do it.’ And that was it. There was no – I just had a gut feeling he could do it.”
(In a couple of the games that you’ve had your best production, it usually occurs when the offense gets out to a hot start. How does the game script impact the way you call a game in terms of having a big lead early in games?) – “It definitely does. All games take on their own personality. The scoreboard has an effect on the way you call a game. There’s no doubt about that. There’s only one goal in mind, and that’s to win. Whatever the best way for us to do that, in light of how the whole game is going, is what we’ll do.”
(It seems obvious, but what ways do you think when an offense becomes a little more one-dimensional that it helps the defense be even more productive?) – “No doubt. When you only have to worry about one phase, it makes calling it easier and makes playing against it easier.”
(How is LB David Long Jr. playing, do you think, through five games?) – “He’s been playing better and better of late. Still need to get out some of his inconsistencies at times, but I think he’s working hard to do that, and he’s been improving.”
(What have you seen early on from Panthers QB Bryce Young in studying him?) – “He’s a good, young quarterback. He’s got good quarterback instincts. He has a nice release. I think he sees the field well for a young quarterback. I think he has a bright future, and I think he’s improving week-to-week for the Panthers.”
(When you face a young quarterback, are you tempted to go at him more with more blitzes?) – “That’s kind of a common theme that a lot of people think, but sometimes it’s good to make him be a quarterback and go through his progressions and dissect the coverages and what not. Sometimes when you pressure him, it does make it easier for him too.”
(I’m curious what your relationship is like with Panthers Defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero? What’s it like seeing him grow? I think he was a quality control coach when you were a defensive coordinator in San Francisco?) – “Yeah, he was with us in San Francisco and then in the last year there, he was on defense with me. I stayed in contact with him over the years through his coaching career. He stayed down in San Francisco, went to Green Bay with a friend of mine and has done very well. He did a great job coaching the secondary with the Rams, did a great job with the Broncos last year, and is continuing that here with the Panthers.”
(Is CB Cam Smith knocking on the door for playing time on defense?) – “He’s knocking on the door.”
(What’s it going to take for the door to open for CB Cam Smith?) – “He’s got to keep knocking and keep improving in practice.”
(Just following up on Panthers Defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero, do you feel like an ownership for guys who run your scheme?) – “No, not really. I mean Ejiro (Evero) has another guy on staff in Peter Hansen who was with me for four years also as a QC (quality control coach). They’re doing a good job. I’m sure they’re doing a lot of the things that we’ve done, but once someone gets out on their own, they kind of put their own little flavor to it.”
(I have a two-part question regarding DT Christian Wilkins. 19 tackles, he’s on pace for about 70 which would be a low for the past couple years, but he has 1.5 sacks and is on pace for 5.0 sacks, so he could have a career high in sacks. How do you view his season overall, and how has he done with the potential contract extension hanging over his head?) – “I think he’s done good on both parts. I think his play has been good, and I think it’s improving. I do think the layoff he had in training camp, after the first 10 days or so when he did partake in it, did get him rusty, and I think he’s back to where he was then. I see no effects of his contract situation affecting him, but I haven’t talked to him about it.”
(What level is DT Raekwon Davis doing what you need out of that role?) – “He’s doing good sometimes, and sometimes not so. It’s just a consistency thing with him. I believe in Raekwon (Davis), I’ve said that from the start. He’s just got to push himself, not that he isn’t, but to keep going to get to places he hasn’t been before.”
(I had a chance to speak to S DeShon Elliott in the locker room yesterday, and he talked about his comfort level in this defense increasing. How have you seen his, just adhering to the rules and structures of your coverage, kind of come along five weeks in?) – “Yeah, I agree with that. I think he’s played well here of late. I think he’s improved from week to week, which is what you would expect and hope for. I think he’s very diligent in his preparation. He takes a lot of pride in his performance, and it’s reflecting that he’s been improving.”
(You talked a little about LB Andrew Van Ginkel and DE Emmanuel Ogbah getting more reps. For DE Emmanuel Ogbah in particular, what have you seen him do the last couple weeks with those increased opportunities?) – “He’s had some production. Missed an opportunity or two along there too. Again, he just has to get better at some of the most fundamental things that you have to do early in a play, and that will help improve his game.”
(A little random, I know this spring or summer you teased a new coverage that you had worked on. Have we seen it and not recognized it, or have you not unleashed it? Where is that coverage in the scheme?) – “It’s actually reared its head here as of late a little bit, and it’s helped us.”
(Do you like Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper’s playing style?) – “I love bombs. (laughter) Hopefully – we’ve got to get one more, then I’ll feel good about it.”
(I wanted to ask you about defensive linemen in terms of twisting and stunting, not necessarily just going head up against their man. What’s the downfall of that?) – “It’s just part of rushing the passer. If you’re proficient at running games/stunts, the word you used, it helps you rush the passer. If you’re somebody that never runs games, then it helps the o-linemen. If you have the threat of games, it helps you on defense, but you have to be good at them. We mix them in a fair amount of times, and so far, it’s helped us.”
(Were you the first Carolina Panthers’ defensive coordinator?) – “Yes.”
(That’s a cool nugget. What do you remember about the first year?) – “The very first year? We played our home games in Clemson which was a pain. We started slow and finished strong. Then the next year we had a really good year and went to the NFC Championship game. Had good group of veteran players that we got through free agency and the expansion draft, it was a good experience.”
(Was that Brentson Buckner? Was he on that squad? The NFC Champion?) – “No, he wasn’t.”
(Oh, that was the later Super Bowl team?) – “Yeah.”
(When you have a team that needs to create turnovers, your guys have talked about that, is it tough to get them to not tackle the ball and tackle the ball carrier just in the name of trying to create turnovers? How do you walk that line?) – “No, you just keep coaching the fundamentals of it, and when the opportunities come and when they’re there, to go for it. But tackling is still of the upmost importance to us.”
Danny Crossman – October 12, 2023
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Thursday, October 12, 2023
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(How much can you tell us about P Jake Bailey kicking off, when and why?) – “There’s a lot of things that go into it. But in our opinion, we have a talented player who’s been a kickoff guy his whole career. He’s got great skills in being able to handle that job. With him and Jason (Sanders), they both have very strong legs. They both have the ability to do a lot of things. I think we’d be silly if we didn’t have the ability to use both of them.”
(I have kind of a multifaceted question, and this is based off my own observations from years of watching punting versus watching P Jake Bailey. I’ve always thought that punters got that plant foot off the ground after they kicked it. He doesn’t really do that. Do you get involved in the mechanics of a kicker at all or do you let them kind of do what they want to do?) – “We get involved, but we don’t change the structure of what he’s doing. That’s the way he’s always been. He’s got the flexibility of – he’s been blessed that that’s part of how his body mechanism works. So that kind of stuff we’re never going to tinker with.”
(When the team makes a trade, an in-season trade like the team just did for WR Chase Claypool, do you go back and look at maybe some prior film to see what he can do on special teams? And how do you maybe see him fitting in with this unit?) – “Anytime we add anybody, you go back to look at all your write-ups of him starting with coming out of college and then all the write-ups of him when you might have played them or did offseason studies from people around the league, comparison studies for the draft. So there’s a lot of stuff that goes into it. A player like Chase (Claypool) that has a history, you usually have a pretty good notebook on that guy. Then it’s a matter of trying to figure out where and how he may be able to help us. Then that goes into the whole operation of the roster and actives and inactives. We’ll find roles for him if he’s available, because he’s a talented individual. We’re very happy to have him.”
(Sticking with players named Chase, how vital is DE Chase Winovich to your special teams unit?) – “Chase (Winovich) has done a good job. He’s been very important to us. He’s played very well in the games that we were able to get him up. Again, another guy that has great flexibility and more importantly, has a great history. When we were able to add him to the practice squad, you’re able to go back and look at him playing in New England, playing in Cleveland, doing a lot of different roles. So you had a pretty good feel on being able to use him and what roles you could use him on.”
(Was DE Chase Winovich actually that 11th, thought to be 12th, but actually 11th guy?) – “He was the guy that came off the field.”
(What was going on on that play? What was the miscommunication?) – “There was no miscommunication. There was just a little bit of a mental hiccup. Fortunately, it wasn’t a situation that cost us. We were in the right grouping, just some guys might have thought something different. But yeah, no issues. Those are the things you can’t have wrong. You can’t have substitution errors.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel did credit you for kind of being on it and playing that out. I was wondering how that works? Is it like in the headset, you’re like “Hey, no. We actually…”) – “That was a situation where the entrance and exit numbers were correct. We knew we had 11 so when he came off the field, I knew we didn’t have 12. It wasn’t we had 12 and somebody didn’t get off the field. We had 11 to start, so him coming off the field, he was the 11th player. We were down to 10, so there really wasn’t any gray area.”
(You were right next to Head Coach Mike McDaniel. Were you able to point it out pretty quickly?) – “Yeah, because of course as the head coach, he wants to know what just happened where we possibly gave up a first down with them not having to do anything.”
(Did you insist that Head Coach Mike McDaniel throw the challenge flag?) – “I encouraged him and basically, he asked the question of, ‘Should I, or shouldn’t I?’ Basically the communication between he and I, we came to the conclusion that it was worth the challenge.”
(Does that mean you’re 1-for-1 in career challenges?) – “It has nothing to do – I don’t throw the flag.”
Chase Claypool – October 11, 2023
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Wednesday, October 11, 2023
WR Chase Claypool
(What was your reaction when you got traded?) – “I was excited for the new opportunity and excited to work with Coach (Mike) McDaniel and Tua (Tagovailoa) and play alongside (Jaylen) Waddle and Tyreek (Hill) and a bunch of good receivers.”
(Did you know any of the guys before you came here?) – “I knew Durham (Smythe) and Liam (Eichenberg). I went to school with them at Notre Dame. So I’m excited to have some familiar faces, especially on the offensive side of the ball.”
(What have they told you about the offense and the complexity of it and how long do you think it’ll take for you to kind of get up to speed?) – “There’s a lot of motion, shifts, two motions, before the ball is snapped. I’ve been doing a lot of studying, and I don’t think it’ll be too long. It is a complex playbook, but I feel pretty good, especially this first day of practice.”
(I know that this is a new journey for you, but there’s obviously a lot of talk about the way things ended in Chicago. What do you want people to know about that and just about the person that you are?) – “I think I just (will) be the same person I’ve been in terms of being a teammate. I know I’m a good teammate. I don’t have to do anything extra to like – don’t have to do too much to try and prove that. Just be myself, and I’m excited about being around a new group of guys and showing them what I can do.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said it’s a clean slate when new players come in. Some of your former Notre Dame teammates were backing for you. What does that say to you when you hear that?) – “Yeah, that just shows they know the guy that I am. I always appreciate when former teammates have my back, like Justin (Fields) and the other guys in the locker room in Chicago and then Notre Dame guys. Because I think that’s like the true testament of the person you are, is when your former teammates talk about you in a good way.”
(You’re a bit bigger than some of the other receivers. Blocking is a key element in this offense. How would you describe your approach to blocking?) – “I love it. I mean, it’s really fun for me, and just trying to polish that every day and become a better blocker. Especially in the interior and going against bigger guys like D-ends or linebackers and stuff, trying to make the most of those opportunities as well.”
(What do you think of this offense? You’ve seen what they’ve been doing here in the first few weeks, how excited are you?) – “Just being a piece in the big puzzle to a lot of moving pieces and trying to make this offense better than it is. Anything I can do to that is an awesome opportunity for me, and I’m really excited about that and excited to be a part of it.”
(They have numbers and numbers they’ve been putting up in the record book.) – “Right, so just make sure that I do my job the right way, full speed. I know they’ll put me in positions to help the offense.”
(You were on the sideline Sunday, right?) – “Yeah.”
(What was it like watching all that speed up close and knowing I get to get in this?) – “It was a lot of fun, really exciting. Yeah, it got me excited to be a part of it. I was itching to go out there and see it firsthand, but just watching it from the sidelines was super fun.”
(What are your impressions of Head Coach Mike McDaniel? A very unique guy, unique head coach.) – “Yeah, very like – I want to say laidback, but he’s able to coach really hard in a good way where it doesn’t feel like he’s hounding you. He’s very informative, and he’s just super smart. You can tell by the way he talks. He knows exactly what he’s talking about and makes the game and practice a lot easier.”
(What do you think went wrong in Chicago? Why do you think it’s going to be better here?) – “I think that when you lose a lot of games in a row, there’s frustration naturally. That’s new for everybody, I’m sure, from the top down. I think just being excited about getting some wins and stuff like that, I think that just comes naturally. Once you start winning, things start getting less frustrating, obviously.”
