Tua Tagovailoa – November 26, 2024
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Tuesday, November 26, 2024
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(So the topic of no-look passes which are always very snazzy, came up with Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith today. Was there any basketball player that you ever watched do that where it left an impression on you and do you get a kick out of doing it?) – “I would say no basketball player that I know inspired me to do any of that. Definitely get a kick out of it. It’s always fun when you can manipulate the defense with your eyes just because you know the spots in which guys are going to be with the throws and you’ve been working on that for some time with those guys as well.”
(Was there a football player who inspired you?) – “I would say no. In my opinion you’ve either got it or you don’t. That’s what it is.”
(How does this offense feel different than years past? Like as the one who operates it, how does this feel different?) – “I think within the structure of our offense with how we’ve said we wanted to go out and how we wanted to play games in terms of taking over it, staying on the field, managing situational ball the way I think we have these past couple of weeks has definitely helped. I think also being able to elongate drives and we’ve been known last year to take shots and it’s been three, four plays. Maybe the longest last year was a 12-play drive and I don’t even remember if that ended in points or not, but I would say that’s the biggest difference with our offense this year.”
(On the flipped pass to RB Jaylen Wright when he comes from your right to left, is that designed as a no-look flip or is that something you just thought…?) – “All of those I just do trying just to try to manipulate the defense, but Mike (McDaniel), ‘Bev’ (Darrell Bevell) and Frank (Smith) – they entrust me with the ball handling knowing that I’m not going to screw it up with whatever play is called. But yeah, it’s not it.”
(I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Lambeau Field – I can’t remember off the top of my head – I think you guys have played Green Bay here. Do you ever look forward to playing in these historic buildings where you think about the NFL and those are one of the top places you think about?) – “One hundred percent. One hundred percent. I think this is an awesome opportunity being able to play Thursday Night Football, prime time, on Thanksgiving. It just takes me back to growing up in Hawaii. Obviously, the prime time games were a little earlier in Hawaii, but it’s sort of the same deal, like that’s the only team that’s playing. And whether you liked the teams that were playing or not like you just sit down eat, you spend time with family and you get to watch that. And sometimes you go outside and you pretend to be some of the players that are playing and so for me and I feel like a lot of the guys, cherish this opportunity that we’re about to get, to be able to go over there to Lambeau, be able to play over there at a historic field. And it is just a blessing. It really is.”
(Who was the guy you emulated when you guys went out back?) – “I don’t know, it’d be like safeties. (laughter) ‘Like I’m just playing defense.’ And then somebody would be just the quarterback for both sides.”
(Have you practiced this week at all or will you when it’s a short week with the glove on the right hand?) – “Probably not.”
(No glove this time?) – “Yeah, probably no glove this time. I think for a lot of our guys that were able to play in the game last year against Kansas City, kind of gave you a different perspective of what cold really was.”
(You’ve talked about the Seakeeper mentality a lot now this year. Why did that specifically come to you? Just buy a boat recently or were you on a boat and you noticed that or where did that come from?) – “I have a boat and the guys that were showing me the features of the boat ended up telling me about the Seakeeper and what the Seakeeper does and whatnot, and so sort of took that mentality into training camp really. It was just one of those I had an ‘a-ha moment’ like it would be good if we use ‘Seakeeper’ and sort of explained it to the quarterback room, explained it to ‘Bev’ (Darrell Bevell) and that’s what it came to be.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel has talked about the gigantic strides you’ve made in like emotional control in a football game. Can you feel yourself when maybe that’s slipping away and then how do you like jar out of that mode so that you can move on to the next play?) – “As a competitor I think you definitely tend to slip out of that frame of mind, but I think at the position, it entails for us to, you have to know how to erase whatever play happened last time and focus on what the defense is giving, focus on the play and the task at hand.”
(We know you want to kill narratives and one of them being your record in the cold. What can you take from your previous opportunities in cold weather into this game?) – “I would say the biggest thing is mindset. We’re obviously nowhere near the temperatures that all these other cold teams play at being in Miami where it’s 80. Sometimes it gets down to 50, but it just gets nowhere near the teams that make it in long stretches in the run that they try to do. To me it’s just a mindset. That’s really all it is.”
(Going back to just elongating drives, do you feel like that style of play is more conducive for success in these kind of environments? Not this, I meant like the one you’re going to see on Thursday.) – “I think with what the defense gives us and with what the play that we’re told in the huddle to run entails for us to do; that’s basically what it is. When we do call our shots, we’re looking to take them, but if they’re not there, that’s just essentially what that series calls for. Now, if we’re dinking and dunking for three plays and then we get a shot, we’re not going to be mad at that. But then again, it falls back to the mindset of the quarterback play like, don’t get antsy. Take what they give you. If this read entails for you to take your shot, take your shot. That’s what it is.”
(This will be your first game against Packers QB Jordan Love, fellow 2020 Draft class. What do you think of him and his game?) – “I’ve got a lot of respect for him. He’s done himself justice last year and he’s earned his contract last year coming into this year. He’s a baller. That’s the reason why they paid him.”
(Packers S Xavier McKinney leads the NFL in interceptions. It looks like he was taken 31 picks after you in the 2020 NFL Draft. What were those practices like back in college?) – “I had ‘X’ (Xavier McKinney) and I was with Josh Jacobs at the same time, so knowing the competitive mindset that those guys have, those were fun practices. Those were fun practices, but being able to go against those guys, I know ‘X’ knows what he’s going to get out of me and I know exactly what he’s going to bring to the table, too. With Josh as well, we came from the same school so you know the mindset that those guys are going to bring every time they see a fellow Alabama player, but yeah, I’m super happy for ‘X’ and the success that he’s found as well as Josh, but I’m looking to mitigate that success when we play against them.”
(Speaking of former Bama players, you have a moment with Christian Barmore there on Sunday after the sack?) – “What do you mean?”
(I saw a little bit of jawing back and forth, some old Bama love?) – “That’s it, that’s it, that’s it. (laughter) I’m glad they didn’t put any of that in the mic’d up. I’m a good person, I swear.”
(How much trash talking do we miss when you’re not mic’d up?) – “Oh, I don’t know. You just go with the flow of the game.”
(We talking Christian Wilkins level or no?) – “I think it can be absurd sometimes. I’m like, dude, what are we doing?”
(What is prepping for Thursday night games like for you? Do you study tape late to Monday night and Tuesday night?) – “I would say yes, you definitely study tape. I would say studying tape begins after our Patriots deal. Then you get with your coaches. You get to look at things that you need to clean up and whatnot, but you’ve got to move quickly. So from there, then it gets to the plays and getting guys dialed in on those plays as well, reasons as to why we’re running those plays, spots they need to be in, all of that.”
(What’s it like playing on Thanksgiving for the players? Is that an honor or is it more like kind of rather be home with my family?) – “I think the players look at that as a great honor, great opportunity. Reason I say that is because a lot of us grew up watching prime time football and on Thanksgiving, a lot of times you’d see the Cowboys play, you’d see the Packers play, the Lions play. And to be able to have that opportunity to play in in a prime time game at night at a historic field, I don’t think any of the guys take that for granted.”
(Will you have your family with you, traveling with you?) – “I probably won’t have my family traveling with me. I think it’s too much for Annah with the kids.”
Frank Smith – November 26, 2024
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Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(Sometimes I don’t realize these no-look things that QB Tua Tagovailoa does until I see the Twitter get all excited about it and they show the videos. One was to RB Jaylen Wright, a little pitch, and one was a quick pass to WR Jaylen Waddle. The first question is, are those no-looks schemed up or is that something that Tua kind of adds in to give a little flavor?) – “Some things are part of ball handling mechanics, other things he adds his flavor to it, but at the same time it comes through the repetitions of knowing where guys are at, knowing intent and purpose. Some things we add through what we’re trying to do with ball handling. Other things are when he feels very comfortable and thinks he can manipulate a defender a certain way and normally it goes into all of our preparation to make sure that guys handle all that stuff appropriately.”
(Have you seen a quarterback in history who you think is just outstanding, in addition to QB Tua Tagovailoa, at this sort of deception with the ball handling and that sort of thing?) – “No one comes to mind, I’m sure there are many times – “
(I guess Mahomes does it at times.) – “He does it at times. I know quarterbacks just through a lot of times movement of defenders as you’re looking one way and throwing another. I know (Justin) Herbert would always – he’d be looking one way but he’s doing this with his eyes (looking the other way). So you could always see on the TV copy with Justin, his helmet would be that way but he’s really looking that way, so he was moving his head to make the throw. So I think part of it comes with the quarterback position. With Tua, he’s obviously very good at working through different mechanics with the guys.”
(Last part, you guys are totally cool with it? It’s not like you’re ever like, “Hey man, you’re pushing it a little too far with that one?”) – “No, we’re very open and transparent. There’s nothing he’s doing that we’re surprised by.”
(I believe I asked you this last week in terms of the run game, kind of the volume has been – or the production has been turned down a little bit. I know QB Tua Tagovailoa is back and Tua is distributing the ball at such an efficient high level and a lot of those passes are simulated runs, but when you want to run the ball, why has it been such a struggle in recent weeks?) – “I think what happens is when earlier on like in Buffalo and Indy, Arizona; a couple of those games where obviously we’re very efficient running the football, teams were trying to sit back and play and trying to defend different things, where recently they’re trying to solve run game issues and especially like New England, we ran for over 200 minus the penalties. Like we had a really good day of rushing against them and they were clearly committed to make sure that wouldn’t happen again, so when they commit to such a level to stop the run, they’re going to make themselves vulnerable in other ways and we were able to capitalize on some other things that they were doing. Many of their pressures were to stop the run, so when they’re bringing all that, we were able to exploit it through the passing game. Because I think ultimately when you look at it, you’re going, OK, it’s efficiency of the run game; you obviously want to make sure that you’re always staying on schedule, however, our job is to score points. And if they’re going to defend a certain way to stop the run, OK, what’s the complement so that’s where we make sure that when we build the attack, if they’re trying to overcommit to stop something, they’re going to be vulnerable somewhere else and we were able to pivot to it really quickly. That’s why the second quarter kind of went the way it did because we could see their plan and kind of the way they were going to try and defend us.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel was telling us that QB Tua Tagovailoa has taking a gigantic step when it’s come to emotional control of himself during football games. I was curious how specifically have you seen him work on that and how much has that played into some of the more sustained drives you guys have had?) – “I think it benefits when you’re able to – I mean collectively as the whole offense, we’re trying to make sure we all stay present in the moment and play each moment as intently as you can just because when you start off a season and things don’t go the way they are, it’s makes you appreciate what you have. And the more deliberately you’re in the moment, whether the result was good or bad, you can stay now in the next moment to make sure you maximize it. He’s done a great job of that and just you can see like him and many other guys from the process from the meeting rooms to the walkthrough to the practice to the game, just making sure you can get that approach if you really activate it every day in everything you do.”
(Now I know compared to Kansas City, Green Bay is going to be balmy. It’s going to be a good 30-40 degrees warmer than it was there, but think back to that playoff game and the instructions you gave QB Tua Tagovailoa as to how to handle that cold – what did you learn from that? What were the keys then? How well did he handle it? Why do you think this time will be better?) – “Nothing will be colder than that game. I mean, the press box was frozen over. It was an all-timer. But I think through everything you learn to equip yourselves for everything, especially like this season we’ve had plenty of adversity that you learn from and everything is a new challenge whether it’s the weather or getting out of the slump or a bad drive or a bad play; it’s how you respond and what’s your focus in that moment. And like we were just talking about, just being deliberately present and really focusing on how you can maximize now that’s the best way to really prepare for an environment because whether it’s cold, whether it’s loud, whether it’s hot; all these things are just factors you can’t control, so you really just want to make sure that, OK, what are the things I can control and be aware of and I think that’s what him and all the other guys are really focusing on for this game and all games going forward.”
(They say wind is probably the most disruptive, correct, for quarterback beyond cold and sleet and rain and all that? Is that correct?) – “Yeah, wind can be – up in Green Bay, when I was in Chicago for three years, they were in division. Went up there plenty of times so it’s – all the elements can be challenging up there. Ultimately it just comes down to us and being together and executing together and we’ll be good on – I was about to say this weekend, but shoot, it’s Thursday. It’s in two days. (laughter)”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel yesterday mentioned that the preparation for the cold game on Thursday has changed. I wanted to know like how is it – he didn’t want to get into specifics, I don’t want to ask specifics – but how has the preparation changed or maybe even stayed similar to years past?) – “I think when you go into Kansas City, it was about as cold as it gets and when you have that level of extreme weather, I think everyone learns something. I learned that there’s not enough layers I could wear to stay warm that day. Thankfully, I was in the press box (coaching booth). (laughter) But I think a lot of guys were able to realize, OK, when we’re dealing with temperature variance of so extreme, how are we going to go about our process and I think that’s where guys pregame will make sure they’re ready to go, get out in the environment, test their cleats, move around and everyone be good to go. But ultimately, weather, wind, all these things, you can’t control it, but if you have the right mental process towards it, that’s the most important thing.”
(Wanted to ask you about OL Isaiah Wynn now that the long-awaited move to activate him from PUP has been made, what the vision is for him in terms of potentially working him back into the starting lineup where he was for the first seven games of 2023?) – “I think it was good to get him activated to the roster and we’ll work through all those things as we go through it. Rob (Jones) has been doing a great job for us, and it’s been a process to get him back to the roster to feel good about himself so we’ll play that out as it goes. The season, you never know what’s going to happen, so I think ultimately it’s just making sure that he’s ready to go, back in the game plan, working with the guys and making sure we can get back up to speed for whatever contingency we have to hit along the way.”
Anthony Weaver – November 26, 2024
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Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver
(A report just came out that Shaq Barrett has applied for reinstatement according to his agents. Has it been conveyed to you through General Manager Chris Grier or through him or through Head Coach Mike McDaniel whether he wants to play for the Miami Dolphins, who own his rights?) – “I’ve got to be honest, that’s news to me. I really got no comment on that because it’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
(What has CB Storm Duck done that’s given you the confidence not only to play him a lot, but you’ve still been able to blitz CB Jalen Ramsey and do different things with Jalen even without CB Kendall Fuller there?) – “I think we’ve been talking about Storm (Duck), really, since training camp. He’s a guy that’s just consistent out there, and this is not a pun by any means, but he is truly unflappable. It doesn’t matter what happens good or bad, he’s the same guy play-in and play-out, and that dependability obviously builds trust with his teammates and it’s why he’s out there.”
(Obviously you have confidence in LB Tyrel Dodson, he knows the scheme, the terminology, the languages because he’s coming from a scheme that’s similar. But how difficult will that transition be, especially in a week where you don’t have practices?) – “I don’t think it’s going to be very difficult at all. Since he’s gotten here, he’s been the consummate professional. So fortunately for him, there’s certainly some verbiage similarities between the two schemes between what we’re doing here and what they’re doing in Seattle. It’s like anything, when you’re going to another team, a lot of times you’re trying to learn a new scheme. The hardest part of that is translating that language into what you already know, so that’s been fairly seamless for him, and then he’s just a confident player. I think you guys saw that on Sunday. When he got on that field, ultimately once he knows what to do, he’s going to rely on the instincts which he has his whole life, and he was able to go out there and make plays. I don’t expect there to be a big transition between him and ‘Walk’ (Anthony Walker Jr.). I think from a communication standpoint, he is just as strong out there in trying to convey what we’re in and then helping his teammates out as well. So we have the utmost confidence in ‘TD’ (Tyrel Dodson) to go out there and play and play well.”
(Obviously, you’ve been around football a long time. What do you make of this “The Dolphins can’t play in the cold,” mess? What do make of that?) – “(laughter) I don’t make anything of it, to be honest with you. I’ve played – like you said, I’ve been around big-time football now since 1998. I’ve never lost a game and looked back and thought, ‘Guys, it was just too cold outside,’ so I don’t expect that to happen this week. I understand some of the things that are being talked about and the narratives out there, but for us, it’s football. It doesn’t matter what the temperature is, they can go and snap this in the mall parking lot and we’re going to go and do everything we can to try to win. Do they still have malls anymore? Do those exist? (laughter)”
(RB Josh Jacobs, what’s going to be the key to limiting him?) – “I’ll tell you what, tremendous amount of respect for who he is as a back. He obviously has incredible short area quickness, really good contact balance, but he runs angry and when you’re watching opposing backs, that’s always what you’re looking for – how many yards do they get post-contact. So for us, obviously we’ve got to do a great job tackling him, and we can’t just rely on any one guy to bring him down. We got to make sure we try to shoot him low and run our feet and all those things, but we’ve got to try to get population to the ball. We got to swarm tackle this guy, make sure we’re chasing down and not assuming he’s down because the second you do that, he’ll break a tackle and he’ll run for 20. So we’ll be constantly preaching these guys these next two days is let’s just get as many Dolphin logos to the ball on every single snap as we possibly can.”
(Obviously QB Jordan Love has taken the next step, I think, in his career, but he also tends to turn the ball over a little bit, he has 11 picks and four fumbles I think I saw. Has there been a common thread as to what defenses have been able to do to get that guy to turn the ball over?) – “Not really. I think it’s just because he is so talented, has tremendous arm talent, can make every throw, he’s mobile enough to hurt you as well. I think when he gets in trouble, it’s just because he is so confident in that ability and the playmakers around him where he’ll try to extend some plays and make something extremely special happen. Now, while turnovers and things of that nature occur, there’s also a bunch of times where those work out in his favor, so I doubt it’s certainly something they’re not trying to take out of his game, and we’re going to try to do everything we can to disguise him pre-snap and affect him with our rush and our blitzes and our coverage disguise, so hopefully we can have some of those fall our way.”
(When you guys had interest in Shaq Barrett in the offseason, what was it that drew you to him? And if he’s coming back to you or someone else, what kind of player would they be getting?) – “I think with Shaq (Barrett), it was his veteran presence. He’s obviously a guy that has a bunch of pelts on the wall, that has a Super Bowl ring. There isn’t anything schematically that he hasn’t seen and he’s been impactful throughout his time in the league. So that was obviously what we saw in him, and if he chooses to come back here or whatever that is then God bless him, but right now I’m focusing on the guys who have been here, who have been committed to us and are currently in the fight.”
(DT Calais Campbell, he came here to win a Super Bowl, and I know this team hasn’t accomplished anything yet, but how much do you appreciate for him that at his age, this season has newfound meaning over the past month for him to maybe be able to go and compete for that Super Bowl?) – “It’s incredibly important to me. I just remember talking to him early on when he was trying to decide between a few teams and telling him what I felt in this building and the connectivity and how special of a group I truly believed it was. And I know in our darkest moments, you can waver in that faith and belief, but we never did, and I think we’re starting to see the truest version of what this team can be. So just incredibly happy for him in that we’ve put ourself now where we’re getting to November, December football where we’re going to be playing meaningful games which ultimately, that’s all you’re chasing as a football team – to make sure at the end of the year, you’ve positioned yourself where you can try and make that run and there’s nobody I want to make that run for more than Calais Campbell.”
Mike McDaniel – November 25, 2024
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Monday, November 25, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(With LB Anthony Walker Jr. was it just a strained hamstring that could keep him out for a little while or was it a torn hamstring that could keep him out a long while?) – “I don’t see it being extensive time; however, you are right, we are short on time. So probably will be unlikely for this week but didn’t see one of those long-term situations.”
(Without LB Anthony Walker Jr. do you feel like LB Tyrel Dodson is comfortable enough in this system with the short amount of time he’s been here to step into that role?) – “It was very calculated. I think one thing that has to be accounted for is the games he was able to start at Mike linebacker this season in a system that is probably the same system – probably has some transfer of words as far as, ‘yeah, we say this here, this equals this.’ But for the most part he had that huge head start. And then I just can’t say enough about what he has done since he has been here making sure to be prepared for a moment like that sooner than later. You never know when your number is going to be called. I think between him, the coaching staff, and ‘Joe B’ (Joe Barry) and the rest of the players being on the same page; I’m comfortable because he’s made me comfortable by the reps that he’s taken at practice.”
(With CB Kendall Fuller and the concussion, what stage is he at in concussion and is he a possibility for Thursday?) – “I stay out of the stage game. I know he’s probably unlikely for this game. But he’s doing better and we just take that day by day and he’s progressing just fine. Just a little short-term here for this Thursday night game.”
(I know you’re not looking into the short term, but how much did it help in game to be able to get T Terron Armstead rest in the fourth quarter?) – “I think the benefit of being able to come out strong specifically in the second quarter where we were able to kind of separate the game a little bit. I think that had multiple advantages. And then creates new issues if you haven’t been in that situation a ton and then you work through those and get better at the situation as you go. It was beneficial for sure just knowing the calendar and having another game in a couple of days. I’m sure he was appreciative of the turnovers and the defensive stops probably as much as anybody.”
(FB Alec Ingold, similar question, was he on a limited snap for this game, his first game back in two weeks?) – “The way the game progressed afforded me the opportunity to not play with fire. Nothing from feedback from him. Just as a coach my own attempts to make sure we don’t put him in harm’s way. That was fortuitous as well.”
(What’s been the change in TE Jonnu Smith becoming such a focal point in the offense in the past couple of games?) – “I would say Jonnu, I think really just the working relationship between from ‘Embo’ (Jon Embree) and Frank Smith and just understanding what we’re asking and then from a coaching staff perspective finding different ways to utilize the skillset. And then the countless hours of quarterback individual from running routes on air to working on the timing when we go to group install. I think it’s just an evolution with collective effort to get better across the board from coaching and from Jonnu’s perspective. I think he’s really done a great job understanding how to get open in the timing of the play and how much you can focus on that when you’re playing with Tua (Tagovailoa) because if you’re separating when he’s ready to throw it you generally have a have a high completion percentage. He’s really earned each and every added opportunity based upon just being supremely coachable and then he gives you incentive to find ways to get him the ball when you can throw short and he can run long. That’s high efficient football that is tough to defend. So I can’t say enough about the job he’s done and all of his success. Being the guy that he is he won’t take all of the credit. He could, but he’ll probably spread it out between his teammates and coaches, too.”
(One question about backup quarterback and a follow-up question also: Forgive the bluntness here, but do you trust QB Skylar Thompson?) – “Yeah, I trust Skylar (Thompson). I think the situation this past game was unacceptable from just the whole unit. I think that from our perspective, I think across the board that’s not to our standard from the way we came out of the huddle to the execution of plays and then to give up points on an offensive play. And I won’t get into the nitty gritty of – I’m not going to point fingers at a microphone, but ultimately, that falls on everybody involved including the coaches that we can’t have that collective effort. That wasn’t him just responsible for, but my reaction towards it wasn’t strictly based on him; it was more of a tonality with the whole group.”
(Who has the final say on the 53-man roster? Is that you or General Manager Chris Grier?) – “The great thing about Chris (Grier) and I, is we don’t look at our fine print that often and that’s the biggest thing, is when we’re working together, it’s about getting the right answer; not who’s – so it doesn’t necessarily come up in that regard. We’re always just communicating and when we don’t agree on something and we work through it and I think by the letter of the law, Chris Grier is the man, but quite honestly, we tend to not even go down that road kind of like undercutting the relationship that we have just because we’re working together to try to get the right answer and we’re both on the same team.”
(Daniel Jones is about to become a full-fledged free agent I think in 47 minutes. What can you tell us about this team’s interest or lack thereof?) – “Well, first of all, I want to know what a half-fledged free agent would look like. Stumped you, right? (laughter) I evaluated him when he came out of college and we also have an assistant coach on staff that was I think was his No. 1 receiver – that’s a nice little trivia question. Yep, there’s some nepotism in that… you got it? But real talented player that his journey doesn’t seem to be – it’s not foreign to the quarterback position. It’s a tough position to succeed at, so he’s not a player on the team and yeah, I guess good luck to him.”
(Just want to make T Terron Armstead – obviously, he didn’t go back in the game unlike QB Tua Tagovailoa, you stuck with T Patrick Paul. Did he leave the game feeling good and ready for this week?) – “He was very positive leaving the game in terms of just knowing the expectation – the only thing I really allowed players to acknowledge was that it’s important, didn’t just start today; but we had to have an added emphasis on how we took care of our bodies and the amount of reps that we did for about the last week just trying account for the two games in that short period of time. He had his mind right, knew – everybody knows that the unbelievable opportunity of playing on Thanksgiving is upon us, so guys, however they’re feeling, they’re just spending more time getting treatment and getting ready for this game.”
(Speaking of that game in Green Bay, there’s a couple narratives that follow this team of the prime time record and QB Tua Tagovailoa playing in cold weather. Is that something – right now it’s projected to be 22 degrees or something like that – is that something, like what are you guys advising Tua that can maybe help him in these cold weather games, with this team in cold weather games as you guys – also it’s a short week as well?) – “The important thing as a football team is you focus on what you can control. We’re not going to mysteriously change latitudes in the next week. Kind of like you do with crowd noise, you try to do things to bring awareness and to the environment, but the best thing that you can do instead of trying to chase replicating that; you just try to get your mind right so you’re not caught off guard or caught by surprise. Now for me, there’s a lot more known in this, going into this game from a weather standpoint just because I think the road game in 2022 at Buffalo – half the team had never played in cold before and it was my first time in any sort of elements with those guys. At this point, a little more familiar. We were given the gift of ‘what do you mean by cold’ (at the 2023 AFC Wild Card at Kansas City) – is it frostbite-cold? I think that’s as we work together as a collective group, we gained some of that experience in that playoff game and proper perspective. But all in all, the saving grace is that both teams are playing in the same weather and we’ll do little things during the week that we think might be advantageous, but it’s not going to be able to be exact replication. We’re not trying to. I think you just try to be on top of your job and how to do your job and then with your mindset adjusted, that’s how you go into games in any environment, but specifically when you have some elements involved.”
(Quick follow-up to that. What are some of those little things that you guys are going to do to try to replicate that and then also how do those narratives about Dolphins not being able to play in the cold make you specifically feel?) – “I was just going to carry ice cubes in my pockets and throw them at players all week. (laughter) It’s nothing revolutionary. I’m not going to throw it out there for the world and act like we’ve checked the box of ‘we’ve got this answered.’ It’s a football game. How do I feel about narratives? I’m very comfortable with narratives because I think they’re very predictable and retroactive, so what else would you expect – they will always say you can’t until you can. It doesn’t really make me feel anything. I think I have an expectation just like I know that when after we win a game you guys will look me in the eye and if we lose, you don’t look at me. (laughter) I think you just have to understand what it is and not make it anything because to me it’s really what are we talking about? We’re talking about playing a football game in a really, really cool environment, one that I think out of all the places to play in the cold weather, you think about the cold probably the least in Lambeau. You can’t help but – you can’t escape the history and I know our guys are going to be juiced for just the opportunity to play on Thanksgiving. I think that’s a big deal to a lot of people so I’m not necessarily spending too much time thinking about it because you make a plan, you execute the plan and if everyone’s got their mind right, then you have a chance to succeed at executing the plan.”
(A lot of times coaches want their team to remain at an even keel throughout the season. To that extent, do you tell your players this is one of 17 or is that just a ridiculous notion given what’s at stake here?) – “I think each team you kind of have to handle in different ways, shapes and forms. For our season I’m not necessarily worried about making this game something either way. I think this team has known that in a desperate fashion, they’ve had to learn how to win football games and in that process, I think you become a lot more comfortable with living life after wins than losses. And I think as a team we’ve had a lot of learning opportunities and we used those as opportunities and didn’t let some of the hard lessons just happen in vain. And I really don’t think this team has to be told it’s a big game and they wouldn’t believe me if I told them it was just another game. This is a game we’ve been building for. It is one of 17; that’s the math, but we’re more focused on continuing our process of getting better at how we play football together and leaning on each other to play smart team football that doesn’t shoot themselves in the foot and very confident in the way we’ve progressed and just happy for the opportunity to go compete against a good football team and see where we’re at.”
(I wanted to ask you about the run game. Something that we’ve asked previously, but the numbers are down, the yards per carry are down. I think this is like, the third game you guys are in the 60 yards per game range. Is there a common thread or is it just how defenses have been playing you guys or…?) – “I think specifically this past game, you go into the game knowing that an NFL opponent, especially a quality defensive unit like the New England Patriots that are going to be high-effort, high-detail; they’re going to have a chip on their shoulder and they’re going to try to stop your run game. And sometimes teams do that or they do that in a multitude of ways and sometimes that changes the math. Sometimes they add another guy in the box which leaves them a little light on the perimeter and then it’s your job as an offense to take advantage of that, so I think this particular game, I think it was more so the presentations of the defense that were kind of adjusting the amount of attempts. Generally when our attempts go up with the backs that we have, we’re able to get explosive here or there that changes the average a little bit. And then I think situationally, we’ve evolved as a football team and an offense in this case to where we’re just a little more adept at doing a variety of things so you can kind of – when the matchups make sense, you can replace a couple runs with some aggressive quick game where your offensive line can short-set and still be aggressive as what the run game offers but then you can get the ball out quick when the defenses present that positive situation; that’s all depending upon that you can actually get the completion. So when you have confidence in your quarterback to distribute it and the eligibles are executing at a high probability, it’s a little less risky to pass the ball sometimes where in situations you’ve been running it the last couple weeks. So to me, the biggest thing is in games like that where maybe your run-pass ratio adjusts, is that at the expense of hits on the quarterback or protecting – if you’re protecting well and you’re getting the ball out quick, I think a lot of those passes serve the purpose as runs but again that’s granted on how is protection, because if protection isn’t good you probably shouldn’t be going back to the well continuously.”
De’Von Achane – November 24, 2024 (Postgame)
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Thursday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Dolphins RB De’Von Achane
(How challenging do you think it’ll be? A great team but different elements as you mentioned, short week?) – “I mean, it’s football. It should be fun. I’m hoping it’ll snow because I ain’t ever played in the snow, so that’d be fun.”
(What’s it like to get out to such a big lead and an offense when you know you’re going to have to just continue to run it?) – “It’s good, it’s great. It just shows you what type of offense we can be and defense going out there and getting stops. Like I said, man, both of us playing like, with each other, they get stops and we score. I feel like we are a very hard team to beat.”
(How comfortable are you this offense? You’re putting numbers week in and week out and it seems like you’re the engine that gets this offense going?) – “I’m very comfortable. We go over so much. I feel like our coach puts us in a position to win. They make our jobs easy, so we just go out there and play fast.”
-DOLPHINS-
Jonnu Smith – November 24, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith
(Talk about the grit of this team over this stretch since you guys have turned it around.) – “Just extremely grateful, I’m extremely blessed. What an amazing team that we’ve got, just the resolve with these guys. Carrying week in and week out, looking at this thing in the mirror and just continuing to stay positive through it all and finding the way, coming out on top.”
(This might be the best two-game stretch of your career. How much do you realize that might be the case?) – “First of all, I’m going to continue to say, it’s all my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My faith is the reason why I’m here and go out there and be the player I am, be the man that I am. Without Him, I’m nothing so just continuing to go into this thing extremely focused and confident in all of my abilities that I’ve been blessed with and just hone in on those details week-in and week-out and be the best player I can be for this team because we need it. We all need our best and I’m just going to try to strive to be my best throughout the season and helping us get to where we want to go.”
(To have a performance like this going into a short week, a tough matchup in Green Bay, what does that do for your confidence?) – “Very difficult place to win, obviously. Going in there Thursday night, Thanksgiving, it’s prime time for us. We couldn’t be asking for anything better. Honestly, at this point in the season, where we’re at, it’s exactly what we want, this where we want to be. We’re excited about the challenge. Great team that we’re going to go face on a short week. So we just have to continue showing up.”
(How is this connection you’ve had with Tua the last two games kind of come about and how do you think it’s helped the rest of the offense as well?) – “Just building that chemistry on and off the field. Just getting as many meaningful reps in as we can. This is our first year together, so hopefully we have a long way to go. So I’m just looking forward to working with him and being around the kind of man he is. Forget about the player for a moment, but having that guy as your quarterback, the kind of person he is, it makes your game come a lot easier.”
-DOLPHINS-
Chop Robinson – November 24, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins LB Chop Robinson
(How good does it feel to be rolling like this?) – “It feels amazing. Just taking everything from the film room to practice, from practice to on the field. It’s showing now. It’s showing me learning from (Bradley) Chubb, ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips), me doing extra work with my coach and everything and just taking from the guys who know the game so much and just executing it.”
(What’s different about your defense from Week 1 until now because you guys look dominant at times?) – “Honestly, I will say this, everybody got closer together. After we had that downfall, everybody just glued in together and just worked together. That was our main thing, we got closer doing things off the field and I feel like we built a bond that helped us out on the field.”
(First time going to Lambeau field, what do you think about that? Thanksgiving, primetime game?) – “It’s going to be amazing. Dream come true. I always watched the game on Thanksgiving when they played there. When it’s cold, it’s snowing and I hope I get to play in the snow again because I haven’t played in the snow since youth football. So I’m excited just getting ready to work for practice and everything.”
(Quick turnaround, what’s the key when you have four days of rest to get back out there and get ready for another big game against a good team? – “I would say you can’t enjoy this win too much because it’s a quick turnaround, so honestly, game over so we’ve got to move on to Green Bay and recover, that’s the main thing, get that body rest, because we’ve got a flight to get on and a game to play.”
(We saw the Browns game the other day and had the guys out there having fun in the snow, is that something you look forward to? Do you view that, as like, the ideal football conditions like a lot of people?) – “Yeah, I mean, it kind of reminds me of being a kid. Just going out there, you make a play, you could just hit the snow angel celebration or anything like that. I’d say the snow brings more fun out of everybody, it brings the little kid out of everybody.”
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Jalen Ramsey – November 24, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey
(The turnaround, this team for you guys, just what’s been different over these last three games?) – “We’re just taking it game by game. Every game has been a little different but just working hard throughout the week and trying to have a chance late on Sundays. I’d say that’s been it for now.”
(What’s the confidence level that you guys can play with anybody in the league given how you guys have played recently?) – “We’ve always had that confidence even when we were going through adverse times. Then obviously getting our quarterback back and having those guys rolling and trying to play complimentary football on our side as well. We’ve always had that confidence. That never really left.”
(How much fun is this defense having, and for you is it more fun to pick or to get after the quarterback?) – “All of it’s fun to me. I just like playing football. All of it’s fun. ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) is a good DC. He’s doing a great job, I feel like mixing it up. It’s complex but simple at the same time if that makes sense. It probably don’t, but it’s fun.”
(Green Bay, prime time, Thanksgiving, potentially snow. How exciting is a matchup like that to potentially play in? You’ve played in a lot of big games.) – “Yeah, just another big game. The next one on the schedule. We’ve got to recover our bodies and get to Green Bay and get ready to try to get us another win.”
-DOLPHINS-
