Ryan Tannehill – October 19, 2016
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Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill
(Ryan, the loss of Reshad Jones, you guys already lost Koa Misi for the season, but the Reshad (Jones) loss, what does that mean to the defense and to the team?) – “Well, it hurts for sure. Reshad’s (Jones) a great player for us. He’s a leader on our defense. He’s been making plays in this league for a long time. When you lose a player of his caliber, it’s definitely tough, but other guys are going to have to step up and make plays for us.”
(What did his leadership do for the team? I mean from the outside, it looked like he set a very aggressive tone. What did Reshad (Jones) do, can you put it in words?) – “Yes. He’s a lead by example type guy. He’s a guy that’s going to fly around every game day. You knew every Sunday he’s going to show up and make plays, whether it’s a play in the pass game, getting a bat or a big hit at the line scrimmage. He’s always going to fly around and make a big play when you need it so it’s going to be tough not having him.”
(You’ve had a lot of games now against these Bills. Is there a specific thing that they pose as a challenge for you that’s been consistent across the years?) – “They’ve got a Rex Ryan defense and they throw a lot of looks at you. That’s his calling card and has been for his whole career. He’s going to put a lot of looks on tape and really try not to have any tendencies. He does a good job of that of really throwing the kitchen sink at you and then seeing if you’re prepared enough to handle it. Our guys this week are going to have to do a good job of staying on top of what we’re doing. That way, we can react to how they decide to play us.”
(Has the mood changed this week after a win after things went really well for the offense last week?) – “I think we’re just kind of consistent. I think last week, when the outside world kind of thinks the sky is falling, we just kind of stayed the course in this building and understood that we have something building here and it’s not going to happen overnight. But we’re headed towards what we want to build and I think we’re just staying on that path right now.”
(The Bills, with the history in the series the last few years, to get that turned around, how big would that be for this organization?) – “Oh, it’s big. Just where we’re at in our season, being a divisional game at home, you really want to take advantage of those home games and have a big win against a divisional opponent. Like I said, we’re going to have to be on top of our stuff this week and show up on Sunday.”
(The play to MarQueis Gray that you made down field, got out of the pocket and made a play down the field, do you think that’s something emblematic of what you can do going forward?) – “It’s definitely always there. The offensive line did a great job of giving me time, allowing me to go to my first read, it was taken away. I was able to pull the ball back down and escape the pocket. The guys kept working, MarQueis kept working down the field for me, and I was able to get him the ball. When things aren’t there or the initial play isn’t there and the o-line gives you time, that’s a big part of an explosive offense. You look at explosive plays around the league and the quarterback is able to get outside the pocket and let the receivers work downfield.”
(How big can the scramble drill be going forward?) – “It’s always big. The receivers have to keep working. As a quarterback, you have to be able to make a play, throw on the run. And the offensive line has to give you time to be able to get outside the pocket. So it’s really on the full offense as whole.”
(I noticed you’re fourth in the NFL in yards per attempted pass. How does that fit into what you’re trying to achieve and what Coach Gase’s system is trying to achieve?) – “Well, you want to be efficient. I think that’s the biggest key is being efficient, completing the ball when you do have opportunities to throw. A big emphasis for us has been on third down, staying on the field and getting those first-down conversions. We did that, took a step in the right direction last week and we look for more of that in the future.”
(What has been the key to having so many downfield big plays) – “We’ve had opportunities. When we’ve had opportunities, I think we’ve made most of the plays downfield. The receivers are getting open, allowing me to get them the football. The offensive line has protected on those plays and it allowed the time to get them the football. When you get the plays down the field, it really takes everyone. I keep saying it, but it does take everyone. It takes the offensive line to give me time I need to (make) a good throw and obviously the receivers running a good route on the outside. We have the playmakers to do it. Obviously, we have Kenny Stills, one of the fastest guys. DeVante’s (Parker) a big threat down the field. Jarvis (Landry) had a big one down the field last week. We have guys that can get down the field and get open and we went to be explosive. We want to be consistent in stretching the field vertically.”
(Did you notice something different about Jay (Ajayi) in the huddle whether it be his body language or whatever because he said he doesn’t want to be a one-hit wonder. Did you see something different besides the over 200 yards?) – “No, not really. I think Jay (Ajayi) kind of shows up the same every day, every week. He runs hard every time he gets the ball. I think it was an indication of how well the offensive line is blocking, just giving him the initial hole, and then he’s able to run over the safety or make the safety miss and make the tough yardage after contact. If they can get him to the second level like they were last week, that’s the kind of runs that you’re going to see from Jay Ajayi – a tough, physical runner that guy don’t want to tackle.”
(How much time have you spent this last week looking at your past games against the Bills?) – “I’ll take a look to see how the coach decided to play us but (they are) different offenses and things like that. I’m not going to put too much time into it. We’ll take a quick peek at it but definitely want to focus on how they’re playing this year and how we’re playing.”
