Ryan Tannehill – September 9, 2018 (Postgame)
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Postgame – Tennessee Titans
Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill
(What’s it like to be part of a game that kicked off seven and a half hours ago?) – “It was wild. Just coming in the first time, it was kind of up and down night, so it was like ‘alright, 30 minutes,’ and it was like ‘alright, another 30 minutes,’ so you’re kind of constantly getting ready to go, getting ready to go, sitting back down. The second one was even more wild because we were sitting there, told it was probably going to be 7:30, and come in at 6:30 and they say ‘you’re on the field in 10 minutes.’ You can imagine there was a lot of scrambling to get ready to go. Guys had their cleats off, socks off, jerseys, pants – it was get ready to go and go play in 10 minutes. It was wild, but I’m really proud of our guys the way we responded. Obviously a ton of adversity, not only with the delays but in the game, as well. Guys just kept fighting, responding, and stuck together through the thick and thin of it, and we found a way to come out on top.”
(Talk a little bit about WR Kenny Stills. He comes up with two touchdowns for you, a big 75-yarder that really was sort of needed at that point. You seem to have, over the years, developed a really nice relationship with him and understanding what each of you guys want to do.) – “Yeah, Kenny does a great job for us. He is versatile, we can move him around all over the place, he knows exactly what to do. He helps get the other guys lined up. He’s been in this offense for going on three years now, so he’s the veteran guy of the group as far as with the offense, and he’s able to kind of lead that room and get them in the right spots. There’s the intangible part of it, and then also physically he’s very talented, fast, smooth, good hands, able to get downfield. He did a great job on the first one of catching it, getting the edge, turning up and finding the end zone. The second one played quarters for us, and he was able to run the post, run by the corner, made a good strong catch through contact and was able to finish in the end zone.”
(After the goal line stand, you guys drive down the field 98 yards. I think there were six first downs. You kind of drive the ball down there – they got the ball then you got it back and started driving again, then the first rain delay came. Prior to that, were you seeing them worn out, tired, because it was hot at that point and they’d been on the field, the defense for a long time. Did you feel a sense that they were loosening up and that things were really going your way?) – “Yes. I think there was a couple points in the game where we were sustaining those drives where you could kind of feel obviously that we had the momentum. You could feel the energy of the defense kind of let go a little bit. But they played us tough the whole game. I don’t think it was ever a drastic drop off where they were completely gassed or anything like that. Obviously, they came in in good shape and played tough the whole game.”
(Talk about the interception to TE Mike Gesicki, what you saw and what you tried to do.) – “It was on me. Completely on me. We had a one-on-one match-up there and I have to find a way to get him a better football.”
(Your performance after coming in here, you were able to run a little bit, you did a lot of things out there, got hit a couple times. How do you feel about the way you played after the long layoff?) – “I felt like I left a lot out there. There was a lot of plays that I want to have back. I had a lot of time in between the breaks to think about what had happened and plays you want to have back where usually, you don’t really think about those until after the game, so that was kind of unique. But yes, there was a lot of good things I think we did and some things where if you see a look again, we should be able to take advantage of it.”
(You guys in the red zone, obviously the point is to be aggressive there, but you go for the 4th and 1, the TE Mike Gesicki play, kind of just pedal to the metal – is that something that is your personality and Adam’s personality kind of plays into each other and how you guys want to run this offense?) – “Yes. We want to get in the end zone. That’s what we’re down there for, to finish drives and put seven points on the board. We didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight, or I guess today/tonight because the game was so long. But yes, we did some good things even in the red zone, within the red zone we did some good things. We just have to be more consistent and be able to get those points when we’re down there.”
(Did you feel like you were shaking off any rust out there, or were you maybe not as sharp as you could have been if you were playing maybe six games in or not having such a layoff from regular season games as you have?) – “I don’t know. Obviously, I wasn’t as sharp as I’d like to be. Like I said, I think I left some plays out there, some plays I’d like to have back. Obviously the turnovers, hate to see those. Those need to be cleaned up. But I felt — coming away from this long day, this grind of a game and get a win, it feels good.”
(Seemed like that ball to WR Kenny Stills really ignited you guys. What did you see there and what did that mean to your offense, the deep ball?) – “We had a great play call there into the coverage. They played quarters for us, and Kenny was able to beat the corner on the outside. I had great protection, great pocket. I looked at the picture on the sideline – it was a beautiful pocket, no one within four yards of me as I delivered that football. It started up front then he ran a great route and I was able to get him the ball.”
(First game that counted for you in, I think if I added it right, 637 days. Did you, before the game, during the game, during those two-hour breaks, take a moment to reflect about how cool it is to be back?) – “Not really. I tried to stay in the present as much as I could. Obviously, tonight I reflected a little bit on the grind that it was to get here. Someone asked me during the game, ‘does it feel weird that you’re back?’ I’m like, ‘I was out here throughout the whole preseason, throughout the whole training camp.’ So, it didn’t feel any different, but it was great to be back out here.”
(It seemed like last year was kind of a year of adversity, a question of how you would respond. Did you think that was an example of how you guys bettered in that area?) – “Yes. I think we responded today. It’s tough to say exactly what we are as a team yet, but I love the way we responded, the way we overcame the delays, came out with energy and were able to play with energy after sitting in your locker for two hours and going out and playing. Both offense and defense I thought responded well to that adversity, and the adversity within the game. Both sides faced a lot of adversity and just kept grinding, just kept sticking together and playing hard, and we were able to come out on top.”
(You have an element of speed on the offense you haven’t had, you have a lot of guys with speed. Do you notice that? Is that what you’re seeing is a noticeable difference from last time you played?) – “I don’t know. It’s tough to think back that far, but we do have a lot of speed and I think that’s an asset our offense has. It’s going to create problems for defenses throughout the year. We have probably three, four guys that are burners. It’s a lot of fun to play with them. We can do a lot of things with them. You saw (WR) Kenny Stills stretch the field. Obviously, (WR) Jakeem (Grant) on the kickoff was – who knows how fast he was running, I could barely see the guy. Those were just a couple examples of the ways those guys can use their speed.”
(Physically, do you feel any different after seven and a half hours, sitting, up and down, the stuff you were talking about, grinding out the game?) – “I don’t know, I’ll tell you tomorrow morning. I felt all right. I think it was tougher the second time, because like I said, the first time we were kind of like in limbo the whole time, ‘hey, it’s going to be whatever,’ I don’t know what time it was at that point, 3:30, so you kind of get up, start getting loose, then it was 4:00, so you sit down a little while then get up, start getting loose. The second time they were, like I said, they said probably 7:30. They came in at 6:30 and said, ‘hey, you’re on in 10 minutes.’ That one was a little tougher to get up and get going just because of the quick turnaround and how fast we had to be on the field. But like I said, I thought the guys responded well, came out and played with energy, and that’s what you want to see during that layoff.”
(How much easier is it for you offensively when the run game is working efficiently?) – “It’s huge. Obviously, if you can run the football then that opens up a lot of things for you. It helps you move the ball, helps you sustain drives, opens up some play action for you. When you have the run game going for you, then it’s going to open up other things. I thought we did a good job, especially early in the game creating some big runs. (RB) Frank (Gore) did a great job. Great to see Frank get some carries in. Didn’t really see much of him in the preseason, so really fun to see him work and get the ball downfield.”
