Ted Karras – December 7, 2020
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Monday, December 7, 2020
C Ted Karras
(I think I Tweeted I would have liked to have been a fly in the room at halftime. Sometimes halftime speeches are kind of overrated. Coaches maybe don’t throw chairs as often as we might think, but were there any chairs thrown? What was it like in there from Head Coach Brian Flores and the other coaches?) – “It was intense. Obviously we needed to play better than we did in the first half and ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) emphasized that. We came out a lot better in the second half. I think we had a better sense of urgency and we made some adjustments. I think it was obviously a good halftime adjustment period, because we came out way better than we did in the first period.”
(One of the adjustments it seemed like was the use of tempo – more no-huddle offense. I guess from your perspective, what does the use of no-huddle do for you guys as an offense and QB Tua Tagovailoa as a quarterback?) – “I think as an o-lineman, the one thing you can do is slow down the pass rush if we can keep guys on the field longer, but we executed well in those situations and came out and had a big drive to start the third quarter, which kind of set the tone for the rest of the game. Coach Gailey (Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey) does a great job scheming it up and that was part of the scheme this week and it was successful and I’m glad we could execute it as a team.”
(You know this next opponent very well. You played them in the AFC Championship a couple years ago. What can you tell about the Kansas City Chiefs from a defensive standpoint?) – “A lot of really good players up front starting with Chris Jones, but several very good d-linemen and linebackers, and they’re going to be well-prepared and bringing high energy, so we’re going to have to match that with our preparation this week and play our best when it counts the most Sunday afternoon.”
(You guys ran for over 100 yards for the second straight week. No sacks this week, which is a good rebound from the two previous games. Do you feel like you’re getting your footing as an offensive line?) – “I feel like we’re being more consistent. Obviously like you mentioned, the last two weeks we had to rebound, but we’re just going to keep working hard every day. Obviously o-line is a very cut-and-dry position as far as if you’re successful or not, and we’re working hard every day and we’ve got some young guys out there who are playing really well. It’s fun to play with these guys. This is going to be our biggest test of the year coming up here Sunday.”
(I don’t know if you knew this, but Sunday was the first time the Dolphins franchise started three rookies on the offensive line. Obviously a rookie quarterback there in QB Tua Tagovailoa. We hear all the time about this valuable experience this time of year for young players. I’m just curious form your perspective, how valuable can this meaningful football in December, how far can that go for such a young team like you guys have?) – “Well, experience can only go so far. It’s in performance here. We’ve put ourselves in a position to have a chance and every game here is really huge moving forward and if you want to be a good team, you’re going to have to win December, January and ultimately February is the ultimate goal. So we’re going to come to work like we have. The sense of urgency is high and I’m proud of those three rookies. They’ve played really well. Those guys are fun to play with – a lot of talent up front – and it’s fun to play with those guys and watch them grow and get better myself, so it’s been good.”
(What are a couple of the keys or the points of emphasis that you guys have really been working on in the run game that have shown up at times this week and I think it was in the second half of last week, too?) – “Sustaining blocks would be a big one. I think we did a way better job doing that – everyone being on the same page. I think I said this a while back, everyone just taking a turn in the run game, doing something and you need all 11 doing the right thing on offense to have a successfully executed play, so I think we’re getting more of those and we’re sustaining blocks as an offensive line. We’ve just got to keep working hard to keep this run game going because it’s going to be very important here coming up in this last month of the season.”
(One more question about the Chiefs, if I could. Aside from I think the last time that you faced them, all those games are track meets and that’s not a surprise. The Chiefs are maybe the best offense in the world. As an offensive player, when you know you have to go against that, is there a little bit more get-up in your step? How do you approach a game where you know that if you don’t score 25, 28, maybe 30 points, it might be a bad day for you?) – “As an o-lineman, it’s kind of a one-play-at-a-time mentality. I just focus on doing my job and then hopefully everyone is doing the same, but I have a lot of confidence in our defense and I think as an offense, we want to step up our game. Our defense is playing very, very well and we want to be at that same level. So this is going to be a big test for us – for everyone on our team. So we’re going to have to bring our best preparation starting today, tomorrow, but ultimately Wednesday and then finish with execution and performance on Sunday.”
