Ty McKenzie – October 27, 2022
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Thursday, October 27, 2022
Outside Linebackers Coach Ty McKenzie
(We were just talking to Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer and Head Coach Mike McDaniel over the past couple days about LB Jaelan Phillips and just him starting to stack a couple of games, and just the motor that he showed last Sunday. What have you seen start to click from him in recent weeks?) – “It’s a day-to-day thing with him and the rest of the players – the OLBs. We strive for daily improvement, daily excellence. If we just keep focusing on those two things, then everything will be alright. We’re just kind of taking it day-by-day with him and taking it day-by-day with other guys just trying to focus on what we’ve got to task. So today’s third-down day.”
(As a pass rusher for LB Jaelan Phillips, when you don’t see the early sacks, and you know maybe the pressure and hits, what is your message to somebody that’s in that position?) – “Oh, just keep working. I mean, that’s the great thing about is that early in the year, you saw a ton of pressures and he was like – or what I was hearing is he was like top in the NFL in pressure rates and all this other stuff. And then all of a sudden, he started to get a couple of sacks. I mean, it’s really just keep your head down, keep working and control the controllables. And what you can do is you can have a great get off, you can have a plan, you can execute the rush plan, and the quarterback may get the ball out or you may get there before he does.”
(Just sticking with LB Jaelan Phillips, what’s the hardest thing for a pass rusher or edge rusher to accomplish in year two? I guess, as offenses start to figure out, ‘okay, he’s got this move and this counter,’ what’s difficult? What kind of challenges do you face as a sophomore here?) – “I would say just keep developing. I mean, most of the time you get these guys from college and they’re just raw with their pass rush and their ability just to get off the ball. The get off is elite. And then those guys are typically like bowling balls just running into guys and shed and all of a sudden make a play, or the offense messes it up somehow and messes up and protection. Just growing and developing your pass rush skills, your speed to power, your stab club, whatever it may be – just growing those and developing those and then feeling really confident with it. I mean, look at a guy like Rob Quinn. Rob Quinn does a touch and go pretty much all the time. And then once they start to catch up on him with that, then he switches it up with something else. So the same thing with Jaelen is like, here’s what we’re going to do, here’s what you feel confident with, all right let’s start to develop these other things as well.”
(It sounds like chess.) – “Yeah. It is chess. It’s kind of the same thing as calling a game. We’re trying to get the perfect call, they’re trying to get the perfect call. We may have a perfect call for them and all of a sudden, it’s a big run, it’s a play over our head or whatever it may be.”
(LB Andrew Van Ginkel is a guy who, his stock seems to be rising, and he hops a little bit more each week. What is he doing well against the pass? What is he doing well against the run?) – “Yeah, ‘Gink’s’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) been great. I mean, that’s what I was telling you guys before is during OTAs and during training camp, he was ascending, he was getting better and all this. Then all of a sudden, then he had surgery. Your heart breaks for a guy like that. So for him to get out here and get healthy and being out there and helping us in different roles is a tribute to him, to his work ethic, originally, when we first started rolling in OTAs and then going into training camp, and then now, him getting back, ready to go, playing football and being locked into meetings. It’s exciting.”
(What was that process like the past several weeks, almost two months of getting LB Andrew Van Ginkel back from when he had that procedure?) – “It really goes back to there’s a lot of different intricate details to it. But the easiest way that I can sum it up is daily improvement, daily excellence. And that’s something that we strive to do. If we get it done, we get the outcome we want.”
(On I think Monday, Head Coach Mike McDaniel had mentioned LB Jaelen Phillips, and LB Andrew Van Ginkel’s effort on the last couple of drives there. And I was just curious, is that purely an inherent trait? Can you coach it? And if you can, how do you coach effort?) – “Here for the Miami Dolphins, you know, starting with Coach Mike (McDaniel) to Coach Josh (Boyer), and to everybody on the staff on defense and offense, we coach strain. Strain to really push yourself to as far as you can, and then as soon as you think that’s as far as you can go, try and go a little bit more. And then you kind of build it up. It starts with practice and the way that we practice and those guys from our first OTA practice with Coach Mike. He wants everybody to run to the ball, he wants us to run with our hair on fire. But I’d say one of the best things about it is that when you got a guy that’s prepared his tail off by practicing hard and then also knowing what to do, I mean, you can’t run as fast as you can if you don’t know where you’re going. And so looking at a guy like ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) and ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips), making those splash plays, they knew where they needed go, and then they ran full tilt all the way to the whistle.”
(On that note, LB Duke Riley was telling me after the game in the locker room that LB Jaelan Phillips’ work ethic is crazy. Like he’s here very early. On those moments, is that where that kind of comes to fruition? Do you guys notice how much work he puts in prior to whatever you guys are doing?) – “Yeah. I mean, I think you notice as a coach, because you always want to make sure your players are doing everything. You don’t like a guy that shows up in the building two minutes before the meeting starts because you never know what can happen. So you always try and strive for those guys to try to be the best that they can be, and their best is all we need. And so, Jaelen (Phillips), ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel), ‘Mel’ (Melvin Ingram), Cam Goode, all those guys are just doing whatever they can to prepare themselves to play. So it’s a tribute to not just Jaelen, but everybody for the work that they put in and preparation so they can play fast and run to the ball with their hair on fire and make plays and help us out as a team.”
(There was a play maybe in the fourth quarter, where LB Melvin Ingram is covering a slot receivers. I’m wondering, did they catch you guys in something? And if they did, what is your reaction? Are you kind of holding on?) – “Melvin covering a slot receiver in the fourth quarter?”
(I think it might have been. It might have been earlier than that) – “What was the outcome of the play?”
(I have to go back to my All 22. They didn’t pass to the guy that was… I think it was a pass to the outside receiver?) – “Was that the sprint out? Because that was a single receiver, on that side over there.”
(No, no it was a slot receiver.) – “We didn’t have one in the game. I can’t recall. And I have a really good memory too that’s why I’m trying – I take pride in that. I take pride in that. (laughter)”
(I was wondering if they caught you in something and if so, when you see that alignment, what is your reaction?) – “My reaction is that he’s prepared to get the job done. So everybody on the field, no matter what the situation is, no matter whatever personnel, we try to strive as a staff to make sure that we rep those things and in practice. When the guys are out there, whatever 11 guys are out there, we have full confidence that they’re going to get the job done at the highest level. So my reaction was, let’s go play ball. But I got to find that play because that’s going to bug me now. (laughter)”
