OL Robert Hunt
(It seemed like Head Coach Mike McDaniel was animated at the end of practice. Can you kind of fill us in on what the message was that you guys took away?) – “Just to keep working man and to come out here and keep doing what we’re doing. Some days don’t go how we plan it, but if we come out the next day and we fire off and we play well – if we play good and we are competing, that’s the best thing about it because of the team. You have to compete. You like to see the defense make plays and you like to see the offense make plays. I think that’s what we did today.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said contrary to what we may see, he does at times get fiery and have to yell at guys. What is that like? Because we haven’t seen that side of him.) – “I haven’t really encountered that yet from Mike (McDaniel). Not yet, but I definitely have seen (Offensive Line Coach) Matt (Applebaum) get fired up a couple times. But it’s good, man, because I think we need it. Some guys might be loafing around. Not loafing, but just like they need it. It’s football. It’s been that way since we were young. These guys are passionate. They care about what’s going on. You know me, a lot of guys are out here to get reps, there are a lot of people out here right now. So guys have to get reps and people just have to work. That’s what we all have to do.”
(What was it about today’s practice that led to that again?) – “I don’t know. I think it was a combination of us making plays on offense and defense that kind of had him fired up and excited, I guess. Maybe yesterday wasn’t our greatest, but today we came out and we were finding a way. So it’s just getting better each day.”
(RB Raheem Mostert said that Head Coach Mike McDaniel is genuine. He used the word genuine. He let’s you know…?) – “Right, that’s a beautiful word. I definitely think he is. He cares about this. He cares about it, man. You can tell all the guys that he’s hired here, too, care about it. It’s a great thing to have on your team … when he’s passionate about what his job and how it looks and how it feels. He’s won the game, so he understands what it takes and that’s us just believing and following his idea.”
(What do you see in OL Robert Jones and his training camp?) – “Robert Jones? Robert Jones is a beast, man. I like Rob. Rob reminds me of myself a little bit. He’s a go-getter. He likes to play football. He’s physical. He’s a hard-nosed football player out of Middle Tennessee, so I always have to respect a guy from one of those little bitty schools like that. They come out on fire. He’s a tough guy with big old legs, so that will definitely help him out. He’s good. He’s playing really well.”
(What’s one thing that you all want to make sure as an offensive line group that you get better at, refine, perfect in the running game between now and the season opener?) – “I don’t think it will ever be perfect, but just little details, man. I think we’ve been getting on people. I think we’ve been physical. I think we’ve been playing well. I think it’s an uphill trend, just the little details. The little details that are going to, on offense, it’s got to be 11-for-11 – not just o-line, it has to be receivers, it has to be everybody. So just details, small details, and that will make the whole ship go. If one got missed, then somewhere there’s going to be a leakage, you know what I mean? So the whole offense has got to go, that’s with o-line through quarterbacks to receivers. So it’s the whole offensive deal.”
(As much as you can share, what are those mid-play conversations like between the offensive line and the defensive line? It looks like there’s a couple antagonizes there lining up opposite you.) – “Christian Wilkins has a nasty mouth, ladies and gentlemen. We have to find a way to get him reported and fined for his filthy mouth. I’m joking. (laughter) It’s fun. Christian gets fired up. He’s one of the ones that get fired up. His trash talking is freaking awful, like it sucks. So I don’t say much, man. I’m already tired, I ain’t got time for that. So I just kind of let it go. I let ‘AJ’ (Austin Jackson) do all the talking with him. (laughter) They hash it out, but it’s just Christian running his bad trash talk mouth and then some guys say something back to him. But we really are just trying to get a little work in. Christian is just being Christian, so we love him. To have Christian on the team, I love it, except when it’s on field goal or something like that when he’s talking trash to the other team and then they have to just tee off on the o-line. So that’s the only problem, that sucks.”
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(Could you talk a little bit about the improvements made from yesterday to today? It sounds like Head Coach Mike McDaniel was a little animated and happy that you guys got better from yesterday to today.) – “Yeah, I think everybody got better from yesterday. I think yesterday seemed one-sided in the first half, if you will, from the first two team periods. Then I would say the defense started to pick up their morale and they brought it yesterday as well. I think today was a really good back and forth with the offense making plays and then the defense making plays and continuing to go back and forth with that.”
(Watching the offense, obviously you sat out, but watching the offense from the sidelines, what were your impressions of it and are you starting to envision what this offense can be once you get in there with the starters?) – “I think it’s really good. I think Skylar (Thompson) did a great job with his operation being that he’s a rookie, that’s his first time in an NFL start. You’ve got to give credit to him. It’s not easy to go in there, understand where everyone needs to go, understanding how to manage the situation, the game clock, the down-and-distance. I thought Skylar did a really good job. But a lot of our plays that we’ve also been running haven’t been shown out there. Those are just glimpses of the plays that we do have in our arsenal, but there are a lot of plays we didn’t get to run as well. To me, it looked really good.”
(Are you lobbying to play Saturday? Do you want to play? What’s your stance?) – “Man, I always want to play. I’m going to be honest. (laughter) I wanted to play last week too, at least a couple of snaps. But Mike (McDaniel) decided that then wasn’t the time. Hopefully he gives the first offense an opportunity to go out there, hopefully get some plays in, understand some situations, knowing how to manage the game and get back into the groove of things in that sense, where we have no coaches on the field, we have no one to really line us up. We just figure out things on our own when we’re out there playing.”
(Is there a switch though when you are playing in preseason? Is there a switch you have to turn off to where, ‘Ok, maybe I would fight for extra yards if this was Week 5, but this is preseason, let me throttle back?’) – “I would say there is some understanding of playing smart in the preseason. Obviously you want to get real live reps, you want to get game reps, but at the same time, you want to be smart. These preseason games don’t count, but they do add additional reps for us for when we’re going out there to work with each other.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said this morning that he doesn’t think that yelling is a good way to communicate. But when you have to go to that level, it puts a little more emphasis for when you do that. What is your reaction when the coach gets a little more animated?) – “I think it’s good to see that side of him. We never get to see that side of him. I think it’s good to see that side of every person that people think is too nice, or they are too chill, or too mellow, because you understand the competitor in them, you understand that they mean business. For me, and for the guys, when we hear Mike raise his voice, we’ve got nothing but respect because that’s not something that he does. When he does do it, it’s that much more meaningful.”
(What does it take to get you out of too nice, too chill?) – “I’m not too sure. Not many things. I guess when it’s extremely hot and we’re not executing on the offensive side of the ball.”
(S Jevon Holland is really good, huh?) – “Really good. Oh my gosh. He’s made tremendous plays. For me, trying to read off of my read keys, he’s made tremendous plays. And not just today, but throughout the entire camp. The plays that he’s made is only getting me better, getting our route distribution better and our timing better offensively. So props to JH.”
(Since Head Coach Mike McDaniel was hired, how do you think things have come along with the team and how do you like the direction of how things are going so far?) – “We love football. That’s all I’ve got to say is we love football here.”
RB Raheem Mostert
(I don’t think we’ve really seen Head Coach Mike McDaniel that animated before after a practice. Can you give us some insight as to what was happening there?) – “Yeah, yesterday, as a team, it wasn’t particularly our standard. Especially, like you said, in a meeting he told us when the defense gets scored on a lot in the red zone, that affects everybody as a team. We all took it personal and as you can see, today was just an example of how to overcome those things like with what happened yesterday. That’s why he was a little bit more animated today because he saw the type of practice he wanted moving forward. We have a standard for this team and that’s to win, first and foremost. But we want to come out here each and every day and try to be one percent (better). That was the big thing.”
(Have you seen that side of Head Coach Mike McDaniel before?) – “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’ve seen that side of him before. It’s something that’s new to you guys but it’s familiar to me. Just to see him be the way he is and exude that energy towards everybody else, especially for the team, is truly something special.”
(What is that like to see? What is Head Coach Mike McDaniel like when gets that way? Because we haven’t seen him like that.) – “When he gets to that point, it’s authentic. I think that’s the biggest thing. When a head coach comes in, you want to see how, especially as a player, you want to see how authentic that coach can be. He hasn’t changed since Day 1 since I’ve met him. Clearly you can see that too as y’all are getting to know him. That’s just the type of person that he is and he’s going to continue to be that way for as long as I know him and as long as you guys know him.”
(What’s communication like between you guys as teammates after something like that happens?) – “When we sit down in the locker room after Mike (McDaniel) tells us we didn’t have a good day, we just go back to the drawing board. That’s the best thing you can do. Just go out there and try to figure out what the solution is for those problems that we caused on the field. That’s the best way that we can handle it. Then we’ve got to come out here and just execute as best as we possibly can.”
(Through the first three weeks or so of training camp, how have you seen QB Tua Tagovailoa grow in the scheme just knowing what is asked of quarterbacks?) – “First off, kudos to Tua (Tagovailoa) because he’s been dealing with a lot ever since he got into the league. But now you see the side of Tua where it’s something that hasn’t been touched in quite a few years. He’s upbeat. He’s more happy. He’s definitely soaking all of this in and he’s actually playing football. Not to say that he wasn’t in the past, but in regards to this offense, it allows him to open up a little bit more and to have fun and make those plays and throws. Like you see, you have Tyreek (Hill) right down the middle and he barely got it off of him. Jevon (Holland) came out of nowhere and just batted it down. To him, that’s still a win because he’s able to make that connection with players and go out there and do what he does best.”
(I’d have to imagine that confidence early in your career, when you kind of bounced around, maybe waned a little bit at some point. When you get that confidence back, what does that do for you as a player?) – “That confidence, it’s definitely – you can have your highs and your lows but when you gain your confidence and you understand … it’s like anything you do in life. Whether you’re a reporter, a businessman or somebody that owns or operates some type of business or entrepreneur, you want that confidence because that confidence is infectious. It spreads throughout everyone. That just shows that you’re a better person in regards to whatever you’re doing in your life. Especially for players, when you start building that – I didn’t build that confidence until I got my first touch in 2018 being a running back. After that, the confidence just went through the roof. That’s all it took. Just the opportunity that you get. So like I said, when you see Tua (Tagovailoa) out here, he’s happy because he knows the opportunity that lies in front of him and it’s all up to him and how he can progress. That’s just like any player out there.”
(You mentioned S Jevon Holland. Could he be a three-peat for the orange jersey?) – “We’ll see. He broke it down for the team. We’ll see if it’s a three-peat. It would be the first one, that’s for sure. I’m excited about his playlist. He always has some good songs on his playlist.”
(Can you kind of summarize what the message was from Head Coach Mike McDaniel? I know he was a little fired up.) – “Like I mentioned earlier, he was a little fired up yesterday just because as a whole, it wasn’t to our standard. So when the defense is getting scored on in the red zone, that’s something that I don’t know if they’ve emphasized just yet as far as red zone defense. But when they’re getting scored on, that affects not only the defense but the offense as well because we’re all a team. That was his big message yesterday was, ‘How are you guys going to respond to tomorrow’s practice?’ And as you could see, we responded very well in regards to making plays and doing what we have to do. There’s always growth and room for improvement.”
(How would you evaluate where the run game is right now? Are you on track with the goals you’ve set?) – “I would say we’re on track. It’s still fresh. A new line and stuff like that. We’ve still got some pieces that we have to work out but all in all, the run game is getting up there. We’ve just got to continue to make those connections in the blocking scheme and everything else that comes with the run game – the running backs and even the quarterback has to do proper footwork. A lot goes into it but we’re picking up speed and we’re doing well so far.”
(How are you feeling? Are you fitting in?) – “Yeah, I’m fitting in. This is my style of offense. I’m fitting in very well. I’ve just got to maintain and the primary goal for me is Week 1. I’m not too sure what the preseason lies for me, this game or next. (Coach McDaniel) and the training staff have a good gameplan for me. I’m just going to ride the wave like I normally do and when the time comes, then I’ll be ready.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Did WR Jaylen Waddle miss practice yesterday because of an injury? And is he back today?) – “He just didn’t feel like it. (laughter) No, that was fun. It was a cool process with Jaylen. You learn more about your players all of the time. There is something that I really don’t need to get into but he could have practiced with. With our elite medical staff, having history with stuff, we were trying to be preventative. He wanted to practice. We disallowed it to try to be in front of something. But I expect him to practice here again in training camp. We’ll take it day-by-day. We’re just trying to – sometimes you have to protect people from themselves. And that’s a great problem to have, especially with an elite talent like that.”
(With these fast-twitch guys, the soft-tissue stuff can sometimes linger throughout the season. Is that a new point of emphasis…) – “Definitely. Especially because their head coach was in that same category. He was so fast-twitch and explosive, he can relate. He was pretty good at talking in the third person and preventing fast-twitch soft-tissue injuries. (laughter) No, it’s something that you learn over time. I think one of the things that is really cool about the Miami Dolphins and the medical staff and Dave Puloka and the strength staff is they aren’t science minors, they’re science majors. So we take all of that stuff into consideration and we try to be as accountable as possible in preventing as many soft-tissue (injuries) as you can. You’ll never be 100 percent but you try to pay attention to each individual player and tailor things so that they can avoid those things as best as possible.”
(Can you assess what you saw from QB Tua Tagovailoa yesterday? It was the most interceptions we’ve seen him throw in camp… what do you want to see him do today?) – “That’s interesting. Yesterday was a classic example of the conflict, at least for me emotionally, as a head coach – and I was very clear with this with the team – I was very pumped with how the offense and in particular Tua, came out in practice. I let it known early and often to the defense that I didn’t think they were performing to the standard. I think it was probably the most successful red zone period that we’ve had, certainly being here, offensively versus the defense. But after bringing that to the defense’s attention, we got into some situational periods and man did they answer the bell. And in those periods, we turned the ball over way too much, which was a great learning lesson for Tua. We hadn’t been in a couple of those situations yet. So we got to talk about it and learn from it. So overall, I had half the practice that I was pumped at the offense, half of the practice I was pumped at the defense and simultaneously being mad at the other side of the ball. All of which is either a blip on the radar or something that is some of the best stuff that can happen to you. So especially on the practice field, you try to have players put themselves in scenarios as close to a game as a possible, and let it rip and play what they see. Then you re-evaluate it or you coach them up on it. Then the next day, you want to see improvement. And the next time we’re in those situations in practice, I want to see improvement. And in games, I’m expecting improvement with the offense. And hopefully the defense is able to reproduce that same production against an opponent. But yeah, it’s almost like it makes you, as a head coach, you just feel completely bipolar at times. You’re like, ‘I’m happy and I’m sad.’”
(How many situations are there where you’re simultaneously happy with both sides of the ball?) – “When effort, intent, assignment and technique are good – which does happen – that, generally, somebody wins a down. I really like the periods within the period of back and forth. That’s when I am simultaneously happy because you’re going – every play doesn’t work on both sides of the ball ever. So going through that process of saying, ‘Wow, that was a seven-yard run play we just gave up as a defense. It’s second-and-3. Ok, now it’s a two-yard loss. Now it’s third-and-5.’ Then you have a perfectly executed defensive structure versus an offensive structure, and then maybe Tua (Tagovailoa) throws a perfect throw and it’s a very contested but good completion. Or it’s a perfect throw and a DB makes a great play. Those are my favorite periods within the team, because you don’t want to see complete domination by either side. It’s an interesting – when you practice together for about a month and then you have all of the OTAs and stuff, you’re looking for parity because our team needs both sides of the ball to be as good as they can be.”
(Where are you in the return game right now with WR Lynn Bowden Jr. having a nice night on Saturday? How is that shaking out, the race for the returner roles?) – “If you’re a return enthusiast, this is a cool moment in time for the Miami Dolphins just because there is competition there. We have a lot of dynamic playmakers so we’re afforded the option of really being able to mix it up and have people really compete. Right now, after one game, I think nothing is settled. But guys are starting to get more comfortable with the returns and it’s like everything else, the competition is really where the cream rises to the top. It’s a fun thing to watch. I, by no means, short-change the process ever. Especially with situations where there is high competition like that. We’re going to continue to give guys opportunities because again, I’m always looking – and I have to do it with the players all of the time – I’m not bottom-line oriented as a coach because there are too many compounding variables for success or failure. What I’m looking at is, ‘Ok, well here is what you did well. Cool. Can we count on that? Here is where you did poorly. Do you improve on that?’ Because the name of the game is not being really your best necessarily in September. It’s about January. That’s what you are building towards and that’s the mindset that I’m trying to really infuse in the team.”
(Do you need to settle in on one returner? I know you said you’re not into absolutes. You could use WR Jaylen Waddle and WR Tyreek Hill but you’re not going to use them full-time. Do you need to find one guy that fills that role?) – “I don’t think you need to. I think you can – I think that’s something that happens a lot if you have a player that has an exclusive skillset that doesn’t really fit into offense and defense. Or you only have one guy that you’re really confident in. So no, I don’t think you have to by any stretch. I think that’s a competitive advantage to give different people opportunities because it shows the opposing team – they get a different feel. It also creates a little urgency for each returner because ‘I want to get another one.’”
(Since your time taking over as coach until now, how do you like where your team is at this point and what are some things you really like about how the team has grown since you got here?) – “One of my favorite parts is that I’m a pretty positive guy and I like to bring energy, but there have been opportunities that I’ve had along the way to kind of point out and nip in the bud that that’s not good enough. Whatever that is on either side of the ball or on special teams or anywhere that I’ve really applied that pressure, like 100 percent of the time, people have responded. And I think that is the life you live, that is the life of everyone, that is football. The nuts and bolts of it is really handling all of the noise, being able to accept constructive stuff and then getting better from it. That’s my favorite part. I’m pretty happy with where we’re at for approaching the second preseason game. I’m pretty happy. Will I be happy during the season? That’s contingent upon what happens now. You could have the greatest offseason and beginning of training camp in the history of football and if you shut it down for a couple of weeks, all of that is meaningless. I feel very confident. They’re earning my confidence by the way they respond. I’m happy really about where we’re at and where we’re going, feeling confident that we’ll take the right steps to be ready to play New England in Week 1.”
(Do you have to – I mean, it’s a bad word, but do you have to yell? At times, do you have to get in front of your team and chew them out? Is that something…?) – “I try not to major in it. It’s kind of philosophically – I don’t enjoy yelling, but you have to do what you have to do to let them know exactly the urgency of the moment. But I’ve always philosophically thought that if you pick and choose those moments, then that state that you don’t really like to be in is purposeful. I just know from my personal experience, at some point in time if you’re just yelled at consistently all the time, then the yelling sounds like normal talking, and that’s not the idea of it. I think it’s important to build relationships and try to develop players as players and people. But they also need to know the urgency, it’s my job to let them know the urgency, so if it’s – I won’t hesitate nor have I hesitated – you can ask some of the players – but I will have a temper from time to time. I think they understand – because I value earning that and earning trust, I don’t think that I’m owed or entitled to anything. I think on a daily basis, I have to really earn their investment. I think that they see where that’s coming from, not as misguided emotion but more as tangible direct, I don’t know if convicted emotion (is the right phrase), that is all geared toward them being their best.”
(What are you most looking forward to for Saturday’s game? It’s your first home game at Hard Rock Stadium. What are you most looking forward to?) – “I don’t know, the aqua seats? (laughter) I’m just excited for, really, it’s been such a cool process to, as I’ve explained before, I didn’t really know the fanbase. This was one of the two divisions I had never coached in in the league, so everything since I’ve been here, I’ve just been like, ‘Wow, this Miami Dolphins fan base is phenomenal.’ Just hearing the feedback, seeing the fans out at practice, I know there’s going to be a lot of energy and people are excited about seeing their players and their team. So I’m kind of – I guess I would say the thing I’m most excited about is that connection between a fanbase that really supports and is invested into the team and a team that really wants to do right by the fanbase. That should be fun, and I look forward to that this weekend and the rest of the season.”
(No announcements? No big announcements?) – “Hm, are you setting – should I have an announcement?”
(Well we’re not going to see you until Saturday.) – “Oh, I think tomorrow, there’s a birthday tomorrow. I just read it. There’s a player’s birthday. I should announce that. (laughter) I should announce that my wife went to the grocery store, which is exciting because I’m a big snack time guy. (laughter) Outside of that – oh, I would like to announce that I’m very excited for practice, as you guys should be, because it’s an opportunity for both sides of the ball to respond to things that they weren’t happy with the previous day.”
(I think maybe he was referring to like the rotation of players and starters?) – “Oh, you know (moves hand over his head). I’m still working through it. And again, as transparent as possible, I think I really, in an annoying manner, I don’t like to shortchange individual practices. I think that deciding everyone’s playing time based upon where they’re at for this team, for our young team, I think that doesn’t do right or justice to the individual practices. So we’ll be working through that and it will probably be about the same timeline that I’ll know as it was last week, unfortunately.”
(For us. I’m just kidding.) – “Hey, I mean for me too. I want to know what I think. (laughter) I really would love to know what I think, but I have to wait for all the information before I can think that I think I know the right answer.”
