T Austin Jackson
(How does it feel to just be back on the practice field? You’re working some days and not others.) – “Yeah, it feels good. I’m really excited to be back out there doing my job. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been a long time, obviously, as you know. I’m just glad that everything is working out the way it should be.”
(Can you take us through what the process has been like? You returned to practice and then kind of didn’t practice for a while and then came back. So what was the whole process?) – “Yeah, so I went down Week 1 in the first game. Just a long process. Some things unforeseen kind of came up, in terms of battling back, but the Dolphins did everything in their power to take care of me and I’m just trusting their plan. We’re just going from there.”
(Do you foresee when you’ll be able to suit up for the next game?) – “I have no idea. Yeah, I’m just taking it day-by-day. Today was my first day really back out at practice. So that’s a start. I’ve been asking to get back for – who knows. But I’m glad I’m at the point in my recovery where I can do what I did today.”
(Where do you feel you’re at right now?) – “I feel pretty good. I feel pretty good. I definitely feel healthy.”
(When you do eventually come back. Do you feel like – it’s the middle of the year, do you feel like the team may be getting a little bit healthier and you can provide a little extra juice on that offensive line?) – “Oh, yeah, for sure. I definitely look to play and lead by my style of play – being tenacious, being on point with assignments, and just being a spark for my team. I want to be that that pop that you hear and everyone’s like, What’s that?’ Just keep contributing in every way I can.”
(Have they told you, ‘Get healthy, we’ll put you in the lineup?’ Or conversely, ‘Get healthy and you’ll compete for a position?’ Has there been clear messaging?) – “No. It’s been, ‘this is what you’re doing today.’ The Dolphins have my best interest in mind. I believe that. They’ve told me, they’ve shown it to me, and I’ll do everything in my power to be ready for whatever. Whatever they see is right is whatever is going to happen. But it’s going to be a day-by-day thing.”
(Was it a high ankle sprain?) – “Yes.”
(Which can be as bad as a break they say.) – “It felt like it.”
(Is it important for you to return to the right tackle position? Or do you want to wherever there’s a spot?) – “Yeah, it’s definitely not ideal to switch positions out of the blue for any football player. But I’m definitely looking to play right tackle or wherever I can fit, just because that’s where I was at last time. There’s no plans of me switching that I know of.”
(What do you think of how OL Brandon Shell has done at right tackle in recent weeks?) – “He’s done a great job. He’s done a great job at right tackle. I love having a guy who’s come in and has experience in the league, so I can kind of pick his brain too, talk about how I see things, how he sees things. He is a great dude and a great football player. I think he really fits in with our room.”
WR Tyreek Hill
(You talk about leadership a lot. Have you always been that way, like in Kansas City? Or was there a point in Kansas City where you felt comfortable taking on that leadership role or do you think you’ve always been like that?) – “I’ve always been that dude. I’ve always been – every team I’ve been on. I may not have been as vocal on every team I’ve been on, but I feel like I’ve always been a leader, no matter what. Leaders can lead in different type of ways. So I feel like I’ve had that role my whole entire life, because all of my career, people hold me to a standard. I even hold myself to a standard too, though. I wouldn’t say people – I wouldn’t say I’m doing it for people, but I’m doing it for myself because I have too much pride in this game.”
(What have you liked about how this offense has utilized you the first half of the year?) – “They’ve been doing a great job. Coach McDaniel, Tua (Tagovailoa) finding me in lanes, even Teddy (Bridgewater) and Skylar (Thompson) stepped in, doing their thing. I’m just happy to be a part of this offense. I’m an extremely blessed man and thank God for this opportunity.”
(I know you’re super competitive, but how much do you enjoy your teammates success on the field as well?) – “It’s fun, man. I feel like a guy like Jaylen Waddle doesn’t get enough credit for what he truly does, kind of similar like me early on in my career. So just to see him succeed and just to see guys like Tua (Tagovailoa) succeeding in this league and just the whole offensive line doing their thing, man, it makes me smile. I’m just happy to be able to witness it all.”
(You mentioned an enjoyment that we see with the backfield, too. Is that just part of who you are?) – “Yeah, that’s just me, dawg. That’s just me. Just having fun, doing what I love, I feel like I’m playing America’s sport. So just having fun with the game, man.”
(The backflip was new though. We haven’t seen that one this season.) – “I was about to say, I’ve been doing a backflip my whole career, baby. That’s what I do, man. (laughter) But I haven’t really had an opportunity to do a backflip, because against the Ravens when I scored, we were down like two touchdowns. So I had to save my energy a little bit. In Chicago, it was the right moment, man. I feel like we either went up or we tied the game, so I was feeling the energy. The juices were nice and flowing there.”
(Are you surprised about the memes? I’ve seen different memes of you flipping, flying through the air that people put on social media. If you have, what do you think of them?) – “The memes been crazy, man. My family, they’ve been doing a great job of keeping me aware of all the memes – the Shawn Michaels memes, the dolphin memes, me jumping out of planes memes, so it’s great. I feel like I can use those to my leverage. I really enjoyed that.”
(Was there one that you liked that really stood out to you, one of the memes?) – “Definitely the Randy Orton, the RKO one – I liked that one a lot, because I’m a Randy Orton fan. So, really enjoyed that one.”
(You mentioned that competitiveness before. Now you’re on pace for potentially a record for a season. Does that come up in trying to get that record? Do you even think about it? How do you approach that?) – “My job each and every week is just to focus on the next game. So I can’t look forward – as bad as I want to sit here and say, ‘Hey, I want to break the record,’ that would be real selfish of me. I know my job as one of the leaders on this team is just to make sure we’re doing the right thing and I’m also doing the right thing, and that’s focusing on the next week, which is the Cleveland Browns and just hoping we go out and just be victorious.”
(I heard you on the radio promoting your charity event tomorrow. The question was brought up about QB Tua Tagovailoa and the confidence that you have in him. What I heard you say was that you’ve believed in him from the first day you saw him and working with him, and you said, “People should start pulling up a chair to the table and apologizing to him.”) – “That’s it. That’s it. It’s easy, man. That’s all people got to do, man – just set their pride aside. Everybody isn’t blessed to come into certain situations. Unfortunately, Tua, he came into a difficult situation. Obviously, two years down the road, he got ‘J-Dub,’ which is Jaylen Waddle, to help him out a little bit. But some guys don’t come into great situations, so I feel like once he got a coach who truly believed in who he is as a person, who he is as a player, this organization got around him, look at the talent now he’s got around him. A lot of people can begin to grab their chairs – we’ve got enough room at the table, man. So media people, I’m saying this to y’all – y’all can apologize now.”
(What can you tell us about your charity event?) – “I’m really looking forward to it. I tell people all the time, the event is going to be great, raising money for charity, raising money for mental health (and) bringing awareness to that. But for me, just being a father, for me to be where I’m at in my life, I’ve had to sacrifice so much time away from my family and my kids. So I really get a chance to just hang out with my kids, hang out my family. That’s really like what I’m looking forward to, seeing my kids dress up, because I’m really missing key parts of their life. So for me to have my kids there is like, really important to me and is really huge for me. I’m really excited about tomorrow, man.”
(Is it important also because you’re such a recognizable player on this team that you’re the one who stands out? The other players do charities as well, but for you personally, why is that so important? Because people recognize who you are.) – “I’ve always been that guy, man. Receive a blessing, give a blessing. My grandparents and my parents, they raised me – I feel like they raised me the right way. I’m in a great position to be a role model to many. I’m in a great position to inspire a lot of people, maybe not the whole world, but inspire a lot of people, so why not use your platform? I feel like a lot of guys take this opportunity for granted and they don’t use it. So here I am, I’m going to try to use my platform to raise as much money as I can for mental health (and) learn a little bit more about mental health, because we all go through it. That’s what I’m about, man.”
(Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker said not a lot of receiving leaders are blocking the way you do. What do you think you’re doing in that aspect of the game?) – “You’ve got to be physical, man. I feel like for a smaller guy like me, I really can make my statement and like slow DBs down, whether it’s corners or free safeties, if I come down and I’m able to ear-hole them or knock them on the ground. I can use that to my advantage. So for me being able to block those guys, slow those guys down a little bit and just give them a different change of pace, a different tempo is something that I definitely had to add to my game. I’ve been doing it my whole career, so it’s nothing new.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel was talking about your competitiveness, he referenced how one time, this guy named WR Braylon Sanders ran the fastest and you came out and broke the record the next day on the GPS. Do you remember that? And do you have the fastest current Dolphins history time recorded?) – “Come on, now. Come on, now. My name wouldn’t be Cheetah for no reason – that’s what I do. (laughter) But yeah, I feel like my whole entire life, I’m not a sore loser – I just love to win, man. I just love to compete. Just like today at practice, me and a few of the DBs got into it, because those guys do a good job of challenging us each and every week and getting us ready for our opponents. I kind of got triggered by that, like ‘Oh, you caught me by surprise today.’ So me being me, I didn’t take that too lightly and we were going back and forth. Today was a fun day at practice. The DBs, they won a lot of reps, and the receivers won a lot of reps, so it was a great day.”
S Jevon Holland
(You guys have the Browns this week. I know they’ve got a really good running game, but you also have a little bit of familiarity with QB Jacoby Brissett. What do you see out of that offense?) – “It’s an electric offense. They’ve got plenty of tools. Very dynamic. It’s a big week for us, especially for our defense, and I’m looking forward to it. Jacoby is a good guy and I’m looking forward to seeing out there, playing against him.”
(Are you excited to get home after the way you’ve been able to stack a couple wins here on the road and just kind of be back in that atmosphere again?) – “Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I love playing at home. It’s awesome and we’ve been away, like you said. But I’m glad to be back and finally back in the mix of Miami, for sure.”
(We were talking to Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer today and he said the one thing he wants to really hone-in the second half of the season is getting off the field on third down. What’s the key to that? What’s maybe not been clicking for the defense?) – “Just playing technique honestly. Just doing what the coaches say and going out there and executing. There’s nothing really else to it, no secret sauce or nothing like that. You’ve just got to play the down for what it is and execute.”
(I was wondering within like practice, how do you as a defensive player and as a captain, kind of look at the defense? Because on paper you might not be top of the league in a lot of stats, but when the games matter, you guys are making stops.) – “Yeah, we’re just a one-play-at-a-time organization and you’ve just got to attack it for what it is and that’s really how we see it on both sides of the ball. Next play kind of thing. If you mess up, you mess up. You’ve just got to keep on going. The game gets tough. You’re taking some punches and whatnot. They get you in the first half; it is what it is, but as long as you finish the game with one more point than the other team, then you win the game. So that’s what really matters.”
(I have to ask because I saw you dancing out there. Are you the best dancer on this team?) – “I would probably say yes. Absolutely, 100 percent. I mean, it’s up for debate, but if you ask me, then I’m definitely the best dancer on the team for sure.”
(Just last week you were ranking the best celebrations. What’s your assessment of WR Tyreek Hill’s backflip?) – “I didn’t see it in person, but I have to give it No. 1 just because of all the memes that they’ve been posting. Those have been pretty funny, so I think it’s up there for sure.”
(I wanted to ask you about being in close games. What do you think is the biggest key at the end of the game, closing those games out?) – “Honestly, having a peaceful mind. Sometimes you can let emotions get the best of you. It’s a big game and you kind of get besides yourself or even the moment itself. It can get too big, but really just kind of staying within your keys, understanding that it’s just another down regardless of it’s the game to win a Super Bowl or if it’s the game to just win one game in the regular season. You’ve just got to play it for what it is and go out there and execute.”
(Do you think that’s what separates good and great teams in this league, is being able to close out and finish and come on top of those tight games?) – “Yeah, what separates good and great teams is being able to dominate game-in and game-out and cause turnovers and whatnot and just completely nullify an offense both mentally and physically. But I think that is definitely a part of it, being able to finish and being able to secure those games when it does fall on the defense.”
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(I know you’re looking ahead to Cleveland, but just to wrap up one thing on Chicago – do you exit, and I know you give a lot of thought to things, but do you end that game thinking next time we face a running quarterback, maybe we do something differently in terms of a spy every play or something different?) – “I think the things that we look at are, okay, obviously, we could have done a better job. And that starts with me. I’ve got to put the players in better position. And then how you detail what you’re doing with a guy even though a guy is responsible for him; how everybody else and their play affects the guy that’s responsible for him. I think you go back and you detail that in that manner. Obviously we need to do better. Again, I think that comes down to me just putting the guys in better position and I think that when you look at it, you always reflect and go, ‘Okay, if this comes up again, this is probably the route to go.’”
(I know you said a couple weeks ago you’re not really focused on any particular like stat or number or anything. But if there’s one just facet of the defense that you’d really like to hone in on and improve on the second half of the season, what would that be?) – “Get off the field on third down. There were a lot of good things in last week’s game, and I think we had plenty of, call it, ample opportunities to get off the field. And when you do that, it kills drives, it kills points. It gives you an opportunity to play complementary football, get the ball back to your offense, put them up in a good field position, gives you an opportunity to rush a punt. So I would say that’s the thing that sticks out to me, that we have a really good opportunity. Especially when you’re putting yourself in those situations and you’re talking manageable third downs. You’re not talking third-and-1, third-and-2. I mean, you’re talking third-and-5, third-and-8, third-and-10. I think those and really just tying the rush and the coverage together and making sure that we kind of get those things. Obviously that will be a point of emphasis, and like I said, there’s a lot of good things that are going on there and there’s a lot of encouraging things from the game. And then there’s obviously like you mentioned, there’s things that you reflect on and you want to get better at. But you definitely want to build on the things that are good and then take advantage of when you put yourself in good positions to get off the field. Definitely take advantage of those.”
(All-encompassing question here. The acquisition of LB Bradley Chubb, what does it do on the field? What does it do off the field? What does it do for you? What’s the message from the front office to you and the players?) – “Yeah, I think obviously we’re very excited to have a player of his caliber. I think kind of what he did for us last week was commendable. He flew back from London, flew from the West Coast out here, was able – I think he played like, 54 snaps in the game, if I’m not mistaken. He took a lot of snaps for us. He’s still learning some things and nuances. And there’s obviously some things that you put him in a situation that you’re just kind of relying on him to know and understand from playing the game and kind of how it relates to what we’re doing. I think he’s getting a better grasp of it. He’s an extremely hard worker. Like he’s in here early, leaves late. It’s important to him. He’s a phenomenal person, too. I mean, like, immediately I would say he’s a charismatic individual immediately. Guys in the locker room, he just has that that demeanor about him. Love everything about what he’s been since he’s been here and then obviously we’re working very hard to put him in positions that he can succeed.”
(How do you overall view the effectiveness of the running game when, for the most part, it’s been really good. But there also have been some long runs like Lamar Jackson, Justin Fields and then Dalvin Cook as well?) – “So obviously the Lamar (Jackson) and the Justin Fields runs; so they had five designed quarterback runs in that last week game, and then there was 21, call it, early-down runs or traditional runs with the back and stuff. Obviously we feel good about a lot of those. The Dalvin Cook – the 53-yarder was kind of an outlier of, it was a call that we’ve been in many times, a good run call for us, but we just didn’t really execute it the way that we needed to. And it was a good run by him. I don’t want to take any credit away from Justin Fields, Lamar Jackson, Dalvin Cook. Those are three premier players in the league and you really have to be all 11 in-tune to make things happen. We’re going to have a huge challenge this week. I would say Cleveland’s as good as anybody, call it, on traditional runs with the back. They’ve got two really good backs. Obviously, Chubb’s their lead back and I would say he’s an exceptional or premier talent. And then Kareem Hunt does a phenomenal job, too, as well. And they are extremely well-coached. And I mean, you just look at their staff. Obviously with Coach (Kevin) Stefanski and then Alex Van Pelt who’s their coordinator. Bill Callahan does an awesome job as the offensive line coach and scheming runs and has for a long time in this league. And obviously, they got Chad O’Shea on staff who’s a phenomenal coach and I spent a lot of time with Chad, when I was coaching DBs in New England. He was coaching receivers. They’re going to be well-coached and they got good players. They got good scheme. So it’s going to be a big challenge for us. We do feel like that the traditional run game is something that we’re doing well, that we can build on. And obviously when there are breakdowns, there’s usually, either we’re out of our gap or there’s a missed tackle or there’s something of that nature. But I would say, and it really starts with our guys up front which I think those guys have done a pretty good job all year. There’s just other things that we need to handle within the game that can allow us to be the defense that we want to be and if we get that done, I think we’re all going to like the results there, but we have a huge challenge. We know that this will be a very competitive game this week. These guys are coming off a bye and they’ll be ready.”
(So it’s interesting because quarterback scrambles are, they go against your run defense stats, but they’re unique in that you start in a pass defense on most of those? So what are some of the concepts and teaching points that are constant when you’re going against traditional run game as opposed to scrambles and what’s different as far as what you have lay out?) – “Scrambles, there’s a lot of variables that go into that. One, are you in a traditional, call it, four-man rush defense? And then it’s going to come down to rush lanes. Obviously, there’s a lot of variables that go into the scrambles. Is it a traditional drop back? Is it a play-action where they’re moving the pocket? Are you dealing with a, call it, scrambling quarterback, a running quarterback? There’s a lot of different things that go involved into that as compared to, call it, early-down run defense. So sometimes it goes hand in hand, sometimes it really doesn’t, because a lot of those scramble plays, you’re probably more often than not set up to defend the pass than you are the run. And then some of them that occur off of play-action, there can be displacement based on the offense doing misdirection or move the pocket. So there is going to be a little bit of space. And then obviously it all comes back to the transition, rush lanes, if you’re in zone coverage, everybody’s got zone vision on it. So there’s a lot of different variables, I think that go into that.”
(I was thinking about DE Emmanuel Ogbah and CB Xavien Howard – two guys who throughout their career have put up big sack numbers, pressure numbers, turnover numbers, better metrics, in pass coverage. Not as good in the first half of the season. Maybe injuries, some other factors as both those guys playing through some stuff. Do you have cause for belief that there’ll be more of a regression to the mean and production performance of those two players in the second half of the season?) – “I have a very good cause to believe that we’re going to get better and we’re going to improve. And not just those two individuals. I think there’s some things that if we get done as a group, like I said, I firmly believe, because there’s a lot of good plays – and again, how everybody wants to look at stats, this, that. There was two plays over 20 yards in our last game, and one of them was a DPI penalty for 28 yards. The other one was obviously the 61-yard scramble, which that’s on third-and-5, and you don’t want to give that up in that situation. So there are good things that we’re building on there. But I just think as a whole, we have an opportunity to be a very good defense. There’s just some things that we got to get cleaned up. And I have the utmost belief in our players because they don’t flinch in big situations. I mean, I don’t remember what the time was on the clock, but sitting there at 35-32, and there’s no points for the rest of the game. So when you need them the most – give up 27 points in a half to Detroit, they don’t give up any points in the second half. You need an interception at Pittsburgh. So our guys are comfortable playing in those situations and we get some of our best ball at that. We just kind of need to put it all together and then obviously, I would say my job of putting these guys in better position to make plays or finish drives, that falls on me. And we’re all working very hard to do that. So I have great reason to believe that we’re going to get production from all of our guys. In particular 91 (Emmanuel Ogbah) and 25 (Xavien Howard), I feel very good about them. They’re working very hard. It’s important to them. They care about it. They’re team oriented, just like our other guys are. It’s no different than Jerome Baker or Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler. They’re all kind of built the same way. I have great reason to believe and the fact that the work that we put in week-in and week-out leads me to believe that if we get things corrected that we need to get corrected and get it fixed, we’re all going to like the results.”
(You had mentioned earlier about LB Bradley Chubb that he played 54 snaps on defense, and yet he hit the ground here Wednesday morning. Can you kind of take us through a little bit of how you got him prepared in those few days? What was that crash course like for you and for him?) – “Well, I think it started with kind of, call it, game plan. Like how we were going to use him, what we’re going to use him for. And then I think obviously credit our coaching staff. Obviously Ty (McKenzie) spent probably the most time with him, being his position coach. And it’s a credit to the player that it was that important to him to get caught up and then again, you get here in the middle of the week, you had all those flights, there’s probably a little bit, call it, anxiety. New team, you want to do well, and we’re putting you in a situation where you’re out there playing. And then I think you learn as a coaching staff, you kind of learn and see, okay, this is this is what this is, we can build on this, maybe not put him in this. You’re buying information. It’s no different than if you’re a player out on the field, especially because defense is pretty much reactionary. A lot of it is. All your alignments, your stance, everything is to read your keys, and all you’re doing in that is buying information. It’s really no different as a coaching staff. When you see guys out there and they’re playing, you’re going ‘okay, we’re just buying information.’ And the key is as long as you can string wins together as you’re doing that and you have guys that are going to put in the work and continue to strive to get better, there’s always the belief in purpose that all right, we’re going to get to where we want to be.”
(You mentioned the caliber of player that Browns RB Nick Chubb is on the other side of the football. What’s the messaging this week to the defense about getting him to the ground for a player that I think leads the league in missed tackles forced and yards after contact?) – “We need to get everybody to the ball. We need to get everybody to the ball. This won’t be a one-man show. I would say Nick Chubb has proven time and time again. You can see there’s many instances when you watch him on film that somebody has him in the backfield and he’s able to break that and then he stiff arms the next guy and then he keeps moving. So we need to get everybody to the ball and I would say whether it’s the run or the pass game, hitting him on a check down or whatever route that they’re running. It’s definitely going to be important for us to get everybody to the ball.”
(What are the numbers, the statistics that you look at to gauge the defense’s health or performance or how they’re doing, how they’re playing?) – “Yeah, I think the first the first thing you look at is probably – I guess you start with wins. And then what situations are you doing well? Okay, and then what things do you need to work on? And then obviously to me, it comes down to really how are you doing on early downs? Is it a run issue? Is it a pass issue? Are you committing one way to defend something? Then you go to third downs. What are we doing on the third downs? And then a lot of times in the third downs based on what you’re getting from the offense or the down-and-distance, the distance on the third down kind of dictates a little bit of what you’re seeing and what you’re facing. Then you look at red zone and then you look really at two-minute. So I think when you look at all those things, it’s all-encompassing of self-scout. It’s really what you’re doing defensively, what people are trying to do to you, how they’re trying to attack you and then what they do offensively. Like I said probably a week or two ago, I’m not very good with math, so a lot of the numbers, they kind of run by me. Certain plays obviously stick out that you remember the yardage on those, but I think it’s really situationally that you look at and how you can get better at that whether it’s early downs, third down, red area, two minute and I think you kind of put them all in those buckets.”
(I wanted to ask you your assessment of the different safeties that have been used as S Brandon Jones went down whether it be S Eric Rowe last game, S Verone McKinley, we’ve seen some S Clayton Fejedelem and even DB Elijah Campbell as well.) – “Again, like we talked about when we lost Brandon (Jones), we felt like he was getting better. We thought he was a good player. He was a big part of what we were doing defensively. I think anytime you lose somebody whether it’s Brandon or Nik (Needham), you’re always going to be filling. It’s not usually just, ‘hey, this is the next guy,’ because everybody, again, if you try to highlight what guys do well, you try to put them in situations that are going to come up that you feel pretty good that they’re going to do well in those situations. And then again, like we talked about, I know Barry’s always asking me about (Andrew) Van Ginkel. (laughter) There’s always a special teams element, a roster element. There’s a roster management element that goes into each week of – we’d like to have every player available to you and sometimes there’s guys that aren’t available to us that if they were available, we would probably play them. You just pick and choose based on your matchup and you try to highlight what those guys do well and knowing that because there’s three phases of the game that – like, again, nobody wants to go to the game with one running back. Nobody wants to go to the game with two corners. There’s a roster (element) and then you got to have guys that play the kicking game. So I think that’s all part of it and I think we’re working very hard in individual. I’d give Steve (Gregory) and Pat (Surtain) a lot of credit. They’re working with those guys. They’re getting them up to speed on things that we’re asking them to do, and I thought when (Verone) McKinley was in there, I thought he did well. When Eric (Rowe) was in there, I thought he did well. I think Elijah (Campbell) is getting caught up to speed on some things. And then obviously ‘Fej’ (Clayton Fejedelem) when we’ve used him, I think those guys have – and again, it goes back to the type of people that we have on the defense, is it’s very important them. They work very hard at it. They care about the team. They care about the defense and they’re working very hard to get things right.”
Wide Receivers Coach Wes Welker
(I wanted to ask you something that I was asking Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith. Have you seen receivers get seemingly as open, often wide open, as WR Jaylen Waddle and WR Tyreek Hill? Is it entirely because of their skills and defenses and safeties playing maybe back on them, and corners obviously, and giving up shorter routes? Are there other factors? What comes to your mind as a reason why they’re so open, so often?) – “I would say, first and foremost, the main reason is them. They’re the ones out there doing it, taking coaching points, all that stuff, but those guys are just different. It makes our job a lot easier. Where there can be a little bit of error with them, a lot of guys have to be more perfect, especially in the NFL, and all those different things, but the line of error for them is a little more than others. Obviously, we don’t want any – (we want to) have that line brought down as much as possible to get them open as much as possible, but at the end of the day, it comes down to their skillset and who they are and the way they play the game and all those different things. I think as the season goes on, all those details get really put down where we’re on it even more. So those yards of separation hopefully become more, even if it’s just a little bit. But at the end of the day, it’s them.”
(In addition to the obvious strengths of WR Tyreek Hill of straight-line speed and quickness, what are some of the other unique parts of his skillset that as a former receiver and wide receivers coach, we might find interesting?) – “I think first and foremost as a receiver, I think it’s your mindset and he definitely has that. Everything else is just about the details of things and being on top of all the assignments and the techniques and everything like that. But with him, he can run every route. Some of the stuff that we’re able to do just because of the skillset and who he is and all those different things, your imagination can go crazy as a coach in all the different things that that you could possibly do with that type of skillset and mindset and everything just kind of clashing together to be able to produce the way he is.”
(Off the field, is there something you’ve seen WR Tyreek Hill do or heard him say that sort of resonates with you and sort of illustrates that he’s more than just the guy who catches the ball and runs fast?) – “Yeah, I think if you watch his blocking, you don’t see guys leading the league in receiving and blocking the way that he’s blocking – the whole room really. We take a lot of pride in that, and he’s at the forefront of that. It makes my job a lot easier when your best player in the room is buying in and doing those type of things. It leads to team success.”
(Since fans are constantly asking, I have to ask you about WR Erik Ezukanma. How close is he to get to the point where you guys feel comfortable putting him in the lineup?) – “I feel like we’re comfortable with it, it’s more just kind of the scenario we’re in and the players that we have right now. We’re probably a little more comfortable with other guys right now. That’s no fault to Erik (Ezukanma) or anything else. He’s been working his tail off. It has nothing to do with him or anything else, it’s just where we’re at in the room and where other guys are. What’s the difference? Do we put somebody else down who’s been earning it the whole time? That’s a decision that we struggle with all the time, but right now, it’s more about him just continuing to get better and when the opportunity arises, being ready for that opportunity. But we don’t know when that’s going to happen. There are a lot of different factors that kind of go into that. I think there’s the gel, the team, the camaraderie the guys that are on the field, the guys have proved it on the field during a regular season. I don’t think it’s fair to Erik, or it’s fair to the room, or fair to anybody else to change it at this point. We’ll keep it rolling as is, and then he just has to know that if something were to happen, or anything else, that he’s got to be ready.”
(As a quick follow up if I may, do you have to have conversations with WR Erik Ezukanma to make sure he keeps his head up, particularly in the situation where you elevate WR Braylon Sanders from the practice squad over him for a game?) – “I think that was more position specific. If another position – he’s been learning the Z, and then we had the deal with River (Cracraft) where he came down with an illness and Braylon (Sanders) had been working X. Well, he was backing up X. There’s a lot of factors that kind of go into it, so it’s not just like, ‘Alright, well Erik, you’ve been working Z this whole time, now you’re going to play X.’ Well, that’s not fair. It’s not fair to Erik, it’s not fair to the team and all those different things. So there’s more factors to it than just switching a guy to a position and doing that. It’s nothing Erik is doing. It’s just the way it kind of played out that week. It was a Saturday deal and Braylon had been on top of his stuff. We felt comfortable with it and he was able to get in there and play some X that week.”
(WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. was involved for the first time in a long time. Can you talk about how he’s come along in this offense?) – “’Ced’ (Cedrick Wilson Jr.) has been awesome. He’s handled everything like a pro and just gone out and practiced and done what he needed to do. There’s going to be multiple times this year going forward where we’re going to need Ced to make plays for us. He’s been coming through for us and been a pro about it … I think at this point, Trent (Sherfield) has just played really, really well and he’s been on top of all of his assignments. When the ball has come his way, he’s made plays. So it’s kind of where we’re at right now, but we’re always trying to integrate all our best players and get them on the field as much as we can. We definitely want to do that with Ced, so when those opportunities arise, I know he’s going to be ready.”
(It seems like such a key element of this offense is the effort away from the ball and from where the pass actually goes. Do you see it that way? And then also, how do you cultivate a situation where you get such good effort on routes where the ball is not going to that particular route?) – “Yeah, but you don’t really know that. So the way I looked at every single play, it’s a matter of doing your job for anybody. If y’all are going to write a report, or write whatever, are you going to put your best into it? Or are you going to take a play off? No. That’s your job. That’s what you’re expected to do each and every play, and that’s just kind of the way I look at things, and all of us do, as far as what’s my job, what’s my assignment on this particular play? And then the next one? So whatever happens, did you do your job? With our quarterback and everything else, you don’t know. It could be a time that he comes to you or he sees something. The guy sees the field really, really well. So for us to not be on it and for somebody to miss that (opportunity) because they weren’t on their stuff, that’s on them. If they continue to do that, then we have to find somebody else.”
(I want to ask you about the receiver position in general. When you look at in recent years, rule changes have benefited offensive players more. I know a lot of people say the quarterback is the most important position on a team, but when you look at a lot of quarterbacks around the league, they have that big offensive weapon receiver. How do you think the receiver position has grown in importance in recent seasons and recent years?) – “Yeah, I think people are starting to realize – I wouldn’t say starting to realize, but at the end of the day, the game is going to come down to a third-and-4. It’s going to come down to a third-and-5. It’s going to come down to a third-and-10. It’s going to come down to you having to throw the ball, and you have to be able to have guys that are going to get open. That play could be in the first quarter. It could be in the second quarter. It could be the difference in going down and scoring on a drive or not scoring. So to me, the receiving position and being able to get open and being able to throw and to catch is about as important of a thing that you can have in this league and the timing that you have to have with it, being on the same page with the quarterback on each and every play and having your depth being where he’s expecting you to be and all those different things, it takes a lot of work. It’s not something that just kind of happens overnight, it’s something that we work on through OTAs and everything else and trying to get on the same page. But that’s why pass rushers get paid all that money, because if you’re able to sit there and get to the quarterback and not give those guys time to be able to make the plays that they need to make – it’s the same with corners. If you’re able to cover a guy at a consistent level, you’re going to make a lot of money in this league. So at the end of the day, that’s what our league is. It’s not just ground and pound anymore. They’re going to make you get in third-down scenarios and can you separate and beat man coverage and keep the chains moving or make big plays in those situations for your team to win? That’s the game.”
Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville
(We haven’t got to talk to you since the RB Jeff Wilson Jr. pick up. What’s the skill that you think is his best NFL on-field quality?) – “Effort and competitiveness. He’s intensely competitive. He came in and worked right away to get up to speed on everything. I think he’s a smart guy that runs the ball hard and can catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s got a good overall running back skill set. But the competitiveness and his desire to be prepared is probably at the forefront.”
(What did you see from the run game last week? I think you rushed for 77 yards. You seemed to have some timely runs. But what did you see from the run game?) – “Overall, I think we’re a work in progress. We continue to work on it. We’re emphasizing it. We continue to see flashes where we’re close to things. The ground that we have to make up now is to finish executing some of these runs and to make some of these runs bigger plays. We’ve left some yards out there. I think every position group that we have on here, at one point in time, including the running backs, has contributed to missing yards. We just got to get on the same page and keep pushing this thing forward because we are close in some ways. But it comes down to all of us being accountable to executing at a higher level in a run game. We feel like we’re making progress and getting there, but the urgency now is on us to continue and to finish these close looks.”
(Do you feel like opportunities might open up more in the second half of the season, just given the way the passing game is really clicking, it seems like teams defenses are trying to adjust their game plan to stop the pass game. Do you anticipate some more maybe light boxes and just opportunities overall opening up?) – “That’s always hard to say. Each defense is going to try to have a game plan to stop us whatever way that is, and what our position is, let’s carry enough things that give us a chance to maximize and take advantage of whatever they’re doing. If we got to run the ball 35, 40 times a game, I would love that and we’d be in a position to do that. If we’ve got to run it less than that and we’re efficient as can be throwing the ball down the field, which we are right now, we’re explosive making plays there. But at the bottom line of this game is we got to find a way to win. And we’re going to contribute whatever way that is. If that’s in my room – Jeff has a great block right out of halftime that gives us a 22-yard throw to Tyreek (Hill) on the sidelines. We’re going to do whatever we have to do to contribute to the win. How and what defenses do are different things all the time and we just got to be ready to adjust to whatever they give us.”
(You mentioned that block that kind of sprung that pass. Why is it difficult for some running backs to be like quality blockers? I know last year we were asking RB Myles Gaskin about being a smaller guy and having to overcompensate. But why is it tough for some running backs to maybe not be as good for the blockers?) – “A lot of it probably comes down to desire and competitiveness. I mean, there’s big backs that are good protectors and there’s small backs that are good protectors. I think it comes down to desire and the fact that you want to make a contribution to the offense being successful. If you’re going to run it, then you got to be willing to protect.”
(Not a lot of teams have fullbacks that they use often, much less a fullback that has as much varied usage as FB Alec Ingold. What has he meant to the running back room?) – “Well, first of all, I think what he means to the running back room is you see a guy that’s focused, that’s intensely prepared and really accountable for the entire running back game, room, everything that we’re doing with that. I think that’s a great message that all those guys take into account with each other. That room is really good that way. I think he’s brought a physical component to not only our room but our team too, that guys like seeing. I mean whether it’s blocking a linebacker or a defensive end, out in space on guys, we see him really giving great effort and being physical and that’s what that position is.”
(What was that like, kind of reincorporating coaching a fullback after it had been some years, right? I mean, when was the last time you’ve coached a fullback before this year?) – “We had Andy Janovich in Denver was probably the last one that I had. I’m trying to think. I’ve had fullbacks in the past in different offenses. Is it different and unique? There are things that those guys have to do that you talked to him about. And there’s certain things where they fit into plays and how they do it. But it’s no different than any other position. It’s no different than a tight end who has to play like a wide receiver at times, or sometimes a wide receiver coming and doing some running back type things or whatever. They’re football players. That’s why you want to have good football players on your team where you do have flexibility to do things, and we’ve got a lot of players on this team like that. I think Alec is one of them.”
(How will you use RB Jeff Wilson Jr. differently than you use RB Chase Edmonds? Jeff’s physical presence, does that make a difference?) – “I see it as apples and oranges really. I mean, we had Chase here, so we game-planned and used him the way that we thought was the best for us at that time. I think we are going to apply that same formula and that same equation to Jeff, in that we’re going to do what we think he does best and gives us the best chance to win and execute. It’s not a comparison of those two. It’s not an interchangeable thing where they’re doing the exact same things. We’re going to put our players in the best position to give us a chance to win.”
(You don’t have to game plan for him, but your thoughts on RB Nick Chubb?) – “Incredibly impressive with the numbers that he puts up, how he runs the ball, how physical he is, how incredibly strong he is. It’s going to be a great challenge, but I think he’s a really, really talented running back.”
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(I think one thing people wonder when they watch your offense is how in the world are WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle often seemingly so open in the middle of the field? Is it simply their talents? If you could explain, from your perspective, why you think that’s been the case?) – “Yeah, I think it goes into obviously utilizing their skillsets of speed, but at the same time, I think it comes down to just what do they do well and what is the defense trying to do. So basically, putting them in spots to be able to utilize their skillsets. The one thing you see about our offense is that we’re constantly in motion, we’re constantly moving pieces to try and allow our guys to get in positions to attack the defense. So I think it’s a combination of the process when it starts on Tuesday, when we start coming with the game plan – how do we get our guys in best position to attack the defense and what they’re trying to do coverage wise. Then that comes into their understanding, their execution, the combination with Tua (Tagovailoa), the timing. You start the ingredients being baked on Tuesday, and when it all comes together, you have a great dish on Sunday. So I think that’s just the challenge for us each week is to make sure that we don’t just run plays to run plays. We run plays with a purpose, and I think that’s the greatest thing about what we do around here.”
(RB Jeff Wilson Jr.’s contribution, I thought I saw him have a good block against a rusher against QB Tua Tagovailoa, the reception, the 28-yard run, the physical presence. What did he do and what does he add to the offense?) – “I think you hit everything right there. I mean, that’s exactly what he brings – versatility within the offense and an understanding already of it coming from San Francisco. His familiarity with (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) and knowing what Mike is going to ask him to do. I think this last Sunday was a good representation of what he’s going to bring and not being a one-dimensional back doing one thing – I mean, he’s got a broad skillset. It’s pretty cool to see him make that catch and then dive in from four yards out to score. Then (he’s) just a guy who loves football. You can just feel his energy every day when you’re just talking to him. So I think that we’re really fortunate that it was able to happen. (We’ll) just keep utilizing him for what he can do, and that’s a complete back.”
(How would you assess OL Robert Jones’ first start at left guard?) – “I thought he did a good job. I think there were some things that when you come out there, as far as making sure you’re looking at the right things, constantly working on technique as things move. But overall, we felt that he executed the gameplan. He was physical. The things that he needs to work on and improve on he’s well aware of, and he’s already attacking it starting yesterday. So I’d say overall, we’re very pleased with how he started for his first game.”
(In regards to WR Tyreek Hill, the football player on the field, from the moment he’s arrived, when I say to you, is there a moment, the first moment, any moment that just jumps in your mind like, “Wow, that’s different. Wow, that’s unique. Wow, that’s special. Wow, I haven’t seen that.” Does something jump in your head when I talk like that?) – “Yes, and unfortunately, I saw it for four years on the other sideline and division. So I just watched it all the time and go like, ‘Ugh, wow.’ I mean, I remember back in 2018, he was lined up in the slot on rookie nickelback and I’m just stand there going, like, ‘Uh oh,’ and then he just runs right past him like he was like a cone standing right there. So when you watch it on the other sideline two games a year for four years, when he comes to the field in-person, the one thing that sticks out to me might not even be what the world would see. To me, what sticks out is his passion, his work ethic, his ability. It starts in individual drills, how hard he works. Success isn’t by chance in this league. It’s not like – so many times people say, ‘Oh, wow. He makes it look easy.’ He makes it look easy because of his preparation and the diligence he has. When you’re around – I was fortunate enough early in my career in New Orleans to be around so many great players, and just the strain at which they operated just on a daily basis – he’s the epitome of that. So I think overall, the production that we see on the field, that was never a surprise – I saw that way too often. (laughter) However, how he is as a worker, how he is as a guy, that is what sticks out to me, because that’s why you’re like, ‘That’s why he’s successful.’”
(How are you guys treating the return of OL Austin Jackson? Do you want to get him back in at right tackle? Or with the way T Brandon Shell is playing, would you like to see if he could have a hold on that? Or maybe give OL Austin Jackson a chance to compete at left guard with OL Robert Jones? How do you want to treat that?) – “I think ultimately, we’re just trying to make sure we get Austin (Jackson) ramped up in an appropriate way, so we don’t have any setbacks or anything – so introducing (him) back in, the slow ramp up into getting ready for the game. Ultimately, our goal is to play the best five. Whatever combination that is is what we’re going to try and put out there. So ultimately, right now as far as where guys go and each spot, I would think that as you guys have seen throughout the season, the consistency and the versatility is kind of something we’ve tried to hit on from the beginning, especially with the (offensive) line. So when it comes to his return, we’ll evaluate that when we get there. But ultimately, right now, our goal is just to get him back to the practice field and getting him back to the game field.”
(Earlier this week, Head Coach Mike McDaniel talked about the idea of how many people put into the running game with yourself, Offensive Assistant Mike Person, Assistant Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierrre, Offensive Line Coach Matt Applebaum. I’m just curious as a former center, former run game coordinator, all that stuff, how have you enjoyed getting with this group of people to put together a gameplan each week, especially in the running game?) – “It’s been awesome. For me personally, starting really kind of in Chicago, doing run plans kind of independently by myself and having learned through that process, I always studied the Shanahan scheme. We were kind of similar, doing some of that in Chicago. So for me to really watch what (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) was doing from afar and then now kind of – when you study a scheme, it’s hard to really replicate it sometimes unless you’re inside of the system. You kind of understood certain things, but now working with Mike (McDaniel) every day on that has been awesome. The way he sees football, the creativity, the understanding of that, what the defense is trying to do, and how to attack it, I mean, it’s been awesome. It’s kind of like – I’d say our game planning always starts on Tuesday with an abstract thought of where we see the vulnerability or with the defense, what area we need to attack, what we’re both seeing, and then we kind of build a gameplan off of that. As opposed to many places you’ve been, ‘Hey, these plays worked against them. Let’s do that. Let’s do this,’ where we start with an abstract thought and kind of go, ‘OK, here’s what we see. Now, let’s build upon that.’ I would say that’s one of Mike’s greatest strengths is understanding the defense, its rules, where they’re trying to do things and then we build a plan off of that. Then the guys help with that as well when we look at combination blocks, leverages, stuff like that. I mean, that’s where the whole – I would say it starts off with a lump of clay and then turns into a piece of art by the end of the week.”
Cornerbacks/Pass Game Specialist Sam Madison
(Did you coach against WR Amari Cooper in high school down here?) – “I didn’t. I had him on my 7-on-7 team for a couple of years.”
(How have you seen him grow?) – “Oh, man. Going into his senior year, he didn’t really have any offers and then coaching for South Florida Express, we were traveling around South Florida, around Florida, and then all of a sudden, it was like who is this kid? But just unbelievable speed. Strength at the top of the route. And that’s the way he’s always played. He’s always been one of those guys that’s going to go get it. He’s very quiet and he lets his play do the talking.”
(We know what CB Xavien Howard can do. We know what he has done. We also know he’s played through groin injuries. But candidly, throughout the first half of the season, how would you assess what you’ve seen?) – “Just going in and watching film when I first got here, and just understanding and knowing exactly who he was, watching him for a number of years doing television, he’s a playmaker. And these little nick and nack injuries, they can take a toll. So being able to finally get him through those different little injuries and not really having him during training camp, the offseason and trying to make sure that he was healthy to get him to this point, those were our main goals. Now I think he feels comfortable. He’s practiced very well the last couple of weeks. He’s just got to get his confidence back, knowing that he’s healthy, and then whoever he’s covering, he’s just got to go out there and dominate, just like he’s been able to do over the last couple of years. So he’s feeling comfortable. I’m feeling comfortable about everything he’s doing. And now we just got to go out there and just get that confidence back, and just go and attack. Getting his hands on the ball last week, I thought that was good for him. But now we’ve just got to take it to the next level and dominate every play.”
(I was curious to get your thoughts on the second to last play on the deep pass to WR Chase Claypool and DB Keion Crossen in coverage. A lot of people are saying that he potentially could have been called for defensive pass interference. I was curious, what are your thoughts on that one?) – “(laughter) Do you watch the offensive line and defensive line? They could get called for holding every play. The same thing in the secondary. So when you’re in that situation at that point in the game, the referees, they’re going to do their due diligence and see exactly what they see and just make the appropriate call. But just get it done at the line of scrimmage. That’s what we really talk about. That’s what we really preach. Since I’ve been here and Coach Josh (Boyer) has allowed me to work with these guys, getting hands on them at the line of scrimmage to eliminate those things down the football field and then slowing guys down. Keion just has to do a little bit better at the line of scrimmage. He knows that and that’s what we work on. That’s what we talked about throughout the course of the week.”
(Didn’t CB Keion Crossen have his hands around his waist on that play downfield?) – “To your point, when the referees come in here and we talk, and they come out there and they watch us practice, one of things that they always talk about is don’t put your hands up high. Put your hands down low. As long as you don’t turn the wide receivers, then it doesn’t become a penalty. So having your hands down low, those are the things that they tell us when we’re working with them, when they come out here during training camp. So those are the things that we work on and those are the things that they go out and try to work and execute. For it to be a no call, any given Sunday it could be called a penalty or not, just like it was for Keion.”
(Can you speak to the growth you’ve seen from CB Kader Kohou from when you first got him? He comes in as an undrafted rookie out of Texas A&M-Commerce and now he’s really an NFL starter.) – “Yeah, he’s an NFL starter. And guess what? He doesn’t shy away from contact. He doesn’t shy away from any challenge. It doesn’t matter if it’s Stefon Diggs or no matter who it is, he goes out there and he’s going to give it his 100 percent, and that’s what we ask from these guys. That’s what he’s been doing throughout the course, since he’s been here. He’s the guy that when you give him something and you talk to him about something, he’s going to go out there and try to execute it. Challenging at the line of scrimmage is one of the things that we work on, on an everyday basis. He’s going to do it. He’s nice, thick (and) strong. He missed a game. It really hurt him when he missed those couple of games. So coming back has really helped our depth and as you can see, when it comes to run support, he doesn’t shy away from that at all.”
(How will the LB Bradley Chubb acquisition affect your guys?) – “It’s going to affect us a lot. When you talk about the defensive line and the secondary always have hand in hand, if we can give our defensive line a couple of extra seconds to get to the quarterback – because they’re starting to do a lot of chipping because they know we play a lot of man and as you see over the last couple of weeks, the coverage has been tight relatively throughout the course of the game. So if we can get those guys a couple extra seconds to get to the quarterback, hopefully they can get the ball out, get the quarterback on the ground but yet still just be a disruptive force throughout the course of the game. He’s starting to feel himself and feel the things that he can do within the scheme of his defense. And Josh (Boyer) is going to do a good job of putting him in those situations to be successful. So, we’re very confident about him. The guys have accepted him very well and he just came in and just picked up right where we’ve left off and just continue to get better. So just looking for good things and more things better from him.”
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I know K Jason Sanders is a guy who obviously doesn’t question himself, as he’s had success. But when he’s maybe not kicking up to the standards he has in the past, how do you keep him from losing any confidence or any of his edge?) – “Well, I think it goes into a lot of the things we talked about – the work that he puts in during the week, how he’s hitting the ball during the week, going back to all those basics and how and when things are coming up – you’re only judged by the game. But I think the work he puts in during the week and the success he’s had, he knows what he’s done to have success and he sees it during the week. It’s just – you’re splitting hairs when it comes to making kicks. Now, make no question – that’s a kick that has to be made. You can’t miss that kick.”
(Can you take us through that blocked punt? What was successful on that play and just how gratifying was it to come up with a big play on special teams?) – “Again, the key is to win the game, and the fact that we were able to win the game and make a play in that – there were some things, we liked some matchups. The players did a great job of executing. Jaelan (Phillips) almost got there too cleanly, almost overran it and then a great job by Andrew Van Ginkel with the scoop and score. (Those are the) things that we work on, and I think more than anything, that’s where the feel good part comes from the preparation, the work and then seeing it executed on game day.”
(LB Jaelan Phillips is not among the team leaders in special teams snaps. Forgive me for not knowing this, but is he generally on the punt rush team? Or was that a special plan?) – “He’s not generally. It was just with where we’re at with playing time and situations – a lot of moving parts this year. (laughter)”
(That’s the benefit of also adding LB Bradley Chubb, right? Different snap counts defensively?) – “Correct. It gives us an extra player on the defensive line/outside linebacker/defensive end. So now there’s maybe some more plays to be had.”
(As I recall, LB Bradley Chubb and LB Jaelan Phillips were lined up next to each other. Is that going to be a more regular thing?) – “Again, a lot of things (are) week to week. We’ll see. But again, two talented guys that when they’re able to maybe play less on defense, they maybe have some more reps available. We’ll see where that goes.”
(You mentioned K Jason Sanders’ kick still should have been made. I know Head Coach Mike McDaniel used as the wind as a reason for it, but 29 yards at that distance, should the wind be factoring in?) – “Wind is a factor in everything, but we’ve got to make that kick.”
