Thursday, August 15, 2024
CB Kendall Fuller
(What was today like getting an orange jersey in a practice against your former team and then of course finishing practice with an interception?) – “It was fun. The football side of it too, but also just the relationships you build when you’re at a place for so many years. It was fun just seeing the guys. Competing against them again, competing against Terry (McLaurin). I think the first or second rep of practice he had a touchdown on me, so to be able to make a play at the end but just to go back and forth and compete against guys, go against a different team, it was fun man. It was just a blessing. It’ll be fun on Saturday to compete with everybody, so I had fun.”
(What was your perspective on that one where he beat you on the touchdown, and also the interception at the end?) – “The coverage that we were in, it was a coverage we haven’t ran as much. For me, it was a learning experience of just knowing how or when I can expect to use my safety, and whether or not I can use them or if I have to be more aggressive. Terry (McLaurin) had a good route, good catch. At the end, it was just an out route that I love to make plays on, and I was fortunately able to make a play on it.”
(You had a chance to see their rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Your thoughts on the young fella?) – “I like him, man. I haven’t watched the tape yet, but how he carries himself. He looks like a pro; he looks like he has an edge. It looks like he trusts his ability a lot. I mean, shoot – even just looking on YouTube, social media, I heard about him checking a play in the first preseason game, and to be able to have that confidence as a rookie, to go out there and play football… At the end of the day, a lot of the times you rely on Xs and Os, and sometimes you just got to play football. I’m excited to compete against him on Saturday and hoping he has a good future and enjoys it in Washington.”
(Did you bow to the Commander’s sideline on that play?) – “No, I didn’t bow. It was a celebration that I’ve been doing the last couple of years that all of them know that I do, that I did.”
(You said you basically, I think, anticipate playing on Saturday. Do you feel like you need that work in the preseason?) – “I mean, yeah, any time you get to go out there on the football field, you always make it productive. At the end of the day it’s Year Nine, every day out there, you come out here to practice today, you make it productive. There is stuff that you can learn from, grow from. Genuinely I’m not sure how much we are playing at all. I’m going in with that mindset, but at the end of the day, whether you’re on the field or the younger guys are out on the field, you’re still interactive. Any game in the NFL, preseason or not, is a blessing and you try to enjoy it.”
(How do you feel you played for Washington last season?) – “Made some plays, gave up some plays. I think I played pretty good. As a group, we didn’t play to our standard last year, but that’s a question I genuinely don’t even think about as much just being somewhere new, a new year. Football in general, you got to move on to the next play, move on to the next year. I’m with a new team, a new group of guys. It’s been exciting, and I’m excited to try to do something big here.”
(We’re going to see a lot of CB Kader Kohou with you and CB Jalen Ramsey this year in nickel packages. What stands out to you about CB Kader Kohou being a teammate and playing with him now?) – “For him to be young, I think just how like he carries himself. He carries himself like a pro, he carries himself like a veteran. Whether that’s just like his preparation, his skill set is undeniable on the field, how he is in meetings and especially the nickels for how much they remember for how much we do things. Something that I’ve always said is being able to play nickel and corner I think is one of the hardest things to do in the NFL. I have a lot of respect for any guy that’s out there playing a little bit of nickel and a little bit or corner.”
(I wanted to ask you about CB Cam Smith real quick too. Obviously, Dolphins fans are eager, a second-round pick, to see him develop. What skill set do you see there that makes you think this guy can be a player?) – “Just his athletic ability. His athletic ability, his intent. Me and him have conversations on the side where I just always tell him to be aggressive. That is something that I think (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) does a good job of. He wants guys to go out there and play with conviction. If you can come out here and play with conviction out here on the practice field, you’ll be able to learn things that you can or can’t do. I think that is something that Cam (Smith) has been doing, even his first practice back. You could see him showing up all over the tape and things like that, so I’m excited for him.”
(I missed the celebration today, so if you could tell it again that it would be great. And the second thing was those Washington teams weren’t always the best. There is a little bit more juice to this team. There were even some Super Bowl aspirations. I don’t want you to bash your time in Washington. But compare the energy of the two training camps?) – “It’s hard to say. Year in and year out, no matter what team you’re on – I was in Washington for four years. Each team, each group, each year is different. Especially being somewhere new is also going to be different. My two years in KC was different. Each and every year is different. Right now, I like the standard that we have here and the standard that we hold one another to that the coaches hold each other to, the players hold each other to. And we’re just working every single day, working to get better, working to compete against each other day in and day out. It’s been fun.”
(The celebration you did, I missed it.) – “A celebration that a lot of people on the outside won’t understand. A lot of the guys in Washington knew that that was a celebration that I always did. For them, they all knew what I meant and what I was doing.”
(Did you lobby for that orange jersey today?) – “No, (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) had said to the team yesterday that he had messed up the last joint practices by not giving it to Calais (Campbell) or Jonnu (Smith) for them being in Atlanta last year. He was like he couldn’t make the same mistake twice, so I definitely appreciate it.”
(Did you pick anything specific that might have been and inside joke to these guys?) – “No. I’m a man of faith, a man of God. A lot of them guys, even here they know that I have some Christian rap in there, some Gospel music in there, and then besides that I let the other DBs send a song to get in there.”
(What were the conversations like seeing S Darrick Forrest and CB Benjamin St-Juste when you saw them?) – “It’s fun, it’s guys that you’ve been around for the last – some guys two years, three years, four years. Genuinely not even football, but just talking to them about life in general. I know ‘Juice’ (Benjamin St-Juste) is a dad now. A lot of them coming up to me, I just got married. So just getting back around those guys, catching up, congratulations and things like that. It was fun just to see everybody.”
(How do you feel yourself coming along in this defense and what do you think of Defensive Coordinator’s Anthony Weaver’s scheme?) – “We do so much. So many guys do so many different things. They ask everybody to be able to play and do so many different responsibilities. I enjoy it, man. I just love how we’re all coming together, all working for the same task, for the same goal. Genuinely it’s been fun, I’m enjoying it. Not even just the Xs and Os, but just the people, the tone that Coach Weaver sets, I’ve been enjoying it and it’s definitely been fun.”
(Having gone against WR Terry McLaurin, and WR Johan Dotson so often in practice and linking back up with them today, is there some familiarity there?) – “Yeah, 100%. Me and Terry (McLaurin) have been going together the last four years. It’s been fun to get out there, get lined up on them. There was one route they ran where he was like, ‘Man, I kind of knew you weren’t going to jump it.’ He was able to get me on a route and things like that. So it takes you back. Fun to compete against them again and it’s going to be fun to compete on Saturday as well.”
(You’ve been on a championship team in Kansas City. Is there a common theme that championship teams have that you guys are hoping to instill here?) – “Yeah, if I tried to put it simple – great talent and great standards. If I had to just make it simple. I think we have great talent, and I think we’re building great standards. So we just got to keep putting that work in every single day.”
(I know it’s only joint practices, but did you notice anything different going against WR Terry McLaurin in the offense now versus when you were up against him the last few years?) – “Yeah, they were definitely stretching the field. Especially early on, they were quick tempo stretching the field. That first period they definitely came out strong. As a defense, we’ve got to be able to handle that adversity whenever we face it early on. Just how much quick tempo they had, the talent they have, the quarterback they have, it definitely is a great offense to go against. So many different guys, so many different playmakers, but definitely just how much they stretch the field and the tempo that they play with.”
Thursday, August 15, 2024
T Terron Armstead
(How does it feel right now as you continue to sort of uptick your practice participation, get closer to maybe more team stuff to come possibly?) – “I feel good. I feel real good. I’ve been knocking the rust off, got some team work the other day – I think Tuesday. It was fun. It’s great being back in there with the guys, moving around, moving people. I love it.”
(Were you trying to vouch for some joint practice play out there today?) – “Yeah, I tried to get the first rack of team but sticking to the plan and to the protocols, so I turned away a little bit.”
(How much do you feel like this has helped your body and will help you during the regular season?) – “I don’t think there’s a way to truly know. I think it’s just being smart as far as everything that we can do in a preventative aspect, but football is football. You still go out there, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do full speed so I’m going to have to be in there hitting, clashing, all that good stuff anyway. So I think it’s just kind of taking a load off the body as much as we can.”
(When you see CB Kendall Fuller get, I guess, the game-clinching pick there at the end and celebrate in front of his ex-team. Just kind of take us through that moment, how special it is to see a guy succeed like that in front of his ex-team?) – “You can tell the impact that Kendall (Fuller) has brought to this team already. He’s a joy to be around, guys love him in the locker room and on the field. He’s a leader. Not the most vocal guy, but he’s a very consistent pro which you love to see. He’s always on his game, always on his technique so it’s only fitting for him to be the one to get that interception in practice against his former team.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said the other day that you can tell the belief you guys have in the running backs by the way you’ve blocked for them. I was wondering what belief you have in these running backs. Can you describe that?) – “We have a stable. We do. We do have a stable. Very dynamic. A lot of speed and then you’ve got guys that have their own unique styles, too, so ‘SA’ (Salvon Ahmed) comes in and he just flashes in his own way. De’Von (Achane), Raheem (Mostert), the young rook (Jaylen Wright), too. So we have a lot of guys that can hit home runs. So up front it definitely gives you a boost of energy and you know you don’t got to do too much. You get your man and it’s a chance to be a home run.”
(How quickly has that belief come with the rookie like that? You guys believe in him to block for him?) – “We believe in him for sure. You see the talent. You see the ability. He’s still learning. He’s still growing, but he has a lot of game and a lot of confidence, too.”
(A question to follow up if I can – you haven’t played in a preseason game in years. What is training camp like for you? What are you focusing on? What are you trying to do day to day?) – “I think that’s the key to day to day. Just daily improvement, working my technique, cardio, conditioning. Get my hands right, get my eyes right. Just be ready to play football. So I don’t think it’s this year, last year. I think every day is its own day and I try to just go out and improve every day.”
(And then what about helping others? How much are you – you’ve got some youngsters – I get the impression you counsel them quite a bit?) – “For sure. For sure, that’s part of it. That’s part of it. The knowledge I receive and the knowledge that I still get, I try to give it back and try to explain it in a way that’s easily retained. We’ve got a great group of young guys. We do. Every one of those young guys, I believe will be on an NFL roster. So there’s a lot of talent in that room and they come to work the right way. We have a standard in that room. We try to fly off the ball. We try to be physical and set the pocket in pass pro and those guys, they come live up to it every day and it’s hard in training camp. It’s the hardest part of the year, so to be able to do it and put your best foot forward every day; those guys are receiving coaching and advice and they’re taking it all in stride. I love that room.”
(What makes you confident that OL Rob Jones is ready to step up and be the starter next to you?) – “He’s proven. He’s proven. He’s still young, but he’s got games under his belt against high-level talent. He’s proven. He’s a dawg. He’s physical, he’s strong, he’s smart, he’s tough. Everything that you want in a player. I love playing next to him.”
(Back to your students, what stood out to you about what T Patrick Paul did in the preseason opener?) – “His pass pro is looking really clean. He’s getting a lot of – he’s finding his patience in his pass sets. He’s long. He’s 6’14. (laughter) So he’s able to use his length and he’s keeping his feet in the ground. Still got some things that I want to see from him on a more consistent basis, but he’s starting to see more flashes of the dominance that he has in his body, his toolbox, and that will continue to show more consistently. Pat (Patrick Paul) has been great. He goes after it every day hard, physical. He’s freaky athletic. He’s tough. But then the tools that he’s got, the God-given gifts that he has, to be able to use those as well – more experience, more knowledge, he’ll be just fine.”
(You’ve been around a while and have a good perspective on the games everybody hears. What do you think this team has learned maybe the last year, the last couple years that have helped going into this one?) – “Yeah, I think the focus is on us. Like we’re not looking at anything outside the division, the conference, the league. We’re focusing on us and our daily intent, our daily mentality. We know we have a talented team, we know we’re going to win games. Now it gets to winning those big games, winning those big moments, the games that we’re not necessarily supposed to win, all that good stuff. And you can’t show and prove until that time comes, but in the meantime, we chip away. We’re working to be ready – to be physically, mentally, emotionally, ready for all those moments.”
(I’m sure you’ve blocked in every run scheme imaginable to man.) – “That’s a fact.”
(How much fun is it, if fun is the right word, to be on the installs for Head Coach Mike McDaniel and Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith’s run game installs because it seems to us like it’s pretty different every single…?) – “It’s great. They find ways to continue to innovate. They continue to evolve the run game. They put the defense in bonds that’s advantageous for us as far as leverage, and then they allow the o-line to be playmakers. So I’m able to get up to the second level, the corner, or maybe even a safety, things that in most run game schemes you don’t necessarily do. You’re usually blocking a d-end or double teaming on a d-tackle or something like that, but be able to get up to linebackers, corners and all that, I feel like I get a chance to make a play.”
(This team is known obviously for the two guys on the outside and QB Tua Tagovailoa and how effective you are at passing. And yet we know how diverse and talented the running back corps is. How does that affect the offensive linemen for one, knowing that teams have to defend both and how beneficial is it to this team’s long-range hopes to go somewhere?) – “Yeah, we’ve got weapons. We have weapons all over the field and we’re not apologizing for it. I want all of them out there. We’ll all be out there at the same time, and o-line, we’re going to be a weapon for us, too. We’re going to fly off the ball. We’re going to move people and give those guys an opportunity to make plays. So we know about the two guys outside, as you should. You better game plan for those two and the ones in the backfield and up front, we’ve got to do our job, too, to allow them to get the ball in their hands with space and they can make plays.”
(Flying off the ball is a phrase that I hear a lot this camp with the offensive line. They say that you guys have been doing very well at it. What does that mean? What does that look like?) – “It’s an intent. It’s a mentality. It’s an approach to knock a defensive line off the ball and then you see it consistently and you watch the sideline copy of the film and you see two yards of push off the ball. That’s automatically a two-yard gain before the running back ever gets touched, you know what I mean? So those are body blows. Those are body blows to a team, to a defense and it gives us confidence and gives us energy up front to know that we’re dominating the front like that. We have a chance to win a lot of games, a lot of games.”
(Those skirmishes that happen out there, I feel like that’s become kind of standard in training camp. You’re one of the most respected voices I’m sure in that locker room. How do you view those?) – “That’s a part of it, really. Tempers are very brolic, alpha male kind of sport. People get pushy. It’s hot, all that good stuff. But football fights, it really is nothing to even discuss.”
Thursday, August 15, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(In the history of time, we sometimes see teams that have a backup quarterback battle, some days Joe Schmoe will be the first one to enter, some days Fred Schmoe might be the first one to enter behind the starter. So I was curious, and without getting into specific names in the question, I’m curious, what has led to you not taking that approach in recent days, of necessarily alternating second-team quarterback and where that competition stands?) – “So that’s a great question because without me answering it you’d have no clue why. I’m here to provide the why for Barry, and Barry only, nobody else. (laughter) Every year presents new challenges; we have guys that have developed in our offense and have done so from Day 1 in a competitive environment. We’re very routine with the pattern with which we were giving the opportunities to quarterbacks up until this training camp, really between Mike (White) and Skylar (Thompson). We were very routine – this day twos, next day threes. So in the vain of competition, putting our heads together from a staff perspective, we felt like that routine in itself might not be doing justice to the players and that the competitiveness would be best served if we changed up the routine for the change sake, because with that, there’s so many competing variables to deal with as a quarterback. Particularly a backup quarterback that is in charge of leading a team to victory if Tua goes down. All of those things, all of those challenges, we get to evaluate with not only the player playing in the huddle, but then how does someone respond when you get less reps, which is kind of the nature of backup quarterbacks. So all evaluation tools with the intent of not making it as consistent, but over the whole scope of camp to be able to make sure that those are even but just patternize it a little differently to make sure that the competition stays fresh. We allow the players to tell us who two and who three are, just like at every other position, because I see better than I hear.”
(So QB Tua Tagovailoa wants to play this preseason game. Will he and the rest of the starters?) – “I think – I anticipated this question. So I thought, how can I responsibly answer it and just be honest? Well, the idea from a starting point is that I want some starters to play in the game. Now to say exactly which individuals those are, specifically with the collection of injuries that you have to manage and not really knowing what takes place today, we’ll make some final assessments on who those players are going to be as a staff tomorrow. But approaching it and as I’ve explained to the players, the approach will be that the guys that are known starters, with exceptions but the starting point is that they will get some action this game, and then we’ll take it case by case from there.”
(Can you provide any sort of update on where LB Bradley Chubb stands in his recovery?) – “The update is that it’s going much like the ongoing conversations have been about Jaelan Phillips in that no timeline, making sure that he has no setbacks in the whole process and I can tell you with exuberance that there’s been no setbacks. He’s progressing, and we will – making sure that when he’s on the field, he’s there to stay. So he is doing a great job understanding his role to the team, a very important player for this team. He might be one of the if not the most popular player on the team – I don’t think there’s a teammate that he can’t reach, and with that connectivity there’s some responsibility that goes there for the organization. So he’s been very wise beyond his years in terms of making sure he doesn’t in the heat of competitiveness overstep boundaries too soon, so happy where he’s at.”
(How challenging do you think the Washington defensive front might be in today’s practice?) – “I think it’s going to be a great competitive challenge. You hope to have opportunities like this in a practice setting where you can have not only an adjustment scheme but have really good players in the scheme doing their techniques and fundamentals. It’s the absolute best way to make the day matter and get a game-like experience. So I’m really excited for that, and it’s excitement to get better. Really good players generally have some good plays, so I think understanding that and knowing that the whole unit will definitely challenge us. I have a lot of history with the head coach and I know a lot of the guys that are coaching over there, they’re going to compete and that’s all we try to do each and every day. I’m sure the really good players are going to try to compete, that’s why they’re really good players, so it will be awesome for us.”
(In practice today, have you guys structured it where you’re going to see ones versus ones, twos versus twos? Will you mix it up ones versus twos?) – “This practice you’ll see a lot of ones versus ones, twos versus twos. You can have whys and reasons to do things a multitude of ways, that’s something that I know from experience with Coach Quinn that he’s had that philosophy. The good on good, it’s been said to me for years. And we share that, so there was some congruence there, and that’s what you should expect for the most part. There’s always adjustments, particularly when two teams have their own set of issues with regard to what position is really stressed that day relative to the whole 90-man roster. So there will always be a little give and take depending on how many reps a person can get, how many times that we can give their defense a personnel that necessitates big nickel versus nickel, that determines how many nickel reps that gets. So if people get extra reps, you might see some guys that are the ones going with the twos or vice versa, because of some adjustments but for the most part, it should be ones versus ones.”
(Sort of a philosophical roster question for you. How do you balance the idea of taking a look at all the reps that occurred back in OTAs, early camp, all the way up until cut down day? Is that the approach, or is it more like you took that time to build up to who you are today on this cutoff day, and then we’re evaluating who you are at that point?) – “No, it makes sense. It is something that I think is only – the only way I know how to truly do right by the evaluation of all of our players, for not only the individual players, but for the organization, collectively having a ton of conversations. And then what to me is the only way to approach it is investing every day in guys’ stories on the field and seeing how they adjust to turmoil, seeing where – you want to be in front of that stuff, so you always have things to coach to see if the pattern is that you’re trending up. Then at the moment of truth, that trend probably speaks more than the exact player at that moment. You can justifiably, with good reason, forecast the future by that trend, and if the trend is inverse, you take that into account. I think all the things, the main thing that I think players that have been here, for this being their third year, have seen firsthand, and the players feel it during the course of camp. We don’t pretend to know the final answer. I think that’s super important, because I think you have to stay true to what is your primary importance, or what is the thing that is of primary importance, and to me, that is that players get to determine who should be on the team, who by their actions, and not by predisposed, like everybody wins if the Dolphins are their best version of themselves. So we just push that, paying attention to everything and where guys are at is very important, and sometimes there’s a caveat of assessing trends, because you’ve been along for the journey the whole time and can plausibly forecast.”
(Yesterday, TE Julian Hill talked a lot about the pressure that comes with the orange jersey, both on the field but also on the aux. The orange jersey was something that you brought when you joined the organization. What was behind that? And also, this year who’s had the best playlist?) – “I have to give credit where credit is due. I think the idea was a problem – I was presenting a problem to the offensive staff, I think, at the time. And the problem was I can’t – yeah, I have a lot of fire songs and my music is awesome, but I can’t keep up with just the daily grind of keeping guys involved in practice through some music and some juice. On top of that, music is identifying me as old, because there’s some stuff that I’m like, what? I feel like that same old guy that you know that is cursing whatever music you like when you’re growing up. So in that (Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach) Jon Embree came with an idea of like, ‘Why don’t you have a player everyday kind of decide the playlist?’ That fitting my competitive spirit, or the competitive spirit is hoping to engender with practice, we thought it was kind of a cool idea to really highlight somebody to the team in a productive way to bring acknowledgement to the day of practice they’ve had and everything accumulated to that. And then really, I found out through the process that people really – they’re happy about that. They love the playlist. They love forcing the will of the listeners, one of the rules about the orange jersey is that there’s no such thing – you don’t complain about the music during practice, because if you don’t like the music, change the music. You know what I mean? So if you don’t like Liam Eichenberg’s playlist, all right, put on a show against him when he’s wearing the orange jersey and you can have a playlist, and you can truly show the audience how much better your musical ear is than theirs. So it’s a fun thing we like doing, and guys seem to like it. There is pressure like unintended consequence every single time, if I give an orange jersey to a defensive lineman, the offensive line takes it as an offense. If an offensive line gets an orange jersey, you better believe people are lining up to go against him in one on ones. That’s a competitive spirit that I appreciate and we do a good job protecting the team and protecting each other, so something I embrace.”
(You touched on Dan Quinn earlier. Can you speak to the influence he had on your career those couple years in Atlanta?) – “Two years can be a short time, or it can be a very, very impactful time. I was with Dan (Quinn) in Atlanta for two years, and from head coaching perspective, he approached the job from a different angle that kind of fit what I think you guys see today from a lot of vantage points. The culture, the energy, setting the tonality on a daily basis, these are things that the guys that worked for Dan, it was something that you really held on to and I know I’ve held on to it for all the years since. Then as well as just being – I was very, very fortunate to hit life in one of my crossroads under his leadership in an organization that he was the head coach of. I don’t know where I’d be if – it could have looked a lot of different ways if you didn’t have support when you were going through your journey of becoming sober. It’s a very different ball game if from the top, from Dan Quinn, if he’s not saying, ‘No, you can do this.’ His belief in me, as well as a lot of the coaching staff there, aided with my wife’s belief in me made it a lot easier to do something that’s been very important in my life. So love the man, the human being, the coach. All you need to know is listen to some player quotes about Dan Quinn that he’s coached. He’s a great man, I’m excited to see him today.”
(He loves you, by the way, said it during his press conference.) – “Oh, yeah? Really? Can you tell Dan Quinn through the through the internet that I love him more? (laughter) Appreciate it.”
(Is anything in particular you’re looking for when today’s joint practice?) – “I’m looking for today to matter. I say that to the players a ton, and you can make today matter for your season, the team, if you’re fully committed and invested with the right mindset and focus for the job at hand. Trimming the fat, cutting out – there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of exuberance in joint practices and having your mind through competition, still toward the team goal and the unit goal and your job each and every play, that type of mindset adds up and builds over the course of training camp that allows you to play your most convicted football in regular season, or allows you to play the most convicted football for this preseason game, which for a lot of participants, is as important as a game could get. I just want it to matter, and how it matters is through intent. Are you prepared? Have you taken all the stuff that we’ve learned? Are you heeding to the points of emphasis, and then how do you respond to the inevitable play that the opposing team makes? All those things are what I’m looking for, because I don’t know exactly what, I just know today will matter if we operate accordingly.”
(With WR Erik Ezukanma, I just wanted to ask your thoughts on where he stands. Obviously, he’s come back from injury. Does the skill set still intrigue you and Wide Receivers/Pass Game Specialist Wes Welker where you feel like there’s a lot more that we can get out of this young player as he develops?) – “Of course, I think that is kind of our model here with regard to what is our position as coaches. As coaches, we’re trying to maximize the talent of every player in their recognized dream. Erik (Ezukanma) had a great day yesterday; I think he was the fastest GPS player. I think guys are excited to be a part of his journey and absolutely, we are pouring into him to see what can come out.”
