Miami Dolphins LB Andrew Van Ginkel
(How much were you ready for a game like this?) – “We talked about it all week. We had to bounce back, obviously when you give up 48 points, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth, so we came together as a defense and we told each other that we had to play as one. Play as a team and everybody do your job so when you can come out and put pressure on the quarterback and get DBs playing aggressive, we were really shutting down receivers, that’s what it is all about. I think Coach Fangio did a wonderful job putting us in positions to succeed today.”
(How much of this team is a team like you said, like offense and defense?) – “We play off each other and I think there’s just a love between each and every single one of us. We just go out there and play for each other, have fun. That’s the ultimate goal, and to bring home a dub.”
Miami Dolphins CB Xavien Howard
(How great was it to see the defense go out there and put it on them today?) – “It was great. (Inaudible), making plays, getting off the field. We just got to keep it going, keep striving and get ready for next week.”
(When you practice against this offense on a regular basis, how much does that prepare you for games like this and other games throughout the season?) – “It prepares us a lot. Especially upfront in the trenches. I feel like I don’t really see people guarding Tyreek (Hill) outside. Kind of bigger guys, but no guys really with that speed though. Going against that offense, they bring their game and they also make us up our game.”
(As a defense, what worked most the most bouncing back from last week?) – “We just have to stick together, keep chopping wood, keep getting better, learning from mistakes we made last week. The head coach, he was at Buffalo, so we expected more plays that Buffalo ran on us that they were successful with so we were prepared for it.”
(What’s it like to watch Tyreek Hill? You never know what he’s going to do. He’s in the stands giving the ball to his mom, what’re you thinking when you’re watching that?) – “That’s exciting, man. That guy makes plays. Like you said, you never know what he’s going to do. He keeps us on our toes on defense playing the way he does.”
Miami Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert
(Were there some emotions present today?) – “Yeah, I actually lost my grandfather yesterday and it was tough. This whole entire week was pretty tough for me, but I didn’t let my emotion get the best of me or I didn’t try to pour my emotions alongside my teammates because I knew this game, like many other games was very important. I lost my grandfather yesterday right before team meetings and I just sat there and I knew the time was coming just because the state he was in. He was super skinny and I’m glad I wasn’t able to see him physically because I would have just been completely shut down and you guys probably wouldn’t have seen me for quite some time. But everything happens for a reason, and you just got to look at the positive side. I know deep down, he’s looking at me and he’s proud. That’s all I could ever think of right now and I’m going to go back to my family and I’m going to spend quality family time with them.”
(He was a big football fan, a big fan of yours?) – “Yeah, he was a big fan of mine, big Dolphins fan, my first ever NFL game was actually back when I was 12 years old. Me and him drove down from my hometown to watch the Dolphins play against the Patriots and I got to watch Ricky Williams play for the first time. So that memory is always going to stick with me, tailgating, I never experienced it other than when I was a little kid with him. First time I ever tried Tabasco sauce and I thought it was just gross. So yeah, those memories, I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, he won’t be here with me physically, but I know that he’s going to be here with me spiritually.”
(Having said that, how much of a release is it to be on that field and do what you guys were able to do today?) – “Yeah, it’s a huge release. When you get the opportunity to put some points on the board and dominate on offense, everybody is going left and right. I think that that’s the most important thing, especially when we had a falter last week, and to be able to just carry over our mentality into the next week, we just got to keep it going and we’re trying to build a strong case over here, but we’re not satisfied for sure.”
Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill
(On his touchdown celebration) – “My mom told me before the game, when we were riding over here, she was like ‘I need to be a part of your touchdown celebration today.’ I was like, ‘Mama, I’m going to get fined.’ And she was like, ‘I don’t care about that. I just need to be a part of today. Like make it about mama.’ So when I scored, I was calling her down and she was making her way down. And when I gave it to her, a guy took it. Somebody took it. But my mom, she’s a bulldog. She’s like, ‘Give me my ball.’ So you already know it. I got a flag for it, but it was worth it though. Team Mom all day.”
(I know you guys like throwing it around, but how great was it to watch your offense impose their will on that one drive where they ran it all the way down? ) – “That was crazy. That’s just a credit to the offensive line working their tail off during this whole entire week. Understanding the scheme, understanding exactly what looks they’re going to be giving us. Also the wideouts, too. We got to show the wideouts some love, the tight ends some love, too.”
(What does this say about your offense when all your skill players find the end zone and get a touchdown? Yourself, RB De’Von Achane, WR Jaylen Waddle, RB Raheem Mostert. It’s crazy.) – “We’re just having fun, and that just goes to show this team isn’t just a one-man show. You got guys all around the field that can make special plays. I’m excited. I’m very thankful to be on this team, and I just enjoy being the fastest each and every day.”
Miami Dolphins DT Zach Sieler
(What the defense was able to do today. Outside the couple of picks and the field goals that they got, you guys pretty much shut the Giants down. I’m sure as a defense, that’s got to make you guys feel great.) – “Feels good. We do need to get more turnovers, though. That 3-0 ratio is not good. We got to get to the ball and keep growing on that aspect.”
(When you were watching film last week and you saw how many sacks they gave up, what were you guys thinking as a defensive line?” – “Honestly, truly, it doesn’t matter what happened last week. Just look at us last week. We didn’t have the best week last week. We made the corrections on Monday and learned from that and you assume they do the same. The first thing we say is you can’t rush the passer, so you stop the run. That’s something we always live by every week.”
Miami Dolphins RB De’Von Achane
(You got to be amazed at what you’re doing right now in your first season at NFL.) – “Yeah man, I mean, you don’t really just expect that. Credit to the o-line. They make everything easy for me. But like you said, you don’t just expect that for the rookie to come up and perform the way I have been performing. So I just hope that I can keep it up.”
(Your confidence has to be at a sky-high right now. How do you explain it in your own words?) – “It’s always about confidence. Like even after the fumble that I had I still had confidence in myself. Everybody fumbles, but you don’t want to. But you’ve just got to get past that play and I was able to make up for it. If I didn’t, if I would have been still on the fumble, I probably would have even kept having more mistakes. But it’s football, man. So you’re going to make mistakes and it’s just how you come back from it.”
(I know you’re on the offensive side of the ball, but the way the defense had played today, you have to be impressed.) – “For sure. Always. The d-line, they’re amazing. I’ve seen it from when I first got in during training camp and OTAs, just them making plays and I’d hate to be on the other side of that, running against them. I’m glad that I’m on their team, but they make plays for us and they get the stops and we get on the field and we’re just trying to put up points.”
Miami Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle
(Talk about the bounce back though after picking up your first L of the season and coming back today with a lot of firepower on the field.) – “Yeah, we always want to protect home. It was one that we wanted. We wanted to make last week a learning lesson for us coming into the game. So I think we learned from it. We still got a lot to grow from throughout the year and throughout this game, so we’re going to come back and just try to keep building.”
(You always hear that comment: “Iron sharpens iron.” The way your defense played today – the offense you guys have, you guys prepared them for things like this. How impressed were you with the defense the way they played today?) – “I’m very impressed. I wasn’t surprised at all. I know it was real big for them to get back on track and know the standard that they play at and just show it out to the world. We already know what they’re capable of, so coming out here on Sunday, they were playing free, making plays left and right. So we expect that from them.”
(Your touchdown. QB Tua Tagovailoa gave you a little extra time to get open and put it up high for you. What did you see on that play?) – “I saw him trying to escape, so just trying to mirror the quarterback. (Tua) came out, put it up high. He ended up falling on the escape, so he made a play. He put it up there for me and allowed me to go out there and come down with it.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Q. We just talked to QB Tua Tagovailoa a few minutes back, and he was telling us about Tyreek’s touchdown.
MIKE McDANIEL: Yeah, apparently he stole my thunder. I wanted to unveil that he’s now a play caller, as well. That’s one of the moments that in the story of his journey that is indicative of where he’s at. I just know the way that we were able to move the ball a little bit and then those turnovers and the picks, last year it would have been hard to get him out of that, just how mad he would be at himself and all the disciplined work that he’s done with mind, body and soul, to be in a moment like that and just take the game into his own hands, that’s what you’re trying to build. It was a really cool moment that when you’re watching the formation set up, I am not composed because I’m like, what the – you just don’t know. You have no idea. It’s hard to visualize what play he actually called because you’re just thinking that nine people are messed up. Then that’s the type of stuff that you can’t manufacture, to be able to have the wherewithal to say, you know what, let’s put it in mine and Tyreek’s hands. I’m just very, very proud of him. Sometimes the messy games are my favorite with regard to that stuff. You turn the ball over, that’s hard. But the best way to separate yourself is to be able to come back from that and progress forward and not let other plays linger, and there’s very few guys that could pull it off.
Q. As you’re watching this formation that you did not call for, how close were you to calling time-out and getting guys back to the sideline?
MIKE McDANIEL: Well, if people – like typically, I was processing it at live speed, and since other guys weren’t looking around, they were convicted in whatever they were doing. A lot of times that’s the most important play that you can have is people that believe in whatever is going on. To me, the thought crossed my mind immediately when they broke the huddle and people were on the wrong side, and then once I saw people moving with conviction, I was like, hey, let’s see what play caller Tua has for us. (laughter) And I would advise him to be very choice with his selections because right now his percentage as a play caller is outstanding.
Q. He said that he told you he didn’t hear the call. Is that just his story to be able to get this play in?
MIKE McDANIEL: The story is kind of whatever we say it is, huh? I mean, whatever. (laughter) The whole idea is a bunch of people working together, and it’s all of the players, coaches, the team. It’s all our offense. The players will always be the ones that make it come to life. Shoot, if he thinks he’s got a better thought than I do, I would prefer him to do that. Whether he heard or not, he knows for a fact that regardless of what happens, if he’s able to execute out there that I’m not going to be mad at it. I definitely was not upset while I watched Tyreek run down the sidelines.
Q. Moving forward, will you maybe give him a little bit more latitude as far as doing this again?
MIKE McDANIEL: I mean, if you guys are worried about the play caller and you guys are asking for a new one, he’s probably the best one to do it. I think everything is about evolution and growing. We do give him liberties within the offense from a progression standpoint. I think he prefers to just kind of go and let it play or let it play out, but if you can – sure. He can double down as – he can call all the plays for all I care. (laughter) I think that’s the type of mindset that everyone has is we’re not really trying to sit here and talk about credit. This is a group that is achieving certain things collectively. The players in the locker room were talking about how we should get better, and that is kind of the sole focus as we progress. It’s not about opponents. It’s about what we’re doing, where we’re at with our game. It was a tremendous job by our defense to handle a three-turnover output by the offense, as well. There’s a lot of good stuff coming from it.
Q. You guys have now gained more yards through five games than any team in NFL history. The record you broke belonged to the ’99 Rams. Certainly that’s hallowed ground in the National Football League. When you hear something like that, what is your reaction?
MIKE McDANIEL: Mission accomplished. We had the whole time, the whole off-season, that was our goal was output after five games. (laughter) I mean, I think it speaks to what the group is capable of and you’re honored to be in the same breath for any statistical reason. But when push comes to shove, I think it speaks to a lot of deliberate hard work from a lot of human beings, players, coaches, everyone. But I think all that means is that people are going to give you their best shot, and you’d better continue to work and progress in your game if you’re going to be satisfied because you’re going to have a bull’s-eye on your back, and that’s kind of what you want in general because you want people’s best shot because you want to be your best and you want to play your best to do that. It’s cool, but it’s like literally, whatever, like five weeks. It’s not that exciting.
Q. After Tua’s second pick, you called seven run plays on the eight-play scoring drive. How intentional was that, and regardless how valuable has the run game been for the Dolphins offense in Year 2?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think it was the time in the game. It was definitely intentional. It was the time of the game that I felt like, shame on me if I didn’t put it in the ball carrier and the o-line’s hands because I felt like they had a nice competitive advantage at that moment. That’s huge for what we’re trying to build, to try to be able to win games handing the ball off for the type of respect that our pass game really gets. It’s monumental, and that’s something I can tell that the team, really got them going. You’re hoping that you can continue that whole process. But shoot, I’m just happy for the guys that got to execute that stuff because if you guys had it your way, they all would have been ran out of town. Just kidding, guys. C’mon, too soon? What’s going on here? (laughter)
Q. Regarding the run game, I walked up late on RB Raheem Mostert in the locker room, but I think he said his grandfather passed recently. Did you notice any extra emotion in him today or this week?
MIKE McDANIEL: No, I knew exactly what we’d get out of Raheem today. He was a hard guy to tackle because he was playing not just for what he usually plays for, but with a heavy heart, as well. So yeah, Raheem is a wonderful human being, inside and out, and I’ve learned to have expectation. I told him earlier – I told really the offense on Friday that there’s a part of me when Raheem fumbles, I get kind of excited in a weird way. Over time, learning Raheem, yeah, the fumble sucks. But I know what we’re going to get next week. On top of that, when he had a heavy heart, he knows one way to try to at least make the best of football situations, and that’s putting forth his best effort, and I thought his – we didn’t have the ball long enough to get him the ball enough, and there were a lot of guys that were getting touches, but he did phenomenal with his reps for sure.
Q. This game was a bit of a statistical anomaly in that you lost the turnover battle 3-0, 11 minutes less of possession than the Giants, and you won by double digits. Will that be sort of indicative because you score so quickly, time of possession isn’t necessarily a stat that reflects your team as it would other teams?
MIKE McDANIEL: Well, you know, there is a lot – I think there’s a lot that goes into it. I think it speaks to what the defense was doing. The Giants had a lot of opportunities to make plays, and even if they were converting 1st downs, there was no quit. There was absolutely no quit. I thought in the later part of the game, too, you’re worried about guys being tired, and I thought that specifically the pass rush and then the coverage in terms of what a lot of people call plastering, which is matching your eligibles when the quarterback breaks the pocket, that’s what allowed for that to happen. They didn’t let the guys get in the end zone, so we had more points. It’s definitely not the formula you want to really live by because more often than not, that’s why it’s an anomaly, but that’s why as a team we can’t overreact to anything negative that crosses our path. When you have people playing together, you can overcome a lot, like a pick six and a minus-three day.
Q. I assume you’re the primary play caller on opening drives and you’ve now scored on all of them but the one where there was a turnover at the 2-yard line. I think Tua is completing 85 percent of his passes on those drives. How much work goes into just that, just the opener in terms of what you script, what you don’t script, because obviously that’s been very effective this year?
MIKE McDANIEL: It’s a bunch – it’s so much work accumulated by players. Like all the things that are happening, they’re executing. They’re prepared to do it against multiple looks. That speaks to their preparation and their ownership of when we go through it, go through the openers, they’re the ones that are executing it. Sometimes we get what we’re practicing against. Like today we saw absolutely positively an extreme version of an antithesis of the defense that we prepared for. They came out in a different personnel package and played coverages they’ve never played before. To be able to do that and to have players not even blink means that they’re super prepared, on top of the fact that their coaches have taught them the appropriate way to digest the defense so when there is a defense that you haven’t prepared for, they’re able to still execute their job. It’s a group effort. I can promise you whatever plays that I call, if the players don’t really, really invest into what we’re doing and execute at a high level, those plays suck.
Q. How satisfying is it to get a successful challenge especially…
MIKE McDANIEL: I almost went in the locker room. I did it. (laughter) No, I don’t really – I really don’t care about losing challenges in terms of – like it’s all situational. There’s sometimes I kind of lend myself – I’m a little aggressive when I know it’s a big play because I don’t really worry about the percentages of failure. It’s more about, like, is it appropriate for the team? If my reputation is that I have terrible judgment towards challenging officials’ calls, I’m cool with that. It was good that – I was pumped about the communication from Danny Crossman, the special teams coach, who was absolutely on it, and on game day when you look another coach in the eye, and you’re like, are you sure, because I’m going to throw this and I will be a moron if you’re not right, and he didn’t blink, which helped me execute that. I did laugh. There was a couple guys that gave me crap on the sidelines, so people let me know that my ratio is terrible. That’s fine.
Q. You said something about WR Tyreek Hill, if you want to get the best out of Tyreek you have to make it a competition. This week he took offense that RB De’Von Achane was the fastest player in the NFL. Today he posted his 22 speed. Are you surprised by that?
MIKE McDANIEL: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. He’s different, man. He is different. When he harnesses a competitive situation, there’s not many like it. I know for a fact that he’s just a prideful individual, prideful of everything he does and very glad that we have him on our team because I definitely notice his competitive issues, and I poke and prod them a lot. The guys know that they’re going to get his best effort.
Q. Of course this was the return of Connor Williams to the offensive line after missing out against Buffalo. Talk about his impact on the o-line, specifically when it comes to protecting Tua.
MIKE McDANIEL: He did a phenomenal job. He willed himself to play in this game. If you go by standard measurement of injury and timeline, he exceeded that, and it’s very impactful. It was very impactful for our whole group in general because he’s really taken a step in his game. One of the things that he does very well that we’re kind of spoiled with is his ability to anchor the pocket. That’s huge. I think our interior line has done a really good job with that relative to any season that I’ve had, and I think that Connor’s frustration at not being able to play with his teammates last week, it was so evident. I think it also charged up a lot of his teammates because he was – I mean, viscerally just angry that we lost a game that he didn’t play in. So he was going to make sure that there was no way he was going to stay off the field. Shoot, that’s the type of guy that teammates love.
QB Tua Tagovailoa
Q. Obviously it’s important to take care of business especially at home, but you guys had I think it was 10 yards per play offensively today; what did you have going right for you?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think a lot of things were going right for us. If we just stuck with our plan and we stuck with our rules for each play, I think things were going really smooth. There were just times where we were misaligned, things didn’t play within the structure of our offense and things just got out of hand with some plays. But outside of that, I would say that’s how the game went.
Q. Would you touch on the resolve following the pick six, scoring right before the half and then the big touchdown coming back after halftime.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, things happen. Obviously poor decision on my part when we already have points given the time that’s also on the clock. Two-minute drive, you either want to end the ball with points or you just want to end the half with the ball. That was a poor decision on my part. But it’s football. You’re going to make mistakes. It’s really how you come back and how you continue to play. That’s really how I took that. That’s really how our guys took that, as well.
Q. You’re completing more than 80 percent of your passes on your first drive this year. How comfortable have you been with the plan going into each game?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I’m very comfortable, regardless of what Mike (McDaniel) has, whether it’s on-script, off-script of plays that we like or plays that are, okay, we’re calling this play. I didn’t really like this play throughout the week, but play callers sort of – put myself in the play caller’s mind frame – and as I go out there, that’s really how it ends up happening with how I see the field.
Q. No team has gained more yards through the first five games than the Dolphins. You broke the record today. You scored 31, 500 yards despite three turnovers. How do you view that dynamic, the fact that you were able to have that performance despite not playing a clean game?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I think that says a lot about the guys that we have on both sides of the ball. In order for us to do that offensively, we’ve got to get the ball back, and in order for us to be able to do that, we’ve really got to all play together. In order for me to pass the ball, the guys got to block, and in order for the runners to run the ball, our guys got to block. I think they’ve done a tremendous job up front today and turnovers happen regardless of what the game is, and I don’t think any of the guys blinked. There was no swing of emotion. I felt throughout the locker room and throughout the guys when we would come to the sideline, it was just, hey, we’ve got your back, we’ve got your back, and we’re going to go and continue to play.
Q. Obviously late in the week the team traded for WR Chase Claypool. I know he wasn’t playing today, but on the sideline did you get to have any sort of interactions with him? What was he like there?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I didn’t have much interaction. Chase (Claypool) did say good luck out there, and I told him thank you. But I got to say what’s up to him at the team hotel last night, got to chop it up a little bit and things like that. But it’s an ever-growing thing with why things happen to certain people. The media has a way of how they portray certain individuals. I think this is an opportunity for guys in our locker room to see who he is and for him to express himself to the guys in the locker room. We’re going to base our opinions and things about Chase or any other person that we end up acquiring off of really our own opinions.
Q. There’s an ongoing feud between who’s the fastest Dolphin. I’m sure you’re quite aware of it. Today WR Tyreek Hill actually got to the No. 1 spot. He’s at 22 now. He’s at 22 miles per hour. Obviously RB De’Von Achane had another nice run, elevated himself, as well. You guys have seven of the fastest times this season. How much does that help you offensively?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: That helps us a lot. That helps us a lot. It’s a big play and it’s more. It’s not where you reach the second level and okay, he’s probably going to get tackled. You’re really thinking, once you see it one time, it’s hard for you to un-see it. When those guys get the ball in space, you’re really thinking they’re going to go and score with that. That’s what that is.
Q. How much do they talk about the times and the speeds and the miles per hour?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I would say for those guys, it’s weird because fast guys don’t really – they don’t necessarily talk about how fast they are; they’re just fast. But then when you bring it up in conversation, then that’ll get those guys boiled up.
Q. You touched on this earlier, after both interceptions you came back and you scored a field goal and then a touchdown after the half and then a touchdown. When you go back out after that, after making a mistake, is there a little bit of a different mindset to make sure it’s something that you kind of atone for, I guess?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I would say when I came into the league, it was a lot different when I would throw an interception, the mindset I’d have. I’d throw an interception, and I’d feel the need to press and think that I need to make a play for our guys. Really that’s not how I sort of take it into games, and that’s really how I do it in practice, as well. If I throw an interception in practice, those are game reps that I can use. So if it does end up happening in a game, I know how to move forward from that. It happens, and then it’s move on, and then what does this play entail for you to do to get your job done for all these guys.
Q. Can you kind of take us through what you did see on that second interception there?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah. It was just poor ball placement, really tips and overthrows when it’s in between the hashes, inside the numbers, those are – you’re really asking for trouble. So that was just a poor decision, poor ball on my part and I’ve just got to be better.
Q. Did your arm get hit on that? It looked like you somehow got short-armed on the throw.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: No, no.
Q. The touchdown pass to Tyreek, it looked like single-high, man-to-man, looked like a beater right away. Is that something you recognize as soon as you see the look?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Did it look like single-high like from the beginning of it? It did?
Q. Single-high and then two other safeties below. I don’t really know what to make of it. You’re the pro, not me.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Well, that was the wrong play call. That was the wrong play call, and you can ask Mike (McDaniel) about that. I don’t think I should be saying that was the wrong play call. I called the wrong play. I called my own play. You guys might want to ask Mike about that one, but it was the wrong play call.
Q. You called your own play on a touchdown play?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I guess. I don’t know how – that sounds weird just taking the credit for that one.
Q. Was it a check?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: No, he said a play, and I told him I misheard him as I was looking at it. I was like, let’s just run this play.
Q. Did you mishear him or you just went on to what you wanted?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I did mishear him.
Q. That’s the official version?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yes. I misheard him. (laughter)
Q. On the first touchdown of the game to WR Jaylen Waddle, how important was it to get him back involved in the swing of things, too?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Oh, it’s always important to get someone like that involved in the swing of things. We wanted to get him more involved in a couple other games. Just so happens the coverage didn’t allow for us to give Waddle the ball. But I’m really happy that we were able to distribute the ball to more than just one guy and get guys open. But I was really happy for him. I think everyone was excited or waiting to see Waddle. I was hoping he was going to do it right away, but everyone came and celebrated with him.
Q. Another very solid performance by RB De’Von Achane. Can you talk a bit about his exponential growth these past few games and his utilization in the play calling?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think the coolest thing about someone like him being a rookie is just who he is as a person, how you see him on the sideline, just chill, relaxed, that’s who he is, and that’s how he is in the huddle. To be able to go in the huddle and see someone like that, it’s very promising to know that, okay, he’s going to line up – he knows where he’s going to line up, and then basically if he’s getting the ball, you know it’s going to be a big play more often than not. I’ve got a lot of respect for that guy, and I think a lot of guys around the league have a lot of respect for him, as well, but the cool thing about it is like he doesn’t take heed to listening to any of that. Just a humble guy, just coming into work, doing what he needs to help the team win. I’m very proud of him and very proud of basically all the guys.
