TE Mike Gesicki
(On his progress this season.) – “I think for me, I just kind of take it week-by-week (and) just focus on my role and my assignment. You’ve just got to be ready when your opportunity and your number gets called out on the field on Sunday. I definitely have a ton of room left to improve and (I am) not even close to being the player that I want to be but I’m just trying to take strides each and every day to get there.”
(How’s your relationship building with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “It’s really good. I think our relationship and our chemistry on the field kind of correlates to the relationship off the field, too. I think it’s building each and every day and you just kind of get more comfortable with each other. Playing with him is, it’s pretty easy. He kind of puts the ball out there for you to go make a play, and it’s something that is cool as a receiver to know that he has trust in you and your ability to go out and make a play for him.”
(It’s your second week playing Buffalo this year. Has the preparation been any different being it’s the second time you’ve played them? Most teams you play this year you just play once, but how has it been different this week?) – “Every team is going to make their adjustments. They’re going to play week-to-week some different stuff, so they have made some changes dating back to the first game; but for the most part, everything kind of falls into the same category. You’ve got to go back and make sure that everything kind of matches up and just get ready to go out and execute on Sunday.”
LB Raekwon McMillan
(You guys lost a tough one up in Buffalo. Is there any extra motivation now playing them for a second time this year?) – “Yeah, for sure. We felt like we played good ball for a little bit of the game. We just didn’t finish the right way. We’re going to come in this game and try to finish – play the whole game like we did the first half last game.”
(Any extra motivation going against your former teammate RB Frank Gore? Was there any extra trash-talking the first game or is he kind of mild-mannered?) – “He’s mild-mannered. Frank, he’s the ‘O.G.’ He told me good game afterwards. He tells me that he’s proud of me as a player, how I’ve developed and hopefully we have another good battle this week.”
(With the preparation each week focused on being 1-0, has that changed this week being the fact this is the second time you’re playing the Bills, especially with this coaching staff? How have they done things different or the same?) – “It’s all been the same, really. We’ve just been evaluating the film from last time. When you play a team twice, you get to look back on the first time you played, evaluate it, go in there and make corrections and hopefully put the best ball out there on Sunday.”
(What do people not know about that? I guess sometimes you really know these teams a little better because of that. Some people are surprised games like this are sometimes this close.) – “Like you said, you just know the other team real well. The personnel, you know how they play. You start to learn the individuals over time. I think this is my sixth time playing this team since I’ve been here with the Dolphins. It’s always a good competition. They’re a division rival so it’s always good ball out there.”
(How have you noticed things around here being a bit different with a two game win streak? I know it’s a 1-0 mentality but you’re still on a streak nonetheless.) – “For sure. We’re just on a roll as a team. We’re building and trying to get this thing back on the road. We didn’t start off the season how we wanted to at 0-7; but these last two weeks – like you said – we got back-to-back (wins) so hopefully we keep rolling.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was asked about the tanking thing that’s been surrounding the team this year and he said that it’s nice to have two wins and kind of kill that narrative a little bit. Do you kind of agree with that?) – “Yeah, I’ve always been the type to not really care about what the outside media has to say about what’s going on here in the locker room. Us as a team, we never go out there on Sundays and want to go lose. All of that tanking noise, that’s just people on the outside talking. Everybody in here is really dedicated to winning ball games and that’s all we’re worried about.”
(I know you don’t pay attention to it but do you peek at it? Do you see what people are talking about?) – “No. Occasionally my mom will send me a little article or whatnot but other than that, not really.”
(What kind of stuff does she send you?) – “She’ll just send me something about something funny that happened on the team or some crazy stuff, or ask me ‘Are you really tanking?’ and stuff like that. I tell mom to get off Twitter and get off Instagram and stuff like that. (laughter)”
Head Coach Brian Flores
(From a coaching standpoint, you guys have remained confident in RB Kalen Ballage but he has the lowest yards per carry average of every back in the NFL that has attempted more than 10 carries. What makes you optimistic that this is going to turn around?) – “Well, Kalen works extremely hard. He’s done a good job in practice. It hasn’t materialized in games but I think we just keep giving it to him. I think it will turn. He’s a good player. He’s shown that through practice. Again, we have a lot of confidence in him. We’ll just keep feeding him and I think he’ll break through at some point.”
(How do you work with a back in terms of vision and finding holes and maximizing each carry?) – “You get it in practice. You watch it on tape. You go through it and – again, it’s not just one person. It’s getting in sync with the offensive line and knowing the defensive tackle is a good player who is going to get a little bit of penetration. You can almost anticipate some of that. But it’s o-line, it’s fullback, it’s receivers blocking. It’s not just one person. I think in a lot of instances, he’s the one who ends up with the stat but it’s a team statistic, just like every other statistic. To put it on one person, I think that’s – I know that’s what ultimately happens and that’s part of being in the NFL but at the end of the day, there’s a lot more people involved.”
(It was a close game with the Bills the first time around. That pick and then that drive was the turning point. What has the team learned since that 98-yard drive and how have they gotten better since then?) – “Since that one drive?”
(Yeah. That was a key moment in that game, obviously. And you’ve been able to finish games since then.) – “Yeah, those are – look, you never know what play it’s going to be, so every play counts. That’s something we talk about really on a day in and day out basis. Again, you mentioned the drive. I don’t know how many plays there were in that one – I know there were a lot – but there were a few plays in that drive where if we played it a little bit better or if we had a little bit better communication or if we made a tackle or whatever it is on that particular drive – and you could say that for that one particular drive but there’s been some others in the season where you get a handful of plays and it’s a three-and-out or an interception or a fumble. Every play counts. That’s something that we’ve preached all year. Look, there’s ebbs and flows in every game. If we talk about one particular play, to me it’s never just one play really until you come down to the very bitter end. There’s always a series of plays that you never know which one is the one that’s going to turn the game, turn the momentum of a game and be the one play that turns the tide.”
(Players are obviously playing better. Do you think scheme-wise you guys are doing smarter things as the season goes along?) – “I think we always try to put guys in the best positions to play well. I think that’s always the case. I think as the season progresses, I think every team has a better understanding and feel for the players and what they do well, what they don’t do well, who plays well together, who communicates well, what groupings fit best, what o-line, d-line, nickel group, dime, ends, what combination – I mean there’s 11 guys on the field. There’s a few different combinations you can have. Situationally, those combinations change so I think we have a better feel as a staff of what groupings we feel give us the best chance. We try to put those out there. Sometimes we try to put the best group out there and it doesn’t always work out because it’s football. The other team, they have good players and they make plays. I’m thinking of a couple right now. Indy made some plays last week and the Jets the week before. Every week somebody makes (plays). You’re in a good defense, you’re in the right call, you feel good about it and they make a play and everyone thinks we can’t coach. It happens every week to every team.”
(To follow up on that, what’s the most encouraging thing that you have found out about the coaching staff you put together from the time you did that to right now?) – “These guys – this staff does a really good job communicating with one another, with the players, and we work well together. From the kicking game with (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny Crossman and ‘B. Farrell’ (Assistant Special Teams Brendan Farrell); there’s a few – some of our quality control coaches kind of work in concert with Danny in the kicking game. Offensively, (Offensive Coordinator) Chad (O’Shea) leads the way from that standpoint. Chad to (Running Backs Coach) Eric Studesville to (Wide Receivers Coach) Karl (Dorrell) to – the whole staff – they do a really good job. Then (Defensive Coordinator) Pat (Graham) and (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks Coach) Josh (Boyer) and ‘T.O.’ (Safeties Coach Tony Oden) – I think we’ve got a good staff. They work well with the players. They work well with one another. There’s a cohesiveness that you need on a coaching staff and then hopefully the team reflects that. I think these guys have done an okay job from that standpoint. We just keep working at it.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick talked yesterday about how the confidence is higher in the locker room just walking through, which makes more sense after the back-to-back victories; but my question to you is, is that something tangible? Is that something you can feel just being around the guys that the confidence is higher now?) – “I think any time you win, that’s a confidence builder, so yeah; but at the same time, I’ve said this before: when you deal with adversity or mental toughness, my opinion is one, how you deal with failure and then two, how you deal with success. I think we’ve had a little bit of it. I don’t think there’s any reason to bask in the glory. We’ve won two games. I think guys – given where we were earlier in the year – I think there’s definitely a little bit of confidence, but I think there’s also an understanding that things can go right back to the way they were and if we don’t work at it and we just spend a little less time in preparation, a little a less urgency and commitment in a walkthrough or a practice or a meeting, that’s the difference. How many plays in this league are a tackle, a shoestring tackle or the difference between a 6-yard run and a 60-yard run; or a toe clip is the difference between a sack and a 60-yard pass. That’s the difference. Hopefully we don’t lose that from a preparation standpoint because we’re excited about what happened last week but we need to forget about last week.”
(When you talk about confidence and things like that, where do you see that on the field and off the field? Are guys paying attention more in meetings? Are they smiling more? Are they executing their plays on the field more because of that confidence?) – “Look, we’ve got – this is a tough opponent. When I see Josh Allen running around on film, I’m confident in our guys; but I know this is a tough challenge. Whether it’s Allen or (Frank) Gore or (Devin) Singletary or John Brown, that offensive line, defensively they’ve got guys everywhere; yeah, I have confidence in this team, but I also know and I’d be – I know this is the National Football League and every game is tough. They’re going to come in here and try to knock our heads off and we have to be ready for that. Confidence – I don’t know how to really explain it, but I’ve moved on from that. We’re on to Buffalo and this is going to be a tough, physical game, and we have to be ready for that. More than anything, we’ve got to be ready for a tough physical game.”
(Speaking of preparation, when you face a mobile quarterback like Bills QB Josh Allen or other guys, how does that impact your game plan? Does it make it more stressful, less stressful, same as a more stationary quarterback?) – “Yeah, it’s stressful. Definitely stressful. When you have a guy (like that), you put together a game plan where you think you’ve got everybody covered or this is a good pressure or this is a good coverage or whatever we’re going to do defensively; we’ve got everybody covered, he breaks a tackle and it’s 50 yards. Yeah, that makes you uncomfortable, so we’ve got to do a good job with our technique (and) our fundamentals; but at the same time, there’s keys to game that we need to really address (and) focus on. Obviously we know – the whole league knows – that Josh Allen is a very mobile guy and can turn a game with his legs. Every team knows that and he still goes out there and does it. He breaks a tackle and makes a big run, and we’ve got to do a good job from that standpoint.”
(Have you, through nine games, can you form a conclusion yet as to whether you think G/T Jesse Davis is a good starting right tackle in the league or do you need to see a full body of work to form that conclusion?) – “Look, this is a production business. As you guys know, you’re only as good as your last game. With that said, I think Jesse has done a very, very good job. I think wherever you put him, he’s going to be productive and play well. So, right tackle, right guard, left tackle, I think he’s going to go out there and give us his best effort, he’s going to play hard, he’s going to play physical, he’s going to be tough. I like having Jesse on this team. I feel confident – I’m very confident in his ability.”
(We know what CB Nik Needham did to get to this point and to have success in the last two games. How does a young player like that continue the forward progress?) – “You forget about everything you’d done. You forget about the last couple games or you forget about any success you had. I know he’s getting – I don’t know much about social media, but people are saying he’s this or that or (any of that). Your friends, your family, they’re going to congratulate you. That’s great. But if you start listening to all that too much and – I don’t know. Maybe it’s one minute less on one more text and (it’s) one minute less on film. You’ve got to try to put that away and focus on the task at hand, which is preparing for Buffalo and the receivers they have and our scheme and trying to get that right so that we can string them together, because the world will make you think that you’re this superstar. And maybe you are, but it doesn’t really matter. The only thing that matters is the guys in that room, in that locker room I should say. That’s funny to you?”
(Yeah.) – “Is it?”
(Yeah.) – “Why?”
(I don’t know. We asked about G Shaq Calhoun a couple weeks ago. I mean, we didn’t ask about G Shaq Calhoun a couple weeks ago – he came up unsolicited – so it’s nice to hear you want your players to kind of keep an even head about everything.) – “That’s funny?”
(Yeah.) – “Okay. Alright. That’s it? Okay.”
