Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(DT John Jenkins really seemed to be all over the place in the first quarter, even on the pick. He pushed C Maurkice Pouncey back into the pocket into the quarterback’s face. What have you seen from him and how has he progressed since you got him?) – “It’s funny, just meeting with those guys, having a little extra time I met with the defensive linemen and went through some stuff with those guys, along with (Defensive Line Coach Marion) Hobby, and (Linebackers Coach) Rob Leonard – we all met together and the thing that he did during the game is that he did exactly what we were asking him to do to the best of his ability. He tried to get some push in the pocket, he played with power in the running game and he’s a pleasure to be around. I know I say that about all of the guys, but the relationship we’re developing with these guys, I love coming to my job every day and working with these guys. He provides some push in the pocket and a spark in there and I thought that was positive, I thought that was real positive. We asked him to be one of the guys that contributed to try to be the most physical team out there and he helped us with that.”
(How do you think CB Eric Rowe has played since he’s been needed at safety?) – “The thing about Eric is that he’s a selfless guy that he’s going to be willing to do whatever you ask him to do. Whether it’s safety, corner, whatever it may be – covering tight ends, backs or receivers – I think he’s done a good job of competing and getting his hands on people, and that’s really helped us as a defense. Then of course the tackling. He’s a guy that’s a physical tackler, a guy that gets people down consistently. He’s constantly trying to improve, so it’s been positive.”
(On the subject of takeaways, you had the one early, and got your hands on some balls. Do you as a coach see that as progress, or how do you see it?) – “I think I said it a few weeks ago – progress, we’re progressing, we’re progressing. But you want more. There were opportunities out there and hopefully we will capitalize on those more as it goes along. There has definitely been some progress, but it’s hard for me the progress – I want to win games. That’s what it comes down to: you’ve got to win the game. Guys are improving and we’ve just got to find a way this week when we’re facing the Jets on how to finish the game as a complete group.”
(Do you think that you have guys with good hands?) – “Yeah, we have guys with good hands here. We definitely have guys with good hands. I think the old adage about defensive players don’t have hands, I don’t know if that’s the case anymore. I was an offensive player when I started in college, but I didn’t have hands. (laughter)”
(What have you seen that you liked from your young cornerbacks?) – “This is how we evaluate the cornerback position: we look for guys with toughness. That’s what we start with – whether it’s mentally or physically. Guys who can tackle. Then the willingness to get up in somebody’s face and get your hands on them. The toughness and all of that stuff, that all plays into it. I’ve seen that form those guys. The ability to come back – whether it’s a good play or bad play, and be able to compete and just keep working at it – that’s something that I – I never played that position. I understand being out there on an island like that from a coaching perspective. I’m just amazed at how those guys – one good play, bad play or whatever it is, it’s the next play. I’m always amazed by that, especially when they’re younger because it can be harder, especially in the big stages like we are here in the NFL whether it’s a Monday Night game or whether it’s a Sunday 1p.m. game. It’s a big stage. It’s NFL football.”
(What led to LB Vince Biegel playing more last night. He played well.) – “He’s been playing a lot lately. What led to it really is practice. Practice and then his diligence in the classroom in terms of our meeting room, and then just the performance on the field. He played the way we were asking him to play. He did a good job of trying to set the edge and rushing on the right side. He’s providing a spark and he’s definitely providing some energy out there and he’s doing a good job of using his body and his tools to help us as a defense.”
(It seemed like LB Jerome Baker was a lot more active last night than he’s been in recent weeks. What did you see from him?) – “He’s hungry right now. He’s hungry right now. Just by his play, he was running around, attempting to do the stuff that we’re asking him to do. I thought that play he made on that third down, that was critical. I don’t know what his speed rate was, but he got over there. Obviously we’re going to need that next week against the Jets because, you’re dealing with (Le’Veon) Bell, (Balil) Powell and all of these backs – Ty Montgomery. At some point he’s going to have to cover those guys. But I thought it was a good illustration of his toughness, his awareness to see the play and also just his natural ability and his physical traits.”
(I know that fans sometimes or even people in our business look at snap counts. Some teams when they see a guy’s snap counts go down they think maybe he’s not playing that well. With your team though, the way you and Head Coach Brian Flores run things, a player’s role can change. He might be playing well, but he can play a lot more one game or not a lot in the other. The one thing I’ve noticed with that was DE Taco Charlton. He had less snaps yesterday than he’s had in the previous two games. Was that a reflection of the type of defense that you wanted to use? Did Taco not have a great practice week, what?) – “No. Taco worked hard this week in practice. We put out the defense, or the unit – however you want to look at a particular unit – for what we think is going to be best that week. For this week it was a different configuration of the guys. It wasn’t anything bad on Taco, it was just a different configuration of the guys. When Taco got in there, he was productive. We got that from him. I think his work ethic and what he’s been doing in the classroom and also on the practice field has been good. Based on what we think is best that week, we’re going to move it around a little bit.”
Offensive Coordinator Chad O’Shea
(I guess there was one lineup change during the game, moving from G Shaq Calhoun to C/G Chris Reed. What was the thinking behind that and having Chris play?) – “I think that the one thing is I want to compliment the Pittsburgh Steelers’ front. It was a front that we had a lot of respect for going into the game and probably even more respect as we came out of the game. It was a great challenge for us in the game. We thought at the time to make a change, to put in Reed for Calhoun, was the best thing for the team. I think that Reed went in and performed well. He’s a player that’s always very well prepared and one that we consider a dependable player on our roster and we were pleased with his performance once he went into the game and replaced Shaq.”
(I know obviously with the roster move today with TE Nick O’Leary, it leaves you with two tight ends. Can you do everything you want in the offense with those two and how have TE Mike Gesicki and TE Durham Smythe played?) – “So what we’ll do now from a game-planning perspective is we’ll go and kind of work with the players that we have currently on our roster, and that might be to adjust some things personnel-wise. But certainly there’s enough that we have from a personnel standpoint that we can do the things that we want to do versus the Jets. There’s always changes during the week and this is just an example of another change that we’ve had. I think that’s one of the challenges we’ll have as a coaching staff, just putting together a good game plan. But we have enough personnel groups to be successful.”
(WR Jakeem Grant is getting a little bit healthier. Yesterday he had a couple of catches in the 15-17 yard range. Getting him out there and healthy, what can he bring to the offense?) – “It was great to see him get going and have a couple of the catches. Certainly he’s got a great skillset and his speed is one that’s part of that skillset that’s unique. It was really nice and a positive to get the ball to him some. I think he’s made some progress here in the last couple of weeks, especially with where his health is. He’s made progress and hopefully he continues to do that. And if he performs like he did last night and has the catches, he’ll have more opportunities as we move forward here.”
(I wanted to ask you about G/T Jesse Davis. He’s back at right tackle now after starting off at left tackle. Do you see any differences in him on one side as opposed to another? And all things being equal, would you prefer keeping him on the right side?) – “I think the first thing that I’ll say is the tackle position in general – whether you’re on the right or left, especially when you face the front that we did last night – is challenging. But there’s certain things about the right and the left obviously that are different, that we know. We think that’s best for Jesse right now on the right side and (J’Marcus) Webb fits best on the left. That combination has been something that we’ve had the last couple of weeks here and that’s something – the offensive line spot, as I’ve said all along, we’re continuing to evaluate every week, and do what’s best for the team. Some of that is based off of who we’re facing too, and what the personnel is from a lineup standpoint on the other side of these guys. That’s something that we’ll talk about today as a staff and see what’s best as far as the right combination for us – not only at that spot, but there’s going to be some other moving parts at some other position groups. We talked about the tight end with Nick (O’Leary) not being on the roster right now, and just some things we’ll have to juggle to put the best 11 out there for us.”
(When you and Head Coach Brian Flores and Running Backs Coach Eric Studesville talked on Sunday and Monday, was there much thought to giving RB Patrick Laird any carries last night? Or was the thinking ‘let’s just go with our two veteran guys on a Monday night game and maybe we’ll weave in Laird or RB Myles Gaskin down the road?’) – “Certainly Patrick – when (Kenyan) Drake wasn’t with us on game day – that definitely factored Laird into being a running back that could factor into the game. He stays well prepared and he’s always one that knows exactly what he’s doing, so we were very confident that if we had to put him in the game, he would know what to do and execute it at a decent level. As we’ve told all of the players here this year that are backup players or in those roles, we need to stay ready because at any time you can be put in there. Certainly because of the numbers that we had on Monday, he was definitely somebody that stayed ready and potentially could have played for us.”
(I know it’s way too early to know with the Jets because you just started, but is there any thinking about whether you’d like to see RB Patrick Laird or RB Myles Gaskin at some point as a third back or is it tough to give carries to a third back in this league?) – “I think that this is a challenge that we had when we had the three backs that were playing for us – (Kenyan) Drake, (Kalen) Ballage and (Mark) Walton – is it’s tough to have three. It’s a good problem to have, that you have three backs that can do some things in a positive way for you, but it’s also difficult to get them all in there. What we’ve stressed to those guys is obviously you have to back up different roles and stay ready and that’s what we’ll do. (Myles) Gaskin and (Patrick) Laird certainly approach practice (like) they’re playing and they’ve been good in the meetings. Again, they’ve stayed well-prepared so I think that if they have the opportunity to play, I’m looking forward to seeing them play.”
(You guys got a lot of mileage on all the quick slants to WR DeVante Parker and WR Preston Williams last night. How much does their size help with that play?) – “I think it helps greatly. To have a size wide receiver, which I think we have in both of those guys, is something that makes it hard on the defensive backs, and I think that they do a good job of using their size as a strength. Certainly there were some good examples of that last night. I just think that that’s something that you can’t replace, is size. Especially with – I think ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) does a good job of throwing those tight balls, so whether it’s a slant or whether it’s a go route, they can utilize their size, so it really helps to have two size receivers on the outside.”
(What did you see with the turnovers on film as far as any common denominators?) – “Common denominators – obviously we don’t want to have any of them, but I thought on the first turnover obviously we had a drop. I thought ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) made a nice throw and a nice read on the (Nick) O’Leary (play). That was a key play in the game. Then I thought on the second turnover, we almost looked at that as it was almost like a punt. It really was. Then the third one on the strip sack, obviously – like I’ve said – it takes all 11 to have good ball security and it’s just not all on ‘Fitz’ and we weren’t as good in protection as we would have liked on that play and put him in a tough position to be able to hold onto the ball. Then the (Mark) Walton turnover, I think that the one thing I respect and admire about Walton is how hard he plays and how much energy he brings. Certainly he was trying to make a play with the ball in his hands and giving great second effort and really playing hard like he always does to the bitter end and unfortunately, they made a good play from behind and the ball was out. We don’t want to accept turnovers. That was the difference in the game for us. It doesn’t matter how they happen. They’re turnovers at the end of the day and we’ve got to do a better job of eliminating those.”
(How would you assess how C/G Evan Boehm has played center since C Daniel Kilgore is injured?) – “I thought it was another good week of him being in a tough environment on the road. I always look at the center position and think of how is the operation first. How can you handle the snap count? How can you handle some of the things from a communication standpoint? And I thought he did another good job of that. I think so much of that position is making sure you get the other guys on the same page to your right and left, and obviously the quarterback’s involved in that; and again, it was a second week for him, it was positive and that the overall operation was good. We didn’t have many issues, especially on the road in a tough environment versus a good front of just getting in and out of the huddle and those things. I thought it was positive last night.”
(It was totally justified, but the degree of anger we saw from Head Coach Brian Flores on the sideline – you being around him for many years – have you seen him that angry ever?) – “Yeah, I think the word is ‘competitive’ (laughter) and obviously I’ve been around Brian for a long time and know him very well, and I think the one thing that I know is he’s highly competitive. That’s how he kind of approaches everything and that’s how he’s approached obviously our season and the game last night. This matters obviously a lot to him, a lot to us as a team. He’s a highly competitive person.”
Head Coach Brian Flores
(With the CB Aqib Talib move, was that purely a financial move or would you hope to be able to see him in a Dolphins game when he becomes eligible in Week 15? Would you have interest in him when he’s a free agent this offseason or was it purely a financial-based move?) – “Obviously I have some history with Aqib. I think he’s a really good player. We had an opportunity to acquire him and some draft capital, so we felt like that was the best move for us and obviously he’s dealing with an injury and we’ll just see where that’s at. This is all happening very quickly, so there’s a lot of things we’ve got to assess (and) evaluate. It’s hard to make a blanket statement on what it’s going to be playing-time-wise, etc. So we’re just going to take it day-by-day and just see where he is physically and take it from there.”
(So CB Aqib Talib will report to the team? At the very least he’ll be here as opposed to just being a…) – “This has gone – we’re half an hour into this, so I’m not – I don’t have his flights and I don’t have any details from that standpoint. When I know, I’ll let you know.”
(And multiple reports about CB Xavien Howard being placed in IR. Does he need surgery and what led to that decision?) – “That’s another one where we’re still doing the evaluations there and seeing where he is physically from a health standpoint. Again, it’s unfortunate. He’s obviously one of our top players and you never want to see anybody get injured or deal with things, but he’s a tough kid and I’m sure he’ll bounce back. We’re still kind of going through that process right now and figuring out where we are.”
(I know you’ve been asked this before but now how concerned are you about long-term issues with him with CB Xavien Howard knee problems?) – “It’s still very early. Injuries are part of the game so I guess there’s not too much concern from my standpoint. He’s young. He’s tough. Football is very important to him. People get dinged and deal with injuries on a year-to-year basis and guys come back, they play and have successful careers; so no, (I’m) not overly concerned. For me more than anything, I feel bad for the kid. I know he loves to play. I know he loves to compete. He loves to be out there with his teammates, so my concern is more for him than his long-term ability to play.”
(The roster move with TE Nick O’Leary – was it purely because you needed a roster opening or do plays like last night obviously where he couldn’t hold onto the ball and that led to a pick, did that contribute to his decision?) – “We claimed Xavier Crawford yesterday, so we needed a roster spot and we just felt like that was – we needed a roster spot so we had to make a move, and we made the move with Nick. That was the reason behind that.”
(Any thinking of bringing up TE Chris Myarick or adding another tight end or do you think two would be enough at this point?) – “We only have 53 spots, so that was a one-for-one. If we make a move, we’d have to drop another player and we’ll see.”
(After watching the tape of last night’s game, what were some of your takeaways?) – “I think we started fast. I think we were ready to play. It’s a big stage and a tough environment and I don’t think it was too big for us, so that was good. I think at the end of the day in this league, it comes down to executing in critical moments and I would say, like I talked about last night, one of the biggest stats in this league is turnovers and we lost that battle 4-1. That’s something we – I would say most teams – it’s hard to overcome losing the turnover battle in this league and we’re no different. (There were) some good things. I thought we started fast. I thought we made some plays early defensively. We just couldn’t sustain it. We didn’t play well in the second half and I think turnovers were a big part of it.”
(It looked like LB Jerome Baker went and had himself the best game of the year. He might have been more involved in plays than he’d been all year. Would you agree with that and what did you see from him?) – “Yeah, I think he flew around and played fast and was physical and tackled well and did a lot of good things. I think he’s definitely improving, getting better, taking on more of a leadership role week after week after week; and he played well last night, but the individual efforts – I think he’d even say that – they’re great. We need good individual efforts, but we need more of a better team effort and we need more guys having better individual efforts and us all collectively playing better as a team.”
(With obviously the prospect of now CB Xavien Howard’s and CB Ken Webster’s injury, do you think you might move CB Eric Rowe back to corner and with CB Cordrea Tankersley, is he ready where you think we could see him against the Jets?) – “It’s still early in the week. I don’t even know if we’ve been here 12 hours. (laughter) We’re going through every potential positional changes we would make based on injury, based on our opponent; so there’s a lot to do and we’ve been on it all morning so we’re still working through a lot of those things. I would say it’s too early to say we’re going to move this guy here or this guy’s out. I think it’s too early to say all that.”
(I know as you mentioned last week, there’s obviously rust at cornerback when you haven’t played for a while, just the technique of having a guy in front of you to cover. Did CB Cordrea Tankersley look to you last week like he might be close to being polished enough at this point to help?) – “Yeah, I think he definitely had a better week last week than he did in the previous week. We’ll see. We’ll get out there again this week and there’s definitely going to be some opportunity or potentially going to be some opportunity for him to come up, be active and we’ll just how that plays out over the course of the week. Again, it’s too early to tell whether we’ll have a spot. Again, to bring somebody up, you’ve got to put somebody down, so we’ll see how it goes.”
(Looking into the film – the touchdown pass on the blitz at the end of the half – what did you see?) – “I’ve been asked this a couple times. To me, if you want to win games in this league, you’ve got to be aggressive. That’s never going to change for me. We blitzed them. They made a play. That happens. I’ve been in games where we’ve blitzed them and I’ve been in big games where you blitz them and you make a play and it’s the right (call). To me, if you’re going to win in this league, you’ve got to be aggressive. Period. That’s my style. I’m not going to play conservative. That’s always been kind of my ‘M.O.,’ so that’s not going to change. What I saw was we blitzed them, they ran a crossing route, we didn’t tackle a guy. People say you live by the sword, you die by the sword; and I guess that’s something people say, but for me, we’re going to be aggressive. That’s the way this team’s going to play and we’re going to go down swinging. Period.”
(What did you think of DT Robert Nkemdiche’s first 15 defensive snaps as a Dolphin?) – “I thought he played okay. Again – I mentioned this last week – there’s a lot of technique, a lot of fundamentals, a lot of those things that you need to train your body, train yourself to get into; so from a footwork (and) hand placement standpoint, it could’ve been a lot better but that’s kind of the progression. Hopefully – I do think – I think he’ll be better in practice this week. I think he’ll play better in the game. I didn’t think it was – I’m not saying it was a bad performance – but just from a hand placement, a footwork, a technique standpoint, it could be (better). He looked rusty. He’s been out there 10 days, two weeks or however long it’s been so that wasn’t surprising.”
