Head Coach Brian Flores
(We saw I guess the last couple days, WR Allen Hurns and DT Zach Sieler were limited. Are they good to go Sunday? Do you expect to have all 53 available?) – “Yeah, we expect to have everybody for Sunday. You said 53 – (I’m thinking) 46 (active). It kind of threw me off a little bit. I knew you what you meant. It took me a second.”
(Who is the team’s best weather person? Who do you lean on for weather reports?) – “I just go with the weather report we get from Joe Cimino, our equipment guy. He does a great job from that standpoint, whether it’s lightning, or if we’re about to get lightning, rain. I’d say it’s him, Joe.”
(How do you think heavy rain can impact the game?) – “Start in the kicking game. Just ball security. It’s something that’s obviously got to be a high priority whether it’s regardless of the weather – inclement weather whether it’s rain or snow or wind, whatever it happens to be. So taking care of the football – that’s anyone who touches the football – snapper, punter, holder, receivers, backs, quarterback obviously, making good decisions at that position and then just making it more of a priority to take care of the football when we’re running with it, catching it, putting it away. You’ve just got to have a high awareness of that in bad weather.”
(How do you that? Do you do wet ball drills?) – “I wish we’d have more days to practice in the rain. Those are always – that’s probably the best practice, looks or reps you can get. There was some drizzle today a little bit; so yeah, we spray water down the balls a little bit, but that’s all you can do. You’ve got to practice in it or just water down the balls a little bit just to kind of get them ready for that.”
(I know we’ve talked a lot obviously about running to the edges, setting the edge, runs toward the sides of the field. As far as teams running up the gut on you, has that do you think been an issue or do you think the interior of your line and your middle linebacker play has been generally okay?) – “I think we’ve had both success and struggles on the edge, inside, in the C-gap which is basically right in between the middle and outside. All of it’s important. So you want to be strong inside, really out and I think we need to do a good job – a better job – of being more consistent across the board in the run game.”
(Can we expect to see more of DT Zach Sieler in the d-tackle rotation this week?) – “He’s done a good job. We really like his length, his athleticism, his toughness. We got him in there a little bit last week and hopefully more in the coming weeks.”
(We saw more of like an even split between RB Myles Gaskin and RB Patrick Laird this week. Did you learn more about Myles and what he can bring to the game that made you go that route and do you anticipate it being similar this week?) – “He’s done a good job all year. He’s been inactive for a good chunk of the early part of the season, but he did a really good job in practice. We saw him kind of grow over the course of OTAs to training camp to even in the early part of the season when he just practiced better and got a better grasp of what we were doing offensively, so getting him in there and getting a few more touches last week has been good. I think Patrick has done a good job as well, and we’ve gotten some good production out of ‘D. Turner’ (De’Lance Turner) in the kicking game as well. Three good young backs, and we’ll just keep getting them reps and hopefully they can improve.”
(Do you anticipate seeing RB De’Lance Turner on the offensive side of the ball?) – “His bull role has been primarily in the kicking game. I think we like what we’ve seen out of Myles (Gaskin) and Patrick (Laird), but he’s ready to go.”
(Of the five guards you’ve rotated the last couple weeks, have any two emerged at all? I know as you said Monday there’s been some good and bad from each of them.) – “That’s really been the case. It’s some ups, some downs, but each one of them has made improvements, I would say. We just need to keep working through that group and try to find the best five guys who can get us some consistent play.”
Friday, December 20, 2019
QB Josh Rosen
(On this year.) – “I’ve learned a lot. It’s really cool getting to learn a lot sitting behind ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick). I’ve just got to finish out the year strong and address the offseason and whatnot when it comes in a week and a half or two weeks.”
(I know you probably had different expectations for this year, for last year – when you look at your two years up to this point, is there a way that you would’ve liked it to go ideally different than it has so far?) – “No, I mean sort of having wishful thinking is very counterproductive. I try not to really have any expectations and then you’ll never be disappointed; so I have my long-term goals and what I want to accomplish throughout the course of my career and how I get there is at least for the moment now, kind of irrelevant.”
(There are a lot of fans who have clamored for you to play the next couple weeks. Is that something you’re aware of at all that a lot of Dolphins fans have sort of clamored for you to play? Have you even noticed that?) – “No.”
(And is there disappointment at all that you’re not going to be playing at least Sunday?) – “No. I mean ‘Fitz’ hasn’t done anything to lose the starting position thus far, so I don’t see why anything would change. I obviously would love to play if (Head) Coach (Brian Flores) called me up; but that’s not my decision and I think ‘Fitz’ has been doing a hell of a job considering all of the circumstances that have been going on this year.”
(How do you think your chances to still be a long-term starting quarterback have been impacted by your first two seasons in the NFL?) – “I don’t think they have.”
(You still think that’s something that you strive for, you think you can do that?) – “Yeah.”
(Do you feel good at all about the fact that you’re probably going to get a fresh start and a new opportunity in OTAs? I’m sure there’ll be an open competition. Is that what your anticipation is? Does that give you any feeling of encouragement?) – “I’m very encouraged just in general, day-to-day, with how I’ve developed, getting to watch how ‘Fitz’ does his thing. I’m still only 22 years old. It’s not really like the windows opens and closes like that, but there is a sense of sort of understanding timing and opportunity. I’m aware of it, but like I said, it’s all for you guys more to write about than it is for me to worry about. Opportunities will come and I’ll try to seize them when they do.”
(How do you keep this perspective?) – “I don’t know. I don’t have another one, so it’s kind of the perspective that I have.”
(Has General Manager Chris Grier given you any encouragement?) – “No. I mean the front office is the front office. They don’t often communicate. We’ll have conversations just about stuff. His kid just got into Harvard, so I think ‘Fitz’ is trying to – a couple of guys – are trying to convince him to go there, but nothing in particulary.”
(Do you want to be on the Dolphins roster next season?) – “Yeah, absolutely. I like it here a lot.”
(Do you think an offseason would benefit you and if so, in what ways? A full offseason here?) – “Like the offseason program here?”
(Yes, the offseason program here and I guess getting the full offseason in one place and not have to worry about starting over, being traded, that sort of thing that you had last year.) – “I think a lot of it has to do with sort of what I’ve had to learn this year with regards to defenses and Mike’ing a bunch of stuff and this sort of sense of command you need in this offense in order to run it. I think that helps me, sort of just in general, moving forward, with regards to being able to not worry about – basically there’s a really steep learning curve, and I’m really glad I got over it because I’ll have that knowledge in the back of my head for the rest of my career. So now moving forward, I understand the fronts and the coverages a lot better now, so I can sort of focus on knocking down the offense and have sort of that information sitting back there.”
(How would you describe sort of the effectiveness of communication that you’ve received from the coaches and the other folks in the administration from the day you’ve gotten here to now? To you, the communication relative to where you stand, exactly what they want to see you do to improve, things like that?) – “Nothing out of the ordinary, in particular. They’re pretty good with telling me where they want me to develop and what they think I’m good at, what I’m bad at, what I can improve in, just sort of all the general stuff. I think Coach Flores is a pretty specific coach, so he’s good in that regard; but with regards to positionally and roster stuff, nothing really. I didn’t really expect anything because that’d be kind of abnormal to address that stuff like that.”
(I know we talked a little bit about next year. Do you expect to be given a chance to compete for the starting job next year? Would that be your expectation?) – “Like I said, if you have no expectations, you’ll never be disappointed in life. That’d be awesome, and I hope it works out that way, but I’m not expecting anything.”
(When you think about some of the things that people mentioned as improvement and I guess leadership comes up and intangibles and communication, what do you think about that sort of aspect of your game and whether that’s something you feel like you need to improve?) – “I think a lot of that stuff just comes naturally with comfortability, with the guys in the locker room, the offense, sort of a couple seconds instead of thinking about ‘what do I have’ or ‘who do I have here,’ you can worry about something else or substitution or encouraging guys or this, that, whatever. Even just with walking around the building and knowing the names of the cafeteria staff and ‘Hubie,’ the janitor walking around, just getting comfortable with where you are and just kind of making it your home and getting comfortable with your people and your family. I think that’s just sort of – as that has happened, a lot of the leadership qualities I pride myself on started to come through because I don’t really think you can step out and lead if you don’t really know what you’re doing first, so I think I’m at that point where I’m pretty confident in my abilities and where I am.”
Thursday, December 19, 2019
LB Jerome Baker
(What’s been the area that you’ve been most pleased with your work in? Has it been in coverage? We obviously saw the interception last week. Has it been pass rush? Against the run?) – “I don’t know. I feel like I just improved as the year went on, so I’m just definitely happy with my development as a player.”
(How will things change for you this week without LB Raekwon McMillan?) – “I just have to lean on the new guys and just kind of build our defense – our linebackers that are going to be in. We just have to communicate a little bit more just on a personal level. Raekwon, I’ve been with (him) so long. There’s a lot of things that we don’t really have to say. We just kind of know. Other than that, nothing really changes. They do a great job of bringing in guys – like Calvin (Munson), he already knows the defense a little bit. It’s just the little nuances of how he communicates. That’s all we’ve really been stressing this week.”
(What’s the key to getting better against the run for this defense?) – “Just playing technique. That’s it. Just playing technique. Just trusting the edge is going to be set, the tackles – they trusting us that we’re going to come downfield, just using all the things they teach us well. Effort in the NFL is not a big thing. We all do that. It’s all about technique and just playing together and trusting each other.”
(What have you learned most this year? Obviously more responsibilities in terms of calling signals. What’s been the biggest learning thing you’ve taken away from this year?) – “There’s no such thing as overcommunicating. You just have to communicate as much as you can. Even the little things of, you might say a call to a d-tackle and he might just not hear you. You have to overly communicate, make sure you’re all on the same page. There’s just no such thing as overcommunicating.”
(How much different is this scheme than what you’re used to from your previous experience last year and then Ohio State?) – “It is definitely unique. I’ll say that.“
(What makes it unique?) – “Just the things – if the puller happens, you have to spill it and the safety’s going to come and make the tackle. There’s very (little) of that. There’s very just gapped out – this guy on this gap, you’ve got to be in this gap. It’s a lot of you can’t go one-for-one. If a fullback comes then you can’t just get blocked and expect somebody else is going to make the tackle. You can’t just be okay with being blocked by one guy. It’s a lot of – you have to understand that if you’re in trouble, this gap is open, they have an angle on this gap, how are you going to use your front to mess up their blocking scheme? It’s a lot of understanding the little details that come with this defense.”
(Have you enjoyed playing in it?) – “Oh yeah, I love it. This defense, it’s just cool because you have to know football play in this defense. You can’t just be a little 260 (pound) linebacker and just hit whatever’s in your way. That doesn’t really work too well.”
(It seems like every week there’s a new guy being worked into the starting lineup for different reasons. How do you guys handle that kind of – I know you guys want consistency, but it seems the most consistent thing is every week there seems to be a new starter out there?) – “We’re used to it now. It’s not really a problem. This is the National Football League. You come in here, you’re expected to do a job. All the guys in the front office, they do a great job of bringing in guys in that have an understanding of our defense. Even when guys come in this week – Calvin (Munson) – he came in and he knows the calls. He understands it. It’s just the little, you might have different sayings for different things, so just getting all that worked out – it’s a little easier, a little smoother. We’re definitely doing pretty good.”
(Has it even been snake-bitten like this again, or is it kind of role with the punches?) – “No. It’s nothing like it was in the beginning. In the beginning, I didn’t really – compared to now – I didn’t really understand the defense. It’s just a work in progress and we’ve definitely been doing that.”
(Were you guys really in the first game calling people by numbers?) – “Yeah. I always tell this story that we had a blitz from the field. I was lined up on the boundary, I’m trying to tell the guy next to me that ‘you have contain,’ and he didn’t know. It is what it is. You just learn and now this team has definitely grown into being a team. We’re definitely going in the right direction.”
(Have you spent that much more time preparing each week because of the complexity of the defense?) – “Yeah. You have to in this defense, you really have to. You can’t just learn on the spot in this defense. You can’t just think you’re a Mike linebacker and be fine with that. You have to know what the outside guys are doing; you have to be able to line up on the outside. There’s a lot of things where you can’t just be in one spot. You have to know the whole defense as a whole because you never know where they will put you in at.”
(They call it conceptual learning. I’m sure you’ve heard that word a lot around here. What does conceptual learning mean to you?) – “For me, it really is just understanding not just what my role is in this defense, but understanding the defense as a whole. What are some of our weaknesses? When we call a certain thing, what is the weakness of that? When we call man, what is the weakness to that? This year has been a big learning process in my football development. I’ve definitely had fun this year.”
(Why is that important to know all of those nuances?) – “Because this defense, it changes a lot. It could go from one week I’m covering Saquon (Barkley) man to man, to the next week, now I’m playing man coverage on a tight end. So different calls do certain things. It might be the same call for three weeks, but one week you might have a different job. It’s the same call, you just have to know where you are at in the defense. All in all, it’s just a fun defense because you never really truly have one job. You have to understand everybody’s job.”
(It would seem that, assuming next year there is a lot more stability on the defense – which there could be less – wouldn’t that make the defense that much more consistent if you have so many more of the same faces who understand all of those nuances?) – “It goes both ways. It’s not really about who they put out there necessarily. It’s about do they understand when they get out there. You can put out random guys every time, but if they understand what they are doing, they’d be fine. If you put out guys who are very talented and don’t play together, no matter how much talent there is, it’s not going to be good. It depends on how you look at it; but this coaching staff, they do a great job getting guys ready no matter who it is, just really playing in the scheme of our team. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(I wanted your big picture thoughts on something that has been sort of debated among some media people in the last week. We’re not going to talk about any particular player; but if there is an exceptional defensive player available to you via the draft, via free agency, price isn’t an issue, off-field behavior isn’t an issue – if he’s not the ideal scheme fit, would you say ‘No, that player is not for us?’ Or in your mind, if there is an excellent player available, do you accommodate your scheme for that player?) – “(laughter)”
(That player is one that remains unnamed.) – “Oh, you’re talking about a specific player?”
(No I don’t want to talk about specific players. Your thoughts generally on that issue.) – “I’m just talking generally. Generally if there’s a good player – I like good players.”
(If a guy is not an ideal scheme fit but he’s an excellent player – he’s the best player available to you – do you say ‘I’m going to fit my scheme around him,’ rather than bypassing the player.) – “I don’t – ideal scheme fit for who? For us?”
(Let’s say a front seven player for you.) – “If it’s a good player – the scheme is very – it’s a scheme versatile defense I believe. So yeah, if we’ve got a good player, we’ll make it work for said player. That goes at any position. I think we’ve got a good coaching staff. There are a lot of creative minds here. We try to put our players in position to make plays. If there was an exceptional – I think we have some good players. Yeah, if Lawrence Taylor was available and we had to fit the scheme for him, we would do it. So yeah, no problem.”
(You do use three different types of defensive ends or edge setters or pass rushers – I don’t know how you define them – in LB Vince Biegel, DE Avery Moss and DE Taco Charlton. What is your ideal vision for you in terms of who sets that edge or players that you use as pass rushers?) – “The first thing I’d ask you is who are we playing against? If we’re playing against a run-heavy team that likes to run to the tight end side, then we might put a bigger guy there. If we are playing a read-zone team where we need a little bit more athletic player to play the quarterback and the dive, then we put Biegel in there. So you’ve got to tell me who we are playing and I’ll tell you who is going to be setting the edge. I guess that’s what we mean when we say it is scheme versatile. It’s really dependent on what they’re doing. I think if you just sit in one (look) or if you have one particular type of player – let’s say you have a big end, then Lamar Jackson and (you’re) playing against (him) in zone read, that’s not really a good matchup. It just depends. I think every team deals with this and every team kind of goes through that progression when they’re dealing with opponents or going through their defensive scheme per week. We do the same. Players need to be versatile. But at the same time, there’s 11 guys on the field. So if it’s a big strong guy, we’ll try to put him in positions to where he can do what he does well. If it’s a more athletic player, then we’ll try to put that player in position to do what he does well.”
(On a similar subject, you’ve brought a lot of cornerbacks through here. What do you look for in a cornerback? Other than talent, is there anything specifically that you look for?) – “Communication, tackling, ball skills, the ability to play multiple positions potentially inside (and) outside. It’s a hard position to play in this league. We’ve had a few guys. We’ve obviously had injuries at the position and had some new guys in those positions, and I think they’ve come in and played fairly well. I think (Defensive Pass Game/Coordinator) Josh (Boyer) and (Defensive Coordinator) Pat (Graham) – Josh, with the corners does a good job of getting those guys ready to go. Pat does a good job of putting them in good positions. But yeah, ball skills, tackling, man-to-man coverage, off-coverage, press, all of those things.”
(Does height matter at all to you? Or it depends on how the guy plays?) – “My favorite DB is Antoine Winfield. He wasn’t all that tall but he was a great player. No. I would say no. If you’re a good player, you’re a good player.”
(Why was Antoine Winfield your favorite player?) – “He tackled, he blitzed. I just thought he was a really solid, tough, physical (corner). (He) could cover. He could cover kicks. He was a really good player.”
(CB Xavien Howard posted a photo on social media and it looks rather alarming, I guess, with a large knee brace. What can you tell us about his situation? Did he have his knee scoped? Is he okay?) – “He had surgery on his knee. I’m not going to go into details on exactly what type of surgery he had, but he had surgery on his knee as you can see.”
(Do you expect CB Xavien Howard to be ready for the offseason program?) – “It’s very early in the process. We’re still – he just recently had surgery so he’s going through the recovery process. It’s way too early. It’s a couple of days in. We’ve got to get him in here and get him rehabbed. We’ll see how it goes.”
(Is that something you anticipated or did something new happen while CB Xavien Howard has been on IR with the knee? He went on IR with the knee, but is that something new that’s happened since he’s been on IR that led to surgery? Or was that planned?) – “I don’t like to go into detail about specific injuries and what happened, so I’ll just stay away from that one. He had surgery. He’s recovering. Surgery went well and he’s recovering. He’s going to do everything possible to get himself back and ready to go as quickly as possible.”
(How do you evaluate the rookies and the young players in the last two regular season games – who you want to see?) – “I think we evaluate them the way we have the entire year. Improvement in all areas. I think at this point in the year, you just want to see the consistency from a preparation standpoint and just really focus on one day at a time getting better. Today’s a third-down day. Tomorrow is red area. Yesterday was early down. Continuing to go through that process and knowing who we’re playing against, which the Bengals have some good players and guys who pose some issues, so we have to know who those players are, know their strengths, know their weaknesses, have an understanding of what we’re trying to do schematically; and if we just string good days together, then we’ll give ourselves a chance to play well on Sunday.”
(I know stopping the run is an everybody issue, but how would you say the linebackers and the defensive tackles have performed this season in terms of that role and responsibility?) – “I think there’s been instances where it’s been good. We’ve had a lot of let’s call it second-and-8-plus situations because we’ve had some good spurts of stopping the run I would say early in games, in the middle of games. It just hasn’t been consistent. From a run-fit standpoint, from a setting-the-edge standpoint, from a tackling standpoint; it just hasn’t been consistent enough. We need to try to play more consistently in the run game. It’s something we talk about. It’s something we practice. We’ve got to make it happen in the games.”
(How do you get to that consistent part? Is it different players? Is it better edge setting? Is it better tackling?) – “I think it’s a combination of all those things. I think it is edge setting, it’s tackling. If we play well and stop them, they’re probably going to come back to something else. So we need to play with good technique, good fundamentals, read our keys and just understand that they’ve got – there’s 100 different runs that a team could run – and we don’t necessarily know exactly what they are, but good teams, they make adjustments. ‘Hey, we’re doing this.’ ‘All right, what would you do?’ ‘What do we do to beat that?’ There’s something to beat everything, so they make adjustments and we have to be able to make our own adjustments. That’s players, that’s coaches, it starts with me. We just need to do it more consistently, and I would say we’ve tried to make those adjustments in-game and we talk about it and we actually make the adjustment and we’re ready to go and then there’s a missed tackle or no edge or whatever it is. There’s a myriad of issues. We need to get it cleaned up. It starts with me and I’ll try to do a better job.”
(With LB Raekwon McMillan being down, does that mean LB Sam Eguavoen has to be the guy who elevated and plays more in run downs, or is there another linebacker like LB Andrew Van Ginkel, or LB Vince Biegel who can move back a little bit?) – “I think Sam definitely has to step up and he’ll play more obviously. But Van Ginkel, Biegel – Jerome (Baker) will have to take on more of a leadership from a communications standpoint. The next guy just has to step up, like it’s been the entire year at all positions. We’ve had a litany of injuries. The next guys just have to step up and we have to get them ready. (Joe) Mixon is a good back. They’ve done a good job in the run game. This is a tough test for us. We need all hands on deck; we have to be ready to go.”
(Do you have players that you think can be core players for you for multiple years in the future?) – “I think that’s something that’s ongoing. Yeah, I think we have a number of players here who have the traits, have the talent, have the preparation process, that they have the ability to be here long-term. That’s up to them. We have to continue to work, continue to go through the process, continue to be consistent and every day counts. We’ve got to have a good day today, a good day tomorrow, a good week next week, a good offseason, and it’s on and on and on. This is ongoing. Yeah, there are guys here who could be here for a long time. Quite honestly, there are guys here who maybe we don’t think will be here for a long time, and then the light bulb goes off and then they are here for a long time. It goes both ways; but at the end of the day, it’s up to each individual. That’s the case for everybody in the organization. Player, coach, scout, equipment, security, it’s all the same. We just have to continue to get better every day and that’s the consistency we need.”
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Are you going to be able to spend any of Christmas with your family? Are they coming in?) – “Yeah, I’ll be able to spend Christmas with the family.”
(What’s it like in the Fitzpatrick home?) – “Craziness. It’s awesome. It lasts all day and the kids are psyched, and there’s plenty of breaks in between; but yeah, it really is the whole month leading up to it. Just the excitement is a lot of fun in our household and Santa spoils them rotten.”
(Does everybody open their presents all at once or is it one at a time?) – “No, no, no. We’re a big one-at-a-time family. I think we go oldest to youngest.”
(So it really does take all day?) – “God, it takes all day. It just keeps getting longer and longer, but that’s okay.”
(During your career you’ve had games where you’ve thrown four touchdown passes. You’ve had games where you’ve thrown four interceptions…) – “Six. Six and six.”
(You haven’t done that this year. Why? Why do you think you’ve been more consistent?) – “I think I’ve definitely tried to play within myself. I think I’ve tried to give this team stability, and I think that’s kind of what we needed and need; so I haven’t had some of those off-the-wall, crazy good games or bad games because I’m trying to be as consistent as I can and just making sure that I’m making the right decisions. We’ve had some good games and some bad games. They just haven’t been as high and as low as maybe I have historically.”
(When you signed a two-year deal here, was it in mind for that 2020 year coming into fruition?) – “You never know. You never know how things are going to work out. Every time you sign a contract, I guess you’re ready for the duration of the contract, and sometimes you get cut and that gets cut short. Sometimes you get extended. Sometimes you just play through it, and I’ve kind of done it every which-way. Those things, the contracts at least for me and historically throughout my career, they sometimes don’t mean a whole lot.”
(Was the hit you took against the Eagles the hardest you’ve taken this year?) – “The Eagles hit?”
(I’m sorry. The Giants. I apologize.) – “Oh, okay. I was going to say, you’re testing me right now.”
(I’m a few weeks off.) – “I think that one might have looked the worst. That wasn’t the one that felt the worst, but in terms of just unexpected – like I don’t know why I didn’t expect him to hit me like that, but I don’t think he expected me to turn back into him. But yeah, that was a pretty good one. It made a pretty loud pop.”
(You mentioned the stability part of the season and how important it was for this team. Is there a little bit of gunslinger in you that’s kind of missing that part of the action?) – “I still really enjoy running around and throwing the ball around and all that. I think I’ve done plenty of that this year. I think I’ve tried to tone down the crazy a little bit, and part of it for me, too, is also getting older and knowing that sometimes earlier in my career when we were down a few touchdowns, still believing that there was a 21-point throw that existed in the NFL. (laughter) I’ve learned some of that stuff as well as I’ve gotten older.”
(I know you mentioned early in the year that the main reason you came here was to play. Can you foresee a situation where you would come back if you weren’t in a position to play?) – “That’s something we can address probably at a later date, but I’m excited to be out there on Sunday.”
(The Pro Bowl teams were announced last night. WR DeVante Parker was not one of the four AFC receivers. Thoughts on that? Do you think he deserves be in?) – “I think it’s difficult to make the Pro Bowl. Especially at receiver, it’s very difficult. There’s so much talent out there. DeVante has definitely made a late surge as the season has gone on. He’s gotten better and better as the year has gone on, so I don’t know that that played in his favor at all; but we’re really happy that he’s on our team. I’m really happy I get to throw the ball to him, and I think he knows that based on being rewarded with a contract and just the way that we all feel about him in this building. Those things are great – Pro Bowls and all of the individual stuff – but I know he just wants to get this thing moving in the right direction and I think he’s been a great player for us this year.”
(There’s been a lot of calls for QB Josh Rosen throughout the year and even this week. I want to know how much you’ve heard that and what you think about Head Coach Brian Flores’ decision to stick with you despite all of that?) – “That part of it is out of my control. I just like to play. I’m happy he made the decision he made just to continue to have me go out there. I’ve tried to be consistent and tried to be the best version of myself each and every week. Again, I’m happy to be out there on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it. The other stuff, I can’t really think about or worry about. Just based on what he says, I go and do.”
(You said you’ve been in a lot of these rooms throughout your career where a young guy, old guy, all the different things. What do you think about the idea that you’ve got to see somebody’s potential before they make a rule upon them?) – “I just think quarterback’s a very difficult position to play, and I know everybody thinks the solution is to throw somebody out there on the field, and that’s the only way you can learn; but I know just throughout my career and watching different guys and even personally, there’s a lot of different things that you can learn about being a quarterback that don’t necessarily have to happen on the field on Sunday. I think whatever role you’re in, to be able to soak all that up as best you can and to keep taking little tidbits, whether it’s during a game on Sunday or throughout the week in preparation, you can continue to get better. I’m 15 years in and still trying to figure out, but I continue to try to work hard and try to take little things that I’ll either see from somebody else or just kind of pick up as I’m out there or rely on things I’ve seen guys do in the past. I think you can constantly learn no matter what setting or environment you’re in.”
(Do you think that leadership and teammates playing for a guy, for the quarterback, is inbred innate or can that be learned?) – “I think a lot of it is innate. I think it has to be genuine. Can you learn how to become a better leader? Yes. But if it’s not genuine, if it comes across as phony, if it comes across as rehearsed, then everyone in the locker room – we’re all grown men and interact with each other every day so it has to be genuine. It has to come from the right place. A lot of it is organic. It’s not ‘These are the three steps to leadership.’ ‘Okay, I’m going to follow that and become a better leader.’ There are things certainly that I’ve learned throughout my career that have helped me a lot and watching different guys, but I think a lot of it is innate.”
(We see I guess the finished version, or maybe you’d say not the finished version but the finished version of you as a leader and what you’re able to do on the field. Do you remember when you were starting to show those signs?) – “I think with me, throughout my career, a lot of it has been confidence. Just as soon as I figured out or convinced myself that I belonged, that I belonged in that huddle, that I belonged on the field, that I belonged in this league, that was like the final hurdle I kind of had to get over in order to release myself or be the version of myself that people wanted to follow. That confidence that I might not have necessarily had from being a seventh-round pick and scraping by to try to make the team every year, once I convinced myself that I belonged and that I was a starter in this league, I think that went a long way for me in terms of my confidence and the way that I carried myself.”
(Who is somebody that you would have fallen over the cliff?) – “Carson Palmer is one of the – I would say he’s one of the more unbelievable quarterbacks I’ve been around in terms of leadership. A lot of it with him – I mean Heisman winner, No. 1 pick – was humility. It was the fact that he was just one of the guys and he didn’t think he was better than anybody else. I think for a quarterback, toughness goes a long way too. He was tough as can be. So that was a guy that when I was young, I looked at. I revered (him). I thought this is the kind of guy that I want to be; this is the way I want to be looked at by the linemen, by whoever it was. I think that carried with him throughout his career. That was something that was natural for him, just kind of the guy that he is.”
(That ‘one of the guys’ aspect is really interesting because guys have said that about you all season. They feel like you’re one of the guys. At quarterback, it seems like that’s more of an outlier position where you have a lot of other stuff to focus on. How do you make that a prime focus to be one of the guys despite having more on your plate than maybe another position does?) – “I think it’s different for everyone and everybody has different things pulling at them off the field. I just think simple things like sitting in the meal room and eating lunch with guys and getting to know guys, something as simple and as silly as that goes such a long way. In my mind, I’m not like ‘Oh, I’m going to sit with Dan Kilgore today because I want him to block better for me.’ That’s not it. I think a lot of it is understanding that you’re part of a team and understanding that no one position is better than any other, that we’re all important and we all have to work together, and it’s such a great team sport to get on the same page to succeed. I think knowing guys personally and getting to know them on that level goes a long way towards chemistry and transferring it onto the field. That’s something I’ve just always placed an importance on.”
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
WR DeVante Parker
(You don’t feel like you got snubbed for the Pro Bowl or didn’t receive enough consideration for the season that you’re having?) – “No. I don’t care too much about the Pro Bowl. If I was in it, I probably wouldn’t go.”
(Really?) – “I don’t care about it.”
(Why is that? Why wouldn’t you not go?) – “It’s something I’m not interested in really. I don’t care about that. It’s all about politics. It’s all about who you are, so I really don’t care for the Pro Bowl.”
(At some point, would winning All Pro be more important because it’s voted on by people who are actually watching the games?) – “I don’t care about none of that. I just go out there and play.”
(Tell us about the things that are more important to you.) – “Winning games. That’s what’s more important.”
(Has this season been rough for you on that standpoint despite having such a good individual year?) – “Yeah, it has.”
(We know you were upset after the game on Sunday so you didn’t want to talk about your contract; but I was curious, a few days have passed now. What are your thoughts on being here long term?) – “It’s a good feeling. They still want me here and I still want to be here, too. We just connected on that.”
(When did you get an idea that this might happen?) – “When I was starting to have a good year this year.”
(A lot of times when players bet on themselves, and you did obviously with coming back here and all that, it doesn’t work out. How rewarding is it for you that you bet on yourself and you won?) – “It’s very important. I just showed what I can do consistently and the coaches, I guess they liked that (to) give me a long-term deal, a longer deal.”
(You obviously made progress this year. What’s the next step for DeVante Parker?) – “Just keep doing what I’ve been doing and we’ll see what happens.”
(Is this something you think you can build on this season that you had here?) – “Yeah, of course.”
(I know there’s fewer games in college football. Do you remember did you get to 1,000 yards in any of your college seasons?) – “No. The most I had was like 855.”
(What about high school? Did you play enough games to get to 1,000 yards?) – “Oh, yeah. The most I had was like 1,700. (laughter)”
(You probably had 1,000 in five weeks in high school.) – “(laughter) 1,700.”
(So when it happens, it will be special?) – “Yeah.”
(When we spoke earlier this season, you said that was a big goal for you. Now that it’s within reach, how do you feel about it?) – “If I get it, I do. If I don’t, it’s alright. I’ve still got other years, too.”
(It’ll just be alright for the season you had, the career highs you’ve been getting, you’ve been healthy on the field, it would be okay if you didn’t get it?) – “Yeah. People see what I can do now. I’ve got everybody on my side now.”
(Do you at all, because the team has been around for almost 60 years now, there are some great wide receivers that have played here. With where you are right now if you didn’t play another down you’d be 25th on the all-time list. You can get as high as the top 10 with two good games. Is that something – history – at all matter to you?) – “No, not really.”
(What are you most proud about your season?) – “Playing all the games so far.”
(The Dolphins were one of only two teams in the NFL – not just about you but in the whole locker room, nobody from the Pro Bowl is … What is your reaction to that? Is it surprising?) – “Like I said before, it’s all politics. It’s about who you are. That’s how I see it.”
(If you were picked as an alternate and they wanted you to play would you consider it?) – “No.”
(Your teammates, some of them we spoke with said that you’re the one guy that should be going. When you hear that from your teammates, what does that say to you, going to the Pro Bowl?) – “My teammates, they see and believed I would have a good year. I had ups and downs my whole career here. I just appreciate them for having my back.”
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
CB Nik Needham
(Obviously the team has had its struggles this year, but for you, this is the high point of your career. How have you balanced that? What has that felt like for you?) – “I wouldn’t necessarily say this is the high point of my career. Like you said, the team’s had struggles and I’ve also had a lot of struggles this year. I definitely feel it’s a learning experience but I’m just trying to take full advantage of everything and embrace it all, and just try to go out there and do my best, and do whatever I can in order to help the team win. That’s the main goal.”
(I take it it doesn’t take much to get you motivated for another game as you head towards Cincinnati this week?) – “No. I’m ready to go, just like every other week. I’m ready to roll.”
(Is it a little difficult over the holidays with all of this stuff going on?) – “No. With football, like last year we played around the holidays. We play on Thanksgiving. It’s not really Christmas. I haven’t spent Christmas with my family the past two years. It’s going to be the same thing. It’s nothing new to me. I’m ready for football. I’m not a big holiday guy either, only for presents (laughter).”
(It’s a different vibe in the locker room. Some fans are focused on whether QB Josh Rosen should start or not. Some are focused on draft position. Give me an idea of what the locker room is focused on and just what the motivation is.) – “Yeah, we’re all focused on the next practice and really the Bengals. That’s who we are playing this week. (Head Coach Brian) Flores just said that after practice today. He said there’s going to be a lot of talk about that stuff – like you said, the holidays, a lot of distractions with family coming in. Just make sure we’re locked in on the Bengals and locked in on the task at hand and we’ll be fine. We’re focused on the win for sure.”
(What have you learned about yourself this year? Just your saga coming in from training camp and being where you are now.) – “I think it’s all about mental toughness. It’s about mental toughness, just believing in yourself and not listening to outside noise. Just know that you’re young and you have to learn and you have to grow; but you have to learn quick because you’re out there competing for an NFL team. They expect for you to do your job and do it well. I think I’ve learned that. Not try to get to high on myself, not try to get to low. Stay away from Twitter. I’ve definitely done that because they will love you one day and hate you one day. Just don’t even worry about that stuff – social media – and just focus on who we play every week, who is my matchup, what do I need to do, what do they do, what they like to do and how I can make a play on the ball.”
(Do you have any family members or friends that do the social media and fill you in on what they say?) – “Yeah, my mom. She is big on social media, especially these past two or three years. I’ve been trying to tell her to slow down and chill. (laughter) She’s definitely gotten a lot better. She is really on that a lot. My dad is on it but not so much telling me about myself or anything. Every once in a while my friends will send me something, like when Saquon (Barkley) shook me. They’ll be like ‘How is your ankle?’ (laughter)”
(Did you phone blow up after that happened?) – “Yeah. I mean not bad; but I have people asking me (about it). What about the two tackles when I tackled him? Nobody talks about that. (laughter)”
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Are there guys on the roster right now who with a good showing in the next two games could earn a spot on the offseason roster, the 90-man roster? Is anybody in that category do you think right now?) – “I think every guy who plays and practices is every day working to compete, get better and prove themselves in this league or to this team. Yeah, I think every day guys are trying to compete and make a roster, make a team, continue playing. You want them to have all of that type of attitude. So yes, I think that’s the case every week and I don’t think that will change.”
(How much evaluation – I know every game and every week is an evaluation – but in terms of evaluation towards the offseason, how much of that is going on versus trying to win on Sunday?) – “Well, we’re always trying to win but part of winning is obviously playing well, practicing well, preparation, and all of those things are being evaluated. That’s for every player, every coach. Everything we do is being evaluated. Each guy has to go out there and play well individually and play well as a group – offense, defense, special teams – whatever your role is. If you do that, then things normally take care of themselves.”
(What have you seen from CB Nik Needham in terms of dealing with the inevitable ups and downs that come with playing cornerback in the NFL?) – “At that position and really all positions, you have to have a short memory. There will be some good plays, some bad plays, and you just have to be able to move on from both. Again, I’ve said this many times: you can’t get too high, you can’t get too low, you have to stay even. You just have to continue to prepare and go through your process and do things the way you’ve done them. Don’t try to do anything outside of what we’re teaching. If we do those things then we’ll be okay.”
(What have you seen from CB Nik Needham in that respect?) – “I think Nik has played well overall. He’s a young player. He’s smart. He tackles. He’s tough. He’s made – I’d say he’s made a lot of plays over the course of the season and he’s really improved. He’s given some up (as well); but he’s gotten better, and that’s really what you are looking for. I think where he was from that first preseason game to where he is now, I think there’s been substantial development from him. There’s some ups and downs with that but I think at the end of the day, he’s made a lot of improvements and we’re happy to see that. I know I am. I’ve expressed that to him. At the same time, there’s still room for improvement, room for growth. He’s got to work towards that. We’ll always try to keep the foot on the gas as far as helping these players, helping them improve and get better.”
(You said you are going to pick the best guys that give you the best chance to win games. At the quarterback position, what does the backup – QB Josh Rosen – need to do to close the gap with the starter, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “I understand the question with Josh and ‘Fitz.’ I think Josh has done a lot of good things in practice. He really has. He’s throwing the ball well, he’s making good decisions, he’s throwing with more accuracy. At the end of the day, ‘Fitz’ has played well also and he has a rapport with the team. Not that Josh doesn’t – Josh does as well and he’s building from that standpoint. Whether it’s with the scout team or when he gets his team reps in practice, they’ve been good. You can see the improvement. But we just feel like going with ‘Fitz’ is the best thing for us to win the game or to try to win the game on Sunday. From meetings to walkthroughs to all of the preparation, as a coaching staff we’re with them on a daily basis and I think we have a good feel for what that is. To answer your question, for Josh and the steps he’s got to take, I think he’s taken those steps. I think in due time, he’ll get his opportunity.”
(If you had to give QB Josh Rosen a list of three things – improve on these three things Josh – what’s on that list?) – “I’ve given him that list, for sure.”
(You’re not giving me that list.) – “I’m not giving you that list. Again, like I’ve said all year, those conversations between me and the players and me and (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and me and ownership, those are internal conversations and we’re not going to share that with – I think it’s common courtesy to not share that with anyone else. Those are private conversations that Josh and I have had. It’s not just Josh but really multiple players on this team, because they all want to compete and play, and they all ask, ‘What can I do to get in there, to get better?’ I have a lot of those conversations. I don’t think it’s the right thing to share them with everybody.”
(Everyone admires and respect QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Some fans, some media members, me – I wonder and maybe you can help me understand, how, if at all, is it in the best long-term interest of this franchise to start a 37-year-old over a 22-year-old – if there’s an answer, I really want to hear it – starting a 37-year-old over a 22-year-old when the record is 3-11 and there’s two games left?) – “Well, I guess my first thought is if we feel like that’s the best thing for us – and we do for us to win on Sunday – I think that is in the best interest of this team. I think – and this is philosophically, I think people will feel differently about it – I think that any time – you always want to give yourself the best opportunity to win. I think it’s easy for people to sit and say ‘you should do this or that, or this or that.’ I don’t think those same people will stand in front of that group and say ‘this is in the best interest of the team, for us to win this week.’ That’s no knock on Josh. Maybe you think that’s in the best interest, but you’re not in front of this team every day. You’re not in the trenches and a lot of people aren’t. Those are decisions I have to make, and we as a coaching staff, we go through this diligently and we come out of it with that decision, and we feel like that’s the best thing to do.”
(Do you think QB Josh Rosen has a future with this team?) – “Josh Rosen is a very talented player. I think we all know that. I think he’s making a lot of improvement like I’ve been saying for the last few weeks. Yeah, I do. We’ll see where it goes. But right now, for this team and this week, we’re going to play ‘Fitz.’”
(I remember talking to C Daniel Kilgore a few weeks ago and he mentioned that the decision to go back to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, that’s something that gained you a lot of respect in the locker room. Did you think about that when you made that decision, just keeping the locker room trusting you?) – “I always try to do what I feel is best for this team. I’m always going to try to do that really on a day-to-day basis.”
(Now that LB Raekwon McMillan was placed on IR, how would you assess his development this season?) – “I think Raekwon has done a good job specifically from a leadership standpoint. He’s a guy who is very vocal, he gets his teammates going, he meets extra with the linebacker position and the defensive front. He’s made a lot of progress that way. It’s unfortunate that he went down last week and we’re not going to have him for the rest of the season but I thought he made a lot of progress over the course of the year.”
(Yesterday the Pro Bowl rosters were announced. The Dolphins do not have a selection. I wanted to get your reaction to that, and particularly in the case of WR DeVante Parker, who the numbers say he had a good case to be considered. What are your thoughts?) – “I think making a Pro Bowl is a great accomplishment. Congrats to all of the players who made it. DeVante, I thought he’s had a good season; but there are a lot of other players who had good seasons as well. Not everybody makes it. My thoughts on the Pro Bowl are very minimal to be honest with you. I’m focused on the Bengals and helping this team improve this week, build and get better. Hopefully we’re prepared to try to win a football game next Sunday. But yeah, congrats to all of the guys who made the Pro Bowl.”
(T Laremy Tunsil and S Minkah Fitzpatrick both made the Pro Bowl. QB Ryan Tannehill was an alternate. These are all guys that were on your roster at the beginning of the year. Do you kind of wish you had those guys back?) – “No. I just worry about the guys we’ve got on our team. I don’t really worry about anyone else. Those guys are deserving and congrats to them, but I’ve got a group that I enjoy coaching and that’s where my thoughts are. They’re not on ‘what ifs,’ or ‘what could have beens.’ I personally don’t think you get much out of that.”
(Your running game has been struggling all season. Have you seen improvement over the last week or two?) – “I thought there were instances last week where we ran a little bit better. It could always be better, especially early in games. We’ll keep working on it and keep trying to stick the runs in there and hopefully block it better, run better and break more tackles. There’s a lot that goes into it. I think we talk about it every week. I would say it was a little bit better last week, and hopefully we see some more improvement this week and in the future.”
