Wednesday, August 24, 2022
LB Jaelan Phillips
(You must be feeling good in that orange jersey?) – “It’s a little crinkled up and a little sweaty right now, but I’m feeling great.”
(How does last practice and this one compounding those two practices?) – “Yes, I mean it feels great. I feel like I’m just kind of really getting into gear as the season’s coming soon. So we’re just rolling along and trying to get better every day. But it’s definitely great to get these opportunities and reps out here.”
(We saw you and I think Landon Dickerson kind of mix it up. Just from your vantage point, what was going on? It looked like it was physical on that side.) – “Yes, we’re just competing man. It was hot out here. We’re having a great time competing. There’s no animosity. That’s just that competitive spirit, man. You’ve got to butt heads sometimes. So it’s just good on good. We’re getting them better. They’re getting us better.”
(What did the Eagles do on offense that is maybe a little different from what you see with your own offense every day?) – “They do a lot of quarterback run, obviously, with Jalen (Hurts) being back there. But they’re just a very multiple offense. I mean, they’re similar to ours in that sense. They’re solid. They’re good. They’re doing their thing.”
(How does this compare to going against the Bucs in joint practices?) – “Different schemes, definitely, but the intensity is there and I think that’s what’s important. We’re just trying to come out here, push our conditioning and just get better every day. So that’s kind of similar in that sense.”
(How tough is balance between not being able to go at each other full impact, but still wanting to mix it up a little bit? Talk about the delicate balance.) – “Yeah, I mean, this is pretty full impact out there. We’re going after it. (laughter) I don’t know if you saw some pulling guards coming after me, but you have to obviously take care of that the team and take care of our teammates. So you always want to hold it back a little bit, but we’re competing out there, definitely.”
(Was that you who went flying when the whole dust up happened?) – “I don’t know. (laughter) Maybe. Maybe not.”
(This defense is more accomplished than the offense at this point. Do you feel that the defense can carry this team for the first half until the offense catches up? Or could you carry the team all season if necessary?) – “Honestly, it’s just complementary football. It’s us feeding off of each other. It’s us carrying each other. You don’t ever want to have a team that’s one-sided. Like you want every aspect of the team to be able to carry that load. So I’m completely confident in our offense, our defense, our special teams. So we’re just trying to get better every phase of the ball, every game.”
(What were your impressions of another Jalen, Jalen Hurts?) – “He’s fast. He’s a really good quarterback. Obviously he has some experience in this league. I’ve been watching him since he was at college, so it’s cool to get those reps against him.”
(Too many Alabama guys out there.) – “There’s a lot of Alabama guys, a lot of Bama guys. (laughter) I think I’m only ‘U’ (University of Miami) one though, sadly.”
(What’s that like for a University of Miami Hurricane? You’re in South Florida and all these Alabama guys are running around.) – “I mean, I don’t pay much mind to it. (laughter) But it’s cool to see all these talented guys come in here and get us better, like I said, and we try to do our part.”
(Did you get to Jalen Hurts? What’s the challenge when you have a guy like that?) – “I mean, I have to watch the film. I think I got to him. But that’s up to the refs to decide. But with him, playing against a guy who can run the ball, who can pass the ball, it just makes you honor all aspects of his game. And so it was definitely good work for us, because there’s plenty of other quarterbacks out there like that. So we need to get that practice.”
(With so many pass-rushing linebackers on this defense, it feels like come fourth quarter, everybody is still going to be fresh and still going to be relentless. Have you gotten a sense of that from practice of, I guess, sharing reps and how fresh you could be at the end of the game?) – “Yes, and like I said earlier, we’re just continuously trying to push our conditioning. … We’re just trying to push our conditioning so that every one of us can be available at any time. But having that depth, having guys you can trust, it’s definitely helpful. Just keep the o-line on their toes and keep us rotating in and out.”
(I don’t know how much you might play on Saturday, if at all, but do you like these formats where it’s two joint practices and a couple days as opposed to that fourth preseason game?) – “Yes, honestly this is only my second year, and last year, I was hurt for the first preseason game. So I’m still kind of getting my footing in it, but I’m enjoying it. I think that it’s the right balance of getting us the experience before the season but not wearing us out too much before the season. So yes, I’m excited for this week and excited for Week 1 to come, for sure.”
(How much more prepared do you feel going into this year than you did as a rookie? Obviously you missed most of camp last year.) – “Yes, I mean I definitely feel more prepared, both mentally and physically. But just still continuously trying to get better every day. I have a lot of room to grow, a lot of things to work on in my game. So every day is a challenge to come out here, not think about the future, not think about the past and just really be dedicated to trying to improve all those little aspects.”
(You rushed up the middle a lot at the University of Miami, didn’t you?) – “Yes, I did a little bit of 3-(technique) action. I’m a small 3-tech, but I get loose a little bit in that pass rush.”
(I saw that today. Is that new for you this year?) – “Yes, I mean I did it a little bit last year, too. I think there’s just we have different schemes that we try to do, and I just want to be able to help the team out as much as possible and be available to do whatever they really want me to do.”
(How has LB Melvin Ingram become more incorporated as he’s gotten more reps in this defense?) – “Melvin (Ingram) is just – he’s learned the defense at this point. He’s great veteran leadership, extremely talented pass rusher and early down stopper, honestly, too. So he’s been invaluable for me and for our team, just learning from him and really just picking his brain on what it’s like to be an elite pass rusher and an elite edge player in the league.”
(What challenges does it present an offense when your defense has guys like you and LB Melvin Ingram who can rush but also drop back in coverage? What sort of challenges does that present especially for quarterback?) – “Yes, I mean I guess for – I’m not a quarterback, so I don’t really know. (laughter) But I think that just being able to do multiple things within the scheme of a defense gives them challenging looks and makes them honor both aspects of that game.”
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(You set the tone with the first one, right? You had to set the tone with the first one to WR Tyreek Hill in the corner?) – “As ‘Coach Bev’ (Darrell Bevell) – because me and Tyreek were going back and forth about what route he wanted to run first. He told me any route. I said, ‘what route do you want to run?’ He said any route. So ‘Coach Bev’ jumped in and said, ‘Hey, I want to hear the crowd cheer.’ So I said, just run a go. So we ran a go route and Tyreek caught the ball, so that was cool.”
(That will get the crowd going right?) – “Yeah. That was really nice.”
(We heard Head Coach Mike McDaniel do an interview earlier this week talking about how it’s cool to watch you become a professional before his eyes. I just wanted to get your perspective on what he means by that and kind of your development and command of this team and this offense.) – “Yeah, I think just being able to understand the concepts of the plays we’re given on a day-to-day basis. There’s some plays that are installed day of and for us to go out there, be able to walk through it, kind of see it come to life, and then execute it against our defense or an opposing team’s defense, I think that that’s what he’s kind of talking about.
(Did it feel like homecoming today) – “Homecoming?”
(With all the Alabama…) –“I think it was cool seeing my ex-Alabama teammates. It’s good to see that they’re doing good for themselves and their families, being able to compete at the highest level, and it’s not like they’re backup guys. They’re starters. So that was awesome to see.”
(Did you talk to Jalen Hurts at all?) – “I got to talk to Jalen. I got to talk to Gardner Minshew. I also got to talk to Reid Sinnett. I know as you guys know, he was here a couple years back with us. I think that was awesome to be able to see those guys, talk to them. It was very brief.”
(With Jalen, you guys are both going into your third season. Obviously you had an interesting dynamic at Alabama. How do you think overall that really prepared you for your first couple of years in the NFL and particularly the changes that you went through in college, you stepping in and Jalen stepping in at quarterback?) – “Yeah, I knew when I went to Alabama, I’d have to compete and compete against a guy that was really good. The year before that he was the SEC Player of the Year at the time and he led his team to the national championship. So I knew what I was up against. But at the same time, when you go to a place like that, the standards are high, expectations are extremely high as well, because of the success that they’ve had. And really just you’ve got to go out there and compete every day. And I would say that’s how being at a place like Alabama has helped set up success for me coming into the NFL is nothing’s given to you. You got to earn everything.”
(A while back you mentioned that you talked with Jalen Hurts around his first NFL start. Can you talk about how you guys kept in contact and why is that relationship important to you two?) – “Yeah, I think all these relationships are important to me, not just with Jalen, but with Mac (Jones) and the younger quarterbacks that are coming up from Alabama. It’s good to be in contact with those guys. They’re starters and having a good relationship with them throughout the years at Alabama helps, then you can call them ask them about what they’ve seen with previous teams that they’ve played against in the NFL, how did they scheme you guys up and just things like that. And it doesn’t always have to be football. It can also be how are you doing? How’s the family life? How’s everything like that? I would say all of our relationships have been good.”
(This yea,r how ready are you right now for Week 1?) – “I think we’re all ready as a team. I think we’re ready. It doesn’t hurt that we get these extra days to continue to work on our craft, but I would say we’re ready.”
(We get all the talk about WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle and their speed, but we see plenty of big plays from WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. and WR Erik Ezukanma with their size and physicality. How does that balance in the receivers room make your job easier?) – “It makes it a lot easier. Jaylen gets Tyreek open. Tyreek gets Jaylen open. Tyreek and Jaylen get everyone else open. And those – all three, all four, whoever’s out there; they get their running backs open. And so it opens up a lot of things for our run game and our run game opens up a lot of things for our play pass, so everything really complements kind of the scheme that we play football on offense.”
(As this preseason and training camp comes to a close, what’s felt different about this year than the previous two?) – “Everything. Everything. The offense is different. The confidence that the guys have coming out to practice is different. The confidence that the guys have coming into the building is different. The way we do things around the building is different. Just everything. I can’t necessarily point to one thing and I think that’s what’s going to help make us a better team is us spending more time with each other, not just in the building, but outside the building. And we’ll see where this thing goes for us.”
(Just to follow up, where is that confidence coming from for you and the team?) – “Yeah, I think for the team, it’s the guys that that are helping us get to where we want to go. And I would say it’s our position coaches. It’s obviously our head coach, who is probably one of the most optimistic people I’ve ever been around, and I would say just those guys and kind of the leadership that Mike (McDaniel) displays for everyone to see. I think that’s what gives the entirety of the team confidence.”
(We’re from Philadelphia and apologize if it was already asked, but with Jalen here, what did you learn about him when you guys were together about his character with everything that went down there at Alabama?) – “I think first thing’s first, for Jalen, when I went to Alabama, the dude’s a hard worker in the weight room, in the classroom and then on the field. The dude had to be the first into the weight room, he had to be the first out onto the field. Like sprints, he had to be first. So it really tells you how he goes about his life. It tells you about how he kind of sees things and how he looks at things. Obviously he’s a competitor. He never wants to be last, so that should tell you a lot about him.”
(How has your relationship with Jalen Hurts evolved? Do you guys spend time in the offseason together? How is that?) – “I would say we don’t spend time together in the offseason, but we text each other. Really just checking in. And then I remember last season, we’d been texting each other quite a large amount. Just you know, for me when I ended up playing the Saints, he played the Saints prior. I texted him about that. He gave me some tips. He texted me about playing another team. I gave him some tips. You know, just things like that. So I think that that was cool. I know our relationship with me and Jalen is not going to go anywhere. My relationship with me and Mac (Jones) is not going to go anywhere. Regardless of how many times we talk throughout the year throughout the week, or if we don’t.”
(Did you have a chance to talk to Jalen Hurts prior to practice today at all?) – “I didn’t talk to him prior. I talked to him during practice, so yeah. They were telling me it was hot. (laughter)”
(On Philadelphia’s physical defensive front and Haason Reddick) – “Yeah, I think their defense, they’re good. Obviously it’s a little different with climate change and I do understand that they just got done with a game in Cleveland. They just went back to Philly and they had to come here to Miami and practice already, which I know they don’t want anyone feeling bad for them but I think they did a great job coming out here and showing us some really good looks. They gave us opportunities to have to execute really well on offense.”
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(Was that fun?) – “It was fun. Any time you get a chance to compete against another team, that’s always fun.
(First day of joint practices. How would you assess the defense? It seemed like it got a little testy at times…) – “Like I told him, it was fun. But it was a lot of back and forth. We’ve got to go back and watch film and see what we struggled with but it was good competition for both sides of the ball.
(I know you’ve got to see the film first, but on first look, what do the Eagles to that is maybe different from what you see with your offense every day?) – “I mean they came out with a lot of lateral run but we fought hard. Like I said, we’ve got to go back and watch film see what we really struggled on but like I said, it’s competition on both sides of the ball and we’re just getting better.”
(What makes QB Jalen Hurts dangerous as a quarterback?) – “His run game. You’ve got to be aware that he can run the ball and throw the ball too.
(On keeping QB Jalen Hurts contained) – “That was kind of the main emphasis. Keep him in the pocket. Don’t let him escape the pocket.”
(On DT Christian Wilkins’ energy) – “Yeah, Christian brings the energy. We like it when he gets going. It makes everybody get going too.”
(The other team doesn’t like it too much, huh?) – “Nah. I would say Christian is one of the most hated dudes on another team. (laughter) We love him over here though.”
(When you have these joint practices, how do you measure success? Is it unit by unit? 11-on-11? 1-on-1? How do you measure success?) – “It’s a team sport. If we struggle giving up pass plays, then it’s the d-line. The d-line didn’t get back there fast enough. Or the DB didn’t cover long enough. It’s a team game. If one struggles, we all struggle.”
(We were on the other side and we saw a little dust up with DT Christian Wilkins. What did you see?) – “It’s competition. Any time you have competition against another team, it brings out the best in guys. We’ve got Christian’s back. Whatever he wants to do, we’ve got it.”
CB Kader Kohou
(What’s the biggest difference between Texas A&M-Commerce and their level of football and the NFL? Has it been the speed of the game? Something else you can point to? Or is there not a dramatic difference?) – ”I wouldn’t say there is not a dramatic difference. It’s football at the end of the day. But it has been a big transition playbook-wise and learning the playbook. That was probably the biggest issue. I’m picking it up as we go along, but it’s football at the end of the day. Just more fans in the stands. Way more. (laughter)”
(There was a play where you almost got your hands on the ball and almost got a pick. You were following a receiver and kind of passed him off. What did you see on that play to almost make a play?) – “My coaches just harped on it the whole week. Leading up to it, he just kept telling me that play was going to happen and I have to make a play on it. I give the credit to all of my coaches for getting me ready for that specific play.”
(Which coach was that?) – “All of them. My defensive coordinator, my position coach – they all made sure during the whole week, they just let us know what was going to come when we got to the game.”
(Learning the playbook is something that you’re adjusting to. At Texas A&M Commerce, stylistically what was similar? And what is different now with Miami?) – “Miami is more aggressive. The college I went to was kind of aggressive. When I say playbook, it’s just a lot more plays. In college we probably only had like 15 plays. Here it’s like 70 or 80. You’ve really got to stay in your playbook. That was a big adjustment.”
(How important was it to you when you decided to sign here that Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer was a guy who liked you? I know he called you. Was that something important in you deciding to come here?) – “Yeah. I know when you get recruited to college, you want to go to a good coach and a guy you’ve got a relationship with. When I talked to Josh, he seemed like he was upfront and real with everything he was saying. I read that through the Zoom call. That was a big deal to me.”
(What does he see in you that he’s expressed to you? What skills has he expressed to you) – “I’m not really sure, but he liked something because he got me here. (laughter)”
(What was your confidence level? You’ve got to be pretty confident. What’s your confidence level at the beginning and now that you’re starting to figure this thing out?) – “Coming in, I was just trying to learn a lot because I know it is a big transition. The confidence I had before is the same confidence I have now. I’m just starting to pick up a little more. Coming from a smaller school, you’ve got to have a chip on your shoulder. I have the same confidence that I had at (Texas A&M) Commerce that I have here.”
(Do you feel like you belong?) – “Yes sir, most definitely I feel like I belong.”
(Why?) – “I’m just going to have to show you all. (laughter) We’ve got a preseason game coming up. I’ll let my play do my talking.”
(I know that you moved here form the Ivory Coast as a kid and didn’t speak English. Tell me the story.) – “The short story is my dad had just won the lottery and we moved over here. He just wanted a better opportunity for his kids, so we moved out here. That was a way harder transition – not speaking English and not knowing anything about football. But I used sports to make friends. From then on, things stated stacking on top of each other. Learning the language was the biggest barrier though. After I learned the language, it started going along pretty smoothly.”
(Have you ever been back to the Ivory Coast?) – “No, sir. I plan to. It’s just with football, you have summer workouts and stuff like that, so I don’t have too much time to go back. But I plan on doing it.”
(How does a guy with futbol in his blood fall in love with the NFL?) – “To be honest, the only reason I played soccer is because that was the only sport we had. I wouldn’t say I loved soccer. I fell in love with football but I didn’t really love soccer.”
(Is French your first language?) – “Yeah, French is my first language.”
DT Zach Sieler
(How good did it feel to get there and have some brief playing time in the preseason game but also come away with the sack and be productive? How did that feel?) – “It just felt good to get back out there. It’s been since last season, so it felt good to get back out there, get some live bullets and some playing time.”
(What goes through your mind when the starting unit is out there and then you come out and you see guys like LB Porter Gustin and DL Owen Carney Jr. and DL Ben Stille starting to compete as well?) – “It’s awesome. We’re excited for everybody. We want to see everyone succeed here. So it’s a great feeling seeing those guys take the technique they’ve learned over the last few months and kind of apply it, use it in games and be successful with it.”
(Are you seeing progress in this team’s run game offensively as you go against it?) – “I think our offense is doing great building and learning from each other. The defense-offense is very competitive each practice, and it’s very exciting to watch.”
(What’s the skill with OL Connor Williams that you think can make him a good NFL center when you know he’s a good NFL guard?) – “He’s very smart. He’s very smart, he knows what to do, he’s savvy and he just works.”
(You already do a ton for this team. You played about half the downs last year on defense. Do you think your role might expand even further with DL Adam Butler’s departure? Are you being asked to do more at this point by Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer and Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark than you were a year ago?) – “I think the way we’ve always prepared as a d-line is be ready for anything. So just like last year and just like this year, it’s be ready for is put on your (plate) each week. I’m ready for whatever we plan to do, whatever our gameplan is and just be always ready.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(We got the news about CB Mackensie Alexander going on IR. If you could just update us please on where you stand at corner. Are CB Nik Needham and DB Keion Crossen good to go this week? Are you guys looking for more veteran help with Mackensie now out?) – “Yeah, it’s been a long time since I first or after the game – and you know, there’s some medical undertakings that go in that process and so that was unfortunate. Really unfortunate for him, specifically, because you just feel like you just got him and he was doing some good work out there, so that was unfortunate. As far as Nik, he’s good to go. And then Keion is day to day just really, really trying to be proactive and not stress a guy that’s been really, really getting better, and doing good things. So as it stands right now, we are a week away from the final roster cuts around the league. Right now all that means is there’s some guys that have been getting opportunities that will continue to get some good opportunities. I feel pretty good about all the development that we’ve had at that position. And, you know, it’s kind of twofold. I’ve got the whole coaching staff really just focused on these guys taking advantage of their opportunities and making sure that they continue to progress and correct, which is the nuts and bolts of how you’re successful in this league. While you know Chris (Grier) and his staff are kind of preparing for who’s going to be out there in a week, so that we can make the best decisions for the 53 for the Miami Dolphins. This is the nature of NFL football and I would be a lot more concerned if I didn’t really like the guys that are on our roster that really did some good stuff on Saturday.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa when he was asked about the run game after the Raiders game, he mentioned that a lot of the plays were very basic. Things like that. Do you expect that to continue this week in joint practices leading up to the season finale or do you plan on switching it up?) – ”No, I would – again, like I told you I’m pretty well-versed in preseason football. And no, I look at it more like okay, what are we going against? How are they playing? And what should we do? Are things in the run game a product of three or four guys and how they’re operating? Or is it one player on each play? More than anything really this preseason, we haven’t got stuff going because it’s been one or two guys off, which I’m more concerned about the players, whether they learn from that are not. Joint practices generally you’re a little more comfortable doing not the one-on-one version of your run game, pass game, defense. But I wouldn’t see myself – again I look at a collection of things. I want stuff to be better from that Raiders game and I want I want us to run the ball well, but at the same time, I think our players are pretty confident and the coaching staff I know is, that we’re going to be fine moving forward. We just have to get better from stuff. That’s what I’m concerned about. So my philosophy’s not going to change. That’s something that’s par for the course in preseason sometimes. Depending on what the other team is trying to work on and do and what they’re concerned about, sometimes you have awesome – I think I’ve had 180-yard running games in seasons that you haven’t finished high in rushing yards and vice versa. So it’s just kind of par for the course.”
(Getting back to the cornerback position. Because things are so basic in preseason, when you’re evaluating guys, you want the guys that it comes easy to the basic stuff, right? You can work with the guy that does the basic stuff, right?) – “Right. And you’re also doing on both sides of the ball, you’re really trying to be basic for that sense because you want to see how they can perform without schematic help necessarily. Offensively and defensively, you call games different because you are trying to – there’s a portion of it that you’re really trying to not just hold back the stuff that you’re going to do in the regular season, but you’re also trying to put people in positions to prove themselves. We had a ton of man coverage in this past game, a ton of it for that reason, so that we could evaluate people at all positions. And that’s a very important thing. Now, we might show up at games and do the same thing. You know, who knows, but the purpose of doing it was just for the reason you’re talking about, because we’re trying to evaluate and see how people can do the fundamentals and technique that we talk about at length each and every day.”
(Do you find it easier to evaluate, analyze players in those specific situations you could put them in joint practices, as opposed to the big game format of preseason? And also, what are you looking forward to most in the final preseason game?) – “Yeah, the joint practices are easier because there’s a good majority that you can dictate the terms. You make sure you get a certain amount of plays, you can dictate how much run versus pass. Those things are kind of controlled, whereas in a game you can’t control whether or not you have multiple possessions in the first quarter, and you can’t really determine whether or not – people call games off of the momentum of it. So, you end up adjusting to what’s being called or trying to dictate the terms of what you call so it’s a lot easier there. And joint practices really, that is my favorite part of the preseason, in general, is when you do get those opportunities to practice against other people. It’s such a great opportunity for both sides of the ball to defend against and to run your offense against different techniques, coverages, alignments, assignments, all that stuff. That is what you have to do to be successful in the NFL season, is adjust. So it is really fun. It breaks stuff up. We’ve been doing this – I feel like I’ve been meeting you guys in this room for couple months now. Maybe it’s been one, but training camp does get monotonous to guys, and so it’s a great way to really break stuff up and make sure you keep that competitive nature. Going through the process and before you start preparing for your Week 1 opponent.”
(What did you guys think of Devonta Smith and/or Jalen Hurts when you kind of assessed them in your previous stop?) – “Yeah, both players were both very good players that I think that when we were evaluating him, we knew him as ‘Slim Reaper.’ That dude is awesome. I really respect his game, how he goes about his business. I’ve always had an intrigue with guys that can be on the slimmer side and play the game physically. He’s a cool player. And Jalen (Hurts), yeah, I’ve seen him coming out, know his path. I think he wasn’t a first-round draft pick and that bothered him. And he did the best thing that you can do as a player and that’s prove other teams wrong. I think he’s really developing in his pass game, like he’s always been able to throw real well, but as far as the timing and how he competes in that way. And then they do a great job featuring him in the run game as well. So both players – were very, very interested in when they came out. We just specifically, the ‘Slim Reaper,’ we knew we weren’t going to have an opportunity to draft him, but we thought it’d be cool if we could.”
(I know you have to be true to your process before…) – “Oh, the process. It’s always about the process…”
(Have you already made a decision on this week based on playing all the starters this past week?) – “No, I mean what I say with that. I have feelings that it’s impossible for you not to be like, ‘alright, well, I would anticipate X, Y or Z,’ but they are just feelings. I truly let each practice play itself out. And then where are individual players, and what does that trickle-down have to do with other players. So I would tell you my feeling, but I feel like that’d be irresponsible and weird, if I just came up here and told you my feelings all the time. (laughter) So we’re going let stuff play out a little bit and then address each and every player for what they need. And there’s also a lot of things that go on. There’s a lot of decisions to be made. We have a good amount of depth at a lot of positions. We have NFL players really scratching and clawing to make the roster so I do not want that decided anywhere but the field. So those guys have to get themselves in there, too. So a lot to do, a lot of exciting stuff for Miami Gardens this week, with the Philadelphia Eagles for every single player on the roster, because this is where everything comes to comes to fruition and you get to find out who your group of men are that you’re going to war with for the upcoming season.”
(So what are your feelings? If you were to not play most of your starters this week, you would be going into the regular season without seeing, “a dress rehearsal” for most guys, like for QB Tua Tagovailoa playing with WR Tyreek Hill and so forth. Would you be comfortable with that based on how they’ve looked in practice?) – “Yeah, I mean in theory, I could go – I really like where we’ve developed on both sides of the ball. In theory, you could – I think what you guys are seeing across the league is a bunch of organizations and coaching staffs and head coaches trying to adjust to three preseason games. Because there’s way more variance in the protocol. It was like clockwork when it was four preseason games, but it’s not just that it’s only three, it’s that there’s two weeks until the regular season begins. So those compounding variables make it kind of tricky. I believe the Super Bowl champions last year didn’t play anybody the entire preseason. I know Matthew Stafford didn’t, but then, philosophically, it kind of gears everything towards my belief anyway, which is it is case by case and I don’t like absolutes. I think there’s a lot of people in that same boat because there is not an exact formula. You’re trying to get guys to play together and you want those opportunities. Well, some guys, that’s not as big a deal for because they’re vested veterans that have done it, that have 100 games under their belts or whatever. Then you’re also trying to weigh the risk that everyone undertakes every time they’re on the football field. It’s really a maddening, non-perfect formula. But I feel very, I’m happy and I feel like I’m very lucky to be able to have that burden of decision on my plate, so that’s something that I don’t take lightly trying to figure out the best formula for the final product. But to do that, for me, I have to just let the process play out and ignore my feelings, which I don’t think you’re that interested in because right now I’m hungry. (laughter) Is that worth writing? Well, I am hungry, maybe I’ll explore more feelings moving forward.”
(How hopeful are you that when FB Alec Ingold is able to play in games, that he will have a positive impact in the run game? In what ways can he help?) – “The fullback position in general, is something that I believe does assist a lot of other players, not just his assignment, but how offensive linemen are able to execute their stuff. So I firmly believe in that. I guess – you know what, I’m just, I’m feeling in a great mood. My feeling is that Alec (Ingold) will get some time here Saturday, for that very reason. Boom, there we go. (laughter) But it is an asset that not just – that position in particular, ultimately affects really all the positions with how to do their job when you’re schematically setting up a play. So it’ll be exciting to see him get some joint work without a red jersey which is, by the way, one of the more confusing things – fullbacks and red jerseys (laughter) – but nothing we haven’t been able to handle. It’s just another obstacle we’ve had to climb this this offseason. But yeah, I think it will be cool to have him out on the field this week and hopefully everything goes well so that we can see a little bit of him on the game.
(We saw TE Hunter long get some pretty good run in the game on Saturday, how would you kind of measure his progress since you’ve been here?) – “Hunter Long had a very good week of practice in particular. He started off really, really good in OTAs and then I think if you even asked him himself, there was a little bit of time where he just kind of was out there and he wasn’t making that many plays in the run and pass game. And specifically, his position coach Jon Embree, had a heart-to-heart with him about a week ago just checking on him, and he really turned it up. So those are the things that I really, really look for, as a coach when you’re looking at players, is how do they handle any sort of adversity. So that being a light adversity, he had his best week of practice last week, and I thought he played very, very good in the game. One of the reasons that you call in the redzone, you go for it on fourth-and-7, is not because that’s your philosophy in the preseason, or just your philosophy in football. I was excited for a fourth-and-7 play to be called because I wanted to see what players would do what in a big moment. Alright, it’s fourth-and-7. Do they all of a sudden make stuff up and go rogue? Or do you see their best version of whatever route they’re running on the field and Hunter was in on that play, and he ran one of my favorite routes on the concept we ran that he’s ever run. That told me a lot. That was cool to see. And I’m excited for him joint practices to build upon specifically his last week of work, which I thought was outstanding.”
LB Melvin Ingram
(QB Tua Tagovailoa had mentioned that you, CB Xavien Howard, and some of the other veteran guys wanted to get out there, but Head Coach Mike McDaniel was being cautious there. From your vantage point, watching the defense, what did you like and what were your impressions?) – “A lot of guys flying around. I feel like we’ve got a chance to be special. There’s a lot of guys playing complementary football out there, flying around making plays, getting 11 hats to the ball. We did a good job of that.”
(What do you like about this defense as a whole?) – “It’s young. It’s young and it’s hungry, and that’s the key. When you have a young, hungry defense, you have a chance to be special for a long time.”
(Can you compare it to any other defense you’ve been on?) – “I don’t like doing that. This defense has its own unique style and it’s something special.”
(How do you feel where you’re at?) – “I feel great. I feel amazing. I’m sweating a little bit. (laughter)”
(These Miami Augusts are a little different, huh?) – “It’s cool. I’ve been down here a lot so I’m not tripping. It’s great weather. What other place would you rather be at?”
(Tomorrow you’re going to be facing the Philadelphia Eagles for a joint practice. How do you feel like the team is going to perform tomorrow?) – “We’re going to come out and step up to the challenge. We’re going to always do that no matter where we’re at. We’re going to come out and do it. We’re going to play football. It’s going to be another day. another day at the office. Put that hard hat on and go to work.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that in some cases, he kind of views the joint practices and overall training camp practices are more beneficial or more telling than a preseason game because you can dictate certain terms, whether it’s zone or third down.) – “Yeah, you get a chance to go against another opponent and it’s a practice style environment where you can do move the ball, run and you can control everything. It’s always good to do things like that. The preseason is always good too. You get to go out and fully tackle and see players do their thing. It’s always a good thing to go out and have joint practices.”
Tuesday, August 23, 2022
RB Salvon Ahmed
(I know after the first two preseason games, a talking point has been you guys aren’t getting as many rushing yards as you would have hoped. What has been the message and focus on getting the run game going?) – “Just coming out here and getting better every single day. I think that’s the goal with everything with every part of the game – the run game, passing, blocking, everything. You want to get better in every part of the game. There’s no worry. You just come out here and try to get better. That’s what practice is for and that’s what we keep doing.”
(Where do you think you’ve grown the most in this outside zone running scheme? I know you had a 12-yarder on the concept last weekend.) – “Just growing up and maturing – maturing in the game. I think you feel that also in life but in the game. You just kind of understand things a little bit more. But yeah, I love being a part of it. It’s been fun.”
(I know we talked in the past couple of years about coming in as an undrafted guy and kind of having to compete again with this running back room. Do you feel like the past kind of better prepared you for this? If so, how?) – “It’s been a fun process. Every year is fun. I enjoy being out here every single year and being a part of this squad. There’s a lot to learn from each year. I’m just trying to learn as much possible, keep coming out here and keep getting better.”
FB Alec Ingold
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said that there’s one player he can reveal will be playing on Saturday. Guess who?) – “I shed the red jersey and now I can play? I can finally play.”
(How do you feel about that?) – “It’s been a long time coming. I love playing football. As a football player, you love playing football and I’ve spent way too long in film rooms and on practice fields. It’s time to go strap up with these guys, so I’m really excited.”
(Who was the last guy that wasn’t a Dolphin that you hit hard in a game?) – “I mean it was against the Chiefs my last game. That’s kind of how it is. Any time you step on the field, you have to strap up tight and you have to be ready to bite down on that mouth guard. Yeah, I’m really excited to play against the Eagles in the preseason, get everything rolling and get all greased up and ready to go for September.”
(What have you been watching in the run game and what does this run game need to do to get going?) – “I think it’s all about the details and I think we’ve got a lot of guys that are detail-oriented. A lot of talent. A lot of character. It’s just staying on schedule. It’s staying on all of these installs and not taking anything lightly. Every detail and every play we have on the practice field, you have to have all of the intent in the world to make it better, make it go and then it’s time to translate it onto the game field. It’s really exciting.”
(Talking about the speed, how quick do you have to get to where you’ve got to be before the guys ever…) – “I’m full speed all of the time because we’ve got some fast guys behind me. It’s a challenge to get out there in front of these guys and read quick. No hesitation. You’ve got to be able to (read your) pre-snap keys and then go play. It’s challenging but that’s why we’re here. That’s why we want to play ball here and run the ball well.”
(I asked Head Coach Mike McDaniel about how an effective fullback can help the running back. He always brings up things that I don’t think of. He said he can help the offensive linemen. Fill me in – how do you think a fullback can help an offensive line or lineman?) – “Lineman, they line up and they’re in the trenches. You’re nose to nose, face to face, facemask to facemask, and they’ve got those cages on. So they’re seeing things quick. As a fullback, I’ve got five yards to be able to read things, be able to see the defense. I have one of the best seats in the house. So any time there’s any late stems, any late rotation, in the backfield we can pick that up and we can adjust. Everyone is going to take responsibility for it but as a fullback, you definitely want to help the guys in front of you and then the guy behind you too.”
(On that catch, were you in?) – “Oh, yeah. Yeah, a little toe drag swag. No doubt. (laughter)”
(How does your approach and your skillset compare to the likes of WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle?) – “(laughter) They’re about polar opposites but I think that’s why opposites attract is what they say. I think we’re going to have a smashmouth, physical run game, and those guys are going to bring the speed and we’re going to mesh well. Hopefully I can open some things up for them. That’s why I’m here. I’m here to serve everybody else on this offense. Hopefully I can do that for the passing game as well.”
(Your injury was last November, right?) – “Yep, I had surgery on Thanksgiving.”
(So that’s like nine months. Where are you at at nine months?) – “We set up a schedule and everyone that’s been a part of this recovery – all of the staff, the surgeon, everyone included – this was the plan from the jump. So to be able to execute that, not have any hold-up and to be able to out here and perform and be with the boys, this is what you dream of. I’m really fortunate, blessed and thankful – all the synonyms you can think of.”
(How many snaps would you like on Saturday?) – “As many as I can get. As many as I can get. Throw me in there as long as I can go. I want to be on the field as much as possible, for sure.”
(Have you spoken to FB Kyle Juszczyk? Have you been able to text or talk with him? Or at least watch film?) – “I watch him every day. He’s like the best teach tape you can possibly get. In every single cut-up we have, it’s straight teach tape. You get 30 plays of ‘Juice’ (Kyle Juszczyk) going and blocking exactly how he was supposed to. It’s great film to watch and I’m learning on the fly as fast as I possibly can. Yeah, you’ve got the best highlight reel you can possibly ask for for a fullback.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(l was going to ask you aside from CB Byron Jones, is there anyone on the team whose status must play out, is there anybody on the team whose status you think is in question for the regular season opener based on the injury information you’ve gotten?) – “I think all of the guys that we’ve discussed that are on the active roster, there’s no surprises at all. We’re working diligently to change that PUP to full go, and when that happens, we’ll have more information. But no, there’s not off the top my head any surprises. I try not to keep surprises from you guys.”
(I guess I’ll a little bit more specific. With CB Byron Jones, do you expect him this week to be able to practice?) – “With Byron, you really don’t have to worry about there being any secret agenda. It’s the same as it has been. The thing with him is you guys will know immediately when he’s able to practice because then he’ll be taken off PUP. There won’t be any surprise attacks with that.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle and T Terron Armstead, we saw Waddle miss a few practices. Armstead one and a half, kind of… and obviously didn’t play in the preseason game. How are they?) – “Both of them are doing real well. With (Terron) Armstead, that’s a guy that’s done it in the league at a high level and we’re trying to make sure that he’s ready to go Week 1. We evaluate that on a day-to-day basis. He’s been practicing but we’re trying not to overload him. He’s invested a good amount this offseason – more typically than he usually does. We’re just trying to be smart with that. I don’t have any concerns for Week 1 at all. The plan is that you guys will see him a little bit this week for sure. With Waddle, that’s just an exercise of restraint because I think I would probably be less cautious had he not come back from – out of any player on the team, his jump in the scheme from OTAs to training camp was the highest. He was doing well but kind of swimming in the playbook. I was very interested to see a second-year guy with his first offseason how he was going to come back for training camp. He exceeded my expectations and you guys know I have high expectations for him. So when we noticed something was a little tight, we really, really wanted to be preventative. We’ve been extra cautious with him just knowing where he’s at in his game within the offense and how well he’s doing. This week we plan to get him involved a little bit, but I plan to be very cautious with him as well just knowing what he means to the team and how we don’t want him to have any lingering setbacks. We want him full speed. We rely on him for a multitude of things and we want to make sure he’s comfortable and 100 percent full go. He’s starting to get pretty annoyed with how cautious we’re being, but I think it’s to his credit and I think it’s the best thing for the Dolphins and I think you guys would be mad at me if I wasn’t.”
(What goes in your process of selecting a guest speaker for the team at the team meetings? I know you all have different visitors throughout the course of this training camp, but what goes in your process of selecting?) – “Guys that have really achieved high things in whatever their walk is – football primarily. Out of all of the pool of guys, whoever says the strongest compliments to me and strokes my ego the most. (laughter) It all depends on what you’re trying to get across. We have so much access here in the city of Miami and then just the people involved in the organization to various people that have done such great things in their life whether it’s football or it’s MMA or whatever it is. It’s all about finding people that in one way, shape or form can help deliver and reiterate and give a new framing to the messaging that’s important for where our team is at. You look and see who maybe would inspire, maybe – they hear my voice every day so maybe a different voice hitting the same point at a different angle to just better hit home at things for the team to hear, as well as, I think there’s also something to be said about experiencing things together – a shared experience where you get someone who is elite at what they’re doing to come and speak and it’s pretty cool. Well, you’re sharing that with your teammates in that moment and that just kind of brings you together that much more with that shared common experience. I don’t trivialize the players’ time in the least. They know I put a lot of time into team meetings in general. So when someone is able to come into our close quarters and into our circle, it’s something they have high regard for and generally through our experience, it’s been pretty successful with getting the points across that we want to get across.”
(On the same topic I was curious what you took away from your visit with Erik Spoelstra last week and did he talk to the team?) – “That was awesome. He had some of his staff members there, too. His experience is just so unique in that he came in as a rookie head coach and I think he had pretty high expectations off the jump. Then to carry on success in different formulas – I’m not sure if this is true, but I think Boston had something going on but he’s one of the formula that’s pretty popular in the NBA now with three superstars – he had success in doing that. He also had success in different ways in maintaining one type of culture and being able to do it with a roster that was built – or really the production from the roster coming a little more spread out, seven, eight or nine people deep. We just talked really about the commonalities. It was interesting. He was pretty interested in YAC, which was a cool conversation because a lot of terms that we use for YAC, I kind of use basketball terms to kind of illustrate it. That was a cool conversation as well. It was more just can we get things from each other. Very different sports but very similar in that we’re all dealing with a time where the athletes are as athletic and finely-tuned as they ever have been in their lives. As a result, you have to train them differently. The days of – case in point – Larry Csonka and Don Shula four-a-days; those are things of the past. He even spoke about how things are a little bit different and how they approach things since 2010 and the physicality of practices and all those things. There wasa lot of commonality even though the sports are very different. It was just an awesome opportunity to have him around. I’m pretty sure that Tyreek jumped on the opportunity to land some courtside tickets in the process as well. He was grinding for that. When Tyreek first got here, he asked me for tickets to the Heat game and I said you’re talking to the wrong guy. I do not have a connection.”
(So when you’re talking basketball about spacing and ball movement and screens and picks, I’m not the biggest basketball fan and I’m not sure how much you watch. I’m sort of wondering how that relates to getting your receivers into open positions.) – “Oh you’ve got me going now. You’re dead right, though. We had the same conversation. I floated it out here because I don’t pretend to be an expert in basketball but in my experience and just generation, we’ve watched three-point percentages completely change, the range from where good shots are taken from, fast break three-pointers and just how the shooting range of players expands the defense. They have to guard more floor space, which theoretically and kind of the way we look at football specifically on offense is we’re trying to make a defense defend maximum amount of space. We do that with our principles of outside zone but also speed. One of the reasons you like speed is because now the defense has to defend more ground, so it’s kind of a similar philosophy of creating space. You do it in basketball with shooters so then you have to draw defenders out giving more space underneath and you do it in football with playing fast and having speed so that in the timing of the play defenders have to defend that much more area. Because in both sports, defenses are trying to do the same thing and that’s really, you’re really trying to compress the area that they have to defend. It was a really cool conversation. It’s something we couldn’t really forecast exactly where it was going to go but I think it was beneficial for both and I think there are some commonalities for sure in that.”
(Where do you stand on the possibility and maybe even recoil when I say this of using one roster spot out of 53 for a third-string quarterback?) – “Where do I stand? Well, as I stand behind this podium, I think the 53 is for the 53 best players. You’re open to whatever. You have to consider a lot of different things and sometimes that leaves you short or heavy in certain positions, but what I’ve found in my career is that you don’t pigeonhole yourself and make absolutes. You’d like to carry a certain amount of players and you’d like to have your cake and eat it, too, a lot of items. But when individuals’ performances merit it, you have to keep the 53 best players. I’ve done both in my career – I’ve had two, I’ve had three. There could be a scenario down the line some day that you’d want four and it might make sense. I’m not completely resistant to anything like that when we’re in the business of keeping good football players and you don’t always get to decide here they come from.”
(Your rookie class has been very productive so far the first two preseason games and I think according to the Jimmy Johnson draft chart you guys had the least amount of draft capital in that regard this year. How was that able to happen when you don’t have the draft capital, but they’re still producing at a high level?) – “You just know you can’t stop developing from the ground up so to speak on an NFL roster. So when you have limited resources – this wasn’t the first time I’ve been part of that – but you just know the stakes. The fact that you have limited resources means that you can spend more time in a given area projection of the draft. But it also puts pressure on you where you can’t afford to miss because then you have players under rookie contract – the way the CBA is written and the way the salary cap is, it catches up to you if you don’t have contributions from success of draft classes. It’s to the credit of Chris Grier and the scouting department, all of the position coaches and coordinators. When you have those limited resources, you know you need to get contribution from the class so you have to really dig your heels in and make sure that you’re not missing on those limited selections and opportunities.”
(Do you change the philosophy or practice plan from the first join practice against Tampa to the Eagles knowing you’re a little bit closer to the season?) – “I really, really test the entire building and organization with changes because it’s my philosophy to always change, to think through stuff – maybe it doesn’t change, but a lot of times you’re altering stuff depending on your exact situation. I think that’s more to do with the amount of reps that you can take and where your most depth is, the decisions you have to make in the pending future in those opportunities. Are you asking from a schematic (standpoint)?”
(Against Tampa we saw a lot of one-on-ones and high intensity stuff. Does that change or you take advantage of that now knowing you do have time off between, there’s like a week in between the last preseason game?) – “That’s the nature of joint practices. It’s hard. Guys are competitive and you plateau to a degree when you’re going against the same people all the time but then you get this random influx of different types of players and the competitor in each individual player – even if we tried to tone down in the intensity, it would be hard because they want to beat that guy across from them and prove it and they get more opportunities in joint practices where you can go a quarter as a receiver and maybe not catch man coverage or if you do catch man coverage, maybe the ball doesn’t go to you. Well, joint practice, you line up and how many one-on-one reps can I take? Because if I take six, I’m going to get six man-to-man opportunities and get the ball six times. So what I can I do with that? The only thing that we really would adjust is maybe the length of it, but the intensity and exactly what you’re doing, that’s hard to adjust and that kind of defeats the purpose of the joint practices.”
(There’s been a rising number of teams I guess in the last few years running similar variants of your offense. There’s always the offense catching up to defense, defense catching up to offense. I’m curious your early, I guess observations of how defenses are maybe adjusting to what you guys have at least shown in this point of preseason.) – “You’re exactly right. It is cyclical and people are always evolving because people are always working because there’s always competition within the coaching ranks of who can have the answers to the test. I do think that there are – the second people put something on tape that proves one way or the other on both sides of the ball to gives something problems, you’ll continue to see it again. That’s cyclical and you just kind of have to figure out how to take advantage of that because when you’re defending one thing, you’re not defending another thing. I think that started probably in 2018 – teams really started kind of showing up on game day against our offense and displaying stuff they hadn’t put on tape before. At that point in time was very concerning. It would just really rattle players and coaches alike because you just weren’t used to all of a sudden a defense showing up besides when you’d play the Patriots or something that teams were kind of what they were. But that has been something that through all those reps you kind of get used to and so it’s both the idea of having people come to game day and try stuff differently. I’ve become a lot more comfortable as the years have gone on as well as those little – it’s a copycat league so if you see edge pressure one week, you’re going to see it again and just like in the regular season it’s similar formula in the preseason because then defenses get the opportunity to say hey, well, this worked for this team. We don’t plan on doing this, so what have we got to lose? Let’s do it against this team in the preseason and throw their opponents off the scent and make them prepare for the stuff they just put in the preseason. So it’s a nice low-cost high-reward formula that fortunately – it was unfortunate at one time – but fortunately I’ve been used to and have a lot of reps at going through the years.”
