Saturday, August 3, 2024
RB De’Von Achane
(Nice to get a late game scenario and score a touchdown. How did that feel and being so active in the passing game on that drive?) – “It felt good. Like you said, I need the extra conditioning. It’s good to do something that you’re going to do in a real game before you get into the game, so I feel like that was a great period that we had.”
(Would that have been a touchdown? They signaled touchdown, but there seemed to be some dispute.) – “Most definitely that would’ve been a touchdown. But you know the defense, they’re a great defense. They’re good players, just like we are, so of course they’re going to say it wasn’t a touchdown. But we’re going with the ref. The ref (said), ‘Touchdown,’ touchdown.”
(Plus you got a little stronger this offseason, right? So you can power your way through?) – “Yeah, we’re on the two-yard line. It’s a touchdown for sure.”
(How has your pass catching improved year-over-year, your ability to catch the ball?) – “Improved a lot. That’s something I’ve always been doing, even when I was young. I like catching the football. Even though I am a running back, I also like doing receiver type of stuff. It makes me very different and unique in my own way.”
(On that drive you guys went up-tempo quite a bit, was the feed back positive on how quickly you guys got back to the line of scrimmage and got things going?) – “It was good. Like you said, we’re both competing – No. 1 offense and defense competing. So I feel like we kind of needed it because we’ve got one more practice before we go against somebody else. I feel like that period we did right there, the little two-minute period, its extra conditioning, because you can’t ever be in too much shape.”
(Can you talk a little bit about RB Raheem Mostert and how much he meant to you last year? What is one of the biggest things you picked up from him?) – “Raheem (Mostert) meant a lot last year. Just not him, just basically the whole room because I was a rookie last year so coming in, everything was new to me, so basically just him helping me out, learning the scheme. From this year to last year, I feel like I got a lot better and now we got a rookie coming in, I feel like, ‘OK, now I’m going to help him,’ because I know how I felt when I came in. I was kind of lost, wanting to know but not know how to ask somebody for help. So I just feel like ‘Heem’ (Raheem Mostert), I didn’t have to ask him to help. He’s been in the position that I was, so him just lending me a hand when I didn’t have to ask, I feel like he was a big support.”
(We’ve talked a little bit about getting more involved in the pass game and also in lining up out wide. How natural do you feel doing all that stuff right now?) – “I feel natural because, like I said, it’s not my first time. I’d see if I was new, like ‘OK, this is kind of new to me, me lining up outside.’ But I feel like this is something I’ve been doing for years, so it comes pretty natural. As long as I keep working on it, I feel like it just becomes a habit just like a running back.”
(Earlier today, Head Coach Mike McDaniel explained to us that he used WR Tyreek Hill’s block on a run play as an example of what the team needs to do in 2024. He said that the theme of today’s session was ‘We intend to be different.’ What does that mean to you?) – “Basically, like you said, Tyreek Hill is the No. 1 player in the NFL. So if he can go out there and block, why can’t nobody else? If he can go out there and lay his body on the line for us, why can’t we do the same? Basically just saying like as a team, I feel like we need that. Him being a leader, him going out there and doing that, it just shows us that if he gives his 110%, we can too.”
(Do you think you can get into that Top 100 this year?) – “We’re going to see, man. It’s a goal so we’re going to see how this year goes. If this year goes better than last year, then yes.”
(What are some of your goals for this year?) – “Most definitely stay healthy. I had injuries last year, so that’s something that I don’t want to go through again this year, so that’s a goal, and be better than last season. I had a pretty good season last year, but this time trying to not miss no games and be better. Always do better than you did last year.”
(Do you have a weight goal of where you want to play this year?) – “I wouldn’t say I have a weight goal. I don’t see myself getting too big because I run a lot, so it’s kind of – I wouldn’t say I’ve got a weight goal because I feel like I’m pretty comfortable at any weight right now.”
(Do you plan to play heavier than where you were last year or around the same?) – “I wouldn’t say I’m a – as far as muscle wise, I’m probably a little heavier, but I feel like for me it’s kind of the same. I still can run and do what I do, so I don’t feel too much of a difference.”
(What are your impressions of RB Jaylen Wright?) – “He’s great. I told him he’s doing better than I was last year as far as camp wise, picking up stuff pretty fast. He’s learning and he’s a quick learner. See me last year, it was kind of hard for me during this part of camp. It got easier for me as I got to the season, but I’ve already told him, ‘Man, you’re a quick learner.’ Last year I was struggling, I was stressing coming to practice, just not knowing. So I feel like he knows what he’s doing so he can go in there and he can play and feel like he’s in college still. He can go in there and play fast.”
Saturday, August 3, 2024
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(I saw you had Taylor Swift on the playlist. Were you able to attend the Taylor Swift concert? What are your thoughts on Taylor’s skills?) – “I haven’t been able to attend any of Taylor Swift’s concerts or whatever, but I’ve been listening to her music since I was in middle school, maybe? For her to be still going at this level and be an elite in the game is crazy. It’s crazy.”
(How happy were you with the tempo of the offense on that last drive right there at the end when you guys finished in the end zone?) – “I was happy. Anytime we’re able to finish in the end zone against our defense – we want to make it as competitive as possible for those guys, as much as they want to make it competitive for us. It was a good day overall. I think we were able to trade blows. It was a good back and fourth day. The only thing that matters is how you come the next day. So we’ll see how we all regroup as an offense, as a defense collectively and as we come out, we’ll see who has a better day.”
(How do you like RB De’Von Achane out of the back field? You went to him often that drive.) – “I love De’Von (Achane). Last year he showed a lot of capabilities of what he can do for us offensively from the backfield, going out, running routes in the slot, all of that. It wasn’t new to me being able to see what he can do, but it was really cool getting him involved. That’s sort of what the defense gave us, were those throws to him today. I trust him and asked him to make some plays for us today.”
(What’s the main challenge working with a new catcher like TE Jonnu Smith? What’s some things you’ll have to do to try to get in rhythm?) – “Your everyday drills that you have with routes on air, then on the side, just being able to take him to the side, catch for you. A lot of the guys will tell you it doesn’t matter how you throw the ball or whatever, but until they actually see it, they’re like, ‘Dang, all right this is kind of weird.’ (laughter) I’m the only lefty in the NFL that I know of that’s starting, so I would expect it to be different for these guys. A lot of the newer guys, just trying to get more reps with them, having them see the ball and then when they’re able to catch it on the jugs the ball is also able to spin in reverse instead of how it would normally spin.”
(Since the time he’s signed, how much work were you able to get with WR Odell Beckham Jr. and how much will you need with him before the games start?) – “I’ve been able to talk with ‘O’ (Odell Beckham Jr.) a lot off the field. I think the main focus for me and I think for ‘O’ is we communicate about how you got to study the playbook, how I study, how it helped me and whatnot. But the most important thing is he has to take care of himself. He has to do all the things necessary with (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston), with (Director of Rehabilitation/Assistant Athletic Trainer Jon) Boone, with (Associate Head Athletic Trainer) Troy (Mauer), with all those guys to do everything he can do to get back on the field to help us. Then from there, then we can start getting into the feel of how these plays are. The feel of space within this offense. All of that.”
(What was your reaction when the Dolphins signed WR Odell Beckham Jr.?) – “For me – this is what the league is, everything is hearsay until you actually meet the person. ‘O’ (Odell Beckham Jr.) from what I heard was something totally different from getting to know ‘O.’ ‘O’ – A-list celebrity from what’s being talked about in the locker room and what I’m being told and whatnot. So I sort of have this thing in my head where it’s like, all right, is he a dude or is he just one of those guys that’s just like, ‘Alright, I’m to myself. I’m just here because it’s Miami, whoop-de-do,’ whatever that is. No – he’s like a genuinely great dude. I hang out with him a good amount off the field. Great – as good as they come in my opinion. With that being, said I would just say before you start saying things about people or whatever, just make sure you get to know them before all of that.”
(What did you think of WR Tyreek Hill getting the No. 1 spot on the Top 100?) – “Man, that’s my dawg. That’s my dawg. Oh my gosh. He was excited. We all were in a group chat. We all texted him – Jalen Ramsey, Terron Armstead, Raheem Mostert, Jaylen Waddle. We were just congratulating him. There were some funny things that we threw in there just to give him a hard time, but for the most part, that was unbelievable. To have a teammate like that, voted just best in the league, it doesn’t get better than that.”
(Did you get any congratulatory text from any of the other quarterbacks in the 2020 draft class after you signed your contract?) – “Yeah, I got a couple of text messages from a couple of guys around the league I’m close with.”
(Any names you can share?) – “I won’t do that.”
(Are they thanking you for keeping that bar up high?) – “Yeah, a couple of them. (laughter)”
(Is it a perfect timing that you have the Falcons coming in next week? Does it get kind of boring out there, or is it a drive every single day to go up against your teammates?) – “It’s a drive every single day. I think there has been an aha moment that we’ve all had collectively, with the leadership, with our captains, just for what our outlook is for our team. We try to not get bored with any of the things we know we’re going to need, and we try to make it as difficult as possible for each other when we go out there. We talk our talk; we try to get in each other’s heads. We just try to do that to simulate the best possible scenario of what it feels like to be in game, to be under pressure and to be able to come through for your team. We’re looking forward to the challenge of these other teams coming by. But next week, we’re going against each other one more day before we see Atlanta.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said earlier today that the top players on the team have tremendous influence on the locker room and that he’s noticed that they’re dictating the terms for the team. What does that mean to you?) – “This isn’t Mike’s team – this is our team. At the end of the day, that’s what it is. Our coaches, they’re out there to give us the tools that we need to help us go out there and be successful. Sort of our mantra of how we go out there and do things is if I go out there and I throw a pick, it’s not (Quarterbacks/Pass Game Coordinator) Darrell Bevell that threw the pick, it’s not (Head Coach_ Mike McDaniel’s play call that threw the pick, that’s my name on that. That’s our offense’s name on that. So that’s sort of how our outlook is on how we go out there, our style of play, our mentality, our mindset as we go out there. Like I said, we’re trying to make it as hard as possible for each other to go out there. We’re honing in on the little details to be able to go out and compete against each other. We’re trying to beat them. We’re trying to whip their butt.”
(I got a theory that you guys might be the most likable team in the NFL. From the standpoint you have a lot of fun, you score a lot of points, you win. Head Coach Mike McDaniel is very cool. What do you think about that theory?) – “I would like to say for sure. We love to have fun – who doesn’t like to have fun? But we like to have fun doing it the way that – sort of on our terms of how we want to do that. We want to be able to make sure that if we’re having all the fun, we’re doing all of the things necessary to make sure we win this game, to make sure I know what I’m doing, that this guy next to me knows what he’s doing. All around we better make sure we all know what we’re doing, because if something slips up, you best know (that) on this team this year, you’re getting called out.”
(Last year we didn’t get to see CB Jalen Ramsey much during training camp because of the injury. Now he’s been out here every day. How would you describe his impact being on the field for the Dolphins in general?) – “Him. Him. That’s my dawg. That’s my dawg. Him. That’s Jalen Ramsey. He’ll let you know too. He’ll let you know too.”
(With the contract settled, does it feel like a weight lifted off of your shoulder and you can concentrate on football now?) – “100 percent, 100 percent. That’s one less thing I need to think about for the security of my family, and I’m just happy we were able to get it done already.”
(This team is 13-4 at home for the past two seasons. When you think about Hard Rock Stadium being the toughest place to play and the AFC Conference Championship game being 178 days away, do you feel like you’ve all faced enough adversity these past few years to make it to that point?) – “As you look at it, every year there is always something new. Whether there’s guys leaving, new guys coming in, there’s a new team. This is sort of something we’re taking upon ourselves as players to make it extremely hard on each other so as we go out to the game, adversity is nothing new to us. We’ve been here in practice. This is what we’ve practiced, this is not new. This is something that we’ve been working on, we’ve been doing. This is the team that we have this year. Sure, there are some guys that are back that have gone through the adversity we’ve gone through the past couple of years. But this is a new team, a new season and we’re looking forward to making a run at this.”
(You talked about the guys getting used to catching the balls from you. What has that process been like for you? The new guys and learning where they like the ball and how big their catch radius is? How have you attacked that this offseason?) – “Well they are receivers. In my opinion, I’m not thinking where you like to catch the ball. I’m just thinking where I should be placing the ball depending on what the play intends me to do. I would say for the most part, it’s seeing where their catch radius is, what routes they run that they like and what routes that we like that they run, and then also where we can put them and where their matchups are and things like that. So that’s sort of what I look at.”
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(I’m sure we’ll get to you guys have the player voted No. 1 in the NFL momentarily, but just a quick housekeeping item on WR Erik Ezukanma. We haven’t seen him this week. Is the absence related at all to what sidelined him last year and is he going to be out a while?) – “No, it’s not related to that from last year and I’m anticipating seeing him; when that is, I’m not going to thwart his process by saying ‘I’m expecting him soon’ or ‘I’m expecting him not soon.’ I’m just expecting him. We’ll see.”
(What’s the plan for today for practice?) – “Today – the only thing that matters, the only thing that exists. It’s a good question. You guys wouldn’t happen to know absolutes on the weather, would you? We didn’t either. We have prepared obviously for indoor practice; however if Mother Nature on the low percentage shifts, we might be outside for a portion, but we are obviously anticipating some rain. Henceforth, we had to cancel our stadium practice which guys were really geeked for. I heard there were like, 30,000 tickets, so we’ll take out our somber tonality on Mother Nature on the line of scrimmage today.”
(Football will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in six days. Would it be safe to say that you’re fired up for this live rep, for the season?) – “Yeah, I think this team is in the midst of on a daily basis developing their own identity and it’s something that builds for a long time. And I think we’re eager to get back in there and it’s a place that we take pride in to have an advantage, give the people what they want. So it will be fun to get back in there. Six days? That’s right.”
(What’d you think of WR Tyreek Hill being named No. 1 player in the NFL Top 100?) – “Appropriate. I may be biased, but I know it’s such an honor to be – to really have all your peers recognize what type of player you are and to have – there’s a lot of really, really good players so it’s a tremendous honor. But I think it’s also interesting that it’s not a surprise. I think part of what makes – there’s so many things that make Tyreek (Hill) unique, one of which is stuff that probably wasn’t talked about. I didn’t see it, but it probably wasn’t talked about in the little segment. We started off today’s team meeting with talking about how we intend to be different and you have Tyreek Hill blocking a one-on-one block on a linebacker on a run play in a team run-emphasis period. I think when you have the ability to make plays for your team and in extreme form like Tyreek does, heavy is the crown with regard to if you want your team to be great, you have to do the little things. Tyreek does that and more. He’s a one of one individual. He (never) ceases to amaze and I think it’s a really cool honor that has been well-earned as he continues to develop his game each and every year and do things that – when Tyreek runs a really cool route, you put it in the memory bank because you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s probably the last guy I’ll see to run that route.’ That’s the type of player he is and I think when your best player or the No. 1 player in the Top 100 poll for players is as team-oriented as he is, your team gravitates to that and that’s a good thing for the Dolphins.”
(Last year at this time you said Christian Wilkins embodies what you expect of this team. Can you talk about that void that you’ve noticed so far and how you’ve gone about replacing that?) – “I think every team is unique to its own and that’s a really special part of what’s going on right now. You can get lost in the idea of there’s no opponent, but you are creating in training camp what each opponent will see. You are creating your team’s identity, and it’s unique to a lot of varied individuals. And in this era, it’s very rare to have over 50 percent of returning players on your 90 (-man) roster when you’re in training camp. So it’s a new team and your eyes are wide open to see what they want to be and how they’re going to be it. And you have different people step up that decide that their voice is going to be a dictating factor in the direction you’re going. So for instance, we have – do you guys know who the orange jersey is today? It’s Jalen Ramsey. He’s a player that’s decided that he wants to dictate the terms. There are guys that have been on the roster that are developing, just as I talked about Tyreek developing, like Zach Sieler and Jevon Holland are making huge (plays). In a different year, the more confidence you get as leaders, the more you develop, the more that the team takes its own identity on with no – really last year is last year. This year is a different team and I think every day at practice, one of the reasons we’re getting such good work is the players are determining what they want their team to be like. And yesterday, it was Jalen Ramsey that was dictating the terms. He has the orange jersey today. Quite honestly, with the competitive team that we have, I have no idea who’s going to be that guy today. But as I’ve learned in the last four or five practices, there’s a lot of guys that want to be the reason that we that we succeed and so I’ll tell you next week what our what our team has decided to become and that is a daily process, that if you’re trying to emphasize finishing, you have to start and finish each day each week and each preseason opponent accordingly.”
(There’s been some talk the past couple of days, players picking up on Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver’s request, demand, whatever you want to call it that this team be “bullies.” What’s your reaction to that?) – “There’s a lot of words thrown out there. From my perspective as the head coach, I think it’s my job to truly paint the picture on how if you want your team to be known as something, you have to do that something every day and the residual, like, don’t get it twisted; whether people say positive or negative things about you from the past, those things are up to your determination whether or not you’re going to prove them right or wrong. So the locker room itself taking it upon themselves to decide on their terms what they will be known for, and then sticking to that; that is ultimately the No. 1 thing that you want any team, any one of your teams to ever do because football is very much like life where to be successful, you have to dictate the terms and there’s no path of least resistance towards that. So I really like where we’re at. We had a really tough practice yesterday and guys leaned into that. So that’s so far, so good. But then you get to see today, do guys let off the gas? Right, wrong or indifferent, success or failure; how’s our standard of play? And whatever they want to call themselves – if they want to call themselves bullies, if they want to call – as a locker room, be what you want to be. And that is never determined with talk.”
(I wanted to ask you back to WR Tyreek Hill for a second. It seems every year he is adding to his game. He’s the only player in NFL history with back-to-back 1,700 yards. He’s doing this late 20s, early 30s. Can a guy like him kind of make people rethink, hey, age 30, that’s no longer when players start declining, that his window might be four, five, six more years?) – “No, I think he’s – like when you’re trying to explain the idea of an outlier, right? Maybe Webster’s – in the definition of ‘outlier,’ you can have a picture of Tyreek (Hill). I think he reinforces the idea that you should never put anything in a box and never hold any individual to the timeline of the norm. I think he’s an example of a unique athlete that I don’t know what your eyes tell you, but my eyes tell me that he’s thriving, right? And I think it reminds you that you don’t ever pigeonhole people in general to any sort of exact science. You let people define themselves and he is a person that there’s some scouting departments in the National Football League at one point – not necessarily currently – but at one time that didn’t draft receivers under 5’10. He’s under 5’10. Whatever department would probably draft him. And I think that goes for all players. It’s a lesson of individuals should be treated as individuals, understanding generally people are slower as they get older; not all people. Some people are just fast all the time like Tyreek.”
(You have three possible/probable Hall of Famers in DT Calais Campbell, CB Jalen Ramsey and WR Tyreek Hill. What’s the value of that on and off the field?) – “Regardless, if people are up for debate, for the Hall of Fame, you don’t just fumble into that. There’s no excessive talent that gets you in that conversation. There is a combination of unique talent and a unique person, and those players forever, they’ll dictate the terms of locker room. They have tremendous influence, more so than any coach could ever on how to do things at a at a very high level, how to take care of your body, how to learn and study the game. The fact of the matter is those conversations aren’t for the freak athletes; they’re for the freak football players. To be a good football player, you have to have immense immersion into the game to play your role with conviction. So instrumental, I would say, to answer your question.”
(Your tight end room feels like a bit of melting pot of individual skillsets on top of a really dynamic football player in FB Alec Ingold. What kind of flexibility can that give you as both a game planner and a play caller this season?) – “That’s what you’re looking for in those positions because inherent in those roles are flexibility. You’re part of the blocking corps. You’re part of the receiving route tree. When I tell you offensively, the most challenging position each and every week to learn the plan of attack is in that F-position, which is both tight ends and fullbacks. And the versatility of that room, turn the page, there’s the versatility of your offense. And I think that role is ever-expanding based upon what the defense presents. I think that room collectively has really attacked the offseason from both a run game and a pass game standpoint, and when you do that, you make everyone better because you add another eligible in the pass game and you add another offensive lineman in the run game all at the same time.”
(Do you think you needed more production out of the tight end as you looked at the team going into this season?) – “I think there’s opportunity to get more production from that room from an emphasis standpoint. What I mean by that is the types of plays we’re running, the types of things we’re asking people to do; you’re always looking at getting better and improving. And I think one way for us offensively is really to add an eligible in the pass game that’s extremely important in the run game, and that’s the tight end position. So you don’t just say that to do that. That takes an offseason of emphasis, of working the craft and techniques and if we’re trying to expand anybody’s role, they themselves have to expand what they’re really good at. I think that the room has done a great job of that and I think that that’s exciting for us because there’s a lot of attention paid to some other players on the field, that any time there’s over-attention one way, that leaves a little vulnerability in the defense in another.”
(Have you asked or heard if the league plans to have any emphasis on the speed-motion rules? I saw according to Pro Football Talk there was a sentence added that seemed to be a point of emphasis on forward motion at the snap. Is this something you’ve inquired to make sure there’s no change or anything?) – “To execute in the game of football, I would say it’s a priority to know the rules. Fortunately, we have NFL officials here at practice. Currently – they were here yesterday, they’ll be here today. And we also have a little a cheat code, if you will, a member of the competition committee resides in an office that shares a wall with me. So very, very proactive in knowing exactly what the rules are and anything that we do, we’re either adjusting or catering to any sort of rule emphasis and we’re going to try to keep it that way.”
(So maybe emphasis but as far you know, no rules changes in that area, as far as you know?) – “I think you read it as it reads. The emphasis is clearly stated. If you interpret that as exclusively timing motions, you better not simulate the snap counter. You’d better not move forward. And our motions will have to be legal for them to work unless we just want to run minus five-yard plays, so I think we’re fine with that. We’ll always cater to the rules and I think to simulate the snap is illegal and we should not do that.”
