Monday, August 24, 2020
WR Preston Williams
(We haven’t had a chance to talk since I think October, so I wanted to ask you about the injury, the rehab, what your mindset was like and how you feel now?) – “Getting injured – it’s not my first rodeo with the ACL, the knee injury. I just knew I needed to work as hard as I could to get back in time for camp. I just came here every day, stayed here the whole summer, all offseason, worked my ass off. Now I’m getting my reps at practice, so I’m just happy to be out there with the guys.”
(When did you have a knee injury before? At what level – was it college, was it high school? How did that experience teach you about what you needed to do to get back now?) – “I had it in high school my senior year on my senior night. I left high school early to go to college and start rehab. Jumping on it quick helps a lot and being really dedicated. It’s all about how you work. I knew when I got this one, I just needed to work very hard to get back.”
(We got a taste to see what you could do on the field last year. You kind of balled out a bit. What can you take out of that rookie year going into year two, and obviously want to do better than that?) – “Last year, I was just getting my feet wet. Just improve as a player from last year. A lot of the balls I could’ve caught, I’ve got to catch those and make those plays. Overall, just be a better player. The game slowed down a little bit to me, so I think I’ll have a better year this year.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was just talking about how you, and WR DeVante Parker is a nice duo to have because you guys have a lot of similarities. I’m curious, do you and him have any kind of competition going at all between you in terms of who is going to have more catches, who is going to have more yards, touchdowns, all of that?) – “Nah, we just feed off of each other. If DeVante makes a play, I want to make a play. If I make a play, DeVante wants to make a play. We do whatever we need to do to help the team.”
(How are you adapting to the new system and the new terminology here under Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey and how this offense benefits your skillset?) – “I’m adapting pretty well, learning more positions. It’s more simple, I can say that. I feel like I fit in this offense pretty well, just by looking at the past people he had, with Brandon Marshall and all of them. Just the same body frame and stuff. I think this offense is real unique and I like it.”
(Do you have any statistical goals for yourself this year?) – “Stay healthy.”
(With this offense, we hear a lot about how you can make your own route adjustments as a receiver. Can you go through that for us, like what is the freedom that it gives you and how you think that benefits you?) – “Coach Chan (Gailey) always says get open. That’s our No. 1 job. They give you a lot of freedom, and you know you have time. He says you have a lot of time to work the DB and get open. Getting open that’s all we know, that’s all we try to do.”
(Just wondering your thoughts on the stadium allowing a limited number of fans. Is 13,000 fans better than none? I’m also curious what’s it going to be like going to one stadium where there are going to be some fans and maybe an empty stadium the next week? What’s that kind of going to be like?) – “I guess we’ll just treat it like practice. There is nobody here right now, so I guess we’ll treat it the same. I don’t know exactly what the number is. I haven’t heard anything about the fans being in the stadium. We’ll see when we get there.”
(What’s it like having another 6-3-plus guy on the other side of you in WR DeVante Parker? Do you all have any good nicknames yet for your duo?) – “Not yet. Hopefully we can find one or the fans give us a nickname or something. Hopefully we’ll get one.”
(I’ve been real impressed with how you look. I didn’t really expect you to look so up to speed. I’m thinking you’re about 90 percent. Can you tell me if that’s good or if it’s actually higher? But also, I’m wondering what’s the moment where you said, ‘I’m back, I’m good, my knee is good?’ When was that moment?) – “Probably in the summer. Just being here with the training staff and in the weight room, just getting that work in. We were just working on all the little things. Percentage-wise, I don’t know how I feel. It’s up and down. The first day we stepped on the field, it felt back to normal to me.”
(Did you have that moment when you said, ‘Ok, it’s good?’ You said during practice in the summer; but did you have that moment when you said ‘Ok, I’m past this?’) – “I had that moment where I knew I could go back and compete. Just from my last injury, I knew my timeframe and what I did to be back at a certain time. I just did the same thing I did last time.”
Monday, August 24, 2020
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(I don’t know whether you heard the Dolphins are having a news conference right now about plans to have up to 13,000 people in the stadium for the first game. What’s your reaction to the idea at this moment in our world of having spectators and how much of a difference do you think 13,000 people can make?) – “I played a lot of games in college with less fans than that, (laughter) so I might be a good one to ask about that. I just heard that walking over here; so I’m excited. I think just from everything that I’ve seen within this organization – the day to day – I know that they made that decision with everybody’s health and safety as the No. 1 priority, so I think I’m very comfortable with that and knowing that they’re doing it for the right reasons and they’re going to do it the right way. It’s huge for us as players to have some noise, to have some crowd reaction. It’s a big thing. It’ll be interesting as that plays out all year long – which stadiums do, which don’t – but as players, we’re excited to get fans out there cheering for us.”
(I wanted to ask you about the growth you’ve seen so far from WR Preston Williams in Year 2 here coming into the early stages of the second season. He produced a lot last year before his injury obviously, but what do you see here in the first week or two of practice that tells you that he can get right back to that level and beyond?) – “Preston has a great guy to watch, first of all, in DeVante Parker and the way that he works and goes about his business. Preston is very unique, just in terms of his physical qualities – the height, the weight, the speed, how nimble he is, all that stuff, his ability to track the ball – and having to sit out, you always kind of look for the silver lining or maybe the positives in a situation that isn’t so positive; so him getting hurt last year, he was also just able to take a step back and watch a little bit and learn the game a little bit more and I know he worked his butt off all offseason and that was really apparent as we came back, just in seeing him and all the work that he put in, and he’s done a great job. I think his confidence is high right now and that’s important for those guys, and rightfully so because he’s playing really well. We’re excited to him out there healthy and going and he’s doing a good job.”
(Between WR Preston Williams and WR DeVante Parker, does it kind of remind you of what you had in 2018 in Tampa Bay, being able to throw the football to a couple big receivers then?) – “Everywhere is a little bit different, but having two big guys on the outside with those qualities – they can go up and get the ball, they’re good route-runners, they’re smart players – I think that makes it difficult for a defense not just being able to key in on one guy. The way that we’re working right now, the way that those guys are showing up every day, it’s given our offense and I think our team a lot of confidence going forward.”
(Obviously you’ve done a lot of these, I guess, quarterback competitions, so to speak. It seems like you guys are in another one even though you’re the clear frontrunner. How do you kind of navigate that element of it as you get close to the start of the season?) – “You just go out and every single day try to do your best. The meeting rooms are the same thing, but when you’re getting reps – whether it’s ones, twos or threes or whether we’re throwing one-on-ones with different receivers – every time, you know there’s going to come a point in time where if the guy is on the roster, then you’re going to be throwing to him throughout the year whether somebody goes down in a game or is out for a few weeks. So I always make sure whoever I’m getting the rep with, that we’re on the same page, that we’re speaking the same language. We’ve got a great group of guys here right now that are working really hard and I just try to take advantage of every rep that I get; not just in the team periods, but some of those one-on-one throws as well, just making sure we have good communication.”
(I wanted to ask you from the time this coronavirus thing popped up in March, did you at any time think about opting out?) – “That’s a good question. I think everybody took a step back just to evaluate, do the risk-reward, and it wasn’t really heavy on my mind. I think us as players, we all put a ton of faith in this organization that they were going to do things the right way and that was easy for me in seeing how this organization is run and how it operated last year. It was easy for me to know that they were going to put the players first and that our health and safety – not just for us, but if our families need anything – that they’re going to do it the right way, so that part of it for me wasn’t that difficult of a decision. That being said, everybody has a different personal opinion. Everybody has a different perspective. Everybody has different things that they’re going home to, so there was no pressure put on anybody to go one way or the other, and we certainly respect Albert (Wilson) and Allen (Hurns) and the decisions that they made. There had to be a date that they put on it to cut off whether you’re going to be in or out, so we’re not looking back on that anymore.”
(Just to piggy-back off that, if you had opted out per se, it probably would have maybe been the end of your career? I don’t know if maybe taking a year off and returning next year would be something that you would want to do. Is that something that kind of played a factor into it, this being so late a stage in your career that you didn’t want to opt out? You wanted to just play?) – “No, not really.”
(You got obviously a taste of WR DeVante Parker and WR Preston Williams together last year for I guess a few games. What’s sort of the potential for you guys as an offense with those two out there together?) – “There’s a lot of things we’re still working at. With no preseason games, not going up against any other teams, we’re going to have to try to figure out early on in the season what our identity is going to be and the strengths and weaknesses of the football team and what we can lean on. But we know that we’ve got two good guys on the outside. We’ve got a great competition going on – guys on the inside right now fighting for playing time right now – and our backs our doing a great job as well, so as the season goes on, we’re going to figure out who we are and play to our strengths and I think that’s something that’ll be constantly evolving early on, just as we figure out where we’re at as a team.”
(I wanted to ask you your thoughts on how QB Tua Tagovailoa has hung in there the first couple weeks. He seems to have shown some real improvement the last couple days.) – “Yeah, he’s doing a great job and I know it’s your guys’ job to look at and evaluate every single day and every throw; but it’s something for us as quarterbacks and for me, I just like to see progress and sometimes it’s not necessarily a completion, but it’s the thought process and making sure the ball is going to the right spot at the right time. Sometimes there’s not going to be – some things are not going to look pretty, but it’s the right decision and that’s, for me, a step in the right direction. Sometimes you’re going to see a long touchdown or something and it wasn’t necessarily the right play, so you guys are going to laud it, but maybe it wasn’t what we’re trying to get done. There’s a lot of different parts of the evaluation process and for me, I just like to see first of all, confidence; and if you make a mistake, get out there, put it behind you and go play the next play. I like that a lot about him and then secondly, just the progression of is he going to the right place? Is he going on time? We’re making a lot of progress in that area, too. I think that’s the offense in general, and everybody getting a better grasp of it as we’re moving forward. Receivers are doing a good job getting in the right spot and quarterbacks are doing a decent job in finding them as well.”
(I wanted your opinion on the Dolphins are going to attempt to host 13 fans in the stands. Your thought process on fans actually being out there?) – “Okay, hold up. Thirteen or 13,000? (laughter)”
(13,000.) – “Oh, 13,000. Okay, because I was going to say, I was going to try to get my family out there, so then that would have only left – let’s see – like, five more fans? (laughter) Hey, I’m excited about it. I commented on this – I think you might have missed the first question – but basically, what I said was I’m excited about having fans in the stands. I know that the Dolphins organization, they’re going to do it the right way in terms of the safety guidelines and everything that’s recommended; but as players, we want fans out there, so if we could do it in a safe way, then the more the merrier. And that was music to our ears today when we heard that coming off the field”
Monday, August 24, 2020
LB Andrew Van Ginkel
(I think one of the coaches – someone mentioned that you’ve gotten physically stronger since this time last year. Can you kind of fill me in on how much stronger? Did you add weight? Are you better at some particular exercise now?) – “I just spent most of this offseason with some strength coaches and really just worked on honing my craft and getting stronger in all areas. That’s something that I knew I needed to work on and focus on. I went into the offseason dedicated and determined to get stronger, so I think it’s just in all areas.”
(What does that added strength for a player at your position do for your game? What avenues can it really help you on the field, just to get stronger in?) – “Obviously I’m taking on big o-linemen and tight ends. They’ve got a lot of weight on me, so I have to be able to put up with that and hold them. Especially at the point of attack, I need to be able to set the edge and take on tackles and tight ends, or whatever the case may be.”
(From your rookie season to now, where do you feel like you’ve made the most gains – outside of strength – in terms of understanding improvement? Has play speed slowed down for you?) – “Yeah, for sure. I think just where I’m at with the playbook, I don’t have to think about that or go out and study before practice. I can more so work on my technique and not really have to focus on what I need to do and where I need to be. It’s more how can I get better? How can I beat tackles? Or just work on my technique. I think that’s been the biggest gain of mine in my second year right now.”
(Obviously you and LB Vince Biegel both went to Wisconsin. You both have a history of effective pass rushing. He had so many quarterback pressures and quarterback hits last year. With him unfortunately getting hurt, talk about him and what he did last year, that you would like to kind of emulate in some way?) – “I think it’s just his ability to do everything. He’s such a hard worker and he really works to perfect his craft. He’s always out there early and doing everything right in all phases – special teams, defense. Whenever he got his chance to shine, he did a great job of it. He was a good guy to be behind last year, just being able to learn from him and watching him go about his business was a big thing. He has the ability to affect the game in all phases. I think that’s something that I can take from him and develop into my game.”
(With both you and LB Vince Biegel coming from UW-Madison, I wanted to ask you what was the biggest thing you learned under Bobby April III?) – “There was a lot of things. Just his – I would say just how he came in and how he perfected his defense, and how he would always put us in the right spot to succeed. No matter what the call was, if they overload one side, he knew how to bring us to that side. Just the way they scheme things there. I think just his technique and his scheme, for sure.”
(There’s definitely a lot more competition at your position now, although LB Vince Biegel went down. LB Kyle Van Noy and a couple of the other new edge rushers are here. What are some of the things that you’re learning from some of the guys that have just joined the team? How are they kind of helping you come along here at the start of your second season?) – “I think it’s big, especially how they pass rush and get after the quarterback – the different moves that I’ve learned. Like you said, we’ve brought in a lot of experience with Kyle Van Noy, Shaq (Lawson) and a bunch of those edge guys. Being able to get after the quarterback, the different moves and how they like to play – its chess not checkers. So just being able to manipulate o-linemen and get them to think one thing and then do another.”
(We have heard from some of the DBs about the point system and trying to get turnovers and get your hands on the ball and that sort of thing. Are the linebackers involved in that and how often do you try to get your name on that list?) – “Our biggest thing is just getting batted balls up and being able to knock balls down. They’ve got their own little point system but ours is just taking pride in being able to get to the quarterback and then getting hands on balls to tip them up in the air, which leads to picks and ultimately fourth downs.”
Monday, August 24, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(On Saturday, there was a play where WR Preston Williams caught a touchdown pass down the sideline. It looked like the cornerback sat down in a zone and the safety didn’t get over. What’s supposed to happen on that play?) – “I’m not going to get into specifics on what’s supposed to happen on a given offense, defense or special teams play. There’s a lot that goes into a specific play. Was it a blown coverage? Was it not a blown coverage? Was it a mental error? What you guys see may be a little deceiving at times. We’ll just leave it at that. There was a lot of pressure on the play, would the ball have gotten off? What did you think about that part? (laughter) So that’s kind of – there’s situations that come up like that in practice. In a game setting, what does that look like? But yeah, we’ve got to do a better job of defending the deep part of the field. The offense executed and made a good throw and good catch.”
(I’m sure you’re aware, there were a lot of testing irregularities I guess stemming from New Jersey. I’m not necessarily certain if they impact you, but how concerned are you that the testing is keeping the environment safe for you and your team? Also, with schools opening back up, I don’t know about your kids in particular, but are you concerned that there could be another wave of COVID-19 outbreaks?) – “I’m really concerned with us, our team and the decisions that we’re making in the building and outside the building. I think if we take the appropriate distancing measures, wear masks and make responsible choices, that’s again – like I’ve said since Day 1 – the best that we can do. So it’s up to us individually to make those smart decisions. As far as irregularities, over the weekend, the league – look, this is a moving target. We’ve talked about that since Day 1. I think the league has protocols in place to – they’ve got protocols in place and basically what we do, is we just follow the protocols. I think that’s what every team does and I think if you do that, from a testing standpoint, you may lose a player for a day; but for the safety of the entire team and organization, that’s a small sacrifice to make sure that everyone is safe and healthy. I think from a protocol standpoint, the league has done a good job. It can be frustrating on a day-to-day basis when a guy is out and it could be an unconfirmed positive; but I think we’ll proceed with caution, as we should. I think we know how quickly this can spread, so I think we should use caution and the league has protocols in place so that’s the way it’s done. We’re just following the protocols as a team and as an organization.”
(I’m sure that you didn’t get as much of a look at LB Andrew Van Ginkel last season as you would have liked, but in the time that he was on the field, what did he show you that tells you that he might be able to contribute heavily this season on your defense?) – “Well, Andrew is a tough kid. He’s got length, he’s got some speed. I thought he did a solid job for us in the kicking game a year ago, over the last six games of the season. He’s a smart kid. It’s very important to him and he’s improving and getting better. He’ll hopefully get some opportunities – well, he’ll get some opportunities definitely throughout training camp. We’ll see what happens when we get to the regular season. He’s improving. He’s getting better and I’m happy with where he is.”
(We all saw last year how WR Preston Williams got hurt. I’ve noticed in the first couple of practices, he was taking punt return reps, and then he wasn’t I guess in the days after. Where are you guys on him as a punt returner? Is he still doing that or is he done doing that?) – “Well, anyone who can return punts, we’re going to work them back there. Preston, obviously with the injury a year ago, he’s somebody who we’re just trying to be – I don’t want to say cautious, that’s probably the wrong word; but we want to watch his reps and watch the amount of reps we’re putting on him. He’s working hard. He wants to be out there and he wants to return every punt and wants to go out there for really every snap. If we didn’t manage him, he’d be out there every play. Coming off the knee (injury), we’ve got to manage him, which we’ve done. The punt return is part of that management.”
(I wanted to ask how the team’s time was at the stadium on Sunday. What was the process there with having your walkthrough in the stadium? How did you feel like your players responded to being in the stadium for the first time?) – “It was good. I think we need to – a lot of guys, we have a lot of new players that have never been there. They’ve never seen our locker room. They don’t know where the training room is or where the equipment room is or where the showers are, how we walk out to the tunnel. I think it’s good to get out there. It’s our home stadium, so where is the game clock? Where is the 40-second clock? I think those things – as a coaching staff, to check the headsets and do a dry run from that standpoint, I thought it was good. It’s always good to go to the stadium and get on the grass there and get a feel for where we’re actually going to play the games that we’re preparing so much for. We’re putting all of this hard work and energy into these practices and it’s good to get out there, even in a walkthrough setting, to kind of feel the atmosphere of being at the stadium. I think we got a lot out of it.”
(I wanted to ask you about S Nate Holley. There were a few teams that were in on him. Did you make a sales pitch? Were you part of the recruiting? And what position is he going to play?) – “He obviously had a good year in the CFL a year ago. He’s fast, he’s tough. As far as positions, right now we’re just going to get him out there probably more in the safety role – safety/special teams. But he’s played some linebacker. Look, his role is going to be what he makes it, like we tell all of the players on the team. I don’t consider myself – I’m not a really good recruiter. That’s not – that wasn’t my role in this; but he came in, he worked out, he did a good job on the workout. I think an opportunity to play on any NFL team is a privilege, so he took the opportunity and we’re happy to have him.”
(How often does QB Ryan Fitzpatrick do something that forgets that he’s 37 years old?) – “Probably every day. I’m 39 and it’s hard to think that I could go out there and get in the huddle and run around with these guys as much as he does. (laughter) Look, it’s a testament to the way he works in the offseason and his work ethic and his talent and ability. He’s a good player. He’s a competitive guy. He’s smart. He just has a good feel for the quarterback position. He’s got good leadership, so probably every day.”
(We saw CB Xavien Howard working on the side the other day. I was wondering how he came out of that and how he’s doing.) – “Obviously, we just got him back into the building. He’s just working his way back. It’s early so just from a conditioning standpoint and getting your legs back, it’s very early. We’ve just got to keep trying to progress this one day at a time and when we feel like he’s ready, we’ll make a transaction. But that conversation is between myself, (General Manager) Chris (Grier), (Vice President of Football Administration) Brandon (Shore), the coaching staff, the training staff, the strength and conditioning staff, just to kind of see where he’s at from a conditioning standpoint, from a health standpoint. Hopefully we’ll get him back as soon as possible.”
(You kind of got a feel last week for what practice looks like when QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is on the field versus what practice looks like when he’s not on the field. What do you notice about the rest of the guys and the players when he’s not out there compared to when he is?) – “I don’t want to dive too deep into the one day that ‘Fitz’ wasn’t here and what it looks like with or without a guy. I think there’s 11 guys on the field – that’s something we talk about is you need 11 guys taking care of their responsibilities, communicating, trying to execute at a high level, not dropping the football, making sure we get our quarterback/center exchange. Regardless of who the quarterback is, whether it’s ‘Fitz,’ whether it’s Josh (Rosen), whether it’s Tua (Tagovailoa), there’s 10 other guys on the field who have to handle their responsibility. I don’t want to dive too deep into what it looks like with ‘Fitz’ versus someone else. This isn’t a one man show. It’s the responsibility of the players to kind of pick up the slack if somebody is out. Look, it’s a pandemic so guys could be out. If we’re going to say – and this is for any team – that one guy being out means that we’re going to fall apart, then it’s going to be a long season; and not just for us but for a lot of teams. I don’t think anybody is taking that approach and we’re not taking that approach with our team either, to include myself – coaches, players. We’ve got to be ready for the next guy to step up and perform because we’re going to need everybody in 2020.”
