DE Emmanuel Ogbah
(I wanted to ask what do you know about the Dolphins-Patriots rivalry? Obviously you’ve played in one game now, but what do you know about the rivalry?) – “I know it’s a division game, so those games are always important because it counts as two. Not necessarily a lot about the history of the Dolphins and the Patriots though.”
(When we talked to Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer a couple days ago, he said when he turned on the tape that things look very different from when you guys played them in Week 1 to now. What were some of your observations as you’ve studied them and prepared for them this week?) – “I know we’ve got to stop that run. They run the ball a lot. We’ve just got to do a good job, so better than we did the first game at stopping the run and just forcing them to work our mesh.”
(You mentioned the run game there. I wanted to ask you about the pass rushing situation. I know you’ve played a little bit of both sides, but what are some of the things that Patriots OL Jermaine Eluemenor and OL Mike Onwenu, what are some of the things those two guys do to provide some challenges for you as a pass rusher?) – “Obviously when you watch them play, they’re big strong guys so will want to grab you. You’ve just got to have a good game plan for them and you’ve just got to have a good rush plan for them, try to get their hands off of you and not let them grab so much.”
(If I remember right, that first game, they had a lot of success with those powers – the Cam Newton powers and the read options. What have you guys maybe gotten better at on the edge just to where to prevent those from being an issue again on Sunday?) – “We’ve had a lot of practice on it, we’ve been watching film, Coach Boyer has got a good game plan to stop those and we’ve just got to go out there and execute the game plan.”
(Can you compare the feeling as an NFL player when December rolls around and you’re in a playoff hunt versus when you’re out of it?) – “The vibe is different. It feels like every game is like a playoff game even though it’s not the playoffs yet. We feel like every game is and it’s a whole different intensity, it’s a different atmosphere when you know you’re playing for something than when you’re not really playing for anything so your morale is not that good; but we’re playing for something so we’ve got to give it our all every time on that field.”
G/T Jesse Davis
(Can you take me through the roller coaster year it has been for you. From switching positions, to outside of the lineup for a game, to back in, everything you’ve had to deal with?) – “It’s all about staying ready and being a professional in this league. You’ve got to be ready for anything. My role over the year has been wherever somebody needed me, or somebody went down I would go in. That’s kind of what being on a team as well as being able to play all positions, or most positions. Hopefully make it a little longer in this league, and also longer here.”
(I was curious from a scheme standpoint, what kind of challenges does the Patriots pass rush provide you guys?) – “They do a good job, spacing-wise to disguising some other things that they do. They’ve got some big bodies, they’ve got some fast guys. For us it’s just staying together and not standing too far away from each other. Keeping Tua (Tagovailoa) clean, but keeping our people from not getting picked. The center, the guard, and the tackle.”
(As one of the veterans on the offensive line, what has stood out the most for you about the three rookies that are getting significant time out there?) – “They are doing a good job, coming in as a rookie, really no offseason, not knowing what to expect, playing ball together and playing well on their own as well as a staff helps. Taking the coaching, but also listening to the veterans on how to set, what to fix, where we need you next. They have been doing a good job.”
(What were some things on your mind when you were stopping Head Coach Brian Flores during the Bengals game a couple of weeks ago?) – “I thought he was going to get Jakeem Grant when he was down. Then I saw him advancing further over there. I didn’t want him drawing anymore penalties or possibly getting booted. I was just doing what anybody else would’ve done, which is stopping someone from going a little too far, but he was in his own right. The game was getting out of hand, and he disagreed with some things. It shows a lot of his character, sticking up for his players, and everyone else. He did a good job.”
(I know the mantra has been one day at a time, but given everything you guys went through last year, is there a special appreciation for playing meaningful games and being in the hunt at this point late in the year?) – “Yeah, the last couple of years it’s been kind of a drag in December trying to fight your way in. Right now we’re sitting pretty good, and we’re a confident team. I think moving forward here, we take this one game at a time, but we all have our eyes on the prize as well. Just getting a chance to get in there, into a playoff situation is great. Playing these games in late December it gets you fired up. We all know the expectation. We’ve got to raise our level a little bit more each week. We got a target on ourselves, too, here. I think everybody has embraced that
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Can you give the statuses on TE Mike Gesicki, WR DeVante Parker, WR Jakeem Grant, and is Gesicki going to avoid surgery?) – “Gesicki, Parker, and Grant were all limited, and they’ll be questionable for the game. As far as surgery, I don’t – surgery now, surgery later – I don’t have those answers. He’s questionable for practice, and I’ll leave it right there. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know if he avoided, or needs. I can tell you about Cover 2, I can’t tell you anything about an MRI.”
(I know we touched in general about the opener against New England this year, and how it might impact this game. As you looked at the tape of that game, what struck you as the single-biggest improvement of your team over the course of this season?) – “To say it’s one thing, I think it’s hard to do that. I think we’ve improved in a lot of areas offensively, defensively, and the kicking game, from a preparation standpoint. Look, we’re a young team, so just as far as learning how to watch film, study tape for some of our younger players. There are a lot of things. To try to say it’s one specific thing, that would be tough. I’d need more time to think about that. If I had to say one, I’d say we’ve grown together as a team. The guys support each other, but they’ve improved in a lot of ways.”
(I know you just walked us through the status of your three offensive receivers and TE Mike Gesicki. With Gesicki specifically, I know he’s questionable, but was it encouraging to have him practice this week after how he exited the game and being able to see him catch some passes today?) – “Very encouraging. It’s important to him that he gets out there and plays with his teammates. He’s doing everything he can like all of our guys who are banged up, to get out there. He’s giving himself an opportunity, so we’ll see how it goes.”
