Miami Dolphins Transcripts and Video – October 18 – Head Coaches and All Players

Postgame – N.Y. Jets

RB Myles Gaskin

(Obviously you had a career game today, 126 all-purpose yards. I wanted to ask you, did Miami’s flirtation or pursuit of RB Le’Veon Bell contribute to anything that went into this week of preparation for you?) – “No.”

(This team has been looking for a back for a long time to do what you did today, to be able to kind of carry the load and get over 100 yards. What gives you confidence that you can be that guy, that three-down back for this team going forward?) – “Just the guys up front. Obviously ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), those guys just kind of instill confidence in me, just how they practice, how they go about it every day, how much we talk and communicate on a day-to-day basis. (You’re) just coming in more comfortable, when you’re playing with guys (where) you know what they’re going to be doing and you know where they’re going to be. So that’s how I feel about it.”

(Kind of want to continue on that same train of thought with the offensive line. A couple weeks ago, you lose T Austin Jackson and G/T Robert Hunt steps right in. What can you say about the way the offensive line has continued chugging along with changing out a body like that?) – “Those guys work hard every day. (They are a) very talented group of guys, and very – usually when you see that group of guys that are very talented, sometimes they’re not coachable; but those guys are coachable and they’re not afraid to speak up. Like when I’m in the wrong or say I hit the wrong hole, they’re going to tell me, ‘hey, Myles, what the hell you looking at,’ or something like that. (laughter) Those guys work hard every single day, and it motivates me to work hard for them.”  

(The stadium obviously got pretty loud there at the end and also on the sideline. What was that moment like to see QB Tua Tagovailoa get in there for a little bit?) – “It was great. It was great. A long time coming. I’m just excited for that guy. He’s a real good dude.”

(Continuously in the last couple weeks, you’ve been proving yourself week in and week out. What does it say for you and how you feel about the performances you’ve been able to turn in the last couple weeks?) – “Very thankful that the coaches are putting trust in me; but I think I can do a lot better personally, for myself and for this team. I just need to keep growing, and I think I’ve been on that path, just kind of learning from my mistakes each week and just trying to get better each and every day, not trying to be complacent at all. I give everything I can to this team and this organization.”

(Do you think that you have an opportunity between now and the end of the season to prove that you can be a lead back for this team?) – “Yeah.”


Postgame – N.Y. Jets

DE Emmanuel Ogbah

(Take us back to that big sack. I think 28 yards on QB Joe Flacco. What was that pursuit like to bring him down?) – “I know a couple of plays before I know I had missed him on one. I just knew he wasn’t going to get away from me this time, and I knew Eric Rowe pulled him up and he came back around, and I just saw him clear as day so I just took my shot.”

(That’s three consecutive games with a full sack for you now. What would you say is helping you bring your game together and really get the production on Sundays?) – “It’s just good film study, good coaching. Just let me go out there and do my thing and they trust me, I trust them. They put me in the right position to make plays.”

(You guys have really turned it on defensively over the last few weeks. What has been the difference from the first two weeks where you struggled a bit?) – “The first game we have to get used to working together, so I think it took us a little time, but I think we’re on the right path now. We just got to keep it going, keep building.

(You just talked about the right path. You lead the team right now in sacks with five. Is this kind of what you envisioned when you came to this team in the offseason, this is what you guys are capable of?) – “My goal every game is just to make plays to help my team win games. That’s why they brought me here, and that’s what I’m here to do.”


Postgame – N.Y. Jets

QB Tua Tagovailoa

(We just saw you out there on the 15-yard line. Could you walk us through what that moment was like, what you meant to come back out here and take it all in?) – “I think it was a very special moment for me because my parents weren’t here, so I couldn’t really remember where we ended our drive at, so I tried to sit close to where we ended our drive at, and I ended up FaceTiming my parents because they couldn’t be here. That’s usually how it goes. I usually talk to my parents after the game, and my parents usually never miss my game. That’s what I did, I went out there, and I talked to them. But yeah, that’s what that moment was about.”

(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was giving you some flak for the first pass you threw. He said it was probably one of the easiest passes you could throw in the NFL. What did you think about that, and how did you feel out there from a health standpoint and finally having this moment to play?) – “I feel healthy. I think it was a great play call by (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) to kind of get things going for me. It was an easy completion, and everyone can say that; I can roll out and throw it to someone who’s 2 yards down the field. But you’ve got to deal with pressure, and there’s just a lot going on in such a little play like that. But I think a lot of credit with that easy completion goes to Chan and then also goes to our o-line. Our o-line played their butts off today.”

(Two-part question for you: If there’s anything that you could possibly feel comfortable sharing with us over the conversation you had with your parents, it had to be a very warm conversation I would think, and also your feelings before you went in,. I saw you dancing with some of your teammates on the sideline. No butterflies at all before you went in?) – “I think you play this game for a good some, 22 years of my life and I’d say you take five years off of that, that’s how long I’ve been playing this sport. It wasn’t more so butterflies, it was just excitement to just get out there and see what plays that (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) would give me to run with the offense. But it was really fun. I think the most important thing that came out of my conversation with my parents was just that they were happy to see me out there and playing again, especially with what happened last year prior to the injury and whatnot.”

(What was the feel for you as you jogged on? We saw QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on the sideline kind of pumping the crowd up. We heard the crowd chant your name. Could you hear all of that, and what was sort of your emotions when all that was happening?) – “I definitely could hear it. There was nothing else playing in the stadium, so I could hear that, and that was awesome. But to just be out there with my teammates, being my first time, and getting the support and love from them, I think that was super awesome. You have a 16-year vet like ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) who has no animosity towards it, as well, who’s just been supportive the entire time. Good drive, bad drive, he comes to the sideline and just talks through his process with why he did some things. I’m very fortunate to have a mentor like him who is just very encouraging on the field and then there’s guys like … He’s just very personable off the field, as well. I could say a lot about him but just won’t have enough time.”

(Is there a moment when you think back over the last 11 months, almost 12 months now that really sticks out in your head, part of the recovery, maybe some words of encouragement that you got? Has any of that flooded back for you in the last hour or so?) – “Not really. I think the biggest thing that really stands out to me is just being able to make my parents proud. So whether that’s Tua as a football player, Tua as a person, Tua as a son, I think that’s what brings me the most joy is seeing how happy my parents get and then seeing how happy my family gets, as well, with who I am and then also what I do.”

Postgame – N.Y. Jets

Head Coach Brian Flores

(This is the Dolphins’ first shutout since 2014. What was the key to shutting down the Jets today?) – “I think we had a good week of practice. I think (Defensive Coordinator) Josh (Boyer) called a great game, did a good job getting those guys ready to play, and then the players played well. We got contributions from a lot of different guys. A lot of guys made plays, and they played for 60 minutes. I’m proud of that effort. That’s the focus we need really throughout the week, and then you’ve got to execute and play well in the game, which I thought they did. But our defensive staff, Josh, (Defensive Backs Coach) Gerald Alexander, (Linebackers Coach Anthony) Campanile, (Defensive Line Marion) Hobby, those guys, I know I’m leaving a couple guys out, but those guys do a great job. They really worked at it this week, showed up on the field.”

(I just want to know, that sack by DE Emmanuel Ogbah to take the Jets out of field goal range there in the fourth quarter, just could you explain how excited the sideline was for that, knowing that it had been such a long time, and since you guys have had a shutout, how satisfying it is to go out there and get a shutout?) – “I think there’s a lot of … These guys like playing together, so when other guys make plays, whether it’s offense, defense, special teams, you see a lot of excitement, a lot of energy. Guys were excited for Ogbah to make a play. Guys were excited about the situation, of getting a stop and getting them out of field goal range, and they were excited about the potential to get a shutout. That’s what I like to see, guys enjoying kind of the process of working through the week, prep and preparing, walk throughs, meeting, practice, and then going out and executing on a Sunday afternoon. I think they’re just happy for each other and kind of reaping some of the fruits of their labor.”

(I know last week we talked to you about putting QB Tua Tagovailoa in the game and obviously you did this game. What sort of went into that decision, and what did you see out of him in his two minutes of garbage time?) – “Well Cam (Wolfe) you can take credit for that. You had a great idea, so I listened to you. But I think he went in and had a run play, threw a couple passes, got some — just got some playing time. It was a situation where we could do it. I guess I listened to you, Cam, so you can take credit for that one.”

(Back to the defense, when CB Xavien Howard is on top of his game, how much more complete does he make the secondary and also just the entire defense?) – “I thought it was a really good team defensive effort. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) played well, Byron (Jones) played well, Nik Needham played well, (Zach) Sieler, Elandon Roberts, so it’s a team effort. I know ‘X’ had the big play there with the interception, but it was a good rush, it was good coverage. It’s never just one guy. It’s a lot of things coming together, good calls by (Defensive Coordinator) Josh (Boyer) and then good execution and good play by ‘X’ in that situation, but good play by a lot guys in a lot of other situations. We need everybody to play well. We got a fair amount of that today, from ‘X’ as well as a lot of other guys, and that’s what you need in this league against the caliber of players we see on a weekly basis.”

(You’re going into the bye now at .500. If you could take stock of where this team is now, what would you say?) – “We’ll use the bye week and kind of self-reflect on the first six weeks of the season. I don’t think right now … I’d rather do that with all the information than going through that, and that’ll take us really through the end of the week, how we’re doing offensively, run game, play action, third down, two-minute, red zone, same thing defensively, same thing in the kicking game, evaluate the roster. But I think we’re happy to win today, happy to play well today. That’s kind of … As far as taking stock, that’s kind of where my thoughts are. Some things we could have done better, but we’re excited about getting a win against a division opponent.”

(I think when people remember that moment that QB Tua Tagovailoa ran on the field, they’re also going to remember QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s reaction to that moment. He was just hyping up the crowd, hyping up Tua. What does that say about their relationship and kind of them as people?) – “I didn’t know that, but that doesn’t surprise me. The two … Those guys have a great relationship. They root for each other. Those are some of the relationships that are building really throughout the team. You like to see that. Hopefully when you watch them play, people see that. It’s nice to hear that. I didn’t actually see it, but I know there was some excitement once he went in, and I’m happy for Tua. But I like hearing that.”

(I wanted to ask you about RB Myles Gaskin. Obviously, this week the flirtation with RB Le’Veon Bell, do you think that got his attention, the reason why he contributed 126 yards or was just the run game finally got going?) – “I think he’s been playing well really these first six weeks. Look, most guys are … I know the guys on our team, they’re motivated to play, period, so I don’t think we need any extra motivation. Myles is a motivated kid. It’s important to him. I wouldn’t take much stock in that. But I thought he played well. I thought we ran the ball effectively at times. But like everything else, we can improve in a lot of areas, and we’ll work towards that. But Myles is tough, he’s competitive, and he’s been productive. Hopefully we keep going on that, keep building.”

(We saw some contributions from LB Sam Eguavoen today, your linebacker. Just wanted to get your take on him stepping up into a role and a couple of guys went down. We saw LB Kamu Grugier-Hill and LB Andrew Van Ginkel leave the game. Talk about the depth of your linebacker corps and his performance today.) – “We had a couple guys get nicked up in the game. Sam is a guy who obviously was here last year, can play multiple positions, plays in the kicking game, very smart, tackles well, can set an edge, hasn’t gotten as many opportunities as maybe he did a year ago, but his number was called today and he was ready to go and made some plays for us early and got a lot of snaps. That’s what we need. Some guys get nicked up and we need the next guy to step up and be effective. Our level of play can’t go down because we have an injury because injuries happen in this league, and we talk about that. We talk about guys having to be ready. Sam did a really good job of that today. But I’ve got to go back and watch the film. I’m sure there were some things that could have been better, but just my recollection of the game right now is that he went in there and played pretty effectively.”