LB Bradley Chubb
(We’re all looking forward to getting to know Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio. What can you tell us about his personality and his approach and coaching style?) – “Yeah, that’s one of my favorite coaches that I’ve been in a room with just because he expects so much out of his players, and he’s going to keep it straight up with you. If he calls a play and you didn’t execute, he’s going to ask you, ‘Why didn’t you execute? I put you in a position to execute. Why didn’t you?’ So in this high-paced game we play, that’s what you need. You just need that transparency. You need somebody to be on you a little bit to hold you to that standard that we hold ourselves to. That’s what he’s going to do and I’m excited about it.”
(What was your first reaction when you heard ‘okay, he’s coming?’) – “To be honest, it was kind of like a full circle thing because I feel like getting traded here last year was like part two of my career and I wear No. 2, and it kind of played into that. Like now I get the second chance with Coach Fangio. In my first go around with him, I battled some injuries. His first year in Denver, I tore my ACL and then my third year made a Pro Bowl, fourth year kind of battled some injuries as well. It’s kind of like that, that second coming of that opportunity as well. So it kind of came full circle with everything. I was wearing the No. 2 for it and had that mindset for anyway, so it’s dope how it works out.”
(You’re also going to be reunited with LB Malik Reed. What can you tell us about him and getting to play alongside him again?) – “That’s my guy, man. One of the smartest football players I know. One of the most hardworking and talented – everything he brings to the field man – I’m excited to have that energy in the room. Whenever I have a question, we’ve been in this defense for the same amount of time, so whenever I had a question, he was right there and he was the one answering, the one talking up. So it’s going to be fun to reunite with him. I know the energy he’s going to bring into that room with the young guys we’ve got in there, I mean, ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips), he’s coming into himself, but technically, he’s still a young guy when it comes to age and stuff like that. ‘Cam’ (Cameron Goode) and ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel), as well. So it’s going to be fun, man, just to merge all those personalities, all those play styles into one outside linebacker room.
(And another one on Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio. What’s something you can tell us about him that only someone who’s played under him can know that most people don’t know about him?) – “I mean, I don’t know. That’s a hard question. I don’t know something that y’all don’t know. But one thing I know, he’s going to demand the most of us. Each and every player on that roster, no matter how many plays you made in the past, how many plays you could make, it’s all about what you’re doing each and every day to get better and he’s going to hold you to that high standard.
(You were pretty transparent when you arrived in Miami about it all being very, very new to you. As you kind of are months removed from coming to Miami and whatnot, what were maybe some of the challenges, some of the things that were just very foreign to you, that now being in the city being in this system, this team, aren’t as much now?) – “I’m going to answer the city question first. I mean, just the traffic, bro. The traffic, everywhere you go, everything takes 25-plus minutes. So learning when to leave and kind of fixing my schedule around. Okay, I understand it might take me 35 minutes today, it might take me 25 minutes today. I just can’t let that throw me off. So I’ve been leaving at a reasonable time every day, making sure I beat the traffic or if I get stuck in traffic, not letting it affect me coming into the building later. But another thing with the team, just knowing everybody, knowing people’s names, knowing people that I’m working with around the facility, being able to say ‘what’s up name.’ Not just saying ‘what’s up, bro’ and then kind of be like, ‘oh, man, what’s that dude’s name?’ I feel like all that just plays a part into everything. Just how you approach every day because you’re going to war with the people and how are you going to go to war with somebody if you don’t even know their name. So just learning everybody, learning the ins and outs of the facility, the team, the coaches, all that has just been coming to me this offseason program.”
(It’s kind of fun that we’re getting you this week with the draft in two days. You’re their first-round draft pick. Are they having a draft party for you Thursday night? How’s that going to go for you?) – “I mean, we can. I mean, if y’all want to throw me one I’ll be down to join. (laughter) We don’t have anything else to do so we might as well throw a little party. Y’all might as well come to the facility we’ll get something going.”
(What’s it like knowing not only they give you the big contract but they saw enough out of you to give up a first-rounder to get you?) – “I mean, it’s a blessing. It’s just a testament to the work I put in and the guy I am. I can’t take it for granted at all. I approach every day like, like I’ve got those eyes on me, like I’ve got people with high expectations because I’ve got high expectations for myself as well. So I’ve just got to approach everyday like, yeah, they brought me here for a reason and I’ve just got to make sure I live up to that reason.”
(I want to ask you about Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense and supposedly it plays a lot of zone behind you guys. How does that benefit the team as a unit and how does it benefit the defensive line?) – “It benefits everybody. As a unit because when you’ve got us just kind of thinking freely and just going out there and attacking and being able to take a tight end and not really worry about ‘oh, I have to be in this gap.’ Just go out there and play, play fast and we’re going to read off of you and everybody around has that same mindset. The d-line can just – I feel like it’s really meant for the outside linebackers to set the tone and establish everything, establish dominance, whether it be with the tight ends, whether it be with the tackles, getting after the quarterback as much as we can. When that group does that, I feel like it makes everybody else’s job easier because say I’ve got a guard pulling to me and a tight end trying to influence me out. If I take the tight end and the guard then ‘Bake’s (Jerome Baker) running free then David’s (Long Jr.) running free and ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) can free up and catch a pick that the quarterback is just trying to get the ball out of his hands, but then boom, he’s right there in that position. So I feel like it starts with us, man. It’s going to have to end with us. So we’re taking that mindset, we’ve taken the meetings making sure we’re living like that and trying to approach every day like that.”
(How happy were you with your performance in your half-season with the Dolphins last year?) – “I was up and down with it. Just coming in, grasping a whole new defense, grasping a whole new set of teammates, I felt like I did okay. I for sure held myself to a higher standard. I wanted to come in and be that guy that got 10 sacks in half a season and stuff like that, but everything doesn’t work out like that. I battled a couple of things at the end with my broken hand and high-ankle sprain, so that was discouraging. But I just look back at all that as fuel for this year. Just seeing where I could have been, where this team could have been. We had so many high expectations and with me coming in and finishing out with just a playoff berth, that’s not what the goal is. That’s not what the standard is. So it was cool to be able to experience that. That was my first time in the playoffs, but this team and this organization have so many bigger things ahead of us that I’m using that for sure as fuel.”
(Because of what the Dolphins gave up to get you and the big contract they gave you, do you feel sort of a burden to put up big sack numbers?) – “No, not a burden. I feel like it’s my job to go out there and do everything and go out there and put up those numbers. It might not come with the numbers. It might come with the pressures, it might come from me freeing up Christian (Wilkins) and ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips) and ‘Og’ (Emmanuel Ogbah) and all those guys. So I don’t look at it as ‘I’ve got to get this number, I’ve got to do this.’ I’ve just got to approach it like ‘hey man, they brought you here for a reason and go out there and prove to them that they were right.’ That’s my main thing, is just doing my job to the best of my ability and everything else is going to take care of itself.”
(You hear a lot about the competitive atmospheres around teams. There was talk last year about how competitive WR Tyreek Hill was and how that spreads. I’m wondering what the environment is right now around the team? Does it need to start right now or can you just flip the switch in training camp or does that intensity need to be going right now?) – “You’ve got to introduce it for sure. Everybody has to be on the same page, know what we’re working for and know ‘okay, this guy right here is trying to beat me out.’ Or that guy right there, we’re both working for that one roster spot, so it’s not like a said thing; it’s kind of more of a understanding thing and I feel like everybody’s on the same page. Like I said, we know that a playoff berth in the first round, that’s cool, but it’s not what we work these tireless hours for, go through training camp for, and that’s not what our standard is. So the competition doesn’t just kick up in training camp. It starts now. We feel that it starts now, but it’s not like a go out there and try to kill each other. With OTA practices and stuff coming up we’ve still got to be smart, understand that this is the team we need to go into the season and do all the things that we say we want to do. So it’s a little bit about being smart but still having that competitive nature.”
(One word that stuck with me that you used to describe your performance late last year was fizzling. I didn’t expect you to say that word, but you were at that point, maybe a little frustrated with what had been going on. But looking forward, I’m wondering, what do you expect in 2023, compared to what you did in 2022 out of yourself?) – “Just to be more of a leader, more of a tone-setter. Like I said, man, how can I lead when I don’t know everybody around me? I try to learn names. I tried to do this, but it just wasn’t clicking for me. And that’s no excuse, but it’s just like, that’s just the reality of it. So my main thing is just being the person that Denver drafted and Miami decided, ‘okay, yeah, we need that guy on our team.’ So that’s my leadership, that’s my intensity, that’s my playstyle. So just got to get back to that man. I’m already taking steps to do that and so once the season gets going, I feel like it’s going to be full steam ahead.”
(You wouldn’t use the word fizzling now to describe your 2022 would you?) – “No.”
(I wanted to ask you about LB Jaelan Phillips. Obviously you were teammates at the end of last year, but now that you’ve had some time to kind of spend with him in the offseason and see how he works, I was just curious your perspective on the way he approaches his business.) – “He approaches it like a true pro. He understands the task at hand. He wants more out of himself as well. He wants to get those accolades. He wants to go to the Pro Bowl, All-Pros, and you see it just by the way he approaches everything in the meeting room. With this new defense right now he’s asking questions and making sure he knows the ins and outs, knows when to take his shots and stuff like that. In the weight room he’s a freak. Coming into the season, you kind of see ‘yeah, okay, this guy gets it, he’s working hard.’ But you don’t really see it until that offseason work gets put in. We were on the field doing drills and you see the intent that he has that he’s working with, so I’m really excited for his year three.”
(You mentioned that he was a bit of a physical freak. I don’t know if you ever saw his pro day a couple of years ago, but he jumped out of the gym, ran a million miles an hour. What can you say about the physical traits that he brings?) – “Like I said, man, he’s a freak. When the dude takes his shirt off, he’s chiseled, he’s huge. He talks with the deepest voice possible. (laughter) He has all the intangibles and he’s getting – when it comes down to like I said, the playbook and everything else, he’s getting all that and he’s becoming a true pro. I’m excited for him.”
(Coming off your second Pro Bowl in your career, how was the experience and what did you take away the most from that in hopes of getting back to that same stage again?) – “It was a dope experience, but now I’ve got my sights set on something big. I want All-Pros, I want Super Bowl rings, I want everything that comes with that. So it’s cool. It’s a cool individual accolade, but I want this team to be playing in the mix when the Pro Bowl comes around so we can’t even go. Yeah, we get nominated, but we can’t even go because we’ve got a bigger thing to worry about.”
(What do you think about out Aaron Rodgers coming into the division twice, at least two games per year?) – “I’m excited. It’s an opportunity to play against one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. I’m excited to compete against that twice a year. The game plan that goes into each and every week – I mean each time I play him, it brings out the best in everybody. Everybody knows that okay yeah, we got ‘A-Rod’ (Aaron Rodgers) this week so we got to be on our p’s and q’s. Now we’ve just got a division full of great quarterbacks, so I’m excited to be in the mix and be competing towards the end of the year when it really counts. So it’s going to be fun. I know he’s excited to play a lot of the good edge rushers we’ve got in this division as well, so it’s going to be fun.”
(Have you sacked him?) – “No, I haven’t sacked him. I got a couple of hits on him, but I never sacked him yet, so this will be a perfect opportunity to.”
TE Durham Smythe
(When you were initially drafted eons ago, did you think that you would be here this long? And also, did you ever factor in that you would not only outlast Mike Gesicki, but start more games than Mike Gesicki?) – “I guess first and foremost, it was always the plan to stick around this long and hopefully a good amount longer. That’s everyone’s plan. But referencing Mike (Gesicki), I would tell him right now that it’s no surprise that I’ve started more games and have hung around longer. I tell people all the time that the Dolphins made a mistake in 2018 taking him in the second and me in the fourth, and I tell him that all the time. So that’s nothing that I wouldn’t say right to him and I’m sure he would probably say similar things back to me.”
(Safe to say that you and TE Mike Gesicki are still friends even though he’s on a different team now?) – “Oh, yeah. We still talk every day and he makes his trips down here, and I’m sure I’ll make a couple up there in the coming weeks, so yeah, we’re just as close as ever.”
(On a serious note, your reaction to getting a new contract extension?) – “That’s always exciting, to be shown that they value me here, in a place that I’ve been for so long, and that I’ve come to really enjoy living in. It’s home. I’ve been here for five years, so it was really exciting just to know that I have some value here and that’ll be here for the next couple years.”
(What do you think about the Dolphins possibly pursuing a tight end in this draft? Have you taken a look at the tight end prospects and is there anyone you like?) – “It’s funny. With just bodies in general, we’ll obviously have to add to our room in the next weeks to months. So obviously everyone understands that part of it, and it’s funny, early on in my career, I think since I still knew people in college, I would follow it a little bit, just because I had either a tie to them or something like that. But now six years in, I have no idea. I don’t know if I can tell you any names, besides guys coming out of Notre Dame, that I know through other people. So I have no idea when it comes to things like that, but luckily that’s not my job until we bring somebody in and then I get involved.”
(So you are the only player on offense who has been here for three head coaches – Adam Gase, Brian Flores, and now Mike McDaniel. What do you think is the reason for that, that you’ve been able to survive three regimes?) – “I mean, there’s a lot that goes into it. Timing in terms of contracts and things of that nature. But I’ve said this multiple times throughout my career here, is that the NFL is really an adapt-or-die game. So whether it’s the same head coach, same offensive coordinator, a different one; things are going to change every year. You’re going to have to improve on things every year, and you’re going to have to adapt to something new every year. So I think I knew that really early on in my career and that was just something that I tried to take into account every time we go into a new offseason and a new calendar year in the NFL, so I think that mentality is has helped me along the last five, six years.”
(I wanted to go back to something that Head Coach Mike McDaniel had mentioned last year about in this offense, tight ends having to relearn the way they play the games. I was, or the game. I was curious how coming back into Year 2 of that offense is beneficial to a player at your position.) – “I think it’s hugely beneficial for us that have been in the offense for more than one year now. And he’s right, honestly, it’s a different style, really across the board at a lot of positions, but at the tight end position, there’s a lot of things you do in this offense that you don’t necessarily do and others. So I think just having the experience of a full calendar year in this offense, there’s a comfort level that becomes established and I’m excited to get back on the field here in a couple of weeks to build on that through the summer and into training camp. So there’s definitely a little bit of a learning curve with this offense at the tight end position, and I think the sky’s the limit once we can at every position across the board, get on the same page.”
(Just kind of curious to measure the level of buzz and excitement with your teammates and the coaches coming back this week.) – “I mean, the boys are back. So that’s always exciting. That’s first and foremost. Just get around everyone. That’s the best time of the year, when we’re all back in the building together. And yeah, obviously, when you look at us on paper, there’s a lot of talent on the team. But that only goes so far. So I think everyone’s excited to get on the field to try to live up to expectations, establish some high expectations and really get this thing going. So I think we’re all excited about it.”
(A minute ago, you mentioned that you tried to keep up with some of the Notre Dame guys coming out into the draft. So what’s your scouting report on TE Michael Mayer and the Dolphins need to load up on more guys from the Irish?) – “I mean, you can never have too many Notre Dame guys on a team. I think you’re right there. I’ve only met him once. Actually, yeah, I’ve only met him once, officially, last summer in Nashville and he’s a great guy. I know people in the organization still, so I’ve only heard good things about him as a football player, obviously what most people see, but I’ve heard great things about him off the field as well. So I think at least for me personally, that resonates the most, that he’s but he’s keeping up with the Notre Dame tight end lineage. So that’s exciting. And you know, I’m excited for him. I think he’s going to do some exciting things.”
(I wanted to get back to the boys are back. Because that’s got my interest. What’s the feeling in the building this April 25 versus last April 25. Keeping in mind expectations are higher, Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio is there, CB Jalen Ramsey is there, LB Bradley Chubb is there, it’s Mike McDaniel’s second year? What’s different from this year at this time this year?) – “I mean obviously things change every offseason you bring in new people and such, but I think there’s just a familiarity with not only teammates from the last year and last calendar year, because obviously there’s been a good amount of turnover here in the last couple of years. So there’s some familiarity with guys that have been here for a while and then obviously some excitement from guys that we’ve added, so I think when you combine those two things and then you just have a bunch of good personalities, a bunch of good dudes in the same building, everyone’s excited to get back in here just to hang out. The offseason, it’s great, for a couple of weeks, then you’re like, ‘wow, like, kind of miss just hanging out with the boys all the time.’ So I’m excited to get back to that and I think that says a lot about how this team is constructed in terms of just good dudes, personalities and such.”
(And the higher expectations. I know obviously, you guys know that you went to the playoffs, you know a lot of people are returning, but how does that affect you? Do you feel the higher expectations in any way if that makes sense?) – “I don’t know if you necessarily feel it, or if I feel it personally. But I think it’s obvious that – like I mentioned earlier on paper, there’s a lot of talent here. So for me, I don’t know if that necessarily translates to higher expectations directly, but obviously, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this a very talented team and I think there is some responsibility, I think, is what I would call it. Some responsibility to play well and to develop some excitement with the fans and really just win games at the end of the day.”
(TE Mike Gesicki had 30 other teams he could have gone to and he goes Patriots. What did you think when you heard Patriots?) – “I thought it was a direct shot at me because if he’s not staying here, that he’d he try to get at me in some way. And that’s probably one of the more direct paths to be able to do that. So yeah, obviously, he had 31 other choices, and he chose the one to spite me the most and it was to me directly, I believe, so good for him. We’ll see him twice a year. It’s exciting and those will be some fun games.”
(I was surprised when I looked at this thing that’s in the draft guide and it says how the team was built. I was surprised and I Tweeted it and I don’t know if you saw, but the only guy who’s been on the roster longer than you is CB Xavien Howard. One guy has been around longer. I think of you as very young still. Did you know that stat, did you see it? Is it surprising?) – “I did know that stat, and the only reason I knew that stat is because last season me and Mike (Gesicki) had a running joke that I was the longest-tenured offensive player because I signed my contract, my rookie contract before he did even though he was drafted before me. So there was some conflicting opinions about who was the longest tenured offensive player. So that’s the only reason I know that and now that he is playing for the enemy, it’s obvious that I’m the only one left.”
(Five years ago, you were kind of the last of a dying breed because you actually knew how to in-line block as a college tight end. Now five years later, what do you think of the college landscape at that position?) – “It’s funny, I know that was kind of the narrative that was built around me coming out of college and for good reason because I didn’t have wild stats, and we ran the ball a lot at Notre Dame, But when I got to the NFL, I quickly realized that what I was good at in college, you’re not immediately good at in the NFL. So it’s funny that I think it’s taken me really a full four or five years to become comfortable and obviously there’s still plenty of room for improvement, but it takes a while to at this level be able to replicate what you did in college, especially in blocking in-line. So I think that’s just something that you have to build on from a year-to-year standpoint. And I think, I guess to answer your question, the landscape, I don’t know how it is now. I’m assuming it’s similar, but that it’s definitely something that takes a while and to get comfortable with at least and then obviously there’s always room for improvement, so just build on that.”
