Miami Dolphins Transcripts – August 10 – Head Coach Mike McDaniel, QB Tua Tagovailoa, DE Emmanuel Ogbah, CB Xavien Howard and OL Connor Williams

QB Tua Tagovailoa

(Earlier today, Head Coach Mike McDaniel talked a little about coming out a day early so you guys had time to build that camaraderie and team bond. I just wanted to get your perspective on being out here with the team for a whole week and the value of that?) – “It was good. We got to go out to dinner with a couple of the guys the first night. Also got to walk through the mall with the guys yesterday, with a couple guys, and then go to dinner again. I thought it was a pretty cool trip. It felt a little weird because we’re still in training camp, but we’re seeing every – we’re seeing the guys on an off day. That felt a little different for us, but it was cool to spend some time and then also be with the guys in preparation for a practice like this. So we were able to talk through some things that we don’t normally get to talk through until the day of practice.”

(Who’s picking up the dinner tab?) – “I actually picked up the dinner tab last night. That was a big dinner tab. (laughter) But it was good, everyone enjoyed themselves. I picked up the Uber, too. (laughter)”

(Where did you guys go?) – “We went to Ocean Prime.”

(How many people?) – “I can’t say. I don’t even know. I was barely talking to half of the guys, because everyone was kind of far away from each other.”

(What’s the biggest difference between practicing against yourselves and what’s the biggest takeaway from today?) – “I would say technique. Tampa’s technique is different than the technique that we face a lot in camp where we get a lot of press man (coverage). Tampa has a lot of off man (coverage), off zone (coverage). They have a fair amount of disguises with what they do, but they’re a really good team. We’re very fortunate, as a team, to come out here and be able to compete against some of the guys that played on the Super Bowl team two years ago. So it’s good work for us, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

(They obviously have pretty talented personnel on defense. How do you feel today went for the offense?) – “I would say you can never be too high, you never get too low. We’ll obviously look at the film. I think there are some things operationally that we can work on – getting guys set, understanding the snap count, just little things. But I think for the most part, it was really good to build off of to go into tomorrow with.”

(Two-part question. So you walked through the mall in Tampa, you’re the Miami Dolphins quarterback and played at Alabama. Are a lot of people recognizing you? Not a lot of people recognizing you?) – “No, no, no. I don’t think anyone recognized me. No way.”

(Does that surprise you?) – “No, no, no. (laughter) Not at all. I was wearing – you just wear some shades, a hat and a hoodie. (laughter)

(Are you serious? They didn’t recognize you?) – “Yes. Nobody recognized me. They recognized the other guys, but then I went to the bathroom when they recognized a couple of guys, or I just walked out of the store. (laughter)

(Who did they recognize that they didn’t recognize you?) – “I don’t know. If you guys get to interview a couple of the other guys, you guys ask them that question and then they’ll tell you. (laughter)

(The other part is you said it was a large bill, so help us.) – “Yes, anything over $1,000, that is, my gosh, that is a lot of money. That’s a lot of money.”

(So it was over $1,000?) – “Just over $1,000, yes.”

(Fair to say in Miami and Fort Lauderdale and you’re walking around, you get recognized there, right?) – “No, no, no, no, no.”

(No? C’mon Tua.) – “I mean, yes, of course. (laughter) Yes, but I barely go out. It’s weird because every time I go out, I try to find a gas station, when I have to put in gas, where I think no one is going to be at, and then when I do get out, everyone I feel like just starts coming and pulling up. No one, sometimes, knows it’s me. A lot of older people go to the gas station that I go to. So I like it, I love it. So it’s good. (laughter)

(I know you’re focused on your reps against the Tampa defense while Tom Brady is on the other side going against the Dolphins defense. But with him on the other side, were you able to get a chance to talk to him, pick his brain a little bit, anything like that?) – “Yes, I was able to talk to Tom (Brady). We were talking on the side for a good bit. He was just asking how the offseason was. We were talking a little about golf at the same time. But for the most part, 23 years playing, that’s a long time. That’s a lot of knowledge, so I was asking him some things and he gave me some good insight on. I’m going to keep that between me and Tom. Then if you guys want to ask Tom, you can go ask him.”

(What’s something from Tom Brady’s game that you take away? What impresses you with what he does?) – “I would say Tom’s composure in the pocket. Nothing really rattles him. When you have a guy in your face, he’s just – subtle movements and throwing the ball. I would say those are top trait qualities in a really good quarterback with him, ‘Russ’ (Russell Wilson), Aaron Rodgers, all of those big time guys.”

(The Dolphins pursuing QB Tom Brady with the tampering, did you have any reaction to that at all?) – “No. I think I answered that last week.”

(I wasn’t there.) – “Sorry. Yeah, I think they were doing that in 2019, but then I came in 2020.”

(Well, also in 2020.) – “I mean, they picked me.”

(Yeah, well it was 2020.) – “So, 2020? It’s 2022. I’m still here.”

(2021 last year.) – “Yeah, I mean, I’m still here. To me, that’s all noise at this point.”

(Does anybody else leave a tip at least?) – “(laughter) No, no one helped me with the tip. No one helped me with the tip. No, because it’s – when you put the card in, there’s the custom tips that you can’t – the guys don’t carry cash, they just have their cards. So I just had to customize the tip.”

(Do they do that thing like they do in the Miami where they add the tip into the final bill and ask you for a suggested additional one?) – “I don’t know.”

(You have to watch that.) – “Dang, they might have got me. (laughter)

(Who’s the biggest eater on the team?) – “Who’s the biggest eater on the team? Um, I don’t know. We have some big boys, but I don’t know. I’m not too sure. I couldn’t tell you.”

(Did you get the tiny Uber or did you get the UberXL?) – “No, I got the big Uber. I had to get the big Uber and I was the one sitting in the back. (laughter) I was like, ‘dang.’”

(Was this dinner your idea?) – “No, it wasn’t my idea.”

(How did it come together?) – “It was for a buddy’s birthday. There were a couple people’s birthdays yesterday so I’ll let you guys figure that one out.”

(OL Connor Williams told us earlier that the relationship between you and he is obviously an important one. I just kind of wanted to get your perspective on how it’s going with Connor whether it’s film study, out here in practice, and just kind of how you guys are developing that relationship.) – “Yeah, it’s been really good. Every time we see each other – I mean, I sit by him in our team meetings and we’re talking about getting the guys going for the day and then just snap locations on certain plays that will help us execute the play that much better. And then just our timing with everything. He’s taking care of the front, I’m taking care of the back end with things and just us being in sync will help this offense go.”

(In what ways have you seen the offensive line developing in general?) – “I think they’ve developed a lot. You look at our run game, it makes it a little harder for guys to really read keys with the o-line because of how much stretch we do, how much stretch action we do. So it puts a lot of stress on not the front guys, but the secondary guys as well with the linebackers getting them to come up and obviously replacing them with throws and then also deeper play-pass throws. So I think we’ve come a long way and I think the guys would also say that we’re not close to where we want to be, but shoot, it’s exciting for the guys.”

(Head Coach Mike McDaniel is also kind of going through these kind of game reps for the first time as a head coach. How’s today in this kind of scenario? How’s the communication and everything going? How’s it been?) – “Yeah, I think the communication has been good. We’ve had some miscommunication out there on some team periods, but one of our team rules is when you fail, failure is a chance for opportunity. So we’ve had many of those opportunities today to recover from a misthrow, a missed assignment, a missed cadence and it was against a good defense.”

(DE Emmanuel Ogbah basically said they remember what happened last year against the Bucs. I’m curious how much is it on your mind?) – “Yeah, I was on the sideline throughout the game. Any competitor would want to be out there to compete against a team like that and it was just unfortunate that I wasn’t able to be out there because of my injury, but I’m looking forward to this year. We got done with our first practice with them. We’re looking forward to tomorrow. We’ll come out and see what they bring new and see what we can do to improve.”

(What do you think about WR Tyreek Hill so far and how do he and WR Jaylen Waddle complement each other?) – “I think Tyreek is, shoot, maybe the fastest guy in the NFL. It’s been Keion Crossen because he’s had many kickoff reps so he gets vertical speed every time. Tyreek doesn’t really get to open it up as much. (laughter) But shoot, everyone loves Tyreek in the organization and I think him and Jaylen do a really good job complementing each other by one goes deep – if they’re doubling him, then we’ve got another speedster coming across and vice versa. But those guys also help other guys get open on our team.”

OL Connor Williams

(Earlier this offseason, we heard Head Coach Mike McDaniel talk about snapping the football, coming off the ball and making plays that way. I’m curious how DT Vita Vea accelerates that challenge for you in that position?) – “We’ve been only able to go against our defense and obviously we have a great defense. Being able to go against a new face and a good player like Vita that plays different techniques and a little different game than ours, it’s good to see that and it’s good to be able to work on that, just to perfect a craft at a new position.”

(What do you think the offensive line did well as a unit today?) – “I think we responded. We came into a new area and I think we all kind of came together and responded well throughout all of the groups.”

(What is DT Vita Vea like to go against?) – “He’s an islander so he’s a big ole hunker down man. (laughter) He’s down to the earth, so you’ve just got to go low on him and get under his pads. He’s a well-respected player and he’s a great player. I love being able to go against him just to fine-tune yourself.”

(What’s the different intensity in these joint practices as opposed to a real game. I would assume it’s pretty close.) – “It’s obviously pretty close. We’re all super competitors. Just to be able to go against somebody you don’t know, there are always those nerves and always that level of competition. This is the highest level, so obviously you want to compete at the highest level. It was good work today.”

(What’s your level of confidence at center this point. What are you doing to work on the snaps?) – “I’d say I’m fully confident. Over the past work we’ve been able to do, I think moving into the season,, I’m fully confident as I’ve been at any position prior to the season.”

(The snapping situation, obviously they are not errand snaps, but they are not ideal snaps from a target standpoint. How do you get that corrected?) – “That’s kind of harsh. (laughter) Obviously it’s just perfecting your craft. It’s day in and day out, just trying to hit the (strike zone). We get reps whenever we can, however we can. It’s just being able to get it in the box every time. Even in those stressed out situations where you know you you’ve got to move wide really quick right at the snap of the ball, being able to snap it and then get out, and being able to perfect that.”

(How has Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith helped you transition to center? Head Coach Mike McDaniel told us the other day that he was Ben Roethlisberger’s center in college. Did you get the sense of that or have you felt that former center mentality?) – “He’s been a great resource. He’s been a great coach and definitely knows the o-line game very well. The biggest thing he’s said to me was like Avatar, like that connection to riding that horse. That’s what me and Tua (Tagoavailoa) have to have. That’s what we’ve been forming and filling that. He’s a great coach, a great resource. You can go tell him whatever you need and he’s there for you.”

(How much has that connection grown in just the 10 days of camp?) – “Tremendously. Being able to know the guy you’re playing with, and definitely when you’re under center, you’ve got to have that connection so you know where to put the laces and everything. I think we’re getting that and growing that.”

(Is it nice to have OL Michael Deiter back and how did he look?) – “He looks good. I think he was really excited to be able to get back on the field and we’ve obviously missed him. He’s a great person and he’s a great contribution to the o-line, and we needed him out there. I think he did very well.”

(Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned before practice that the Bucs defensive front has a high penetration rate. What did you notice coming into these practices and what did you notice today relative to how they try to attack and how the offensive line can counter that?) – “Obviously every defense has their pros and cons and their focuses. They are really focused on good get off and then being able to read. With that, you’ve just got to be able to get your first steps in the ground and work in unison, get the play calls down and being able to take that initial surge and being able to extend the play.”  

Head Coach Mike McDaniel

(How much can a young quarterback learn from just having Tom Brady on the other side?) – “I think it’s more about learning stuff from going against an opponent and an opponent as qualified and that has as much esteem as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – winning the Super Bowl two years ago, being in the divisional playoffs. Contrary to popular belief, Tua (Tagovailoa) doesn’t play one snap against Tom Brady. (laughter) They’ll be on separate fields, but it’s more about the quality of this organization and the type of football they play is a tremendous opportunity for really all the guys when we’re trying to play football at a high level.”

(Will QB Tua Tagovailoa be watching Tom Brady at all?) – “Again, I would actually be very disappointed if he did. He’d probably be taking a sack if he was watching him because it would be simultaneous plays. (laughter) I think again, it’s more about going against a different defense, not just schematically but how they play football with different techniques that they emphasize. Those things are a big part of the NFL game. You’re adjusting every week, so those subtle differences are huge differences. That’s what I want really, and really what I’m focused on them taking in.”

(On going against another team) – “The first part of it is a big deal. You’re going against another team so you want that rep. Guys are sick of going against each other generally 10 days into camp everywhere you’re at, so it kind of revitalizes football to a degree from the practice perspective. We’ve been practicing against each other for a long time. But then outside of that, it’s all about how we really – I’m not even that concerned about the actual outcome of anything. It’s more whether it’s a successful play or if it’s a negative play and it’s about how we respond because you know that this game, that’s all that it’s full of. You’re never just – any time you’re content or any time you’re satisfied with the last play, that’s when you get hit in the face and hit in the mouth moving forward.”

(These are only practices and I get that, but over the next couple of days, does it give you a measure of where your team is at and how far you’ve come?) – “No, every time you’re on the football field, something I really try to instill in the guys – every time you’re on the football field is telling you where you’re at. Everything else is fake. It’s all made up, so you’re exactly right. It’s something that you’re excited to see where your team is at that day and then whatever that is, can they best handle that for the next? Do you use whatever’s happening – successful or failure – you use that for the next day. To me, that’s the trick because whatever records are in the first quarter of the season, for instance, nothing is decided by that. There’s countless number of teams that are 4-0 that don’t make the playoffs. There’s teams that start behind the 8-ball. I think I was on a team last year that was 3-5 and we were in the NFC Championship game, so it is all about that day and it tells you a lot, but then even more so, you get an opportunity to figure out what they’re going to use with whatever the result was for the next day which is why we’re all so pumped to be here.”

(You mentioned that you’re going to make sure that everyone knew the rules of engagement going into today, so what are the rules regarding tackling, blitzing, fisticuffs and shenanigans?) – “The shenanigans, that’s a subjective thing. A lot of things that you guys perceive as shenanigans by me are not shenanigans. (laughter) Really, we’re approaching it like it’s exactly like we approach our own practices where it’s important to me for guys not to fight with their teammates. Sometimes it happens, but you make sure that players understand why anything outside of the whistle is only hurting the team and there’s a lot more implications in whatever you’re doing than just yourself. So we’re handling in terms of tackling those things the same way that we’ve done in practice where if you have a direct shot on someone, we’re thudding up. If you’re on the side of someone, you’re protecting the team because there can be unintended consequences about drilling somebody on the side. And then we’re taking tracking angles and tagging off down the field in space. So it should, and the way that I addressed it, was the same way that we’ve been in Miami Gardens. That this is to get you better. Anything outside of getting people better, we don’t really have time or patience for that.”

(What are your thoughts so far of Todd Bowles and the opportunity he has in Tampa?) – “I’ve been familiar with Todd for a while and I have nothing but the utmost respect for his defense. His coaching ability as a head coach, he commands respect but is himself. I really respect that. The bottom line is his teams play hard. They always have whether he’s been a position coach, coordinator or head coach. Whatever his elixir is, he inspires his players to play very inspired football which is why it’s a great challenge for us to bring our energy and our commitment to each other out here against this whole opponent who’s extremely formidable and should be outstanding work for all of us.”

(Just given what happened with the organization last week, is there any awkwardness…?) – “For me, nothing happened. Everyone else is the one making it awkward. IT doesn’t occupy a single iota of space with anybody. It’s hard enough to be good in this league. As the Miami Dolphins, all of our energy is very coordinated and only has to do with us getting better and everything else would be an opportunity cost that we’re not willing to expend.”

(You guys traded TE Adam Shaheen yesterday. Do you guys feel good about your tight end depth?) – “Everything in NFL training camps, I’ve always thought it was kind of funny. Like, general managers are working day in and day out while the rosters stay the same, so different opportunities come across your board and Chris (Grier) is outstanding about communicating and talking with a bunch of general managers about everything and the bottom line was to Adam Shaheen’s credit – he’s a well-thought-of NFL player as he should be – and to our tight end room’s credit, we thought that we could afford investing in the future draft capital because we felt pretty good about the position as well. So the nature of trades, both sides end up having an advantageous situation. This is why they agree upon the. So we were happy for Adam, we were happy for the Dolphins that we could do that.”

(How do you balance getting plays that you want to see … versus maybe showing too much of your hand in the preseason period against the Bucs?) – “No, it’s always – you’re always thinking about it. There’s a million different types of decisions that you have to make as a result. But the main focus, it was a little easier for me and our coaching staff with this joint practice because we just really want our players to go out and compete with a winning organization and put our best foot forward. I think there’s some of that chess match, but at the same time, there’s a lot of overlapping plays in the National Football League. So putting too much into ‘We can’t do X, Y or Z,’ isn’t the best thing as well. It’s kind of a fine balance.”

(As a first-year head coach, what do you hope to kind of get out of this experience, just observing how another organization operates?) – “You know, whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate, I’ve been – this is my seventh different franchise. I feel like the biggest thing is I just want the players to go through the emotions of what a joint practice is, especially against a good team. When you’re fortunate enough to practice against a good team, guys want to do well. And in that process, one of two things is going to happen. They’re either going to do well, or they’re not – either way, it’s our job to make sure that they understand that how do you use whatever happens to benefit you moving forward. So I just want to see a group of guys that are committed to this practice, which I think we all see that, and then I want to just play the hand that’s dealt after the fact and after we watch the film.”

(What have you learned about how your team responds to adversity in your few months here?) – “That’s such a big deal to me. That’s one of the pillars that we talk about a ton. Adversity is relative, and I think that we’re had our own set and our own share of adversity internally with little things that don’t go the way you want them to go. In that thus far, that’s one of the reasons I love the guys and love the team, because they’ve responded exactly the way that they’ve been called upon at each and every turn, so in the game of football, like the game of life, now we’re moving forward and steadily awaiting whatever piece of adversity falls our way in the near future because it’s not if but when. And when that happens, I’ve gained a lot of confidence in how they’re going to respond.”

(Once games begin to be played, are you willing to put WR Tyreek Hill or WR Jaylen Waddle on punt returns or RB Raheem Mostert on kick returns?) – “I’m willing to do anything at any given time at any moment. (laughter)

(This is the only time you’ll be on the road before the Week 2 game in Baltimore. What’s the value of having the guys together on the road?) – “Tremendous value. We traveled down here on Monday before a player’s day off purposely, because this is where you get a lot of camaraderie. Guys have so many things going on in their lives, you spend a week together and there’s no where to go but hang out with each other, and I think that over the course of my career, I’ve found that to be extremely beneficial. You end up looking back at these type of days when you’re reflecting upon the entire season, and a lot of times, this is where the bonds solidify which is why it’s one of the cool experiences that we’re fortunate to do.”

(What do you hope to see from the offensive line group over the next two days?) – “That’s a great question, because there’s – like any NFL defense, the offensive line play is a game of inches, but every NFL defense has a different way that they play football. It’s not just Xs and Os on paper like structure; it’s how do they defend blocks. This group is awesome at coming off the ball. Amongst the entire league, they’re one of the top teams in defensive line penetration. They really launch off that, and that’s an adjustment for our guys, which is – I’m not necessarily concerned with the first play or the first period. In the game of NFL football, you’re mastering the week-by-week adjustments, so I want to see a progression of tailored techniques to what they’re seeing. It’s going to feel different. You watch tape, you know that it’s different, but you don’t get the true feel until it’s live bullets, and I want to see guys progress as we go and adjust their techniques to fit who they’re going against, which will be the name of the game in the regular season.”

(How would you describe the offense and what has stood out to you so far?) – “The Miami Dolphins offense? Offensive. (laughter) I think it’s a hungry group of individuals that are really getting into playing 11-on-11 football. What I mean by that is we’ve really started to see in the last week or two, every play you guys watch, you see 11 guys working together unselfishly for the sake of the offense. I’ve seen – we have some speed on our offense, everybody knows, but what I’ve seen is coordinated efforts to establish techniques. As far as defining it, hopefully, the idea is that we’re a good offense, but for anything like anything in life that’s worth anything, that’s hard to do. It doesn’t really matter if we’re executing on the Sunday the last time we practiced against each other or we’re executing against Tampa, we’re building all of it. We should be building toward Week 1, and then after Week 1, we should be building to Week 2. In that process, the players and the play of the players will define it. It’s something that I don’t have a cool, catchy phrase to really define, I guess, but it’s hopefully good. (laughter)

(Is there an open competition at the returner spots?)  “There’s an open competition everywhere. Shame on me if I’m anointing for no reason. There’s – we have a lot of people that have the ability to return the ball in the punt and kickoff game. During the season, we plan to utilize everyone that makes the most sense for the team. Remember, special teams yards are yards – same as defensive years given up, same as offensive yards gained. So we’ll use our players to best move the ball down the field to score touchdowns or stop other people from moving it.”

DE Emmanuel Ogbah

(Do you get fined for criticizing refs at joint practices? – (laughter) No. I try to stay away from the refs because we’re going to see them during the season too.”

(They didn’t even give you that sack.) – “It’s all good. That’s what practice is for. We’ve just got to keep getting better even though they don’t count.”

(Is there a sense of a little more anticipation to go up against the Bucs’ offense given how things were in the regular season last year?) – “Oh, yeah. We’ve been waiting on this day. We feel like we got embarrassed last year. We’ve got to go out there and do better this year. It was a good practice against them and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

(You got you hand up on a batted ball. Almost midseason form with that timing. How did that feel to get that?) – “We had a game on. Zach (Sieler) had the guard and just pulled him. I came through clean and batted the ball. I got in front of the quarterback and put my hands up because he was getting the ball out quick.”

(What was the chirping going on at the end? Was that a part of the action?) – “With who? There was a bunch of chirping going on. I don’t know which one you’re talking about. We’re just competing against each other and getting each other better.”

(Is that the cool thing about this? That’s what gets you guys going?) – “It’s fun going against another team. You get tired of hitting your same offense over and over. It’s fun going against another opponent.”

(After you knock down a pass like you did, will you say anything to QB Tom Brady? Will you chirp at him?) – “No. It’s next play. The down’s not over. It’s the next play.”

(How did you guys feel going against someone else?) – “I would say this – we started off slow. We got to pick it up. Good thing we have tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day. We’ve got to pick it up fast and start fast.”

(How much juice does S Brandon Jones bring? It seems like he was mixing it up himself.) – “I love B-Jones. He comes down to hit somebody. He brings the energy to the team and we want him to keep getting better as a young player. Just keep getting better every day.”

(How much pressure do you think this group is going to get on the quarterback during the season?) – “As good as we can. We’ve just got to go out there and be dominant and help our offense get going. We all work together.”

(How do you feel about the pressure the group applied today in today’s practice?) – “Like I said, we started off slow. We picked it up a little bit at the end, but we’ve got to start faster. We can’t start that slow no more.”

(Do you know how much the first team defense is going to play Saturday? Have they told you?) – “I have no idea. I couldn’t tell you that.”

(I know it’s hard to tell from a practice. But do you feel like you’ve made up some ground on that team? That you are their equal?) – “I wouldn’t say that. We’ve still got to go watch film. Like I said, we started off slow so we’ve got to go back and watch film to see what we struggled at and what we did good at and just build on that.”

CB Xavien Howard

(How did it feel to finally go up against somebody wearing a different color jersey?) – “It feels great. I feel like we’ve got to start fast and finish strong. I feel like we have to have a sense of urgency around the ball and on the defensive side, that’s what I’ve seen mostly. It feels good though, to see a different jersey.”

(Last year’s regular season game was tough day for you guys against Tampa. Did that provide any sort of inspiration, any sort of energy for you guys?) – “Yes, the – when we were back at home, I already knew about it. That was on my mind 24/7. It still is. So I feel like that brings a little bit of fire to it. I feel like if you want to get motivated, you can watch that game, the people that were there last year, and they see what they did to us.”

(I know you still have CB Byron Jones on the team coming back from PUP, but right now, it’s you as a veteran and a lot of young guys in that position room. What has that been like, just kind of working with them, kind of mentoring them and really overall, your transition from a young guy to a real vet on this team?) – “I feel like it starts with me. I feel like I have to set the tone for the guys. The guys are getting better – I feel like everybody is getting better each week. I feel like we just have to keep striving. I have to take that leadership role in the cornerback room and set the tone.”

(When you set the tone, what do you tell them? What are some of the main principles that you want them to hear?) – “Make plays. Make plays, that’s what I do. So setting the tone by making plays out there.”

(What’s the most beneficial about these joint practices?) – “Man, really just to see somebody different. Especially – you get to compete against the best, especially Tom Brady. What can you ask for more? The guys (like) Julio (Jones), some of the guys are injured so we didn’t face them, but just competing with the best.”

(How do you think the defense did overall today?) – “I feel like we definitely can get better. I feel like we’ve seen a lot of stuff on film, but we just have to go watch film and see what we can get better at. I know there are a couple things we can get correct.”