Wednesday, December 27, 2023
K Jason Sanders
(On being named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week) – “It’s cool when you get recognized because I’m not the only one that gets recognized. It’s the whole offensive line that is on the field goal unit the series leading up to the kick. When I get recognized, they also get recognized too. Then I have a phenomenal snapper and holder that I think are Pro Bowl worthy this year. Jake (Bailey) not so much just based on the amount of punts we have, but the way he’s hitting the ball and Blake (Ferguson) as a snapper, I think are very strong Pro Bowl candidates this year.”
(How many text messages did you have after that one on Sunday?) – “Quite a few, quite a few. A lot of family hit me up. It’s always nice to hear from loved ones and people that are tuned in.”
(You’re one of the longer-tenured guys here. Just to be in the position you’re in as a team with two games to go in the season, how special is this?) – “This locker room is different. Everybody cares about each other. Everybody likes being around each other. So you take a team like that and a coach that cares about his players, it’s been a fun year and a fun year to be part of.”
(I’m pretty sure in the past you’ve shown quite a bit of respect for Ravens K Justin Tucker, for obvious reasons. How well do you know him? Have you had much interaction with him over the years?) – “Most of my interactions come from playing. We’ve played quite a few times now, maybe four or five, a couple preseason games. It’s just confidence. You can see how confident he is when he’s going up to hit the ball. I’d say that’s his best quality.”
(Out of curiosity, with cleats before this game, what’s your process of finding the right footwear? Weather, temperature all of that.) – “I’ve been wearing the same cleats since college, so nothing really changes as the years go on unless new cleats are designed. You might try them out, but for the most part, you buy a bunch of one cleat you like and you try and stick with it until you run out or they discontinue maybe.”
(Are you going to wear the ones you kicked the winners in this week again or you going to put those on the shelf?) – “Yeah, I’ve been wearing those all year. I save them for Fridays and Sundays just so they don’t get too worn out. But once those get to a certain level, I’ve got a few more ready.”
(How many do you buy?) – “The problem with kicking cleats is that they change every year. New ones come out and then they don’t feel the same as they did last year. Or you like the new ones more than the ones last year. They change every year so when you find one you like and feels good on, you buy seven, eight of them. When those run out, you try and find them again or you move on to something else.”
(So how many cleats do you go through would you say in a given season?) – “I go through two. Most of the time I wear the same cleat but maybe a newer cleat of the same model at practice. Then you save the one you like for Friday and Sunday when it’s closer to gameday.”
(We got a good line from RB Jeff Wilson Jr. just now. He said that he needed Sunday’s game for his spirit and for his psyche, because he hadn’t played a lot this year. Was a game like Sunday, even though you knew obviously you could still hit consistently 50-plus field goals, was a game like that you think helpful for your spirit, your psyche, just to have the chance to kick pressure field goals, a great distance as well? – “I mean, the games like that are always good for you. It won’t hurt. But as a kicker, you’re painted as a villain if you miss, and you’re the hero if you make it. So I mean, all of that is just noise and if you just continue to do what you know you can do. I think that’s the most important piece in being a kicker.”
(You’ve never lacked for confidence, but does a game like Sunday help?) – “Of course. I mean, you go out there and hit big kicks like that, it’s definitely not going to hurt you. (laughter)”
(Looking back, was there anything that happened before the Cowboys game that you can look back on and say yeah, this is why this game turned out so well for me?) – “No, I mean you treat every – it’s the same line I give every year. You treat every game the same. There is no different game. It’s between you and the yellow poles every game. So like I said, I have a good holder and a good snapper, what makes my job that much easier.”
(So it’s not like you had an exceptional week of practice or anything like that?) – “No, not at all.”
(What was it was like being lifted on your teammates shoulders? I know DT Christian Wilkins had you in the locker room. On the field who was it?) – “Raekwon (Davis) was there. Jake (Bailey) started it. Our punter started it. But it’s just cool to see our guys go out there and play a good opponent and come out with the win like that. It’s something special.”
(P Jake Bailey’s got some strength to left you up.) – “Jake didn’t lift me up that high. (laughter) It was some of the other guys.”
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
RB Jeff Wilson Jr.
(It might be a little chilly in Baltimore, like 50 degrees. I think 50 is cold… they say it’s not cold. Is 50 cold?) – “No, not really. It’s not that cold, especially when you’re playing like a regular sunny day. You get moving around a little bit. For everybody else it might be a little chilly, but for us on the field, it’s just like the best football weather.”
(How does your style of play align with what the Dolphins need at the end of the season here in regard to having a running game, going against a physical Ravens defense?) – “That’s my cup of tea. That’s always been because I’ve always played with a chip on my shoulder and it hasn’t left. I feel like the more I get in the league, the bigger it gets. It’s just to a point where I’m ready to just knock it over and me knocking it over and just letting the world know that I can play and don’t ever play with me on my name again and that’s just kind of where it’s at. I’ve been around the league a long time so I don’t like to play games, so it’s business and that’s really what it is.”
(You’re a Texas guy. Did it mean a little more to you to get that clinching first down, if you will, against the Cowboys?) – “Oh yeah, no doubt. I’m still getting texts from people back home. I’ve been there, I went to college there, was raised there, born there. So I know everybody. All my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, you’ve got to think they’re Cowboys fans. It’s been that way since we were young so to get that done against them, that was another one of the greatest feelings, and just getting that win with the team and clinching the playoffs and whole nine. To have that above my family members, I’m going to use that for a long time.”
(What were you saying in that moment, what were you shouting?) – “I really blacked out. I can’t even tell you, but I know one of the words I was saying, ‘don’t play with me.’ That’s just kind of what I meant.”
(What’s the best reaction you got from the Cowboys game and in regards to your first down run that clinched it?) – “Like I said, it was just going back in those huddles and even before I got it, just looking in my teammates’ faces, man, and seeing their eyes, knowing the urgency that they had to get the job done and knowing what was at stake, seeing that grit. And then after that, seeing the smiles, kind of like the weight had been dropped off people’s shoulders and it’s like, all right we can kind of – still with the urgency because it’s still a football game and the clock hasn’t struck zero – but it was like all right, now we can breathe now and the whole time we’re holding our breath for the whole drive. Like blow it out, like get your breath out so that’s kind of what it was like.”
(I asked QB Tua Tagovailoa a few minutes ago about the satisfaction, not just winning a game because winning is always great but winning when you come back. What’s that extra bit of joy or whatever it is you feel?) – “That’s just championship football and especially coming down this stretch and going to where we want to go, you’re going to have to win these games like that. It’s not going to be always easy. It’s not going to be peaches and cream. Sometimes we’re going to have to get down and dirty. Sometimes we’re going to have to come back, sometimes we’re going to have to put our foot on people’s necks and end the game. Obviously we didn’t do that two weeks before so to come back and do that now, that’s what we needed and that’ll let us know that we’re getting prepared and we’re on the right path to getting to where we want to go.”
(That’s what this team did a year ago in Baltimore.) – “Yeah, but that was last year. This is a whole new year and like I said but with another note, the people there, they haven’t forgot about that either though, so we know they’re taking that into consideration. But for us, this is about us.”
(Being along for the ride with RB Raheem Mostert for so many years, what does it mean to see what he’s doing this year?) – “Man, like we got emotional after the game. I ain’t going to lie. Just us talking, our personal goals and our aspirations. Like we share those with each other so to see that being done, that’s an inspiration to me. That inspires me and that lets me know that no matter what even though how my situation has gone, I still look up to see him and see him, you know what I mean? Like imagine where he was at when he was in my year, but look at him now. So that lets me know to always go back to work, always pick my head up and always be happy around these guys because you never, man, you never know.”
(What’s the best part of playing on the road in a tough environment for the one seed? I mean this is a big money game.) – “This is like the middle of football. This is the football that you really love as a kid, you dream about, you fantasize about these type of games because I played in Baltimore before so I know the crowd, the energy is going to be electric because they know the stakes just as well as we do. So to go out there and be in that environment and that’s what we’re entering into and that’s what it is from every week from here on out so to go and get those pre-trials right now, I feel like it’s tremendous for our team and I can’t wait for it.”
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
LB Bradley Chubb
(You play football your entire life to play in games like this. How special is it?) – “This is what it’s all about. Just being in a big moment with two great teams that are going at it. This is what you live for. This is what you work so hard in the offseason for. At the end of the day, this is not the end goal. We still have a lot to do and a lot to prove. This is just one step in the right direction.”
(You talked about how this team comes together. You guys seem pretty close. What’s the secret sauce with this team versus other teams you’ve played on?) – “I can’t really put my finger on it. Guys just buying in with one another and just that brotherhood. I don’t know how it is built, but it’s organic here. Guys love each other, guys play for one another, and I feel like that’s what caused some of the success. That’s part of it. You play 10 times harder for a guy because you know what he has off the field. It makes you grow closer as a team, and that’s what we need this time of the year.”
(Can you talk about how difficult it is going up against a quarterback like Lamar Jackson?) – “It’s real difficult. He can do pretty much anything. He escapes a lot of trouble with his feet, with is arm now. He’s done a lot of great things with his arm this year. Just to be able to corral him upfront, that’s going to be our main goal, to try to make him as uncomfortable as possible so those guys on the back end can cover up. They’ve got dynamic receivers, dynamic running backs, so it’s going to be a challenge for us as a whole defense. We’re excited about it. At the end of the day, these are those games you live for, those games you play for. I know they’re going to bring it and we’re going to bring it as well.”
(The last game of 2023. How important is it to end on a good note?) – “End the year on a good note, the calendar year, for sure. Going into 2024 with everything we want right in front of us. It starts by doing it day by day, and that’s what we’re focused on is today, which is Wednesday, finishing it off strong, and be back at it tomorrow.”
(Day by day, game by game, but it’s hard not to get those late December feels with so much on the line. How do you guys balance that out? You got to be excited just for the feel.) – “Yes, for sure. You understand the magnitude of things. But at the end of the day it’s like, that’s what makes this job so hard. The physical part, everybody is good physically. It’s that mental part of locking in on what you have to do because this is a Wednesday on December 27th. There are so many things ahead of you, but you’ve got to focus on what’s in front of you right now. That’s what we’ve been trying to do, and that’s what’s been working out for us.”
(You’ve got a couple of guys on the defense that are former Ravens – S DeShon Elliott, DT Zach Sieler. Any tips they’ve given you on stuff to look for?) – “Not necessarily tidbits, but those guys are playing with an extra little bit of motivation because that’s where they started their careers. I had the same thing when we played Denver. Alec (Ingold) had the same thing when we played the Vegas. You always got that fire under you from where you started, but I know those guys are going to do exactly what we need them to do – not anything outside of the ordinary, just be ballers like they are. I know they are living up for the moment and it’s going to be a good moment for this whole team.”
(I know you guys don’t talk about this stuff and don’t think about it, but you guys are the leading sack unit in franchise history with two more games to play. How big is that accomplishment for this collective group?) – “It’s dope, just knowing the guys in the room, and seeing how we’ve started to get cohesive together. Early in the year, we could tell we were good, but we didn’t know how good we were going to be. Guys just started buying in, playing with each other, rushing off of each other, letting it just happen organically. You’re so honed-in on the process that you forget to look up sometimes and see the things you have done. It’s cool to have that accomplishment, but we know we’re not finished yet, and we want to set that mark even higher.”
(How much is the coverage an assist to you guys?) – “I tell those guys all the time it’s a huge assist. Having all of those guys back there, intimidating names, faces, bodies all of that. Just seeing the quarterback having to double pump and step up a little bit. You’ve got guys to push up the middle and it just makes our job so much easier. Working together, I know those guys want the picks and stuff like that and all of that, but it’s going to come. I feel like it’s one of those things where we’re hot right now, but when we really need them, those guys are going to get hot as well when it comes to those types of things. Working together has been dope for sure.”
(That split second before making a tackle on QB Lamar Jackson what is going through your head about how to make sure you corral him and get him down when he’s so slippery?) – “You got to focus big time on finishing. That’s been the thing on my year. It’s the thing I’ve been trying to work on and not get frustrated with. I just got to go out there and the next opportunity I get and finish. That’s the main thing this week – for myself, and this defense – it’s going to be the word finish.”
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(I know you didn’t watch the episode I’m assuming, but we loved your spirited desire on Hard Knocks. They kept replaying you harassing everybody about opening the gifts.) – “Yeah, I was excited for the gifts that I got them.”
(What did you get the offensive line?) – “I got them MacBook Pros. Like some new ones. Lot of them have aspirations to be rappers. (laughter)
(Offensive linemen?) – “You’d be surprised brother. (laughter) You’d be surprised. You can do whatever you want with that MacBook.”
(The team is returning back to Baltimore where there was a historic comeback and a career game for you. I was curious, what do you remember from that game and really just that performance and what it meant for you in the moment?) – “Yeah, I would say what I remember from that game was it was a hard-fought game. Our team last year, we were able to not let the win or let the score dictate how we wanted to finish and how we wanted to continue to play that game. Obviously the result was a win, but it’s a new year. They’ve made some changes to their defense. Same scheme, but personnel wise, they’ve moved some guys around and they’ve also acquired some new guys. What they’ve put on film, they’re very sound in the back end. They’ll get to you on the front end and then also with their front seven in the run game, we’re going to have to be on our p’s and q’s when it comes to who we’re pointing out. What they’ve put on film is they’re very physical. So we’re going to have to match their physicality and we’ll be ready come Sunday.”
(Did you watch the Monday night game against the 49ers? And what were your impressions from their performance?) – “I didn’t watch. I didn’t watch the game. I think I was sleeping probably from after opening gifts and whatnot and spending time with family. But watching the film, they played the 49ers well. You don’t just show up to a game and get the amount of turnovers that they had. We know that they’ll be ready for us and we have to be ready for them.”
(I know you can’t come into a game thinking if we win this, we win the division, but how much is it at least in the planning of the week in your mind, in the players’ minds, that this is a chance to win the AFC East with a victory?) – “I’d say every time we step foot on that field, we want to win. It doesn’t matter what’s at stake, we want to win. If we know we win this next game, we win the following game, we continue to win, we’ll get to where we want to go to as a team.”
(You mentioned the Ravens are very physical. A lot of times when people talk about your offense, they mention the speed. What do you think about maybe the speed versus the physical description of this game?) – “I think both can be true. You can have speed and you can be physical as well. I think that’s what people misunderstand when it comes to our team. They see, yeah, okay, guys are fast. Guys are flying around the field. But look at our runs. Look at everyone that has man blocks, that has crack blocks. Guys are willing to take on d-ends that are way smaller. With the receivers that we have, we don’t have the biggest wide receiver crew, but guys get in there, they do what they need to do. And that’s what I would say to that. We have a fast and we have a physical team.”
(I’m sure winning a game is never a bad thing. It always makes you feel good. But we talked about the Baltimore trip last year and the historic comeback that you guys had there. You’re also coming off a nice comeback against Dallas as well. Does it feel any different when you win a game coming back like that? Extra satisfaction to know you can pull it out in the end?) – “Yeah, I would say when you’re able to do that, it does feel a little different. But any way we can get a win here in December, that’s what we want to do.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel has always talked about building momentum to this point in the season and sort of peaking at the right time. What has you convinced that is what’s happening in this process?) – “Well I don’t think for us as a team we even think about that. I think that’s what has me convinced that we have the right guys in the locker room I would say. No one is talking about, ‘oh, we need to beat this team to do this, we need to beat this team to do that.’ Guys come in and, ‘hey, how was Christmas? It was good, it was good.’ Then guys go to their meeting rooms and guys lock in. Then when it’s time for us to break and have some time, guys – we understand what’s at stake. But I think if you overdo it, it could get to a point where you start chasing ghosts in a way. Whereas if you study the way you study and you do things the way you’ve done things, and then if you add just a little one each time on top of that, we could possibly be the team that we’ve always wanted to be since training camp, since OTAs, things like that.”
(We saw a little glimpse of your leadership on Hard Knocks of you talking to T Terron Armstead at halftime and inside the huddle. I’m curious how you’ve maybe grown in your comfort in talking to your teammates in your own way?) – “It was just I think a conversation that needed to be had at the moment, or at the time. I can’t remember what was said. I can’t remember those instances. I just feel as if we’re just all in the moment at the time. As those scenarios play out, I was in the moment. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but with whatever was said, I would say my leadership is just that.”
(I guess just in general, what is your comfort at this stage of your career to speak to whoever it is about whatever point it is in that time?) – “Yeah, I think I’m very comfortable. Very comfortable. Just the way that I lead is different than others lead. But I would say I’m very comfortable with the way I lead.”
(In what ways does this current team feel more complete than maybe teams you’ve been on in the past?) – “Well every season is a new deal. I would say it sounds cliché, but every season you always hope and pray that this is going to be the team. I think what sets this team apart than any other team is the leaders that we have, both offensively and defensively. If I’m doing something wrong, guys are willing to hold others accountable to what they need to do. I would say that’s what feels a little different this year than maybe a couple of the other years with the teams that we’ve had.”
(It’s a weekly conversation of every big game there’s this MVP talk about this team or that player. With this case, with Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, obviously your play as well, what do you think about that in a game like this? It means so much to the talk of MVP.) – “Oh, I couldn’t care less about that. I got a lot of respect for Lamar. The things that he’s done throughout his career. I can vividly remember when I was in college, I think he was in the NFL, and he reached out to me. He told me I was balling, and I thought that was the one of the coolest things. I think that was the year he won the MVP. But just the amount of respect I have for him, who he is as a player. And then I’ve been hearing talks about what people say about him and whatnot and how he handles himself and how he goes about his business. Very respectable. Very commendable. He’s a baller. That’s just flat out what he is and that’s what he does. He’s a gamechanger with what he can do in the pocket, throwing the ball deep, on the run and then he can make you miss with his legs as well. I got a lot of respect for him.”
(If WR Jaylen Waddle can’t go, what does that do to this offense after you guys had to recently overcome being without WR Tyreek Hill?) – “Yeah, it does make it tough when one of your star wideouts is down. But like I’ve said time over time, it’s next man up. That’s the mentality we have. Whoever is in, I have trust that they are going to do what they need to do and they have trust that I’m going to put the ball where it should be and make the right reads and whatnot.”
(So here’s a stat I think you’re going to like. The last four weeks, you guys are +8 in turnover margin. Obviously as a quarterback, you have a lot to do with that. What’s the value of that overall?) – “I think it’s good. Anytime you can do that, not turn the ball over, and end drives with kicks, I think that does a lot of good things for our team. I say that with the merit of obviously we didn’t have a good game against Tennessee, but with the merit of these other games, it’s worked in our favor.”
(That time that Lamar reached out, did he call you or was it social media?) – “No, it was on Instagram.”
(Have you guys had much contact since then?) – “Just when we play. Just when we play against each other.”
(As we continue to see RB Raheem Mostert just have a career season, as a quarterback, what do you appreciate the most of just knowing him? Besides the fact that it’s helping to win games, just to see that out of him?) – “Yeah, if you heard his story then you’d understand why his teammates gravitate so much to him. Obviously everyone has their own story, everyone has their background and things they’ve come from to be who they are today, but I think he has a really cool story. He has a really cool perspective on life and how he goes about his life with his family, obviously his kids and his wife. Sort of knowing that and then him traveling from teams when he got to the league. I think he only had 18 touchdowns in however many seasons he’s played up this point this year. Now he’s broken that for his career and then also he holds the Miami Dolphins record. We have conversations about that. Like, oh, I didn’t know that. Thanks for sharing that. Now I’m going to go share with social media right here. (laughter) But yeah, I’m just very happy for him and I think that’s what makes and allows his teammates to gravitate towards him is understanding who he is and hearing his story.”
(You talk about the individual stories. I think Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned the ‘you can’t’ guys who have been told you can’t do something throughout their career. How have you maybe connected with your teammates on each of your individual you can’t stories?) – “Yeah, I think everyone has one that’s in this league. There’s not one person that hasn’t had one or two or three people tell them you couldn’t do a certain thing or you couldn’t do this or do that. But for others, it’s the level of you can’t that some people get. Some guys on the team can’t relate to and others can, but it’s cool to see everyone’s journey. It’s just cool to see the success of the team with a lot of the guys on the team that have had people that have doubted them.”
(I wanted to throw kind of far back to Alabama and your time playing for Nick Saban. What was it like playing quarterback for Saban? How did he kind of see the position?) – “I would say Coach Saban never necessarily focused much on the offensive side of things. He let the offense do their thing. He was focused more on the defensive side. But I can say when we did have bad practices, it was when the offense was destroying the defense. And when we had good practices, it was when the defense was destroying the offense. (laughter) That’s what I would say. And he held a lot of pride in that. But throughout my time playing there, he has a lot of jokes. He’s very sarcastic when the offense would come up and in the drive in the 2-minute deal against the defense. He’s very sarcastic. It’s pretty funny.”
(I know he played DB at Kent State. Did you know he played quarterback in high school and won a state title and everything?) – “He’ll tell you that he’s the best athlete. He’ll tell you that. But I don’t know, he’s a coach now. He didn’t play any further than that. I don’t know. (laughter) But I got a lot of respect for Coach Saban. I appreciate the things that he’s done for me and whatnot.”
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
S DeShon Elliott
(Have you watched the goal line play you made Sunday? Have you even marveled at it when you watched it? Have you gotten texts from friends about it?) – “I didn’t really watch it until I had yoga on Tuesday. I was doing yoga and I was like, ‘My arm hurts under here,’ and she was like, ‘I know why.’ (laughter) She should me the video fully and I was like, ‘Oh, makes sense.’”
(Have you heard from friends? Have you gotten texts from people you haven’t heard from in a while who saw the play?) – “I mean, that’s kind of normal honestly, because it’s football. At this point, everyone texts you or call you whatever, but it was the holidays. I spent time with my family, so for the most part I didn’t have time to really get back to most people, but I appreciate them.”
(Some folks might assume that there was no chance to stop the player from going into the end zone. How would you describe the approach that you took on that play?) – “Honestly bro, I’m just playing ball. I was going for the ball. I was trying to take the ball away. I was ripping for the ball and ended up ripping his arm and my momentum brought him back. Instantly, I knew he wasn’t in. He thought he was in, but I knew he wasn’t in. It was a smart play, hustle play, and we preach that every day. So that’s nothing new.”
(There’s a possibility that S Jevon Holland may be back this week. What changes when he’s in?) – “He’s ‘8-ball,’ ‘Snowman.’ He makes a lot of plays. To have a guy like that back on the field would be amazing for us as a defense. I think we played pretty well with him not being back, but I think him coming back would just help our level of play. We need him for this long stretch, end of season, playoffs. We need our captain; we need one of our leaders back.”
(No disrespect to S Brandon Jones who has been playing amazing. What’s the difference between S Jevon Holland and him with you, as just playing together?) – “I mean we all hang out together, we all study the same film. It’s more of I played a couple more games with Jevon (Holland) than I have with ‘B’ (Brandon Jones). But regardless, both are great players. Both have made a lot of plays. I’m happy for ‘Von’ (Jevon Holland) to come back, just so we can all possibly play together. We’ll see how that shakes out.”
(Were you in the same draft class as QB Lamar Jackson?) – “Yeah, me, Lamar (Jackson), Zach (Sieler), Mark Andrews, pretty much everybody over there still.”
(Wow, that’s some draft group.) – “It’s a version of a homecoming a little bit.”
(How have you seen QB Lamar Jackson develop in the NFL since his first year?) – “Now I think he takes care of his body a lot more, eating right, working out the way he should. He’s always been a natural leader, but I think he’s taken on the role of a leader. He’s an MVP player. He’s fantastic. Back in the day, we would say, ‘Lamarvelous.‘ (laughter) He’s great, and all you can do is try to contain him. There’s no stopping Lamar Jackon, but you can try to contain him as much as you can.”
(What are the feelings being in the visitor’s locker room after spending so much time with the Ravens?) – “I’m not even thinking about that. I’m thinking about how we’re going to approach this game. I don’t care about the visitor’s locker room. It’s about how we can win this game back at the Bank.”
(Just being QB Lamar Jackson’s teammate, what do you take away from that that will help you on Sunday in stopping him?) – “Shoot, nothing. You kind of know Lamar (Jackson) when you see him. Just put on the tape. It’s not going to change. He’s been the same since he was in high school. He was a baller in high school. There isn’t nothing you can really take away from it. You just got to do your job, play your keys and ball. (laughter) That’s all you can really do.”
(The Ravens let DT Zach Sieler go. Did you have any clue that he could become the type of player he’s become?) – “With as hard as he’s worked, all it takes is the right system, all it takes is an opportunity and Miami gave him an opportunity that he deserved, and he’s run with it. I’m proud of him. He used to live in an RV when we were in Baltimore. To see where he’s came, to see him with a wife and having a baby now, I’m very proud of him and he’s blessed. I’m glad to have him as my teammate.”
(The identity of the Ravens has always been, going back to Ray Lewis – I was at that Super Bowl with the Giants – black and blue, tough, physical, hardnosed, bloody in the mouth, punching, all that stuff. How would you describe the identity of this Dolphins defense?) – “This is going to be a heavyweight fight. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(What have you learned since we talked Monday about WR Jaylen Waddle’s injury? Do you see him missing game time?) – “It kind of speaks to a bigger thing. If it weren’t for this team, let’s say Jaylen Waddle was the only person I coached on this team, I would say in my career he’s one of, if not the toughest, fast guy that I’ve ever been around. It just so happens that all of our fast guys are really tough, which is cool as football players. But him being that way, it’s tough to rule him out for this week. It’s a high-ankle sprain. It’s not overly severe, but high ankles are tough when you make a living on cutting, so we’ll see how he responds. I’m not going to take this opportunity away from him just because x, y, or z isn’t able to. I wouldn’t put anything past him. However, it is a high-ankle sprain, so we’ll see how that goes.”
(What’s the situation with RB Raheem Mostert and WR Robbie Chosen?) – “Raheem, he’s a 20-plus touchdown running back in week whatever-teen of the season, so he’s got some bumps. He got another bump on his ankle. But good luck telling that guy – like, that’s not a tree I try to climb. We’ll just manage him accordingly. Luckily, he’s a consummate professional, so at this stage in the season, for him, the years in the offense and where he is at a preparation standpoint, he’s able to get away with minimal reps during the week and that’s how we’ll approach it because I’m not sure if you guys noticed, but he’s really hard to tackle on Sundays. So that’s a good thing. I’m very optimistic, pleasant – we’re still in the process of the protocol with Chosen. But he’s responded well and so he’s checked the boxes so far that are available to him.”
(So is WR Robbie Chosen going to practice today?) – “He’s not at that stage yet, but he’ll be around and might be able to do some walkthrough participation and things of that nature. But he’s progressing well.”
(Is OL Robert Hunt getting closer to the point where the week to week turns into days?) – “I’m starting to feel that it’s borderline day to day. I’m not quite sure if it’s day to day yet, but it’s feeling like it is. That’s literally how you have to go about injuries with your players. I can feel his confidence. The great thing is, it’s so imperative at the NFL level that the player and training staff relationship is very healthy. What I mean by that is there’s trust on both sides. So when you have that, we do a great job, the whole training staff does, and the players with the relationships that (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle (Johnston) and his staff have, to keep pressing without overboard. That’s why it kind of gets a little gray with soft tissues because you’re trying to – I mean, the dude wanted to play a while ago. But he also doesn’t want to play half a game and then be out for the remaining, so we’re balancing that. He’ll have an uptick in his day to day this week, starting today, and we’ll see how he responds to that. So that’s why it’s getting closer to day to day. It almost feels like it, but I’m not sure if it’s totally day to day yet. It’s that gray area.”
(Sunday’s game is a so-called hat and t-shirt game. If you win the division, you get the hat and the t-shirt. What would it mean to this organization to win the division for the first time since 2008?) – “Well, I didn’t know that, so let me process that. That was an ultimate goal of the team’s, so they’d be very happy with that. It would be secondary in the moment to this game and winning this game. I found out in the locker room after the game against the Cowboys that we made the playoffs. You just told me about the division. The main thing that is so terribly difficult for NFL teams to do is down the stretch of the season, narrow your focus to the opponent and nothing else. I know you guys got a little sensitive about telling guys to F-off. That wasn’t the spirit of it. The spirit of it is occupying your mind with things that are outside what you can control. The ultimate outcome of the game will determine whatever, but the time you’re spending doing this, you’re not doing that. As I stand here at the podium, I think that would mean a lot to the team. However, I haven’t really looked at – the Baltimore Ravens have the best record, for good reason, in the National Football League. All three phases are playing at a very high level. How lucky are we and how blessed are we that as competitors, you don’t get into the National Football League to be like, ‘hey man, I really want to be average.’ You want these types of games. You want to go against the best and that in itself, justifies 100 percent of our attention. The things that come with the residuals, those are awesome too. But you want to talk about a team that will make you pay if you are outside the lines of what your focus should be, they will, fast and furious, teach you to regard them. We have our hands full in that regard but we’re also in a really, really cool moment to be present and enjoy because we are building on an entire season of work. Then we have this week of prep, starting with today, and then we get to go compete against as good as it gets in the National Football League, and that’s kind of why you sign up.”
(Last time you guys were in Baltimore, QB Tua Tagovailoa had a career game. At the time, I think there were a lot of questions about Tua and how he would fit into this offense and whatnot. Looking back at that moment, what do you think that meant for Tua and showed?) – “Well, I think especially for a young player like Tua, but just in general, kind of the process of an NFL player is desired development and not ever staying the same. Look, you watch game tape of yourself perform every week, and then you say ‘I didn’t do this, this, this as well as I’d like.’ And so the objective is to continually improve and see how many things you can improve upon. Well, I think that game was one of the things in the journey and growth that I know Tua got to learn from. One of the plays that stands out over the year or two years here over a lot of plays, was the interception he threw throwing to (Jaylen) Waddle in the second quarter, because it was just out of character. So we had a moment on the sidelines. ‘Dude, you’re trying to win the game on every play. That’s not your job.’ And then I think I can be quoted as saying, ‘That interception, don’t do that.’ That’s what I said. And then he didn’t and it was phenomenal. But that’s the journey of a NFL quarterback because you have those moments and then another week comes by and you don’t – every game is it’s own. There’s so many different variables. He had success in the second half. What makes Tua unique, and one of the reasons why I have so much belief and trust in him, is he was more focused on the first half. That’s what occupies his mind. From that game to where we’re at now, he would say to himself there’s been definite highs. You can just look at his numbers. It’s really, really, really hard to play the quarterback position at the level that he plays it at. But there’s also been so many things that’s learned from as well. I feel like that game he was probably let’s say arbitrarily he was 20-years-old. Now, I feel like he’s 32. Still in his prime. I’m in my prime at 40. (laughter)”
(Question about turnover margin here. I know you value that. I know you value December football. You guys in the four games of December are plus-eight in turnover margin. Very open-ended question – what does that mean for the team’s focus or what does that say about the team’s focus? What can it do for the confidence? What can it do going forward? What does it do for play calling for you and Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, any of that kind of stuff?) – “It was really low-key genius from the football team’s standpoint because you go into the season and set low expectations for turnover margin, right? (laughter) No, quite honestly that’s what I concern myself with across the board with everything. Intent and progression, improvement. Things happen, you put your best foot forward, you get the results; what do you do with those results? I know one thing, that turnover margin doesn’t improve if you have people just like, ‘yeah, his fault.’ So I think that speaks to accountability. Right now, I’m very happy with the football team because what I see is coaches putting it upon themselves to give players tools in a relentless fashion and I see players relentlessly taking those tools and asking for more. So in general for me, I’m at peace if that’s the case. Football is a crazy game. You can only control what you can control. A lot of things go into it. The ball is oddly shaped in general. It bounces funny ways, but if you are controlling what you can control, and you’re focused on the things that the team totally necessitates you to be focused on, and you do that across the board at a grand scale? Generally good things happen. When you have a talented team, even better things happen. It’s as paramount of importance as anything to me and that is that the process of getting better at things because I’ve told you guys plenty of times – I think that is the biggest obstacle in the way of people in general, but it’s also the most ironic because not many people are pretending to be infallible and godlike so you’re going to make mistakes. The tough-minded individuals can go after that while maintaining their confidence and hunger, and I’m excited to see how our team practices today because I can feel that guys are at this stage in the season, as hungry as they’ve ever been, which is really cool when you’re getting ready to play a good opponent.”
(The debate show narratives for the week will be that the Ravens are tough and physical and smashmouth and the Dolphins are fast and smart and someone said, “cute, basketball on grass.” What do you think about all that?) – “To spend your time worrying about narratives, I would be a stressed out individual because I know there’s a lot of narratives around even myself personally. I think that generally there’s always going to be something that you have to prove. I don’t get upset about people insinuating or making statements about things as though they are fact, speaking on whatever history they have. You have an opportunity to prove a whole litany of things every – it’s the great thing about this profession, what we do, is you get an opportunity to define yourself every single game and to do that, you have to define yourself every single work day. I think it is kind of odd though. I feel like – I haven’t checked lately – but I feel like we’re pretty good at stopping the run and running the football. That’s generally not associated with cuteness. Whatever. I mean, there’s always going to be something. We talked about it all the way back in Germany. If we didn’t beat the Chiefs, we knew exactly what the narrative was going to be. Why would you expect anything else? You’re a young team that does have athletic, fast players. Well, until whoever’s talking about it – if it’s an opposing team, you have the opportunity to prove otherwise on Sunday. So I don’t harbor any resentment. Clearly I’m the toughest guy in the room, so that was a mis-association. (laughter) But I’m very confident in our locker room style of play. These eyes, which is subjective, doesn’t see it that way at all. But the great news is you get to prove it every Sunday.”
(On Hard Knocks this week, we got to see a little bit of how you were preparing for Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. How much can that roll over to this week against Ravens QB Lamar Jackson? Or is Lamar just that unique of a player that it’s a whole different ballgame?) – “I think Dak is a unique player in his own regard. If you want to talk about the strongest quarterback I’ve ever seen in the pocket, Dak Prescott is that. Lamar is one of one in his own regard. It’s been really cool to watch a guy coming out of college. You could tell that a lot of people used his crazy athleticism against him so he was like, ‘no, I’m a quarterback’ and if I remember correctly, he didn’t run at the Combine. I’m sure it would’ve been really fast. But then to watch his game progress each and every year, he has the same running ability, which is as good as there is in football regardless of position. Like unbelievable. And he is that same player and has developed every year in the pass game. You can tell he has a chip on his shoulder. You can tell his teammates absolutely love him and he presents a challenge that you don’t have one guy stop him. That’s what’s cool about going against a player like him is a team has to not stop him (but) contain (him). And it’s a team effort. It takes coverage, rush, all of that, and they present unique problems that is literally exactly what happens every single time you play a playoff game. If you’re in a playoff game, there’s really good players that have unique skillsets and the name of the game is solving problems collectively, coaches having a good plan, players buying into the plan, players fully executing the plan and bringing their unique talents with them. And it’s definitely not easy and I offered my skillset to be scout team quarterback to try to replicate it, but it was not accepted. (laughter) So it’s hard to even give an appropriate look because he’s just that type of player and outside of this game I’m just happy for the player because what I recognize is you talk about an unbelievable talent, but even him, he’s had to define himself. He’s had people tell him what he is and he disagrees. And how can I tell? It’s not because I’ve had a conversation with him. I see better than I hear.”
(What’s the balance of game planning to get to stuff that you really want to get to versus taking away what the defense is really good at?) – “Well, it is quite the balance. It goes back to why each and every week is so interesting in the NFL, because it’s not like you’re like, ‘Got it, there’s the formula.’ It is an incredible balance of putting your players in the best position to succeed. What does that mean? That means doing things that they’re adept at, but also if your whole offense was A-gap dive plays and they had 530-pound defensive tackles, you’d have to adjust, right? So it’s a balance that is not an exact science. I think it’s one of the reasons it’s very, very important for coaches to find an emotional consistency because everyone is human. If you’re not careful, you can go awry, one way or the other. This is a great example – this Baltimore Ravens defense – because they do a lot of varied defenses. I’ve been so impressed with the defense now relative to the last time we played them. They were a very good defense then, but what I see are guys with a lot of skillsets that play super aggressive, that are confident in what they’re doing. And in those types of situations, with a defense that plays very convicted but has a lot of multiplicity, you do have to make sure that you’re not trying to find the perfect play for a whiteboard. You have to find that natural balance of competitive advantage but conviction in your players and fit them. It’s something that is literally an every week job for all of us, myself included. The great news is it’s pretty black and white in this business. Did we win or lose? Every loss, I suck. But that’s the way it should be. It’s hard to be in the NFL, it’s hard to have any of these positions, so you can’t frown upon those things. It’s a challenge each and every week, and yeah, we’ve got our hands full this week.”
Monday, December 25, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(I wanted to talk about shins. So WR Jaylen Waddle’s shin injury, there was a report today that he was going to have it further examined. Did the information suggest that he might miss a game or more? And with RB Raheem Mostert, he told reporters yesterday that a shin caused him to leave the game. Obviously he came back. Did you not play him more in the second half because he reported to you some discomfort or lack of mobility or because trainers told you it might not be a good idea to use him a lot in the second half?) – “We were addressing the information given back to us by the player with (Jaylen) Waddle, and as of today it seems to be more of a high ankle that we’re going to have to get some more information on because we know those can be tricky; so that will be pending some more information, but it looks to be a high ankle. Raheem (Mostert), it wasn’t really necessarily that. That’s the relationship that he and I have – Eric Studesville and myself – because we have so many tough-minded, tough players on the team, we’ve become kind of like body language readers. Raheem wanted to go in the game. It had nothing to do with that, it was more that we could tell that it was pretty painful at the time so to the credit of the room, we have so much confidence in that room and all the different guys that you kind of are able to ride the momentum. I think it was just really the disposition Jeff Wilson had the entire game and being a Texas boy, it kind of made sense. But it wasn’t because he was unable or that he was saying that he couldn’t go. It was quite the opposite. Just kind of a relationship professional kind of read into what was going on and thought that gave us the best chance in those particular moments.”
(I wanted to ask a follow-up on WR Jaylen Waddle. He seems to have had a pretty rough go of it this year. It seems like every other week or maybe every week he’s had something. Given the fact that he’s fought through so many injuries, do you have a higher optimism that this won’t be something that will keep him out long term?) – “Yeah, I do, and he’s a really, really tough player and like you said, he’s battled through several things this year which has made him even more eager just as a playmaker to kind of make up for that with his play. So yeah, it does give me optimism because of the individual and because of what he has gone through for sure. He’s had several things that have been real that other players might take them longer, especially at that position, might take them longer to come back from, so I do have a lot of confidence in him for that type of thing.”
(With OL Austin Jackson yesterday was he just available in the event of an emergency but just wasn’t ready to start, play a full 60 minutes? Was that why you went with T Kendall Lamm at right tackle?) – “That’s exactly why. That’s exactly why. He was a warrior to even be able to dress and just we kind of knew it was going to go down to the wire, which it did, in the course of the week. We felt like that he could strain through some ball but to be able to go through the whole game, we thought that was unfair. We have so much confidence in Kendall (Lamm). It was definitely the most appropriate thing to do with regard to where he was at. That being said, I am very, very optimistic for him for this week.”
(And I also wanted to ask you about what’s coming up. A lot will be on the line in Baltimore this week. I know you treat every week the same even against the teams perceived by us to be lesser opponents, perceived by us on the outside in the media, but does it help that this win against Dallas immediately precedes the one you’re about to go into?) – “I think the whole season in its entirety helps. I think that each team has to learn lessons and a lot of times you learn lessons the hard way. I think that the bottom line is there’s a purpose with approaching each and every week with the utmost regard. And that’s because you know down the stretch of the season, you know when you get to games like this, you know in playoff games, that it’s going to feel a certain way. That you’re going to be all in, so you don’t want it to be all of a sudden, we turn up and now we’re going to try. You try to train that. You try to train how you’re going to approach end-of-the-season games early in the season. Henceforth, every game is the same to me and that way, the closer that your team can get to that, the less stressors that are imposed upon you in a week where you’re playing a team that has currently, they have 11 wins right now and I think that it’s exactly what you want. You want to be playing the best football teams in December and January. You want to go toe-to-toe with them and you want to earn victories. And so to do that, we’re very fortunate to have the opportunity to play the Baltimore Ravens this week. I think it does fit. I think that this past week does help the team just in general, because you’re finding out about yourself deep down, that you’re capable of beating any team. But it doesn’t hurt to be able to find a way to win against a team that was equally as desperate or whatever. That game meant a lot to both teams. So whenever you win games like that, it helps for ultimately what you’re trying to do.”
(Just wanted to touch on S DeShon Elliott and his touchdown-altering tackle. Can you just touch on his development from Week 1 to this point in the season and just what are your thoughts as far as just totality of this season so far?) – “It’s a really cool thing that he’s experienced starting in a new system. He had elements of this system in his career, but to find comfort and then become a guy that we really rely on to make plays, it’s been a really cool journey to watch him evolve in this defense. I thought it was really cool that play he made. It reminded me of in Jacksonville preseason, Jevon Holland had a forced fumble right at the goal line and in this defensive system, our system is built to make it really hard on offenses. And when you’re taking advantage of every single yard on the field and making them earn every inch, you never know what’s going to happen so I think it was such a cool play that he made because the next play we were able to get the ball back. None of that happens if he’s not straining. He’s in a rough position at the point of attack and goes above and beyond and it just shows why coach speak is what it is, why we emphasize every single play and you have no idea – that was a converted first down – and to a lot of people, maybe you don’t do that or fiercely go through a blocker to try to make a play on the ball because, okay, they already got the first down. First-and-goal, what does that mean? Well, they have to earn everything, so I think it speaks to that, it speaks to our philosophy in general. And then just to watch guys have high expectations going into the season, specifically on the defensive side of the ball and everything not work immediately and then to see their game progress over the course of the season; it’s everything you want, everything that’s satisfying in coaching and I think you’ve seen that immensely, especially in this last portion of the year. Both defense and special teams have found a way to really impact the game and take it over in a certain degree when the team has needed it, so it’s been really cool to watch guys develop in our systems and it’s kind of what coaching is about.”
(I wanted to ask you about WR Tyreek Hill. He wound up playing his second-most snaps in that game with WR Robbie Chosen being knocked out of the game and WR Jaylen Waddle’s issue. So I’m curious as to whether he came into the game on a pitch count and that got elevated because of the injury issues or whether there was no limits to begin with and also how did he come out of the game with the ankle?) – “That’s a great example of why we make those tough calls sometimes and have a game day workout because you can’t – there’s residual effects to when people go down and he was ready to go. We definitely didn’t plan on playing him that much, but it was also very hard to get him off the field in a competitive game like that, which speaks to him as a competitor. But that’s why we do what we do, why we make the tough decisions sometimes that on the surface – first and foremost we will always protect the players from themselves, but we also have to protect the other players and make sure that guys if they’re able to go, can handle any unforeseen situations because we didn’t go into the game thinking we were going to lose both (Robbie) Chosen and (Jaylen) Waddle. But that very well could happen any game. So the guys you have up generally have to be able to go; if they can’t, you just have to be very aware of the potential residual. So I was just happy that Tyreek (Hill) could put in so much time. That’s the one – for a captain to be able to step that up and, like you said, play the second-most snaps he has all season coming off an injury; what that means is he was all in trying to play for the last two weeks and doing everything – I mean, he’s been living in the training room and that’s what you need from captains. That’s what you need from your star players if you’re trying to do anything in December. This is an accumulation of a lot of reps for all teams, all players involved. And when everything’s on the line, for him to come through that way with the stuff you guys saw, but then all the stuff that you didn’t see, where he’s been spending multiple hours every single day, trying to get his body right, we’re all very fortunate that he did that because he was able to have an impact on the game, even when he wasn’t touching the ball.”
(I wanted to ask earlier in the first quarter of the game, yesterday’s game, when Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb got off to a hot start, a lot was made about the decision to not shadow him with either CB Xavien Howard or CB Jalen Ramsey. It didn’t seem like you guys did that for the final three quarters of the game, so I was curious from reviewing the tape, what stood out to you about kind of being able to limit him?) – “I think it’s team involvement. Now it’s really easy to say, ‘yeah, just shadow somebody with somebody.’ That also has residuals. One of the strengths of our defensive system is that at the snap, the quarterback has very minimal intel as to what’s about to happen. And that in conjunction with our pass rush is really what has made our pass defense go and when you do shadow, there is the gain, but it does adjust your entire toolbox. And it’s one of the reasons why Vic (Fangio) is so elite as a defensive coordinator, is because he has complete ownership of his system that he created and understands all the pros and cons to everything. There’s a lot of things that come into play with where on each individual play, there’s a defensive player that we like to say has a hard down. And you have help certain places and there’s certain times that your defensive game plan allows for you to have more help in the slot than outside and vice-versa, so we have a bunch of tools. We haven’t really displayed all of them up until this point, but it’s not as simple as a lot of times you have to factor in a ton of stuff when you’re trying to come up with a plan, including does the quarterback flourish when pre-snap he knows exactly what the coverage is? Those things factor into our decision-making and we’ll continue to as we progress through the season.”
(It seems like every game win or lose, you’re always looking to see what your team can learn from that game to build upon moving forward. Yesterday you gave up a score in the fourth quarter… you came back and you made it work. You scored the go-ahead points with no time left on the clock. What do you think your team learned from that experience that’s going to help you in December and January moving forward?) – “I think that’s very much how I look at things. That’s very much how I’ll approach the review of this game with the team, because I do think that’s the hard thing about the NFL is that if you’re able to accomplish, you can really develop your team over the course of a season. In this particular game, it was entertaining to me because there were three phases that were trying to win the game, that thought it was their game to win. That type of mindset is everything you want. However, you don’t want to feel like a phase feels as though they have to win the game. There are times in football where you can have the perfect defensive call and you can have the perfect technique by defensive players and guys can make plays. So your coaching towards that, and hey, if a guy makes an incredible play, we have plenty players in all three phases that can take advantage of their opportunities. To be in a game like that, that very much had the exact feel you feel in playoff football, where there is a lot on the line and guys desperately wanted to win it, you can kind of have an aura of confidence, understanding that if all we want is your maximum effort, maximum attention and maximum preparation, and if you’re not able to win the game one way, we have a team that can win the games in multitude of fashions. I think the first two wins of the season on the road, the defense was out there when we won the game. I think those types of lessons are invaluable for a team the further along you go in the season. Every week inherently you’re going to have more investment collectively, because it’s just another week into the investment into the ultimate goal. As all that accumulates, you want guys to be confident that when push comes to shove and we have a lot on the line, we’ll find a way to win the game in a multitude of fashions. To end the game that way, that’s a thing that playoff teams do that win playoff games. That’s ultimately what you’re trying to strive for and build towards, and you’re capable of doing that if you put your maximum attention and all of your attention on the only thing that matters, which is the opponent, that prep that day, and then ultimately that opponent that game.”
(Hard Knocks has given us a chance to see your good moments and your not so great moments. We saw you after Tennessee say how ‘we now might have to go on the road to do what we want to do.’ Fast forward two weeks and that’s not necessarily true anymore. If you win out, you’re the No. 1 seed and you have home field. Is that a message you take to the team this week? Since it’s so close, and so tangible is that something you talk about, or is it still all about Baltimore?) – “I think it has to be about Baltimore. The NFL does a great job of teaching this lesson if you’re willing to watch and listen. I don’t know the stats behind it, but I’m willing to bet that if you’re trying to get rich quick, just go to December football and bet against spreads, because what happens is there are a lot of distractions. A ton of distractions. And every single week, you have teams lose to people that they should beat or whatever, because you do not for a second take your attention away from the team you’re playing against. If you do that, if you start thinking – ok, if we do this, and even thinking about two weeks, it short-changes the opponent. If you short-change the opponent that has been playing together all season and has a ton of stuff to play for, and even teams that are not even in the playoff mix, they know how many games they have left, and they will teach lessons. You can either get in front of that and prepare like as if it’s a one-game season, as we will do this week. Or you can find out that lesson the hard way utilizing hindsight, and then applying it for the next game. I think we have learned a multitude of lessons this year. One of which is our formula is as simple as today is Wednesday, we are going to go over first and second down for the Baltimore Ravens. We’re going to go over punt and kickoff, and master those for the opponent and nothing else. That is something that since I’ve been in the league, it has always been pervasive, and I think for us to do what we want to do, nothing matters besides the Baltimore Ravens. It’s an awesome test for us. They are a phenomenal team. They are playing tonight. I am anticipating it’s a tremendous game and our job is to get ready for Baltimore. I could care less about any scenario at all. It literally matters nothing to me. At this point, we’re in a situation where everything is helping us and leading us to ultimately where I think our focus needs to be, which is this one opponent, which will deserve all of our attention.”
