CB Noah Igbinoghene
(Does the CB Jalen Ramsey injury change your life with this team – not your life with this team, but your role on this team in any way do you think?) – “Honestly for me, I don’t really – it’s unfortunate that happened and I’m praying for him. I hope he gets back as soon as possible. But for me, my mentality, it’s not really a competition to me anymore. I’m more so just focused on how I can get better and support my teammates and being a good teammate and just wishing the best for all my teammates, and if I can just focus on my technique and what I need to do to get better; then the rest and the positioning whether it’s first-string, second-string, third-string, that’s going to take place for itself and I’m allowing the coaches to really focus on that instead of me worrying about that so much. So again, I don’t really see it as a different role now. I know of course I’m going to have a different type of opportunity now that happened, but moving forward I’m just going to continue just to focus on myself and my teammates and supporting my teammates and continuing to get better at my craft.”
(At the end of mandatory minicamp, Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio was saying how he understands your past and he thinks that this scheme is one that might really suit you and work for you. What are your impressions of the scheme and how you fit and how it kind of meshes with your skillset?) – “I love this scheme. It’s very complex and it allows – like Coach McDaniel said this morning – it allows people’s actual abilities to really come out, their gifts to come out. I feel like that’s really been beneficial to me like my speed, my agility, my quickness has really been able to show. And like playing off and pressing versus the last couple systems, it was just really pressing and really man. Now we get to play zone a little bit, play off, have vision. And now being able to do that and really learn defense, learn how to play zone like an overall defense. Not saying we didn’t have that before, but now being able to do that now and learning Vic’s defense and the success he had, I see why this defense was very successful because it’s very complex. It confuses the offense and now we’re really able to really run different coverages that look the same and it allows our players on the outside – our safeties, our linebackers, our d-line – to really make plays in different types of ways than what we had before.”
(You guys have had to go through it with cornerback injuries last year. How much can you draw up from that experience going through this now?) – “There’s always going to be adversity, no matter what team you’re on, no matter what situation in life itself, so it’s really about what you do after that. It’s really about how you move forward after whatever happens, whenever you get knocked down in life, you’ve got to get back up and keep moving forward. So that’s the case when this happened. Jalen (Ramsey) is a great player, a phenomenal player, the best corner in the league. But it’s unfortunate that happened. Again, I’m praying for him, but now we’ve still got to do what we’re doing. We all get paid to do something and we’ve been brought here for a reason and there’s other people in the room now who can step up and take that position and fulfill it really well. So I’m looking forward to doing that and just continuing to support my teammates as well.”
(What kind of respect does it mean to actually be out there first-team today with CB Jalen Ramsey going down for you?) – “Honestly it’s not really a difference whether I’m going with the first-team, second-string, third-string. I’m just more so focused on me getting better and whatever team it is, whatever situation it is versus in the past I used to be really focused on that and really worried about the positioning more so in camp whether it’s first-string, second-string, third-string. But now my mentality is no matter where I’m at, I’m going to allow the coaches to focus on that and me, I just need to focus on my craft and my technique. And when I do that whether it’s better or worse than somebody else in my room, it’s going to be showing out there. So I’ve just keep focusing on my technique, keep working hard and keep putting the time in film; and outside of the place, outside of this facility as well, keep doing what I need to be doing and taking care of my body and stuff like that and the rest will happen. God’s plan is going to prevail and so I’ve just got to keep doing that and that’s my focus really this year.”
(Are you still vegan?) – “Yep.”
(Full year?) – “It’s been like two years now. A lot of nutritional value of it. It’s really helping me. Helping me recover as well and I didn’t ever think I was going to be doing it, and it’s still hard a little bit sometimes. I still get a little cravings for some other stuff. But for my career I would say I’m probably going to focus on that because I’ve seen the nutritional value of it. I’ve seen how it changes my mind a little bit. It gives me like, a peace of mind, I would say. It’s not just that, but nutrition – what you put into your body is everything. And I’m learning more about that, learning how to take care of your body and people, the vets in my room, have really taught me that. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), Jalen (Ramsey) and just watching them and even Byron (Jones) in the past; watching them take care of their bodies and watching them prolong for a long season and time. If you want to play for 20, 30 years like Tom Brady, maybe LeBron James playing, Russell Wilson; you have to take care of your body. And that’s not something I feel like is really taught a lot. And it is, but in its own way. So now I’m really learning what it actually means to take care of your body outside of this place. And this place – even the facility – gives you a wide different of dynamics to take care of your body, but it’s really you focusing on yourself. Like nobody can control how much sleep you get. So that’s something I can control myself when I get home – getting the sleep I need to wake up in the morning and come out every single day in training camp and perform how I need to versus if I get eight hours or six hours, that could change. Them two hours of sleep can change – that’s a play. That could be a play I make and that could be one play I get tired versus one play I got a little extra energy; I’m able to run to ball now. It’s really the little things and minute things. Not just in football, in sports, but really just in life itself. So I’m really learning that and yeah, man, I’m excited.”
(How would you assess yourself in terms of confidence level, in terms of performance today compared to when you first stepped foot in this building as a rookie?) – “My mentality has changed drastically. I’ve learned a lot. There’s been ups and downs in my past, but now the mentality is I’m not really worried about the past no more. I’m just focused on that. Coach Mike McDaniel says it a lot, that we just need to focus on the now and not worry about what happened in the past. Not even worry about the future, just focus on today. So I’m just focused on how I can get better today, how I can get better than I was yesterday today. Don’t worry about what anybody else has going on. This is not a competition. This is not me versus another guy. Because if I have that mentality so much, I’m not saying it’s not good to compete, but I feel like the mentality needs to be … you just need to focus on – just for me, how I talk to myself now – I just need to focus on what I need to focus on and me doing the best I can. And if I do that, if I put my best foot forward; I know I’m talented, I know God has given me a lot of capabilities. That’s going to work out for itself, the positioning. Like I was saying before it’s going to work out for itself. So now having that mentality – I didn’t have that in previous years, but now, me having that mentality now, I’m able to actually be the teammate I know I am, the person I am, the man I am, and God has really pulled me a long way so I’m excited.”
(It’s no secret there was added scrutiny when you were a first-round pick. How do you think you handled that situation? What do you think you’ve learned from it?) – “Honestly, sometimes in life you need some crisis sometimes to really make you come out of that and really make you grow and really see what you need to be focused on. I would say at that time there was a lot I didn’t know. I was young, I was very young. I’m still young now, but at that time, I was 20 years old and there was a type of way I was living in college and I was able to perform at a high level in college and doing those things and having those values and those standards, but when I got into the league, those standards and those values didn’t really correlate over too much and that’s why I wasn’t really doing too well my first couple years. But I needed that to happen. Like I needed that crisis to happen to my life so that now I can come out of that and be who I am now and actually – like I was explaining before – just really focusing on how I can get better not just in here, but as a man as well. So like I said, I needed that to happen and I’m actually glad for it to happen now. It was something I really wasn’t experienced having, like going through scrutiny and having a lot of pressure and stuff like that. But in life you’re going to have pressure no matter who you are. So that pressure really built me up and it turned me around and God has really changed everything, changed my value system, my standards in my life and that was a big thing that happened. I’m actually thankful God put me through that because I needed that crisis to change who I am now.”
WR Cedrick Wilson Jr.
(You’ve obviously handled yourself as a team-first guy despite less playing time than maybe you envisioned when you initially signed. General Manager Chris Grier told us during the offseason that we want to do right by you. Just to clarify where things stand, did you or your agent ever ask for a trade to a place where you could get more playing time?) – “No, we’ve never asked for a trade.”
(Did Chris Grier ever indicate if he was looking to trade you just to give you more of an opportunity elsewhere?) – “I’m not sure. That was never communicated to me.”
(What’s your state of mind? You’re happy to be here still?) – “I’m definitely happy to be here. I mean, my mindset when I left Dallas was to come here and put my best foot forward. I feel like maybe I fell short of that last year and that’s my goal this whole offseason is to show that I can play.”
(When you have a performance like the offense had today and the defense is talking and chirping, especially DT Christian Wilkins, how do you take that as a team?) – “I mean, we’re going to win and lose days. Maybe we get them tomorrow. Maybe we get them the next day. But I’m just happy the defense is on our team.”
(What type of things did you do this offseason that you felt like you’ve improved on to make sure to take that next step with this organization?) – “I feel like this offseason I definitely locked more into the playbook so I can go out there and just play with a faster twitch and not just seem like I’m confused and running around.”
(On a day like today, what is it about the defensive scheme with Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio that maybe made things hard for you guys today and just in general?) – “I’m not really sure of their scheme because I don’t really study their defense. But Fangio, I mean he’s a GOAT in the league in what he has done with defenses in the past. When you put his defense with the group of guys they have out there, I mean they’re flying around. You’re watching them just like we are.”
(When you don’t have a season that you want to have like last year, what happens to your offseason approach? Do you think about that every day and use it as motivation or do you wipe the slate clean and just say new year, I’m going to do what I need to do?) – “I wouldn’t necessarily say I use negatives to go into my training. I just go out in the offseason, I train like I normally do, make sure I’m eating right and working out. Just make sure the best ability is availability and making sure I’m staying healthy. When the ball come’s my way, what I do best is catch it.”
(I think there are opportunities here. Not only obviously because WR Trent Sherfield moved on, but also with TE Mike Gesicki moving on, who was a pseudo receiver at times. Are you getting more opportunities in that role? We asked WR Erik Ezukanma about that yesterday.) – “You’re going to see my opportunities when they come up and when the ball come’s my way, I’m going to catch the ball.”
LB Bradley Chubb
(What did it mean to have the defense to have a day like this with CB Jalen Ramsey’s injury news coming the day before?) – “On one hand it says a lot because it’s how we responded to it. Whenever you lose a key piece like that, guys might get down, but then on the other hand, a lot of people stepped up. A a lot of people did exactly what they were brought here to do. Step up and make plays for this defense. It sucks that he went down, but like I said, it just has to be the next man up. He said that yesterday – it just has to be the next man up. Everybody got to compete and make sure that when he comes back, we got to be full steam ahead. It’s going to be a journey for this defense to rally around each other and gather up and make sure we’re doing what we need to do.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned that conversation that CB Jalen Ramsey had with the team after practice. I’m curious how that impacted you guys as a team?) – “It’s lets you know that when you have a leader like that to come up, bring everybody in, and let us know before it gets out, it means more than what you would think. I’ve been places where the media tells you stuff about your team before you hear it yourself. It was cool that he did that, and everyone rallied around it. We understand that yeah, it’s a big piece gone, but it’s not the whole piece. We got a lot of other great players on this team. They just got to step up and fill that role.”
(What did you learn about this team’s depth and mentality last season?) – “The depth I learned a lot. The mentality I learned even more because I feel like I came in at a weird time. It was a win streak when I came in, and then it started to decline a little bit. We started stacking losses. But, nobody ever got weary, nobody said it’s this person’s fault, it’s that person’s fault. Everybody stayed the path. Yeah you don’t want to lose games, but at the end of the day, I think it’s going to make us stronger for what we got this year. We know what it feels like to go on those five-game losing streaks. We know what it feels like to go on a five-game winning streak. We know those feelings, we just got to be on the right side of it.”
(Is it safe to say you feel right at home in Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense?) – “Oh yeah, for sure. It’s kind of cool because I’m kind of like another coach out there. Guys coming up asking me questions. It feels a little weird sometimes when they ask me stuff, but at the end of the day I’ve been in it in three years in Denver, and this is going on my fourth year in the defense. It’s dope to be another set of eyes and ears for those guys and kind of holding myself to a bigger standard because I’m in it, I know it and I want to know more of it. I want to know where everybody’s at so I know when to take my shots and play true to the defense. That’s where my mind is right now.”
(What percentage would you say Denver has carried over here because Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio was saying I’ve got some new coverages) – “Yeah, there is some new stuff, new words, new lingo. But I’d say about 90-95 percent of it is about the same. But we haven’t put everything in as well. He’s a mastermind. He’s got a lot up his sleeve and I’m excited to see where it goes.”
(Sean Payton had some comments yesterday about the coaching job in Denver last season saying it was one of the worst in the history of the NFL. I don’t know if you saw that, or maybe agree or disagree with that statement?) – “I don’t agree with it. I feel like Coach (Nathaniel) Hackett was a great coach. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. What he saw is what he saw. At the end of the day, I’m worried about what goes on in Miami Gardens. That Denver lifestyle is behind me and it is what it is. He can say what he wants to say, but I’ve got nothing but great things to say about Coach Hackett.”
(Do you feel like your playlist had an integral part in the defense’s performance?) – “You said it not me. (laughter) The energy was up, everybody was going. I think the playlist had something to do with it. My main thing is I just like music. It’s kind of redundant with the artists that I listen to, but they all make great songs so I can’t be too mad. I can’t really switch it up. I think it played a big part.”
(Coach always talks to us about the term opportunity cost. I’m sure he uses it around you guys too. But with a situation like this where you guys have the adversity, can you talk about him and his ability to keep things introspective to keep you guys focused after what just happened?) – “Yeah, I think coach does a great job of keeping everybody in the moment. We take it day by day. Yeah, you’re going to have good days and you’re going to have bad days, and yesterday it was a bad day for our overall team when you lose a player like that. But he does a great job to keep you in the moment. Like ok, now it’s your turn to step up. The defense, you lost a piece, now how are you going to respond to that? It’s always good conversations with him because he just pushes everybody to be the best each and every day.”
(Have you heard the LB Duke Riley song?) – “Yeah. He performed it this morning actually. He performed it for us, he had the video and everything, it was going crazy. (laughter) I’m a huge fan of it for sure. I couldn’t tell you a lyric of it just yet, but it’s on the playlist now for sure.”
(Can you recall a practice where the defense is around the quarterback as much as you guys were today?) – “Probably in the past, yes. But that’s just the mindset this d-line has, that front seven has. We’ve been talking about it all offseason of how we want to be. We don’t want to be the weak link of this defense so we’re going to make sure we’re going to do everything to hold up our end of the bargain. I feel like we did that today. Today doesn’t matter though. It’s day three of camp and we still got plenty more to go. We still have 17 games after that and then another hopefully four after that. It’s just about stacking the days and I feel like it’s a good start for us for sure. We just got to keep it going.”
(People like to say the d-line helps the secondary, the secondary helps the d-line. Sometimes that’s not maybe 50/50. Do you feel like one is more effective to help the other?) – “It’s subjective man. One play the DBs might take 80 percent of the load and we take 20 percent. Another time we might take 90 percent and they take 10. It’s just subjective on what the play and what the offense gives you. I wouldn’t say it’s an us versus them type thing. It’s more of a move as a unit. As long as you’re getting to 100 percent, that’s all we can ask for.”
(Who chirps more, you or DT Christian Wilkins? And what does he bring?) – “Those first two days y’all didn’t really hear me because I was trying to get my wind and get used to this heat and all that. But once I get going, I get going. Right now, I’ll give that nod to Christian, but hopefully I can take it to that level.”
LB Duke Riley
(You’ve had three good practices. No 100-degree heat. Inside one day.) – “It was a cool day today. Have to call it cool in the shade. But I just take it day-by-day. I don’t look at good practices, bad practices. I just try to focus on each play, reset everyone and focus on getting better each rep. I did good, but I did some things I wish I could’ve done better as well.”
(Was today blitz install day. It seems like you guys were coming from every angle.) – “We try to change things up sometimes, give the offense different looks. They’re giving us different things as well. We’re just trying to work different things.”
(The news about CB Jalen Ramsey being sidelined for some time, Head Coach Mike McDaniel said he spoke to the team … What was the overall message?) – “I like to keep that confidential for Jalen. If he wants to speak on it, I want to let him speak on his behalf. He came and spoke to us and let us know he’s in a good spirits and he wanted us to be in good spirits for him as well.”
(Your music video was released. Did you have any thoughts on having T Terron Armstead on the remix or the original?) – “It was crazy, because when I used to play in Philly, I knew Terron was making music ‘cause I hear a lot of things that happen in New Orleans because I have a recording studio there. I told him about this music a couple years ago, and now we’re together and definitely have talked about hitting the studio together and we’re definitely going to make that happen for sure. I love Terron’s music as well.”
(What do you love about music?) – “I love that it’s timeless. You can listen to a song right now and it’ll bring you back to a moment that you had in the past. It’ll bring you back to a loved one that you knew or whatever it may be. I think that music is timeless. That’s also why I have a fishing business as well because water covers most of the world, so you can always do it and it gives me the same feeling I have with music. Fishing is the same feeling that football gives me.”
(It was a blitz heavy day. What have you noticed on the different blitz packages in Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense to Josh Boyer’s?) – “A lot of similarities, a lot of differences. Don’t want to get into too much detail because it’s new to us as well and we’re still trying to work everything out and get all the terminology down. There’s a lot of great things for us, a lot of great changes. A lot of guys will be more involved as well.”
(Only day three of training camp, but when the defense has a day like this, how much do you make of it? Does it have a lasting effect? Does it put a smile on your face?) – “In this league, it’s all about what you do next. You can’t dwell on it too long, good or bad. We are going to definitely go up in there and be proud out there of a lot of things that we’ve done. There’s also going to be things that we will need to correct. I’ve always been taught to have surf boy shoulders. It doesn’t matter what you do good or what you do bad, be happy if it’s good and if it’s bad, especially at practice, it’s good that it happens in practice and you can go correct it. We did a lot of good things, but there are also things we know we can get better at. As good as you can be, I’ve always tried to look at myself and never think I do good, because as a pro, that’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s just owning the details and trying to get half a step better regardless of what it may be.”
(Can you describe what the energy is like on a day like this when it seems like the defense can do no wrong?) – “Offense made some plays as well. We did good on defense. It’s just something that we try to do every day. As a defense, your objective is not to let the offense score or get a yard. Obviously that’s hard in this league because everyone gets paid and is performing at a high level. It’s good for the offense. Some days the offense does it to us. It’s a back-and-forth, holding the offense to a high standard just like they are holding us to a high standard to be great every single play. You see guys celebrating and being loud and being happy. It’s creating game environments every single practice. That’s how it’s going to be if we want to go where we want to go.”
(The guy we heard the loudest was DT Christian Wilkins chirping out there a little bit. How do you guys feed off his energy?) – “I love Christian. He knows it. He’s probably one of my favorite players on the team. I love everybody but Christian every day I see him, his laugh, his smile, he’s probably one of the happiest guys on the team. You can tell the guy loves the game. I have the upmost respect for him. We definitely feed off his energy. It all relates to the type of work he puts in. He constantly is getting extra. There are days no one is in the building but he is in the building. There’s days he’s here first. I try to get here early so I can get extra in and I always see him. It’s no secret when you see a guy like that. He’s able to celebrate. He’s able to be confident in what he does because of the work he puts in behind closed doors that no one sees.”
(CB Kader Kohou and CB Cam Smith, two young corners, from your perspective, what are some possible similarities you see?) – “I would say the footwork. They both have great feet. Kader’s footwork is amazing. He has really good hands and feet. They both have really great ball skills. The thing about Kader is he played a lot last year. He’s accustomed to the game speed a little bit more. Cam is getting more adjusted coming out of college. That happens as a rookie. Two great young players with bright futures. They come into work every day constantly asking questions, constantly wanting to get better. I always tell them when they come in to be a sponge. Soak up all the information from everybody. You can learn from every single person in this building, and try to find a guy who, like Christian Wilkins, the guys that are an example every day of what the standard is that we try to create here.”
(From being around Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio for a couple months, do you have a feel yet for why his defenses have generally been very successful aside from having good players?) – “Just the way he breaks down every detail in his scheme. I’ve been around a lot of coaches and I can say he’s one of the smartest guys on defense that I’ve been around. I personally have learned so much from him within a few months that’s going to help my game. Just seeing things the way he teaches it, and you learn that from every coach. Every single coach you’re going to pick up a few things. Fangio has been around so long and he’s seen so much. He’s able to break things down to a different level because he sees it from so many different angles and so many different guys and teams and schemes. I think he’s great for us.”
(What’s Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s teaching style?) – “You have coaches who are loud and raw-raw. He’s more – I’m not going to say laid back, because he’s not laid back at all. But he’s just big on detail and persistent on situational awareness. You could say he’s a student of the game with what’s going to happen. Helping you anticipate things. It’s kind of hard to explain but he’s like a guru to me. Any time he talks, I try to write everything down he says because if I want to coach one day, I want to take some of his stuff and use it as well.”
(How have you seen LB Channing Tindall grow coming into his second training camp?) – “Just like any second year, the game kind of slows down for you. Channing is definitely getting better. He’s learning. He’s understanding the game a little more. He’s picking up on things better. He’s coming to work every day. He’s trying to get better. He’s asking questions. He’s improving, definitely improving. He’s coming in and doing what he’s supposed to. He’s understanding what the league is. We have high expectations from every single person in the building. If you’re going to be on an active day and you’re ready to go, we need everyone to be at the same level.”
DT Zach Sieler
(You’ve obviously surpassed everybody’s expectations and become a really good player. You’re playing on an undervalued contract as you know. Are you at peace with doing that this season? Have the Dolphins indicated to you or Drew whether they intend to give you an offer long-term that is more reflective of your value?) – “That’s really between my agent and the Dolphins. We’re working together to kind of see what we can do, but really my main focus is just playing there, playing as well as I can each year.”
(Is this a place you want to be long-term?) – “I love Miami. I love it down here.”
(How is Miami compared to Pickney, Michigan?) – “Big difference. A lot faster, it’s a lot faster. I love my home, I love it down here, it’s just different. We love getting out and getting away every once in a while, but we do love it down here.”
(Was staying out of stuff in the spring, just mostly watching, was that contract related or injury related?) – “That’s kind of between us and the Dolphins again – my agent and what we’re doing there.”
(So do you have an injury now or have you been dealing with any injury?) – “I feel great. I’m out there playing great, playing my best.”
(When you have a defense dominated day like today, I think our count is at 12 sacks. I’m sure you guys have a different would-be sack ratio. What kind of statement does that make for you guys?) – “I think we’re just trying to learn Coach’s new system. Meshing as a defense is just part of the learning process. We make adjustments, offense makes adjustments, and that’s how camp goes. As you do that, both sides get better and better each day.”
(It seems like blitz packages showed up today. You talked about learning Vic Fangio’s defense. For a defensive lineman, how would you say the scheme benefits you guys?) – “I think coach does a really good job of tailoring his defense to the players that we have here. I think everything that we’ve put in so far has been awesome. It’s a learning process and kind of learning how to play with the guys next to us and learning how he’s going to call it when he’s going call different plays and meshing together.”
(LB Bradley Chubb had mentioned that he kind of feels like a coach on the field as he’s been in this Vic Fangio scheme and he’s helping you guys learn it. What has it been like learning from him and what makes him stand out as a player? We saw him in the orange jersey and he was getting into the backfield a lot today.) – “He’s a great asset to have. He’s done a great job. It’s nice to have a guy that’s been in it, ask him, ‘Hey.’ Coach will teach us one thing and it’ll be exactly how it should be, but it’s, ‘Hey, how are you running this? What are you doing differently? What have you done having run this before in a game, what should we do and what should we look for?’”
(When a player like CB Jalen Ramsey gets injured, how does that collectively impact, from your perspective, sort of the mood of the group? How, as a football player, knowing that injuries happen all the time, how do you and the group work through that?) – “It’s really sad. I’m praying for Jalen, hope the best for him. Hopefully he can get through it quickly, but I think Coach McDaniel had a good point where it’s take this as a motivational piece and work for that. Hopefully, when he gets back, we’re in a good position.”
(When you guys aren’t wearing pads, you’re a front seven guy, how much value do you put in your performances as a unit whether it’s good or bad?) – “Just as much. We’re not letting off. We’re not doing – yeah, some things will be a little different. You’ll be able to see kind of like he was saying where it’s, ‘OK, yeah. Is it there? But how would that…’ You see that stuff on tape how that would have been different with pads on, but we just as quick, all the steps, all the hands, we’re still working every day.”
(I know you and DE Christian Wilkins are pretty close off the field. It seems like a lot of your guys’ production comes from running games together. How does that relationship off the field translate to on-field production?) – “Man, it’s been huge. It’s been a blessing to be with (Defensive Line Coach Austin) Clark, Raekwon (Davis), Christian, Emmanuel (Ogbah), just meshing. It’s on and off the field, like you said. It’s kind of like learning each other as a person, as a player, how to play next to him. Hey, what’s Christian like? What’s Raekwon like? That’s something that’s been really nice with a guy like (Bradley) Chubb, learning how he plays and how to adapt to that, (Jaelan) Phillips, all those guys. So it’s been good. It’s been an amazing year to learn each other’s habits and how to play best off of each other.”
(Every time I talk to Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark, he talks about how much he loves coaching you guys. I want to hear your perspective about how much fun you guys have playing for him.) – “He’s crazy. (laughter) No, we love him. He does an amazing job of pushing us and still respecting us as players. He’s done amazing. He really hones in on the very technical things to help make sure we stay on top of our game and get better and improve every day.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Opening Statement) – “I’m going to steal the floor for whoever is going to try to beat me to the punch. Obviously yesterday we had an injury with Jalen Ramsey at practice. It was a non-contact injury that was his meniscus. He is going to be having surgery at 1 o’clock today. The length of this rehabilitation is dictated on a couple things that could occur during the surgery. The exact timeline is to be determined. What I can tell you is I don’t think the beginning of the regular season is really a part of the scenario. It’s going to be into the season and how deep that is depends on what happens today. Realistically with the way the team had practiced, you don’t know with these kind of things, but what was the most amazing thing about the whole thing was the way Jalen responded. He spoke to the team yesterday and it really moved a lot of people. He first let everybody know how much he appreciated this team and how this team has accepted him. He’s been in the league for a little bit and he knows what we’re doing here and his opinion is special for his position group not to waver, and exuded all the confidence he has in that position group. One of the things that he said that was real cool for everybody was he told all his teammates not to worry, not to feel sorry for him. He’s going on whatever timeline the doctors give him. He’s going after that timeline and trying to flex that he’ll beat it. He realistically couldn’t be more committed and excited to join the team again this year, whenever that is. It isn’t really up to him and he knows that, but adversity is not really an issue. It’s an opportunity for a lot of guys to come together and stand up. It was a team moment that was really put together by Jalen and that’s where it stands right now.”
(How do you feel about the cornerback depth that is on the roster right now?) – “I feel good about the entire crew. We are dealing with some injuries now in the group, but I feel very, very, very good about the competition there and the guys that are ready to go see some more opportunities. There’s Pro Bowlers and hungry young guys and everything in between. It will be outstanding work for us moving forward.”
(The other day we heard CB Xavian Howard point to CB Kader Kohou as his pick for a guy to make that next step this year. What have you seen from him going from his rookie season to now in his second season with the Dolphins?) – “I see determination and hunger to build on what he’s really done. Kader is a prime example of seeking opportunity and every player is very aware of that. Last year we were sitting here talking about Byron Jones and my answer to you guys was not, ‘Oh yeah, Kader Kohou’. Keep in mind every single rep, every single day, which is what our whole team’s focus is, those things, the results of those, the development, the consistency and the growth, that determines who’s playing and who is excelling just like Kader showed. That’s why you breed competition, get as many quality players as you can, and then you let the chips fall as they decide, not as we look at a piece of paper and say, ‘Ok it’s that guy’.
(Had CB Jalen Ramsey express any discomfort with the knee up until yesterday?) – “No, absolutely not.”
(Wanted to clarify too, it looked like there was a collision with WR Tyreek Hill right around the time the injury happened, it was a non-contact injury?) – “The contact was after he had injured it. It was very clear.”
(It seems pretty smart in retrospect for the club to take a corner in the second round. What have you seen from CB Cam Smith and if it comes to it, what do you know about rookie corners starting in the NFL?) – “I know enough not to project where we’re going yet, especially this soon. It is a journey, and again we weren’t talking about Kader Kohou, who played outstanding as a rookie. I definitely know that he didn’t come up in this press conference a year ago. I have seen steps forward and steps back. I’ve seen a consistent human being that is earning the trust and respect of his teammates by how he’s approaching things professionally. Now what does that mean for how he’s playing? I don’t even really think about that. It’s more about intent and you build and stack those days so that you can ultimately have a decision, that you don’t prematurely decide ok he’s doing whatever. I’ve been happy with his daily investment and how he really has seen the pro’s around him and taken some notes and is learning lessons every day. Sometimes those are good lessons, sometimes those are bad.”
(You mentioned two outcomes from surgery. Can you speak to the likelihood of either and if maybe one is likely to be a longer route back?) – “To answer your question, no I cannot. The doctors will know the most information during the surgery and they’ll do the appropriate thing.”
(Were you able to get any sleep last night knowing that you have the depth at the defensive back position? Were you able to get any sleep last night?) – “Absolutely. Jalen (Ramsey) himself, to the team, said it best. This is a team. He’s a piece of the puzzle. I’m focused on a lot of players. If one player dictated the ultimate success or failure of this team, maybe you’d lose sleep over it. But a team is something that at the end of the year, your success or failure is determined on how you handle things such as this. Day two is a little early and unfortunate to happen to Jalen, for sure. But to sit here and think we are just going to coast through stuff without having anything happen is far from my philosophy. As a team, it’s a great opportunity to get their feet wet at something you have to master to have the season that you want, which is to take something that is unfortunate and our whole team, I could tell through the whole walkthrough after Jalen talked, our team was focused on making sure we do right by Jalen and be the best team that we can possibly be for when he gets back. It’s just one more added thing that can incentivize what we’re doing on a daily basis. I’m very focused on today, which means I have to sleep before today.”
(I wanted to ask about some other injury updates with some guys. We didn’t see LB Jaelan Phillips or DB Keion Crossen in practice with Brandon Jones and CB Trill Williams coming back from injury. Is it just maintenance or coming back from injury?) – “Jaelan, on the second play of training camp, got stepped on. He has an injury that we’re not worried about but would not be healed if he continued to practice. We’re just being smart with it. Brandon Jones and Trill, one of the things that I can say with some absolute certainty on this team, in the locker room, you have about as hungry, thirsty and passionate guys that I’ve been around. Particularly those two, coming off injury, one of our responsibilities is to protect them from themselves. The one thing I can say in terms of how everything is individualized with literally everything we do, is all the players that haven’t been fully participating throughout the entirety of practice for their individual regiment purposes, none of them have had any setbacks. They are good to go, and we’re finding out some information on Keion. I don’t expect him to be at practice but I don’t really have anything to tell you until I get some feedback on him.”
(I see you talking, making it a point to talk to these guys, whether it’s CB Nik Needham or S Brandon Jones, just to talk to them one-on-one. How much mentally is that good for them also?) – “Human nature is real. When you’re a football player on a football field practicing football, what are you if you’re not practicing football? You’re a football player that is preparing mentally. But human beings are human beings, especially those guys that are putting in so much work and want to get back as quick as possible, I’m trying to communicate with them as much as possible how important they are to the team and not to lose focus on the opportunity they have right then. When you aren’t playing but observing, if you challenge yourself mentally you can really get things out of the situation. That’s what I’m challenging them to do. All of the guys on our team are pretty good guys and I don’t wish injuries upon anyone. I know how hard that is, so they’re good on their own. Like every single player, healthy or unhealthy on this team, I feel a responsibility to bring the best out of them.”
(Can you speak to the attention of this team, certainly since you’ve been here, to go out of your way and give guys an extra week or two to come back? It seems like you always error on the side of caution with injuries. With a guy like LB Jaelan Phillips, who has such expectations and excitement for the season, may want to get back sooner then he should.) – “Organizationally, that’s something that I am proud of. We, across the board, from the top down, involving all administrative positions, coaches, we prioritize what this is for each individual player. Very, very often, in a competitive setting when there are a lot of good players on the field, people will be irresponsible with themselves and press things too fast. As much as we can, players are depending on us to be experts at whatever we are. From a human being standpoint, when we know people are chomping at the bit, we want to make sure because we want to heal them. Our trainers want to get whatever is ailing them corrected, and we’re not willing to, at the cost of longevity, try to get something out of someone and ignore the negative consequences. I am very proud of that.”
(Are you going to look to add a cornerback in the next coming days?) – “We’ll probably have a workout. I’m very happy with our group. We’ll have a workout for depth purposes here in the near future.”
(You guys made the playoffs last year despite a lot of injuries. What did that tell you about your team’s depth and about your team’s mentality?) – “That’s exactly why I’m not losing sleep. You have to take what’s in front of you. I talked to the team a ton about this. There’s so much the world is telling us if you open your eyes and listen. That experience, that’s how we justify last season. Our goal was not to get to the playoffs and lose. That is unfortunate so you have a choice. Do you turn that into a failure or turn that into something that is a part of your future success? The only way you can do that is take what’s there and learn from it. Hey, guess what, injuries happen. That’s why our veterans in year two have taken a huge step of personally holding the young guys accountable. You really learn that you need everybody to win. If we hang our hats at an injury, what is that doing? No other team really cares. If I’m holding my breath for the Chargers and everybody else to shed a tear for us, I’ll be holding my breath. I think it’s an invaluable lesson, something that you can turn, like everything in life, you can turn a perceived negative into a positive if your mind is right and trying to attack today and not yesterday.”
(I wanted to ask you about Dalvin Cook. He’s visiting the Jets and was on Good Morning Football this morning and openly campaigned to be a member of the Miami Dolphins. Where is this team’s level of interest in adding Dalvin Cook?) – “First and foremost, I’m extremely happy with our running back group. Extremely happy. I have great relationships with some very talented players. However, Dalvin Cook is a great player. I look at it like if it works on both sides, it makes sense for somebody. You’re adding a player to a team and an organization, and all the things they both need need to be met for it to work. He’s a free agent and he’s visiting the Jets. And that’s what I have to say.”
(How is the rest of the team?) – “It looks like if we build on yesterday, yesterday’s mistakes were purposeful. If we don’t, I don’t like where we are at. But it’s all about building on the last day. Every day you have mistakes, but if today is productive, it’s because people are learning and progressing while still competing.”
