Monday, November 25, 2024
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(With LB Anthony Walker Jr. was it just a strained hamstring that could keep him out for a little while or was it a torn hamstring that could keep him out a long while?) – “I don’t see it being extensive time; however, you are right, we are short on time. So probably will be unlikely for this week but didn’t see one of those long-term situations.”
(Without LB Anthony Walker Jr. do you feel like LB Tyrel Dodson is comfortable enough in this system with the short amount of time he’s been here to step into that role?) – “It was very calculated. I think one thing that has to be accounted for is the games he was able to start at Mike linebacker this season in a system that is probably the same system – probably has some transfer of words as far as, ‘yeah, we say this here, this equals this.’ But for the most part he had that huge head start. And then I just can’t say enough about what he has done since he has been here making sure to be prepared for a moment like that sooner than later. You never know when your number is going to be called. I think between him, the coaching staff, and ‘Joe B’ (Joe Barry) and the rest of the players being on the same page; I’m comfortable because he’s made me comfortable by the reps that he’s taken at practice.”
(With CB Kendall Fuller and the concussion, what stage is he at in concussion and is he a possibility for Thursday?) – “I stay out of the stage game. I know he’s probably unlikely for this game. But he’s doing better and we just take that day by day and he’s progressing just fine. Just a little short-term here for this Thursday night game.”
(I know you’re not looking into the short term, but how much did it help in game to be able to get T Terron Armstead rest in the fourth quarter?) – “I think the benefit of being able to come out strong specifically in the second quarter where we were able to kind of separate the game a little bit. I think that had multiple advantages. And then creates new issues if you haven’t been in that situation a ton and then you work through those and get better at the situation as you go. It was beneficial for sure just knowing the calendar and having another game in a couple of days. I’m sure he was appreciative of the turnovers and the defensive stops probably as much as anybody.”
(FB Alec Ingold, similar question, was he on a limited snap for this game, his first game back in two weeks?) – “The way the game progressed afforded me the opportunity to not play with fire. Nothing from feedback from him. Just as a coach my own attempts to make sure we don’t put him in harm’s way. That was fortuitous as well.”
(What’s been the change in TE Jonnu Smith becoming such a focal point in the offense in the past couple of games?) – “I would say Jonnu, I think really just the working relationship between from ‘Embo’ (Jon Embree) and Frank Smith and just understanding what we’re asking and then from a coaching staff perspective finding different ways to utilize the skillset. And then the countless hours of quarterback individual from running routes on air to working on the timing when we go to group install. I think it’s just an evolution with collective effort to get better across the board from coaching and from Jonnu’s perspective. I think he’s really done a great job understanding how to get open in the timing of the play and how much you can focus on that when you’re playing with Tua (Tagovailoa) because if you’re separating when he’s ready to throw it you generally have a have a high completion percentage. He’s really earned each and every added opportunity based upon just being supremely coachable and then he gives you incentive to find ways to get him the ball when you can throw short and he can run long. That’s high efficient football that is tough to defend. So I can’t say enough about the job he’s done and all of his success. Being the guy that he is he won’t take all of the credit. He could, but he’ll probably spread it out between his teammates and coaches, too.”
(One question about backup quarterback and a follow-up question also: Forgive the bluntness here, but do you trust QB Skylar Thompson?) – “Yeah, I trust Skylar (Thompson). I think the situation this past game was unacceptable from just the whole unit. I think that from our perspective, I think across the board that’s not to our standard from the way we came out of the huddle to the execution of plays and then to give up points on an offensive play. And I won’t get into the nitty gritty of – I’m not going to point fingers at a microphone, but ultimately, that falls on everybody involved including the coaches that we can’t have that collective effort. That wasn’t him just responsible for, but my reaction towards it wasn’t strictly based on him; it was more of a tonality with the whole group.”
(Who has the final say on the 53-man roster? Is that you or General Manager Chris Grier?) – “The great thing about Chris (Grier) and I, is we don’t look at our fine print that often and that’s the biggest thing, is when we’re working together, it’s about getting the right answer; not who’s – so it doesn’t necessarily come up in that regard. We’re always just communicating and when we don’t agree on something and we work through it and I think by the letter of the law, Chris Grier is the man, but quite honestly, we tend to not even go down that road kind of like undercutting the relationship that we have just because we’re working together to try to get the right answer and we’re both on the same team.”
(Daniel Jones is about to become a full-fledged free agent I think in 47 minutes. What can you tell us about this team’s interest or lack thereof?) – “Well, first of all, I want to know what a half-fledged free agent would look like. Stumped you, right? (laughter) I evaluated him when he came out of college and we also have an assistant coach on staff that was I think was his No. 1 receiver – that’s a nice little trivia question. Yep, there’s some nepotism in that… you got it? But real talented player that his journey doesn’t seem to be – it’s not foreign to the quarterback position. It’s a tough position to succeed at, so he’s not a player on the team and yeah, I guess good luck to him.”
(Just want to make T Terron Armstead – obviously, he didn’t go back in the game unlike QB Tua Tagovailoa, you stuck with T Patrick Paul. Did he leave the game feeling good and ready for this week?) – “He was very positive leaving the game in terms of just knowing the expectation – the only thing I really allowed players to acknowledge was that it’s important, didn’t just start today; but we had to have an added emphasis on how we took care of our bodies and the amount of reps that we did for about the last week just trying account for the two games in that short period of time. He had his mind right, knew – everybody knows that the unbelievable opportunity of playing on Thanksgiving is upon us, so guys, however they’re feeling, they’re just spending more time getting treatment and getting ready for this game.”
(Speaking of that game in Green Bay, there’s a couple narratives that follow this team of the prime time record and QB Tua Tagovailoa playing in cold weather. Is that something – right now it’s projected to be 22 degrees or something like that – is that something, like what are you guys advising Tua that can maybe help him in these cold weather games, with this team in cold weather games as you guys – also it’s a short week as well?) – “The important thing as a football team is you focus on what you can control. We’re not going to mysteriously change latitudes in the next week. Kind of like you do with crowd noise, you try to do things to bring awareness and to the environment, but the best thing that you can do instead of trying to chase replicating that; you just try to get your mind right so you’re not caught off guard or caught by surprise. Now for me, there’s a lot more known in this, going into this game from a weather standpoint just because I think the road game in 2022 at Buffalo – half the team had never played in cold before and it was my first time in any sort of elements with those guys. At this point, a little more familiar. We were given the gift of ‘what do you mean by cold’ (at the 2023 AFC Wild Card at Kansas City) – is it frostbite-cold? I think that’s as we work together as a collective group, we gained some of that experience in that playoff game and proper perspective. But all in all, the saving grace is that both teams are playing in the same weather and we’ll do little things during the week that we think might be advantageous, but it’s not going to be able to be exact replication. We’re not trying to. I think you just try to be on top of your job and how to do your job and then with your mindset adjusted, that’s how you go into games in any environment, but specifically when you have some elements involved.”
(Quick follow-up to that. What are some of those little things that you guys are going to do to try to replicate that and then also how do those narratives about Dolphins not being able to play in the cold make you specifically feel?) – “I was just going to carry ice cubes in my pockets and throw them at players all week. (laughter) It’s nothing revolutionary. I’m not going to throw it out there for the world and act like we’ve checked the box of ‘we’ve got this answered.’ It’s a football game. How do I feel about narratives? I’m very comfortable with narratives because I think they’re very predictable and retroactive, so what else would you expect – they will always say you can’t until you can. It doesn’t really make me feel anything. I think I have an expectation just like I know that when after we win a game you guys will look me in the eye and if we lose, you don’t look at me. (laughter) I think you just have to understand what it is and not make it anything because to me it’s really what are we talking about? We’re talking about playing a football game in a really, really cool environment, one that I think out of all the places to play in the cold weather, you think about the cold probably the least in Lambeau. You can’t help but – you can’t escape the history and I know our guys are going to be juiced for just the opportunity to play on Thanksgiving. I think that’s a big deal to a lot of people so I’m not necessarily spending too much time thinking about it because you make a plan, you execute the plan and if everyone’s got their mind right, then you have a chance to succeed at executing the plan.”
(A lot of times coaches want their team to remain at an even keel throughout the season. To that extent, do you tell your players this is one of 17 or is that just a ridiculous notion given what’s at stake here?) – “I think each team you kind of have to handle in different ways, shapes and forms. For our season I’m not necessarily worried about making this game something either way. I think this team has known that in a desperate fashion, they’ve had to learn how to win football games and in that process, I think you become a lot more comfortable with living life after wins than losses. And I think as a team we’ve had a lot of learning opportunities and we used those as opportunities and didn’t let some of the hard lessons just happen in vain. And I really don’t think this team has to be told it’s a big game and they wouldn’t believe me if I told them it was just another game. This is a game we’ve been building for. It is one of 17; that’s the math, but we’re more focused on continuing our process of getting better at how we play football together and leaning on each other to play smart team football that doesn’t shoot themselves in the foot and very confident in the way we’ve progressed and just happy for the opportunity to go compete against a good football team and see where we’re at.”
(I wanted to ask you about the run game. Something that we’ve asked previously, but the numbers are down, the yards per carry are down. I think this is like, the third game you guys are in the 60 yards per game range. Is there a common thread or is it just how defenses have been playing you guys or…?) – “I think specifically this past game, you go into the game knowing that an NFL opponent, especially a quality defensive unit like the New England Patriots that are going to be high-effort, high-detail; they’re going to have a chip on their shoulder and they’re going to try to stop your run game. And sometimes teams do that or they do that in a multitude of ways and sometimes that changes the math. Sometimes they add another guy in the box which leaves them a little light on the perimeter and then it’s your job as an offense to take advantage of that, so I think this particular game, I think it was more so the presentations of the defense that were kind of adjusting the amount of attempts. Generally when our attempts go up with the backs that we have, we’re able to get explosive here or there that changes the average a little bit. And then I think situationally, we’ve evolved as a football team and an offense in this case to where we’re just a little more adept at doing a variety of things so you can kind of – when the matchups make sense, you can replace a couple runs with some aggressive quick game where your offensive line can short-set and still be aggressive as what the run game offers but then you can get the ball out quick when the defenses present that positive situation; that’s all depending upon that you can actually get the completion. So when you have confidence in your quarterback to distribute it and the eligibles are executing at a high probability, it’s a little less risky to pass the ball sometimes where in situations you’ve been running it the last couple weeks. So to me, the biggest thing is in games like that where maybe your run-pass ratio adjusts, is that at the expense of hits on the quarterback or protecting – if you’re protecting well and you’re getting the ball out quick, I think a lot of those passes serve the purpose as runs but again that’s granted on how is protection, because if protection isn’t good you probably shouldn’t be going back to the well continuously.”
Thursday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Dolphins RB De’Von Achane
(How challenging do you think it’ll be? A great team but different elements as you mentioned, short week?) – “I mean, it’s football. It should be fun. I’m hoping it’ll snow because I ain’t ever played in the snow, so that’d be fun.”
(What’s it like to get out to such a big lead and an offense when you know you’re going to have to just continue to run it?) – “It’s good, it’s great. It just shows you what type of offense we can be and defense going out there and getting stops. Like I said, man, both of us playing like, with each other, they get stops and we score. I feel like we are a very hard team to beat.”
(How comfortable are you this offense? You’re putting numbers week in and week out and it seems like you’re the engine that gets this offense going?) – “I’m very comfortable. We go over so much. I feel like our coach puts us in a position to win. They make our jobs easy, so we just go out there and play fast.”
-DOLPHINS-
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith
(Talk about the grit of this team over this stretch since you guys have turned it around.) – “Just extremely grateful, I’m extremely blessed. What an amazing team that we’ve got, just the resolve with these guys. Carrying week in and week out, looking at this thing in the mirror and just continuing to stay positive through it all and finding the way, coming out on top.”
(This might be the best two-game stretch of your career. How much do you realize that might be the case?) – “First of all, I’m going to continue to say, it’s all my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My faith is the reason why I’m here and go out there and be the player I am, be the man that I am. Without Him, I’m nothing so just continuing to go into this thing extremely focused and confident in all of my abilities that I’ve been blessed with and just hone in on those details week-in and week-out and be the best player I can be for this team because we need it. We all need our best and I’m just going to try to strive to be my best throughout the season and helping us get to where we want to go.”
(To have a performance like this going into a short week, a tough matchup in Green Bay, what does that do for your confidence?) – “Very difficult place to win, obviously. Going in there Thursday night, Thanksgiving, it’s prime time for us. We couldn’t be asking for anything better. Honestly, at this point in the season, where we’re at, it’s exactly what we want, this where we want to be. We’re excited about the challenge. Great team that we’re going to go face on a short week. So we just have to continue showing up.”
(How is this connection you’ve had with Tua the last two games kind of come about and how do you think it’s helped the rest of the offense as well?) – “Just building that chemistry on and off the field. Just getting as many meaningful reps in as we can. This is our first year together, so hopefully we have a long way to go. So I’m just looking forward to working with him and being around the kind of man he is. Forget about the player for a moment, but having that guy as your quarterback, the kind of person he is, it makes your game come a lot easier.”
-DOLPHINS-
Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins LB Chop Robinson
(How good does it feel to be rolling like this?) – “It feels amazing. Just taking everything from the film room to practice, from practice to on the field. It’s showing now. It’s showing me learning from (Bradley) Chubb, ‘JP’ (Jaelan Phillips), me doing extra work with my coach and everything and just taking from the guys who know the game so much and just executing it.”
(What’s different about your defense from Week 1 until now because you guys look dominant at times?) – “Honestly, I will say this, everybody got closer together. After we had that downfall, everybody just glued in together and just worked together. That was our main thing, we got closer doing things off the field and I feel like we built a bond that helped us out on the field.”
(First time going to Lambeau field, what do you think about that? Thanksgiving, primetime game?) – “It’s going to be amazing. Dream come true. I always watched the game on Thanksgiving when they played there. When it’s cold, it’s snowing and I hope I get to play in the snow again because I haven’t played in the snow since youth football. So I’m excited just getting ready to work for practice and everything.”
(Quick turnaround, what’s the key when you have four days of rest to get back out there and get ready for another big game against a good team? – “I would say you can’t enjoy this win too much because it’s a quick turnaround, so honestly, game over so we’ve got to move on to Green Bay and recover, that’s the main thing, get that body rest, because we’ve got a flight to get on and a game to play.”
(We saw the Browns game the other day and had the guys out there having fun in the snow, is that something you look forward to? Do you view that, as like, the ideal football conditions like a lot of people?) – “Yeah, I mean, it kind of reminds me of being a kid. Just going out there, you make a play, you could just hit the snow angel celebration or anything like that. I’d say the snow brings more fun out of everybody, it brings the little kid out of everybody.”
-DOLPHINS-
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey
(The turnaround, this team for you guys, just what’s been different over these last three games?) – “We’re just taking it game by game. Every game has been a little different but just working hard throughout the week and trying to have a chance late on Sundays. I’d say that’s been it for now.”
(What’s the confidence level that you guys can play with anybody in the league given how you guys have played recently?) – “We’ve always had that confidence even when we were going through adverse times. Then obviously getting our quarterback back and having those guys rolling and trying to play complimentary football on our side as well. We’ve always had that confidence. That never really left.”
(How much fun is this defense having, and for you is it more fun to pick or to get after the quarterback?) – “All of it’s fun to me. I just like playing football. All of it’s fun. ‘Weave’ (Anthony Weaver) is a good DC. He’s doing a great job, I feel like mixing it up. It’s complex but simple at the same time if that makes sense. It probably don’t, but it’s fun.”
(Green Bay, prime time, Thanksgiving, potentially snow. How exciting is a matchup like that to potentially play in? You’ve played in a lot of big games.) – “Yeah, just another big game. The next one on the schedule. We’ve got to recover our bodies and get to Green Bay and get ready to try to get us another win.”
-DOLPHINS-
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Dolphins DT Zach Sieler
Q. Take us through that strip sack and then seeing Jordyn Brooks pick it up after.
ZACH SIELER: Yeah, we made a great call right there off of what’s been going on earlier in the game and how to work through that, the scheme and the protections they’d been giving us. So I was able to work with one of the guys in the middle and kind of delay some stuff, and I was able to get to that gap on the backside and just the big thing I was trying to make sure of because a lot of these scrambling quarterbacks you don’t want to take a full shot and work through them because they can get off or they’ll throw it down, so I was trying to get that backside arm and was able to get the ball with it, then Jordan to be able to pick it up and get a few yards.
Q. How does it feel to see these pass rush wins turn into sacks after for a while they weren’t especially for a guy like Chop Robinson?
ZACH SIELER: Yeah, I think in general, and all the stuff up front only can happen because of what the guys are doing in the back end. Rushing coverage is one of our biggest staples. We talked about it Day 1 with (Jalen) Ramsey, (Jordan) Poyer, (Jevón) Holland, Storm (Duck) and all these guys that are stepping up and doing amazing jobs back there, allowing us to be able to get to the passer. But seeing Chop, just the games he’s had and the game he had today is incredible. I have all the respect to him. He’s just a testament to just putting his head down and working and just listening from older guys and taking their teachings.
Q. You were looking at 2-6 with a big climb. To get to where you are now, I’m wondering if you can reflect on what it took to get to these three wins and also look forward to Thursday night when you have a pretty big test.
ZACH SIELER: Obviously 2-6 is tough, but we still have a long way to go. Now we’re 5-6. So it’s not like we’re not in the clean. We’re not out of the hole. And we’ve still got our backs against the wall. I think that mindset when we went to 2-6 and getting some guys back and being able to work off each other and getting our stuff – taking the extra hours to get our techniques and our fundamentals together and working as one unit is really showing up the last few weeks, and it’s something we’ve got to carry through the rest of the season and hopefully post.
Q. When this team was struggling, it seemed like it couldn’t play complementary football, but when you see the offense doing well, is the defense wanting to do well and just that synergy that’s happened the last few weeks to get these wins. What’s that like for you guys?
ZACH SIELER: Yeah, I think that’s the biggest thing where when you can put a game together like this where you have all three phases – offense, defense and special teams – and to be able to play as one, it shows what we feel we’ve been able to do since Day 1. And we need to be able to do this every week and do whatever it takes each week to get to this point and execute every weekend and Thursday.
Q. What have you seen out of Chop Robinson over the last month?
ZACH SIELER: So the last month, a lot of guys talk about a rookie wall, and I’ve seen him just work everything he can since Day 1 to not have that happen to him, and I feel like he’s only going up right now. He’s taking tips from (Emmanuel) Ogbah, Calais (Campbell), (Bradley) Chubb, (Jaelan) Phillips when he was around in the room with them and just really working through everything he can to not have that happen to him and as well as just improve his game and accelerate the college-to-NFL transition, and I think it’s been showing up amazing these last few weeks.
Q. Do you let yourself kind of think about, oh my, we get Chubb back, we could really have something here?
ZACH SIELER: I respect the heck out of (Bradley) Chubb. I cannot wait to see him out there. Obviously we were together last year a lot of the same side, and we want to think about each week. I don’t know what his story is. He can do his thing and work however he can, and I know he’s working as hard as he can to get back and I can’t wait for the day if and when he does. But we’ve got Green Bay in four days.
Q. Obviously New England had a different quarterback last time. What did you learn about this Patriots’ offense in the first meeting that you kind of used to your advantage today?
ZACH SIELER: I think it’s obviously a new quarterback and I think he’s going to be a great quarterback. He’s got a lot of gifts and abilities and as he’s working through this year and learning, I think it’s going to be a lot of battles in the future. I’m excited for that.
Q. What do you do for with four days until another NFL game? How do you get your body prepared?
ZACH SIELER: Ice tub. Ice tub. Normatec, massage, a lot of stuff like that. And Calais has taught me a lot extra, just different things that he’s learned through the years, as well, to be ready, and stuff starts last week, too because you really think about it, from last Thursday, which is usually your big day in the NFL with our team, is you’ve got two games in seven days. So really you’ve got to start ahead of time without looking into the next game.
Q. Speaking of ice, it’s supposed to be pretty cold on Thursday. Mentally how do you prepare to play in an environment like that?
ZACH SIELER: I try to not think about it at all. Obviously growing up, up north, playing games in the upper, upper thumb of the upper peninsula in November at Ferris, outdoors. I’ve played a lot of games like that and there’s some tips and things that you can do, but in reality it’s just go out there and play. The biggest thing is just keeping loose, not letting anything get tight.
Q. Are you glad they didn’t trade Calais?
ZACH SIELER: There’s no one’s game I’ve come to respect more than Calais’s up front on the d-line, being with him this year and just the energy, the attitude and the mindset he brings every week. It can’t be matched, and that’s the reason why he is who he is today and doing what he’s doing at 17 years.
Q. How much of a lift was it for this entire franchise when Tua came back? Obviously the turnaround in the offense is apparent, but does that seep over to the defense, too?
ZACH SIELER: Absolutely. Just the energy that you have, the competition and team, going good-on-good or whatever it is during the week, and just really kind of honing – iron sharpens iron, and having Tua with his energy and everything he’s got going on back there offensively has just been incredible. Just to rally off of that on both sides of the ball is incredible. We talk about complementary football, so when they’re doing that, we can do our thing, and vice versa. You want to have a team that’s well rounded that can pick each other up on both sides of the ball and really work together to win games.
-DOLPHINS-
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Q. What impressed you about Tua’s performance?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think it was another game where he’s found a way to improve the way that he plays the position throughout the game. In previous years, we’ve just spent a lot of time talking about the most monumental thing that you have to overcome as a quarterback, which is playing the position regardless of the ebbs and flows of motion. So not changing how you play based upon positive or negative results and letting every play stand on its own. I think since maybe the Buffalo game on, I think he’s really taken a step forward in that direction, so him playing at the level that I think that he has the last couple games was a feat in and of itself because it’s become more of the norm and not the exception. I think making the plays that he needs to make, understanding the progressions and how to get completions, when to extend plays – he came in at halftime frustrated that there was too many hands, as he put it, on a couple of those red zone opps where he almost turned the ball over, and was frustrated with himself but then moved on. That’s the key for our team is when you have a confident player touching the ball every play that is impervious to the emotions of the game, good or bad, as a collective unit, you can be a problem for people to defend.
Q. How important was WR Jaylen Waddle getting the opportunities he had and coming through with those opportunities?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think one of my favorite things about this game that I’ll remember is Waddle has been taking his route running, his release work, the nuances of the receiver position, and he’s had so much growth over the last month and a half while also fielding questions left and right, whether it’s in the media or even at home, like where is the production, where is the production, where is the production. To get better when the ball isn’t coming your way so that you’re aptly prepared when the ball does, it’s everything that I believe in, everything that – it was an earned game for him. He got the opportunities and because his mind has been in the right spot where he’s been focused on what he can control and not all the other noise, he was able to really make some big-time plays in those moments. It’s something that I don’t think people truly spend the time really putting themselves into receivers’ shoes. In the National Football League, especially if you’re one of the better receivers in the league, you have expectations of output that you have no – a lot of times you have no ability to control. A lot of players get worse from situations like that. He’s been eager to help the team win, and he’s been doing that week in, week out, by plays off the ball or plays when he doesn’t have the ball. For him to make some plays on the ball this game was much deserved, and we had a lot of teammates that are fired up for him.
Q. You’re not one to duck narratives, reality, or whatever. We’ve been waiting 11 months, 12 months, whatever it is, to see you in a cold weather game again. You’ve gotten back in the mix. You won the three games you had to. What’s next for the Miami Dolphins this week?
MIKE McDANIEL: Well, you’re just going to let me really lean into this victory for a while, huh? (laughter) Yeah, I’m eager for those moments. Just like you’re eager to settle the score if you don’t – if you believe that you’re not just a front-running team, you have to win when there’s some adversity going on. And so instead of just complaining and wallowing in the fact that people say those things, we’ve been able to win some games with our backs against the wall, so to speak. The same thing applies with – I’ve already told the team, there’s two things that will be said until we do something about it, (and that is win games against) good teams and (in) cold weather. It doesn’t bother me in any way, shape or form. We have some plans on how to attack this week, but I relish that opportunity because, yeah, there’s one way to correct that. I know there’s a locker room full of people that believe and are eager to set that narrative straight, but there’s only one way to do it, and there’s only one way you’d want it to be done is you want to go earn that sentiment or maybe some take-back from some people that have strong opinions, or they’re going to be right and it’s your choice as a team. We’ll get started on that tomorrow. Tonight will be less Packers and more Barbies, right Ayla? (laughter)
Q. There was a report this morning that this club was ready to trade DT Calais Campbell to the Ravens and that you stepped in and argued or made the point that he was too valuable to lose.
MIKE McDANIEL: I guess, yes, the offer for compensation for his services was real, and I think it wasn’t like it was Chris (Grier) versus me. It was more that Chris looks at it the way I do, or we work together, and I may or may not have thrown an adult temper tantrum. (laughter) I think you have to look at – that’s the tricky thing about Chris’ job is he has to look long-term and short-term at the same time, what’s the best for the organization, and then he also – we rely on each other for things that I need to be on top of, and one of those is the locker room and what one individual does for an entire team. I think it speaks to Calais because that was a strong compensation for a guy that’s – he just passed the 30-year-old mark. (laughter) It speaks to how he’s playing. It speaks to what he means to the team, that teams would be willing to do that, and there was some competition for that. But yeah, my job is to speak on behalf of what’s the best thing for the 2024 Dolphins. I’m just fortunate to work in an organization where myself and the GM can be transparent and work together, and he didn’t want to see any more adult temper tantrums.
Q. I know the game got out of hand a little bit. Your thoughts on watching QB Drake Maye today, what you saw from him today and throughout the season?
MIKE McDANIEL: Yeah, it was what we kind of prepared for. He had ownership of the game even a little bit more than what had shown on tape. He made some plays in similar fashions that he made on tape. I think when you’re able to be a pocket passer but then extend plays and make teams pay when you’re in man coverage or two man, it’s a problem. He’ll continue to make plays as he gets better and better in the pocket. It’s a guy that honestly, I’m not really rooting for his development, being in the division, but I can appreciate the player, and they have a very good player to work with at that position. We’ll continue to have to be on our stuff.
Q. You pulled your starters for a series there in the fourth quarter and then put them back in after the fumble six. What went into the decision to go back to your starters?
MIKE McDANIEL: Well, personally it’s my least favorite good problem to have is a multiple score lead in the fourth quarter and trying to figure out the perfect scenario. I had a lot of conversations with players that – there were a lot of guys that were resisting coming out, which is a phenomenal thing. That’s exactly what you want. Then I won a couple arguments with some of the players, and then the results of when they weren’t out there, I quickly backpedaled out of that and allowed them to do what they wanted to do from the jump. Guys wanted to stay out there based upon wanting to finish the game and the amount of emphasis that we’ve put on not just starting fast but finishing the way that you start and finishing strong, and although it wasn’t – the fourth quarter wasn’t necessarily completely smooth, there was some positive stuff going on, specifically players that wanted to be on the field and lead us to victory.
Q. There’s obviously a lot of season left, but when you look back to when you were 2-6, what did you guys do right to get to this point to put together this nice stretch?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think starting with the captains and the leadership council in the locker room, guys chose to believe, and that’s hard when everyone is telling you the opposite. They chose to believe. They chose to focus on what matters, which is doing their jobs, and they focused on not getting ahead of themselves and taking it one practice at a time, one meeting at a time. I think you can’t understate – three-game losing streaks in the National Football League feel like an eternity, and we’ve had two of those this season. Like I explained to the team when we were 2-6, it is feast or famine basically with the team, because if you can stay together through all that adversity, generally the season has great things in store because, like life, it’s not about avoiding adversity, it’s about flourishing within it. Or you can lose another game and you can have people – you can have issues left and right. What I’ve seen is guys that have fought for something they’ve believed in starting April 15, 2024. They believed in this team taking a step, taking another step from the two previous seasons. It didn’t start out the way that we were used to, so you really can’t hide. You find out who really believes in what you’re doing, who really believes in each other, and there’s nothing more powerful than us against the world, and sometimes fate allows you to be in those situations. What does that leave us? Our record now is 5-6, and the Packers aren’t going to care about our three-game win streak. The Packers are going to want to make us the team that can’t win in the cold or beat good teams. We’ll have an opportunity on Thursday to either prove them right or wrong, as well as everybody else in front of a bunch of families that are digesting and judgmental. (laughter)
Q. What has LB Chop Robinson’s development done for the defense?
MIKE McDANIEL: It’s been very timely, I’ll tell you that. You hope – you have a lot of forecasting in the draft process. You feel strongly based upon all the work and all the talent, but then it comes down to the human being. The NFL season is brutal for rookies, so to see him come on and continue to have a bigger effect on NFL games, during the period of time where every other football season he’s ever played in his life is ending, it speaks to who he is. It speaks to the entire outside linebacker and edge room, some of the most competitive, relentless players we have on the team, that are as invested in each other as anyone. Man, it’s real cool to see a player handle all of the pressure that comes with being a first-round draft pick on a team that needs the rookie class to produce and to just chop wood every day – see what I did there? (laughter) And get some results that weren’t just earned this week. It’s been earned since the day he was drafted. I’m fired up and can’t wait until this game is his worst game.
-DOLPHINS-
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle
Q. How did it feel just to be so involved in the offense and to have the kind of game that you just had today?
JAYLEN WADDLE: It felt good. Always feels good after a win, having a good game. Having an individually good game don’t mean nothing without a win so that’s always good.
Q. Did you have a sense today might be your day?
JAYLEN WADDLE: No, not really. We’ve got a lot of playmakers on the team, so somebody normally has a day. If it’s not ‘Nu,’ (Jonnu Smith) then it’s ‘Reek,’ then it’s Achane, ‘Heem’ (Raheem Mostert). We’ve got a lot of playmakers. That’s what makes this offense so great. We’ve got guys that can make a play any time.
Q. It sounds like you’ve got good perspective, but it’s got to be hard to be patient because you haven’t gotten the targets in the past and today you really showed up.
JAYLEN WADDLE: I mean, it’s good. I can go back to college when we got a lot of playmakers all over the field. That’s what makes this game so exciting. That’s what brings the fans out, playing with such great talent. So no, it can’t be like that.
Q. You haven’t been frustrated at any point this year?
JAYLEN WADDLE: No, man. I was more frustrated from the losses than individual, me having individual goals or anything. That’s more like a media thing, really.
Q. Speaking of losses and wins, that’s three in a row. As far as wins go, how close do you think you are where you want to be, the type of team week in and week out, especially on offense?
JAYLEN WADDLE: I think we’re headed in the right direction. We’ve got big games coming up ending the year, so it’s important that we start playing our best ball heading into this last stretch of the season.
Q. Have you been seeking anything in terms of confidence, swagger? In the past you’ve played with so much confidence and so much swagger. Did you feel like you recaptured anything today?
JAYLEN WADDLE: No, man, I have the utmost confidence in myself to go out there week in and week out and play to the best of my ability. Never confidence, always got swag for real, for real.
Q. Tua said he’s excited to go up to Green Bay and kill some narratives. This team in cold weather hasn’t had the most success. Do you feel the same way?
JAYLEN WADDLE: Yeah, man. Cold weather game. It’s going to be real football weather. They’re bringing their best. We’re bringing our best. Thursday night football, man, that’s what it’s all about.
Q. Do you feel Jonnu Smith having the success he’s having starts to open things up for you and maybe now Tyreek Hill, too?
JAYLEN WADDLE: Yeah, man, Jonnu has been balling. He’s been tremendous for us in the run game, the pass game. Having the defense worry about him might take someone off of ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill), might take someone off me, opening up in the run game. It’s great having all these playmakers on the team and on the field, man.
Q. How are you celebrating your birthday?
JAYLEN WADDLE: I don’t know, man. My mom didn’t even make it down, sadly, so I’ll probably just watch some Monday Night Football and go to Renzo’s house or something.
Q. How do you think this stretch of games for Tua since he returned from injury, how does it compare to some of his best stretches as a professional in your opinion?
JAYLEN WADDLE: Yeah, man, Tua has been playing great ball. It’s really just him, for real. I can’t even explain it. He comes to work every day, and he just brings that swag, that confidence, and when he goes out there and plays like that, man, it’s just fun.
Q. Take us through that touchdown you scored and the feeling of pretty much capping off the day for you by getting into the end zone.
JAYLEN WADDLE: Yeah, RPO, really. Tua kind of did a no-look that kind of messed me up a little bit, but yeah, man, just had determination. Wes (Welker) has been telling me about getting in the box all week, previous weeks, and just had to fight to get in there for real.
Q. Did you see Stephen Ross did the Waddle again?
JAYLEN WADDLE: I didn’t, I did not. Mr. Ross be hitting it, though. He be hitting it.
Q. Are you waiting for a huge moment or what’s going on with the Waddle?
JAYLEN WADDLE: I don’t know, man. It was getting like out of hand. When I go out in public, people be trying to tell me to do it, so it’s just like, ah.
Q. What do you mean Tua threw you off because of that no-look? Was he looking over there?
JAYLEN WADDLE: Yeah, he was looking probably safety off, create space for me, allowing me to get past him, and I was making some YAC.
Q. Are you saying you’re retiring the Waddle?
JAYLEN WADDLE: I don’t know if retiring. I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s retiring. It needs a break for a little minute.
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Q. You were able to get the ball to WR Jaylen Waddle early and often today. How much of that was a concerted effort and how much was just a matter of how the game and flow of the game went?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think it was just a matter of how the flow of the game went today with what they wanted to do. We got to see early on and Jaylen (Waddle) had his opportunities and he made use of those opportunities.
Q. For you the way the offense is moving right now, what do you feel different these last few weeks that’s worked that it just seems like everything is there for you in front…?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: It’s just going through the progressions. I think that’s where we’ve taken a step forward in this offense in retrospect to last year, is one and two aren’t there; we’re able to flip our feet, work through the progression and what that entails for us, if he’s open. If not, knowing where our checkdowns are. I think that’s the biggest difference.
Q. Your confidence has to be through the roof right now. What’s it like when you’re on the kind of heater that you’re on right now?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I would say it’s always great to win. It’s always great to enjoy the win. But there were some things second half-wise that we knew we could have capitalized on that we didn’t, things we said we wanted to do coming out in the second half that we didn’t and those can be frustrating. But I would say we’re still below the .500 threshold and it’s a long way to where we want to get to. We’ll enjoy this win, but this next one is going to be big for us, and we’re excited to go down to Green Bay and show everybody on primetime what we can do.
Q. Did you expect to see this much single safety high looks?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: You know, honestly, going into the game, having my mind with what they put on film this year, what they do, and then you go back and look at the rest of the years where they were successful in stopping some of our in-routes and whatnot, so you kind of have in mind, okay, these are the ways they could potentially play us, but then I also still have in the back of my mind, be ready for two (high safety), be ready for two-man, variations of four, whatever that looks like. And so preparing-wise, that’s sort of how we – that’s sort of how I go about my process so that I don’t get stuck on what the progression is and I can progress faster knowing what the coverage is.
Q. Did you think you were done when you came out at 31-7?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Not necessarily. Mike (McDaniel) came up and told me that he doesn’t like doing that, taking a guy out and then having to put him back in, but I told him at any point, I was ready, whether I had to sit out the rest of the game or not.
Q. When you talk through your progressions, like with Jonnu Smith on the first touchdown, where was he on your (progressions)?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: He was probably four if you’re counting the numbers on the progression. But that’s what I’m saying; like with what the defense presents us, it helps speed up the process with getting through the progression and getting to guys.
Q. You said a few weeks ago that you see what happens one by one, see if you guys can get on a streak. This is three in a row. Now that you’re in that mode, would you want it to be get that streak, get that going?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: It feels good to win any way. But yes, getting into a rhythm of stacking wins up in the win column, I definitely think that’s a big morale booster for the guys in the locker room, and this is something that they can take into this upcoming week. Guys are feeling good. Everything feels better when you win.
Q. This will probably be remembered as the Jaylen Waddle game, bust out game for him. Had you had to counsel he will him during the last month and a half or so when he hasn’t been getting the ball as much as he had in the past?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: No, I didn’t have to do any of that with ‘J. Dub’ (Jaylen Waddle).
Q. How meaningful is it to you to know that you’re 7-0 against a divisional opponent in New England?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: It’s great. It’s great any time you can find a win against a divisional opponent. It’s not my win, it’s the team win so I’ll leave that at that.
Q. You mentioned the significance of the coming game, but what do you think about maybe playing in some cold in Green Bay?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I mean I’m excited to kill narratives, so let’s go. Bring it on.
Q. Talk a bit about avoiding interceptions these past couple of games. Obviously today and last week against the Raiders, just talk a bit about not giving New England’s offense any opportunities off of those?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, ending of the half, in the first half, definitely didn’t like how we ended there, too many hands on the ball off of decisions and off of placement of the ball. That needs to be better. You just never want to put the team in a situation where we already have points to not get points.
