LB Elandon Roberts
(Can you put your finger on what this defense needs to do to improve against the run?) – “We need to continue to take it one day at a time and it starts in practice. That’s all you can do.”
(As a leader of this team, what do you feel has been the disconnect that is preventing you guys from playing up to your capabilities?) – “I feel, like I said, as a leader, it starts in practice. We just got to play better complementary football. That’s it. It’s just that simple. Once we start doing that, we’ll really start to string things together.”
(I wanted to get your thoughts on the upcoming matchup and seeing your old friend from New England, that quarterback back there.) – “It’s always a joy seeing Tom (Brady). Obviously we’re on two different sides of the ball, so that will be the guy I’ll be competing against. It will be a fun game.”
(You guys started this exact same record last year. Then you put together a string where you ahd five straight victories. What do you find was the common thread when you turned it around last year?) – “Just no panic. We believe in the formula, we believe in the coaches, we believe in the locker room. You can’t panic this early in the season. I’ve seen people start out 5-0 and now you don’t make the playoffs. Around this time, the only people that usually panic are you guys and whatnot. That’s why we ignore the noise outside of the building and just continue to do what we do, and that’s take it one day at a time. Once we start stringing things together, we’ll be just fine.”
(A little while aga, Head Coach Brian Flores was on with us and he was citing a disconnect between what happens during the week and what happens on Sundays. He said in practice we’re not holding, in practice we’re not dropping balls, and yet on Sundays we’re seeing some of those mistakes. Are you observing the same thing and if so, how do you account for that difference, what do you think the cause is?) – “Just like I said earlier in the day, you’ve got to take practice to the game field. Sometimes it sounds simple, but it’s really a simple answer. Take what you do in practice to the game field and we’ll be just fine. No panic.”
(It’s been an odd year against the run because you’ve had a bunch collectively as a team, some good plays limiting opponents to one or two yard gains, or no gain at all. Then there have been a few that were hurtful every game. Have there been a theme you’ve noticed on the ones that have broken for a longer gain?) – “I don’t have an answer for you. I don’t know what you mean by theme.”
(As far as plays being well blocked? Has there been anything you’ve noticed on tape review on the ones that have broken? Was it just good blocking by the other team? Run gaps? Because you’ve had a number of good plays limiting opponents to small gains. I know NFL teams are going to break for long runs. Is there anything you’ve noticed defensively on those runs?) – “Of course you want to eliminate them. (laughter) I’m laughing because of how you structured the question, but of course you want to limit the big explosive runs, and you want to get it stopped just like your two yard gains or your negative plays. Like I said, we’ve just got to string things together and that starts in practice and take it one day at a time.”
T Liam Eichenberg
(You’ve obviously been a total team guy in terms of playing three different spots this year and learning all of them. I’m curious, has Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre or Co-Offensive Coordinator/TEs George Godsey or anybody ever asked you this year where do you think you will be best? Is that a question that you have even been asked?) – “I kind of just assumed after being drafted that I was coming in to play right tackle. But no, at the end of the day, it’s wherever the team wants me, wherever they need me. I’m just trying to improve every single week. Like you said, I have played a couple different positions. Hopefully I am able to stay at right tackle, which I think is the case. I haven’t heard anything new. I’m looking forward to this week practicing, and improving on the little things that I have made mistakes on.”
(Do you think right tackle could ultimately be your best NFL position? As a guy who went two and a half years playing left tackle without allowing a sack, is it clear to your mind which is your better NFL position?) – “I think right tackle will be great for me. Like I said before, I need those reps, I need practice and I’m looking forward to that – something I can work on and improve on.”
(I know you’re settling in at right tackle now, but how much work do you actually get on the opposite side at left tackle?) – “I do some work after practice, just making sure my movement pattern is still there. At the end of the day, it goes back to wherever they want me to play. Like I said, these past two weeks I’ve just been playing right tackle, so I have kind of shifted into that mindset.”
(How did Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre say you graded out yesterday and were there encouraging signs of the review of the tape for you personally?) – “We watched the film. It just kind of goes back to the little things. For me, it’s about not leaning and staying square when I set. I think that will improve as time goes by and I get more and more reps. For me, like I said, I’m really looking forward to practice. It’s frustrating because I know I can do it and it’s tough letting the team down, to say the least. I’m looking forward to getting back at it, improving and helping this team win.”
(When you say right tackle might be your best spot for you, are you saying that because you feel your NFL skillset is best for right tackle or is it because you don’t want to step on T Austin Jackson’s toes knowing he was drafted to be the left tackle?) – “I think Austin is a better left tackle than I would be, if I’m being honest with you. Just like myself, we each have things we need to work on from a technique standpoint and a fundamentals standpoint. But for my mindset, I think that I have been a right tackle for a couple weeks and I personally have seen improvement in my movement and how I punch and just also from a run-blocking and pass-blocking standpoint. I think it’ll be my best position.”
(Fundamentally, you talked about some technical stuff. Where do you feel like you’ve gained the most in terms of knowledge and understanding switching sides?) – “I would say switching from the left to the right, I think personally I feel like as reps go on, I will have a better ability to keep my balance on the right side than on the left compared to in college. I think I leaned a lot more in college on the left side. On the right side, I think I have a better ability to stand my ground and be balanced. From a fundamental standpoint, I think I need to keep my head up when I punch. Those are kind of the biggest things. Also, get used to throwing the hands more.”
(What do you think has been the issue with the run game?) – “My personal run game, I need to work on not false-stepping. I need to work on gaining ground and helping the guard out. Like I said, it goes back to fundamentals and technique. For us as an offensive line, we need to focus on those details.”
RB Malcolm Brown
(Not to start on a negative note, but this team right now is 28th in rushing yards per game. What needs to change in order for you guys to start making plays?) – “I think it’s a collective (thing). We just need to do a lot of things better. Meeting better, preparing better, practicing better. Anything you can think of, we just need to do it better. I think it’s no secret that we need to get better at a lot of things. We just have to own that and keep it moving forward.”
(I saw a stat this morning that said you were facing eight-man boxes on 52 percent of your snaps. I’m just curious, when you watch film or in the middle of the game, is that something that you notice and if so, do you feel that that’s an opportunity for the offense to take advantage of that and hit some play-action against defenses?) – “Oh yeah, sure. I believe what you are saying is pretty true, but at the same time we still have to establish that run game and make sure that we are doing that, practicing that. Whatever adjustments we need to make, I think in this league, you have to be able to establish a little bit of a run game. We have some great players on the outside, tight ends and receivers, that can make some really good plays. If we have teams respecting our run game and being able to open up things for them, you’ve still got to run the ball and make those types of plays. I think you’ve got to have teams respecting you in the run game and try to be as successful with that as possible.”
(I noticed that you started a couple of games here, what does that mean to you that the staff has, I know that more than one guy gets to play, but what does that mean to you to be selected as the starter at this time?) – “Personally, it’s definitely special to me. Being in this league for so long, definitely not really being able to get that. I think I had two maybe two starts or so throughout my entire career. If I’m being honest, they weren’t really meaningful before this year. Personally, it’s something definitely special. I’ve been working for a long time and for these coaches to be able to trust me like that and put me in right then and there is definitely an honor. Starting doesn’t really match to taking a loss or anything like that. I think I’m more so worried about being able to contribute to this offense and contribute to this team to be able to put some W’s on the board.”
(When you think about what Co-Offensive Coordinator/TEs George Godsey, Co-Offensive Coordinator/RBs Eric Studesville and Head Coach Brian Flores would like to see accomplished on offense, what is your opinion of the identity they would all like to see developed on offense?) – “I think we just want a tough, physical team. That’s everybody. To be able to start fast, be physical, establish the run game, be able to use our weapons that we do have. Like I said earlier, we have a lot of great guys on the edges as far as tight ends and receivers to be able to establish something very early, establish a presence very early. That’s really it. To be physical, play fast, knowing our assignments, smart players as well, being able to make adjustments on the fly as well and just being able to execute at a high level at all times consistently. Consistent is the biggest word in that, just being able to do all those things that I just named but being able to do it on a consistent basis.”
LB Jaelan Phillips
(I wanted to ask about yesterday’s game and getting your first sack or half-sack and having some success rushing the passer. As the game goes on, are you able to kind of tell in your mind that this is starting to click? What do you think clicked for you yesterday?) – “I’d say that I’m just starting to get more comfortable just in terms of within the game, being able to work different moves, being able to just consistently get off the ball and consistently try to create pressure. I feel like just getting in the game flow and seeing what’s working, seeing what’s not, I’m starting to just kind of understand what I need to be doing to be, like I said, creating pressure.”
(Four games into your rookie season, what is something that you maybe want to improve on? Obviously we’ve talked a lot about how you’ve been developing. You’re trying to get to the point where things are slowing down but what do you want to work on going forward?) – “You can always work on your consistency. So for me, just being able to bring that day in and day out in practice, in games, and just to be able to continue to improve on my mechanics, my fundamentals. Just everything like that. Then just whenever my name is called and whenever I get those opportunities, to be able to come through and deliver for the team.”
(I noticed you spent a lot of time closing on the quarterback, real close to the quarterback. I’m wondering, can you just describe what that feels like when you’re having some success and you’re getting in the backfield? What does it feel like to be closing in on the quarterback?) – “It’s like getting a taste of something a sweet. Like if you eat a bite of a cookie, you’re not about to stop eating the cookie. (laughter) Honestly, it feels like when you’re getting pressure and stuff like that, it makes you want to do more. It makes you want to get to the quarterback. It makes you want to get a strip sack, just to continue to create havoc and have an impact on the game.”
(I wanted to ask, I know it looked like on one play I think to open up the second half, it looked like you may have got caught inside on that outside run. What did you see on that play and what’s something that’s maybe a teaching point later on for a play like that?) – “Yeah, that was just a communication thing. I just need to make sure that I’m in the right spot, right where I need to be, and that I’m communicating with my teammates to make sure that what we’re doing is cohesive because you lose together and you win together. I definitely take responsibility for that and I just got to get my alignments and make sure I’m on point.”
(A quick follow up, on the facemask penalty, it looked like you got like the shoulder area. Did you get any explanation for that? Because obviously that was a big third-down penalty for you guys.) – “Yeah, frankly I can’t do anything about what the refs want to call. All I can do moving forward is just make it so that there’s no gray area. Be able to win cleaner on my rush so I don’t have to be grabbing his shoulder and I can just wrap him up properly. So yeah, I don’t really have anything to say about that.”
(In six days from now, you’re going to be going up against QB Tom Brady. I wanted to know what that was like for a rookie player.) – “Yeah, Tom has been in the league 21 years? And I’m 22 years old this year. It’s pretty crazy obviously to have the opportunity to play against somebody I’ve been growing up my whole life watching. I can remember all of the Super Bowl parties at the house when I’m eight years old or 10 years old, watching him dominate. But to be honest, coming into the game, I’m not about to be starstruck. You can’t really focus on ‘Oh my gosh, this is Tom Brady.’ Or ‘this is Leonard Fournette.’ Everybody is nameless and faceless, so you’ve got to prepare for everybody just like they’re anybody else. At the end of the day, our execution is what matters so we’ve just got to go out there and execute. I’ve got to go out there and execute. It will be fun, no doubt.”
(Do you have to do anything to prevent yourself from being starstruck? Given the magnitude of the player?) – “Listen, I’ve been around enough – NFL players and enough celebrities and stuff – that I don’t really get starstruck anymore. You’ve just got to go out there and play.”
(So who is the biggest celebrity you’ve been around?) – “Biggest celebrity I’ve been around? (laughter) Who knows, I can’t even tell you off the top of my head. (laughter)”
(Throw out a name for us.) – “Like I’ve said, I’ve been in Miami for two years. I’ve met Trey Songz at an event. That was cool. (laughter)”
Head Coach Brian Flores
(You said postgame yesterday that the team has to look at everything and you didn’t rule out possibly making major changes, Now that you’ve had 24 hours to decompress from the loss, have you decided on potentially making a big change on offense or is the plan more so get by this week and see if QB Tua Tagovailoa’s return later could help matters?) – “I think we are still evaluating everything – offense, defense, special teams, our operation, the way we practice. It’s got to be better. We’ve got to do basically everything better. We are still evaluating some things. I don’t expect any wholesale changes, if that’s what you’re asking. We are still going through the evaluation process, making the corrections from yesterday, making those today. But don’t expect any wholesale changes.”
(Did you give any thought last night or have you this morning to changing who calls the plays whether it is Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends George Godsey or Quarterbacks Coach Charlie Frye or another person who’s doing it?) – “No. I like the system we have in place. Obviously we haven’t had the success we want or the production that we are looking for. I like our process during the week. I like our preparation. I think we’ve had some good plans going in, we just haven’t been able to execute and we are not getting the results we want. I think from that standpoint, I think the collaboration and the preparation, it’s not like I’ve gone into a gameplan saying, ‘I don’t like what we’re doing.’ We just haven’t been able to execute.”
(Do WR William Fuller V and CB Byron Jones look like multi-week injuries? I know NFL Network just said Fuller has a broken finger.) – “Fuller is going to be out at least this week. Again, still running some tests to see how quickly he can get back or get some more opinions on how quickly he can get back. But he’s definitely out this week. Byron is more of a day-to-day (thing). We’ll see how that goes and see if he’s able to practice on Wednesday.”
(Does Quarterbacks Coach Charlie Frye have the final say in play-calling?) – “I feel like we hit this every week. Charlie gets the call and gives it to the quarterback. We do that so he can give his last ‘watch this, watch that,’ on the play. Again, there’s collaboration. He gets the call and gives it to the quarterback.”
(I know we are watching the offensive line, all of them closely, but T Austin Jackson seems like he’s been struggling all season and it pretty much carries over from training camp. Is there any thought to what can be done to address this and any though to possibly moving him inside to left guard?) – “I think we are evaluating everything. We are evaluating what we are seeing on the offensive line, the defensive line and really across the board. We are going to take a hard look at really everything we are doing, to include the offensive line. We made changes really – we’ve had to make changes due to injury or performance this year and we will continue to evaluate it and if we feel like we need to make a change, we will.”
(Most of your guys, they take that second-year jump progression or at least that has been the case. What is going on in your evaluation with the second-year offensive linemen?) – “I think these guys, they work hard and it’s important to them. I think they are doing everything they can to improve and get better. I’ve seen improvement from each guy. I have. There’s some instances where we’re not getting the consistency that we are looking for but I have definitely seen improvement from each guy. I think what we’re talking about is consistency from the players you’re talking about on the offensive line, whether it’s Solomon (Kindley), whether it’s Austin (Jackson), whether it’s Rob Hunt. That’s something that we are still building towards. We are still developing players but we need that consistency and that’s something that we harp on and we talk about really on a daily basis. We need that. We need it in-game and we need it sooner than later.”
(When you like what’s going on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. And presumably if you do, then the players feel like it’s going well as well. And it doesn’t translate to Sunday a couple weeks in a row, how dangerous of a time is this if players aren’t giving the return on investment that they think they deserve from good work on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday?) – “To answer that question, I think the return on the investment, I guess that’s what you’re asking?”
(Yes sir.) – “To me, I think it’s a lot of plays that we make in practice that we are not making in the game. We are not holding in practice, we’re not dropping balls in practice, we’re not jumping offsides. And those plays that really are the result of a lack of concentration, lack of focus – those are the ones that we’re struggling with right now. I think if we did a better job with those, we would string together more drives, I think we would end more drives defensively and I think we would get better plays out of the kicking game. I like the way we are preparing. It’s not translating, I would say, not because the gameplan is bad. I think we are not executing.”
(I wanted to check on WR Jakeem Grant and DT Raekwon Davis. On Jakeem, where is he in terms of – is he the clear top returner still at this time? And also an update on Raekwon if you could.) – “I think we are still evaluating all positions, to include the returner position. Obviously Jakeem struggled a bit yesterday. He’s been very productive for a number of years but struggled a bit yesterday. We’ll take a look at that position, like we will for all positions, and do what we feel is best for the team. As far as Raekwon, he’s making a lot of progress and we’re hopeful to see him this week.”
(I wanted to ask about LB Jaelan Phillips. We’ve seen him be able to stack performances. Last week he got the most playing time to date. He didn’t get as many snaps yesterday, but we did see him make an impact. Where have you seen him grow and improve the most from training camp up to now?) – “I think he’s playing with a lot more confidence over the last couple of weeks. I think that’s the big piece here. He’s playing fast, he’s being aggressive. It’s not perfect, but he’s definitely playing with more confidence. He’s playing better.”
(I wanted to revisit the thing we’ve seen the past couple of weeks of the offense being able to move the ball very late in games, but not up until that point. What did the film tell you in that regard as you watched it from this past game? Specifically, were there many occasions where you saw receivers open downfield that QB Jacoby Brissett just didn’t take a shot? You mentioned postgame that there were some plays that you checked out of that were designed to take shots downfield. Do you have to do something as drastic as take away audibles in order to get those plays going?) – “After the game, we just talked about there were some shot plays that got checked down, not audibled. There were definitely some missed opportunities on some downfield shots. We’ve got to take advantage of them, that’s really what it boils down to. We had a couple of guys open. We missed those opportunities. We’ve got to execute better. That means getting the protection and getting the ball downfield when the opportunity presents itself. I don’t think we should force the ball down the field. I think if we need to check it down, we should because that’s the right play. Right now, we’re pushing it down the field late in the game because we have to, because we have to force it to get back into the game. We’re having some success there and we need to do a better job earlier in the game of finding ways to create explosive plays. And if the opportunities present themselves, we’ve got to try to take advantage of them, which we have not done. We’ll continue to coach it and create situations where we can do that.”
(One of the hallmarks of your teams so far in Miami is they’ve been very disciplined and they don’t beat themselves. So after every game, you’ve somewhat been saying lately that you put it on yourself, you have to coach them better. Is there something that you’re doing differently this year, do you think, upon evaluation, that you weren’t doing before that might be leading to this?) – “You’re right, we’re not playing disciplined football. I think we’re undisciplined. We’re inconsistent right now. I would say we’re putting as much emphasis as we have in the past on playing smart, disciplined football, trying to play penalty free and we’re just not getting that. We’ve got to do a better job because it’s costing us chunk plays offensively, like it did on the first drive, or extending drives defensively because we’re getting penalties on third down. It’s cost us in the kicking game as well. The emphasis is always there. It always will be there. But again, just because something was some way last year doesn’t mean it’s going to be that way this year. Every year is different. The coaching points are the same, the emphasis is the same but the execution is not. We’ll continue to work on playing more disciplined and playing more consistent football.”
(Is that something you can draw on though? In the past, you were able to do it versus now, it’s a difficulty. Is it something where you can look back and go, “Ok, these were my notes last year where it was working, and now I see I’m doing X different or Y different,” or whatever specific factor it might be?) – “Yeah. I’ve personally gone through that and I’ll continue to place an emphasis on it. I would say if you’re asking if I’m doing the exact same thing I’m doing last year, the answer is yes. But look, every year is different. Every team is different and I’ve got to find a different way of coaching it so that we’re better in that area.”
(Can you touch on that, in terms of the difference? I think we take it for granted that you’re supposed to pick up right where you left off, even though it’s a new roster, a new schedule, new elements. Then also, can we get an update on QB Tua Tagovailoa and his status? There’s a report that he’s going to be healthy and back for the Jacksonville game and we have not had you address that.) – “Tua is doing – I mean he’s working to get back as soon as he can. He’s starting to throw a little bit. We’re just taking this one day at a time. I would say – look, he’s getting better every day. I forgot the first part of your question.”
(Do we take it for granted that you can’t just pick up where you left off in 2020 with a new roster and new team and new players?) – “I try not to take it for granted. Actually, I don’t take it for granted. Every year is different. Every year has been different. Every year I’ve been in this league, every team is different. There’s always different players on your team. Every year you’re trying to just find the right formula or put the right pieces together on each team every year, and try to make them fit in a way that allows you to play good football. That’s every year. Every year is a little bit different.”
(I was looking at WR Jaylen Waddle’s production splits by quarter and his catches and yards go down by each quarter. I’m wondering if it’s an emphasis to get it to him early and if so, what has prevented that emphasis from continuing throughout all four quarters?) – “I think that speaks to our entire team. We’ve gotten off to some good starts and we haven’t been able to sustain it. That’s something we’ve talked about for the last three weeks. We’ll continue to talk about it. We’ve got to be more consistent. We’ve got to sustain drives really throughout better. We’ve got to get off the field better. I think those stats kind of speak to that.”
