RB Raheem Mostert
(How are guys adapting to the short week? I know it’s something you got to do, but it’s still got to be a little bit tough coming off such a tough game.) – “Coming off a tough game, a big win, we just got to focus on us. It starts today with walkthrough. It just has to carry over to the game. We’ve got to take care of our bodies. They opened up the facility right after the game so we can get in here and do what we needed to do in order to get prepared for Thursday.”
(How tough is it for running backs?) – “As a running back, you just got to take care of yourself. You got to do the little things. I had my own personal guy come out here after the game on Sunday. He hit me up, and said we need to do a little extra work and I was honed in. I know what it takes to have a short week and go in there and try to win, especially in a tough crowd like Cincy is going to be. They are wearing all white too, so you can imagine how turned up they’re going to be for that game. Yeah, you just got to take care of your body and take care of your mental and get prepared. Coach is doing a great job with that.”
(Do you guys hear all the hype you’re getting nationally after the 3-0 start?) – “Yeah, a little bit here and there. There are still some doubters, but we don’t really pay attention too much. We just go out here and do what we got to do at the end of the day. Whether if it’s against a tough opponent or a not so tough opponent, each week is a different challenge and each week is a different opportunity for us to grow.”
S Jevon Holland
(On the short week and playing the Bengals on Thursday) – “Man, I look forward to playing football every day. It’s lit, for sure. I love it. It’s awesome. Prime time – my mom can see me and my grandma.”
(How do you feel physically after playing all 92 snaps?) – “Right now? Man, I feel like I jumped off a building or something. My body is hurting. But it’s alright, though. We’ve got ice tubs and whatnot. I take care of myself.”
(How high of a building?) – “I don’t know. I feel like I jumped off a Starbucks or something. (laughter) A little bit of pain but not much.”
(What did you do Sunday night? Did you come back here for treatment?) – “Oh, yeah. For sure. I got in the ice tub and hot tub immediately. I went straight to it.”
(Do you hear a lot of the hype the Dolphins are getting as one of only two 3-0 teams in the league?) – “We’re one of two? Really?”
(Yeah, you and the Eagles.) – “I didn’t even know that. I’m just worried about football. 1-0, that’s all it was.”
(On if he’s recognized when he walks around town and if people say anything to him) – “When I walk around the city, I go to Publix and they don’t know who I am. I’ve got a helmet on. That’s a question for like ‘W’ (Jaylen Waddle) or Tua (Tagovailoa) or something. But they don’t know me. I’m just out there.”
(To play the volume of snaps that you played on Sunday, how tired were you then? Are you still tired at all today?) – “Nah, I went to sleep on (Sunday) night and then I woke up, got a little extra rest and then went to sleep last night. Today is Tuesday, so I got a good night’s sleep last night. I’m not that tired right now but probably after this walkthrough, I may be a little tired then.”
(Joe Burrow, what does he present as a really good quarterback?) – “I mean he’s a really great quarterback. That’s, in itself, a difficult task for the defense. We’ve just got to work our technique, study the playbook and do our job.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(So was QB Tua Tagovailoa able to do everything in the walkthrough that he typically would if he were fully healthy? Did you distribute QB Teddy Bridgewater’s and QB Tua Tagovailoa’s snaps differently than you typically would in a walkthrough?) – “It’s a tricky scenario. Luckily that’s one of the reasons why we feel so fortunate to have Teddy (Bridgewater). But if this were like an actual real practice on a normal week, Tua (Tagovailoa) would be limited and he would be questionable for the game. As far as walkthroughs and stuff and just in general, this much I know about Tua; him and I’s relationship is strong. He actually called me at like, 10:50 last night. And I’m like, ‘Dude, is everything okay?’ [Tua said] ‘No, I’m just checking in on you.’ I’m like, ‘Alright, that’s fun.’ And just him talking to me, I can tell in his voice, he’s literally going to do everything he can and in his power, so I know that he’s going to do everything you can to play. So I’ll know that if he doesn’t play that it literally was not possible and we’re just taking measures accordingly for Teddy beyond that. But I’m happy with the way he’s so far progressed and feel very optimistic because of how he’s going about it.”
(In regards to QB Tua Tagovailoa, is it pain or is it functionality with the back that may be what is in flux with his…?) – “Literally like pain and stability of both injuries because I’m not sure – have you ever thrown your back out at all or had any…? Like apparently, you need your back for literally everything. So it’s the functionality of it because all of a sudden your back’s overly tight or you feel that crazy pain. Your body has a reaction process that you can all of a sudden – you can lose all your power in your throws, you can’t redirect and once you can’t protect yourself on an NFL football field, we have to protect you. So it’s both. Yeah, there’ll be some pain regardless. It’s whether or not that pain hurts him from being able to put his production on the field and escape impending danger, which is part of the job of an NFL quarterback on Sundays, or Thursdays.”
(When you watch QB Joe Burrow the last couple years and coming into this season, what do you see?) – “Well, coming off the bus, I see swag. And then on the field – which yeah, I have a sound place in my heart for [swag]. (laughter) But yeah, you really, really like – I don’t know, I appreciate guys, that you know, you’re the No. 1 pick in the draft. That is a burden for some. It was a blessing for him and I really respect guys that come out, take all that hype and do justice by it or exceed it. The guy has great vision and awareness. He’s very mobile both within the pocket staying a passer and escaping to run. Great touch. Great accuracy. And he really not only makes plays for their offense, but he helps other players make plays because of his ball location. So he’s one of the true young flag bearers of our league that does a great job and it’s a tremendous challenge for our defense to go out there and face him really.”
(Speaking of hype, how does the team keep from buying too much into their own hype? With you guys specifically, getting a lot of attention in certain power rankings and talk shows and so on and so forth, how does a team block that out?) – “It’s pretty simple. The hype, the power rankings, everything you’re talking about; unless I missed in the bylaws somewhere that that gets you a playoff berth, then what are we talking about? I think that that’s the thing is it’s just understanding the natural course of the narrative and this week is going to be the same. You explain to the guys and they totally get it that hey, if we win there are going to be further crowns. They are going to say all this. None of that relates to what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to get better every week. So what does that have? Nothing. Or we lose the game and they’re going to say, ‘oh, yeah, see I told you, it’s the Dolphins that won three.’ So regardless, you just know there’s going to be a narrative and a reaction to whatever happens and then you just stay true to what you’re trying to do. We’re trying to win football games and more importantly in the process, we’re trying to get better every week so we’re playing our best football at the end of the season because that’s where you’re truly judged. So none of the power rankings or the hype factor in on that. To me, I try to cater to any of the guys that are in love with attention and let them know that, ‘hey, if you still want this attention, keep winning.’”
(With the short week and with how much your defense was on the field Sunday, there’s only so much time between the two games. How do you get as much rest or do as little as possible so the guys can be as fresh as they possibly can?) – “There’s no perfect formula. Our team very much understands that Thursday night games do great things for the league in terms of fans are able to see a Thursday night game and all the revenue that it brings, but it’s a challenge nonetheless. And there’s no perfect formula. You got to sleep, you got to eat right, honestly, you’ve got to rest. But the bottom line is, both teams are on short weeks. It’s out of the norm. You only do once a year, so you’re not going to be used to it. There’s an element of will, that you just have to – yeah, there’s no doubt that’s the defense played enough for two games, like a couple days ago. But one thing I do know is no one’s going to care when the ball is kicked off in Cincinnati, whatever that is, in two nights. No one’s going to care. So you have to do the best that you can but then get guys in the mind frame of two teams are playing one game on an evening, take pride in that and just go after it with full force, and you’re going to have to dig deep. And as a result and as a reward, you’ll get a couple of days off after.”
(Your offense has shown a lot of skills or traits or characteristics, whatever you want to say. What have you liked most about what the offense has shown so far?) – “I really like how you’re starting to see guys strain through plays longer. You’re starting to see guys play for each other. I’m really liking how we’ve developed our standard with which we go about our business. How we run off the ball, how we finish plays, the things that aren’t result-oriented but more big picture and how you look; I’m happy with where we’re at right now because we’re continuing to progress and hopefully we’ll continue to even get better with that. Early in the season, especially in Year 1, there’s a lot of things you’re feeling out. But the one thing I don’t have any patience for and the one thing that I’d really hope for is that the standard with which we play the game of football together looks in the way that it’s trending right now.”
(How would you evaluate your cornerbacks opposite of CB Xavien Howard? And to piggyback off that, is there any sort of update on by Byron Jones over the next couple of weeks?) – “Well, I haven’t heard you guys ask that many questions about corners outside of ‘X’. And, they’re kind of like referees in that regard. Where, if you’re not talking about them sometimes it’s a good thing. I was just so happy we were fortuitous that guys got extra reps in the offseason, that they got to feel what it was like to be depended upon on the first team defense. I think I’m very happy with the play that we’ve got. I think it’s been very competitive. I think people have tried to attack them. And, guys will always make their plays, but I think they’ve done a really good job and they can’t be targeted that way, play and play out. You end up worrying. So I feel great about that with Byron. All I know is there is nothing new to update except that I can see, especially on the sidelines during our games, I can see vigor and eagerness in his eyes that let me know it’s progressing and he’s excited to get back because if you queued a camera to him during the games, he’s as locked in as everybody. So I feel very good about that. We’ll see as it continues to progress.”
(You have a history degree from Yale. I was just curious how’s your top three dolphins running backs up all the time. How does that list look?) – “I didn’t have that in my course curriculum. But I mean, how can you not do Mercury (Morris),and (Larry) Csonka off the rip. Then there’s some pretty good ones in the 80s. Ricky Williams is a strong one. Mercury and Csonka are 1, 2, for sure. And then do you guys want me to go with like a Terry Kirby or something? (laughter) I don’t know. I would leave it open for this Tuesday of a Thursday night game, for what I’m probably forgetting, considering I barely know my name. So if I could just not be held to that top three, know that there’s two of them. I want to be a little more convicted on the third because there’s like five different options that. Yeah, to be continued.”
(If I can ask you one more on QB Tua Tagovailoa, just because he’s the quarterback. I know sometimes these go up to gametime decisions. But do you hope to make a call before Thursday, before the game, on if it will be him or QB Teddy Bridgewater? Do you have a timeline?) – “Yeah, I think I have to. It’s just in a short turnaround like this, I don’t have reps at back and ankle injuries on a Thursday night game. So I’m going to take the rest of the day and then as soon as we can probably at some point tomorrow, I’d like to. If it’s more up in the air, I know that’s one thing that we can handle with our guy in Teddy is that part of the reason it was so paramount and I was so pumped that (General Manager) Chris (Grier) and the guys were able to get it done was because you have to be able to adjust as a backup quarterback and really nothing would change that much in terms of how to call the game. We have a bunch of faith in him. So we’re walking through in general, anyway. So Teddy has to take reps each and every play in terms of calling the play and visualizing everything as it stands. So we’ll probably just take it as long as we have to before we can be convicted. But at some point there has to be – it won’t be five minutes before kickoff I know that. Probably some time on Wednesday, but if we have to, we’ll move it to Thursday morning.”
(Is there any concerns with WR Jaylen Waddle and S Brandon Jones popping up on the injury report? And while we’re on the topic, CB Xavien Howard and T Terron Armstead?) – “Again, there are so many unknowns that I’d really lump all those guys together and know that they all know how important it is for us to have them operate for us to go win the game. And they are all – I think we had guys in the training room in the facility after the game on Sunday. Like guys came and got treatment. So guys are really doing everything they can to try to make up this unique timeline and I expect to see most, if not all of them. But we’ll adjust if we have to.”
(How fresh could they be expected to be 48 hours after a game?) – “My impression from them is that you guys tell me more about how you’re feeling because all I see is a team that’s geeked up to play on Thursday night. So I have to kind of pull teeth to get there the real answers from how their bodies are feeling but I think they recognize the moment, they recognize the opportunity and they are eager to go experience that whole opportunity with their teammates.”
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(What are you feeling right now? What have you been doing in the time since the Buffalo game to get ready?) – “I’ve been up here getting treatment, doing everything I can to get as close to 100 percent as possible. That means after all of this, staying as long as I have to until these guys have to go home.”
(It was mainly the back after the game, but we’ve also now learned the ankle is part of the equation. How much is it the back and how much the ankle?) – “I would say it was more the back than the ankle. The ankle was just, I would say, after the game soreness, when my legs got caught up under whoever it was on the quarterback sneak.”
(And the head is completely out of the equation?) – “Yes, I’m fine.”
(So when we go into the locker room every day, there’s always a ping pong match going on. We know that you guys have a tournament. What has that table kind of represented in terms of bringing everyone together and [inaudible?]) – “I would say the first thing that the ping pong tables brought is competition, more competition into the locker room. I would say another thing that it’s brought is guys trying new things. There are guys that don’t normally play ping pong, or haven’t grew up playing ping pong. They’ve just been watching and now they want to get into the action. Now, guys think they’re professionals. Guys are going and getting their own paddles. I mean, that’s crazy. Guys are like watching YouTube. They’re doing like some weird serves, now. They’re doing some professional serves, so I don’t know. (laughter)”
(I know I heard down there a couple guys told me WR Tyreek Hill got you guys all personalized paddles? What does that kind of represent, him making that gesture?) – “Yes, I think it kind of shows Tyreek’s (Hill) personality. It also shows his leadership because he cares so much about the guys.”
(Another litmus test, you had the Bills last week, the Bengals, reigning AFC Champions. Doing that in back-to-back weeks, but having success the last few weeks with wins, what’s the mindset of going against them?) – “Well, just to do things we’ve done since OTAs. Just worry about what we need to accomplish on every play that we’re given. If it’s offensively, whatever play that (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) tells us to run, that’s what we’ll run. But let’s not go out of the parameters of trying to make a big play happen. Just let those come. So we’ll take whatever they give us, both on offense, defensively and then also in the special teams game, and then we’ll go from there.”
(There was something on NFL Network on Sunday saying you have fewer responsibilities with line calls this year. Is that the case? And has that made things a little easier for you?) – “I would say I have the final say in our protections, but it’s definitely made it a lot easier that I don’t have to come out and initially make a Mike (linebacker) point or necessarily tell the guys you know what to do up front. Now I can worry about the motion landmarks for our guys in the back, then also seeing their coverage and then executing our plays that we have. So it makes it easier to just go out there and play quarterback.”
(What is affected by the back injury in your play? Head Coach Mike McDaniel said you use your back for everything. What aspects of quarterback play are particularly difficult or not?) – “ I would say everything – having to twist, to hand the ball off, having to toss the ball, having to throw the ball. Every aspect of it.”
(Have you been able to try to throw the ball like you normally do? If so, how does that feel?) – “I haven’t tried today yet, but before we go out there and do our walkthrough, we’ll get some throws in and see how it feels.”
(Although you guys play the defense, do you look forward to playing against QB Joe Burrow knowing you guys were in the same draft class and all that? Do you look forward to that matchup?) – “Yeah. I look forward to the challenge that their team presents us. Knowing that they were the AFC champs last year, they’re really good team. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily me versus Joe (Burrow), but I’m just excited that this is an opportunity for our team that we get that. Our first four games are extremely tough games, so we welcome that. I would say as a team, we’re excited for it.”
(I know there’s a lot of adrenaline mid-game, but how difficult was it for you to go out and actually throw the ball on Sunday after halftime?) – “Yeah, it was pretty difficult. It was difficult because we weren’t out there as much. So sitting down on the bench, my back started to get tight and then things started to lock up. So I had to kind of move around a little on the sideline. But I mean, for the most part, just got to find a way to get our playmakers the ball and just go out there. Nothing feels better than a win.”
(WR Tyreek Hill called out CB Eli Apple after Sunday’s game, he says, “I owe you.” For you as a quarterback, when you have an outspoken receiver like that sort of hyping up an individual matchup, what’s your approach to that?) – “It’s fuel to the fire for Tyreek (Hill). He’s a competitor, and he loves those kinds of those kinds of things. But for me, I’m not going to let any of that get into the way that I operate with an offense. If Tyreek is matched up with him and we call it play for Tyreek and it’s one-on-one, I’m giving Tyreek a shot, just know that he is getting the ball.”
(On the topic of Joe Burrow, you guys obviously are always going to be linked with Alabama-LSU and the same draft class. What are your thoughts on the way his career has taken off in two-plus years?) – “I mean, you look at it, his second year, he came off an injury and led his team to the Super Bowl. I mean, that should tell you a lot about his character, that should tell you a lot about his leadership and the belief that the organization has with him. But I have a lot of respect for Joe (Burrow). We’ve talked on multiple occasions, not just when I was at Alabama, but also when we did go down there to Cincinnati and played them last preseason.”
(You guys are ranked Top 5 on [inaudible], late game defense, fourth-quarter defense, fourth-quarter offense. What is it about this team that allows you guys to perform the best when you guys are probably the most exhausted at that point in the game and late in the game?) – “I think it’s standard over feelings for our guys in the locker room. We have a standard here that regardless of how we feel, it’s hot, we’re tired, there’s a standard that we hold each other to. And I think it’s really cool that you could see us win three different games three different ways. The offense only put up one touchdown the first game and the defense scored a touchdown that first game. Then the offense comes back and we score six touchdowns the second game. Now you look at the third game, the defense is on the field for probably 50 minutes of the game and holds a tough, tough Buffalo offense to only 17 points. So I think the resiliency of the team and the guys in the locker room, we all have a standard and that’s what we’ve showed on Sunday.”
(The expectation or plan is for you to play. In the event you can’t, just what’s your confidence in QB Teddy Bridgewater?) – “I have a lot of confidence in Teddy, that if he had to step up right now, he could go out there and play extremely well. I mean, you look at Teddy and Teddy is a vet in the league. He’s played on multiple teams, and he’s found success on the teams that he’s played on.”
Offensive Coordinator Frank Smith
(I wanted to ask you about WR Jaylen Waddle’s competitiveness. We obviously all see the speed and dynamic playmaking ability, but I’m wondering if there was either a specific moment or maybe just in general, a time where you kind of realized like, this dude’s wired a little bit differently?) – “I think that he expressed his competitiveness in the spring, just trying to learn the offense, trying to learn the fundamentals with (Wide Receivers Coach) Wes (Welker) and learn the scheme through the presentation. So I think overall, you could really feel it. And then also, I think it helped in spring and training camp, just the competitiveness of that group. It was an extremely competitive group. Guys made it really hard for our final cuts. I think all of that competitiveness along with just the way Wes coaches, I think – Jaylen (Waddle) alone, but I think the entire group you can feel that competitive resolve to really play their best and just play big at the big moments.”
(With QB Tua Tagovailoa’s status potentially up in the air on this short week, are you preparing at this point for the possibility of starting QB Teddy Bridgewater? And how much does the offense change with either quarterback in?) – “I think with all players, in these short weeks, we’re working all contingencies. But ultimately, our goal is for the players that are going to be available on Thursday to put them in the best situation possible and maximize their skill sets. I think there were questions in the last couple weeks about lineman contingencies and different things we do, it’s something that we always practice as coaches is try to make sure that any contingencies that could potentially happen, we’ve rehearsed it and have a plan so we can execute and actualize them on Thursday.”
(There was a report before Sunday’s game about how as part of the new offensive scheme and the new system that you brought in, you’ve kind of streamlined the protection process. So as opposed to kind of QB Tua Tagovailoa maybe working with OL Connor Williams on that to set the protections and adjust the lines, QB Tua Tagovailoa just reads the defense. I was curious, can you kind of walk us through that process, why you decided to do that and just what it does for the overall functioning of the offense?) – “That’s a great question. I think it ultimately comes back to quarterbacks, and you’re letting them to – you want to have them grasp the fundamentals to play their position. It’s something similar last year that we’ve adopted with Justin (Herbert) in L.A. (Los Angeles Chargers), then I know (Head Coach) Mike (McDaniel) has done before. I wouldn’t say he (Tua Tagovailoa) necessarily is removed from the process. I just think that ultimately, you want the center to have an understanding of what’s going on in the front. The quarterback and him have a communication. We understand the plan, the stresses during the week that we need to be on the same page with. But I think ultimately, linemen block people. Quarterbacks have to work throughout the system. So our goal is to make sure that we maximize each player to focus on their fundamentals, to focus on the necessary things to be able to play the position at a high level. So I think ultimately, them working together is a lot easier than one person just telling the other ones what to do. So I think it’s more of a collaborative process, which is kind of like – overall, that’s kind of the mission of our program here is that as we all came together, we’re having a collaborative process to put the best system of football that we can on the field. I think it starts with Connor and Tua assuring sharing great communication to make sure we’re in pointing the right direction.”
(There’s a lot of different aspects and parts of offense, when you look at deep passing game or short yardage, red zone, whatever. What has pleased you most about this offense to this point from that standpoint?) – “There’s been many aspects, and I think that when you look at our situational football, or you look at our first and second down offense, there’s been some good aspects to it and there’s other things we need to work continually work on. I think, ultimately, this time of year, you want to see signs of improvement. You want to see signs of getting better in certain areas. I think that the one thing that you can really point to recently would be third downs, we’ve done pretty we’ve done well on. We’ve done well in the red zone. We’ve done well on ball security. I mean, there’s areas that we need to continue our focus on, but ultimately, this time of year is just about our improvement from week to week because from Week 1 to Week 3 to Week 6, it’s just a race to improve. I think, ultimately, as we look at some of the areas that we’ve done well in, I mean, there’s other areas that we would like to improve. So I think it’s conversely, that you want to keep continue staying positive in those areas you’ve been positive with and not take a step back. But ultimately, we’re trying to make sure we improve in some of the areas we’ve kind of focused on in the next couple of weeks.”
(As far as rushing average goes, you’re averaging 3.3 per carry, which I’m sure is not where anyone wants it to be. Has it been primarily a blocking issue? Have RB Chase Edmonds and RB Raheem Mostert not found holes that were there in certain instances? What’s been the main culprit for that?) – “I think it’s a – on each individual play, it’s not just one specific thing. I think that it’s a collection of things that obviously as we learn our system and how we move pieces to try and create advantageous situations for our guys, advantageous blocking angles, just learning the reactions and making sure that we understand the speed at which we need to play, understanding where the relative position to defenders will be on that scheme. So I think ultimately, how does the – when we get through Level One to Level Two, like how are we getting on linebackers? How is the receiving corps fitting up their blocks? How is the runner pressed in his track? I think ultimately, we can’t really – because that’s an assessment we did yesterday is when we’re looking at ultimately, like (you guys) said before, ‘Hey, there are certain things that we have done well, but where are areas we can improve?’ Obviously, the run game is something that we feel that we can improve in, because we ultimately feel like we’re close. So we feel like it’s now two weeks in a row where there’s just some runs that you just realized were extremely close to catching the lane or getting the block down. Ultimately, it’s not where we want to be, but it’s an area that we can definitely improve in and we feel that we’re getting very close to being what we want to see overall as far as our efficiency.”
(You started out as a grad assistant at Miami of Ohio. I wanted to know, for you heading back to Cincinnati in this aspect, are you looking forward to the full-circle moment of that?) – “Well, my college friends are, since every time I come within two hours of Ohio, my phone lights up like a Christmas tree. So they are. My family moved out of Cincinnati a couple of years ago. My parents relocated Charlotte, so it’s not really, I would say ‘home’ anymore. I’ve been a nomad for the last give or take 16 years. Yes, it’s cool being close to Miami of Ohio. I’m very fortunate for my time there and the people I’ve met. If we played the game in Oxford, it’d be a super – it’d be a real big deal. But down in Cincinnati, it’s going to be a great opportunity on Thursday. I know I have friends and family that will be there that will really enjoy it.”
(I wanted to ask you about T Greg Little and what specifically has he done in his time in the lineup that you’ve liked?) – “I think it dates back to just overall – like for him, when we got together and just kind of assessing his goals for what he wants to accomplish with his career in the short term and long term – I think so many times players, you have this long-term goal and you forget the daily process to how to get to their goal. Whether it’s being a high-level player, starting, making the team, what’s your process to actualize what you have set forth for yourself? So I think Greg (Little) was one of those guys that really with coming from Carolina, was just kind of trying to find his way. Through our communication as a staff, I know with (Offensive Line Coach) Matt (Applebaum), (Assistant Offensive Line Coach) ‘Lem’ (Lemuel Jeanpierre) and (Offensive Assistant) Mike (Person) in the room, Mike (McDaniel) and I as well, just talking to him, I think we were really able to help him understand, ‘OK here’s where we’re at, and you want to get to here. Here’s how we do it.’ And I think that is the basis of what we’ve been able to see so far is we’re seeing a guy that’s really understanding how he needs to play and understanding his skill set. I think that’s hard for a lineman sometimes. You watch a player, and you think, ‘Oh, I want to be like him,’ but is that comparable? Is it comparable for a big, tall possession wide receiver to watch Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle? You have to find comparison players that you can compare your game to that help you learn through tape study, and then you’re got to have coaches who set up drills for you to allow you to maximize your skill set. So I think ultimately with Greg, it’s been a process that really has been great in many ways that you can see him really working on the fundamentals necessary for him to be successful. Each week, he just continues to get better, which is really a credit to his work ethic and how he’s preparing himself.”
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(You’re about to face Joe Burrow. Just what are your thoughts on him and what you’ve seen out of him in his first few years here in the NFL?) – “A very tough competitor. He’s never really out of a game. He can make all the throws, he can extend plays with his legs, he can extend plays and keep his eyes downfield and make big plays. He does a very good job of having command of the offense, so we’ll have a big challenge for us this week.”
(Just wanted to ask you what LB Trey Flowers has added and do you like having him rushing from inside some? He seems effective with matchups there.) – “Yeah, I think when we signed Trey (Flowers), we knew we were getting a good player and we knew that he would have some multiplicity to his game. He’s kind of worked his way into, I would say game shape, which I think we’re all kind of doing. And it was good to see him out there this past Sunday and we got some production out of him. We’re hoping like all of our guys that we can continue to improve and get better as we move forward.”
(Just your thoughts on coming back on the short week after your defense played so many snaps against Buffalo in a lot of heat and humidity. Specifically, Jevon Holland played 92 snaps. I know a few others got up around 90 and into the 80s at least. Just the key over these three days in between game days?) – “We’re obviously excited for the opportunity to get out there and play again and I think one of the things that has been most impressive with our group of guys is the effort that they give and their mental toughness to handle any situation. I’m sure our guys are excited and I don’t think they blink at any challenge that’s put in front of them.”
(I wanted to ask you how involved you were in the decision to sign LB Melvin Ingram? Did General Manager Chris Grier ask you to look at tape and give your evaluation? What did you see? If so, what did you see from the Kansas City and maybe the Pittsburgh tape that made you think this guy still has something left even on the back end of 30?) – “That really was a group process. Mike (McDaniel) was involved, Chris (Grier) was involved, I was involved. Our assistant coaches, they were involved. I think when you look at him from a year ago, you still saw the explosion, the get off, the strength. And we just thought it was a good fit for what we do and what we ask our guys to do. He sure hasn’t disappointed. I know there’s a little bit of a learning curve when it’s a little bit of a new scheme, but a lot of things that we’ve asked him to do, he’s done in his career before, and he’s a true professional. He cares about the team and he works hard and he works at his craft and I’m glad we have him.”
(In the red zone, it seemed like it was kind of a tale of two halves. The first half, it looks like you guys blitzed a little bit and maybe left a guy open or a little too wide open. And the second half, it just seemed like something flipped, I guess. In the midst of that chess match, what kind of flipped for the defense in the second half, and especially on that last drive to keep the Bills out of the end zone?) – “Again, I think you want to be multiple when you’re going against offenses and a lot of times it comes down to communication and execution. And again, I think it’s a credit to our players to making adjustments and being able to execute, especially like in the second half of games, playing some of our better football there. And really the things that we can work on, like I did say this earlier, that I would say the effort that we play with defensively and the mental toughness of our guys has been outstanding. Some of the things that we can clean up a little bit is just our tackling. We will improve on that. And then the other thing is just with overall communication and when we are given opportunities on defense to make plays or balls are thrown our way, to take advantage of those. I think that will help us. And again, Mike (McDaniel) said it right after Week 1. We hope Week 1 is our worst week. We hope we’re getting better every week. There’s things to build on. There’s a lot of good things going on, but there’s a lot of things that we can improve to become what we want to become.”
(There have been a lot of things to like about this defense so far and I know you just mentioned effort and mental toughness, but what have you liked most about this defense at this point?) – “Those two things, really. It doesn’t matter what the situation is. It doesn’t matter how many snaps a guy’s had, whether it’s two snaps or 80 snaps. You’re going to get pretty much the same effort from all of our guys, all 11 guys that are on the field. And then I think our guys know and understand that if we execute at the level that we desire, good things are going to happen for us defensively and we’ll get the ball back the offense.”
(I know you’ve seen this maturation from S Jevon Holland, but has he exceeded expectations from the standpoint of leadership and being a vocal guy and where he is from where he was a year ago in that department in particular?) – “I think Jevon has done an outstanding job as far as leadership, communication, work ethic, production on the field. And as far as exceeding expectations, I think Jevon has high standards for himself. I think we have high standards for him as a staff and an organization. So I think we all see things on the same page. And I think he’s working to get better week in and week out.”
(One more thing for me, CB Nik Needham had said last week he wasn’t pleased with the way he was playing. He had struggled against Buffalo in the past, obviously he played only three defensive snaps in the second half last year, but instead of dragging his head, he responded with what appeared to be a really good performance on Sunday. How pleasing was that for you to see? And what does it say about Nik? And playing in the slot probably is something he’s obviously comfortable with more so than boundary time, just thoughts and all that with Nik.) – “I think we’re comfortable with Nik wherever he plays whether he plays inside or outside. A lot of it’s matchup based. I think Nik is an ultimate competitor. I think he works extremely hard. I think like a lot of our guys, we’re expecting improvement as we go. I don’t think you’re satisfied with – I don’t think any of us are satisfied with where we’re at. But I do think all of us know and understand where we want to be and where we want to go, and I think we know and understand the things that we need to do to get there. I think we’re all excited about that. We’re not going to hang our hats on one game here, one game there and we’re going to move on to the next one and we’re going to continually try to get better so we’re playing better ball this week than we were last week. And then when we get to December, we’re playing better ball than what we were playing in October, November. I think that’s kind of the goal and the mindset of our group and Nik embodies that.”
(I wanted to ask you, when you plug on the Cincinnati Bengals tape, what impresses you about Joe Burrow?) – “Again, I think it’s just his overall competitiveness. Like when the reads are there, he makes the throws. When the reads aren’t there, he can make things happen and improvise and make the throws. If you open up running lanes, he can take those. I think he has great command of the offense, and I think you can really just see the competitive juices flowing from this guy. I think what he’s done since he’s came into the league, it’s been pretty impressive.”
(I was just wondering what you have seen in terms of opponent adjustments to your blitzes – the times when teams are seeing it and reading it, right. Is there some common thread that you’ve noticed, and how do you adjust to the adjustments?) – “I think there’s multiple variables. People have done a lot of different things to us. Basically, I mean, you almost have 200 snaps of it over the last couple years on tape. I think a lot of people have done a lot of different things. We have different adjustments that we use and I think it’s an evolving chess match as it goes, and you’ve got to prepare for it all. So you’re not quite sure how people are going to approach it, but you have good ideas going in. Sometimes people will copycat what other teams have done, sometimes teams will do what they’ve done in the past. And then sometimes we see new stuff. And that’s just kind of the ebb and flow of probably all coverages, fronts and blitzes in general.”
(As the elevation of the season progresses and the level of competition improves week by week, what are you looking forward in this week’s matchup for your defense against the defending AFC Champions?) – “I think we’re going to need good execution. I think we’re going to need to be a physical team on the field and I think the fundamentals that I talked about earlier, we’re going to have to make sure that we do a good job of tackling, a good job with our coverage at the top of the routes, a good job with our rush. It really is going to come down to fundamentals and techniques and that’s kind of what we’re looking for this week.”
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I’m sure you probably weren’t very pleased with Sunday’s butt punt. But does any part of you get any amusement out of what a lot of other people around the league found to be a comical error? And also, does it help that it did not lead to a loss? That it ended up coming in a win. Do you get any amusement out of that days later? Or is it strictly a critical eye to what went wrong on that play?) – “Absolutely zero amusement and a 100 percent critical mistake that has an opportunity to possibly lose a football game. So yeah, it will never get any smile from me.”
(On that point, we talked to LB Duke Riley and he kind of had a different perspective just in the sense that he thinks it may have helped you out. Obviously you never want to give points to the other team and you want to execute to your highest ability, but he kind of made a counterpoint that because you guys were so backed up, as opposed to maybe getting a shorter punt and leaving Buffalo with a shorter field to get a touchdown, you were able to get the free kick. And we saw what P Thomas Morstead did. Just what’s your perspective on that?) – “I think it comes down to you’re going to defend between 40 and 45 yards of field, whether you’re defending 40 or 45 yards of field or 40 yards of field for them to score a touchdown, which if we get the punt off, that’s probably what you would have. Or you’re defending a very similar yardage for them to kick a field goal. So I think the yardage you’re going to defend would be somewhat similar but again, you don’t ever want – it’s a momentum play also, which you don’t ever want to give up. But to your point, to come back and the fortitude of this football team, like we talked about last week after Baltimore and we’ve seen all year, you get a poor play no matter what phase it is and then you come back and make a big-time play. So that was good to see.”
(I was curious, did DE Emmanuel Ogbah get a piece of the missed field goal for Buffalo? And then the second part is I just want to ask how you’ve been impressed by CB Justin Bethel and what he’s done since coming in here on special teams?) – “No. 1, yeah. Ogbah got a piece of that. So that gets turned into the league and they’ll make the correction on that. A good rush by really the whole club. We got good push and obviously Ogbah with those long arms was able to get a piece of that. And then yeah, Justin Bethel has been the pro that we expect when we claimed him. It’s very nice to have him on our club.”
(Anecdotally, it seems like you guys have been very good at downing punts inside the 15 or inside the 10. I think CB Justin Bethel and CB Keion Crossen come to mind immediately. Can you quantify how tough that play is to execute on the scale of special teams plays? Is that one of the toughest? Or is it kind of middle of the road, if that makes sense?) – “It’s a difficult play. It’s timing. There are a lot of things that go into it based on the rules that those guys have in terms of where and what the returner does, and that ties into where the ball is. You saw a great job by Bethel on Sunday having to play the ball of the bounce. Sometimes it’s trying to play it in the air. There’s a lot of things that go into that, which is why those guys spend a lot of times doing that both in drills and in practice.”
(What exactly went wrong on that punt anyway? Was it P Thomas Morstead taking one extra step forward too much? Or WR Trent Sherfield backing up too far?) – “Any time you’re in those situations, there are a couple of technique things that change for everybody. So when you’re punting from the 1(-yard line) or punting from the 2(-yard line), there are certain techniques that everybody has that have to change. Obviously and unfortunately, we did not get all of those variance of techniques accomplished on that play, which is what led to that negative punt.”
(I assume with the way the point differential was at the time, that you guys never really considered taking an intentional safety, right?) – “No, we didn’t. Not with that score sequence. We did not.”
(Back to CB Justin Bethel, do you believe he’s at that Pro Bowl level? Is he starting to make that incline towards that this year?) – “I think he’s been that type of player over the last couple of years when he was in New England. I think that trajectory and that performance level that he had there has carried over. So for him and for us, we hope that continues and even improves.”
(WR Tyreek Hill was asking postgame the other day about how WR Trent Sherfield took ownership after the punt mistake. What did you see from him when he got back to the sideline and what was your message to him?) – “Well again, like we saw, it’s a move-on moment. There is a great situation where there’s no stoppage of play. They wind the clock again and we’re ready to go. That’s why you have and enjoy veteran players and veteran players that have done what they do for a long time with a high level of success. There’s nothing you can do about it. You have to turn the page and you have to move on. You have to perform on the next play. Don’t let one bad play become multiple bad plays.”
