Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Eric Studesville
(You’ve been part of some pretty successful running games going back through your career in Denver and also here in 2016 – the RB Jay Ajayi years. What does it take to have one of those forceful rushing attacks?) – “It takes the whole group. It’s not just – there’s one person that gets credit for it a lot of times with the yardage but it’s everybody. It’s the offensive line, it’s the tight ends, it’s the wide receivers blocking force, it’s the quarterbacks making great decisions a lot of times getting us in and out of the right looks and the right plays. It takes everybody on the field for a successful running game.”
(Do you feel like you have the talent and the personnel to get something sustainable where you can average over 100 yards per game?) – “I think the stats are always a nice thing to have but at the end of the day, we are tying to win and if that means that we have to run it and have one of those kind of running days, then we want to do that. But if we need to pass protect to win the game and that sacrifices some of the run possibilities, then that’s what is most important to us. What do we have to do to win the game? We’d love to certainly have a run game that we set a precedent that we are going to run the ball and that we can run it effectively. But at the end of the day, we want to do whatever we have to do to win the game.”
(I wanted to ask about WR Jaylen Waddle and the overall thoughts of the passing game. He had 12 catches for 58 yards. What do you attribute to not seeing so much success downfield? Do you think he needs more diversity in the route running? Just as a whole, what do you see from the passing game and why haven’t you been able to connect on some of those deep plays?) – “We are talking a lot about that, trying to find explosive plays and ways to get explosive plays. Not just to Jaylen but to other people on the team also, whether we are talking about Will Fuller or Mike (Gesicki). We did take some shots at the end of that game the other day in Las Vegas. We’re always trying to find explosive plays. We’re constantly talking about it, we’re trying to put them in, we are trying to get them, but we are limited at times because of what the defense gives us. We have to call them at the right time and we have to be prepared and we have to dial those up when we think we have the best chance to execute those.”
(I know after the game, QB Jacoby Brissett said that the Raiders and Defensive Coordinator Gus Bradley will play a lot of Cover 3 so you are going to get a lot more guys in coverage. Were you pleased, generally, with the way Jacoby handled the looks that he was getting and would you describe it as that give and take of taking what the defense gives you but also trying to force their hand?) – “I think that’s a concept that we go to every week. We game plan and try to come up with things that we think are going to give us the best chance to be successful. We are watching the defense and we are trying to make sure that what we planned for is what we are getting so now we can use our things. We always have to be ready to adjust too because they can do something different, so there is a give and take at all times in every game in different situations, what’s going on and what they feel like our strengths are that they are going to try to take away and what we feel like we want to do to attack their defense. There’s always a give and take in everything that you do and we have to just make sure that we are communicating and that we have things going on in there that give us the chance to adjust and then to execute when we do call our plays.”
(The play call in the end zone that resulted in a safety – could you educate us on how something like that is decided upon? And QB Jacoby Brissett shouldered the blame postgame. Should he have gone elsewhere with the same play call and route patterns?) – “I think what happens is when you’re in the heat of a game, you’re calling plays and that position, especially Jacoby (Brissett), he made a decision. I read what he said about it and I think that’s what happens. He made a decision and right, wrong – if we all went back would we do different things? Probably we would do something different or we could do something different. But we didn’t. That’s what we did in that play so we have to learn and grow from that experience of what happened on that particular play. That’s what happened on that play and that’s what happened.”
(Just to follow up to make sure we’re clear. Did QB Jacoby Brissett make that play call? Or did that come from the coaching staff?) – “No, we called that play into him. That wasn’t an audible or anything of that nature, no.”
(And just to close the loop on that one particular play – was WR Jaylen Waddle in fact an eligible target on that play or was he supposed to just be a decoy that does not get the ball?) – “No, that was an empty formation and we had five eligible receivers in that particular formation.”
(There’s been a lot of talk about taking what the defense gives. What is your opinion on taking what the defense gives versus trying to take what you want?) – “There’s a whole process in there. When we game plan and we put things together that we want to call in the game, we are calling those things based on what we’ve studied and looked at as what we anticipate the defense giving us a certain look for. What we are calling is what we think would be best against those looks. We have to have adjustments and we have to have rules because if they don’t give us the specific look that we want, then we have to have rules and adjustments to be able to execute a play that we call. We can’t just call timeout all the time because they don’t line up exactly how we want. We’re planning our plays to what we think we can do best against a defense. I think to answer the question, what I’m saying is we want to dictate what we think is best for us against what the defense has shown us to do.”
(It seems like you guys have a lot of success when you are up against the clock and area little more urgent on offense. What do you see differently that makes you successful in those situations on offense when you have to go a little bit up-tempo and fight against the clock as well?) – “That may be what is happening in the game but we want to have urgency at all times. We want to be productive, not just at the beginning or at the end of the game. We want to be productive the entire game. We want to have tempo, we want to have urgency the entire game. We are working for that. We have got to get better at it. Obviously that’s something for us to work on going forward. We are talking about that. But we want to have urgency the entire game for 60 minutes. We don’t want to let down and then ramp it up at the end. We don’t want to do that. We want to be consistent throughout and that’s something that we can work on and get better on.”
(I wanted to ask about T Austin Jackson. He had a few moments where he showed some good aggressiveness in the run game but there were still some tough moments in pass protection. What is the coaching staff stressing to Austin right now?) – “To keep working and to continue to buy into what we are doing and our coaching and what we are talking about. He’s a competitive young man, it’s important to him and we feel like he played better. But we are still continually working and he’s going to continue to work and we are going to continue to work with him to get better and improve so that we do get the level of play that not only he expects from himself but that we want from him also.”
(With regards to passing, opening it up and trying to take shots downfield, how much was WR Will Fuller’s first game kind of a feel-it-out game for him early and how much can you add on his plate as he becomes more comfortable in the offense?) – “First of all, I think it was good to have him out there and see him make some plays. We threw the ball to him, tried to take some shots to him. He made a great catch on a two-point play, the route that he had there. It’s just good to have him out there and get him into the offense. The more that he’s in the offense, the more things we will try to do as he gets more and more comfortable with it. We are just going to keep working on that but as long as he’s able to be out there, we are glad to have him out there and we are going to find things to try and do with him.”
(Obviously we have history with RB Myles Gaskin and RB Salvon Ahmed. We know what they bring to the table but RB Malcolm Brown has been a guy that is contributing more than most of us expected. He started last week. What went into that decision not only to start him but to give him an equal share of this backfield?) – “I think Malcolm has done a great job since he’s been here. He’s a very focused, serious and mature-type person – intensely competitive. What we’ve seen is that his preparation and how he does everything, we wanted to create a little bit more of a role for him rather than a couple plays here and there. We wanted to change that up and see what it looked like. We feel like he had some production for us. We will continually evaluate that each week like we do. It’s what we think gives us the best chance to run the ball as well as with protection and things. He did a nice job this past week. He played more than he has but I thought he did a really nice job.”
Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer
(LB Jaelan Phillips, he started, he got more playing time. What did he show last week in order to get that start and extra snaps, and if you can assess how he did?) – “I think it’s like all of our guys. Week to week, we go into the game plan and obviously we’re going to have probably a different line up in guys based on their week of practice, their improvement over time and what they do with their opportunities with their snaps, we’ll increase their snaps or if the gameplan presents it. Jaelan has been doing a good job of coming in the building, working hard on the things he needs to improve. Some of the things he’s doing well, we’re expounding upon that. That’s a result a little bit of gameplan and a little bit of Jaelen’s work that you’re seeing a little bit more opportunities there. And then obviously with all of our players, when they get more opportunities, if they make the most of them, those usually continue.”
(Last year you guys were the top-ranked defense on third down conversions, not letting drives continue. But as of now ,your team is worst in the league giving up the most third-down conversions. When you look at the film, what would you assess is the biggest point and what’s changed in why you’re allowing so many conversions?) – “I think we can coach it better. I think we can execute better. Obviously when you give up third downs, you extend drives, you extend plays. You give them more opportunities. We need to do a better job in that and that starts with me, making sure we coach it better, put them in a better opportunity to succeed and then when we have opportunities, make sure we go out there and execute.”
(Last summer when Bill Arnsparger passed and won his lifetime achievement award, we talked to you a bit about the football historian in you and how much you really respected what he did here in Miami. With Coach Shula’s celebration of life coming up on Saturday, I was curious asking the football historian in yourself, just your memories of Coach Shula and if you can recall studying what he did as a coach and reading books? I just wanted to hear your thoughts on Coach Shula.) – “It’s kind of interesting, my introduction to Coach Shula. It really started with my sister, who is two years younger with me. She shares the same birthday as Coach Shula, who was born on January 4th, 1930. My sister was obviously born a little bit later – January 4th, 1979. She actually grew up a Dolphins fan because she shared the same birthday as Don Shula. When we were kids, you guys have heard me talk before about my father – he’s a high school football and baseball coach and he’s been coaching football for over 40 years. I had a Ken Anderson poster on my door and my sister had a Bob Griese poster on her door. It just so happened, growing up in Ohio, Don Shula was an Ohio guy – went to Harvey High School in Painesville, which is just a suburb of Cleveland. He went to John Carroll University, which was in the same conference as Muskingum College, where I went to school. Every time we’d travel to John Carroll, you’d see the Don Shula athletic facility there at John Carroll. I think the historian part of me really loves Coach Shula’s story. Obviously, he was drafted in the ninth round by the Cleveland Browns. He played halfback at John Carroll and then Paul Brown ended up moving him to defensive back. Then obviously Coach Shula had a defensive background from there on out. But when you look at Paul Brown’s legacy and the number of people he’s had a hand on, obviously Chuck Noll was there too, which Coach Shula coached with Chuck Noll as well. Those are two Hall of Fame coaches. And interestingly, Coach Shula was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. That’s the same year my sister graduated. There were a little bit of characteristics there. I would just say that Coach Shula’s ability to maintain winning seasons – I believe in his coaching career he only had two losing seasons. I know he was very successful with the Colts. He was very successful here in Miami and then obviously he really spent, even when he was done coaching, he spent about 50 years in the Miami organization. I think it’s awesome that they will celebrate his life and his legacy to pro football, his legacy to the Miami Dolphins, and honestly there’s not enough good things you can say about him. It’s just kind of an interesting fact that my introduction with him basically started with my sister having the same birthday.”
(CB Noah Igbinoghene was active for the first time this past game. Obviously he didn’t play any defensive snaps. What have you seen from him in practice, I guess? What is the plan for him? Obviously he’s a former first round pick and has had ups and downs. Is there kind of a plan for him? Do you want to see him on the outside, on the boundary, in the slot?) – “The plan is pretty much universal for all of our guys. They get reps and opportunities at practice, you make the most of those opportunities and obviously when things go into game planning, we try to put guys in the position not succeed. Obviously I need to do a better job with that. Then when those guys get opportunities in game situations, hopefully they make the most of them. Then you re-assess from week to week. The idea is to give opportunities and to progress on a daily basis.”
(I know you go into every week determining the allocation of playing time based on whose practicing well, based on matchups and all sorts of factors you’ve talked about. One big difference from a year ago, speaking of the secondary specifically, last year you had two safeties that played either every snap or most snaps with S Bobby McCain and S Eric Rowe. You decided by Week 4 that CB Nik Needham was your primary nickel. He played all the snaps after experimenting early in the season. Your sharing snaps at safety amongst multiple players. You’re sharing nickel snaps with CB Justin Coleman and Needham. I would imagine in your view, tell me if I’m wrong, they are all compatible talents who can give you different things. My question would be, have you given serious thoughts on just settling on two guys at safety … be your primary players at those spots. Could that be helpful or do you need to see week to week more this rotation of six players at those spots?) – “I think there are a lot of variables that go into that. I do think that when you have multiple players that you feel comfortable with, it gives you a little more flexibility on certain things you can do to try to highlight their talents with what we’re trying to do schematically. At the end of the day, what guys are doing with those opportunities, you go back and see if one, we’re putting them in the best positions to succeed. And two, are they making the most of the opportunities. As the season goes on, guys that are doing better with their opportunities, you will probably see them more. Then guys that are a little erratic with those, you’ll see them less. That’s just kind of how it goes. Having the opportunity to have multiple guys that you feel confident in I think gives you more flexibility schematically.”
(We saw some interesting matchups with CB Byron Jones on TE Darren Waller a lot and even one time when CB Xavien Howard was on WR Hunter Renfrow in the slot. In terms of kind of coming to those decisions, obviously you have a week of game planning but how much of that is in the heat of the moment during the game, you deciding to go with different matchups? And how much of the require other guys to be mindful and be ready to play different positions as well, and switching that up in the middle of the game?) – “I think you set a game plan and guys are well aware that their matchups can change or shift within the gameplan. Once you go to the game, they may know this might be a certain matchup here, this might be a certain matchup here. When you get to the game, that could change too based on how we are doing, what they are doing. I think it’s really a credit to our guys and we try to put them in the position in practice, so when we get to games, it’s not a surprise or something foreign to them. We always set a game plan going in, we set contingencies going in and as usual, when you get into the game, those things can change too as well.”
(We’ve seen DE Emmanuel Ogbah get a lot of pressures consistently this year. We saw DT Christian Wilkins with a sack. Do you think you need more pressures and sacks from your edge guys beyond Ogbah? In terms of LB Jaelan Phillips and LB Andrew Van Ginkel, has there been enough? Does there need to be more? Even DT Adam Butler has a history of being a good pass rusher.) – “I think each week we go into it trying to put those guys in positions where they can affect the quarterback. Sometimes, it’s not just the sacks, it’s the pressure in the quarterback’s face. I think you’re always trying to do that from a week-to-week basis. It’s very similar to what you’re talking about with the DBs. You try to put those guys on good matchups and ultimately what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to affect the quarterback, we’re trying to affect the offensive line. A lot of that starts with me. I can do a better job of putting these guys in better spots. We’re constantly evaluating that and obviously we need to be better in third-down situations. We need to be better on all situations. I think that’s what we’re striving to do. Unfortunately I talk to you guys on Tuesdays and by that time, the last game to me is a distant memory and we’re all on the upcoming opponent. But I think the idea is the same. We’re trying to put the guys in the best spots here. Obviously we want to get as must pressure as we possibly can. Whether it’s moving guys around or bringing pressure, that’s a week-to-week decision.”
(There has been an onus on coaches doing a better job so that the execution can improve. You mentioned third downs but where do you feel like this team is in regards to stopping the run?) – “I think at times we do it very well. And at times, it’s a little bit of – whether it’s schematically the call, myself trying to make a play or schematically it’s a player trying to make a play and gets out of a gap and not trusting – or just trying to make a play. Usually in general when you do that, we just need 11 guys doing their job and when that happens, our results are pretty good. I think that’s a process of us coaching it better, playing it better and everybody being on the same page and just doing their responsibility. Then consistently, it will be what it needs to be. It’s been good in spurts and it’s been bad a handful of times. All of those come down to guys trying to make plays or we’re trying to make plays with the call. The results haven’t been what we wanted. We’re really just striving for consistency in that phase.”
(You guys had so much success with guys buying in last year in terms of playing team ball and you clearly saw the benefits of it. I know this is a new team with new personnel, but you’ve got so much carryover. How do they not buy in?) – ‘I don’t think it’s a matter of them not buying in. I think their intentions are good. I think it’s just a matter of us – again, to your first question, really coaching the fundamentals, coaching the techniques and getting the guys to do it on a more consistent basis. I think when everybody understands that and does that, the results will be better. I don’t think guys are not buying in or they are not trying to do what we’re asking them to do. It’s they are trying to do more. That’s – sometimes when you try to do more, it yields less results. We got a great group of guys. They work hard. They do what we ask them to do. We’ve just got to get it coached consistently better.”
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(We saw a moment in the Raiders game when it looked like the Raiders were downing the ball at the 1-yard line and CB Byron Jones grabbed the player. It looked like maybe he was trying to bring him into the endzone for a touchback. What were you seeing from that play and did you get any explanation from Byron on what he was trying to do there?) – “That’s exactly what he was trying to do. He was trying to get the player and the ball into the end zone to get the touchback. If that player is not working towards that, you can’t help him get in the end zone like that. That’s why the penalty was called. It was a good call.”
(Is that something that is a teaching point? Did CB Byron Jones know that they weren’t going to call that?) – “Yes, it’s a teaching point. It’s something that you try and do but there is a line of when that player is no longer working his momentum in certain directions that you cannot force them in certain directions.”
(Yourself, Head Coach Brian Flores and the entire staff basically have praised the way K Jason Sanders has goes about his craft. Last year he didn’t really have many misses to experience this so I was curious, when he comes off the field after a miss like he had on Sunday, what is his mindset to get himself back to where he was last year making every single kick?) – “I think any time you miss, you just take yourself back through the process. Most importantly, it was a good ball. He struck the ball well. Obviously he hit the upright and it didn’t work out in our favor. As long as you are striking the ball well, I don’t think that’s something when you consistently put in good work during the week, in pregame and you’re not having any issues, you don’t delve too far into it. You just get ready for the next opportunity.”
(How would you assess P Michael Palardy any the punting game?) – “I think any time you look at it, it’s not just numbers. A lot of our opportunities in this past game were in that plus territory. People want to look at numbers and talk about numbers. My big thing there is what’s the drive start after we get done? If we are downing them inside the five or inside the 10, I think in those situations those balls are good balls. We ended up with three inside the 20. We want more than that and I think there are some possibilities of getting more than that. Like any other phase that we are working through right now, and every other player, there’s things that we can do better and we are going to keep striving to get better.”
(I wondered if you ever say anything to K Jason Sanders before he kicks with as much pressure as he had on Sunday in overtime, or do you just leave him alone and go through his routine?) – “Usually not right before kicks. The talking we do is separate from when it’s an inevitable opportunity, for lack of a better analogy. When it’s going to come and present itself, by that point he’s in his mind getting his focus, taking himself through his progressions that he would go on before he gets on to the field and that’s not a time where I ever want to get in that space.”
(After his rare misses like the one earlier on Sunday, do you talk to him immediately after or do you save that for during the week?) – “No, we talk about it after of what he felt. Obviously, the visual, you’re not getting visuals on game day. But a lot of it is how he felt, whether it be how it was off his foot, where his plant foot was or how he felt about his operation. There’s a lot of things to be gained that way. When you do something as often and as well as a lot of these guys do in their profession and their specific position, they get a great feel on the muscle memory of what it should feel like. There’s always the ability to have some discissions about something.”
(I wanted to ask you about WR Jaylen Waddle. I know he had the muffed punt experience a game ago previously. When you have those kind of moments, how to you get a player to get that stuff out of their brain to cleanse it?) – “I think a lot of it is individual. A lot of the guys at this level, a lot of the reason they are at this level is because they are very quick to push those negative things out of their mind and move forward for the next opportunity. Jaylen is one of those players. He’ll get plenty more opportunities and we expect big things from him when he is out there.”
