OL Austin Jackson
(What have you seen from T Kendall Lamm since he’s been here in practice? If he has to step in and play against this Chargers d-line, what do you expect to get out of him?) – “We expect a lot of good stuff out of Lamm. He’s very fundamental-based, very focused. He’s definitely someone you want to lean on, being an older guy. He’s very smart, knows his process. And those are things that he’s able to help the whole group collectively.”
(College ball in L.A., a chance to start the season going back. What’s your excitement?) – “Oh, it’s high, super high. I’m super excited for the Trojans. Looking to see what they do this week against – I know what we’re going to do this week against Stanford, but looking to see it and I’m really excited for those boys and that whole program.”
(What about you? Just new season for you going back to familiar territory a little bit. SoFi obviously different then the Coliseum. But just what you’ve been through to now be where you’re at, how’s it like to finally be yourself?) – “Yeah, I was actually really sad. We had two games in California last year and I missed both those games, so it was kind of nice to get it back first week. Excited to go down there and represent the Dolphins the right way especially on the home turf.”
(How much rust has there been in general in terms of not playing a lot of games in the last 18 months because of the ankle last year?) – “I think I’m back to where I was at with the ankle, if not better just with all the rehab and stuff. Took a big mental observation of last season to see where I really needed to be at. I’m really excited. No rust here, just ready to go.”
(How does going up against LB Jaelan Phillips every day benefit you getting ready for the season?) – “It helps a lot. Helps a lot. Training camp was huge for me. Definitely getting to go against a legit rusher who brings it every play and just competing and competing for about a whole month it feels like. Definitely helps a lot.”
(In the past, they switched Chargers DE Joey Bosa back and forth. Are you prepared for everybody?) – “Yeah, I’m definitely prepared for everybody. 52 will go back and forth, 97 will go back and forth, 94 will go back and forth, 45, he’ll go back and forth, but he’s younger, so I’m not sure.”
(How many players names do you know? Because you guys know numbers from scouting. Do you know all their edge rushers, or both of their primary edge rushers?) – “I know their names, I just don’t say it.”
(You learn names too because you’re a fan or?) – “I know names as a fan, but I don’t know coaches and practice, we just talk about people with numbers.”
WR Jaylen Waddle
(You’ve known QB Tua Tagovailoa for maybe the longest of anybody here. How proud of you of him to see what he’s gown through and see where he’s at now in week one?) – “I’m extremely proud. He’s been a great player since I’ve met him. He’s going to continue to be a great player. I’m just proud of him. I’ve seen a lot of growth, especially in his leadership, throughout the year. Seeing him grow in that form has been tremendous.”
(Knowing everything that QB Tua Tagovailoa has been through in the past eight or nine months, how’s it going to feel as a team to see him play in his first meaningful football game in so long?) – “It’s going to be good. He’s ready to go. We’re going to be ready to play for him. We’ve been doing a good job this week especially getting the guys going – the offensive line, running backs, receivers. Getting us all going, so it’s going to be fun.”
(With some excitement at the beginning of the season, is it more so the case where you think you have a team that can compete for that Super Bowl and win that championship with expectations and excitement going into the season or what?) – “Not necessarily. We are just excited to go out there and play meaningful football again. It’s been a long time since we’ve been all out there together competing, going out there to war for one another. Just that aspect.”
(Personal goals for you, do you make them? And if so, what are they?) – “I’ve told y’all, just staying consistent throughout the year. Really just being on my job, doing my job at a high level.”
(Is there anything you’ve learned about QB Tua Tagovailoa over the past eight months that you didn’t know last year at this time, just with everything that he’s gone through and made all of those adjustments and is back adn ready to go? What have you learned about him?) – “Just his mentality. He’s a dawg man. Anybody that’s transformed his body into what y’all see now, learned different skills to help his play, that just shows how much he really wants it and wants to be out there.”
(You’ve mentioned about being bigger and stronger. What’s an area it’s helped you that you’ve noticed in practice and preseason?) – “Just all the bumps. Going through when I make contact with defenders, I feel like I’m much more stable.”
(You remember what the Chargers did last year. What are some of the things you guys can do as receiver to negate what they were trying to do to you guys?) – “I think they had a good gameplan against us last year. They’re going to have a good gameplan again this year. You just go out there and just hone-in on the things we can do. Just do our assignment, do it at a high level, and I think we’re going to be alright.”
(WR Tyreek Hill has said several times he wants to reach 2,000 yards. Do you have any specific goals like that for yourself?) – “Nah, I’m just trying to stay consistent throughout the year. Really just hone-in on the small things.”
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(You told us in the spring that you at one point did think about, did consider giving up this game that you love. Now that the game week has arrived, how do you feel about your decision to continue to continue playing?) – “I feel good. I think all the guys on our team are really excited to be able to get back out on the field. Some guys come from a different team and this is a new system for them. Some guys have been here for some time and the guys are just really excited to go out there and showcase their skills against a really good team.”
(Every season you’ve come in with an expectation, a goal, a plan. Did this offseason, given the way it ended last year, feel any different? How do you enter this Game 1, Week 1 knowing what this offseason was like and trying to get your body and mind ready for this opener?) – “I think the best way is to prepare yourself for all the things that haven’t gone right for you the previous season. And this isn’t just for me. This is for – I know a lot of the guys in our locker room, how they’ve prepared, things that they’ve wanted to work on – that’s basically what my offseason has been like. And like I said, we’re really excited to go out there and play a good team.”
(How much do you still get to be a fan of the NFL? I know you’re in it, but Thursday Night Football comes along, do you and some of the players get together and be like “it’s finally here” just like normal fans?) – “Yeah, it’s exciting to know that football is back. I don’t think the fan in anyone will ever go away. That’s something that we grew up doing whether it was going over to a friend’s house and watching it or guys coming over to your house and then even now in the league, guys are more invested because it’s hard and so when someone does something good it’s like, ‘man, what did they do?’ or ‘how did they do it?’ We’re definitely still fans and very much invested into it.”
(What do you remember about last year’s game against the Chargers? What do you think can be done differently to not allow the same scheme, same game plan to stop this offense?) – “First off, they had a great game plan for us last year. It was tough to get things started in basically the first half and then trying to move on from that into the game, trying to get a rhythm going offensively. But you’ve got to tip your hat to their coaches. Their coaching staff, they’re well-coached. They took a lot of things away that we would normally run and things that we felt comfortable doing so hats off to them, but like I said, I’m really excited. This is going to be a good team.”
(Have you had any communication with Passing Game Coordinator/Secondary Renaldo Hill who was there last year maybe to work out some of the things that they had that worked against you?) – “Yeah, there’s been some conversations talking to Renaldo.”
(How much do you think going up against Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense has maybe prepared you and this offense for what you’re going to see in Week 1?) – “Going against his defense is tough in itself and understanding, asking him a lot of questions, asking their position groups a lot of questions, trying to understand how their defense works together. Like I said, they really communicate out there, to a point where it sounds like they’re overcommunicating which is something that I haven’t really seen, especially using the helmet cam. You’re trying to get the cadence going and sometimes the center can’t hear because of all the noise going on in the background and guys can’t hear it as well. So going against his defense definitely helps in preparation for (Brandon) Staley’s defense. So we’ve got to be ready and we’ve got to understand the problems that they give us on certain plays and just got to keep moving forward with it.”
(How many snaps does it take usually for you to level out at the beginning of the game? Is it different in Week 1 than it might be in Week 10 or do you need that period?) – “I think it’s different for everyone. I think the first game is always a little more jittery than every other game because you’re getting your body back into the mindset, the mind frame of, ‘all right, this is a 60-minute ballgame, I’ve got to be on for the next three hours and I can’t shut off.’ I’ve got to constantly understand my protection issues, where the guys are going to be, things like that. I definitely think once you get the first completion, get a drive started; then you sort of get into the groove.”
(If I could quickly follow up on that, is there anything specific that you want to do yourself or tell yourself considering it’s your first regular season game in so long?) – “There’s some things that I have as far as self-talk throughout the week, but outside of that, you’ve just got to go out there, trust what you see and you just got to go and play.”
(Do you set individual personal goals for yourself prior to a season?) – “Yeah. I think we all do. Everyone in our locker room does as well as outside of what the team goals are.”
(Do you share them with anyone or is that something you keep to yourself?) – “I’m keeping that to myself.”
(What’s one thing you learned about yourself, the game, anything over the last nine months? It’s been a rollercoaster.) – “Yeah, that’s exactly what it is. It’s a rollercoaster. You can never get too high in this league, can never get too low. Every week is a different week. Any given Sunday, whether that team is 0-2 or 0-12, you have to prepare for them the same way you would prepare for a 12-0 team or a 2-0 team. Whether you came off a really good game, don’t expect that coming into the next game. You have to prepare for the next team the same way you prepared for the previous team. Sometimes it’s not always going to be seven touchdowns, 500 yards. Sometimes it will be three interceptions and you have the ball, it’s a two-minute drive and you have to lead your team to score and you throw one touchdown. That ‘W’ is all that matters.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said a few weeks back we were going to see the best possible version of Tua this year. Do you agree?) – “Well, I’d like to say that every year. I think everyone likes to say that you’ll see the best version of them every new season, every new year. But for me, I’m just myself. I’m just being myself when I go out there. Just playing football the way I know how to.”
(How do you feel about your helmet and switching up the helmets?) – “I like it. It feels good. Doesn’t give me any problems, so I’m going to stick with it.”
(One thing I’ve noticed about this team is you’re not afraid to talk about Super Bowls. I’ve covered this team for a while and that’s not just a word that I’m used to hearing. Is that just a mentality, playing in that final game, or why talk about it?) – “Yeah, I mean why not talk about it? Every other team is talking about it, regardless of their record. You have to believe it. If you don’t believe it, that’s where you go wrong. First off, regardless of opinions of people outside, it has to start from within. When it starts from within, you start believing in each other, you start believing in play calls that normally you wouldn’t want called. But when you’re able to believe in them, you trust that guys are going to be in the right spot at the right time, and anything can happen.”
(You spoke very highly of Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Darrell Bevell last year. How has that relationship evolved now in the second year together?) – “It’s been really good. He’s someone who is really detail oriented. He doesn’t let anything slide, when you think, “Oh he won’t catch that”, that’s where you’ve gone wrong. He’s helped us tremendously. There’s a lot of things that I probably shouldn’t share, but he helps us a lot.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel mentioned the eye surgery that Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Darrell Bevell had and the impact of the meeting and showing him laying down. I just wanted your perspective on all that.) – “That just shows you the dedication he has to the game. He always wants to be there for his guys. We thought it was hilarious seeing that he had to be down with one eye covered. I couldn’t stay down like that. It’s hard.”
(You and Justin Herbert are always going to be compared. Obviously, you’re focused on the Chargers defense, but do you ever find yourself thinking about that comparison?) – “No. Justin is a totally different player then me. Justin can throw the deep ball as far as anyone in this league. There’s things that Justin does that I look at and go, “Oh my gosh.” Sometimes you can’t help but fan over those plays. But we’re just different in our styles and who we are as football players. I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for him. It’s him going against our defense, and our offense going against their defense.”
(Mentally and physically, how far are you from the last time we saw you against the Packers?) – “I think I’m far ahead. It hasn’t been a thought ever since it happened. Ever since I’ve been cleared, it’s never been a thought to look back at that.”
(This is your first game week in nine months. Are there things that you’re appreciating or soaking in differently now after everything you’ve gone through, especially the decision you made to come back?) – “I think being appreciative of being able to continue to play is one thing. The thing with that is you can never take it for granted, regardless of the position you’re in. I don’t know how to explain it. Some guys have the luxury of finishing whole seasons, and other guys, as myself, I’ve never had that luxury. I’m definitely cherishing the opportunity to still go out there and lead these guys.”
(Do you write it on your list to play 17 games as one of the things that you’d like to do?) – “Oh, I wouldn’t like to. I’d love to do that. I would love to do that.”
CB Xavien Howard
(How does it feel to be back in an actual game week? Where’s your excitement level?) – “It’s very exciting. I’m going on year eight and am just getting ready for Week 1. I’m excited for everybody to go out there and play ball again.”
(How do you feel about starting up against a team that made the playoffs last year to figure out where you guys are at right off the bat?) – “Definitely. I’m looking up to the challenge. They have some good guys over there and like you said, made it to the playoffs. Just challenge us to see where we’re at.”
(What challenges come with facing a quarterback like Justin Herbert?) – “I feel like he’s one of the business doing it right now. He puts the ball on the money for his guys to make plays. I’m just happy to go against him.”
(What are you trying to do to formulate a plan to slow him down and the weapons that he has?) – “He has a lot of weapons. Nice receivers over there and a running back, so we just have to stick to the gameplan we have and hopefully get the job done.”
(Bigger receivers, too. What’s it like to go against those taller and longer guys?) – “Big body frame guys, like Mike (Williams). Big guy, high-point guy, back shoulder. (Justin) Herbert puts the ball right on the money for those guys, so I’m looking forward for the matchup.”
(What’s the feeling of just knowing the expectations are so realistic for a Super Bowl this year? This is probably the best team that maybe you’ve been a part of on paper?) – “I feel like the expectations are always high. Each year, I feel like everybody has that mentality. It’s Week 1. When you mention a Super Bowl, that’s what everybody feels like is the Super Bowl. At the end of the day, you have to knock one game out at a time and just stick to the gameplan.”
(After everything that QB Tua Tagovailoa went through last year, how great is it for you to see him back on the field for a game in the regular season, ready to go?) – “I feel good. I have a lot of confidence in that guy. Just ready to see him ball.”
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(I know over the history of time, NFL head coaches for whatever reason have often guarded the identity of offensive linemen who are starting, so I’m going to throw out two questions if you wish to answer either one. Who won the left guard competition between OL Liam Eichenberg and T Isaiah Wynn? I know Liam was listed first on the depth chart, in the least. Number two, is T Terron Armstead feeling well enough that you believe he’s likely going to start on Sunday?) – “I can’t speak for other people, but me myself, I am very fond of you and out of no disrespect do I not answer things. However, from a football coach’s perspective, there’s a lot of different ways that you can take information so you just try to prioritize, I know, the team over you. (laughter) Terron Armstead, I mean I would be an absolute fool to discount or really have any sort of feeling considering he did what I’ve only been around like, once or twice in my career – he did literally the entire season – which was not practice and play. So, I have a hard time after all those reps, ruling one way or the other. The great thing about Terron and myself, as well as the rest of coaching staff, is we have great communication amongst what’s the best for the team, patience and making sure that we don’t go out there and take a step back. So that long-winded answer is, to me as a professional coach, I plan when he’s not practicing to play without him. However, I’m not going to go into that crystal ball because I would have been wrong more than I was right last year. Had a good conversation today, had a good conversation yesterday and feel good where he’s at mentally.”
(Along those lines, the day before T Terron Armstead went down, injured his leg, he himself said that he wasn’t ready to play Week 1. Given the fact that it’s been two or three weeks and he may not get a week of practice this week, is it the same situation as last year where he just doesn’t practice and then he can suit up Sunday?) – “There were measures taken this offseason so that we could prevent that from occurring. You can’t control everything, but that was part of the reason we had such a gradual introduction into football for him is to try to avoid that at all costs. That’s not ideal. It’s already hard enough when you’re playing, offensive, defensive line football. That’s where the phrase, it’s a game of inches comes from. When you’re in charge of blocking the best athletes in the game, you can’t have anything in your head. It’s already hard enough to block them the way that Terron is able to do. But to do it without going through the calls, the calls between your teammates, the assignments live speed, it’s pretty remarkable what he was able to do last year. We’re trying to avoid that as best we can. But we’ll always adapt.”
(One of the old rules of football was the offensive line has to practice together. Is that a fallacy?) – “That’s what you try to enter every year, however you have to adjust based upon your current situation. I have been very well versed at how to adjust. So that’s from an ideal standpoint, but you’re also kind of shortchanging Mr. (Chris) Grier and those guys in that, you also want tough decisions. So, it’s a balance. The best scenario is you have the very best player at their position at every position. Apparently, the salary cap frowns on that. It isn’t necessarily a negative to have things drag on longer than you’re used to. I haven’t had really this many capable starters on one line. Usually there’s a huge difference in who you’re trying to get acclimated to the NFL game, and who is acclimated. We took measures to make sure that competition was at its fiercest and the dividends aren’t in the way that you’d totally expect. You’d love a clear-cut answer but at the same time, I think that’s somewhat of a positive as well speaking to, there’s only five available spots. When you have more than five players, as we feel like we do, it can get kind of tricky. But nothing we can’t handle.”
(To circle back for a moment, I don’t think you addressed the left guard portion of the original two-for-one.) – “I thought I addressed it. I just didn’t want any disrespect. Do not take it personal. (laughter) I should in theory be better at my job than spoon-feeding. Regardless, I know one thing. My time spent with Brandon Staley and the coaches that I know over with the Chargers; they’re going to be prepared for everybody. It’s all in jest but if it helps us sleep at night then we’ll do it.”
(I’ll ask you it this way, then how much weight do we put on the official depth chart at this point?) – “How heavy is the paper? (laughter) I mean, man it could be spot on. Or it could be totally abstract. It’s really semantics. The biggest thing is that we need everybody locked into what their role is within this week and the players we’re going against. It took me, what, two games as a head coach in the NFL to realize that everyone that is up better be able to play regardless of the position. Injuries are aplenty and they happen fast and when they do, the box score does not care.”
(WR Tyreek Hill has talked about getting 2,000 yards receiving. As we sit here today, would you say that that would indicate the offense is healthy if he gets it or that the offense is maybe too one-sided?) – “Shoot, I could see both scenarios. The thing about a player such as Tyreek is generally, if you’re getting yards on an opponent with him running around really fast, it generally opens up other players for opportunities for success. You do want to spread the ball around. At the same time, really, if your percentages are still high in how you’re targeting him and the completion percentage is still robust, I think it’s just like a defense. A defense will run a certain coverage or a certain blitz until you can execute against it, and they will continue to do it until you can give them reason not to. I think there’s a little of both there. But great players can get numbers while also spreading the ball around. We’ll just see the opportunities that our guys take advantage of.”
(Obviously it’s a violent sport. What gives you the confidence that QB Tua Tagovailoa is ready to play 17 games this regular season?) – “When you go into a situation and you completely cross all the T’s, dot all the I’s on what you can control, if I worried about stuff that could possibly happen or all the different things that can happen in the game of football, I’d be spending a lot of time worrying about something that probably by statistics didn’t happen. You deal with whatever comes in front of you. I’m very confident because he hasn’t wasted a day in getting ready for the season. That was a huge goal of his. He understands what he means to this football team and I can tell you honestly that he does not take that for granted at all. How much support he has to do what he does, he definitely has given it back this offseason. Actions. He’s really gone after it, so it’s hard not to be confident in that.”
(Looking back at the last time you played the Chargers, and correct me if I’m wrong, but it looked like they played a lot of press coverage, maybe shading inside for inbreaking routes. Figure they may try some of that again this game. What are your thoughts on that tactic as a ploy against your offense?) – “Execute against it. Obviously it wasn’t cool to experience it first-hand, but from a coaches perspective, I told Brandon (Staley) after the game, it was so impressive, it just tells a lot about that team that they didn’t blink and they came out to challenge us and they did. I think that’s a lesson that can never fall to the wayside for any coach or team. It’s all about the group of people coming together and they were prideful, came out with a chip on their shoulder, I would say, and it was cool from a coaching perspective to see a team attack it that way. That will happen nine times out of 10, if people have that competitive edge on you. That’s something that the second you forget in this league, that’s the great thing about the National Football League is that parity is so real. The fact that 80-plus percent of the games come down to turnover differential, it just speaks to how a communal effort by a bunch of individuals, and if you don’t bring it, it will get brought on you.”
(Sticking with Tua, what is your message to him this week as he gets ready for his first regular season game in, I think, nine months? Or is he the kind of guy that you’re not worried about getting too amped up?) – “Human nature would lend me this. You talk about something that hasn’t happened so often, in terms of the next time you play. You’re preparing yourself. You’re answering questions. That in itself makes it a natural, human buildup. I’m conscious of that, not because he’s done anything to indicate that, but because I’m a human being who has ears and eyes. The biggest thing for Tua is literally as boring as the same thing that we’ve been talking through each and every practice when anything goes right or wrong. And it’s like “And?”. It’s worry about the next play. Worry about how we’re getting from the huddle to the line of scrimmage. Worry about your technique and fundamentals and your assignments. You have to hold that independently, because the second you start buying into a bad play or a good play, you’re really wishing the future into existence. It’s hard enough to play in this league, you can’t worry about extra stuff. I just want him to go throughout today and get everything mentally out today and biomechanically. Then approach tomorrow where we get more situational stuff and Friday the same thing. It’s that process that across all sports, anybody that’s been successful over a period of time, has that process to them. You’re only as good as the next play that you have. You shouldn’t stand on entitlement of previous plays if they were good. Or you shouldn’t shame yourself if you didn’t like the result. That mental fortitude, that strong mindedness, is something that not many people have, but Tua is wired that way, which gives him a chance to succeed.”
(How is Quarterbacks/Passing Game Coordinator Darrell Bevell doing? It was reported that he was away from the team with a detached retina.) – “If you want to talk about adversity being an opportunity, a great way to show people how much you care is lay down for a week and the only thing you look at is practice footage endlessly. There’s a lot of things that I haven’t really gone through. I can kind of venture to extrapolate what that would be like. A week? Like this? What was cool was the team moment with that because that little story, which people have their own stuff to worry about, but there’s so many stories like that where people are sacrificing things, going through things to contribute to this team whether its coach or player. It wasn’t lost on the quarterbacks. You should’ve seen them. The first time we talked about it after he got the surgery, you should’ve seen their eyes light up. This practice is all Bev’s got going. He’s going to watch on his iPad for the next 24 hours, so live with that. They ended up, collectively all three of them, had a really good practice that particular day that it occurred. I think that’s a testament to who Bev is and the players on this team and how people are all in with each other.”
(You shared with us in the spring that there was a time where QB Tua Tagovailoa actually considered stepping away from the game. Do you have a sense for, since he made that decision, what this means to him, being able to continue to play the game?) – “I took that as a young athlete. You hear a bunch of noise, and you agree or disagree. The second that he digested that, he didn’t necessarily tell me, but he really didn’t have to either. He was so focused. Football is a crazy sport. It’s a physical sport where things can happen that are out of your control. But I think it speaks how diligently he’s attacked this offseason. There was a time where I was like, “Hey, jiu-jitsu?” And on the field he’s had a couple of opportunities to, without having to say anything, without having to do anything but trust his training. He’s shown everybody really where his mind is at. You have to really attack that. If you push me over right now, I’m not sure I’d be able to withstand it. I’d probably have a separated shoulder or something. It’s like everything else, he’s an unbelievable learner. We all feel very fortunate to be a part of that process.”
