Miami Dolphins training camp day 5 transcripts
By Brian Miller
Yesterday the Miami Dolphins held their fifth practice and are at it again today. Normally we integrate some of the post practice interviews into our articles but a hectic day on Tuesday provided me no time to share some of the responses with you.
Fear not, while a little late I am providing you with the entire Miami Dolphins transcripts from yesterdays release. Joe Philbin, Bill Lazor, Ndamukong Suh provide media and fans some key answers to questions from yesterday’s practice. This is straight from the Dolphins transcripts released Tuesday afternoon verbatim. Enjoy.
JOE PHILBIN
(Opening statement)– “I thought today’s practice, I thought there were a lot of good things. We put in two-minute, which is obviously, we could take a guess as to how the games are going to be decided by what we do at the end of the first half and the end of the game. It’s a really critical situation, that and red zone, are probably two really big ones that we’re going to spend a lot of time on and we’re going to continue to work on a lot through camp.”
(On WR Rishard Matthews getting looks with both WR Kenny Stills and WR DeVante Parker not practicing and what he’s done to impress the coaches) – “He catches the ball with his hands and I think that’s the number one thing – again, I know that sometimes sounds simplistic, but you guys have seen a lot football practices in your day and some guys are body catchers and some guys can really pluck the ball out of the air and I think that’s one of the things that he does best is he catches the ball with his hands. He’s big, he’s physical and he’s strong. What can he do better? Catch the ball that dropped in two-minute today. He’s doing well.”
(On if rookie WR DeVante Parker can make an impact in the first couple of weeks if he doesn’t play in the preseason) – “It’s hard to say. We’re not sure exactly when he’s going to get back there. I don’t know if he’s going to practice, how much he’s going to practice, if he’s going to play in the preseason, so those are all kind of hypotheticals. Like I’ve said many, many times that I would love for every player to be at every single practice, but we just deal with what we have.”
(On how the communication has been along the offensive line) – “I think overall, schematically I think it’s been good, I think we’ve had a little bit too many pre-snap movements, we had a couple again today on the offensive line and we have to clean that up, we’ve got to do a better job. One thing during camp that I’m not real pleased about is the yellow flags have been coming out too much.”
(On if there were too many blitzes and pressures in practice today) – “Some practices we have a period strictly devoted to ‘We’re coming, we’re coming, we’re coming.’ We do that relatively frequently. Again, I thought today wasn’t as sharp as it needs to be. I told the team that. I think, coming off a day off, I thought it would be a little crisper. We take a look at the film and it might be. There was a lot of good things too.”
(On how he plans to manage the many wide receiver weapons that are on the team) – “The number one thing offensively is to score points. Our job is to put the players in a position to be successful and whether that’s, whatever personnel grouping that is, formation, motions, if need be. But it’s all about scoring points, if we’re running the football well and that’s what we’re doing and they can’t stop us, then that’s what we’re going to do. If it’s more advantageous to throw the ball, then that’s what we’re going to do. I think the biggest thing is you have to have guys that are team players and first and foremost want the team to succeed.”
(On if the team seems to have a better mindset than in years past) – “I like the attitude so far, sure.”
(On if offensive coordinator Bill Lazor seems more comfortable entering his second year in that role) – “Yeah, definitely. I think last year was algebra I and II, and we’re into trigonometry now. Bill can sit in a meeting now and he installs the plays and he can ask more questions. He’s getting more feedback from the players and they know the adjustments, ‘Hey, if the corners in cloud, then I do this and if it’s press, I do that.’ Instead of him having to explain everything, I think we’re getting quicker meetings, better meetings and the players are more engaged because we have a lot of carry-over. There’s some new things, but we have a lot of carry-over.”
(On if averaging 25 points a game is the goal for this year) – “Again, 400 points, it’s a decent year at the office I guess if you’re an offensive coach. Now, I would love to score 500 points. I think that’s one barometer of scoring – I did a playoff averages study and I think it’s right about that, 24-25 points a game, if you add that up, that’s about a playoff average offensive output.”
(On the top scoring defenses not being what you would think) – “The game seems to be changing a little bit. It is different. It used to be a, you wouldn’t think that, but that is how it was. I looked at some of the red zone things and some of the teams that really played well in the red zone didn’t get to the playoffs, which is unique too.”
(On what he has seen from LB Jordan Tripp and why he has been getting some snaps with the first team) – “His play speed has been good, I think that’s number one. Number two, his understanding of (the defense) – I think hand-in-hand with that is I think he understands the schemes better, so he’s able to play faster, there’s less hesitation and I think he’s been doing good.”
(On what he’s seen from RB LaMichael James in training camp and throughout the preseason) – “I don’t know specifically today, but the other day when we did a pass rush drill with the linebackers and the running backs, and there’s been a couple of pictures of blitz pickup period, I like the way he’s stepping up. We all know he’s not the biggest guy, but I like his aggressiveness in pass protection. Everybody can see the space ability and the quick feet and the elusiveness. But again, as I’ve said many times, if we’re going to line somebody up in the backfield, in our system, you’ve got to be able to, defensive coaches are studying those jersey numbers, we can’t free release every single time, we’ve got to be able to, if he’s going to play for us, he’s got to be able to sit in there and protect on occasion.”
(On WR Rishard Matthews being with the team since Philbin got to Miami and what type of role he sees him filling) – “I think he’s had a very good camp. As I said earlier, I like the way he catches the football, I really do. I think he catches the ball well and he has confidence, I’ve said that before, he believes in himself, which is a good trait to have as a player. I think he’s tough. The roles are going to be defined as he continues to compete out here with the other guys for playing time. Obviously, he wouldn’t have been here for as long if we didn’t think he had some really good traits.”
(On rotating defensive linemen and if those rules will apply to DT Ndamukong Suh or if he is unique and you want him in nearly every play) – “We’ll see. His play time has been very very high for a defensive linemen. I think it’s been above 80 most of his entire career. We haven’t really gotten to that stage, that far. But certainly he’s shown the ability to be durable and play a lot of snaps in a game.”
Offensive Coordinator Bill Lazor
(On his overall impressions on the offense) — “Well I think its normal camp and that we’re up and down. I think there were some times when I feel like we have had good retention from the spring and played fast, especially with some of the older guys. I think we’ve got some guys who probably got tested a little bit today. We put some two minute situations in the practice. Like always all of sudden you’re under stress, you’re having to do things fast, you get tired and I think that showed a little bit on the perimeter. So it’ll be a good learning experience.”
(On what his comfort level with the offensive line is minus Branden Albert right now) — “Well I’m always gonna feel better with Branden. I mean that’s an easy part of the question. I think we’re improving. I think we’re getting better and I thought, we had a blitz drill today, the music wasn’t on yet. I thought it should have sounded a little bit louder. And part of that’s the line. I think part of that’s the backs stepping up as far as being physical. And that’s what we’re working on. That’s why you practice. That’s why we do blitz drills every single day. That’s what offensive football teams need this time of year to get better and we’re no different. We essentially need it.”
(On if this is a better offensive line if Evan Mathis is on it) — “I don’t think it’s ever right to compare players. I’m excited about the competition we have going as we go forward, it’s always better for the players to stay in the spot they’re in, moving in one spot. I know from the outside, maybe it doesn’t sound like there’s a big deal going right to left, but whatever we have to do to continue to create the competition. And there’s a lot of talk about it before there were pads on, but it was hard to say. Now that we’ve had three days with pads I think it’s heating up. I think we’ve got to do things as coaches, moving guys around at times to create ever more competition. That’s how we’re going to get better and it’s hard for me to focus on anything but the guys I’m watching every day.”
(On if he would lobby to bring in Evan Mathis if the guard situation isn’t where he wanted it) — “Lobbying isn’t my job.”
(On what guards out here have impressed him early) — “Well I think it’s pretty clear that three guys are competing right now at a high level. I think Dallas Thomas is a much improved player from what we saw last year. Again we were talking about staying in one position. That’s one thing Dallas wasn’t able to do last year but I think it showing us he’s in one spot right now. I think he’s playing well. I think Jamil Douglas has impressed as a rookie. I think Billy Turner has come a long, long way from what he was as rookie last year. You talk about a guy who was injured in camp and missed some preseason games and I think that probably set him back. As a football coach you want every protection to be perfect, but when you go up, get a shower, eat lunch and as you watch the film, it’s also kind of fun to watch them. Watch the three of those guys go through and battle for those spots.”
(On what his hopes are for year two in this offense) — “I try really hard to think of each season as different. You spend a lot of time in the spring with the players talking about what happened last year and then comparing that to what it should be in the league. And since we’ve walked in the door, offensively, we haven’t talked to them at all about last year. We didn’t tell them what we were good at or not good at last year because it’s a new year. For particular players, you brought up Ryan (Tannehill), I think you do talk about the growth you’ve had because all of that experience of all these past plays that he’s repeating now for a second year, that’s got to count for something. And to me, it’s hard to step out of the specifics but if you’re just an outsider and you just looked at how he looks as far as his comfort level, his decisiveness at practice, his play speed. He’s just got these plays down. He’s mastering them every day as he goes. So I think for a guy like Ryan (Tannehill) it’s going to keep taking off. Mike Pouncey’s another guy – so decisive making the calls, running the offense and running all the calls for us in the line. And that’s what year two should do. Now the other thing is, and people talk about year two, we got an awful lot of skill players that weren’t here last year – Greg Jennings, Jordan Cameron, Kenny Stills. We got a lot of players – Devante Parker, when he’s back out there. So for them it’s still year one. But we’re gonna go as fast, really as Ryan Tannehill and Mike Pouncey can go. The other guys gotta keep up.”
(On what areas of growth does he hope to see in Ryan Tannehill this year, fourth year as an NFL starter) — “Well we talked about when you get a certain library of play reps in your mind, you know where everyone is so you can play decisively and you can play fast. You saw it happen as the year went on for him and it’s just gonna continue to happen. As far as his techniques, I mean we’re dealing all the whole spring with his accuracy on every throw from short to deep. We’re talking about his pocket movements and all the techniques that a quarterback has to deal with. I don’t think Ryan or his position coaches would tell you there’s any area that we were satisfied with, but I think it all starts with being comfortable and knowing exactly what to do.”
(On where the new guys at skilled positions are at picking up the offense) — “I think they’re right on track. Again we’re going at the pace that Ryan (Tannehill) can go and they’ve got to catch up. These guys that we have here are pros. They walk in the building every day ready to work and ready to work together. It’s really a fun group to work with.”
(On the challenges of having to call plays every 30 seconds and what the pressure is like) — “Once the balls kicked off there’s rarely any pressure. At that point it’s mostly fun. Yeah like anything in life you’ve got to be prepared. You have to have a great plan and hopefully you’ve got all those little contingencies that you don’t think are going to come up that might. And there’s no doubt about it, there’s also, I don’t know how else to describe it, but a feel for the game on the sideline. So as you get a feel, sometimes that feels is what gets you to a call that you couldn’t explain why you did it. Sometimes it doesn’t work.”
(On if he’s mentally exhausted at the end of a game) — “I wouldn’t say exhausted, but I’m tired.”
(On if anyone is stepping up for the number two running back job) — “That might be more fun than the guard job to watch, to be honest. And it’s almost impossible with no pads on to evaluate them. It’s more now, but I can’t wait for the preseason games to let that happen. They are all competing. There’s not one guy who’s out of it. And it might be the most fun job to watch.”
(On how comfortable RB Lamar Miller is right now) — “One thing about Lamar, when I first got here, the guy rarely talked to me. I don’t know how he is with all of you, but he communicates so much better with me now. I don’t know, maybe I used to make him nervous. I’ve heard rumors that guys were intimidated by me. Lamar’s doing great. He knows what he’s doing. He knows what issues we asked him to deal with from last and we’ve seen those things get better. The guy all year got more and more decisive in the way he ran the football. He played fast from the backfield. I expect nothing but it to keep going and I enjoy having conversations with him every once in a while now.”
(On what RB Lamar Miller has shown him as far as his ability to run between the tackles) — “Well, from the very beginning last year, we talked about short yardage situations and from I can think of the first drive of the year in the Patriots game, we got the ball in the red zone early and he put his shoulder down and we had a really tough front on a third-and-one or third-and-two and he just pushed that thing in there and got the first down. I thought he played with that mindset all year. So to me those third-and-one situations, he understood it. He knew that it was a challenge and rose to the occasion. The biggest thing to me for a running back is you’ve got to play decisive. We can’t stutter our feet in the backfield. And part of it is knowing who am I reading. It’s going to happen lightning fast, right. Some guys just run to daylight all the time but you’re going to get to the right spot more often if you at least know where to start. I thought he’s done a great job of becoming a student of the game from the backfield and I really feel like when you watch the cut ups it shows in how he played.”
(On his comfort level this year with what guys can do in his second season) — “There’s no doubt that it takes time. Sometimes, it takes one game, sometimes it takes half a season to get to know players. I think it starts with getting to know the quarterback and then next probably the running back. What do they do well? It’s different in that we’ve had a whole history of running some of these plays and concepts and situations that we can fall back on and talk about and we were in them together, so I think it helps. I think I know our line better and hopefully we’ll continue to learn them. As a play caller, it’s a lot easier to know where to go next when you have confidence in them. Where going to keep pushing, especially out here in practice. I mean we’ve got to push towards some concepts maybe that we don’t have confidence in yet because that’s the only way you grow. But when game one comes, I think I’ll know what I’m confident in.”
(On if the playbook has changed based on what his views are) — “It has changed. I can’t give you the percentage, but if you don’t grow, I think you end up dying on offense at some point. So Coach (Joe) Gibbs used to talk about it. He’d say, I can’t remember the term, but he had a picture of dinosaur. He talked about a picture of a dinosaur – adapt or die. A certain percentage of your offense every year has to change. Some of it is look at what we did and say, ‘Gosh, we really like this. We tried eight times and it just didn’t work.’ Maybe that doesn’t fit and you shelve that. You say, ‘Look, we’re really good at this. We need to develop complements to that when people try to start taking it away.’ So there’s a constant adaptation. We studied some of the teams in the league that are the best statistically at what they do and then you really try, you take the emotion of a weekly game plan out of it, you look at it and you really evaluate what do our players do best. And then I think being out here with Greg Jennings and Kenny Stills and Jordan Cameron, over time being with those guys, we’ll have to answer those same questions – what do they do best.”
(On if there might not be enough footballs for all of the receivers) — “I’ve never thought that was a problem in my life.”
(On how he handles as a coach if some guys don’t get as much work as they thought they might) — “Well, one thing that’s for sure is there are going to be a lot more plays in the game when a receiver doesn’t get the ball than he gets it, even when he’s happy. So he’s got work for his buddies on those plays. I think we try to spend a lot of time in the meeting room together explaining the plays, watching the video. So that they understand that this is why I got it. Sometimes I don’t get it, but if I play fast and they jump me, the guy behind me gets it. What we’ve got to do is get the ball to the guys that can help us win as quickly as possible, as many times as possible and if we feel like there’s not enough balls to go around, we’ll see if we can schedule more games. I think we have to check with the players association, that’s what I’ve heard. (joking)”
(On if it ever enters into consideration that we need to keep the receivers happy and feed them more as a coach) — “It really starts with what do we need to do to win the game and matchups. I think in this league, especially when you get to passing situations, matchups are so critical. It really starts with that. There are times when after a week or two we might say this guy really hasn’t touched the ball a lot, but we think we’re a better team when he does get it some. And I think you’ve got to find a way to make sure he gets it. It’s got to start with what helps the team win.” (On if there is some personal consideration) – “We’re all adults. We understand what we’ve got to do what it takes to win first.”
(On how loaded the group is when everyone is healthy) — “Well, we’ll find out, right. Let’s get them all healthy.”
Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh
(On if these are the dog days of summer) – “It’s a lot different than OTAs and mini camp, for sure. It’s a different type of heat, but I think back in my childhood when I used to go visit my sister in Mississippi – those hot southern days. You get through these, you’ll be fine in December and January, and February hopefully.”
(On what he sees in the guys around him when it’s this hot) – “Just grinding and pushing through it. You always encourage each other. At the end of the day, it’s setting the tempo and understanding as a defensive line that everything is our get off. As long as we’re getting off on the ball, everything will fall in place.”
(On it appearing that the defensive line is getting the better of the offensive line) – “I think at the end of the day we want to concentrate on what we have to get done as a unit, and that’s creating a mesh between all four of us up front and then everybody else that rotates in because we don’t really see first-team, second-team, we see a group of eight guys, eight-nine guys that are going to come out there and compete every single day for a spot. And then obviously we want to create that comradery so we can go out there as a unit and dominate whatever offensive line it is, whether it’s our own offensive line, whether that’s an opposing offensive line and we’re in a real game. At the end of the day, we always want impose our will on the offensive line and create havoc, make it tough for them. They’re going to push us, we’re going to push them, and go from there.”
(On how the offensive line has looked) – “I haven’t really sat back and identified or justified anybody saying they’re horrible. Obviously, we’ve got a great Pro Bowl center in (Mike) Pouncey. The guards are playing well. I think the tackles are doing their job as well. At the end of the day, we’re going out there evaluating ourselves and then going from there.”
(On his relationship with DT Jordan Phillips) – “I guess he told you he came out and worked out with me, which was true. At the end of the day, I just wanted to build a relationship with him. I mean you’re only as strong as your weakest link, not saying he’s out weakest link, but he’s our youngest guy, most inexperienced. So we want to push him along and get him into the pace of where all of the other vets are and all of the other guys because he’s going to be expected to play. I expect for him at some point in time throughout the year, whether it’s the first game or the last game of the year or into the playoffs hopefully – that’s he contributing in his own particular way. The quicker I can push his process along like Kyle Vanden Bosch did for me, Corey Williams did for me, all of those guys in Detroit and all of those other veterans like Larry Fitzgerald, Amobi Okoye, just talking to me, texting to me, telling me what I should expect and what should I focus on. That’s where I feel that it’s my duty to do that for a younger guy.”
(On how it came about with him and DT Jordan Phillips working out together) – “I just offered to him, put it on the table. Like I said, I wanted to get to know him. It was a good opportunity where we’re away from campus, we’re away from the facility, you could just truly see who somebody is and kind of go from there.”
(On what he found out about DT Jordan Phillips after working out with him) – “He’s a good kid. Obviously, he’s quiet, very similar to me. I think at the end of the day he wants to become a very great player. I think in my opinion he just has to learn how to do that, but he’s got all of the talent to do it.”
(On DE Terrence Fede and how impressive he has been) – “Once I came in and saw Fede, didn’t know much about him, but as I’ve seen him and saw some of the old tape on him, he’s definitely a young guy last year that’s made great progression coming into his sophomore year. I think at the end of the day he’ll have a place on this team to add some value on our D-line and kind of go from there.”
(On the traits he’s seen in the team’s guards) – “Billy (Turner) and Dallas (Thomas) have obviously, they’ve been playing, they are young guys, they understand what they need to get done there. They’re athletic, they can move, they challenge me as I hope I challenge them every single day in practice. At the end of the day, like I said, we want to push each other on both sides of the ball. I want to dominate Dallas, I want to dominate Billy at the end of the day. That’s my job. That’s what I was brought here for and that’s my goal. Hopefully, I can get them better and they can make me better by pushing me as well, just like I expect (Mike) Pouncey to do the same thing.”
(On if the team’s guards are starting caliber NFL guards) – “That’s not my decision to make. I’m sorry I can’t answer that.”
(On how much he looks forward to getting a scrimmage in and getting a game in) – “It’s always exciting. You look forward to those games, but, at the end of the day, for me, this is a very important time. This is the only time that I get a chance to work on my individual talent, my craft, what allows me to go out there and dominate. So my hands, my feet, all of my different footwork, hand placement, that’s what I’m focusing on right now. Those games will be there without question and I’m looking forward to them, but right now I’ve got to be single-minded and focused on all of my individual and all of my fundamentals to become a pro.”