05:58 Wed 11-04-09
Head Coach Tony Sparano
(On if everyone had full participation in practice today) –"No, everyone was not full. Channing [Crowder] was limited; [Jason] Ferguson was limited."
(On Ted Ginn getting recognized by being named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week) - "It was not to recognize him [Laughing]. I think that, I was excited for him certainly, for his teammates. I am sure that Teddy would tell you that something like that; there is a lot of moving parts to getting something like that done. The other 10 people out there, there were some good blocks, obviously, on those plays. Teddy did a heck of a job and it is good to see him get recognized."
(On if there was ever a time where he underestimated the speed of Ted Ginn) - "No, never underestimated his speed. Always very aware of how fast he runs. The issue, I think, was with getting him familiar enough with the offense so we could see that. In order words, I think early on, way back when in the process a year ago, getting him to learn the offense, run the routes we wanted to, all those things, slowed him down a little bit. Only when he became more familiar did we see the speed. I would say that when we hit training camp last year we seen it and certainly in these OTAs this season he was playing much faster."
(On if Ted Ginn could be the Dolphins version of Devin Hester) - "I don't know. He had two pretty good returns the other day, so we will see."
(On if may remain in the role of a kick returner and stretch the field receiver rather than an every down receiver) - "No, I don't see me keeping him in that role. Anyone of these guys can get out of where they are by being consistent on the practice field, doing what we are asking them. Consistency isn't one day, two days. I need to see it for a while. Doing those things, they can get out of where they are. Kind of like that Monopoly game, that 'get out of jail free' card. You can do that with just practice. The way I see them practice after last week when I kind of threw them all in a group together and kind of start to sort it out a little bit. As that thing starts to sort itself out, that is the way I will divvy the reps up."
(On if Davone Bess is the type of guy that can snap out of recent fumbling problems) - "This thing all of a sudden popped up in the last couple of games. As far as confidence I think Davone is a pretty confident football player. I would hope that he has a short memory, that he can put it behind him, but it isn't so much just putting it behind him. You have to work on some of the fundamentals; you have to be conscious of some of the fundamentals in those situations. When something like that happens, it is a little bit like disease and I think the only way you get it out of your system is you go back and you concentrate on the fundamentals and get things done in practice the right way and then it will carry over."
(On Yeremiah Bell going from working with a veteran squad last year to working with three rookies in the secondary at times this year) - "I think he is handling it fine in that Yeremiah is kind of like the grandfather back there right now. I think he is handling it pretty well. He realizes in this situation there are going to be some bumps in the road and some things that he has to help get organized back there. So he is spending a lot more time studying it, those type of things. But you are right, he went from really a veteran group back there. Will Allen took a lot of that pressure off when it came to corners, but Yeremiah's situation right now, he has to step up into that kind of role, which he has done a pretty nice job of from a communication standpoint right now."
(On defending Wes Welker) - "It is pretty difficult. I don't think you are really going to stop Wes from getting the ball. Some of these protected hitch screens that they throw, things that are behind the line of scrimmage that he gets his hands on the football before you get a chance to get to him. These two or three yard throws that turn into big plays. I think what you can do is you got to be able to limit the yards after contact. Now that is easier said than done. Right now in the guy in the last couple of games has 20 catches and 286 yards after those catches. It is a staggering number, it really is. From our end you have to pay specific attention to a guy like that because he can hurt you in a number of ways. You got to get him on the ground when you have a chance to get him on the ground."
(On where he is with Chris Clemons and his plan for him) - "I think that right now he has a lot on his plate. In the ball game the other day he played, I think, 48 plays. He played 25 special teams reps and 23 defense reps if I am correct. That is a pretty good dose to go from nothing to 48 plays. I think the week before he played 22 plays on special teams and then he goes to 48 plays. I would say you have to watch the progression. You have to watch giving some of those guys too much too fast. I like the way he is coming along right now."
(On when dealing with offseason roster moves, how much consideration does he put into the idea that a given player may be not only joining another team, but also playing against the Dolphins - specifically the Patriots showing interest in Jason Taylor) - "I am not going to lie, that conversation took place. In other words we were aware that was a possibility in that, my end, I am starting to add up, Adalius Thomas, Jason Taylor and some of those guys over there. That is something I think you give consideration to certainly. But at the end of the whole thing it is really how that particular player fits you. You don't just want to take him because somebody else is going to take him. You have to have vision for him and I think that this offseason we clearly had a vision for him and a role defined here."
(On how much transformation he has seen in Randy Starks from playing a 4-3 to playing a 3-4) - "I've been really impressed with what Randy's done right now, I really have. When we first started this thing with Randy, it was really not easy for him. In other words, going from the 4-3 to the 3-4 and getting into some of the two-gap stuff when he's an up the field guy, any of those type of things just wasn't very easy and wasn't natural for him. Kind of like Teddy in that process, he started out a little bit slow until he became familiar with, or more comfortable with what we were doing, particularly fundamentally. So it's a completely different deal fundamentally right now than he was used to. And of course taking him out of the phone booth and putting him into space a little bit more over the tackle is completely different. So his progress has been tremendous. Kacy [Rodgers] has done a great job with him, really has done a super job that way with him, and to Randy's credit, he learned fast. We felt him last year, we felt him in the role that he was in. Played a little bit more nickel last year than anything else, and he was a good pass rusher there too. So we were a little bit afraid of losing the pass rush, and how much he played might affect losing the pass rush, and spent an awful lot of time this offseason talking to him about stamina. Evan [Marcus] and Dave [Puloka] are doing a great job with him that way, and to Randy's credit, getting himself in shape to be able to do those things. He played 60 plays in the game the other day."
(On if a player - specifically the rookie corners - is doing something effectively that is not the way he does it, will he leave them alone and let them do it their way if it is working) - "That's a good question. Yes. I think to a degree, if it's not completely off the page of what it is that we're trying to get taught here. And listen, I don't claim to have all the answers, I don't think Paul [Pasqualoni] claims to have all the answers over there or any of those things. You learn a lot from some of these young player, old players, whatever it is, you can learn from a player's skill set and what he does. You can't kind of be pig headed and closed minded to what makes them go a little bit in those cases. I think at the end of it all, there's a philosophy with this defense and a particular way to do it, so we want to get it as close to that way as we can. If there's a fundamental technique that those guys have been using that's effective for them and we feel like it's not going to cause a problem back there, no problem."
(On how he feels about the chemistry of the offensive line so far) - "I think the chemistry of the line has been very good. I think they're coming along really well. They played a lot more positive football games than negative football games. But the ballgame the other day was a game that just wasn't good enough. We know we need to play better up front. I think those guys to a man would tell you that, pretty sure. That being said, they're coming along pretty nice. There's some things getting done in there, that there's no way some of those things were getting done in training camp. You just had to stay the course, and you just believed that time together would get some of that done, and I think it has."
(On why in the last two games the defense has had different results in the first half than in the second) - "I don't have an answer for you, I really don't. Has been addressed. In other words, our players are very aware that, and I wouldn't call it the last half, I would call it the fourth quarter-ish. In those fourth quarters, we've obviously given up some scores there, and some drives in those situations. We're aware of it, I'm not sure a large part of it doesn't have to do with what's going on on the other side too, the people that you're playing. Those guys start to figure out a little bit as the game goes on about what you're doing, and start to settle themselves in too. But from our end in that area, we know we've got to close out games, we know you have to finish those games better, and the only way you can do that is through practice. We have to finish in practice and carry that over into the game. We made a small positive this week in that the New Orleans game, as a team, we did not finish that ballgame, but this weekend, the defense was out there at the end of the game, that final drive, and we force them into fourth and whatever it was, fourth and thirteen, fourth and fifteen, and made the play. So that's a positive step and a pretty important step in that process."
(On if he has seen a transition in the Patriots defense from last year to this) - "I think the transition to me ... I started to see it a little bit when we played them last year. There's two young players there that I thing are pretty special, players that I think are pretty darn good in [Jerod] Mayo the linebacker, and the safety back there [Brandon] Meriweather, he's a heck of a player, and he's around the football. He's a big energy guy, all over the field, down in the box making plays all over the place out there on the sideline. And then Mayo, we thought a lot of him in the draft when he came out, and I think he's proven to be a really good player, really good player. So to me, that's the transition that's going on. They're always big and physical, they're always a strong team up front in their interiors on both sides of the ball, but really on defense, that's been the case. But the transition to me has been the linebacker and the safety."
(On how much using a four man front changes what they have done in the past) - "Ever since I can remember playing the Patriots, they've been the, I don't want to call it trickery behind their defense, but the deal there is they cause you problems by the looks that they show you. In other words, we have 3-4 people in the game, but we're playing four man fronts, so you have to identify it. You have to be able to identify that all-of-a-sudden, this linebacker standing up is really a defensive end via the front, and block it accordingly. That's completely different, completely different. It screws with all your rules in there as offensive lineman go. It's caused some negative plays by doing that, just guys not identifying it and they get good negative plays that way. The difference now is a little bit, what I see on film right now is that they do bring the fourth lineman into the game, so the fourth defensive lineman is in, and you can identify that just a little bit easier. So that's been the difference to me."
(On if the team is changing anything they do defensively in the second half) - "Yeah, we're not, we're doing the same thing, we're still applying pressure, we're still doing that type of thing, we're not changing our minds as the game goes on, That's something I feel strongly about, Paul [Pasqualoni] feels strongly about, that we do have to continue our pressure there. The result's been what it is, and we have to change it, we have to change it, and the only way that you can change it is you have to identify that there's a problem back there. You can go and wear these big goggles right now and think that you won a football game the other day and now there's no problem. The good news is we won the football game and we did finish the game. But that being said, we identified clearly that that's one of those situations that we need to take care of, along with some of this sudden change defense as well. I think that those type of things, Bess' fumble turns into points, and it turns into seven points. In that situation, we have to make that a field goal. We have to fight our tails off so that's not a seven point deal and I think our guys understand that."
(On how the role of the tight end has changed in the offense from last year) - "It has not changed at all. The difference is a little bit here, I would say to you that David Martin was a guy that you can use in space a little easier maybe, so that's what we did with David. Other than that, like [Joey] Haynos a couple weeks ago, you saw Haynos in space on a ball he caught that he ended up out of bounds with on one of those back shoulder fades. Well, that's the same scenario, that really is. That's no different than the ball that David Martin caught against San Francisco, it's really a similar deal. Coverage dictated how we were going to throw that particular ball there. The role hasn't changed, maybe a little bit about what people have done to us, as I said before, you're just not going to get those tight ends running down the middle of the field easily right now, until people aren't afraid of us running the football I guess. But that being said, Joey Haynos, I see great improvement out of this guy. I think coming out of training camp, I felt that Joey, three or four players that had improved the most, Joey Haynos was one of those guys that had show really good improvement up through training camp from a physical standpoint. Changed his body a little bit, blocking standpoint, and then he's always had good receiving skills."
(On if Randy Starks has assumed any leadership responsibilities vacated by Vonnie Holliday) - "I don't know if Randy's a leader, the leader of the group. Obviously, to me, that's [Jason] Ferguson's job. I do think this: Randy in my mind has become a dependable player. And I think that that's a high compliment in that your starting to figure out 'this is what we're going to get out of this guy.' Kind of staring to learn a little bit more about what I'm going to get out of him at the game each week. That dependability, with that, comes responsibility. In other words, every week, I'm expecting the same guy to show up. Randy knows that, he and I talk about that a little bit, in that I would expect the same guy to show up all the time. So we've had that kind of conversation. I do think responsibility comes with that, and I guess when those things start to happen, sure, leadership starts to take place. You keep making plays like he did in the fourth quarter of that football game the other night, he can be a leader."
QB Chad Henne
(On what he sees out of the Patriots defense) - "I think that with Coach (Bill) Belichick there, he mixes things up. They always keep you on your toes and they don't give you the same coverage back to back. They are always making the quarterback think which is a lot of film study for me; understanding what they are going to bring on first and second down and also third down. I just have to be ready for a lot of changeups and adjust on the go."
(On beating the New York Jets although the offense didn't play well) - "Ted (Ginn) helped us out tremendously. In the third quarter we didn't get a lot of opportunities on offense, but when Ted was in there I definitely felt confident in him running some routes and getting him the ball. I think overall it was a team effort. Defense picked us up on offense and obviously the special teams picked us up. To win on the road in a division game was big for us."
(On if the Patriots defense has a different look this season) - "To be honest, I haven't studied last year's film, but I will tonight. I looked at this year lost. They are crafty; they have some veterans back there and you just have to be aware of where they are going to be. (Brandon) Meriweather is back there. He is one of those guys that is a ball hawk and wants to read the quarterback's eyes. You have to be aware of them and they are going to take some chances and they are going to play solid. They are going to understand the scheme and run it right so you will have to be able to adjust."
(On if Meriweather is becoming a leader in the secondary) - "Yes. He is making the calls on the defense and gets everybody aligned. It seems like he is smart and crafty player."
(On if he has found out a receiver that he looks to bail him out in certain situations) - "It's tough to say. As a quarterback there are different points where you say you can pick on this guy. The way we spread the ball on offense…our tight ends are starting to catch the ball and our running backs are getting the ball and obviously our receivers are out there running routes. For me right now it is more of understanding our scheme and how to attack it on defense and whoever is open will get the ball."
(On if he has a relationship with Tom Brady since they both went to Michigan) - "Yes. I got the opportunity to speak with him when I was a freshman. I think it was right before our Notre Dame and he had some words to just go out and play to your ability and yourself. That is really all I have. I have never met him in person and really haven't gotten a chance to talk to him much. We had the same quarterback coach and learned from the same guy. That is about all the physics we have together."
(On going 4-0 in the division) - "(It) definitely will be a big game for us obviously. It is a division game and to go on road back to back. It was tough this past week, but we know it is going to be even tougher going up to New England. To get another win in the division and also on the road is going to be a big factor for us and getting to .500 again and trying to get started on the right start will help us out tremendously."
(On if one of the things he can do to stop sacks is to not hold onto the ball so long) - "Yes. I evaluated that and studied when I could have gotten rid of the ball. There are sometimes when all there is, is to take a sack to avoid a turnover. There are some situations that were like that; to avoid the turnover. I study that I could have gotten the ball away on a couple of sacks. Sometimes it is a cover sack. The offensive line is doing a good job and nobody is open and sometimes you take a sack or throw the ball away. Sometimes as a young quarterback you have to learn that and I will."
(On fine line between making a play and throwing the ball away) - "It is definitely a split second. The first thing is that you have to make sure you are taking care of the ball and not turning the ball over. The second thing that goes through your mind is there time to get rid of the ball or if I have to take a sack here? There are numerous equations that go on out there, but for me can I avoid the sack and get the ball away? That's what I need to learn right now."
(On taking more chances on offense) - "We are definitely going to take more chances out there. I think in our game plan we have some plays that are developed to go down the field and some that are immediate. Whenever the defense presents itself and we have that play, we need to connect. I'm sure you are relating to (Brian) Hartline and I missed the one down the seam early in the game. I just have to track his speed and adjust to him. I think studying the film and understand what defenses presents themselves; I do have the timing and understanding where the ball need to go."
(On biggest thing to do when playing a Bill Belichick defense) - "It is just all of the changeups that he gives you. He doesn't set in stone; this is going to be the coverage of the week that he gives the quarterback. You get a different coverage every down and that's what I see on film. It's never two coverages that are back to back and are the same, so I have to be aware of what they are going to give me; identify the safety and corner play and know where to go with the ball."