Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, linebacker Jaelan Phillips and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah all met with the media today as the team held a joint practice with Philadelphia. Check out the top quotes from their media availabilities.
QB TUA TAGOVAILOA
(On beginning practice with a deep ball to WR Tyreek Hill)
"Me and Tyreek were going back and forth about what route he wanted to run first. He told me any route. I said, 'what route do you want to run?' He said any route. So 'Coach Bev' (Darrell Bevell) jumped in and said, 'Hey, I want to hear the crowd cheer.' So I said, just run a go. So we ran a go route and Tyreek caught the ball, so that was cool."
(On where the team's confidence comes from)
"Yeah, I think for the team, it's the guys that that are helping us get to where we want to go. And I would say it's our position coaches. It's obviously our head coach, who is probably one of the most optimistic people I've ever been around, and I would say just those guys and kind of the leadership that Mike (McDaniel) displays for everyone to see. I think that's what gives the entirety of the team confidence."
LB JAELAN PHILLIPS
(On his solid performances the last two days in practice)
"I mean it feels great. I feel like I'm just kind of really getting into gear as the season's coming soon. So we're just rolling along and trying to get better every day. But it's definitely great to get these opportunities and reps out here."
(On how much more prepared he feels entering Year 2 compared to last year)
"I definitely feel more prepared, both mentally and physically. But just still continuously trying to get better every day. I have a lot of room to grow, a lot of things to work on in my game. So every day is a challenge to come out here, not think about the future, not think about the past and just really be dedicated to trying to improve all those little aspects."
DE EMMANUEL OGBAH
(On how the first day of joint practices with Philadelphia went)
"It was a lot of back and forth. We've got to go back and watch film and see what we struggled with but it was good competition for both sides of the ball."
(On if he measures success in joint practices by individual unit or as a team)
"It's a team sport. If we struggle giving up pass plays, then it's the d-line. The d-line didn't get back there fast enough. Or the DB didn't cover long enough. It's a team game. If one struggles, we all struggle."
