Miami Dolphins coordinators and position coaches met with the media today as the team practiced before Sunday's game vs. Baltimore. Check out the top quotes from their media availabilities.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR FRANK SMITH
(On what makes FB Alec Ingold an asset)
"Yeah, I was fortunate to be there when we drafted Alec in Oakland the year before Vegas. And we had him at the Senior Bowl. Getting to know him, you just understand him as a person and his high school coach was my high school coach. I'm from Wisconsin. So the exposure to who he is as a person kind of shows who he is as a player. So obviously being new into the system, coming off his injury, he's done a fantastic job. He was a high school quarterback. Guys who were high school quarterbacks have normally a great understanding of the game and they understand more than just their position. So as he's been now assimilated to the offense, I know Mike (McDaniel) and Eric (Studesville) both feel we're just scratching the surface on what we'd like to do with him this year. And you saw it at the end of his time in Vegas with what they were asking him to do. You can see him playing all over the field."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOSH BOYER
(On what traits stuck out to him about CB Kader Kohou in the pre-draft process)
"There's a lot of things that you look for. I think that he was physical, he had a great play style. I think those are the big key things. And then you – especially when you're looking at guys that are free agents or late round picks, there's usually something that's going to be looked over whether it's level of competition, height, speed. All guys have different things. So I think there's an element of things that you look for in those guys and then really, you need to find out what motivates them, what drives them, because it's going to be an uphill battle and they've got to come to work every day, and they've got to focus on getting better every day. So, I think those are the things that you really kind of look for. That's why I think it's important to make contact with the guys and get in touch with them. And I would say Kader in particular, talking to him, if you guys ever get the opportunity, I mean, he's an impressive individual."
(On how challenging it is to face the Ravens offense) – "I'm glad you asked because I get really excited. Watching the Ravens and the job that Greg Roman does, I really feel like this is an unsung coach in the NFL. He game plans the run and uses multiple personnel groupings. He game plans the run game like most people game plan the passing game, and he's done it for a long time. I believe he's been in the league for 25 years, if I'm not mistaken. I know he's been in Baltimore for eight. But I would say that – he's done it with Colin Kaepernick at San Francisco. He did it with Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo. Lamar Jackson, who is a special talent, he can run, he's physical, he can throw, he can make the reads. I would say Baltimore and what they do, schematically, I've stayed here late. I've been here real late for the last two nights, for sure. They make it hard on you. They can do a variety of different things out of all personnel groupings, and they have every run known to man. They really do and they execute it well, which again, whether you run blitz zero, or you run all the runs, ultimately it comes down to execution. That's what it comes down to. And they're going to be really well-coached. They're going to be really well prepared. They've got good players across the board. It's a real big challenge for us this week and we're looking forward to it."
SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DANNY CROSSMAN
(On facing Head Coach John Harbaugh and K Justin Tucker this week)
"I've known John (Harbaugh) forever. They're always going to be outstanding in the kicking game. They're going to allocate time. They're going to allocate resources. And then they're going to get good players. And then they're going to get good players and make them even better players. What they've done over the years is outstanding. They're aggressive when they need to be aggressive. They play the percentages. Justin Tucker is outstanding – the best in the league since I've been around and that's 20-some years. A good group. They went and drafted an outstanding punter. They've got good return players with big-time speed. Overall, it's a great unit."
QBs/PASSING GAME COORDINATOR DARRELL BEVELL
(On QB Tua Tagovailoa's mechanics)
"I like where Tua is at mechanically, for the most part. I'm not saying that we don't have plays that we can improve on. But for the most part, he's done an outstanding job with his footwork. I think you can go back and look at some of the plays from last year as opposed to what he's doing this year. It's a major focus for us. He's buying into the focus and I think he's done a good job with that."
LINEBACKERS COACH ANTHONY CAMPANILE
(On the challenge of facing QB Lamar Jackson)
"I think anybody who knows Lamar Jackson as a player knows he's an elite-level athlete and a great quarterback. And I think we have respect for every guy that we play that plays that position. It's obviously a tough position to play in this league. But yeah, he's an exceptional talent. I got to coach against him a couple of times in college, too. I learned that firsthand as a college coach. So, yeah, just everybody locking in and trying to do their job and I think you could see that on the tape."
SAFETIES COACH STEVE GREGORY
(On what makes S Brandon Jones an effective blitzer)
"Just his explosiveness, his agility, his quickness, his physicality. All of those things that can help you as a blitzer. His timing, his understanding of the scheme and how we're trying to send him and things like that. With all of our guys that we send, those are key points to being an effective and good blitzer."
(On the challenge of facing QB Lamar Jackson)
"It's extremely challenging. The guy is a heck of a football player. He can throw the ball down the field. He has a strong arm. He has a quick release. And then obviously everybody in the world knows what he can do with his feet. He presents challenges all over the field. We just have to go into the game understanding what those challenges are and how we want to execute our game plan to try to limit the explosive plays that he can create."
