Head Coach Brian Daboll

Q: How do you prepare for the Dolphins' speed? Like, there's no one on your practice squad who can simulate (wide receiver Tyreek) Hill and (wide receiver Jaylen) Waddle's speed, so, how do you prepare for that?

A: Try to put our fastest guys out there and give them as good of looks as we can. That's what you do each week. So obviously, those two guys are lightning speed. But we've used all our receivers on the look team this week, guys that can run, and try to give them the best look we can.

Q: When you see a team score 70 points on somebody which they did obviously a couple weeks ago, how eye-opening is that? Because it just doesn't really happen.

A: I mean, it was a pretty incredible game that they had. Explosive plays, scored a lot of points, and that's what their team's capable of.

Q: Where are you at with the injured linemen and (running back) Saquon (Barkley)?

A: I'd say we'll go through today and talk about it like we normally do after practice and then make our decisions.

Q: Are any of the three linemen going to practice?

A: They won't practice today. They're still in getting rehab. So, we'll see where they're at and talk to the trainers after they do their rehab stuff and figure it out after practice.

Q: (Inside linebacker) Micah McFadden, did something happen yesterday in practice?

A: Yeah, he got an ankle. So, same situation as the other guys.

Q: Meaning he's not going to practice?

A: He'll be out there.

Q: The quarterback sneak thing, the tush push, or whatever it's called, there's talk that maybe the league is going to take that out of play because of injury issues. You guys lost a couple guys on that. Where do you stand on that in terms of keeping it or getting rid of it?

A: Whatever they decide, they decide. If it's up and legal, then that's something that we'll utilize, and if it's not, we won't.

Q: With Saquon, he's obviously further along I would assume this week. What do you need to see from him at this point to decide he's ready to go and that he's able to go?

A: No different than last week when we talked. Go out there, practice, see how he feels, talk with him, talk with the trainers, see where we're at and then make a decision on it.

Q: Has he been able to do lateral cutting at this point?

A: Yeah. He's practiced. He's done stuff in team and some individual stuff. So, I think he's made progress. We'll just give him another day and see where he's at.

Q: Are you anticipating taking him to gametime like last week?

A: We'll talk about it after practice, see what he does out here today, see how he feels, and then we talk about after practice, we talk about it in the evening, talk about it tomorrow. So, we'll let it go as far as we can let it go.

Q: The three linemen that you were talking about I assume are (tackle) Andrew (Thomas), (guard) Shane (Lemieux) and JMS (center John Michael Schmitz Jr.)?

A: Yeah, the same three guys.

Q: You just faced (49ers Head Coach Kyle) Shanahan's offense. How similar is what (Dolphins Head Coach Mike) McDaniel does? How different is it?

A: I would say that, obviously, when you work with someone for 14 years, or however many years it is that he worked with Coach Shanahan, you learn a lot from the guys you work for. But ultimately, you put your own stamp on it. Are there some similarities? Sure. But I think that Coach McDaniel has done a great job of implementing what he wants to do and the players that he has. So, are there some similarities? Sure. But I think he does a great job of adding his twist to it.

Q: With the speed they have, I'm sure you probably want to get as many DBs on the field as possible, but does the way they play with so much 21-personnel, does that—

A: It's hard. Yeah, it's hard. Definitely. They do a great job of, again, when you go regular, how do you want to play it? You want to play it with a base defense, a nickel defense, a dime defense, and what you play, they do stuff off of it. So, a lot of stuff to practice, challenging system, challenging scheme, but very challenging players to get ready for.

Q: If John Michael can't go, (guard Ben) Bredeson will be the center, I presume?

A: Yeah, he'll be the center if he can't.

Q: The left tackle, (offensive lineman Joshua) Ezeudu?

A: Yeah, we'll kind of see how it goes but I would assume that would be the case, but I don't want to say one way or the other until we get through today and talk with the training staff.

Q: What would you do at left guard?

A: We'll talk about that after practice.

Q: How's (tight end Daniel) Bellinger?

A: Making progress. Practiced yesterday, did some stuff, did some team reps, going to do the same today, so making progress.

Q: There was a time not too long ago that you were interviewing with both of these teams. I know you're not a live in the past type of guy but what can you tell us about your interview with the Dolphins and what that time was like for you when you didn't know – two teams wanted you. You didn't know if you we're going to get one job, both jobs, neither job.

A: I'd say at the end of those seasons when you go through that, there's a lot of things that happen. Very respectful to that organization for giving me the opportunity to sit down and talk with them but really focused on this game.

Q: This clearly isn't the start that you guys wanted. The (tackle) Evan (Neal) thing this week, a lot was made of the tablet thing this week. How much do you feel all that from the outside and I know it's a big topic and people are talking about it. How much do you look forward to an opportunity to go out there and put a better product on the field now again this week?

A: That's the goal every week is to put the best product out on the field. We haven't done that. I own that, but you're going to face adversity in this business 100 percent of the time. I don't know when it's going to happen, but that's inevitable so how you choose to handle adversity is optional, so you try to be strong in your leadership, tell things the way that they need to said, improve and get ready to go out there and play another game.

Q: Do you feel that from the outside or do you shelter yourself?

A: I focus on the things that we can control, which there is a lot of them. Certainly, we've got to do a lot better and that's what we're aiming to do.

Q: How would you characterize the mood in the room? There are guys that are disappointed we're 1-3 and what not.

A: I think the challenging part every year is to just focus on the next week whether you win or lose. So, I don't think you can live in the past. You have to focus on the future, you have to focus on the things that you can control and go out there and prepare and practice to the best of your ability to give yourself a chance and ultimately play well and coach well on game day, and that's what we always strive for.

Q: Is it difficult because every coach, and you're very much that way, is about the next thing in front of you but it's human nature to look at what's ahead. You're at 1-3 and now you've got two tough road games and all of a sudden, the big picture starts to envelope you a little bit. How do you combat that?

A: I think you focus on what you can control. Which is this week, your preparation, your practice, and then ultimately going out there and playing well and coaching well on game day and that's the consistent thing that you need to do each week in this league.

Q: What makes (Dolphins' Defensive Coordinator) Vic Fangio's defenses tough to play against?

A: He's an experienced coordinator. He has a certain system and style that he runs, he's been successful at for a long time. They've got good players, he calls good games, and they play complementary football. Got a lot of respect, known Vic for a while, lot of respect for him.

Q: You plan to practice out here even if it starts raining?

A: You never know what can happen down there. I was there for a year. It'll downpour for two minutes and then stop but a good opportunity if it does to get out here if it's wet.