Miami Dolphins Quotes - Mike Sherman 9.17.12
Offensive Coordinator Mike Sherman
(On Brian Hartline’s play in the Oakland game) – Well just to see him out on the field is a plus because obviously he’s missed so much time. I told him, I said you’re going to screw everything up for us because everybody is going to miss minicamp, OTAs and preseason and think they can play. He’s kind of a coach killer in some ways because of what he was able to do, but I’m pretty excited not just that he was on the field, but the opportunities he had he took advantage of those opportunities, so that was good. It was good to have him out there.”
(On which part of Tannehill’s performance he was most pleased with) – “I think that in the second quarter, he wasn’t real efficient in the second quarter, but he fought his way through that and got back on track again in the third and fourth quarter. He was real efficient on the first drive and made some plays in the second quarter, but then missed some plays and got hit a couple of times. He got up and fought back and I thought played a really great second half of football. When we needed him to play well he did.”
(On the production of his wide receivers as a group) – “The thing about Legedu, (are) you know the opportunities. He wasn’t targeted very many times for whatever reason. Coverage dictates that sometimes, if he’s on one side or the other that dictates that, but you know we have guys that work real hard and these are the guys that we have and they’re going to help us win football games. So we’re excited about the guys that we have.”
(On Tannehill’s ability to roll out of the pocket and be effective as a passer and runner) – “Well the advantage is that he’s a heck of an athlete and he’s able to escape and make plays with his feet. It was evident in the first drive when I made a third down call, I think it was a third down call, and he ended up getting some yardage with his feet. The fact that he’s a good athlete as well as an excellent quarterback I think plays to our advantage. The fact that we can move him out a little bit, and his target point isn’t always the same, his launch point I should say isn’t always the same. So people have to scheme up for him to be on the edge I think helps us be a little more versatile and helps us be able to protect him and do some of the things he does best. He can throw well in the pocket but he can also throw extremely well on the move.”
(On the downside of moving the pocket for a mobile quarterback) – “Well it limits your receiving core to a certain degree. You’re cutting the field in half for the most part, because you’re not throwing back across the field. So you do limit yourself a little bit, but if you have certain routes against certain coverages, they match up pretty well.”
(On Brian Hartline’s biggest strength in the passing game) – “Well, first of all to go back to Brian, I’m not real surprised about what he did. I thought he played very well last year. I thought that when he was targeted last year, he made the plays he had to make, and such was the case this past weekend, yesterday. So that doesn’t surprise me, what he was able to do. To answer your question, I think the biggest thing that I’ve seen him do, and again this is based on tape from last year, when he is called upon to make a play, he makes a play. That’s a tremendous asset and something that we desperately need from him. When his number is dialed up and the ball is in his area, he is going to go get it. There was one throw to him down the sideline on the first drive where Ryan took a couple of hitches to make the throw and it came out late, and he came back to the ball and made the play. I thought that it was going to either get knocked down or possibly picked and he came back to the football and made a real nice play on the ball. So I think his ability to make plays.”
(On how different this running scheme is from what the team ran last year and how he thinks Reggie has adjusted to the new scheme) – “Last year their emphasis was more of a gap scheme, which is a good scheme and very effective. This year we are more of a zone scheme so it’s a little bit different. He probably has a little more freedom to see things and make some cuts, reads and what not. But I’ve run gap schemes, and we run some gap schemes as well. It’s a great scheme. I wouldn’t say one is better than the other one. I think he is adaptable to either. I think he proved that he did well last year with what they asked him to do and he’s doing well with what we ask him to do, so I wouldn’t say one is ahead of the other.”
(On how important it is to have a thick skin when everybody is second guessing the play calls) – “I think that goes without saying for coaching in general. You know things happen, and you have to be able to handle your job and what you’re asked to do. We’re very much in the public eye and part of our job is for people to criticize us and analyze us and second guess us, so that’s just part of it. And until someone is in the room with me all week long and studied the tapes and actually has to make that call on Sunday when they have to make that call with the clock ticking in a critical situation, then it’s hard to be totally understanding of their opinion. But I know it goes with the territory, it doesn’t bother me. I’ve been doing this a long time and been criticized for a lot more than just play calling.”
(On whether he was able to be more accepting of the criticism after a few years) – “I really don’t pay attention to the noise outside this building and I really never have in my career. If you do that then you’ll be outside the building at some point, so you really have to take care of business inside the building and what you see and what you think is right and hope you make a good decisions on game day.”
(On how many years he has been calling plays) – “I did it in Green Bay, I did it in Houston and I’m doing it here. I did it in college, so quite a few years.”
(On Reggie Bush admitted that he wasn’t supposed to run outside on his first touchdown run) – “If he did it exactly the way I wanted him to do it, it would have been a two yard gain probably (laughs). You’ve got to hit that hole Reggie, c’mon you’ve got to hit that hole. Knowing that if he sees color in that hole he’s going to do what Reggie does, but as long as he attacks the hole the way he did, which is what he did, then from that point the player takes over. The coaching part, I get him to the line of scrimmage and then he uses his God given talent from that point, which he did a great job of.”
(On whether he is surprised that Bush can be such an effective between the tackles runner) – “No it wasn’t. I remember Reg when he came out of college and they didn’t ask him a whole lot in that regard, and he was so much faster than everybody else that is was easier to run around them than through them. But, when I study the tapes form last year, certainly he did that numerous times, and has done that for us too. The durability is what amazes me. He’s out there today like he didn’t even play a game yesterday running around and doing what he does. (He’s) a very impressive young man, no question about that.”
(On what Hartline did that was so effective against the Raiders secondary) – “I think people underestimate his speed. He has a good burst off the ball, and I think people don’t understand just how fast he can get going. So they don’t appreciate what he’s able to do. He’s a fast kid, runs real good routes; he was short on a couple of them, but made it work. He’s a tough competitor. I think of Brian and he’s a fierce competitor on game day, as is Bess and Naanee and the other guys.”
—DOLPHINS—
