Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill met with the press yesterday. Here is a transcript of the press conference as provided by the team:
(On how much he's worked on the tipped pass issue from the Houston Texans game) - "It's something we addressed, we talked about. Talked to some guys on our defense - is there anything that I'm giving away? Is there indicators? What's going into it and come away with the same? Not a lot we can do about it. Four out of the five batted passes were number 99. The guy just has a knack for batting passes. They're all on quick games, short throws. It's not like you're going to be able to throw over the guy who was jumping up. During the downfield passes, obviously you need to find the throwing lane. When you're throwing the quick game, it's tough to be able to move and you want to say you want to move to find a throwing lane. Well, if you're throwing a quick slant, you don't have a lot of time to move. The guy just has a knack for batting balls. You've got to be aggressive up front. I have to be able to get the ball out quickly and have a high release, but other than that, there's not a whole lot you can do about it."
(On if he had 19 tipped passes last season) - "You would know better than me. I don't know. I don't have a pocket count book of it. I know there was a few of them I can remember, but it wasn't like an outstanding issue I don't think."
(On if he's confident the tipped passes will be taken care of for the Oakland Raiders game) - "Yes, I'm confident. I feel like we talked about it. We've been through some drills for it and I'm confident going into this week that it will be taken care of."
(On how his chemistry is coming along with center Mike Pouncey) - "It's going great. I think we're really getting on the same page where we're making protecting checks. He's kind of seeing them when I'm seeing them before I'm seeing them. So he already has it in his mind when I come up make the check. It's not where he's stuck on one guy and I'm checking to another guy and he has no idea who I'm coming to. He knows who I'm going to be coming back to most of the time. It really speeds up the process."
(On how long it takes for a receiving corps to develop chemistry with a quarterback and what effort he's made to speed up that process) - "I don't know if there's a set time on it, but it definitely helps the number of reps, just the reps of timing passes. Some passes it doesn't take a whole lot of reps - slants, hitches. Not a whole lot can be different from guy-to-guy, but you go through timing routes, outside breaking routes, inside cuts, how guys speed cut. It's just something you have to rep and you speed it up by staying after (practice), throwing individual's just on air, just seeing how guys run when there's no one on them. That way you can anticipate when there is someone on them."
(On what he does to develop trust with a receiver) - "It's a combination of all that. It's a combination seeing it in practice as it happens. Throwing the ball to see if he's going to be able to get there and he gets there. Obviously, you know he's going for it, you know I can make that throw and he's going to get there. Backside routes, maybe routes that you're not primarily looking at. In a certain rep in practice, you look at it on film - how is this guy running his route backside? Is it going to be something where I can, if one's not open, he's reliable (and) I can come back to backside and he's going to be open. It's a combination of all of those things."
(On how much of a resource quarterback Matt Moore has been) - "Matt's been great. Going back from the day I got here, Matt's been a great resource to me, been a great teammate and he's great on the sidelines just telling me, ‘Keep your head in there. There's nothing you can do about it. Just go out and don't hesitate, just let it rip again.' I think, in the second half, we came back and were obviously more competitive than and didn't have the same issues for the most part."
(On his interactions on the sideline against the Texans) - "Well, we always get together after every series. All the QBs get together, look at the pictures form the last series and talk a little bit."
(On how important running back Reggie Bush is to the success of the offense) - "Reggie's a dynamic player. He can do a lot of things. One of the most athletic guys I've ever played with. He's a guy that we can put in space, has great hands, able to run some routes. If we get into a five-wide set or have him just check down, a simple check down out of the backfield. He's a good resource there. One-two not open, check it down and who knows what's going to happen? He may be able to shake a couple guys and a three-yard pass might turn into a 60-yard play. Them, obviously, at running back, he's able to make good cuts in the backfield, hit the holes hard and I think people generally think of him as an outside guy, shifty guy, but when it's tough yards, h sticks his head in there and gets as much as he can. It's the NFL. It's a tough sledding when you're running the ball and not every hole is going to be three-feet wide. There's going to be some runs where they played it pretty well, we might be getting a push, but there's not much of a hole there and you're going to have to stick your head in there and get one-and-a-half yards, get two yards and he's able to do that. He's a great resource for us."
(On his chemistry with wide receiver Brian Hartline who had a strong fourth quarter against the Texans and if that will carry over to the Raiders game) - "Yes, I think so. I think just seeing him on tape, seeing him make a few catches and, even before that, seeing how he ran his routes. Seeing that he's back close to 100 percent and he can run and get open. Going back, only had a week to practice with him. First couple days, he's kind of feeling it out just making sure we don't want to tweak it again cause I think I wasn't here when it happened, but first couple days of training camp, kind of jumped right into it and re-injured it. I think he's kind of feeling it out the first few days just making sure we weren't going to have a re-injury. He's able to get open throughout the game and I think we're feeling pretty good about how he's going to help us out the rest of the year."
(On his first start at home and how important it is to get out to a fast start) - "I'm just excited for the game. It's a home game, first home game for us. (It) should be a beautiful day on Sunday. We're excited to go out and play a good Oakland Raiders team and hopefully come away with a win. Had a tough loss last week. Fell like we did some good things in the game, but obviously we need to clean some things up and not have the turnovers. You correct those things and we can be a pretty powerful offense and can score some points. Hoping to clean those things up this week and go out and have some food."
(On people saying this season is more about his development than the team's record and the focus on him) - "No, I'm going out to win games. Obviously, I want to get better every week. Doesn't matter if I'm six years in the league. You want to improve constantly. I need to make bigger strides I guess than now than you're going to make later in your career, but I'm excited about where we're at. I'm excited about going into this game and we need to get wins. You play football to win. You don't play football to just get better, ‘Oh, I got better this week, but we lost.' No, you go to win and I take it heavily. (I) put a lot into it, prepare heavily and if you don't come out with a win, it's rough."
(On how much the Texans game helped with his development) - "It's good. I think going against a good Houston Texans defense, good pass rushers and we were able to do some good thing son offense. It gave us, gave myself, gave us an offense some confidence that we can play with anybody. We're going to have to play well and not turn the ball over obviously, but we can play with anybody."
(On how the defensive line is helping him with the pass deflections that occurred against the Texans) - "Yes, they do a good job of trying to give us a good look in practice, not just the defensive line, but secondary guys as well. (They're) playing hard even though it's a scout look. They did a good job today I think of trying to bat balls and Cam (Wake) got one. (I've) got to go back and look at it on tape, see what happened and not let it happen again tomorrow."