Head Coach DeMeco Ryans
On how he feels at the LB position with LB Azeez Al-Shaair's suspension
"Good to be back from the bye week. Happy to be back and get a good break, get away from everybody. As we move forward in where we are in our season, it is great to be playing meaningful football here in December. Our guys have earned their right to be here and of course we have guys who are coming back and guys who are out. There will be differences in our lineup changes and we will see how that goes throughout the week so we will continue to assess. Getting [LB] Christian [Harris] back, getting [G] Kenyon [Green] back is helpful. We will see how those guys continue to progress throughout the week and see where they are and if they can help us this week or not."
On what he has seen from the Miami Dolphins so far
"When the Dolphins play well, they have a really good quarterback play. [Dolphins QB] Tua [Tagovailoa] when he is on, getting the ball our fairly quickly and there is a lot of speed on the field. Whoever he gets the ball to whether it's [Dolphins RB De'Von] Achane or its [Dolphins WR Tyreek] Hill, [Dolphins WR Jaylen] Waddle, [Dolphins TE] Jonnu [Smith], all those guys play extremely fast. [Dolphins Head Coach] Mike [McDaniel] has done a great job of putting those guys in spots that allows a lot of motions, a lot of things that messes with defenders' eyes, and they do a good job of just distributing the ball to different player and those guys have exceptional run after catching ability. They have the ability to take a five-yard pass and turn it into an explosive. That is where we have to do a great job on the perimeter, of tackling and making sure we are where we are supposed to be defensively. We are going to have to make plays and attack the football."
On if G Kenyon Green will be in the starting lineup once he is fully recovered
"As of right now, when it comes to the lineup, we will see how that progresses throughout the week. I am not making any decisions here today."
On how the players have responded to the break and the energy coming back from bye week
"It was really nice to see the guys come back refreshed. Seeing them bounce around today in our practice. It was good to see and feel the energy from the guys and also feel the sense of urgency from all of us. That is what is needed at this time. Everybody is excited to be back on the grass practicing. We go our much needed rest and now it is time to get back to work which we are excited about."
On what the message to players was going into the bye week
"Our message to our guys was really just to take some time to get the rest and relaxation that you needed. Just mentally and physically to come back and your hearts right, your minds right, your body is right, we are ready to go finish out the season in a strong manner."
On timing for LB Christian Harris's return
"Christian has done an outstanding job of working off to the side and our strength and conditioning staff, sports performance staff has done a great job of working with Christian. Just seeing him back out and moving around. He looks like himself physically and it is just a matter of missing a lot of football and just a matter of him getting back in and getting those mental reps. Nothing can help you do football except playing football. So he just has to get out there and get those physical reps of hearing a call, getting lined up. But physically he looks like he is in a really good spot."
On how the Dolphins offense has evolved since the matchup last season
"With Miami and their offense, I think where they have thrived is just putting Hill in so many different spots and moving him around. Everyone knows the explosive play maker that he is, but they have so many different snap points, so many different motions that it is hard just to be there. You can't just hone in on one thing, you have them down, they change them up. Even in the run game, I think it is a very multiple run games with a lot of movement that you have to be on it with your eyes. This will be an elite test with our eye discipline. If our eyes are right, then we can be in a good spot to put ourselves in a position to make a play. If your eyes are off at all, they have a chance to hit you with an explosive play."
On his reaction to what happened with the appeal process for LB Azeez Al-Shaair and how playing without him will be for the team
"It's going to hurt losing Azeez, but we're pressing forward. We're onto Miami. Nothing we can do about that, we're onto Miami and that's our focus. That's the main thing for us right now is how do we go out and handle Miami."
On the team's areas of growth he was able to focus on during the bye week
"The biggest things for us, as I went back and watched, it's us getting back to the basics and fundamentals of ball. And it's us just executing on those simple things of football. It doesn't change. At this time of the year, it's not so much about the scheme. Everybody knows what everybody is doing. It's about how do you execute it and are you executing better than your opponent? Are you protecting the football? Are you taking the football away, putting yourself in favorable positions, playing complementary football? So, as I go back and dissect it all, it's just about us getting back to the basics and playing our brand of football and executing the right way."
On what he has noticed about Miami's secondary and CB Jalen Ramsey and S Jevón Holland between the first and second half of the season
"They have a ton of playmakers in their backend. Holland, Ramsey, those guys are ballhawks. So, they can get after it, they play – [Defensive Coordinator Anthony] Weaver, I think he doesn't get enough credit, but Weaver has done a really great job with his defense throughout the entire year seeing their improvement. He definitely has his stamp on it and they've done a really great job."
On what he feels the team can rally on while LB Azeez Al-Shaair is out
"For us, as I said earlier, we've moved on from that and it has no bearing on what we're doing right now. Our focus is on Miami."
On if he was able to look at film during the bye week and see how the team's identity has changed throughout the season
"You can definitely see – each year, your team kind of morphs into – you have an idea of how you want to play, but you kind of see, 'OK, who are we at this point?' And we've got a really good feel for who we are and we just have to continue to lean on who we are, make sure we accentuate the strengths of our team and continue to lean heavy in those areas of our strength and we have to just continue to play better as a team. When we play team football, as I look back at it, man, we play together, we play team football, that's when we're a really good team. So, we're just leaning in on that."
On the difference between playing against left-handed and right-handed quarterbacks
"It is a little different with the left-handed quarterback. Just seeing it, it just comes out – the ball comes out different and kind of where they kind of lean more with their plays is just a little different than you're normally seeing. But, overall, it takes a little time to get adjusted to it. But as you continue to watch the film, you can kind of pick up on tendencies and those things of where they lean heavy. But once that ball is snapped, it's all football. You get back to it just being where you're supposed to be, eyes in the right spot and go make plays."
On what LB Neville Hewitt brings to the defense
"When Neville had to step in for us, I thought he did a really nice job of just being where he's supposed to be, communicated really well, executed his technique within a defense and he made some plays for us. Whoever steps up for us in Azeez's role, I expect all our guys to just go out and do their job. They don't have to be someone they're not. Everybody just play within the structure of the defense, everybody play within themselves, we'll be just fine."
