Miami Dolphins Media Conference

Sunday, October 3, 2021

Miami, Florida, USA

Jonathan Taylor

Visitors Postgame Presser


Q. It sounds like you guys met with this week with DeForest to get you guys together. What did you guys talk about?

JONATHAN TAYLOR: It was real intimate. We know that everyone in the building hasn't been playing our best ball. We've been working. We've been playing hard, but we haven't been playing our best ball. In order to win games in the NFL, you've got to be at your best and the best is needed.

It was just a moment of reflection on what are we going to do this week? What are we going to do this week to give a little more in order to be our best on Sunday and come out with a win.

Q. Do you think that Wednesday's practice was a result of that meeting?

JONATHAN TAYLOR: That definitely contributed to it. It's not going to take one practice just to win in the NFL. Otherwise, people would just practice one day a week. But it was definitely a great start to build into Thursday and a great Friday practice, and that all contributed to led to this win.

Q. Carson has -- it's been sort of uneven for him because he's been hurt, right? Are you starting -- what are you starting to see? Like today was maybe a step toward what you guys thought he was going to be when you made this trade. Did you see some of the more dynamic plays and consistency today?

JONATHAN TAYLOR: It's definitely been tough. Regardless of his situation, being a quarterback in the NFL is tough. But having the O-line banged up, him being banged up, it's hard to be out there and be yourself. But trending each and every single week towards getting healthy, getting back to what we know we can be and how we can play at a high level.

Q. Were you full strength today?

JONATHAN TAYLOR: I was. I was out there. I'm going as hard as I possibly could. One thing I told Carson and the O-line was I had their back today. Like I said, these past few weeks, we've been playing hard. It's not like we haven't been playing hard, but we just haven't been playing at our best.

Just telling those guys, hey, no matter what happens today, I've got your back. You guys are blocking hard for me, and I'm going to run hard.

Q. The second half, knowing you guys had the lead, did you know, I'm going to get the ball a lot? Sometimes it's hard to run when you're playing from behind. Going in from the half, did you know the ball is coming to you?

JONATHAN TAYLOR: Especially knowing we were going to get the ball back at halftime, offense in general, we're going to have to set the tone. Listen, we're here for another 30 minutes of football. That was my mindset coming out at halftime was if they call my number coming out, I'm going to do whatever I can to set the tone and let the other team know we're still playing a whole other 30 minutes, and it's going to be a long day.

Q. In the locker room just now, what percent was celebration, what percent was a sigh of relief?

JONATHAN TAYLOR: It was a lot of celebration. I mean, any time you get a win in the NFL, it's hard to win, so it calls for celebration. But it was also kind of a refocus on it doesn't get any easier after this. We've got to use this feeling, this motivation in order to fuel practice this week because it's going to be a tough one heading into Baltimore on Monday night.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
113068-1-1182 2021-10-03 21:44:00 GMT

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