Las Vegas - 15, Miami - 13
JOSH MCDANIELS: That was a good effort. A lot of guys played a lot of football tonight. I thought they did a good job of trying to get off to a fast start and then played the entire 60 minutes of the game, which is what it took for us to win.
We came here to do one thing, try to improve and also win a football game. So appreciate the effort by the guys. They did a good job of playing for the entire four quarters.
Q. I know you're trying to build winning habits and winning games and doing things the right way. A bunch of guys stayed home in Las Vegas, but these guys came in and competed. Is there something to be said about that?
JOSH MCDANIELS: Absolutely. We get a lot of guys that are nicked up, bumps and bruises. That's this time of the year. Every team's dealing with it. We're not unique. It's not really our concern who they played or didn't play.
The guys that weren't here, there's nothing we can do about that either. I thought our guys gave a great effort. It certainly wasn't perfect. We have a lot of things we can do better and a lot of things we can learn from this film, but I appreciate the effort for sure.
Q. How satisfied were you with the run defense?
JOSH MCDANIELS: I thought we made some strides. Again, it seems like each week so far we've seen kind of a little bit of a different scheme. So it's a good thing for us. We're seeing different styles of running games.
We worked really hard on that in two days of practice this week to try to see some improvement. I thought there was. I thought we tackled well early. I thought we missed a few tackles as the game wore on. We got tired.
Definitely trying to be more physical, playing downhill, trying to win the line of scrimmage. That's going to be important every week for sure.
Q. Even though it's preseason, how beneficial is it to be in a tight game in the fourth quarter like this?
JOSH MCDANIELS: These situational plays, whatever unit's out there, we're talking about it on the sideline with the guys that aren't in there. We're on the headset talking to the guys that are in the huddle, trying to be as aware as we can of what the situation is, what the opponent might do, and then what we want to try to do to win them.
Again, everything counts for something. So there was a lot of situational plays. We had the kickoff after the safety. Those things come up once, twice a season maybe. End of the game in the four-minute offense, they're in two-minute offense at the end.
So a lot of different situations that came up. We tried to play them the best we could. We'll certainly try to improve and play better. But definitely something to gain from all of them.
Q. Tashawn Bower is someone that continues to take advantage of his opportunities. Had another good game tonight. Just your thoughts on Tashawn?
JOSH MCDANIELS: Physical guy. It's not my first year being around Tashawn. He loves to play football. He's doing his job the right way. He's setting a good example for the way we want to try to play on the edge with his opportunities. He's rushed the quarterback. He used some power tonight.
So I'm pleased with a lot of those guys did some good things tonight, played with some physicality up there, and he's certainly one of them.
Q. Even though you weren't concerned with maybe who Miami was playing, the fact that they played a lot of their ones early on, does that help you in evaluating the guys you did have out there going up against ones on another team?
JOSH MCDANIELS: We know who they are. So we played against some good players last week and played against good players this week and play against good players next week.
Every guy that's suited up in a National Football League game, whether it's regular season game or preseason game, is there for a reason. They're fighting hard for roster spots. They're fighting hard for the things they're trying to improve on.
I thought our guys really just battled and competed. Like I said, there will be a lot for us to improve on when we watch the film.
Q. I know you've got to look at the film, but any first glimpses of the offensive line especially on the bright side?
JOSH MCDANIELS: We had a couple things we felt we could do better. Some of that was coordinating with the tight end and the tackles. We got beat inside a little bit. There was a few things we didn't do necessarily right with the routes and the reads and the quarterback.
I've said it before, pass protection is, in many ways, a result of everybody doing their job the right way. I know a lot of times one person gets singled out here or there and we say this guy did this, this guy did that. There's a lot of guys that are supposed to do a lot of things the right way.
When we do it right, we do it well. When we don't, there's a chance for some plays that happened tonight. So we're going to work hard at trying to shore that up. That's all we can do. These guys are really coachable, and they'll work hard at it.
Q. Coach, even though you haven't named starters or anything like that, but how pleasing is it to see guys fighting to be a rotational piece on the team playing well against the Dolphins in the first quarter against guys that are slated to be starters?
JOSH MCDANIELS: Like I said, we weren't really concerned about them in terms of who they had out there and what have you. Our guys competed. We came here for one purpose. That was to try to improve and compete against a good football team, which is what they are. They're well coached.
They make it hard on you. It's not easy. They do a lot of good things, challenge it with their scheme, challenge it with their players. Our concern was really just trying to do our job the best we could, and I thought our guys tried to do that.
Q. When you assess who to bring and all that, does the length of the trip going out to Miami for one day and going back kind of play into that a little bit?
JOSH MCDANIELS: I think each situation is really unique to its own whoever the player is. Like I said, there's many guys here that are rehabbing things and trying to shore up some things that aren't necessarily feeling perfect. Again, everybody in the league's doing that.
We have to manage the team the best way we can. We played Minnesota on a Sunday, and this is kind of a short week with a travel day in between. So there's a lot of things that go into trying to do the right thing for the team, and that's all we were trying to do.
The focus really should be on the guys that came here really. We were really pleased with the effort for sure, no doubt about it, and the attitude. Their approach to tonight was really where we wanted it to be.
Q. Along those lines, Sam Webb, Masterson, and Darien Butler, just from what we were watching --
JOSH MCDANIELS: Played a lot of football for us so far. Each time they go out there is an opportunity for them to improve on something that we've coached or corrected the week before. There will be more tonight. I was rattling off in my head, there's a handful of them already.
No, those guys are -- look, the best you can do is take advantage of all the opportunities you get. Some guys are getting maybe a few more than others based on the health at their positions. That's how many guys have made it in this league. They get an opportunity, whatever the opportunity is, and then they do well with it and they earn more.
So those guys are definitely, they're out there every day, which is a great thing. We've oftentimes said durability is more important than ability, and those guys really, I'll tell you, they're out there at every practice. They're out there at every drill. They're out there in every preseason game. So there's something to be said about that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports