Dolphins 30, Bills 13
SEAN McDERMOTT: Credit to the Dolphins. We didn't play well enough today and didn't play a complementary game. We came out, started slow, and we had four or five three-and-outs there in the first half. Picked it up a little bit in the second half, turned the ball over.
Defensively I thought we did some good things, and then we gave up two big runs towards the end there.
A lot to work on, a lot to improve, so we learn from it.
Q. Sean, on Wednesday Brandon said he believed that the roster was a championship quality or championship caliber. After a performance like that, what is your confidence level that that is indeed the case?
SEAN McDERMOTT: I love these players. I love these players. I do. I love the guys in that locker room.
Q. A couple guys mentioned coming out flat, for lack of a better term, or maybe just not ready at the start the way they needed to be. Given where you guys are in the standings, in the playoff race, where they are, quite frankly, at 2-7, how does that happen against a team like that, knowing the situation that you guys are in?
SEAN McDERMOTT: It's a week-to-week league. You've got to bring your A game every week. We talk about that a lot. We do. We work our tails off during the week to come out, to your point, to play better and coach better and perform better overall. It didn't happen.
Q. You had said during the week that you had liked the attitude that you had seen particularly from the bye week to now, that you'd seen an improvement in that regard. Do you feel like that took a step backwards today?
SEAN McDERMOTT: Yes. Yeah.
Q. You always talk about it starts up front on the line of scrimmage. What were your observations of the line of scrimmage?
SEAN McDERMOTT: It's not that the guys weren't trying out there. That's not what I'm saying and that's not what I was alluding to before the bye. It's come out and control the game early and play a certain way with a certain style, and we didn't do that today.
That's why we got the result we got, especially in the first half, and then we were chasing the game. They were in control of the game for the first half, and then in the second half we were chasing the game, which is a hard way to play.
I thought we made some plays in the second half, not enough. Then we turned the ball over three times. It's tough to win in the NFL when you turn the ball over three times, so I want to make sure you understood the context of what I was saying.
Q. You talk about a lot it starts up front. What were your observations at the line of scrimmage today?
SEAN McDERMOTT: Yeah, they got the run game going early and wanted to control the game. I thought then we calmed down a little bit in the second quarter and beyond, and eight minutes to go, I think roughly, they have 16 points, and it's 2nd down, I believe 2nd and 6, 2nd and 7, something like that, and they pop a run and then pretty much the game was over after that.
I thought the defense battled. We lose Landon there, playing DQ out at end a little bit to help us, got some guys banged up, but no excuses. We battled. Those guys were battling, and like I said, I think they were down 10 at that point, and then they popped the run, so we were just trying to get the ball back.
It looked like we had somebody in the hole right there, and he's elusive, Achane. Give him credit.
Q. What did you make of Josh's day?
SEAN McDERMOTT: He made some Josh-style plays. He made some amazing plays, which he does. Just overall as an offense, it's never one person. Just getting off to a faster start, in a rhythm, controlling the line of scrimmage, being a two dimensional offense, so got to look at the tape, and just moving the chains. Got to move the chains in order to keep the defense off the field.
I think we had the ball five or six times in the first half. I think four or five of those drives, nine minutes total maybe between those drives, which we're not holding the ball long enough, so we've got to look at the film and figure out why we're not moving the chains enough right there and doing so controlling the game.
Q. With how many times you get behind the sticks on offense, what do you need to see from your group that allows you to overcome those situations?
SEAN McDERMOTT: So first, identifying what is causing us to get behind the sticks. Is it penalties? Is it negative plays and how they're being created? And secondly it's getting back on track.
It's hard to convert 3rd and 11 plus in this league, so you've got to get yourself back on schedule. How you do that is by game plan, depending on how the defense presents itself. Just too many 3rd down and longs and one-dimensional type situations.
Q. I know you end up putting up numbers offensively as it goes on, but was the passing game good enough for most of the game?
SEAN McDERMOTT: Yeah, I'm not worried about numbers. I'm not worried about numbers. Those aren't real numbers. I'm worried about moving the ball, controlling the game, playing our style of football on a more consistent basis, and that's what we've got to make sure we get back to.
Q. Granted that you have yet to watch today's impact on film, but even before this, the passing offense has been having difficulties moving the ball in chunks. Have you been able to put your finger on why that is and why you haven't been able to go to it when you've needed it?
SEAN McDERMOTT: Again, just consistency and rhythm I think overall. I feel like in order to really dissect today's performance I'd have to look at it, but I felt like there were some things and there were some times where we weren't open, so it's a combination of the two. So it's never one thing, and going back to your question, I didn't mean to cut you off, I'm just not really into yards. I'm into real yards and the meat of the game and moving the football, and we didn't do a good enough job there.
Q. You mentioned the injury to Landon, what happened last week to Hoyt, you understand it comes with playing football. The number of guys you've had out, though, because of soft tissue stuff, hamstrings, groins, calves, has that been problematic for you and is that something organizationally you need to take a look at to prevent as much as is preventible?
SEAN McDERMOTT: I said this when you were asking about the trades on Wednesday or so. You always want quality players. They help you, right? The more we kind of get into the injuries and some of the guys that are going out, you go down the depth chart.
I appreciate the way the guys have stood up and stepped in and taken advantage of their opportunities. But you're just knocking down as you're getting down the list there.
But we'll never use injuries as an excuse. We do need to look -- continue to turn over every stone to figure out why this is happening. I feel like it's happened quite a bit year to year. This year is probably as much as I've been around.
I don't know what it is. I really don't. But we've got to figure that piece out pretty quickly here, and then year to year.
Q. Is it a bit frustrating to have not hammered down why the passing offense hasn't been able to get it going consistently? You're now through week 10 and encroaching on the end of the season here. Is that a frustrating thing for you?
SEAN McDERMOTT: Well, it is because it's an important part of our offense. We've got a great quarterback, and you want to be able to move the ball two-dimensionally, and we should be able to move the ball with Josh through the air.
But it can't just be one phase of your offense. It's got to be two working in concert with one another. You guys know, I say this quite a bit, it starts up front with the line of scrimmage, controlling the line of scrimmage early, and that sets up other things.
That's what I look at first is are we controlling the line of scrimmage, and then how does that set up our passing game. They go hand in hand.
DraftScripts by ASAP Sports.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports