Here is what quarterback Ryan Tannehill said Wednesday to South Florida reporters, courtesy of the Miami Dolphins.
On facing the 49ers defense) – “They’re an all-around good defense. I think everyone knows that they’re a good defense and it’s well deserved. They have good players all around. They start up front. Both Smith’s (Aldon Smith and Justin Smith) are good players. Really, their whole front is good. Their linebackers are Pro Bowl linebackers and going into the secondary, they have Pro Bowlers back there as well. As you look at the defense on a whole, they have really good players all around and we’re going to have to do a great job for four quarters.”
(On his encounters with Aldon Smith in college when he was at Texas A&M and Smith was at Missouri) – “I’m sure I did. I didn’t realize I guess the player he is and he turned out to be at the time. I knew they had a good defensive end. In college, you study more defenses in general instead of focusing on players and names. You don’t put in so much time into that, but I definitely know who he is and we’ll be looking out for him.”
(On Head Coach Joe Philbin saying it’s tough to win when the team is scoring 19 points per game and why the offense is struggling to score points) – “Definitely, I agree. You can’t win games consistently only scoring 19 points. That’s a big focus of ours is to find a way to get more points on the board whatever way it is. We have to find a way. I think our run game has been picking up the past few weeks and we’re excited about that now. I have to do a good job in the pass game (and) get the pass going early on in games and be consistent throughout games. I think third down is an area that we’re really focusing on right now. We haven’t been good the past two weeks and we’re putting our defense back out on the field in tough situations as opposed to continuing drives down and getting points on the board. That’s a big focus for us this week is to be able to continue drives and convert on third downs.”
(On how big of a loss it is to lose Jake Long) – “It’s huge. You can’t replace a guy like Jake. I think that the guys we bring in will do a good job – moving Jonathan (Martin) over and the bringing Nate (Garner) in on the other side. They’ll do a good job for us, but it’s tough to replace a player like Jake who’s been to four Pro Bowls I think. He’s a leader on this offense and we’re going to miss him.”
(On how he feels about this past game and the missed opportunities) – “It’s tough when you miss throws you make 99 times out of 100 in practice and even in games. It’s frustrating, but you can’t do anything about it, but move on (and) make the throws (the) next time they come up. I was definitely frustrated that night and when I watched the film, but I’m over it now and just ready to make the throws the next time it comes up.”
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