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Transcripts: Dolphins Postgame Quotes (Dec. 4)

Head Coach Adam Gase

(on how frustrating the Dolphins' play was) "I would say this was not one of our better performances. We can't waste opportunities early in the game on offense when you cross the 50 three times and get no points. We have nothing that really jumpstarted us. We couldn't make any plays."

(on Joe Flacco and the Ravens' offense) "They had a good plan. We felt like the big thing they were going to do was throw the ball quick. We had to tackle the catch, and we didn't do that. They were able to run away from us. We just didn't do what we talked about this week. We just have to make sure next week we do a better job as far as executing what we kind of talked about all week."

(on getting ready for another important game) "Go back to work – that's what we have to do. Monday we'll come in and watch the film and make corrections, and try to get as healthy as we can for Wednesday and go practice, just like any other week."

(on what went wrong with Ryan Tannehill today) "He threw a good ball to DeVante [Parker], and that's one that you hope that our guy brings down. Thought he had it there for a second, and the guy took it away from him. The one at the end, I think he felt that the guy would settle, and he took a chance there on the sideline, and he really didn't put it exactly where he wanted. I think he was a little surprised that the guy was that wide. He just threw it a little behind Jarvis [Landry], and [Eric] Weddle was back there, and the ball popped to him. When you throw that route, you better put it out front. He missed enough where the ball pops up, and there's a pick right there."

(on how he expects the team to be this week in practice) "I expect the same. I expect a little intensity probably in practice. Nobody likes losing. I know guys are really battling, and we had a lot of guys playing today. The fact that DeVante [Parker] came out and told us on Monday that he was going, it felt like the guys were trying to return and get back out there and help us. I really felt that was going to give us a spark. We just did not make any plays early. That's what you have to do when you play a team like this that's been through this before. You have to come in here and execute. You have to take care of the football. You have to find a way to get the ball, as far as a turnover or something to happen on special teams. We just did nothing to get us going. Then, all the sudden, we're behind. That's going to be tough to battle back on a team like this."

(on matching the Ravens' intensity) "I felt good coming into this game. Pregame was good, and it felt good heading onto the field. When they started moving the ball, I didn't feel any type of deflation as a full team. I felt like guys were saying the right stuff. We were trying to get things corrected in that first quarter. It was just at the end of the day, whether it was the call, execution, just straight play-making, somebody making something happen that could get things heading in the right direction. Seems like every week, we've usually had somebody make some kind of play that gets the avalanche going in the right way. We went the wrong way today. It was just one thing after another. We didn't execute, and they pounced all over it. That's what they do. There's a reason why they've won divisions, they've won playoff games, they've won Super Bowls – because they understand, at this part of the season, you've got to be on it early, because it can snowball one way or the other."

(on the footing issues of some players) "I'm not sure about that. That was a little surprising. Most of our guys come out there early and start cutting and make sure that everything is good. I didn't hear anybody really complaining in pregame, but sometimes when you get out there, and it really starts happening, and you're trying to make a sharp cut, all of a sudden, you lose your feet, and you're trying to figure out, 'Is it the cleats?' Did I cut off the wrong foot?' We have to go back and look at that, because we really can't have that happen. We had a couple chances to make some big plays, and we've got guys falling down, and the quarterback expecting the receivers to stand up, and all the sudden, they go down, so that's a possible turnover right there. So, we just have to make sure that we have the right equipment."

(on the Ravens' 18-play drive) "Think we've had a 17-play drive this year on offense. That's what it is. You're trying everything that you can, and then you start going first down, second down, third down, and it's just third-and-short, third-and-short. You've got to try to get a negative play in there. You've got to try to get second-and-10. You've got a short passing game the way they were doing it. They were executing, and we weren't doing anything to stop it. That's what's going to happen. It's going to be a long day at the office."

(on what he told the team after this loss) "I told them one loss can't become two. We have to go back to work. Can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have to come in Monday ready to go to work. We have to make our corrections, and don't be sensitive. When we hit Wednesday, be ready to work. That's how we've gone about our business the entire season. When we were 1-4, we did the same thing. We just have to find a way to battle back next week. It's a one-week season every week. One week everybody loves you, the next week you're terrible, so just move on to the next week.'"

(on if there was a learning curve in playing in games like this) "I think every game is a little bit different. You're just trying to figure out for that game what's the best thing to do for that game. For us, we're really not talking about things like that. We're just trying to figure out what's the best thing to do in that one game."

* *

RB Jay Ajayi

(on the game) "We didn't do what we needed to do to get the win. It is what it is. They played a good game. We'll go back tomorrow and look at the film. Sweep this game under the rug. We're onto the [Arizona] Cardinals."

(on the offense's struggles) "I think we did some things on offense that shot us in the foot. We had great field position in the first half. We had the ball in their territory and we didn't get any points. That's the name of the game – you've got to score. I feel that's why we didn't win."

(on the condition of the field) "It was slick out there. You saw some guys sliding around. No excuses – we just had to make it work as the game went on. At the end of the game, there were definitely some people losing traction out there."

(on having come back in other games) "We never felt we were out of it. We've been in positions like this before. [At] halftime, we were still high. But, at the end of the day, we didn't do the things we had to do to get the win. We didn't score. We didn't stop them, and that's how it goes."

(on if this game was a wake-up call) "I would definitely say so. We'd been on a streak and hadn't tasted a defeat in a long time. So, we lost today, and it's tough. It's a weird feeling. We're used to winning, but it's okay. We'll get past this and we'll start a new streak."

WR Jarvis Landry

(on the game) "We just didn't play a full game. We didn't complement each other like we had been. It's something that we have to go back and fix."

(on the field conditions) "Honestly, when conditions are against us, it comes down to [having] better technique. So, for us, we need to find a way to technique it a little more and make some of those plays that we missed."

(on the biggest frustration of this game) "Just not scoring. Really hurting ourselves. Give them credit, they're a good team. We were in positions a lot of times to make plays. We had penalties that took us back and put us behind the stakes. We had a couple of turnovers – that's how it goes in the NFL."

(on losing a game in the playoff hunt) "I wished we hadn't lost that. It's just one of those days today. For us, we have to get this one corrected on Monday. We have four games left ahead of us, and that's all we're going to worry about."

* *

S Bacarri Rambo

(on the Ravens' offense) "It wasn't anything that we couldn't stop. We had a great game plan, it's just the fact that we couldn't get off the field on third downs. That's basically it. Once you do that, you're going to continue to keep us on the field. We just have to come together as a defense and just do better this coming week. We can't let the things that happened in this game affect the way we play against our next opponent. We just have to hit the film early this week and just try to get better."

QB Ryan Tannehill

(on the interceptions today) "I didn't make good decisions. It was something different on every one. We moved the ball very well on our first two drives, and then something happened. [Jarvis] Landry fell down on a third-down play, and then we missed the field goal. On the next drive, their safety made a great play on the interception in the end zone. When you're playing a good team on the road, you need to capitalize."

(on the Dolphins' offensive problems) "We just didn't play well, but there's still a lot of football left for us. We just made too many mistakes. We made physical mistakes and communication mistakes. This could be a good learning opportunity for us."

(on bouncing back) "We have four games left. Everything we want is still in front of us. We just have to reset and correct our mistakes. We'll be ready to go next week."

(on the Ravens' intensity) "I don't know anything about that. They did come out, and they executed, and they played well. When you play meaningful games in December, every team's intensity level is higher. We have plenty of talent and plenty of opportunities to finish this season strong."

* *

DT Ndamukong Suh

(on being held without a sack) "The Ravens had a great offensive day against us. [Joe] Flacco did a great job getting the ball out quickly before we could get near him."

(on his surprise that the Ravens threw the ball so much) "We anticipated they would pass the ball quite a  bit, so we weren't surprised. Their offensive line did a great job against us. We have certain calls we can make to try and get more pressure on the quarterback, but they are an NFL team, and they adjusted. They made plays; we didn't."

(on putting the loss behind them) "It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, you learn from each game, and you move on from there."

(on the Dolphins' slow starts in games) "It all comes down to execution. On the defense, I know we need to focus on getting off the field on third down."

(on confidence in the Dolphins bouncing back) "Our ability to execute will help us bounce back from this. I've seen that we have been successful for most of the season, and I expect that we will be successful again. We have found ways to win games, and I'm sure we will do much better next week."

* *

LB Mike Hull

(on getting an opportunity to play) "It felt great to get my first significant playing time this season. I knew that I had to make plays. In the NFL, you're expected to make plays and produce. The Ravens didn't do anything we didn't expect. They just executed very well."

(on the Ravens' 18-play drive) "That was very tough. In that situation, we have to find a way to get off the field, but they just kept executing, and they just converted too many third downs."

S Michael Thomas

(on the Ravens' offense) "We have to find a way to get off the field. All season long, we've been very good on third-down situations, but, today, we struggled."

(on the Ravens' tight ends) "You have to give the Ravens a lot of credit. We knew that [Joe] Flacco looks for the tight ends and likes to target them. But they executed very well and made some big plays."

(on whether this could be a wakeup call for the Dolphins) "You never want to lose, obviously, but this could be a good thing for us in the long run. They came out ready to play and really took it to us. You can't wait until halftime to decide to play harder. That doesn't work. We've had some injuries, but that can't be an excuse. We need to learn from this game and get better."

* *

T Branden Albert

(on the loss) "They came out and executed. We had opportunities to change the game around, but things happened. We're going to see what type of character we have. We got punched in the mouth today. As a man, we'll see when you get punched in the mouth, how you react. Are you going to continue to get punched in the mouth or are you going to do something about it."

(on the team's performance) "I don't think it was bad effort. I think they did a good job executing their game plan. It was just one of those days. I'm not making excuses. We've got to play better, and better together. Usually, somebody makes a play when things are going wrong. Today, we couldn't."

(on his performance) "I did the best I could. I was going against one of the best pass rushers that's played this game. I had to do what I had to do. I'll be fine and continue to keep playing and continue to get my wrist better. I am going to fight to the end."

(on the running game) "We were moving the ball. There were little things, like penalties, that were hurting us and stopping our drives. We just have to get better. We kind of killed ourselves today. We need to put our noses to the grinder and grind even harder this week."

* *

DE Andre Branch

(on the loss) "We started way too slow. We came out flat. They came out ready to play and took advantage of it. At the end of the day, this is the NFL. We compete against the man across from you. We waited too long, and they got their momentum rolling. We couldn't stop them."

(on the Ravens' passing game) "They were getting the ball out quick. We just have to keep fighting, keep competing, and get better each and every day."

(on the Ravens' 18-play touchdown drive) "We needed to stop them. That's the main thing. I don't care if it was 23 plays long. If they don't score, that's my mindset and our mindset on defense."

(on the field conditions) "The grass was terrible. We knew that coming into the game. That's no excuse at all. It was the atmosphere we played in. Those were the elements that we had to work with. They played on the same surface as we did, so it's no excuse."

(on the Ravens' fourth-down conversion on the second touchdown drive) "They have faith in their offense, and we have faith in our defense. Our mindset is to stop them, and we didn't do it."

CB Byron Maxwell

(on his interception) "I just happened to find the ball. He threw it right to me. It was me being in the right place at the right time."

LB Kiko Alonso

(on the condition of his hand) "I don't know. We don't know yet."

(on whether there was a difference in the team's intensity) "No, it was just another game."

(on not being on the field for the Ravens' 18-play drive) "It sucks. It always sucks when you can't be out there."

(on Joe Flacco setting a team record for completions in a game) "We knew that they are a passing team. It was just a bad effort by the defense."

(on having a six-game win streak snapped) "When you lose a game, it sucks. We've got to come back and get ready for Arizona [Cardinals]."

(on returning to the field after the injury) "It felt good. When they said it was just a thumb, I knew I'd be able to come back in."

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