Defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan. Photo by Tony Gonzales
Q: Offensively, what kinds of challenges does Miami present for you?
Coach Bresnahan: This is a team that, I have said to our guys, reminds me a little bit of where Minnesota is. It is a very talented football team that has a lot of explosive players and they have stayed in every game, and it's just a matter of getting it done. You have to bring your 'A' game and be ready to go. They've got [Brandon] Marshall, with Reggie Bush, with [Charles] Clay, with [Anthony] Fasano at the tight end. You have got some play makers that you can get on the field and then with [Davone] Bess on third down, they like to use him as the move the chain type guy. We have got our work cut out for us. They give you a variety of things, so you can't really hone in on one thing but every week we are going to tell you we have got to stop the run. You look at a week like last week where we give up running yardage, but you win the game, it's still not satisfactory on our part. We have got to go back and get back to being disciplined in our fits and making sure that we are set to handle everything they can throw at us.
Q: You were pretty outspoken a couple of weeks ago reviewing the Denver game and not having Rolando [McClain] defensively. I mean that may be having a significant impact. If he isn't with you guys Sunday, how is that going to affect you?
Coach Bresnahan: It's like any other week and any other player. I have told you this time and time again - with us, especially on defense because we don't have to true quarterback position, but we definitely are ready to put the next man up and we have a variety of ways to handle the situation, and like Hue [Jackson] said, it's not a distraction to our guys at all. They don't blink an eye and anything to deal with that situation with Rolando, Hue will handle that. But we are ready to go football-wise and we will step up and meet the challenge. These guys are ready.
Q: What is your option other than [Darryl] Blackstock?
Coach Bresnahan: We have got a couple. I will say we have got a couple. But I am not going to tell you exactly what we are doing, but we have got a couple of options and you will see, and we feel very comfortable with it.
Q: Have you played a running back similar to Reggie Bush yet to give you any type of good look?
Coach Bresnahan: I could tell you Taiwan Jones here all preseason is a chance to see a quick scat-back type guy. But, Reggie is playing very good football right now. He is playing very competitive. He presents you the match-up problems when he gets out in the flat out in space where they try to get matchups on linebackers, on safeties, and you have got to have your fundamental defense very sound in run support, in coverage, so that you don't turn this guy loose in any space. So, we have had some opportunities to play guys similar to him but he is a unique back, and you have to be ready. You have to bring your 'A' game.
Q: These guys don't look, well I would assume, don't look anything like 3-8 when you look at them. They have outscored their opponents this year…
Coach Bresnahan: Well, we looked and our guys said it to me - Dallas didn't beat the Dolphins, the Dolphins beat the Dolphins. With that snap down there giving the Cowboys first and goal on the five right before halftime and they get a seven-point swing out of it. Now, Miami comes back and gets three before the half but that's still a four-point swing in a one point game. Again, they are a dangerous football team and we have got to be at our best when we go down. This is a business trip and our guys will be prepared.
Q: When a team like that is hungry for every single win, do you have to play them differentlu?
Coach Bresnahan: No. Again, I really believe you take care yourself first and then what the opponent brings, we make the adjustment on the sideline. But if our guys come out and play the way they are capable of playing, I feel very confident in our guys getting the job done.
Q: Matt Moore has had a few different stops in the NFL, but he seems to have found a home in Miami. What do you see from him?
Coach Bresnahan: That's an athletic, competitive quarterback that has a much better arm than what people give him credit for and he's got, I think, more mobility than people will initially give him credit for. He can be dangerous in the scrambles and obviously, we have had a couple of problems with the scrambles lately. We have had good pass rush, but we open up a lane here and there and with the coverage match-up, you can't do that and you know he presents you some problems. So, we have got to be very disciplined in every phase from the run fits to the pass rush to the coverage because of their playmakers and because of their athletic ability and the fact that this is a hungry football team.
