Read the full transcript from Terron Armstead's press conference on October 7, 2024.
(Tell me what this victory did for the team, because I would think it's a huge confidence boost.) – "Every win is huge. They're hard to get, none of them taken for granted or to be minimized. We had a lot of things that we need to clean up in order to move forward and get more wins, but it's always better to correct, address issues after a win – through a winning environment."
(What did you think of the run game? I don't know if the 41 carries impresses you more or the 193 yards, but what did you think of the run game?) – "That's just something that needs to be a staple for us moving forward. We have to be able to establish that run game, no matter the opponent, no matter what day we play on, that has to be a part of our offense. The short yards, the long gains, all of it – we have to lean on it and be a huge emphasis towards moving forward."
(Was there something said in the huddle or on the sideline before that big series you had where it was sort of established, "OK, we're going to run now and it's up to you guys to pave the way?") – "No, not really. Not really, no special message or motivation at all. We just – execution was better, and we still had issues there. We still had some penalties that went against us that could have made that drive even more successful. Just moving forward, no matter what the call is, we got to go execute and without the negatives bringing us back after we have some positive gains. So that's going to be something that we continue to do, and the more we can do that, we can execute without the penalties, our offense will start to look a lot better."
(The amazing thing about the NFL is you guys had, obviously, a rough stretch but you look at the standings and they're all jumbled. What is your sense of what's next for this team? What lays ahead down the road of the Miami Dolphins?) – "Not looking down the road, or the standings either. It's still early. We're not trying to seed or position, we're just trying to focus on what we got going on, so Indy is next. That's it, man. Just lock in on Indy – establish the run game, try to be dominant in the run game and go get a win."
(What is the fun thing about blocking for RB Raheem Mostert in particular with his unique sort of gliding style? What's fun about that?) – "Just everything that he brings – that intensity, that competitiveness, the passion that he plays the game with is a big boost for the offense, that energy that he has. He's not afraid to challenge guys either to put their best foot forward. So great to have him back in there, that leadership. Blocking for Raheem, (De'Von) Achane, young dawg 'J-Wright' (Jaylen Wright) is too like, they're literally one – any play, they can go to the house. So you want to be the one that springs them for that long gain. I feel like we get one of those off my block and it goes yard, I take that as my touchdown so we love to see that."
(What impressed you about RB Jaylen Wright?) – "He's a dawg, man. He's a dawg. He's physical, he's confident. You got a lot more Jaylen Wright coming. So I'm excited to see what he's going to bring, get more experience, more reps. I love his mindset. I love how confident he is in his ability."
(Can you help us understand why the pre-snap penalties keep coming? I know there's a lot of motion, a lot of pre-snap motion, a lot of shifts – is it that complicated to understand for the offense? For QB Tyler Huntley? For an offense under Huntley? Take me inside of that please.) – "It's tough, man. There's a lot of nuances in an offense, especially when you have a lot of motions, you have a lot of personnels. You have quarterback changes so the cadence could be different; he might hold the cadence longer than others or he wants to operate faster than Tua (Tagovailoa) or maybe Skylar (Thompson). So the illegal formation, illegal shift, guys are taking their time getting set as opposed to 'Snoop' (Tyler Huntley) being in more of a hurry – we got to get set off of him. So those small little details or nuances that nobody really pays attention to until it's a problem. Crowd noise can be another thing too, so that's something that we have to – we can't continue to do if we want to play winning football. Point of emphasis, we got to keep continuing to lock in on our details. That's been the biggest difference from why we've dropped some games and were able to pull that one off yesterday."
(What's impressed you about the job that OL Rob Jones has done?) – "Again, he's a dawg. He's physical. He goes after it, no excuses. He might not always be feeling the best – get rolled up or whatever and he's just going to keep pushing. He's a warrior, man. I love playing next to him."
(As far as what you saw from this team last week in practice and how it paid off, what did you see? There were still some errors, but you guys put it together on the road in a clutch situation. What did you see from practice that translated to the game?) – "We saw improvement. We saw improvement from a technique standpoint. We saw improvement from operation, alignment, assignment, not having as many MAs and all those things that stop you from winning, but we have to clean up a lot of those things at an accelerated rate in order to be a real team, you know what I mean? We could squeeze by, but (if) we want to be a team that's going to be worth anything as far as the end of the year, we got to clean those things up at a little bit of a faster rate."
(How did your HBCU experience prepare you for the NFL?) – "I haven't been in college in 12 years. (laughter) But no, man, it definitely was a part of my make up going through that HBCU experience. Not having as many resources, just being able to work with what we got and band together as a team, as brothers. When I had gotten to Arkansas-Pine Bluff, they had never won a championship. So my senior year, we won the first championship in the history of the school. So just coming in and seeing everything work full circle and we start to lead the way and change the culture, it definitely became a part of who I am."
(Does the bye week come at a good time or would you guys rather keep playing now that you have one victory here?) – "We roll with what's ever on the schedule. We can't ever really slot it or say what because it's different for different people. We got people dealing with injuries or something so it's perfect time for them, others just kind of just getting back and wanting to get into a grove so it depends on the individual."
(WR Odell Beckham Jr., could you tell any tangible bounce or anything from the team from his presence?) – "Yeah, his presence alone. His presence alone – I'm not sure what he did statistically yesterday, but just having him in there, being on the field, know it's another reliable target to go to, especially third down. His ability to win one-on-one matchups will be big for us moving forward."
(What have you seen from CB Jalen Ramsey? He's a guy – looks like Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver is really maximizing his skill set by moving him around. What are you seeing on the field and leadership wise?) – "I think we still haven't seen the full Jalen Ramsey experience with 'Weave' (Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver). I think we're starting to unlock some things now, adding a couple of packages, but it's going to be more Ramsey, more of an impact, more getting involved. He's a special human being. He's an athlete like very few on this earth so for him to be able to be at the point of attack for a lot of plays, it's advantageous for us. I think as we move on throughout the year. We're going to see more Ramsey being in more spots."
