Shannon Dawson has a lot to balance in Week 1: a new QB, new communication rules and a raucous road atmosphere. He spoke to reporters about all that and more:
On the new communication rules: I personally like it, but I also haven't been through a game. I've talked to multiple NFL guys. The worry is, “Does it cut out? How consistent is it?” We obviously have things in place if it does cut out. But I don't know until I go through a game. IThe feedback I've gotten is, “It's pretty consistent, but it does cut out at times.” That’s what I would anticipate. We're kind of in uncharted territory with that, especially at our level. When we go through a game, there's gonna be some adjustments. They're no different than every Game One, but this one's a little bit different because there are some factors involved that are different than other years.
On Cam Ward: He's done a really good job of incorporating within our team. This is not about one person. That was the one thing I sold to him in recruiting was, “I'll give you an opportunity to come be a part of something that I feel could be really special. And you can be surrounded by really talented guys and showcase your ability.” I don't know if he's been a part of a culture like ours. I know I haven't before I got here. You can see him, through time, really incorporate into our culture and embrace it, which is huge.
On the identity of the offense: We can attack you in a lot of different ways. Being multiple is key. We're gonna run the football. We're big up front, we're physical, our running back room is talented, our tight end room is talented. Being able to do a lot of different things from the same personnel group is huge. Hopefully, we can attack you in a lot of different ways, a lot of different speeds. That's the key.
On how this Miami offense compares to Houston: Offensively, we're just different than we were then. Our run game is different. I would say we're completely different up front and in those rooms. I don't know if there's a correlation between the two, other than the fact that I had an older quarterback that was talented and with some people around him that were talented. Other than that, I'm not sure.
We’ve still got to do it on the field. That year, we won 12. We lost the first one and won 11 straight. And I think that first loss that year was probably the reason why we won 11 straight, to be honest with you, because it kind of got everybody on the same page and focused. But I don't know if there's a lot of similarities.
On the running back room: Last year, we rolled running backs in there. When somebody was hot, they were hot. When you look at a running back’s job description, it's tough. The things that they have to do in the course of a game and in the course of a year, it can bring some wear and tear on your body. I think having some people that can go in and kind of share that abuse is important.
They have to pick up blitzes from linebackers that are really talented. They have to run routes and catch balls and get tackled. They get hit in every different direction, which is kind of unique to their position. So I just think it's important with running backs to share the wealth. We have talented guys that we trust. Put them in there and let them play ball.
On how much they practice time management: A lot. There's situations that come up in every practice. We work two minute drills, four minute drills throughout camp almost every day. And then we come in and we watch it and we sit there and we basically dissect every play. “Should we call a timeout if it gets put in play or do we want to call a play fast?” Every play has some type of banter back and forth. It happens almost every day we're in pads throughout camp.
On preparing for the Swamp: We do the things that we've always done to prepare. We use crowd noise and all the rest, but I don't think anything prepares you for the actual environment. The game's going to have to settle in. It’s no different than every first game. But this one's different because where we're playing and who we're playing. We all understand that.
We prepared as good as we can for that environment. Ultimately, we have to go in there, especially as an offense, because offense has to deal with the crowd noise a little bit different than defense. Blocking out the things you can't control is huge. If you let those things dictate your play, and dictate your communication, then you can struggle. Blocking out those things is vitally important on the road, and we've preached that for a while.
On the mindset of the team: They understand the task at hand. Everybody does. The gravity of the game everybody gets, but it's also a game. It's a game played one snap at a time. If you sit there and you think about the whole deal, your mind can play tricks on you.
The key is to take it one snap at a time. If you have a snap that is the greatest executed snap ever, you move on to the next one with a clear mind. And if you have a snap that's the worst executed snap ever, you move on to the next one with a clear mind. If you can do that, and you stack them over and over again, that's how you take crowds out. That's how you execute.
On UF’s defense: A very talented group that's played a ton of snaps. Their D-line has over a thousand snaps within three guys. Shemar [James] has played 400 snaps. The safety played in a championship game that transferred in (Asa Turner). He's played a ton of snaps. They have a lot of experience. They're big, they're physical and fast. They're a good football team.
On Elijah Arroyo: He's a very talented kid. He's really blossoming in everything we're doing. I'm excited to watch him play. He's been a pleasure to be around. Great attitude, too.
On Sam Brown: From the beginning of camp until now, he did a really good job of getting in here and learning the offense. It’s a little different than when I had him at Houston. We ask the receivers to do different things. It's not the same. There's parts of it that are, but for the majority, it's different.
He's done a really good job of learning it and hitting the ground running. It wasn't a lot of lag with him. He's a high football IQ guy. He picks up things very quickly. He’s had a great attitude and just make plays.
On continuity in the staff: What people don't want to admit about this profession is that consistency over time wins. If you keep things consistent and the schemes are solid and the people get used to working together, then players are the same way. You have players over time running the same plays and they have banked reps that are run in the same place. Spaced repetition is how you learn things from day one. You're better at tying your shoes now than you were when you were a kid because you've done it more. So spaced repetition is the key.
On the new communication rules: I personally like it, but I also haven't been through a game. I've talked to multiple NFL guys. The worry is, “Does it cut out? How consistent is it?” We obviously have things in place if it does cut out. But I don't know until I go through a game. IThe feedback I've gotten is, “It's pretty consistent, but it does cut out at times.” That’s what I would anticipate. We're kind of in uncharted territory with that, especially at our level. When we go through a game, there's gonna be some adjustments. They're no different than every Game One, but this one's a little bit different because there are some factors involved that are different than other years.
On Cam Ward: He's done a really good job of incorporating within our team. This is not about one person. That was the one thing I sold to him in recruiting was, “I'll give you an opportunity to come be a part of something that I feel could be really special. And you can be surrounded by really talented guys and showcase your ability.” I don't know if he's been a part of a culture like ours. I know I haven't before I got here. You can see him, through time, really incorporate into our culture and embrace it, which is huge.
On the identity of the offense: We can attack you in a lot of different ways. Being multiple is key. We're gonna run the football. We're big up front, we're physical, our running back room is talented, our tight end room is talented. Being able to do a lot of different things from the same personnel group is huge. Hopefully, we can attack you in a lot of different ways, a lot of different speeds. That's the key.
On how this Miami offense compares to Houston: Offensively, we're just different than we were then. Our run game is different. I would say we're completely different up front and in those rooms. I don't know if there's a correlation between the two, other than the fact that I had an older quarterback that was talented and with some people around him that were talented. Other than that, I'm not sure.
We’ve still got to do it on the field. That year, we won 12. We lost the first one and won 11 straight. And I think that first loss that year was probably the reason why we won 11 straight, to be honest with you, because it kind of got everybody on the same page and focused. But I don't know if there's a lot of similarities.
On the running back room: Last year, we rolled running backs in there. When somebody was hot, they were hot. When you look at a running back’s job description, it's tough. The things that they have to do in the course of a game and in the course of a year, it can bring some wear and tear on your body. I think having some people that can go in and kind of share that abuse is important.
They have to pick up blitzes from linebackers that are really talented. They have to run routes and catch balls and get tackled. They get hit in every different direction, which is kind of unique to their position. So I just think it's important with running backs to share the wealth. We have talented guys that we trust. Put them in there and let them play ball.
On how much they practice time management: A lot. There's situations that come up in every practice. We work two minute drills, four minute drills throughout camp almost every day. And then we come in and we watch it and we sit there and we basically dissect every play. “Should we call a timeout if it gets put in play or do we want to call a play fast?” Every play has some type of banter back and forth. It happens almost every day we're in pads throughout camp.
On preparing for the Swamp: We do the things that we've always done to prepare. We use crowd noise and all the rest, but I don't think anything prepares you for the actual environment. The game's going to have to settle in. It’s no different than every first game. But this one's different because where we're playing and who we're playing. We all understand that.
We prepared as good as we can for that environment. Ultimately, we have to go in there, especially as an offense, because offense has to deal with the crowd noise a little bit different than defense. Blocking out the things you can't control is huge. If you let those things dictate your play, and dictate your communication, then you can struggle. Blocking out those things is vitally important on the road, and we've preached that for a while.
On the mindset of the team: They understand the task at hand. Everybody does. The gravity of the game everybody gets, but it's also a game. It's a game played one snap at a time. If you sit there and you think about the whole deal, your mind can play tricks on you.
The key is to take it one snap at a time. If you have a snap that is the greatest executed snap ever, you move on to the next one with a clear mind. And if you have a snap that's the worst executed snap ever, you move on to the next one with a clear mind. If you can do that, and you stack them over and over again, that's how you take crowds out. That's how you execute.
On UF’s defense: A very talented group that's played a ton of snaps. Their D-line has over a thousand snaps within three guys. Shemar [James] has played 400 snaps. The safety played in a championship game that transferred in (Asa Turner). He's played a ton of snaps. They have a lot of experience. They're big, they're physical and fast. They're a good football team.
On Elijah Arroyo: He's a very talented kid. He's really blossoming in everything we're doing. I'm excited to watch him play. He's been a pleasure to be around. Great attitude, too.
On Sam Brown: From the beginning of camp until now, he did a really good job of getting in here and learning the offense. It’s a little different than when I had him at Houston. We ask the receivers to do different things. It's not the same. There's parts of it that are, but for the majority, it's different.
He's done a really good job of learning it and hitting the ground running. It wasn't a lot of lag with him. He's a high football IQ guy. He picks up things very quickly. He’s had a great attitude and just make plays.
On continuity in the staff: What people don't want to admit about this profession is that consistency over time wins. If you keep things consistent and the schemes are solid and the people get used to working together, then players are the same way. You have players over time running the same plays and they have banked reps that are run in the same place. Spaced repetition is how you learn things from day one. You're better at tying your shoes now than you were when you were a kid because you've done it more. So spaced repetition is the key.
