Jay Ajayi – December 1, 2016
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Thursday, December 1, 2016
Running Back Jay Ajayi
(When you faced the Jets they were the No. 1 rush defense and you did quite well. You’re facing the Ravens. What do you see? Is there a difference between the two? What do you see on film with the Ravens rush defense?) – “They have a front – a lot of good players up there. (Terrell) Suggs, he’s been doing it for a long time. Their linebackers, as well, are good. I know we’re going to have a good challenge again this week. They’re playing well right now; we’re playing well, so it will be fun.”
(You went last, you went more to the right then you have in the past. More rush plays were called to the right. If you get T Branden Albert and G/T Laremy Tunsil back, how much would a shot in the arm will that be to the offense?) – “I don’t really know like which direction I’m running, but it will be good to get those guys back. Those are our starting guys and we’re confident in those guys and what they bring to our o-line when they’re in there. It will be good for them to get in there. We’re excited to see how it will turn out on Sunday.”
(Is the word playoffs even being mentioned right now in this locker room?) – “No. Not really, because to be honest, we’re still just working on finding ways to win each week. It’s kind of been where we want to win games outright and we’re playing in a lot of four-quarter games so it’s kind of been to where we really have to focus on each opponent, each week, and just find a way win every time.”
(Are you aware of your opponents, their run defense rankings, and do you make notes of that like Baltimore’s No. 1? The Jets were No. 1? San Diego was No. 5? Are you aware? Do you care?) – “They tell us when we go through our weekly meetings that we do. When we go over the overview and all that, we learn what the team rankings are, defensive stats and all that. It’s been interesting the past couple of weeks. We’ve definitely had to play like a lot of good rush defenses. It’s been cool taking that challenge and at the end of the day, whoever’s out there we’re going to go out there with our mentality that we want to run the ball downhill and make plays.”
(Do you take pride in knowing you’ve gone up against the best?) – “It’s a good feeling to know we’re going against top defenses and we’re having success. At the same time though, we just want to keep proving a point every time we step out there.”
(But the faith that Head Coach Adam Gase has in the run offense. For instance, against the Jets, you got I think 26 first-half yards and you end up with 111 – half of them in the fourth quarter. They were the No. 1 rush defense and you kept pounding the ball and pounding the ball. What does it say about his faith the run offense?) – “I think just over this win streak, our run game has been a key factor and the reason why our offense has done well. I don’t think there would be any reason to stray away from it. We’ve shown production and we’ve shown what we can do when we’re rolling, and so I don’t really think there’s a reason to stray away from it and it’s been good, because even with our run game doing well, now our passing game is opening up and making a lot of plays on the perimeter. Everyone basically eats on offense and so that’s what we want to have.”
(Even if you have 20 more rushes, do you feel stronger in the fourth quarter than you do, say in the first quarter?) – “I feel good. Like I said, I always feel like I get stronger as the game goes on and get more of a feel of how the holes and runs are looking. It’s good. In the fourth quarter, when defenses are tired, that’s when you want to attack.”
(You’re going to be wearing special cleats on Sunday. Tell us what that’s all about and why you chose the cause you did?) – “Yes, so I’m going to be wearing some red cleats. I’m getting them actually painted today in support of MENs Disease (multiple endocrine neoplasia). I lost an aunt to it, my dad’s sister, and actually my cousin who lived with me growing up (has it). I just found out this year that he has it as well. So just through communication with him and my whole family, I wanted to bring awareness to the disease and hopefully start getting a conversation out there, because there are people that go through it.”
(Going back to wearing out defenses for a second, can you tell by looking at guys that you’re grating on them, you’re wearing them down, they’re bumped and bruised as the end of the game nears?) – “I think there’s a point where you start to see that guys are kind of tired out there in the fourth (quarter), or guys kind of maybe don’t bring the same physicalness that they were in the first quarter or the first half. It’s all about just myself and just having that mentality that I’m not going to stop and just going to keep pounding all game.”
(T Branden Albert said yesterday that he respects Head Coach Adam Gase because he treats all of you like grown men. He also said there’s like a cool aspect to him. Is there a cool aspect to your head coach?) – “Yes, I think because he’s younger, he relates a lot more to us. He’s very player friendly. He allows a lot of dialogue between himself and us and so I think that kind of helps us just feel a lot more cool in the building. Everyone just feels a little more relaxed, where different head coaches might not be as open to conversing with the players like that.”
