Christian Wilkins – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
DT Christian Wilkins (transcribed by Anthony Gutierrez)
(Is it sweeter getting a touchdown and then following it up later in the game with a sack as well?) – “I mean, I’m a d-linemen at heart, so the sacks will always trump everything. I love touchdowns, and hopefully this will be the first of many in my career, but the sack was definitely the icing on the cake and the win was the biggest thing, so that’s the best part of it all.”
(When the ball hit the ground, did you think you lost your touchdown reception, even after you fell on it?) – “I didn’t know but all I saw was everyone running over to me celebrating, so that’s all that mattered. I thought I was in clean the first time, but I wasn’t sure because I didn’t hear the whistle or anything.”
(How excited were you when Head Coach Brian Flores called that play?) – “Yeah. We worked on it earlier in the week, so I knew it was a possibility… Once we got into the huddle, (Ryan Fitzpatrick) made sure I knew ‘this is a pass.’ I appreciated that. (laughter) But then it was right there for me.”
(What went on the last few series?) – “They just made a lot of plays. We made a lot of mistakes and they capitalized on our mistakes. I can’t really tell you exactly what it was or what happened. I’d have to watch the tape to see it, to be sure. Again, it’s something you can learn from and move on.”
(There is talk this season about this team – wins, losses, draft picks. What do these victories mean for you guys?) – “I mean it means a lot because regardless of what people on the outside may think, we work extremely hard. The coaches, the players, everybody, we get after it each and every day and each and every week. We try to put our best effort forth, and it’s rewarding whenever you can get a win, because we have all been putting our best foot forward. There’s been a lot of great energy all year. Regardless of wins and losses and whatever happened the game before, guys did a great job each week of starting over and just getting after it.”
Mike Gesicki – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
TE Mike Gesicki (transcribed by Faustino Yanes)
(A wild day for you personally?) – “Yeah, it was fun. That’s the game of football right there – all the good stuff, all the bad stuff and everything in between. (There’s) a lot to learn from, a lot to grow on and I’m just happy to that we were able to come out with the win.”
(You guys build a 23-point lead. We saw it disappear in six-and-a-half minutes. What happened to build that lead and what happened that let it go away?) – “I mean like I said, that’s just the game of football. They’re out there making plays, too. I think that we put ourselves in a position to go out and win a game and then they came back and kept fighting, so you tip your hat off to them. Then in overtime, our defense got a couple crucial stops for us, and then we were able to go down there, make a couple of plays to get in field goal range and Jason (Sanders) sent us home happy, so it was good.”
(It was your first career two-touchdown game, can you talk about that how…?) – “Yeah, (there were) plays out there to be made and when the ball’s up, you’ve got to go get it. There was one in overtime that I wish I could have brought in; but that’s part of the game, so I’ve got to be able to learn from all of that and take the good and the bad. (I’ve) got to be able to grow from all of it.”
(You had the drop and then I think you caught a very similar pass there. Were they the same calls essentially?) – “No they were different calls; but like I said – I feel like I’ve said it like four times now (laughter) – that’s the game of football. It’s a long game, especially when you go into overtime, and that was a full 70 minutes. There are going to be good plays, there are going to be bad plays and I think the biggest part is just being able to fight through the bad ones, grow on the good ones; and the best part about it is we got the win, which is huge.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(WR DeVante Parker had his first 1,000-yard season. What do you credit his success to this year with you?) – “I think hard work. He’s definitely showed a lot of determination throughout his career, and he just, he’s a playmaker. When you put the ball in his area, he makes plays. He wants the ball in the tough situations, and I’ve been extremely proud of him all year, the way that he’s played. But that’s a great – as a receiver, that 1,000-mark is a great accomplishment and was very happy to see him get it today.”
(You were leading 35-12 with 6:11 to play, and then you’re not. You’re thinking what as you’re seeing their numbers tick up on the scoreboard?) – “I’m thinking, ‘No way. No. No way. Well, they’ve got to get the 2-point conversion. Well, they’ve got to get an onside kick. Well, they’ve got to score again. Well, they’ve got to get the 2-point conversion (again).’ And it all happened. That’s tough. That was tough for us to kind of reset. As an offense, we ran the ball a bunch on our last drive and really hadn’t been out there. I don’t know what the real time was, but we hadn’t been out there for a while. So it was tough to hit reset. I think our defense, whatever happened at the end of the game, they really stepped up in overtime because we didn’t come out. We won the toss, so you’ve got to come out, bring it down the field and score some points, hopefully a touchdown, and we didn’t do either. They made a couple big stops, got some good punts. Then we took advantage of it at the end, but I would also say Isaiah Ford stepped up huge today, made some huge plays in overtime, and he’s just a guy that’s been so consistent and a guy that has been so determined since he’s been here, and it was nice to see him today make some plays.”
(When you throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns, how does it make you feel about where you are in your career?) – “I truly don’t care about that. I mean, I know it’s cool and like, my kids are excited about it and they’re excited about their fantasy teams and all that; but winning is what it’s all about, and we got off to a great start and then slowed down a little bit. But I think the fact, the five touchdowns and being able to get that today and scoring seven rather than three was a nice change of pace for us because the last few weeks we had struggled with that. It’s fun because we fought through a lot this year, so it’s fun to be in a game like that.”
(You won some fantasy football championships today. Today was the championship round or week. I don’t know if you know that.) – “Yeah, I don’t; but I’m sure my kids will tell me all about it.”
(Do you guys practice that play with DT Christian Wilkins catching the ball in the end zone?) – “I’ve probably thrown it to him once, maybe twice, and –“
(Did DT Christian WIlkins drop it?) – “No, the first time I threw it to him I threw it as hard as I could just to – not that that’s real fast – but I threw it as hard as I could just to see what kind of athlete he was, and I think we all knew what kind of athlete he was, but it was natural. He’s a natural pass catcher, so I’m very comfortable with him in that situation. He did a nice job. That was fun for everybody.”
(They showed video of a crawling baby on the field before the game.) – “That’s one of mine, yeah. (laughter)”
(What was it like to have everybody out there?) – “It was awesome. Yeah, I usually don’t do the field pass thing before the game, but they were out there today on the field, and we all got to play around and throw the ball around a little bit. My kids are claiming that they got to come out for the Eagles game before the game, too, so maybe there’s a trend there, and we’ll get them out a little bit more.”
(Can you talk a little bit about TE Mike Gesicki and WR DeVante Parker and what they meant and when you needed a big play, you get it from another guy WR Isaiah Ford that’s really had an in-and-out year and really stepped up big like before?) – “Yeah, DeVante, a great job again today. He made some catches down the field, made some tough catches. That’s something we’ve come to expect out of him every week, and I know that he expects that out of himself. Mike had a good game. There was some up-and-down stuff in the second half that we worked through a little bit, but he made some nice catches and got open a few times where all he had to do was not drop it, which is nice. Mike is stepping up. He’s had a good year, but he’s just got to continue to get better, and he’s showing that. So it’s nice for him to get in the end zone a couple times today. Then I touched on Isaiah Ford, but I’m so proud of a kid like that that has just fought his butt off all year long, and for me as a quarterback in those situations, I’m throwing to the guys that I trust, and I think I maybe was 0-for-3 to DeVante on the first drive or whatever it was, and Isaiah is a guy that I have full and complete confidence in, and I think that showed in overtime there. He stepped up and made some big plays.”
(You talked about you had all your seven kids out on the field before the game. Anything can happen in this league – I know you’re under contract for another year. Is a part of that being “I don’t know this is going to be the last ride, I want my kids to…”) – “A little bit. Probably the last four years it’s been like that, where you just never know in this business and in this league. At the end of the season, it’s always nice to have them down there to experience it.”
(I know from a perspective standpoint it’s a four-win team. I get that, but do you feel like you’ve lifted this team?) – “I mean, I just think back to when we were 0-7 or whatever it was and the spirit at practice, the way the guys were still coming in and working hard and buying in and believing, and really, I guess, since the end of that Washington game, it’s been that way. I’m just – I’m happy. I’m so happy that ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) trusted to put me back in the lineup and trusts me in there. I work every day, not just for him but for my teammates and for everybody to try to make sure and prove him right, that he made the right decision. We’ve only won four games, but it’s been a fight, and it’s been a lot of fun these last 9-10 weeks to work with these guys.”
(Can you describe the change of emotions in that fourth quarter up until that overtime drive?) – “Crazy. I mean, it was – it wasn’t even disbelief because there was no way it was going to happen, and then all of a sudden it became disbelief because it did happen. We just had to loosen up a little bit and get back out there and do it. But you never know in this league. That’s a wild, crazy finish – one that I’ve probably never seen one like that. ESPN has got their win probability stuff. I’d love to see what it was with six minutes left. But yeah, it was a crazy game, and it was nice for us to step up at the end.”
(Is that the wildest one you’ve played in?) – “I’ve played in some pretty wild ones. It’s a lot more fun and a lot more wild when you’re the one coming back than it is sitting there watching the scoreboard get closer and closer.”
Brian Flores – December 22, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 22, 2019
Postgame – Cincinnati
Head Coach Brian Flores
(Do you walk away from this thinking your offense did great work and bailed us out?) – “I walk away feeling like we won. It’s hard to win in this league. It’s hard to win in this league. We could have played better, obviously. We could have played better in the situations at the end of the game, but at the end of the day, we rallied. They stuck together and found a way to win the game. It’s not easy to win in this league. A lot of people think it might be, but it’s not.”
(How would you describe the way QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played overall?) – “I thought he played well. I thought we moved the ball efficiently the majority of the game. We got stalled out a couple of times on some three-and-outs. They made some adjustments and then we had to make some adjustments. Overall, I thought he played well. At the end of the day, he was able to drive us down the field for the game-winning kick, which it feels good to win.”
(Talk about your passing game. It was tough running all day long but WR DeVante Parker comes up big, TE Mike Gesicki comes up big, WR Albert Wilson comes up big. So many guys in the passing game that really helped you get back in the game and allowed you to get back in when you needed it.) – “I thought we had contributions from a lot of guys. Like you said – DeVante, Mike – Isaiah Ford I thought played great, really specifically in the fourth quarter. Durham (Smythe) made a couple of catches. I thought – that’s what you need. You need contributions from several different guys and we got that today, and we needed all of it. We needed every catch, we needed every run after catch, we needed every block, we needed every tackle in the kicking game, defensively. Look, at the end of the game, there’s a lot of learn from from the film – especially situationally – but it’s good to learn from your mistakes after a win.”
(QB Ryan Fitzpatrick took some big hits during the course of the day, but 419 yards, four touchdowns. That’s pretty good for a 37-year-old guy.) – “Yeah, I thought he played well. We were able to move the ball. He made some good throws. Those guys made good catches for him and we blocked efficiently today. We had some instances where the protection wasn’t – we had some pressure, but I thought overall the protection was solid and we gave him enough time to find the open receiver. He made a lot of plays for us.”
(What went through your mind or crossed your mind during the 2-point conversion to tie the game up?) – “The game was tied, we go into overtime, and we’ve got to win in overtime. Look, the other team, they made a play. They made a lot of plays, specifically at the end of the game. They played really well at the end. We didn’t play well; but at the end of the day, we had an opportunity to go into overtime, put a couple of drives together and win it at the end. Look, we always talk about playing a 60-minute ballgame and today we had to play a 70-minute ballgame. That’s what it took to pull this one out, and it’s a happy locker room, and we’re excited.”
(Do you feel like it was definitely them making plays or did you see any part of your team that was up 35-12 maybe taking its foot off the gas on defense?) – “No. I mean, I thought they made a lot of plays. I thought they did a good job situationally with their time outs and game management, and gave themselves an opportunity to stay in the game, and we didn’t. There was a lot to learn from. We were out of bounds on a couple. We had a holding penalty which stopped the clock. Those end-of-the-game situations, we work on them, we talk about them. As a young team, it’s good to go through them and live them and see what can happen when we don’t execute in those situations. But it’s always good for that to come up – it’s never really good for it to come up, but to see what can happen in a bad way. We saw that today. But at the end of the day, we were able to make those corrections and learn from those mistakes after a win, which is good.”
(Did you think DT Christian Wilkins was going to grab that ball after he dropped it? Were you confident?) – “We were very confident. Christian, we stuck him in there at the fullback position. (Offensive Coordinator) Chad (O’Shea) made a good call there, and he made a good catch. He probably can do a little bit better with his ball security; but they called it a score, so we’ll take it.”
(You guys broke the record last week for most players used in a single season, and this week you have plenty of guys – DT Zach Sieler, CB Tae Hayes getting plenty of reps. How big of a challenge was it to get those guys ready to play within a 7- to 10-day period?) – “Well, I think our coaching staff – from (Special Teams Coordinator) Danny (Crossman) in the kicking game and Chad (O’Shea) offensively, (Defensive Coordinator) Pat (Graham) defensively, our coaches, whether it’s (Defensive Line Coach) Marion Hobby or (Defensive Pass Game Coordinator/Cornerbacks) Josh Boyer as you mentioned with Tae Hayes and getting those guys ready – I think they do a really good job, and that’s been the case really throughout the season with injuries and new players. They do a good job from that standpoint, getting those guys ready. We’ve got one more game where we can go out there and try to play another tough, smart, physical game, and it’s an opportunity to get better.”
(WR DeVante Parker and TE Mike Gesicki made some plays today as did WR Isaiah Ford. Those are three examples of players who have shown professional growth this season. What role do you think QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has played in some of that?) – “It’s always a collective team effort – so it’s Ryan, but a lot of credit goes to those guys individually, going through that process, their preparation, their practice habits. The credit is to them, and obviously ‘Fitz,’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) hats off to him for the way he prepares, and look, it’s a team game so you’ve got to help each other. Different groups – quarterback to receiver, backs with the o-line, tight ends blocking with the o-line – I mean, it’s a team of teams, and you’ve got to work together. I think they’ve all done that, and Ryan has been a big part of that. I think you’re on the right track there.”
(The wins this season, what have they meant to you as a first-time head coach and what do you think they mean to your players in the locker room?) – “It’s always good to win. These guys, they put a lot into this. From a preparation standpoint, from a practice standpoint, it’s important to them. It’s important to me. Look, I’ve said this before: I’m excited to coach this team. I love coaching this team. They work extremely hard and I want them to have success. That’s what coaching is all about. Again, I’ve said this before: I’m here to serve these guys and try to help them become better players, better people, and to see the fruits of that labor is always good.”
(What have you learned from the first game to today?) – “I’ve learned a lot over the course of the season. This role is very different from a leadership standpoint, from a relationship standpoint; but it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed coaching this team, working with the different people in the organization, from security to media to equipment to nutrition. In this role, you deal with everybody. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed it. I love coaching this team. I love being the head coach of the Miami Dolphins; but at the same time, I know that we’ve got to continue to work and continue to prepare and continue to go through our process, and if we continue – if we do those things, hopefully the results will show up.”
