Danny Crossman – November 8, 2021
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Monday, November 8, 2021
Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman
(I want to ask you about WR Mack Hollins, who I think is a phenomenal gunner. I don’t know if you guys call it that. Everybody is a little bit different. But when he plays on offense, 60 snaps like last week, do you have to dial it back in terms of how much work he has to do on special teams and then when you do that, how does it impact the rest of the unit?) – “Mack, in a great way, he’s a different individual. A lot of guys, yeah when those reps start getting high in the offensive and defensive phases, you do need to dial them back. Mack is a guy that you don’t necessarily need to do that. He’s in phenomenal shape. He takes great care of his body. Really if you try and get him out in some situations, he’s going to fight you on it. We try and be smart. We try and sub him based on exactly what’s going on but he’s one of the few guys that I’ve had that it’s not a must that you get him out and you reduce his role.”
(What is it about certain guys that have that makeup to be a gunner? It’s not everybody.) – “Without a question. It’s such a difficult position to play. Guys really don’t get the credit for what they do based on situations. A lot of time you’ve got to beat two guys even to get started and then you go to be able to outrun two guys and then you’ve got to be able to get in position to make a play. Sometimes there’s even another guy down there. (Mack Hollins) does a great job during the week studying. He’s got a good plan. He understands a lot of the nuances that come with experiencing having done it for a long time. We’re very happy to have him.”
(I know he’s not one of your guys but on the other side of the field, you’ve got a guy like K Justin Tucker who’s done really good things for a long time. I’m curious, do you admire other players that you haven’t coached and what they’ve done? If so, what has Tucker been able to do for so long to be able to do it as well as he has?) – “Yes, I have a great deal of respect for a lot of people in this league. With Justin Tucker, he’s a great example of in this league, class always comes around. Some guys go through lulls in their form and they have a down year or they have a down couple of weeks. He’s a guy that for as long as he’s been in the league, he’s never had that lull. His form has never an issue where he’s had that month where maybe he misses a couple of kicks. He’s been able to be really dang near perfect for his career, which is why he’s the all-time leading field goal kicker in NFL history. Yeah, great deal of respect for him.”
(I was wondering, your playbook is full of wrinkles and different looks that you have opportunities to go to different looks whether it’s the punt game or the field goal game. You’ve talked before about how certain looks they give you dictate your ability to do so. Is there some kind of play in terms of the flow of the game or just how the defense and offense are complementing the special teams as far as when you go to stuff like snapping to the upback or throwing the ball or whatever the case may be, is there some of that involved there too?) – “Oh absolutely. There’s so many different avenues of it when you start putting that stuff together and then calling it is a whole (different) animal. The game dictates a lot of things, down and distance, situation, score. There’s so many things that factor into it. Like anything, I think a lot of teams around the league, you’re always carrying things and looking for opportunities but opportunities can change and they can present themselves positively or negatively based on a lot of factors in the game.”
(I’m curious when you have a team on the other sideline with John Harbaugh, a guy who is a special teams guy in nature that’s risen to a head coach, how do you guys – I don’t know if there is a group of special teams coordinators – but how do you guys look at that role given there’s not a lot of head coaches that have come through the special teams route?) – “Like anything, there’s pride with the job that John’s done. I’ve known John since I was in college. He was a graduate assistant on the staff there. First and foremost, John is a fabulous coach, he’s a fabulous communicator. So him getting that opportunity and being able to run with it and have success obviously, I think if you asked every special teams coordinator in the league, there’s great pride in what John’s been able to do based on his upbringing and his background on really being a special teams coach minus one year in the National Football League, and the fabulous run of success he’s had there in Baltimore.”
(You obviously have two good rookie returner options with WR Jaylen Waddle and S Jevon Holland. At this point, what’s the thinking been for you with using Jevon on punts instead of Jaylen? Is it sort of spread the responsibilities, kickoff and punt between those two? Or is there something else at play?) – “They’re two talented guys that we are trying to get opportunities. How things a lot of the time develop and some of the plan could change things, but we feel like they’re both very good, young players. They’re going through some growing pains as any young player will but we think they’re both really, really talented and both going to be really good players in a lot of areas.”
Brian Flores – November 8, 2021
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Monday, November 8, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(On straight handoffs yesterday, removing the one wildcat play and the one run by QB Jacoby Brissett, your backs got 34 yards rushing on 23 carries, which is obviously very poor. When you looked at the tape, was the offensive line simply not creating holes? Was that entirely the problem or were there some runs where RB Myles Gaskin and RB Salvon Ahmed could have achieved more but didn’t?) – “I think you can give a little credit to Houston, I thought they did some good things. Collectively, the o-line, backs, receivers, tight ends need to do a better job of creating more space for the backs to run. The backs got to do a better job of running. Collectively as a group, we just didn’t do enough in the run game to have sustained success in that area and we need to do a better job of that. We’ll talk about that with these guys today. We’re playing against a very good run defense on Thursday. We’re going to turn the page to that and we’re going to have to play a lot better.”
(Did QB Tua Tagovailoa throw today? Do you have any update on his availability for Thursday and is WR Will Fuller out Thursday?) – “Will Fuller will be out on Thursday. Tua has not thrown yet but we will see him a little later.”
(I wanted to ask specifically about the offensive line as you’re kind of halfway through the season and you’ve settled on a five-man line for the past couple of games. Are you pleased with the progress that they’ve made and has there been any thought to maybe giving one of those young guys like G Robert Jones or T Greg Little an opportunity?) – “Yeah, I mean every week we look at the group and evaluate it, but we got to do a better job on the offensive line. We got to coach them better. They’ve got to play better. So we’ll look at areas to improve that unit. Those guys you mentioned, they’re part of those conversations for sure.”
(Do you have an update on OL Greg Mancz?) – “We’re still running some tests. It looks like it’s something that will keep him out this week.”
(When you’re evaluating a player, how important is their ability to stay healthy in making an evaluation and do you believe in the concept when people describe a player as being injury prone or is that something that coaches don’t think about?) – “Availability is a big part of playing in this league and I think that goes without saying. I think our guys, they work hard in the offseason, in-season, nutrition, sleep, strength training. They do everything they can to withstand the rigors of an NFL season and an NFL game. We need as many able bodies as possible to play in this league. Obviously, it plays a role but again, injuries happen in this league. That’s just part of it. I think we all understand that at all positions. Every team is dealing with them and that’s why we spend so much time on the guys who are backups to prepare as if they are going to be in there because oftentimes that ends up being the case.”
(Do you think specifically with QB Tua Tagovailoa, is there a concern – whether he plays this week or doesn’t – is there a concern that you may not get enough of him on the field this season to give a proper evaluation of what he can be for this team moving forward?) – “I think Tua is a tough kid. I think he does everything he can to be out there. He’s had a couple unfortunate injuries this year but when he’s been in there, he’s played well. He’s a tough kid. He wants to be out there and he’s going to do everything he can to he can to get out there.”
(I wanted to ask you about your young safety tandem who have gotten an uptick in pass rush and overall production the last couple of weeks getting after the quarterback. I was just curious to get your take on the value of having safeties who can both come down and show pressure but also flip out and get to the deep part of the field?) – “I think both of those young guys are doing some good things. When you have guys who can play down in the box, play in the deep part of the field, do a good job with disguising – are they blitzing, are they playing in coverage, are they playing in man, is it zone? That gives us some flexibility defensively. I think those guys are improving in those areas every week and it’s helping us.”
(It looked like late last week, just at least based on your comments, that WR Preston Williams was trending as though he might have played yesterday and turns out he was inactive and WR Kirk Merritt got snaps after being elevated from the practice squad. I’m wondering whether you can shed some light on the decision to make Preston inactive and whether you think he might play Thursday night?) – “Preston will play Thursday night.”
(Can you shed some light as to why WR Preston Williams was inactive yesterday?) – “There’s a lot that goes into it as far as things that happen at practice, happen within the building. I expect him to be up on Thursday.”
(Based on your comments that, can we assume that there was a disciplinary issue yesterday?) – “No, it wasn’t a disciplinary issue. We just felt like we wanted to give Kirk (Merritt) – we wanted to elevate him for a number of reasons, the kicking game, offensively. He practiced well last week. That was why he was up.”
(It seems like for years, when you think of the Ravens, you think of how physical they are, especially defensively. What have you seen on film from them, as far as living up to that reputation this year?) – “More of the same. This is a well-coached team, they’re physical, they run the football, they do a good job stopping the run. They play well in the kicking game. Definitely a physical team and we’re going to have to play a physical ballgame, play a disciplined ballgame, if we’re going to have any success.”
(How do you rate your own team in terms of playing physical football?) – “I think we’ve done it in spurts. I think we’ve got to be more consistent across the board. I think we’re certainly capable of playing physical, which we’ve done at time. We just got to do it a lot more.”
(I wanted to ask you about the offensive line play. How would you evaluate it from the Houston game? Obviously it’s been an issue all season, but it seems like there was a ton of pressure against Houston. Also, I needed to get an update on T Greg Little because he hasn’t been active all season. What does he need to do to get into that mix of guys competing for playing time?) – “To answer your first question, we’ve got to do better along the offensive line. We’ve got to do better in the run game. We’ve got to protect better. Our guys understand that. It’s something we put an emphasis on, really on a weekly basis, on a daily basis. We didn’t do a good enough job yesterday. Specific to Greg, Greg has done a good job at practice. He’s been inactive really the entire year. The conversation we had this morning about potentially getting him up and getting him some playing time. We’ll see how that goes this week.”
(I wanted to ask about CB Noah Igbinoghene. For the second straight game, he was active but didn’t play any snaps. I just wanted to ask what was the thinking behind that and has he not shown enough to at least contribute on special teams?) – “Noah has actually done a lot of good things at practice. Obviously we’ve got the two – Byron (Jones) and ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) out there who get the majority of the snaps outside at the corner spot. That’s where we’ve gone defensively. In the kicking game, we just had some other guys we played instead of him. He’s done some good things.”
(Along the same line as T Greg Little, what do you need to see from TE Hunter Long for him to get in a game?) – “Hunter is another guy who is a good young player. It’s been a little bit of a crowded tight end room with (Adam) Shaheen and Mike (Gesicki) and Durham (Smythe) and E Cethan (Carter). He’s been active a couple of games. (He is) somebody who we think is going to be a solid player in this league. Just waiting for his opportunity.”
(When you play a team where you know that they pride themselves on their physicality on a short week, how much do you have to talk to the team – obviously the opponent is high-caliber. But how much do you have to talk to the team about how physical the game is going to be?) – “I think our team understands that. We talk about playing physical every week. You have to do that in this league if you’re going to have any success. They understand that. I think we all understand that Baltimore is a physical team in all three phases. If we’re going to have success in the game, it’s going to start up front. It’s going to start on the offensive line, on the defensive line and really across the board we’re going to have to play a physical ballgame.”
(Ideally you don’t want to burn elevations on a guy who isn’t going to get into the game. LB Vince Biegel did play three special team snaps. You didn’t use him on defense. Was the thinking that you might need him if LB Jerome Baker couldn’t go in terms of changing linebacker positions or was there another reason why he was elevated but didn’t play on defense?) – ‘I think you’re hitting it on the head with Jerome. He went out there and felt good. We had to have a little bit of a backup plan in case he wasn’t able to go. You’re right, you don’t want to burn them. But we were in a little bit of a scenario where the potential for Biegel to play or his snaps to increase with Jerome possibly being a little bit limited, we felt like that was what was best for the team.”
Eric Rowe – November 7, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Postgame – Houston
S Eric Rowe
Q: Eric, describe the feeling going back into the locker room with a win.
ERIC ROWE: Ah man, I’m not going to lie it’s been awhile. It’s been awhile. It’s a great feeling. I think it’s more over all of the work we’ve put in, not just last week. Probably these past six, seven weeks, how hard we work, we put a lot of effort in in practice. We have a lot of energy in practice, and, today it showed on the field. We finally came away with one.
Q: You have a short week coming up. How long will you enjoy this one before you get ready for Thursday night?
ERIC ROWE: I know it’s short. We’ve got to enjoy tonight, and then, you know, we’re right back in on Monday getting ready for Baltimore because we got Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday we’re in the hotel, and right back at it. We’re going to enjoy tonight, but, we know we have to get right back at it.
Q: What are the plans for tonight?
ERIC ROWE: I haven’t thought about tonight. I just got out of the locker room. We’re celebrating the win. Maybe go out to eat with my wife, have a good dinner.
Q: In a game with so many turnovers like that. You guys on defense feel like, hey, we got to keep taking the ball, giving it back to our offense with sort of the helter-skelter nature with how the game is going?
ERIC ROWE: Yeah, we have that mind set every week. Obviously, everybody wants to get as many turns as they can, but that’s our mindset every week either through interceptions, sack fumbles, turnover on downs. However we can get the ball back to the offense, because ultimately, that’s how you win the game.
Q: Take us through that fumble play at the end, the second to last possession. Did you think it was a catch and fumble?
ERIC ROWE: Initially I thought it was incomplete. I thought he was going to do an out route, but he just turned around and just instinctively I just know to keep fighting throughout the whole play, and I felt the ball, and then when I saw it pop out, you know, I saw Brandon (Jones) almost had it, and I was, like, man, that could have been an interception. We should have got off. Happened to be a fumble. Either way, it was a good deal.
Q: Mentally what does this do for you guys to finally pull one away?
ERIC ROWE: It gives a lot of confidence that the work we’re putting in is not going to waste. That’s the biggest thing, because once you start believing that all the hard work you are putting in is not going anywhere, then ultimately you stop working hard, and then you lose even worse. The fact that we came away with this win, the fact that we came away with the win and the hard work that we put in showed on the field, and it just gives a lot of boost and confidence.
Q: Feels like maybe the last two weeks you’ve seen maybe some of the old defense that you guys played last year as far as the success and the blitzing and turnovers. What has that been for you guys defensively, particularly the last two weeks?
ERIC ROWE: I’m not the one coming up with the game plans, but this week we wanted to put the pressure on Tyrod (Taylor), and then once you see the offense can’t figuring it out, you keep running it. You just keep running it until they figure it out. That’s our mindset. Get pressure on the quarterbacks. It’s already hard enough if you don’t get pressure, they just pick us apart, so getting pressure, blitzing, and obviously, keep focus on turnovers.
Q: I don’t know if you saw Mike Gesicki’s two one-handed catches – when he does that, does that fire up the defense?
ERIC ROWE: It fires the whole sideline up. Offense, special teams, defense. It to me it’s not a shock because I’m telling you, every day in practice, you know, either walk-through or real practice, he is catching at least, 150 balls a day. While we’re up on defense, you know, doing — like on scout team, he is over there just catching passes constantly, constantly. One-handed, both hands, two hands, no-looks. I mean, he is doing it constantly, so when he does it on the field, it’s a great play, but it’s not a shock to me because I’m, like, man, he does that every day in practice consistently.
Mack Hollins – November 7, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Postgame – Houston
WR Mack Hollins
Q: Why White Chocolate?
MACK HOLLINS: Why not? I’m kind of like white and chocolate because I’m mixed so, bam, perfect mix.
Q: Describe the locker room to us right now.
MACK HOLLINS: It’s definitely better than the last six, seven weeks. I think it’s good to get a win. Kind of remind guys how good it feels no matter how sloppy a game is, no matter what happened in it. Coming out with a win is levels above coming out with a close loss.
Q: Especially on a short week.
MACK HOLLINS: Definitely helps going into a short week to have that confidence boos, your body doesn’t hurt as much after a win and you are kind of ready to hit the ground running.
Q: When did you realize it was going to be QB Jacoby Brissett out there with you instead of Tua?
MACK HOLLINS: Honestly, when I’m out there, sometimes I don’t know who is out there. I didn’t realize Myles (Gaskin) was in at quarterback until I turned around and it’s him doing the huddle and the play call. Sometimes I just kind of get in my own zone. It’s a testament to Jacoby and really just always being ready to go play and being a professional.
Q: How much does a win just need to be celebrated for your psyche as a team?
MACK HOLLINS: I think it’s good that we have a short week because you can’t celebrate it for long. It allows guys to just put it behind you because I think sometimes on a long week you get a win and you forget to put in the work. You don’t come in in the off day and do as much as you usually do. I think it’s good to have a short week and be able to still celebrate it but make sure we’re off Houston and on to Baltimore.
Q: What was the key to the touchdown catch?
MACK HOLLINS: Getting open and Jacoby (Brissett) putting a good ball on me. It seemed like it’s a bad ball when it’s low, but that’s really the only place he could have put it where the DB could not have got it so it was good.
Q: When you see TE Mike Gesicki make catches the way he does, does that surprise you at all? Is that something that’s just routine that you see all the time in practice?
MACK HOLLINS: I mean, it’s obviously a great catch, but that’s something that Mike (Gesicki) has always worked on. I don’t think anybody is ever surprised when he does it because he works on it after practice. He catches 150 balls after practice on the juggs whether it’s one hand or two-hand or whatever it may be. When guys are prepared to do stuff, it usually turns over into the game.
Q: Were you surprised TE Mike Gesicki could sky like that the way he does and hauls it in?
MACK HOLLINS: Mike (Gesicki) can do a lot of great stuff. Young Superman. I’m just ready to throw some first down signals when the ball goes in the air and Mike throws one hand up because I think he had more one-handed catches today than two-handed.
Emmanuel Ogbah – November 7, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Postgame – Houston
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
Q: How did it feel to see all those near-sacks that you’ve had all season turn into real sacks, materialize this time around?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: Relief. Just trying to get back there and trying to do whatever I can to help this team win, but it’s finally starting to come around, so I’m happy about that.
Q: What’s the mood in the locker room right now, you guys finally get a win after it’s been so long?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: It’s a win, but we’ve got a quick turnaround now. We’ve got the Ravens coming up. I’m just proud of those guys the way we fought out there.
Q: I know the second half of the Bills game didn’t go the way you guys would’ve wanted. Do you feel that you guys are starting to get back to that 2020 form?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: Yeah, I feel like we’re doing some things right and we’re just getting better as a unit.
Q: When do you get Drew Rosenhaus to start pestering to lock you up next season and beyond?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: Like I said before, my job is to go out there and help this team win and I’m going to let him handle the rest.
Q: Obviously quick turnaround this week, obviously, and you think about facing Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson. How much do you take from defending Houston QB Tyrod Taylor to defending Lamar Jackson?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: I haven’t watched the film so I’ll let you know after I watch the film.
Q: What was the key to getting as much pressure you guys got on Tyrod Taylor this game?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: We always get pressure, but just keep going, just keep rushing. You never know when he is going to hold to the ball and you got to rush every play like you’re going to get there. Eventually it will come.
Q: Have you felt any shift over the last couple of games defensively where you guys are feeling like you’re doing what you want to do?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: Like I said; just the work, practice, and just getting better every week. Even though the wins didn’t come back then, I felt like we were getting better as a unit.
What’s it like to have a young safety like S Brandon Jones who you know is somehow managing to come and bring pressure?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: I always call him a ball hawk. He is always around the ball and he goes full speed every time. He hits hard for his size, so I like his development.
What can you build upon that’s going to help you guys on Thursday?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: Just keep playing together. Like I said we’ve got a short week. Everybody take care of your body. Just get ready to go against a good team – Ravens – coming in.
Christian Wilkins – November 7, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Postgame – Houston
DT Christian Wilkins
Q: How long have you had that suit?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: This old thing? I’ve had it for a while (Laughter). No big deal. This thing, it’s no big deal really (Laughter).
Q: What does a win do for this group?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: Wins are nice. It’s been a little while since we got to experience one. It’s just good. The fact that we just stuck together, kept working hard. It’s easy in situations like that to just keep your head down or just lose hope, but you know, we just stuck together and it’s good to experience one together because we all worked so hard. We’ll enjoy this one. We got a quick turnaround, so we’ll enjoy it for another hour or so and get back to work.
Q: No 24-hour rule today?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: No 24 hour rule. At least cut in half, if that.
Q: How do you celebrate this one personally?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: I don’t know. Like just good energy right away in the locker room. It’s just nice to experience a win together with this group. Like I said, with this team that works so hard, so that’s always exciting. We’ll enjoy it for a few more hours, and like I said, get back to work.
Q: Now that the streak of losing is over, what was that like when you guys were going through that week by week?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: You know, it’s the challenges of the NFL. What kind of comes with it. Each week is a new challenge, it’s a new team and it’s tough. Like I said, it’s easy to lose hope in those situations, but we never really did. We always just kept good energy around the building, good energy in the locker room. Just guys stuck together. It’s just new is to experience a win.
Q: We heard S Eric Rowe say earlier that.
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: Death Rowe, that’s my guy (Laughter).
Q: We heard S Eric Rowe say earlier that wins like this kind of confirms the work that you guys put in. That sometimes when you don’t see the result after working so hard, it can be a little disheartening. Is it tough to stay positive when the results aren’t there?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: It can be, but, like I even hit on last week, we have a lot of good guys in the locker room. A lot of good leaders who in those situations where it’s easy to just lose hope, just guys who stayed positive, guys who came to work every day, had a smile on their face, great energy and like I said last week, I refuse to be miserable in those situations because it’s such a blessing to be in the NFL and be a part of this organization. A lot, even in the negative, there’s still a lot of positive.
Christian, what part of today’s defensive performance reminded you of some of the stuff from the 2020 defense?
CHRISTIAN WILKINS: We just did a good job of attacking the football. Had a lot of turnovers today, and timely turnovers too, like the one by Death Rowe (Eric Rowe) at the end there. We just stayed through all the adversity; short fields, turnovers. We were able to go outs and just hold them to three on a few different occasions, so that was big. We were able to step up and do our part as a defense.
Jacoby Brissett – November 7, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Postgame – Houston
QB Jacoby Brissett
Q: What does it mean to you to lead this team to a win for the first time in a long time?
JACOBY BRISSETT: Yeah it’s awesome, we definitely needed one. I think we did a good job in all three phases of the game. Came out and played well in certain spots of the game. Hats off to us. They came out and played well, too, and really made it a 60-minute game like we knew it would be, and we just made a couple more plays than they did.
Q: Jacoby, when did you have an idea it was going to be your week?
JACOBY BRISSETT: We knew going into Wednesday that it was a possibility that I might play. Just preparing, obviously, like I’m the starter no matter what, and then got the call. Or call — he just told me. He didn’t call me. (laughter)
Q: The plays from Mike Gesicki, when you were throwing that and he hauls in that one-handed catch, is it just confidence that he’s going to sky like that and bring it down?
JACOBY BRISSETT: For sure. Me coming here I knew that we had a tight end that can make plays like that. And it’s no surprise because when you watch him in practice and on the side every time when the defense is going, he is practicing those catches, and he is making those plays. It’s no surprise. Obviously, it’s crazy when he does it in the game, but not to say that we expect those plays from Mike (Gesicki), but it’s the reason why his hard work is paying off in those times.
Q: So the confidence is there when you are throwing it like that, that more than likely he’s going to haul it in.
JACOBY BRISSETT: Yes, for sure.
Q: When you do get that – not the call but you do get the confirmation from Coach Flores that you are starting, what are the immediate thoughts that go through your head?
JACOBY BRISSETT: This is what I worked for. Pretty much that’s it. Then just go do what I do.
Q: Is there sort of a feeling as much as you want to celebrate this with the game coming up in just four days, is there a bit of a feeling of, hey, we can’t do this five-turnover thing against Baltimore?
JACOBY BRISSETT: Oh no. Hell no. For sure. You can answer that question. Obviously, but it’s still a win in the NFL, which is hard to do, so we should be happy about that. Obviously, it’s a short week and then we just got to find a way to bounce back tomorrow. Watch the film and get better from there.
Q: Do you expect then to start Thursday versus the Ravens?
JACOBY BRISSETT: I’ll three-way you in if I get the call. (laughter)
Q: What did Brian tell you guys after the win?
JACOBY BRISSETT: Who is Brian?
Q: Coach Flores.
JACOBY BRISSETT: … (laughter) Coach Flo. He said, good job on the win. Short week. Get ready to turn the page tomorrow.
Q: What was it like to watch the defense step up time and time again?
JACOBY BRISSETT: It was awesome and the thing is they’ve been doing it a lot this year. It was good that we were able to make another play to help reward those guys. I thought they did a great job getting us the ball with short fields. At the end of the second quarter was big. That was pretty much –not saying it’s the game, but it was the swing in the game to springboard us into being comfortable and – not comfortable, but being able to play football in the second half.
Q: What have you learned about this team personally that helped get the win today and is going to help you on Thursday?
JACOBY BRISSETT: That we’re together. There’s no quit in this team no matter what. You know, we got a bunch of guys that want to go out there and win and want to play their best, and as hard as it is to say, obviously, turning the ball over and some of the other mistakes, but guys are straining to do the right thing and make those plays, and at some point they’re going to start a flow, which they did today. Obviously, we got a win, so they flowed enough over the cup for us to win. We’re going to start to clean up a lot of those errors and mistakes, and then more plays will be made.
Mike Gesicki – November 7, 2021 (Postgame)
Download PDF version
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Postgame – Houston
TE Mike Gesicki
Q: On those two catches – one-handed – some of your defensive teammates say you do that in practice all the time. Is that something you work on?
MIKE GESICKI: Yeah, I work on that a lot. The catches – everybody sees them on Sunday, but they happen behind the scenes and things like that. One of our strength coaches, Jimmy Mangiero, he throws me so many damn footballs, you would think he is a JUGS machine. We do a ton of drills together on off days, before practice, after practice. All that kind of stuff. You do it so many repetitions. This way when it happens on Sunday, it just happens naturally.
Q: To sky like that one-handed – you actually work on that?
MIKE GESICKI: Yes. Yes.
Q: Does your volleyball background help you?
MIKE GESICKI: I don’t know. You guys will probably write about it that it does, but I’m not sure if it does, but maybe. If it does, appreciate playing volleyball back in the day.
Q: Mike, how much does a win do for this group’s confidence especially on a short week?
MIKE GESICKI: A ton. It means a ton. Especially when we still didn’t play our best football. You guys saw the game. We played in it, and there’s still a lot to correct, but that’s the beauty of this game. Finally get a win. Finally something to build on, something to be positive about. Locker room, some smiles, but I think we got to be professionals and be ready to roll on Thursday. So get back to work. If you want to watch the film and get better from it, great. If not, you better be watching Baltimore.
Q: Can you describe the mood of the locker room for us?
MIKE GESICKI: It’s a lot of fun. It’s cool. It’s something that we’ve been working for, and like I said, for many weeks we’ve been close. Today maybe that’s the stepping stone we need regardless of the scoreboard, regardless of the turnovers, the whatever, a win is a win in this league, and it’s not easy.
Q: The one-handed catches obviously are great for the highlight reel, but I’m thinking that you probably only have other reasons for doing it just to increase your catch radius or whatever. Can you explain the advantages it gives you?
MIKE GESICKI: I just do it because you never know when the ball is going to be stretched out or it’s going to be behind you or the guy is going to be holding your arm and sometimes they don’t call it. You got to be ready to make those plays. I say week in, week out, you got to be – when you have an opportunity to make a play, you have to make the most of it, so those are opportunities, and you don’t want to come back and say, ‘oh, man, like, that would have been a great catch.’ Honestly, the one after that would have been a great catch, but you’ve got to make those plays. So maybe I got to work on the left too. I do work on the left, so I don’t even know why I said that. (laughter) Maybe I got to do even more on the left because that’s not my dominant hand.
Q: Do you need someone to sketch up like a Jordan-type logo for you?
MIKE GESICKI: If you guys do it and we sell merch off it and we get some money, we’ll talk about it. (laughter)
Q: It seems like you and Mack Hollins are two guys who try to bring positive energy and juice which can be hard when the team is losing. How have you or have you matured in that area – the leadership and the rallying other guys? How have you evolved in that?
MIKE GESICKI: I think as a young guy, you sit back and watch how things evolve and you watch how guys react when things go poorly. Now here in year four, I think the team needs it, so I’m not normally a guy that’s going to yell and scream or, you know, honestly, say a whole lot of anything, but if that’s the role and somebody needs to do it, I think I’ll step up and do it, and I think I have. I think Mack does a great job. We got a lot of leaders on our team, and a lot of them stepped up today.
Q: What do you think this team learned from the previous two times you’ve had a multiple score lead?
MIKE GESICKI: I think we just played 60 minutes of football today, so whether it was we turned the ball over, our defense goes out and helps us out. You know, we just kind of kept pushing, kept going out there and not letting this one slip away. Like I said, you know, a win is a win. It’s something to build on for us. We got a short week, and we should all probably be going home and watching some Baltimore film tonight.
