Byron Jones – September 23, 2021
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Thursday, September 23, 2021
CB Byron Jones
(When you have a player with WR Henry Ruggs’ type of speed, obviously you see that a lot in practice here with the team. How does that impact your style of play and mindset?) – “You just have to understand how they want to use him and when they want to use him. He’s a big-play threat and obviously he’s taking the top off of the defense. Understanding the sets that they like to use him in and understand the position on the field in which his best routes are going to be coming from. The defense, we talk to each other on the back end like, ‘Hey, it’s tight split here, maybe nasty.’ Then talking to the safety and understanding that the backside corner can help us as well. Just understanding the set that you are getting and what they want to get out of it, essentially.”
(I don’t know how involved you’ll be in this aspect but covering TE Darren Waller, what does that take from a defense as a whole?) – “He’s big, fast, strong and he runs great routes. It just takes everybody. It takes good pressure. It takes good coverage. It’s a team effort. He’s a really good player and we’ll have our hands full.”
(What are your impressions of Las Vegas QB Derek Carr and what he’s done so far this year?) – “He’s rolling. When I watch the film, he’s making very decisive throws and he’s taking what the defense is giving him and he’s taking really good shots when he needs to. They’re really rolling right now. It’s a fun challenge for us on the backend. It’s a fun challenge for us as a team. But no, he’s definitely playing good. He’s been playing good for his entire career, so nothing new on that one.”
Adam Butler – September 23, 2021
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Thursday, September 23, 2021
DL Adam Butler
(Obviously when you lose 35-0, that has to be something tough to digest. How do you cleanse it from the system and move forward?) – “You just got to let it go. Learn from your mistakes and let it go. You can’t go back and fix it. You’ve just got to move on.”
(You’ve played everywhere obviously across the d-line. When you step into DT Raekwon Davis’ role at nose tackle or however identified in the particular front that you’re in, any responsibilities different for you than if you’re just coming in as a pass-rushing end, as far as priorities and responsibilities?) – “My entire career has been about being versatile and being able to do a bunch of different things. I said it when I first got here, that I was coming to help the team in any way I can. Anywhere they need me, I’m going to step in.”
(What stands out about the way the Raiders try to run the football?) – “They are a good football team. I don’t really want to point out any specifics. We won’t take them for granted. We won’t take this team lightly.”
(Did you get a chance to catch the Dolphins’ game at Las Vegas last year on television? If so, what was going through your mind watching it, especially that fourth quarter?) – “I was probably playing sometime around that time, so I don’t think I saw it last year.”
Albert Wilson – September 23, 2021
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Thursday, September 23, 2021
WR Albert Wilson
(I saw you throwing a couple of passes on the sideline last game. Are you the emergency quarterback?) – “Nah. (laughter) Just helping out.”
(I was going to say, you were a pretty good quarterback in high school right?) – “Yeah, them days over with. (laughter)”
(Do you still have it in you?) – “It never goes but my job title is something else now. (laughter)”
(You weren’t playing last season, but I can imagine you watched the Dolphins game in Las Vegas last year. What was that like from your viewing experience?) – “It was exciting. You get those games that go down to the wire, that’s the best ones to watch. Not necessarily to be in, but at home watching, you want them to go back and forth and go down until the final say so. It was very exciting.”
(How is the chemistry with the team with QB Jacoby Brissett and looking forward to the game on Sunday, how is that going?) – “It’s going pretty good. Jacoby came in as soon as he was picked up in the offseason. He was here the next day with Tua (Tagovailoa) and the rest of us throwing during the offseason. He’s been around. We’ve got a lot of chemistry with him and we believe in what he does. We’re excited to have him up, just looking forward to this next week.”
(Your teammates say QB Jacoby Brissett is a leader. Do you believe that he’s a leader on this team?) – “For sure. He’s definitely a leader. It’s exciting to have his leadership up and have him doing things.”
(A lot of the focus has been on the offensive line after the game against Buffalo. But the wide receiver corps didn’t perform up to it’s standards, I think you’d agree with that. Has there been talk amongst you guys about wanting to really bounce back, and show this was just a blip?) – “Yeah, for sure. We’ve just got to catch the ball. That’s our job. That’s what they expect us to do. That’s what the team expect us to do. That’s what the world expects us to do. We just have to have them. I know myself, I was just excited out there trying to make things happen. I kind of tend to leave the ball, so that’s what happened. But myself, I got to bring those in to have those for the team.”
(What’s it been like to practice with WR Will Fuller? We’ve been talking about speed, speed and the addition of speed, but what kind of weapon does he bring to this offense?) – “It doesn’t even look like he’s running. He’s picking up so much ground while he’s out there and moving along. You can’t even tell he’s trying. His speed is outstanding and it’s definitely going to be something we can use in this offense.”
(Have you seen QB Tua Tagovailoa? How are his spirits, if you have?) – “He’s in good spirits, but he’s always in good spirits. He’s a real good kid. You wouldn’t tell he has a rib issue or whatever. He’s in good spirits, just healing up and getting as much treatment as he can. Waiting to get him back.”
(Getting more reps with QB Jacoby Brissett this week, how can that affect the team’s confidence going into this Sunday?) – “We’ve got full confidence in him as we do with Tua (Tagovailoa). We don’t feel like we took a step back with him. We’re excited to have this challenge and move on to better things.”
(How’s the team doing in terms of never getting too high or too low? The first week, you have a very good result. The second week, not so much. How have you guys been able to handle both sides?) – “We went up to New England, played a decent game, came out with the victory. Would say we were kind of feeling ourselves, I guess so. We definitely got humbled by Buffalo. We know we’re a good team. We know if we execute right, do the right things, listen to our coaches and be where we need to be, we know we’ll be able to compete with anybody in this league. We’ve just got to get back to doing the small things right, making sure we’re doing our assignments, I don’t think we’ll have a problem with this game coming up, or any issues or any trouble like that.”
Michael Deiter – September 23, 2021
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Thursday, September 23, 2021
C/G Michael Deiter
(What’s the room been like in terms of spirits this week? Obviously as a collective offensive line group, you wanted to put something better on tape than last week. Have you guys been motivated, have you been down, incentivized? What sort of emotions?) – “A little bit of both. Down but the down is motivation to be better. Obviously it wasn’t a good showing and we needed to be a lot better and that’s the focus. What can we do each day to be better, be cleaner with communication, all that stuff, better technique and all of it? It was definitely down at first but use that to fuel you to get better so it doesn’t happen ever again.”
(It seemed like a lot of the issues that you guys had was identification, in terms of the blitzers that were coming. How much responsibility do you take for that? How much of that is on everybody?) – “It definitely starts with the center and quarterback, how are we IDing it, how are we communicating things. But it does come down to all five or all six who are in protection, just making sure the communication is clean. There is no gray are on who’s got what, what front they’re in, what could they possibly bring. I would say it definitely starts with the center and QB and making sure that they are echoing it out to the rest of the guys.
(You mentioned communication. How do you work on that? Is that something that happens from one week to the other? Does it take a little more time?) – “You work on it in meetings, in walkthroughs and then in practice. Then you take it to the game and it has to translate. Obviously, we’ll spend the meetings with the running backs and the quarterbacks talking through third down stuff, early down pressures and all that stuff. We’ll go out, walk through it and then go practice it. It can look clean all week long but then it needs to look clean on Sunday too. It’s got to be the exact same throughout the week and then execution on Sunday.”
(On Tuesday, Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre said that, I asked him about this as well, he said the quarterback and center at the end of the day have to come to an agreement on IDing the front and whether to shift protection. That’s a lot to do in a couple seconds before you have to snap the ball. Are there any cases where you’re not in agreement on who the Mike is or whatever and how do you resolve that in a short amount of time?) – “There’s definitely some instances where we might be seeing the front a little different between center and QB but ultimately we will work it out whether it is the QB overriding everything, getting us to a different ID and the center hearing it and making sure I can get the call to the O-line. The QB gets us right and then I can get the proper call to the rest of the five then we can cut it loose and play fast. It’s just me getting up and getting set, everyone getting up and getting set and getting things IDed quick. Then if something is a little weird, we will have time to adjust it. That way the play clock is not at four seconds and we are trying to switch things and then cadence gets brought into it and it get really ugly. The faster you can get up and get set, start IDing things, center and QB work things out and then it all gets echoed to the rest of the five or six who are protecting. We’ve got to play fast after that.”
(What is your impression of how G/T Liam Eichenberg has handled different roles as a guy, yourself, who has been versatile in his career?) – “He’s been good. He’s been mature about it. Ready to work every day, making sure he’s studying on top of his assignment, on top of his technique no matter where it is he’s playing and whatever his role is. He’s been really impressive to how his approach has been.”
(How would you describe QB Jacoby Brissett’s confidence level and leadership approach?) – “They’re great. Both of them are really high. His confidence is high, his leadership is really good and you can tell he’s a guy who’s been in this league for a while. He’s seen a lot of offense, he’s played in a lot of offense and it’s cool. He’s got a ton of confidence. He’s got a ton of talent and he’s also smart. It gives us a lot of confidence to have him back there with all that knowledge.”
Myles Gaskin – September 23, 2021
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Thursday, September 23, 2021
RB Myles Gaskin
(There hasn’t been a huge volume of carries for the running backs the first two games. Part of that a function of not having a lot of plays, three-and outs and etc. Has there been a renewed sense from Co-Offensive Coordinator/TEs George Godsey and Co-Offensive Coordinator Eric Studesville this week of wanting to get the running game going?) – “I guess. I think we are more focused on whatever the play call is. We just kind of leave that to the coaches. As an offensive unit, I think we are just focused on whatever the play call is and being able to perform to our best abilities. We don’t make those types of decisions.”
(You never want to leave a game scoring zero points. When you looked back at the film, did you feel a little more confident and optimistic given that you were able to advance to Buffalo’s side of the field and you just weren’t able to finish drives?) – “I guess. We’re not into small victories. I’m not really worried about Buffalo; I’m worried about Las Vegas. I guess when you look at it, there were some takeaways but we just didn’t play up to what we wanted to.”
(From the running back’s perspective, is a point of emphasis for you in the Las Vegas game, relative to helping the blocking, the overall offense blocking situation?) – “When we get our opportunities to run the ball, just making the most out of them, making those guys right. Try to focus on making those 10-yard carries maybe 20-yard carries or 30-yard carries. Just kind of move the ball as best as we can. As a running back, as the running back unit, we always just focus on what we can do. If it’s blocking, if it’s running the ball, if it’s catching the ball, just keep on working on those things.”
(Going back to Las Vegas, nice memories after the game last year and how much fun was that fourth quarter from your vantage point?) – “Yeah, it was a lot of fun. But I’m not really focused on that. We have a new team, they have a new team. It’s not the same at all. But yeah, that was a fun game and I’m just excited to get back there.”
(What has QB Jacoby Brissett been like this week in practice knowing fairly early in the week that he would be the starter?) – “He’s been great. Just a leader. Obviously he’s been around the league for a while now. He’s always been a leader, even when Tua (Tagovailoa) was the guy. He was always trying to help him, help other guys talking to receivers and talking to the backs when Tua might be talking to somebody else, and telling everybody how he sees it. Like I said, he’s been around in the league and he’s seen what works. For him to step up into the role that he’s in right now, I don’t think that he’s worried about it at all. He’s been a leader on this team for a while.”
(How much time, prior to this week, did you and QB Jacoby Brissett have to get on the same page and how much time have you spent in that backfield with him under center?) – “Not a lot, I guess. Like I said, he’s been around the league for a long time. It’s not like you’re putting in a young guy, stepping in. He’s made a lot of good decisions and he’s played a lot of good ball. I’m always listening to him. Whatever he says, he’s the quarterback and everybody knows he’s a real smart quarterback.”
(I assume the focus tape-wise has been watching Las Vegas against Pittsburgh and what their defense did. You had such a big game in Week 16, do you go back this week and look at that tape at all even though there have been personnel changes on the Raiders defense?) – “No. New DC (defensive coordinator). New team. A few new pieces, not a totally new team. Just different. It’s not going to be the same type of game, it’s not going to be played the same, they’re not going to have the same calls, we’re not going to have the same calls, we’ve got new OCs (offensive coordinators).”
(What sticks out from the new Raiders defense?) – “Those guys just fly around to the ball. They play hard. I don’t know much about defense but when I did play defense in high school, I feel like that’s the biggest thing is just fly around to the ball, run to the ball. You hear it from our defensive coaches so I think that’s No. 1 and they always do that. That’s just kind of high alert, like these are guys want to play ball.”
(What position did you play in high school?) – “I played corner and safety. I was never that good (laughter).”
Eric Rowe – September 23, 2021
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Thursday, September 23, 2021
S Eric Rowe
(So last year was pretty much you and S Bobby McCain getting the safety snaps. S Brandon Jones was weaved in some and occasionally we’d see a little of S Clayton Fejedelem. This year is new for this team with four safeties all getting significant workload. Is that an adjustment for you at all? What’s the strengths of having four guys rotating in and out of that spot?) – “Yeah, just like Jason (McCourty) said, our safety room, everybody has different strengths and different weaknesses. Combine it all and we’re a pretty talented group. I think just early on in the season, everyone was just trying to figure out – even coaches – what role people were going to play. It was what, the second game? We’ve got 15 or however many games (left) this year. We still have a long season so with us four kind of weaving in and out, we’re just trying to find the strengths that we all have.”
(What makes Raiders TE Darren Waller so difficult to cover and what do you remember from facing him last year?) – “Darren is a big guy. Huge, like 6-6. And he’s fast. When you’re that big and fast – and he’s strong too – he’s a tough cover, especially with a quarterback like Derek Carr. He’s always played at a high level but this year, at least the past two games, he’s stepped it up a lot. Just having a quarterback like him, he can put it where only he can get it and the DB can’t. It just makes it super tough.”
(Last year, you guys had a very interesting matchup. I could say you covered him quite well. He still had 115 yards. How forward have you been looking to this matchup – a rematch?) – “Yeah, since I came off the field after that game. I know we came out with the win but just personally, I know that I was there in position and just needed to take that extra step and either knock it down or catch the ball – it was right there. Obviously you have to put it in the past because that’s the past. Different teams each year. We’ve got a different team and they’ve got a different team. Maybe (some of) the same players. This week coming up will be something new.”
(Was QB Jacoby Brissett a teammate in New England for one year?) – “Yeah.”
(So you know QB Jacoby Brissett a little bit on and off the field. What do you think are his strengths as a player and his characteristics in general?) – “As a player, when I was with him I’ve seen him grow from – I remember he was running kind of on the look team quarterback and he had trouble making some reads or whatever but he was a rookie. Then when he left, I was watching him on the Colts and he got immensely better. Now out here, kind of what he brings is toughness because he’s tough. He’ll stand in the pocket. He’ll take the hits. And obviously his accuracy and his throwing. Yeah, him and Tua (Tagovailoa), they had him as No. 2 but he can easily be a starter somewhere else. Obviously we have full confidence in him going out this week.”
(I’m sure you go into any game wanting to not give up a single completion, but do you agree with what was said a minute ago that even though Raiders TE Darren Waller put up some numbers last year, that you played a pretty good game? Do you agree with that?) – “For me or really any of the DBs, it’s really only a good game if you’re in position – I still didn’t get the job done. He made some great catches but at the end of the day, I didn’t get the job done. I didn’t break up the pass or intercept it. They still got the yards on however long those balls were. I was in position, I can say that, but to be a corner or a safety in this league to cover, you’ve got to make a play on the ball.”
(So what do you do? You mentioned what Raiders TE Darren Waller’s strengths are and how he’s a weird combination of size and speed, so what do you do? How do you combat that?) – “I don’t know. You’ve just got to play hard. (laughter) You’ve got to play hard. You’ve got to trust your abilities, have confidence and just go out there. If you go out there with no confidence then it’ll be a lot worse. You have to go out there with full confidence, trust your abilities and get the job done.”
Liam Eichenberg – September 23, 2021
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Thursday, September 23, 2021
T Liam Eichenberg
(So what’s your week been like?) – “It’s been great. Obviously we lost to the Bills. That wasn’t awesome. That stung, for sure. We made the corrections and we’re looking forward to this weekend. We have a great team coming up in the Raiders. They’re very experienced, a great coaching staff. We’re excited for the opportunity to play again.”
(You played significant snaps in both games. What have you taken and learned from those opportunities?) – “I think I would say it just kind of goes back to your technique and fundamentals. Coach ‘Lem’ (Offensive Line Coach Lemuel Jeanpierre) coaches to me and communicates to me. Being out there, there’s different players. There’s a lot of different guys that end up rotating throughout the game so it’s kind of not specifically thinking about one person’s move but kind of going back to your basics – having good balance, mixing up your hands and staying in front of guys.”
(Having had about a month at right tackle, can you be as comfortable there – are you as comfortable there now as you are at left tackle after spending a college career at left tackle?) – “Yeah, you know I remember when you guys asked me that last time about playing at left. It’s all – I don’t know how to say this. It’s all different now. Even going back to left, it felt different. I’ve been playing a lot of different positions – been playing guard, tackle, flipping sides of the line. It just kind of takes a couple of days to re-adjust to wherever I’m at.”
(Have you had the opportunity to focus on one thing this week?) – “No. I’ve been playing guard and tackle again. They kind of flip me around. We’ve been rotating in. It’s been hot out so we’re kind of rotating guys in and giving guys a blow. It’s just day-by-day, I just kind of do my best to improve at wherever I’m at.”
(You played left tackle against New England and you played right tackle against the Bills. Even if it was one or two snaps, is there any kind of adjustment period that you have to go through when moving from side to side?) – “Yeah, definitely. I would just say it just kind of goes back to balance – flipping sides. Normally when you’re on the left, you want to have more weight on your inside leg and then it’s the same at right. Just those adjustments.”
(C/G Michael Deiter described the O-line room as first a little bit down but then motivated to get better. How can you describe what that room has been like this week?) – “Yeah, I would say this offensive line has a very high care factor. We’re very committed to improving every single day. Coming off that loss to Buffalo, it kind of was one of those instances where you have to look yourself in the mirror and realize that we need to improve. This offense, like it goes how we go. For us, it was a good wake up call. Obviously we didn’t want that to happen but it just exposed what we need to work on. We’ve worked hard this whole week so I’m looking forward to it. But there’s a lot of time left and the Raiders are a great defense.”
(How hard is it – as you flip back and forth – not to keep beating the same horse over again but how hard is it to not let your thinking about your mechanics on each side overcome your responsibility on that play?) – “I think most importantly it just goes back to what I’m doing. You’re kind of flipping the playbook. Depending on if I’m at guard or tackle, it’s different assignments. At first it was difficult but now that I’ve been in this offense for a while and kind of understand everything, it’s a lot easier. But at first when I got flipped to guard, I was like – I’m talking to Jesse Davis and he was like, ‘you’ve got to do this. This is how it works.’ Because he’s played like every position. (laughter) It’s great having those guys who are older and understand everything.”
(What’s your comfort level at left guard now?) – “It’s good. I practiced at it up in the Chicago week and then a couple of weeks before. I’ve played left guard before. It’s just kind of wherever they want me. They’ve been flipping me around the whole week. It’s just kind of how it is.”
(I’m sure you’ve had various ups and downs throughout various levels of playing football – high school, college and so forth – but can you compare what you guys are facing now to anything in your past in terms of that look yourself in the mirror moment?) – “Probably last season when we lost to Clemson. We got blown out. Then every time I’ve been in the playoffs, we got whooped – in college. So it’s just difficult. When we played Clemson when I was in college, it kind of gave me more motivation. I don’t know. For me, the losses hurt worse more than winning, obviously. But at the same time, I’m a guy that understands I need to improve every single day. I think everybody in our offensive line room understands that it’s not about what happened yesterday, it’s about how we can improve today. We try to take the right foot forward. But yeah, I’ve been blown out in college. It happens. Obviously it isn’t something that we want to happen but you have to kind of look at what went wrong and fix it.”
(So the pain of a loss is stronger than the joy from a win?) – “Yeah. I would say it definitely bothers me more. I’m a guy that every single practice, I go in there and I look at what I did wrong. It bothers me because you want to strive for perfection at the end of the day.”
(You went to Notre Dame so I’m sure you’re a fairly smart guy. What are some of the ways in which you can master, as you were saying earlier, all of the guard assignments and the tackle assignments? Do you have a dry erase board in your apartment? How do you – what do you do more to try to master that stuff?) – “I have flash cards kind of broken up for tackle and guard. Then also, I’m not saying this – for me, it’s happened where when I was in college, I played left tackle for the whole time so my brain kind of shut off when the coach is talking to the right guard. But now you have to listen to when he’s talking to tackles and guards. I listen to when he’s talking to the center too because you just never know. It’s a lot of information but if you can kind of understand it from everybody’s perspective, it makes it a lot easier.”
(Do you have a roommate or something? Someone that can…) – “No. No roommate but Rob Jones and I, during camp and stuff, we’d stay here extra and kind of go through all of the information and stuff.”
(Do the flash cards go with you everywhere you go?) – “Yeah, I had them in my backpack. Now they’re just at home, because I was in the hotel then.”
(How many cards are you having to memorize?) – “I mean when we did installs, I would make cards for every install, so it was a good amount. The offense – the playbook – is pretty large. It’s good stuff. It’s got everything in there.”
(Are we talking 20, 50, 100?) – “It just depends. Obviously there are different plays, there are different codenames depending on certain blitzes and stuff like that.”
(Did you utilize the same method for like finance exams in college and things like that?) – “Yeah, I did the same thing. When you have a lot of information, you need to break it down. I don’t think people really understand how much goes into running an offense and understanding everything.”
DeVante Parker – September 22, 2021
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
WR DeVante Parker
(We haven’t seen you since Sunday’s game. I just wanted to ask you about the play in the end zone. What was your perspective on what happened on that play?) – “I just feel like I should have came down with that. That’s what I do best. I don’t know what happened. I just didn’t make the play that we needed, really.”
(When you look back at that game, although you weren’t able to put any points and that’s what you guys set out to do, do you feel like kind of a glass half full just knowing that you were able to at least drive the ball and get to Buffalo’s side of the field? Just wasn’t able to turn it into points.) – “We were moving the ball. We just have to punch it in. That’s the biggest thing that we needed really. Even if it’s a field goal or anything. We just have to do better and we’ll do that.”
(What was practice like with QB Jacoby Brissett leading you?) – “I’d say practice to me is the same as it always is. The same. In and out of the huddle, the same things we’ve been doing. Nothing different.”
(QB Jacoby Brissett has played in 50 or more NFL games. How would you describe his leadership approach?) – “I would say just like any other leader. They’ll tell us if we’re not doing something right, let us know or ‘come on guys, we need to get this’ or something like that. Just little things in the huddle. Small things like that.”
(How different is the ball coming from a right-handed quarterback to a left-handed quarterback?) – “I see it the same both ways. Doesn’t affect me really, but the same way.”
(Do QB Tua Tagovailoa and QB Jacoby Brissett throw the ball similar or does one throw it harder than the other?) – “To me, I think it’s the same really.”
(So obviously you guys didn’t score in the last game, but you did move the ball up and down the field. You did get first downs. Can you take some encouragement from that – the fact that you guys moved the ball pretty well at times?) – “Yeah, for sure, but it can’t be at times. It has to be all the time especially just help out the defense. They’re doing a good job and we just want to be all as one.”
(What do you remember most about the game at the Raiders last year?) – “I remember that one big play. I didn’t play in that game, but I was there. I remember that one big play that we had and it helped us win.”
(Were you watching WR Mack Hollins on the sideline or were you watching Ryan Fitzpatrick’s helmet get wrapped around his head?) – “I was watching ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) and him getting it wrapped around his head so I didn’t know what was going on down there until I heard everybody cheering. So I looked down there and I’m like, ‘oh, made a catch.’”
(Just quick question about Raiders CB Trayvon Mullen. I’m not sure if he’s going to follow you around or not come Sunday, but what kind of challenges do a longer cornerback like that present?) – “Corners like him, they’ve got the long arms. They have to grab on you and we just got to do a good job getting their hands off of you.”
(Is that more from your perspective to try go up for a 50/50 ball against a guy who can look you in the eye rather than a 5’10, 5’11 type dude?) – “It’ll be tough. It’ll be a tough matchup. Good player over there so you’ve got to stick to what you know.”
(Think you’ll finally get WR Will Fuller V in the offense this week. What do you think his addition will do you for you and WR Jaylen Waddle and TE Mike Gesicki and the rest of the guys?) – “I think having Will (Fuller) out there will help open things up a little bit more. Looking forward to just have him out there with us.”
