Jeff Wilson Jr. – December 26, 2022
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Monday, December 26, 2022
RB Jeff Wilson Jr.
(We get two of the really upbeat guys on the team with you and OL Rob Hunt. I would imagine, as I mentioned to Rob, it might be human nature after four straight losses to be down. Did you sense any of that today at all?) – “I wouldn’t say down. I would just say like – I wouldn’t even say disappointed, but something along those lines, because obviously we know the type of time we’re in in the season, especially on the last leg of it, fourth quarter of it. Everybody is fighting for a spot, and everybody is playing their hardest. Regardless of what people may say, if a team is in it or not, it brings joy to a team to know that they can knock out a (team) that has a potential to go to the playoffs. So especially when you get in games like that, people play even harder. So there’s no such thing as an easy game towards the end of the year. So it’s just disappointment. Not really that, but it’s like we know what we can do. We know what we’re supposed to be. We know where we’re headed, and the way we’ve played the last couple of weeks haven’t been that way, so that’s pretty much it.”
(How did you personally physically come out of the game after working to get back?) – “Oh, shoot. It’s what – Week 16? Week 17? Shoot, I feel like I’m feeling straight considering what time of year we’re in. Obviously, if everybody just tells you they’re 100 percent this time of the year, I don’t know how (true) that is. But nothing crazy or alarming or flagging that’s worrisome – it’s just things that everybody deals with in Week 16, Week 17 of the NFL season.”
(So you’re feeling great?) – “I’m all straight, boss. All straight.”
(A minute ago, you mentioned “We know what we’re supposed to be as a team.” How would you describe it? What is this team supposed to be?) – “Oh, we’re a contender. We’re a top dog, not only in this division or conference, but in the league. And obviously, when your record and the wins and losses don’t reflect that, it’s frustrating because it’s more so not only that we’re not good enough, it’s things that are almost self-inflicted – like we do it to ourselves, almost. So when you have it like that, it makes it even more painful, because you’re just a detail or two away. Especially coming towards this team of the year, details matter.”
(A winless December, how do you all try to move forward closing that book, knowing that the next game is in January, the first day of the year?) – “I would say dwelling on stuff never did anything good for nobody, and that’s not only (now) – that’s been since you were a little kid. It’s kind of like you’ve got to put the things behind to you move forward – that’s the type of game and league we’re in, because the next game is just as important if not more important than the last one. So you go in, that’s what Mondays are for and after the game, kind of hold all that stuff in, beat yourself up about it, be down, have your sleepless nights and then after that Monday, after we watch the film with your position (group), now it’s time to get on to the next week. Because like I said, everything we want is still at hand, and I don’t even want to talk about that, because I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on one thing and one thing only, and that’s coming to practice on Wednesday and getting ready to get prepared to play New England on Sunday.”
(How do you like where the run game is at? Obviously, you and RB Raheem Mostert both averaged over four yards a carry yesterday and did a very good job in Buffalo the week before. Are you happy with where the run game is at?) – “The o-line is doing a magnificent job, and I feel like it can be even better and that’s not on their end. I can say that in our room alone. If you probably watch film or watch every play, there are probably a couple plays where we’re like a shoestring or a stumble away from 50 or 60 extra yards on the run play. So I would say they’re doing a tremendous job, and I feel like we can even highlight them even better if we step our game up in our room as well. I think they’re doing great.”
(How do you see – QB Tua Tagovailoa and RB Raheem Mostert, they were a little upset with their turnovers yesterday. How do you see them kind of coming back?) – “That’s not even a worry. If it was, shoot, we’d be trying to figure out to get somebody else in there or try to sit somebody down, and that’s not the case because those guys are veterans. They’re professionals. And the character that they have and they stand on, that’s what makes them special and that’s what separates them from a lot of people in this world. So with that being said and how they carry themselves, they know what they need to do, they know what they need to think about and they know what they need to change. They’re grown men, they’ll be fine and they’ll be ready to go.”
(This is your first time back in Miami since that Super Bowl when you came down here with the 49ers. How has it been now that you live down here in the city? What do you enjoy the most?) – “So I guess it’s just being back in the southern atmosphere. I grew up in the South, all my life – never went anywhere, traveled anywhere. The South is all I pretty much know, so to kind of be back reunited with that, southern hospitality and everything like that, man, it’s home. It’s great to be here. I love it here. It’s a great place.”
(How has Head Coach Mike McDaniel been? Obviously, you and RB Raheem Mostert know him as well as anybody. Has he been positive through the losing streak? Some positive? Some critical? What’s he been like?) – “I would say both, but I wouldn’t say critical like he’s bashing people. He’s a head coach that has a lot on his plate. Things aren’t going the way, obviously, that he wanted – not only him, us as well. So that being said, that would be stressful on anybody, especially knowing the type of person Mike is. He doesn’t want to be anything else than the greatest. So if he’s not that or if he’s anything short of that, he’s going to – I don’t know. (laughter) He’s going to be in his own little ways until he figures out a way or comes to a comfortable enough point that he feels good to move on from it. But that’s what makes him great, and that’s what makes him him. That’s what got him into the position he’s in today. He’s probably still going to be thinking about it a little bit, but I know he’ll be fine and he’ll be ready to go come Wednesday.”
Jaelan Phillips – December 26, 2022
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Monday, December 26, 2022
LB Jaelan Phillips
(Your unit played well as a group and kept you in the game. What would you say is the biggest frustration now from a defensive standpoint against things that maybe you’re close but not exactly where you want?) – “I just think that in general, we’re not playing as well as we should be with the talent that we have, with the coaching staff that we have, with the bond that we have. You can attribute that to a lot of things but I think at the end of the day, we just really have to lock back in and execute the small details. That’s really what it always comes down to is just executing small details. We shouldn’t sit here and be like, ‘Oh, the defense played well so we don’t have any accountability.’ It’s on us as well. If we allow less points then we win the game. I think that all of us on the whole entire team need to look at ourselves in the mirror and take accountability and do what we’ve got to do to move forward.”
(What are some of those small details that you or others at your position want to focus on?) – “I think it dives a little bit more into schematics than I’m comfortable talking about, just in terms of plays and things like that, and execution. But at the end of the day, it is just execution and technique, fundamentals and things like that. It’s not some crazy thing that we can’t overcome. It’s just executing.”
(This team has gone back and forth all year winning a few, losing a few, winning a few, losing a few. How do you describe that? Why do you think that’s happening?) – “I wish I could tell you. I know I sound like a broken record but it comes back to executing and it’s playing complementary football and taking advantage of momentum. Football is such a crazy game because there are so many things within each game that could swing the momentum of the game and change the outcome. I think at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what’s happened this year. Obviously it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions but I think for this next stretch, we really just got to even ourselves out, remember who we are and just focus on what we can control.”
(You’re the team’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee. Getting nominated for that award, what does it mean to you?) – “It means the world to me. I try to do a lot to help out the community and encourage other people to do the same. So I think that getting that recognition just pushes that platform forward. It’s not about personal accolades and recognition like that. It’s about using my platform to inspire change and to encourage other people to come along with me and do the same thing.”
(With the team closing out the month of December winless, you have a fresh start on Jan. 1 facing the Patriots. How much are you looking forward to that matchup to have another chance to win?) – “I’m definitely looking forward to it. We just take it week by week. I’m excited to play a divisional opponent and obviously the Dolphins and Patriots’ tradition is rich. We’re excited to go up there in Foxboro and play some great football.”
(What do you think of these two most pivotal games now coming against divisional opponents and a lot of familiarity between them?) – “Each game is huge and these two games, we’ve got to win them. We’re going to go up there and give our best effort, give it our best shot.”
(Your thoughts on how your group has done blitzing? It hasn’t been quite as successful as a group as last year. I know losing S Brandon Jones is a factor. Just thoughts on how blitzing is done in general for you guys?) – “I think we’ve made the most of some opportunities when we get them. I think that obviously having a depleted defense doesn’t help in terms of original schemes, so I think we’ve kind of had to pivot on certain things. I think we’ve done a really good job of adjusting and being resilient. No matter what happens, we’re always fighting, we’re always giving our best effort. Kudos to the coaches and to my teammates for being able to do that. It’s hard. Not a lot of people can.”
(What were your takeaways from the first game against New England? Obviously a very long time ago. How much does that distance between games affect things one way or another?) – “It was a long time ago so I’m going to have to get back in the film and look at what we were doing. The funny thing is football changes so much throughout the year. So the Patriots we’re playing this week is not the same team we were playing the first week of the season. They’re not going to run a lot of the same things. They’re going to look at things we’ve done well and things we haven’t done well. It’s kind of like a completely fresh game. We’ll just prepare like we do any other week and go in there.”
(So you’ll watch more of their tape against the Bengals on Saturday than the opener?) – “Yeah, just throughout the whole season in general, teams that kind of run similar defenses to us and certain looks that we might anticipate. I think we’re going to do a great job in preparation like we always do. The coaches will put us in the position that we have to be in so it all comes down to executing on Sunday.”
Jerome Baker – December 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Postgame – Green Bay
LB Jerome Baker
(What changed in the second half for you guys?) – “We didn’t execute. We didn’t stop them on third downs, we didn’t get off the field. That’s the main thing. We didn’t execute as a team and that was the result.”
(The wins have come in bunches and the losses have come in bunches. It seems the team is really streaky. Can you put your finger on why it’s happening that way?) – “I can’t put my finger on it. If I did, I would have figured it out and stopped it, but that’s part of the game. We lose and we just have to get back next week and get back on track. That’s all we can do. It’s Christmas and we can’t take this home to our families. We still have to enjoy our families. Really just lock in next week and come in tomorrow and get back to work.”
(The goal is still in front of you if you win the last two so how do you keep that mindset going?) – “Don’t even think about it. We got another game next week. We’ve got to focus in on that. That’s how our approach will be. We’re going to go in tomorrow and look at the film and see how we can get better and get better and focus on next week.”
Raheem Mostert – December 25, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 25, 2022
Postgame – Green Bay
RB Raheem Mostert
(What was different in the second half?) – “I think it was more of the mental mistakes. We didn’t capitalize when we needed to and then the turnovers. That’s definitely not going to go in our favor. If you win the turnover battle, you practically have a better chance to win the game. We didn’t capitalize on that”
(On the interception, it looked like you were the intended receiver. Was there miscommunication there? Was that route supposed to be different?) – “The route was supposed to be different. That was on my part. I didn’t mentally rep that, like I said, I got to go back and figure out what needs to be done. But that was definitely my fault. That’s not Tua’s fault at all.”
(On approach going forward and how the season has gone) – “I think the biggest thing for us is we take it week by week. This season has gone just the way we planned it. We knew we were going to have some tough games and we knew we were going to lose some crazy ones, some unfortunate ones. But you have to look at it as a one week season. So that’s basically how we operate.”
Terron Armstead – December 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Postgame – Green Bay
T Terron Armstead
(You are one of the few players with playoff experience on this team, what is different about these late December games?) – “It seems like they are all playoff games—pre-playoffs, if that’s a phrase. They are important. They are vital. The important thing is to continue to improve; you want to get hot going into the playoffs. We’re on a bit of a skid right now, but we have a chance to get this next one and keep our playoff hopes alive.”
(You guys as a line have not been penalized a lot this year. A couple costly holdings—what did you feel like happened today?) – “Yeah. We just have to keep working on our fundamentals and technique. That is one thing we pride ourselves on, not having the negative plays, staying on schedule, not getting behind the chains. We helped ourselves especially early in the game.”
(How does the offense find the groove that it once had when you guys were on a five-win run?) – “Consistency. Being consistent. The intention is there – the will, the effort – it’s all there, but that doesn’t win you games. Continue to work; working on the details, fundamentals, penalties, things like that. Turnovers, it’s hard to win a game with turnovers. So we need to get back to business and lock in maybe even a little bit more on those small things, small intangibles.”
(What does it take to come back tomorrow not dwell on the losses and remember everything you want is still ahead of you—does it take leaders, what does it take?) – “It is a collection of leadership, especially guys with experience that have been through this. But it is really just an understanding of what does dwelling on the last four (games) do for you moving forward? Anything past doesn’t help your present or future so learn from mistakes—the reasons we have fought going through this losing streak and then we build and move forward and get the next one.”
Jaylen Waddle – December 25, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 25, 2022
Postgame – Green Bay
WR Jaylen Waddle
(Is there a sense of optimism knowing you guys have everything you still want right in front of you?) – “We’re just going to take it one day at a time, one practice at a time. (We’ll) learn from our mistakes over the past few weeks and try to get better. Just go out there and compete.”
(Can you walk us through that touchdown in the first half?) – “They just called my number. Tua (Tagovailoa) gave me a ball. You have to credit ‘Reek’ (Tyreek Hill), he had some good downfield blocking to really spring me. Some of the people you won’t hear about during the play, they were the guys that really got the play to work.”
(What’s the confidence level that this team has that you can turn this thing around?) – “We’re very confident. I feel like we all know we’re a better team than what we’ve been showing. So just knowing that, that’s our confidence. Knowing how we prepare, how hard we work throughout the week. It not showing up on Sundays, obviously that’s not what we want, but we have to keep going, keep working, just keep playing.”
Kader Kohou – December 25, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Postgame – Green Bay
CB Kader Kohou
(What is it about Aaron Rodgers? Seemed like they were getting good field position all game but you guys held up pretty well.) – “He is just a hall of famer so he does a lot of good things. Can’t really say too much about it. He is just Aaron Rodgers.”
(How do you come in tomorrow and put four games behind and know that because everything is on the line, the next two weeks everything is still in front of you?) – “I mean I feel like we attack every game like that, but we definitely have to go back and see what we messed up on and fix all the little things because we do have to win out now. It’s crunch time.”
(What went through your mind when you hauled in that interception?) – “I really don’t even remember. I was so hype. I thought I had a celebration ready, but I went left and just went to the sideline.”
(What did Head Coach Mike McDaniel say to you guys afterwards?) – “He was pretty positive. I feel like it was one that we just let slip away, so we’re just going to go back and watch some film and try to get ready for the Patriots next week.”
Tua Tagovailoa – December 25, 2022 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 25, 2022
Postgame – Green Bay
QB Tua Tagovailoa (Transcribed by ASAP Sports)
Q: The three fourth-quarter interceptions, can you take us through what happened on each one?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: On the first one, I tried to throw it over a defender, but I ended up really throwing over the defender and Tyreek (Hill), so that one got away. The second one, I might have said the wrong play. I’m not too sure. But there was just some communication errors on that. Then the third one was just not a good ball for my receivers to have been able to make a play on that. You know, it’s tough. You get an opportunity to play on Christmas Day against a really good team, and I go out there and really — not being able to put my best foot forward for our team. In hindsight, this is something that we’ve got to be able to just move on from. Like I say with ‘Bev,’ (Darrell Bevell) he says, ‘let every play stand on its own merit.’ So for this game, we want this game to stand on its own merit, as well. Obviously we’re going to learn from these mistakes, but this isn’t something that after a loss we should be going home and taking to our families, our kids, our other halves. We leave it all here and we go enjoy Christmas, and then we come back in when time is, and we learn from it.
Q: Moving quickly to the next opponent, how long do you all try to dwell on the loss?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I would say it’s tough for a competitor because there’s always, ‘if I would have did this, we could have won, if I would have did that, we could have won.’ It’s always tough, but the challenge is to be able to just separate what you do here and what you do at home really and kind of just get your mind off it so that when you do come in, you have a clear mind. You’re not just focused on whatever particular play that was that you messed up on, and that everyone has the chance to learn from that mistake.
Q: On the second drive where you had the second interception, it seemed like you were getting to the line particularly late – 8, 7 seconds left on the clock. Was that intentional? If not, how may have that play into some of the miscommunications and just issues that you had?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, it wasn’t intentional. I was just trying to get the play out to the guys and just try to make sure everyone was going in the right spots. But just the miscommunication with the entirety of the plays is sort of what went wrong with that interception.
Q: You guys finished with 270 yards of offense in the first half and you threw for 229 yards. Up until the fumble right before half, everything was going pretty well. Did they do anything differently in the second half?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I would say no, they didn’t do anything new or different. They were playing the same defense, the same way that they played in the first half. But offensively we just didn’t capitalize on our opportunities and we were killing ourselves with a lot of the penalties that had happened off of explosive plays.
Q: When you look at those illegal formation penalties and what not, just where does that stem from?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think it stems from me trying to spit the formation out to the guys, the motions, and then when we do break, me realizing how much time I have and then just sending guys already, and there’s times where we’ve got to wait for guys to get set so that one takes the ball, one gets off and dead motions, and those were kind of the mishaps with that today.
Q: It’s been kind of a strange season in the sense that it’s been one streak after another streak and then after another streak. You’ve got two games left; you win and you’re in the playoffs. How do you keep the confidence up with this group?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, well, I would say it’s easy to keep the confidence up with this group. I think we all believe in each other. I would say we all love one another. We’re all invested into each other as well. I don’t think it’s a time for us to blink. Like we just move on and we learn from it. We’ve got another tough team that we’ve got to go to and play.
Q: On your touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle, what impressed you most about that catch and run?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Really nothing… I was waiting for a reaction. (laughter) No, but like in all seriousness, that’s something that I’ve seen Jaylen (Waddle) do many times, and that’s a testament to how he comes out to work every day, with how he finishes plays, and him and Tyreek (Hill) being able to get the guys in that room better by just going out and doing things like that. Obviously, I’d say that’s very, very impressive; you don’t just do that coming off the bench. That’s the first play of the drive we had on the second series, I think, and that just doesn’t happen. It’s cool and it helps that he’s on our team.
Q: Can you detail what you saw on the long pass to WR Tyreek Hill?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, sort of looked like they were playing six-strong. It was like quarters to Jaylen’s (Waddle) side, and then it was Cover 2 to Tyreek’s (Hill) side and I was just trying to pin down the backside safety and then hit Tyreek.
Q: Going out for the final possession there, even though the offense hadn’t really moved in the second half, you still had a chance obviously to win. What’s your thinking as you’re going out there on the field?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: We’ve got to go win this. That’s all there was. We’ve got to go win this. Just very unfortunate. It was just terrible how everything ended. Like I told the guys, that’s on me. I will definitely get better from that.
