Jaylen Waddle – September 16, 2024
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Monday, September 16, 2024
WR Jaylen Waddle
(Describe the tone of the team to us. I mean we’ve seen you guys upbeat through a five-game losing streak, through QB Tua Tagovailoa being out before – what is the tone of the team right now?) – “Yeah, man, it’s pretty mellow coming in, had three days off. So coming in and getting back to work, and just ready to get it going.”
(Is there kind of a feeling of loss or sadness hanging over the team at all?) – “No, not really. We’ve got confidence in all of our players here. We go out and compete with everybody that we go against so yeah man, regular day back at work.”
(With QB Skylar Thompson, you’ve been here with him his whole duration. What kind of player are we getting? What kind of player are we getting? What kind of player are we going to see?) – “I mean y’all have seen Skylar (Thompson) play before. He’s real confident. We’re confident in his ability. He plays with a lot of swag out there, so it’s going to be fun. I’m excited.”
(How much responsibility do you put on your shoulders to make sure you’re doing everything you guys are to help QB Skylar Thompson in these next few days?) – “Oh yeah, it’s going to be key. Everybody has got to step up from the run game to protections, especially the receivers, just to make his job a little easier. It’s going to be kind of flying bullets, but Skylar’s got a lot of ball, man. I think he’s going into his third year; he played in the playoffs and got some games underneath his belt, so I think he’s prepared for the moment.”
(He’s got that improvisation ability to scramble out of the pocket; how does that change things for you as a wide receiver?) – “Yeah, it’s something that the defense has got to be accountable for. He’s an athletic guy, a mobile guy that can move around and extend plays with his legs. So when you got a guy like that, the defense can’t just sit back and play all of these exotic coverages.”
(How much work did you get with QB Skylar Thompson during OTAs and minicamp and training camp?) – “We got a lot of bank reps throughout the training camp. You get in, ones, twos – he got reps with me, ‘Reek,’ (Tyreek Hill), ones, and through contract negotiations with Tua, he stepped in and filled that void.”
(You’ve been friends with QB Tua Tagovailoa for a long time – just your reaction to what he’s going through right now?) – “Yeah, man. That’s always sad when you see your guy go down like that. But we play a dangerous game, man. And I think that the whole world gets to see how dangerous this game is and how everybody puts their body on the line week-in and week-out.”
(How’s he doing from what you’ve seen?) – “He’s doing good, man. Talked to him, he’s in good spirits. (He’s) got the team in good spirits and everybody praying for him and hoping (for his) health.”
De’Von Achane – September 16, 2024
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Monday, September 16, 2024
RB De’Von Achane
(How do you view the role of the offense with QB Tua Tagovailoa out? Do you think QB Skylar Thompson has to come in here and do what Tua did? Does everybody else have to pick up and do a little more? How do you view this?) – “I think Skylar (Thompson) can come in and play like Skylar. I don’t think he’s got to be nobody else. Like you said, this is not his first rodeo, he’s been here three years, he’s played in big games before so he can come in and be himself and we’ll just keep doing the same thing if Tua (Tagovailoa) was in the offense. I don’t think we got to come in and ease him into it because like you said he’s been here and he’s ready.”
(For being a gametime decision, you had a lot of work on that ankle; how’d you come away from it?) – “I felt pretty good. Like you said, when you play those type of games, it’s exciting to me, playing division games. So in my mind, I had it to where, ‘I’m going to play regardless,’ it’s just a little ankle. But like you said, Raheem (Mostert) was down so I felt like it was up to me to step up because to have two of us out, I feel like that’s a big loss for the team, so me coming in and having a gametime decision, I had it in my head that I’m playing.”
(I remember watching during pregame and you barely moved during pregame; was that just resting?) – “I feel like that’s just something I do. I don’t like going out there and getting extra sweaty, because we already got to come out and do a pregame with the team. So I just feel like it’s just me, I go out there and just feeling the grass, just out there just seeing certain type of stuff I could be doing and not trying to be too hard on it. I’d rather me start off like not going out there and hurting it even more.”
(When you are nursing an injury, once you get the adrenaline going, do you almost just not feel it anymore?) – “Yeah, once the game is going, you couldn’t even tell that it’s still there. You only notice it after the game when you’re a little sore – that’s when you notice everything. During the game it’s regular, you feel like you’re 100 percent.”
(How sore were you after 29 touches?) – “I actually didn’t feel that bad. I feel like I was more mad that we lost, so I wasn’t that tired and sore because I was kind of mad that we lost the game. But I wasn’t that bad; it didn’t feel that bad.”
(The identity of this team since Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s been here, and obviously you’ve been in the league, is this has been a passing offense. Do you think that more and more now this is going to evolve to be a running offense?) – “It can be both. Like you said, we got two great receivers – we got a lot of great receivers, we got a lot of great running backs. So I feel like we can do both. We can run the ball, pass the ball – whatever he’s calling, I feel like we can go out there and execute it.”
(You’ve taken a bigger role in the offense last week and this season. Is that by design or is that just taking what the defense gives you that particular game?) – “It’s just taking what the defense is giving us. Like you said, we’re playing the scheme of these defenses, and against the Bills, we knew they play a lot of drop coverages and me – they had it on that there’s going to be a lot of check down routes that’s going to be open. So it’s not like we’re coming to the game plan like, ‘OK, he’s going to get this many touches.’ It’s just something that just happens.”
(Did you watch the Seahawks game yesterday or do you wait until film this week?) – “I didn’t watch the Seahawks game. I feel like, actually they’re a new team – well new to us. I waited until this week to watch them. I didn’t watch their game yesterday, because I was too busy watching other games. But I don’t think too much about it, I feel like now is the time when we come back Wednesday, we hone in on the Seahawks and see what they do.”
(How are you feeling physically today?) – “I’m good, man. It was great to coming in, seeing all the guys. We had a long weekend, so we got to put the Week 2 game behind us and we’re on to the next.”
(What was the feeling, like you said, a long weekend – it was like chaos the first two weeks, the Sunday, Thursday game and now three days off. Does it almost feel like you’re starting again? Do you feel pretty fresh?) – “Yeah, I’m most definitely pretty fresh, like you said. We had a short week, but Mike (McDaniel) and the team, he makes sure we kept our bodies right so that three-day weekend definitely did it, so we should most definitely be fresh coming in this week.”
