Mike Gesicki – October 2, 2020
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Friday, October 2, 2020
TE Mike Gesicki
(I was thinking back to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick saying that every time you catch the ball, it’s like your first time catching a ball. What give you so much joy? Why does that happen every time you catch a football, particularly from him?) – “It’s just a whole lot of fun going out there and making plays. With this game, you don’t know how many opportunities you’re going to have. It depends on so many different things. It’s more than just the game plan or if you’re the read on that play or how the game is going and all of that stuff. I just like to have fun with it, so when I go out there and I make the most of my opportunities, I really enjoy myself out there.”
(Your numbers in the slot are the best of any NFL tight end since last November. What is it about lining up there that makes you excited, that gives you maybe an edge over the players who are covering you?) – “I think I just kind of go back to what I always tell you guys, just make the most of your opportunities. I think the coaches do a really good job of putting guys in position to be successful, whether it’s myself inside or DeVante (Parker) and Preston (Williams) outside or Isaiah (Ford) on the inside or our backs – whoever it is, the other tight ends. I think that’s what it comes down to is knowing your matchups, whether it’s man or zone, attacking them depending on that, and then just making the most of your opportunities. When the ball’s in the air, you’ve got to go up and get it.”
(We talked about some of the big plays last Thursday night. As a collective unit, what do you think it did for the offense to see that you guys can start the game with several scores? One of the funniest things that Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey said is ‘it’s not against to rules to go and score…”) – “Yeah, for sure. I think that’s a big thing for us, just being able to start fast. Last week, we were able to do that and you saw the outcome of that game and how it went. Just guys making plays, nobody trying to do anything too exceptional or outside of their role; but playing your role, doing your job and making the most of your opportunities. Then letting everything else take care of itself. It definitely does help when you get to come out, start fast and you’re not playing from behind or you’re not letting them dictate the game.”
(I know that fantasy football is not important at all. At least not to me, and not you; but I guess to other people it’s very important. You’re fifth in the NFL in tight ends in scoring. I’m just curious, are people showing you more love on social media?) – “Good question. I try to stay out of all of that kind of stuff because then one week it will be a bad week and everybody hates you and has this and that to say and all of that kind of stuff. Then you guys are hating me, the fantasy owners are hating me, everybody – so I try to stay away from the media side of it. I never want to get too high or two low, so for the most part, I kind of stay away from it. If I’m helping someone’s fantasy team out, great. If I’m not, great. I don’t really care. I’m just hoping that the Miami Dolphins go out and play our best football each and every week.”
(On the topic of player’s reputation and respect, in the NFL, especially if you’re a great receiving tight end, you can get recognition. You think of TE George Kittle, you think of TE Travis Kelce and so on. Now that your career has taken off, what do you hope to get out of this personally in terms of when people think of you, what would you like them to think of?) – “As a player, I’m a long way from where I need to be. I think I need to come out and continue to improve and get better each and every day. There are a lot of pieces to my game that I can continue to improve on. There are some good ones out there in the league like the two that you mentioned, and there is a couple others to add to that list as well. When they think of me, I just want them to think of a good guy, someone that is doing the right things on and off the field, and then making the most of their opportunities and being a good role model for younger people that are watching the game.”
(If you kept growing the beard for the rest of the season, what do you think it would look like? Would you beat QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and would your fiancé approve?) – “My fiancé is not happy about it currently; but it’s for the betterment of this football team, so I have to keep it. It is what it is. I think ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) pulls it off much, much better than I do. I could probably use a haircut here too. I’ve just got a little helmet hair, so that’s why I look like this. Definitely not my best look, but hopefully I have it for quite a while.”
(You said for the betterment of the football team. Is that a superstition or what’s going on with that?) – “So my razor died the night before the Bills game, so I kind of got stuck with this bad looking goatee. After the game, I was like, ‘we didn’t win so I can go home and shave.’ ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) said it was kind of an exception because it was a career day, so I had to keep it. Then we came out and won last week. ‘Fitz’ threw me the ball and I scored a touchdown. Things are – with the goatee, I have to keep it. Hopefully by the end of the season, it looks like ‘Fitz.’ We’ll see.”
(You scored the most touchdowns in the NFL going back to Week 12 of last season. I’m always curious how big moments in games bring different thoughts out of athletes. Like for a batter, when it’s 3-1 count or when a basketball player goes up for a dunk. When you get down in that red zone, do you feel like your eyes get bigger? Do you get a little more amped up? What’s it like when you get close to the goal line and you might have a chance for a touchdown?) – “For me, I know it sounds super cliché, but it’s the honest truth. I just try to, play by play, just try to keep the same mentality because I could make a big play at the minus-40 that sets someone else up to score, or I could have that opportunity in the end zone to score a touchdown. Obviously it is exciting when your number gets called, and you have the opportunity. When you play with ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick), it doesn’t even matter if your number gets called or not, because everybody’s number is called whenever he has the ball in his hands. You don’t know where it’s going to go or what’s going to happen. It is exciting. It’s something that everybody on our offense really looks forward to. I think we have a lot of guys on the offensive side of the football that are capable of making plays.”
(We’ve spoken many times about the positive impact that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has had for you. We’ve spoke about the positive impact Tight Ends Coach George Godsey has had for you. Is there another player or coach, since your arrival into the NFL, who you can say I’d like to give this guy some credit for helping me improve also?) – “Absolutely. I think first and foremost, the guy I came in with, Durham (Smythe). I think we kind of feed off of each other. We were, some would say, drafted for different reasons; but I think he doesn’t get – I’ve said this before, that he doesn’t get enough credit for the talent he has outside of his run blocking or pass blocking and all of that kind of stuff. I think we’ve been able to complement each other well. Sometimes he’s in there pass protecting and I’m out running a route. He’s doing all of the dirty work and things like that. I think he deserves a lot of the credit for not only some of the success that I’ve had, but our team as well. He’s not one to really complain if he’s not getting the ball or if he’s not in it. He just loves playing football and helping this team win football games and be productive.”
Xavien Howard – October 2, 2020
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Friday, October 2, 2020
CB Xavien Howard
(Earlier, Head Coach Brian Flores told us that CB Byron Jones is unfortunately doubtful for this game. I’m wondering, are you hoping to get to follow one of their receivers around the field or is that probably not something that we will see this week?) – “I don’t know what’s going on with Byron’s situation. We’ll just stick with the game plan and we’ll be good from there.”
(When you’ve got one of the most explosive offenses and the weapons that they have and QB Russell Wilson, do you get excited for this type of matchup, for the challenge and how do you feel going into Sunday?) – “I feel great. The next game is the most important game. I’m just focused on what we’ve got to do to stop everything and we’ll be good.”
(You knew last year, you told us in August that WR Preston Williams was going to be really good. Have you seen enough of WR Lynn Bowden Jr., a guy you got in August, to have any sense of what maybe could come eventually?) – “Lynn is a good guy. This is his second week here or something like that – I don’t know how long he’s been here. He just has to learn the offense and stuff like that, but he’s a very decent guy.”
(We saw you play less than half the snaps in the opener; but you played all but one snap in the past two games. How are you feeling with the increased workload and how is everything coming out for you after games?) – “I’m feeling good. This week, I’m playing, so I’ll be good.”
(You’ve been a guy that’s had strings of interceptions in the past. You’ve had a couple of two pick games in back-to-back games. Getting the first one under your belt this year, is that something that can kind of get you going and get your hands on more footballs going forward?) – “That would be great for the team. That’s what I’m looking forward to and we’ll see Sunday.”
(I wanted to ask you about No. 14 D.K. Metcalf. He’s obviously very muscular and tall, but he also seems to be very fast. What might be something you can try against a guy like that?) – “Just play my game. Just play my game, I’d say. Whatever comes with it, you’ll see Sunday.”
Myles Gaskin – October 2, 2020
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Friday, October 2, 2020
RB Myles Gaskin
(Are you a little more amped up this week? Obviously the season has gone well for you, but to be playing a team you grew up watching a little bit of ways from you?) – “Absolutely. I trained at a place – Ford Sports Performance – where Bobby (Wagner) and K.J. (Wright) have trained. A lot of Seahawks have trained (there). I went to school with LB Ben (Burr-Kirven), another guy on their team, so I know some people over there on their team. Obviously I’m playing against the hometown. I just can’t wait. I can’t wait to play them.”
(What are your connections to the Seahawks? Did you grow up dreaming of playing for them at any point?) – “Honestly, no. I’ve always thought it would be kind of cool; but I was always – this is probably not believable, but I was always a Dolphins fan when I was younger because I had an older cousin that was a Dolphins fan. It’s odd how this worked out.”
(I wanted to ask about T Austin Jackson. You played against USC back in college. Did you know anything about him back then? And then what’s it like having him as a teammate now on the left side?) – “When I was in college, I never thought about him. It never really crossed my mind because we both play offense, so I never go against him since he’s on another team. But just having that Pac-12 connection, we talk about – I think the last time we played them, we lost. I think my biggest game my freshman year was against them. There’s a little back and forth, but it’s all good now because we’re on the same team.”
(You piqued my interested there talking about being a Dolphins fan growing up. Who was your guy? Was it RB Ricky Williams or RB Ronnie Brown? Who was your guy?) – “Ricky Williams, for sure. He was hard. Honestly, like I said, it was my older cousin. I was like a young, young dude. It was when I was first getting into football. I remember he had a Ricky Williams jersey when I first just started loving football. You know how your oldest cousin is like the coolest person to you, so it just kind of went hand and hand ever since then.”
(One of the things Head Coach Brian Flores said in a phone call with the Seattle media earlier this week, he said that Myles is really everything we’re looking for in a Dolphin. What do you think when you hear that?) – “A great compliment. I appreciate that. I saw that on social media and stuff; but I need to get better. I need to get a lot better, just for my personal – I think that’s the way of being a Dolphin is I’m never satisfied, just always striving for more. I really don’t think I’ve made a splash or anything like that. I appreciate all of the compliments and stuff like that, but I need to do better.”
(Seattle is known for it’s coffee, so give me your best pitch for how great Seattle coffee is.) – “(laughter) I never drank coffee until I got in the NFL. I was in Miami when I started drinking coffee. But my mom loves Starbucks, so I guess shout out Starbucks. I know Seattle and Starbucks go hand and hand, but my mom loves Starbucks.”
Brian Flores – October 2, 2020
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Friday, October 2, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(What’s the status of both CB Byron Jones and QB Tua Tagovailoa for Sunday’s game?) – “Tua will be listed as questionable. He was in today and practiced on a limited basis, so he’ll be questionable. Byron, we’re listing him as doubtful. He was out there on a limited basis as well. We’ve still got to – we’ll see on that one, but we’ll put him down as doubtful.”
(I was going to ask you if you might use that extra spot that you have with the 55-man rule this year to bring up CB Tae Hayes again this week?) – “We’ll see. (General Manager) Chris (Grier) along with myself and the coaching staff, we go through how we want to handle the roster on game day. Obviously we made a move last week. If it fits, we’ll do it. If not, then we won’t do it. We’ll see on Sunday.”
(Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll announced that S Jamal Adams is out of Sunday’s game. What kind of player does that remove from the Seahawks’ lineup?) – “Thanks for the information. I didn’t know that, just coming off the practice (field). Yeah, he’s a great player. I think we all know that, having played against him in the division. He’s fast, explosive, playmaker (in the) run game, pass game, pressures, sacks. This is one of the top players in the league. I don’t like to see guys miss games and go down. I hope he gets better quickly and that’s for he and anyone else that’s injured around the league, on our team or not. That’s just me. They’ve got a lot of good players. I think they’ll figure out a way to play offensively, defensively and in the kicking game. They’re well coached. It will still be a tough, tough battle with whoever they put in there.”
(Obviously the biggest story on the planet is President Trump testing positive for coronavirus. I wanted to get your reaction to that and have you addressed the team with another message to just stay diligent when it’s still out there?) – “I address the team pretty much every day in some form or fashion. I didn’t address that this morning. Honestly I didn’t know if it was confirmed. I honestly still don’t. Look, no one is exempt. If it is confirmed – I’ve been on the practice field here. Has that been confirmed? I’m asking you guys, honestly.”
(Yes.) – “Okay. Look, no one is exempt. No one is exempt from coronavirus. No one is exempt from cancer. No one is exempt. It doesn’t matter who you are. I think we just have to continue to wear the masks and (socially) distance and act responsibly and even then, people still get coronavirus. That’s the kind of disease it is, virus it is. We need to be responsible. That’s always been my message to the players. I think they understand that. I think everyone needs to understand that. But again, you can do everything right and still get it. We just all have to be careful.”
(We talked about after the Buffalo loss how you wanted to get back on the field as quick as possible on Thursday. After a win, you’ve got to be itching, 10 days out, to get back on the field after the win, right?) – “Yeah, I need to see some new film. That’s kind of how I feel right now. I’m competitive. The guys on this team are competitive. Everyone in this league is competitive. We want to play, we want to coach; so yeah, I need to see some new film. That’s kind of where I’m at. I think everyone is that way. I’m sure they’re itching to play too. Look, they’re a good team. It will be a tough test; but yes, it’s been awhile since we’ve played so I want to get back out there.”
(On the topic of the Seahawks, I wanted to ask you, you’ve been pretty aggressive in the past with going for it on fourth down and being willing to kind of do some trick plays on special teams. How much does Seattle’s 37 points per game, the second-most in the NFL, change your approach to the aggressive nature of how you call the game?) – “I think you always want to call the game aggressively, whether it’s offensively, defensively or in the kicking game. I guess that’s how we want to be by nature. We want our players to play physical and aggressively. I don’t think we want to – we want to be smart, also. Every situation is different. Every game is different. The timing of making a more aggressive call versus a different type of call, every one is a little bit different. It can’t be all one thing. It can’t be all aggressive. It can’t be all – I guess non-aggressive is the opposite of that. I think you’ve got to mix things up. But you want to try to put your team in the best situation to win the ballgame and I think that’s what we always try to do. If that means going for it on fourth down, if that means punting on fourth down, if that means a trick play, then again, I think we’re no different than any other team. Seattle has a bunch of trick plays too. We’ve got to be ready for that.”
(I noticed that S Clayton Fejedelem was a full practice yesterday and both Dolphins and Seattle’s special teams units have been good. What kind of impact do you think Fejedelem could potentially have when he’s able to play?) – “Well he was having a really good training camp prior to the injury, so we’re looking forward to getting him out there. Again, it’s going to be his first game. Obviously he’s played in this league. We’re excited to have him out there. He’s a captain. He’s been itching to go. I’m excited to get him out there and get him playing. I think he’s practiced and prepared well, so hopefully that translates to good play on the field on Sunday.”
Elandon Roberts – October 1, 2020
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
LB Elandon Roberts
(I wanted to get your thoughts on the Titans and Steelers losing a game because of COVID, or postponing it. We’ll see when it’s made up. I wanted to know what your life has been like, trying to stay away from it. Have you been able to go out to eat at all? What has your life been like when you’ve left the building?) – “Us as players and the Miami Dolphins we do a great job of treating it like a bubble. We know the responsibility we have to our families and our Miami Dolphin families with the personnel in the building, with our coaches, with our teammates. With us, we’ve still been on a ‘come to practice and go home’ mentality and stuff like that. As Miami Dolphins, that’s just how we’ve been controlling it.”
(I don’t know if you’ve heard the news that Florida’s relaxed in some of it’s protocols. Restaurants can be full, bars can be full – does that make you nervous? Do you think that you are still in good hands? What is your reaction to what the state has done?) – “You can’t control what goes on outside of what you can control as Miami Dolphins. We just still are following our protocol here in our building. You can look at it as a job; we look at each other as family. We’ve just been doing what we’ve first came in doing and that’s coming in, washing hands, wearing our masks at all time – I just took mine off to get on this call – our contact tracers and stuff, doing everything that’s put in place for us to do. I think we’ve done that well as an organization. We’re just going to have to continue doing it more and more with everything opening back up.”
(I’m writing a story on LB Kamu Grugier-Hill. What have you learned about him? What are you impressed by with what he has done? Did you know him back in the day in New England?) – “Yeah, me and Kamu were drafted in the same class in New England. We’ve always had a relationship on and off the field. Kamu is a great guy. I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re getting from everybody. He comes to work every day, works hard off the field. He’s an exciting guy to be around and stuff like that. That’s my guy.”
(I wanted to ask you about this Sunday’s matchup against the Seahawks. We’ll see who is out there; but I know they’ve got a few guys like G Mike Iupati who can really roll up to that second level and really bring that physical mentality. Is that something you embrace as a player, that really takes pride in your own physicality, going against a team that wants to smash you in the mouth too?) – “That’s what the game is all about. It has it’s physical aspects to it and whatnot. Hey, it’s football. Just come to play.”
(How much are you restricting your contact with the outside world? When was the last time you ate at a restaurant or went to a store and stuff like that?) – “It’s been a minute. We went right from training camp to playing games. There really was no time for none of that. My wife, she loves to cook, so it’s all good.”
Jerome Baker – October 1, 2020
Thursday, October 1, 2020
LB Jerome Baker
(I wanted to ask you about something away from football here for just a moment. You’re pretty involved in the community both here and back in your hometown. I wanted to ask you what it was like during the pandemic to still try to find a way to give back, and if there is any specific event you can tell us about from this past summer that you were involved in?) – “A lot of my events, they didn’t get canceled. They either got changed quite a bit. I had the backpack giveaway at my high school. It was originally supposed to be a camp and everything, but with the pandemic, we just decided to give backpacks away and that’s pretty much all we did. It was hard. It’s definitely still hard, but you’ve just got to find different ways to try to be safe and just get through it.”
(I wanted to ask about you going up against the rookies – G Solomon Kindley and T Austin Jackson – in practice. What have you noticed from them specifically on Austin and it just seems like the offensive line is very new, but they’ve held it together here in the first few weeks?) – “Just right off the bat, they go hard and they’re willing just to get better. It doesn’t matter who they’re going up against. They’re not afraid to ask questions. Pretty much most of our rookies, they all just come in and pick everybody’s brain and just do things the right way. Guys like that just come in and have that hunger to them. You can just tell they’re going to have success and you can just tell our o-line has definitely gotten better and just continues to get better.”
(What was your reaction when you heard about what happened to the Titans – the outbreak they’ve had – and are you confident that something similar won’t happen here?) – “My reaction – I was actually surprised. With all the protocols, with all the things that we have to go through just to stay safe. For me, I’m not going to say it’s easy, but now we’ve adjusted to it. You definitely have the tools to stay safe and I’m pretty confident that we won’t have anything like that here; but you’ve just got to be safe and just be cautious of everything you do on the field and off the field.”
(I actually wanted to ask you about RB Myles Gaskin. He’s from the Seattle area, so I don’t know if he grew up a Seahawks fan; but I’m sure he’ll be jacked up for this game. Some of us are kind of surprised that he’s gotten so many touches in the first few weeks. What did you see from him even on the practice field and in training camp that was kind of impressive?) – “If you’ve been around here, you’re not surprised at all about Myles (Gaskin). He goes hard. He’s smart and he truly works hard not just during practice, but outside of practice. Even this week, we had a few days off. If I come in and just do some stuff in here, he’s on the field doing ladder drills, running. He’s a guy that does way more than what they ask him. For me, I’m happy to see guys like that just work hard and get what they deserve; and for him it’s more carries, but nobody’s – if you’ve been here – nobody’s surprised. One-on-ones – he does great in one-on-ones, pass protection, he does it all. It’s not a surprise. For me, I’m definitely happy for him.”
(I’ve been looking back at some of your snap counts over the last couple years and you pretty much play every snap, and you do come off the field sometimes. I’m curious if when they call you off the field for the couple of snaps a year that you do miss, are you kind of like, “no, I don’t want to do that” or is it hard to get you off the field?) – “Some of the time it’s a little hard just simply because you can be going – you only can get a play off, two plays off. It drains your energy more to run off the field then run back on. You really don’t get any water. You just pretty much run off the field for nothing; but overall, it’s good. I just try to stay healthy, try to stay ready and try to stay in the best shape I can, and that’s just a credit to it.”
(I wanted to ask how much do you miss Raiders LB Raekwon McMillan? How’s he doing? Have you kept in touch with him over the last couple weeks?) – “Oh yeah, ‘Kwon’ – that’s my boy. Yeah, I talked to him a little bit. We talked a little bit of football, but he’s good. He’s doing his thing over there. Yeah, I definitely miss my boy, but I’m definitely happy for him.”
(It’s the first time you guys haven’t been on a team.) – “Yeah, in a long time. Yeah. We end up playing them later on, right? So it’s definitely going to be cool.”
(I wanted to ask you about the pass rush. What are you seeing out of it that has improved since the first couple weeks? What did you see in the Jacksonville game that was so much better?) – “We’re starting to jell together. We’re starting to really understand every guy’s strengths and weaknesses, so that just comes with time and we definitely are moving in the right direction when it comes to that. I know the DBs, they’re happy because it helps all of us. It’s starting to come together, but we’ve just got to constantly just improve and get better and we’re doing that.”
Byron Jones – October 1, 2020
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
CB Byron Jones
(The question we are all thinking: how are you feeling, how has your rehab gone and what do you think your chances of playing on Sunday are?) – “I feel really good. Rehab has been on schedule, which is great. Honestly, it’s just day by day. I felt really good today, so we’ll see where we are at.”
(I understand that you are going day by day, but what kind of challenge does the group of Seahawks receivers and also TE Greg Olsen present, knowing QB Russell Wilson is their quarterback?) – “Yeah. They have a really good receiving corps. It’s really a combination of the receiving corps and also the quarterback, and how he can get the ball to those receivers. As we’ve seen in the past three games, they are taking deep shots. They’re getting big explosive plays so as a secondary and really as a defense, our job is to eliminate and really minimize those deep shots and those big plays. They have fast guys, they have strong guys, they have savvy vets. It’s really impressive to watch Russell and how he can pinpoint those deep balls. That’s something we have to take care of going into the game.”
(Do the doctors and trainers think the groin is anyway possibly related to the Achilles?) – “Not at all. That wasn’t a conversation. No, not at all. Groin – muscles are like a weird, finicky thing man. They come and they go. I’ve had hamstrings in the past. I’ve never really had a groin like that, but it’s just a part of ball. If you play long enough, you’re going to get hurt.”
(I’m sure you’ve gone against your fair share of quarterbacks that are on a roll before, how do you describe this roll that QB Russell Wilson is on? He has not failed to throw at least four touchdown passes in any game this year. How do you describe how hot this guy is?) – “What he’s doing down in Seattle is impressive. Like I said earlier, his receiving corps and what the entire offense over there is doing is really creating big and explosive plays on a consistent basis. That’s a challenge for us, but that’s an exciting challenge. You’re really going against one of the best in the league at this point. It’s really a good measuring stick as to where our secondary and where our defense is going to be going forward.”
(WR DK Metcalf seems like a Deebo on the field for a lack of better term with his size and his strength. What do those challenges present for you guys as a secondary?) – “He’s a guy that really has it all. He’s got big speed, he has a really big catching radius, he runs good routes for someone who is that big and he has a really good quarterback who puts it on the spot. It’s a challenge, like I spoke about earlier. It’s one of those things where it’s a really good opportunity to see where we’re at as a defense and as a secondary. We know what the challenge is, we’ve seen the film, so lets go out there and stop it.”
(Is there a certain threshold you need to reach for you to be comfortable on the field? Obviously your speed and agility is a big part of your game. You’re not going to be 100 percent – no one is during the regular season, but what do you have to feel like to play?) – “You just have to keep running through the paces. Today was a really good challenge today with what we did, and tomorrow is going to be a bigger challenge. As we go along, you continue to push yourself and you gain that confidence. You start at 50 percent, then you go to 65 percent, then 75 percent. It’s just about the workload and the speed and how the recovery is and how I feel the next day. I’d say we’re on a good track.”
(You mentioned that playing long enough in this league, you’re going to get hurt; but you haven’t missed many games in your pro career. Something I’ve heard before is that sometimes it helps a player to get mental reps in from the sideline. Have you had any of that experience the last couple of weeks?) – “Of course. I’ve played in every single game since I’ve been in the league. I missed my last game last year, which was the first game I’ve ever missed. This year, this is the first time I’ve had to prepare throughout an entire week knowing that I wasn’t going to play last Thursday. That was different. It was just different. It’s something that I didn’t go through (in the past). I actually called one of my past friends whose gone through it in the past and he’s given me some really good advice. Like you said, it’s really going through the mental reps, it’s putting yourself through the paces and seeing how a play will develop on the left side of the field, on the right side of the field. You get a chance not just to focus on your matchup, but you get a chance to really focus on, ‘what it looks like from the nickel position or if I’m at the left corner position, or if I’m at the right corner position?’ It really does give you that exercise, that mental exercise, that really keeps you sharp. I’ve probably taken more notes now than I typically do, but I’m just trying to keep my mind and my body fresh.”
(We were hoping that for most of the season, the team will have you Xavien Howard, and Noah Igbinoghene all available at the same time. When that does happen, what in the first few games have you learned about the potential for the three of you guys as corners?) – “We’re still growing. There is no question about that. We have Noah who is a really talented young rookie, but he just hasn’t seen a lot. I can tell you this, he’s probably one of the most impressive young guys I’ve seen in a very long time. The way he approaches the game, this kid is here early. He’s here early with the coach looking at film. He’s there late. The way he practices and the way he really approaches practice is really impressive for a young guy to understand that. For me just to see ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), when he came back towards the end of camp, I think his first couple of days, he got like two or three picks. You can see his play-making ability right away. It’s going to be special but it’s going to take work. You really have to bond together as a unit. It’s not just about having really good players on the roster. You really have to develop a bond and really develop that level of communication that can really lead us to a different level. There’s a lot than just the physical talent. There’s a lot of mental talent. There’s trusting each other, knowing that this person is going to be where he’s supposed to be, knowing that you have inside help, outside help, whatever it may be. We’re still developing that but that’s a fun challenge going through the year.”
(How long do you think it will take for you and CB Xavien Howard to develop the kind of understanding that you would really like to reach so that you automatically know what each guy is going to be doing?) – “That’s the exciting part because there is really no timetable on that. There is no script to it. As I watch more film with him and of him, I understand more about him and the same thing for him watching me. There is really no timetable to it. It’s just playing and getting as many reps as you can, talking in the locker room about it, talking off the field about it, talking while on the field about it and whatever play you saw, how you’re going to play this, how you’re going to play that. It takes time, but there is no timetable. That’s just something you work on every single day. Every single day, let’s keep working on this, let’s keep getting right and let’s keep preparing so we can be great.”
Preston Williams – October 1, 2020
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Thursday, October 1, 2020
WR Preston Williams
(I noticed at practice, every time Pop Smoke is on, Six Nine is on, you’re always loving the music, loving the energy. What makes you want to bring that juice when you’re on the field and on the practice field?) – “It’s kind of my style of play. I just like to have fun. The team, if someone is upset, I go cheer them up, warm them up, make them feel better. As long as you keep your mind straight the whole game, I feel like you’ll produce well and have a decent game. I just try to stay positive all of the time.”
(When CB Noah Igbinoghene covers you in practice, going back to training camp, what’s the skill about him that you think will make him a good NFL cornerback over time?) – “He’s got all of the tangibles to be a great corner in this league one day. He’s young right now. He’s still learning. He’s a real patient – for a rookie corner, he’s really patient. He’s going to get hands on you. He’s very physical, and I like that. I like Noah out there. I think he’s going to be a great ballplayer in the years to come.”
(We’re a few episodes into WR DeVante Parker’s cartoon now and I’m just curious, when are you going to get that cameo?) – “(laughter) I’ve got to ask DeVante and his team how all of that works. Hopefully I can get a feature in his cartoon. I’ve been watching it myself. I think it’s pretty cool. Hopefully I can get a feature in it.”
(There are specific routes – Week 2 near the goal line and then last week in Jacksonville on the slant, I thought that was much tougher coverage against that corner. What did it just mean mentally for you to be able to haul that touchdown in, knowing that it followed up the drop from the week before?) – “It was more of just having a clear mentality. I dropped that pass in the Bills game and they came to me later that game, but you have to just move on to the next play. The league is full of contested catches. A lot of DBs are pretty good. It’s all about creating space and making contested catches. That’s one of the things you’ve just always got to do. There’s always going to probably be a contested catch of a DB in the area.”
(I noticed that your snaps went from 61 to 35 and I was wondering if that was planned in terms of just maybe taking some pressure off the knee with two games so close together.) – “No. We added more personnel packages. We’ve got different people in the game, a little Wildcat and stuff like that. The snaps tend to go down when you’re not in on certain personnel (groups).”
