Kenyan Drake – August 27, 2018
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Monday, August 27, 2018
RB Kenyan Drake
(After this week, obviously this locker room will change drastically. How do guys approach that knowing some of these guys won’t be around starting next week?) – “Just making sure that everybody understands the task at hand. I know a lot of people understand the severity of the situation in terms of the logistics of this business. At the end of the day, I think people, like I said, take things one day at a time, trying to make sure they do everything they need to do to put their best foot forward for this week ahead.”
(What do you feel best about what you’ve done so far in the preseason?) – “I don’t know. It’s hard for me to look back. I’m looking forward to the season, so I’m just trying to play every rep 100 percent, make sure I have all of my responsibilities down. It wasn’t perfect just because it’s preseason. You’re trying to iron out the wrinkles, make sure that you get the details down so when the bullets really start flying in the season, you’re ready to go out there and play ball.”
(What have you learned from RB Frank Gore?) – “Just his meticulous preparation. He’s a guy who’s always in here first, he leaves last. He’s a guy that a lot of people can count on just because at the end of the day, he’s been there and done that; but he proves it on a daily basis every day. It’s really cool just seeing him in the flesh and not knowing necessarily a lot about him before he got here, but knowing that he’s a very diligent type of player and that serves his longevity well, and seeing it in person is definitely something that I can admire.”
(What kind of weapon do you see yourself as?) – “I’m just trying to make plays in any way possible. I feel like my versatility is something that I strive to put on display constantly. So, anything that the coaches ask me, I’m ready to step up to the plate.”
(Do you have a sense yet of how good this team can be?) – “I feel like the stars are our ceiling, honestly. We’re just looking forward to getting ready for the season, taking every game for what it is, going out there and using every rep as a teaching moment in the preseason, so when the game starts, we can go out there and execute to our best ability.”
(Do you think this group here is a playoff team?) – “I’m not really into making expectations. I’m just taking it one day at a time, one game at a time and see how everything plays out.”
(The coaches have said that they’ve seen progression with this team. What type of progressions have you seen?) – “It’s just early in the year. That’s just how it is. Every game you take, every practice rep, every game rep, it’s a learning experience in this situation. Even as the season progresses, you’re going to still continue to learn from mistakes or things that you’ve done, good things and bad things. The progression is just the nature of the game, just to be able to go out there and see what you did, good or bad, learn from it, build on it and try to do it better.”
(Do these starters feel ready for Week 1 right now?) – “We have one more week to decide that, so we’ll decide when that week rolls in.”
(Do you expect to be in the passing game more this year? Is that something you guys have talked about?) – “Yes. My versatility is a weapon for me, so catching the ball out of the back field, lining up in a wing set, in the slot or out wide against linebackers or safeties, I feel like I have an advantage. I see that as being an advantage with me being in that situation, along with running the ball inside or outside, in the back field. I just want to help this team win games.”
(Do you see the potential in the combination of weapons with what you can do with your versatility, what WR Danny Amendola can do, TE Mike Gisecki being at tight end – what do you guys kind of expect from that group?) – “It’s just a shame that we only have one ball. We have a lot of weapons out here to really display their explosiveness. The way that (Head Coach Adam) Gase crafts up these plays and the scheme, I feel like he’s going to put us in the best position to make plays. I’m just looking forward to the time for us to go out there and do what we have to do from the guys that we built from OTAs, from rookies we drafted, from people we added onto this team and see how everything kind of builds.”
(Do guys ever hit you up on social media about – I know it’s something you don’t ever think about – but fantasy, because your name, we hear this year, might be a real high value?) – “I’m not a fan of fantasy. I’m a real football type of person, so fantasy doesn’t bode any type of legitimacy to me.”
(You’re not a fantasy guy at all?) – “No. I’m not a fantasy guy because people, they hold their stock to individual players going out there and making individual performances. That’s fine and dandy, you need players to go out there and make plays; but I’m more of a team person. So when everybody asks me ‘are you going to score a touchdown, are you going to get 100 yards, are you going to do this, are you going to do that?’ That’s all good and dandy when you’re making plays and the team is winning. If your team is not winning, then it doesn’t really matter.”
(How often do you hear that?) – “A lot, so it’s not really something that I want to talk about because I don’t really care about it.”
(Does it bother you to kind of have fans do that?) – “No, because for them to be involved in the game is a great thing. I feel like it’s an awesome thing for fantasy to be around. It’s just not a topic of conversation that I want to have all the time, because I’m more about the actual game, not fantasy.”
