Jakeem Grant – September 12, 2018
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Wednesday, September 12, 2018
WR Jakeem Grant
(Can you into words what it means to be named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week?) – “It means a lot. It truly does. I actually didn’t know I was named until everybody started walking around saying, ‘Congrats!’ I’m like, ‘What are you all talking about? You all told me good job on the sideline when I scored.’ I mean, it’s an honor. All of the credit (goes) to my blocking unit on the kickoff return. That’s just a stepping stone. I want to go out and make a big play like that every Sunday. That’s only setting the standard.”
(Is there something about Tennessee because your punt return for a touchdown in 2016 was also against Tennessee.) – “I don’t know. Everybody says ‘That’s the team that you always return on, so we’re expecting a return from you.’ I guess it just happens like that. I couldn’t be more proud. But, like I said, it’s all credit due to my return unit. I didn’t even get touched. I thank them.”
(What are you looking forward to here against the Jets?) – “I know they’re a very physical team. We’re just looking to go out there and play with speed, be physical. We’ve got a lot of guys that have tremendous speed. All we have to do is go out there and use our speed and it’s hard for DBs to match-up against that. They have a lot of great guys. We’re going to go out there and put every last one of our guys – Albert (Wilson), Kenny (Stills), Danny (Amendola), myself – and go out there and just run and see if they can cover that.”
(When you go against a team that scored that many points on Monday night with a rookie quarterback, what does that do to you as an offense?) – “We’ve just got to match the intensity. We’ve got to go out there and outscore them. When we look back at it, they did put up a lot of points. They did a good job putting up all those points; but we’re going to go in and we’re going to attack them. We have a great defense and I feel like our defense will go out there and play lights out like they did Sunday. All we have to do is go out there and just continue to compete like we have been doing.”
(You have WR DeVante Parker back at practice today. What does that mean for your football team, and how much can that help you Sunday?) – “It just creates more weapons in our receiver room. You never know who you’re going to get out there. You’ve got me, Danny (Amendola), Albert (Wilson), Kenny (Stills), then when DeVante gets back, we’ve got a big man. There goes the jump ball and he can hit you for a home-run ball too. We’re anxious for him to get back. We’re ready for him to get back. As you can see, he was out there and he looks really good. He hasn’t missed a beat. He’s in every meeting and he’s running and all we’re ready for him to do is get in there and get those reps and get back going like he was when he left.”
(What is MetLife Stadium like, compared to others, in terms of loudness?) – “It’s a very loud stadium. It’s actually a really good stadium. I love the lights, especially when we played there at nighttime. It’s a great atmosphere to play in. Me personally, I love a road game because it’s us versus the world basically, so to go out there and get a win it means a lot. It’s hard to win on the road in the NFL.”
(Do you have a feel for the Dolphins-Jets rivalry yet?) – “Yes, I definitely have the feel, with them and the Patriots. I feel like it is a rivalry game. We’re going to get their best shot and they’re going to get ours.”
(Last week you told us you were the fastest guy in the locker room. Did you prove it Sunday?) – “Yes, but actually I wasn’t even running full speed. I was actually three-quarters speed and when I looked up at the speed meter and it said 20.9 (mph), I was hurt. That’s slow, man. (laughter) I tried to tell everybody, I was like, ‘Jakeem, that’s all you’ve got?’ I was like, ‘No, I wasn’t running, man.’ I didn’t have to do anything. I didn’t get touched and I didn’t have to run for my life. Because (of the blocking), I could just use 75 percent to run past those guys.”
(So what’s top speed?) – “All I can say is stay tuned. Whenever that speed … I can’t give you a number. All I’m going to say is stay tuned. Once that speed number comes up there on the scoreboard when you actually see me running from a defender and actually have to run, then you’ll be shocked.”
(Was it a relief to get that first kickoff return for a TD?) – “Yes, definitely a relief. Just showing the world and showing the other NFL teams that our return unit is going to be a force to be reckoned with this season. If they’re going to kick it to us, then we’re going to go out there and make a big play.”
(Did you save the ball and everything?) – “Yes. I don’t know. I’m just lost for words. Like I said, it’s all credit to my kickoff return unit. It’s not about me; it’s about them. Like I said, I didn’t even have to do anything but run. I didn’t even get touched (by) a fly or anything. I would say that all of us collectively – we all as a unit – got the AFC Player of the Week.”
(Are the new kickoff rules going to benefit you?) – “Yes, it’s going to benefit us as a unit because the guys are not getting down there as fast. With those guys that are in the front line blocking for me and the guys on the back end blocking for me, they get to see exactly who they’ve got and they can avoid the twisters and everything. For me, I can see on the back end exactly what hole to hit and it’s a much clearer picture.”
