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.”
