Skylar Thompson – January 6, 2023
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Friday, January 6, 2023
QB Skylar Thompson
(Can you talk a little bit about the week of preparations? Obviously, it’s a big matchup for the team and you have the responsibility to lead on Sunday.) – “It’s a great opportunity – an opportunity I’m really excited about. I thought we’ve had a great week of prep this week, all things considered. Guys are coming to work every day still dialed in and focused on accomplishing a big goal of ours that we set way back when Coach (Mike) McDaniel first got here. So for me, I’ve just been trying to focus on my weekly process that I’ve always done every week this year and the fact of just getting an opportunity to go lead this thing and start the game is an opportunity I’m really looking forward to.”
(Did you ever envision when you were a seventh-round pick, a rookie, that this early in your NFL career you’d be leading a team with a playoff spot on the line?) – “I can’t say that this is the exact situation that I imagined, but I’m definitely not mad about it. Obviously, it’s a tough situation for me to get this opportunity. Seeing my guys, Tua (Tagovailoa) and Teddy (Bridgewater), deal with some injuries, for me to get this opportunity that’s never how you want to draw it up to happen. But unfortunately, that’s how some things have shaken (out) this year. I’ve got a great opportunity here ahead of me that is something I’ve always worked for and dreamed for my whole life. I put a lot of time into this game and to get to this point, and to see it kind of play out this way is very exciting for me.”
(How has the week of practice gone for you?) – “It’s been really good. It’s been really good. I’m able to obviously get all the rest of the ones and just build trust, build continuity in the huddle and on the field. The most important thing for me is just to be myself when I get out there. I’ve had an opportunity to be the leader that I am this week, take ownership of the huddle and do the things that I feel like suit me and the way that I want to lead and command the huddle and help this team win. So I’m very excited to see the work throughout the week translate on to Sunday.”
(The difference in the feeling this week as opposed to when you were thrust into the last Jets game, I think was the one you came in right after QB Teddy Bridgewater. Can you kind of put into words when you have that week, what you feel like now and the confidence you feel going in as opposed to coming in cold?) – “Having the opportunity to do it already one time this year, the second time around has definitely helped me just know what to expect. There’s a whole gameplan going in. I know what it’s going to look like. I know what’s going to feel like and just how the transgression of the week is going to progress through and how I’m going to feel, so it wasn’t my first time doing it, to sum it all up. I definitely felt very smooth throughout this week and very confident, so I’m excited for it.”
(Was there a time either in October when you played or now where you and Pass Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Darrell Bevell have sat down and looked side by side of tape of you at your best in preseason and regular season throws – that Vikings game you played really well – compared to throws that have not been made how you wanted them to? Have you looked side-by-side at that tape? What did you learn was the difference between those two Skylar Thompsons?) – “Yeah, well it’s the same Skylar. (laughter) It’s not always going to be perfect. That’s the biggest thing for me that ‘Bev’ (Darrell Bevell) was just talking to me about today. Obviously, we chase for perfection – that’s what I’m here for. The day that I stopped striving for greatness and perfection is the day that I’m going to be done playing the game. But also having a reality (that) there’s good football players on the other side of the ball and they’re going to make plays at some point. It’s not going to be perfect all the time. But just having that next play mentality and not letting one play carry over to the other and just not trying to press and do it all. That’s one thing I’ve been telling myself all week is I don’t have to be a hero; I’ve just got to be Skylar Thompson. That’s what I’m excited to go do is to go out there, smile, have fun and play the game that I love.”
(Was there something in your footwork that you and Pass Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Darrell Bevell noticed where maybe it was a little better on some of the throws you were really affected by?) – “Yeah, I think last week – and I felt it in the game if my first or second read wasn’t there, it was kind of – I got hit early and I felt like there were times where it kind of sped me up a little bit whereas I could remain calm and take a step up in the pocket and get to my next progression of the read. I did that a couple times, but there’s definitely some happy feet there a little bit. I think some of that translates to those are my first live reps of the week. That’s definitely something we’ve talked about, but it’s not the time to sit here and try to correct and do all this stuff. I have to go be confident and trust my arm, trust my feet and trust my guys catching the ball.”
(When were you made aware that you were going to start and what was that conversation like?) – “Yeah, it was this morning. I was getting the reps throughout the week, so I didn’t really know what that was going to look like. But yeah, I knew this morning that was I was going to get the start, so it was exciting.”
(To the point of not having to be a hero, do you look forward to some simplification in the offense? Or do you feel comfortable handling all aspects?) – “I believe the way that I’ve prepared this year and the way that I’ve studied this playbook hasn’t really put Coach McDaniel in a position where he has to simplify a bunch of stuff for me. I definitely think that he’s accustomed the calls and stuff we’re doing to fit my strengths, which is something he’s done with Teddy (Bridgewater), with Tua (Tagovailoa), with all of us. It’s a great asset that helps me make me feel comfortable and confident, but I don’t necessarily feel like he’s had to really simplify things and make things easier for me. I think he’s just – what’s best for the team, what’s going to put us in situations to win and he trusts me to go execute it.”
(It helps having guys like WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle to throw to, huh?) – “Yeah, 100 percent. That’s one thing that I’ve got two of the best receivers in the league on my team, and I know those guys are going to go and make plays for me. We have great skill guys all around me. I don’t have to go be perfect, like I was saying earlier; I just have to distribute the football, be confident and keep us on schedule, keep us moving the chains and then when we get in the red zone, score touchdowns.”
(WR Tyreek Hill was talking about how fun practice was yesterday. How did you feel the support of your teammates during this week?) – “I’ve had so much fun this week. Kind of what I’ve touched on multiple times already, it’s what I told myself going into this week is I’m going to be myself. I’m going to be Skylar. All the exterior, the white noise, the what’s at stake, all of that stuff, I have not been paying any attention to it. I’m here to have fun and do what I’ve always dreamed of doing. I get an opportunity to go start a game here to finish the season with an opportunity to go to the playoffs. I’m just focused on going out there, having fun, letting the game come to me and trusting my teammates and having fun doing it.”
