Christian Wilkins – November 13, 2023
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Monday, November 13, 2023
DT Christian Wilkins
(The defense is maybe as healthy as it’s been all season. Do you feel like you guys are about to turn a corner? Do you think you need to turn a corner? Are you in the process? How do you view the defense right now?) – “I just think the biggest thing and the thing I’m most proud of, or what we’re trying to focus on and encourage as a defense, is just getting better each day. Don’t look at the big picture things. ‘Oh, this or that.’ Just focus on the steady improvement each and every day, being your best every day, bringing it out there. When we look up at the end of the year, even to this point, I feel like we’ve made improvements each week. Each day, we’ve had that mindset, so we’ll continue that mindset, and like I’m saying, at the end of the season we’ll look up and see where we’re at.”
(What’s the journey been like within this defense? We don’t see the complexities of learning the scheme and going through all of the assignments. What has it been like throughout the season to get to where you are now?) – “It’s just that. It’s always been like a work in progress. Vic (Fangio) is a heck of a coordinator, heck of a defensive mind, and he asks a lot of his players. But he’s also able to allow you to highlight your abilities within this defense. It’s a new defense for everybody. Only like two guys ever played in this scheme. So it’s that steady learning and improvement each day. That’s been the biggest thing, just playing with one another and just getting a feel for each other.”
(I know you’ve been in a few schemes throughout your life. Do you remember a click moment in each of the defenses where it clicks? ‘Like ok, I get the feel of me playing versus the scheme they are asking me to do?’) – “That kind of just comes with repetitions, really. I don’t know if there is really per se like an ‘ah ha’ moment, I got this down. It just comes with the reps, and then playing with guys around you too. To know where you can take shots or make plays or know that this guy is going to be here. Just little things like that. It also comes from knowing what the offense likes to do, and how they want to attack the defense too. All of that comes with reps and time.”
(Is there a correlation between already having matched your career high in sacks, and what you’re being asked to do in this scheme and by these coaches?) – “That’s probably to a lot of different things. Hopefully we continue to improve, and I continue to improve individually, and we’ll just get better and better each and every day.”
(We had some time earlier with LB Jaelan Phillips and he was pretty transparent about the issues he had. He had struggles earlier in the season mentally, he had doubts and all that. Were you aware of that at the time? And as a team leader, do you go to a guy you see might be struggling a little bit?) – “Sometimes you get a sense of the pulse of the locker room, or just guys come and say things to you. It’s your job then to keep everybody working, and eventually encourage them to maybe do more or find different ways to figure out what you’re being asked to do or get them out of a rut. That type of a thing.”
(How do you feel like LB Jaelan Phillips is performing now?) – “He’s playing pretty good. Obviously he was banged up early, but he looks good to me.”
(I think a couple of years ago, you guys did not have a bye after the Europe game, and this time you have the bye after the Europe game. What do you think about this path after the bye?) – “I guess we’ll see. I definitely feel like most guys appreciated it. Just definitely having that time to rest, and reset, especially this time of year. The bye kind of came at a good time. I think guys were happy to reset, get away and get their bodies back right for this back half stretch of the season.”
(What’s the differences you’ve seen from LB David Long Jr. from when he started the season to where he is now, and is it just a matter of comfort?) – “Yeah. That’s kind of what I was saying earlier. Just playing with guys, getting comfortable within the scheme and playing with guys around you, a lot of that can contribute to success. I think David is a heck of a player. I love having him around and playing behind me. He’s a different dude when those pads come on. He’s real quiet off the field, but on the field he brings it. It’s always fun to play with a guy like that.”
(You have a different personality on the field than off the field. He has a similar thing. Your teammates say that he basically becomes a different dude.) – “I can respect how he goes about it, and who he is on the field. I love that, just the energy he brings, and how he plays and his mindset.”
(Head Coach Mike McDaniel had this quote ‘work can be fun, if you know you’re not going to be judged for that fun.’ A couple of your teammates talked about the environment that he’s created. I’m curious from your perspective, when Mike first got here, was there a moment where you kind of realized that it was going to be a different environment?) – “Definitely. Just really from day one. He’s always being himself and then encouraging guys to be themselves. He wants to create a fun environment. I’m all for that. But also don’t get that confused with the amount of work and focus that has to go into each and every day in preparing for a game, and preparing to be great and preparing to be your best. You can definitely find that balance and it’s good. I feel like guys come in with the right mindset, and we definitely created that environment here of being able to have fun, but also grind like crazy and try to get the results you want.”
(The first team meeting that Head Coach Mike McDaniel called last year. It would’ve been like March of last year. Was there a way that he broke the ice, did he tell a joke that took you by surprise?) – “April 4th. I don’t know exactly per se what it was, or if there was a moment like that. Just every day being himself. Being a personality, being quirky, awkward and all of that good stuff, and just being funny. He thinks that he is a comedian. You guys know that. Really just that, and you get a feel over time for his personality and the environment he tries to create.”
(Obviously every coach has a different style. What value do you see in Head Coach Mike McDaniel’s style? The fun, the loose, the awkward style?) – “It’s just that. Just his style of embracing himself. He embraces himself and encourages others to be themselves, and I like that. I can definitely appreciate that. In some ways, he feels like it’s tough to ask a guy to be their best if they are not being themselves. I definitely respect that and appreciate that.”
(I think you’re a guy who stays where his feet are. I’m wondering if you ever look at the standings, and if so, does that ever motivate you? Do you know what happened yesterday when Cincinnati lost, Jacksonville lost, Baltimore lost, the Chargers lost. Does that make a difference, do you look, and does that matter?) – “I didn’t really pay any attention to that per se. I don’t look at standings or anything like that. I watch a lot of ball. I’m a big fan of the game and what guys are doing around the league. But I definitely don’t look at it like, ‘oh, if this or that.’ You just play the games. I like to see how other guys are doing around the league, especially other d-linemen or whatever. But yeah, not at all. I’m just focused on the team and us improving every day, and being our best every day. Like I said earlier, we’ll look up at the end and see where we are.”
(Do you know where you guys are in the division?) – “No.”
