DeShon Elliott – January 1, 2024
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Monday, January 1, 2024
S DeShon Elliott
(This team has really been good at shaking off losses, the limited number there have been, and responding well. Do you sense that will be the case even though yesterday I’m sure was disheartening?) – “I think we are a resilient team. I know we’ll bounce back because I believe in the guys. I think with that bad taste being in our mouth, it’s just going to fuel us to be better. We made a lot of mistakes yesterday, but a lot of those mistakes I felt we did to ourselves. We’ll get back to the drawing board and try to be the best version of ourselves and I think we can do that.”
(What was the message today?) – “I was talking to Jevon (Holland) last night. I was just like, it’s like when you go to school, you have a bad day at school, you come home and your parents bring out that belt. They put that belt on us yesterday. It just makes you realize that you’re blessed. You’ve just got to get back to the basics and do your job. When we do our job at a high level, that’s when we’re the best version of ourselves. We’ve just got to play within yourself. Don’t try to do too much.”
(On that play that Ravens WR Zay Flowers got open, the 75-yarder. What happened? It looked like you were on the field and you guys were looking at each other like somebody was where they weren’t supposed to be.) – “Miscommunication. Like I said, we weren’t playing within ourselves. We weren’t playing team football the way we’ve been playing the last eight or nine weeks at a high level so I think that – and I want to apologize for my frustration on that play – I shouldn’t be showing that type of frustration on the field, but I did. It shouldn’t happen. But it happened. We’ll get it fixed. We’ve gotten it fixed. We’ve just got to move on.”
(Playoffs secured obviously, but now it’s going to be down to a primetime game against a division rival, the Bills. Is there extra motivation knowing it’s at home, it’s primetime, you guys want to finish at least the regular season hopefully clinching the No. 2 seed. I know sometimes that doesn’t matter, but is there any added pressure to that?) – “Of course you want to win the division and also you want to play as many games as you can in the playoffs at home so it means a lot. Being able to do that would be big for us. Just getting that bad taste out of our mouth, it would be great for us to finish the season with a win going into the playoffs. With what happened with (Bradley) Chubb, I’m praying for my dude, but with that happening, we want to be able to move on and hopefully something good can come out of that. We’ve got young guys on our team who can step up, rise up, and I think with this next game, with our preparation, if we go into it the right way, that it won’t be a snowball effect. We’ll just be able to play at a high level again. So I think it’ll be great, not just for us individually but us as a team and as an organization.”
(With Bills QB Josh Allen – I know last week Ravens QB Lamar Jackson had a perfect passer rating. Josh actually had a perfect passer rating against you guys last time you faced him. How much ownership do you as a leader of the secondary take for when quarterbacks have that kind of level of success?) – “I mean, high. It’s all three levels – d-line, linebackers and DBs. When we are not playing together, that happens. I think that this is a different team than we were when we faced the Bills the first time obviously. With our preparation, I think we’ll be fine. We’ll be ok.”
(How big of a loss is LB Bradley Chubb?) – “Huge. I mean, Chubb was having a career year. Double-digit sacks. I think he was leading the league in forced fumbles. His energy, the approach he brings to the game, his fundamentals, just everything. He’s a great player, great teammate, great friend, great brother of mine. I think that’s going to go a long way. But he is also a leader in that d-line room. He has some young guys behind him who can step up, who can make plays, who can contribute to this team. I think with that being said, I think everyone will play harder, not just for each other but for him and for JP (Jaelan Phillips) as well. I think we’ll be ok.”
(I know it’s a next-man up league, but you guys have had bad luck with a run of injuries with LB Jerome Baker and LB Jaelan Phillips and now LB Bradley Chubb and CB Xavien Howard. How do you go forward when you know some of your best guys are down?) – “Shoot we are all in the NFL, so those other guys are here for a reason. They’re given an opportunity to make plays. Some guys that have wanted an opportunity all their life, they’re blessed to be here and never got a chance to get the opportunity. Now they have it. So with the right preparation, hopefully they will step up and do things that I know they can do and hopefully they believe in themselves that they can do.”
(What are your feelings on being out there on the field when LB Bradley Chubb got hurt? Overall, a player being out there on the field in those situations, do you want to stay out there as a defensive player or would you rather save the plays on your body?) – “Man, I’m blessed to play ball however many plays. I’ve been hurt a lot since I’ve been in the NFL. If they let me go out there on that field and touch that grass, I’m playing no matter what. If they are going to pull me out, I’ll come out. But shoot, I’m not coming out unless you’re going to tell me to come out. It is what it is.”
(And that’s the feeling for most of the defense from yesterday?) – “For sure, yeah. It happens sometimes. Injuries are part of the game. It doesn’t matter what the score is, injuries are part of the game. Of course we wish Chubb didn’t get hurt. We actually all did come out after that play, but it happens, man. It’s sad, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
