Bobby McCain – January 1, 2018
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Monday, January 1, 2018
CB Bobby McCain
(From all accounts, a good season for you personally. What are some of the goals that you set in the preseason that you felt like you were able to execute in the game?) – “Just being consistent in my technique, being consistent in making plays and trying to do the right thing. If you do things right, good things will happen.”
(How would you assess how this year has gone? You guys took a lot of body blows throughout the course of the season. Do you think the record accurately reflected how you all played?) – “No, it doesn’t. And this team, people talk about talent. This team has a lot of talent but talent doesn’t get you anywhere. This team does have … We work hard and the season didn’t go the way we wanted. We all know that and we had a lot of ups and downs; but at the end of the day, we’ve just got to come back this coming season and just know that things have got to change. We’ve got to put a stamp on it.”
(For any team, if they lose their starting quarterback the second week of training camp, the season is usually not going to go very well. You guys battled through that but do you think all of the things, like the hurricane, was just too much for this team?) – “No, I won’t say too much because even with the hurricane, we went down there and got a W. I wouldn’t say it’s too much, but just we’ve got to put distractions aside. Like you said, there’s a lot of things that happened. We lost ‘Tanny’ (Ryan Tannehill) early but guys have got to step up. That’s (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase’s (philosophy). He has a next-man-up mentality, always. If one guy is down, the next guy’s got to step up. Once everyone gets that mentality, I think we’ll be pretty good.”
(Was this year’s defense as talented as last year’s defense?) – “I would say so. I would say so, for sure. Like I said, our record doesn’t reflect it and our team stats don’t reflect it; but we had a lot of talent. We’ve got some really good players on the defense (and) on the whole team, really – offensively, special teams guys, just guys doing their job, guys doing their part. Defensively, we’re going to come back and we’re going to put it together. We’re going to make it a great one.”
(You’ve had a lot of young defensively players that got playing time. When you look at CB Cordrea Tankersley and CB Charles Harris and CB Torry McTyer right there beside you got some playing time – DE Cameron Malveaux and DT Davon Godchaux. You know the list. What do you think about the young defensive talent on this team?) – “They stepped up and did their thing this year. They stepped up and embraced their role. As rookies, you come in and you’re blinded and you’re wide-eyed but they stepped up and they embraced the moment. They stepped up in big games. Torry’s out there playing Tom Brady in his first game; but things like that, when you see first- and second-year guys, even third-year guys, young guys that are coming into their own and just embracing what they’re doing, that’s big. That’s what you like to see.”
(Have you kept in touch with CB Byron Maxwell at all?) – “Yes, I talked to him a couple of times – a couple of times here and there. I know he’s down in Seattle doing his thing. I don’t know what they’re doing from here.”
(How did CB Byron Maxwell handle what happened and how his time here ended?) – “I guess he handled it pretty good. He’s got a good head on his shoulder. He’s mentally tough and he can deal with things well. I can’t say ‘Man, we talk every day;’ but I’m sure he went down there and he did what he had to do.”
(Was that a surprise when they cut CB Byron Maxwell?) – “Yes. It sucks but that’s just the business. You don’t ever expect to come in and your brother to be gone, but that’s just how it is. At the end of the day it’s the NFL and you’ve got to do your job every day.”
(How tough is it to be cleaning out your locker a lot sooner than you wanted to?) – “It sucks. It sucks because the goal was to get to the playoffs and make a run; but it didn’t happen. I think I’m going to wait on mine. I’m going to leave it a couple of days and let it sit to let it sink in. It definitely sucks though.”
(Talk about recovering that onside kick last night. That was a pretty wild formation and everything.) – “Yes, it was a great kick by Cody (Parkey). We had the numbers that we wanted. It’s just crazy that in the Bills games, we recovered two onside kicks – the first one and then this one. I guess I can say when I’m out there on onside kick, we are 100 percent. (Laughter) It was a great kick by Cody and great execution by everybody, even guys like Neville (Hewitt) and Walt (Aikens), guys who were making big hits to jar the ball loose.”
(LB Neville Hewitt blasted that guy.) – “Yes, for sure. Guys executed the game plan. When you execute, good things happen.”
(Does K Cody Parkey have a good set of skills for onside kicks?) – “He does. Cody is a really good kicker. I think he went to the Pro Bowl his rookie year, I’m pretty sure. You go for a reason. Yes, he’s a really good kicker.”
(Is that really how you feel about the Bills, the Jills?) – “That isn’t for me to say.”
(What do you feel like will be the point of emphasis for the spring and summer for the whole secondary to take the next step forward?) – “Just consistency. Once we start making plays, once we start coming along, just consistency in what we’re doing because at the end of the day, we’ve got to put the team on our back. The ball is going to go up in the air regardless if you like it or not. How I see it is next year, when we come back, we’ve all got to have the mindset that there’s no 50/50 balls. The ball is ours once it’s up in the air.”
(Is it true that overall that there were actually more mental errors than physical errors?) – “I’m not sure. I couldn’t tell you.”
