Brandon Jones – December 20, 2021
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Monday, December 20, 2021
S Brandon Jones
(We just heard from CB Nik Needham that it was his first time playing free safety. Playing back there with him, can you tell us how you thought he did?) – “I think he did a really good job. Especially the free safety position in our defensive scheme, a lot is on their plate when it comes to formation adjustments, getting people lined up, making the calls. I know I was in here sitting here listening to him and he said it was his first time but I was a little shocked on that because of how confident and comfortable he was out there. He did a really good job, like I said, getting people lined up, making plays and not letting the ball hit for however many yards and getting the guy on the ground. I was really happy for him. He did a really good job.”
(There’s only a few games left. How realistic is it for you to catch LB Jaelen Phillips in sacks?) – “How many does he have now?”
(He’s got like 8.5.) – “See, I ain’t catching him. I ain’t catching him. (laughter) It’s actually funny because me and Jaelen before every game we talk to each other and I tell him, ‘Hey, you get one for me and one for you.’ The last two weeks when I wasn’t playing, I came up to him and told him, and he got me one and got him one. I was like, ‘Who’s the first one for?’ and he’s like, ‘That was for you bro, that was for you,’ and I was like, ‘Alright, bet.’ That’s kind of our thing now. We kind of go into it and our sacks that we do end up getting if we do in the game is usually for, we do it for each other. I think that’s something pretty special and pretty cool that we’ve been able to do these last few weeks.”
(What’s the thing that’s happened with the defense in the last six weeks that you really hope continues in the last three games?) – “I would say just continue to play at a high level and I think we play our best ball when we’re having fun. You can definitely see that in the second half yesterday. I think the first half we were trying to do too much, everybody was trying to make a play and I think we got a little over excited just having that bye week, having that time off and we definitely started flat in the first half. I think once we re-grouped and got back together in the locker room, we said, ‘Guys, let’s just relax. Let’s calm down, let’s play our brand of football and go out there and have fun.’ I think once we do go out there and have fun, we end up playing our best ball. I think moving forward, we just have to continue to do that and understand the situation and not put too much pressure on ourselves.”
(Now that you guys have turned the season around and gotten it back to .500, can you talk a little bit about the challenge of keeping the momentum going? I know it’s a one game at a time approach but now you’ve got the nation watching a Monday Night Football game that’s supposed to be the biggest platform for NFL teams. What’s it like knowing that the whole nation is going to be watching the once 1-7 Dolphins?) – “I look at it as obviously the situation that we are in is a little different than it was at the beginning of the season but kind of like how Coach (Josh) Boyer told us, the best football is played in December and you’re going to see everyone’s best. Everybody is going to be playing at 100 percent and the stakes are always higher in December for every team. With that mindset, kind of like you hit on, it’s still the one game at a time mentality and approach but I also think that we just have to continue to play and have fun. I think when you’re having fun out there, it takes away a lot of the pressure and the stress of thinking about ‘Oh, we have to win this game, this is a must-win game,’ and just go out there and play like I said, our brand of football. When we do that, good things usually happen.”
(Yesterday was your first game back in about a month. I wanted to ask you first of all,how you felt back out there. And also, did it take a few snaps to feel totally back in the swing of things?) – “Yeah, it was fun, obviously. Being on the sideline those last two games was tough, especially when the defense was making plays and I couldn’t even run out there and celebrate with them. It was tough but it was really good to get back out there. Like I said, I love playing, I love being out there with the guys. Personally, I felt just a little rusty at first. I think I was trying too hard to make plays early on. But yeah, it was definitely fun to be out there with the team.”
(Is that tough to resist the urge when you haven’t played in about a month? You mentioned wanting to go out there and make everything happen right away.) – “Yeah. I don’t know, I guess it’s just my overall approach and my mindset on things. My biggest concern, obviously, was playing – here in December when it’s still super humid and super hot – I was worried about not cramping in the game because of not playing for three weeks. That was kind of my mindset going into it was stay hydrated because with this heat and humidity, these cramps are real. They real out here.”
(Did you drink more than usual?) – “Yeah, definitely. At one point on the sideline, I felt super full from all the fluids I drank. I was trying to stay a step ahead because I know once you cramp, it’s a wrap. You’re probably going to cramp the rest of the game.”
