Cameron Wake – November 23, 2018
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Friday, November 23, 2018
Defensive End Cameron Wake
(I’m pretty sure the Colts haven’t allowed a sack in five straight games. Does that present a different challenge or extra motivation to be the team that ends that streak?) – “No. It wouldn’t matter if they’ve given up 600 sacks up to this point or zero. I say this all the time: if your motivation is increased, then what were you doing last week? My motivation is going to be 100 percent just like it was 10 weeks ago, four weeks ago, three weeks ago and four weeks from now.”
(You guys have been low on the sack production, low on the pressure production this season. I know injuries have factored into it, but how much of that is a collective effort in terms of what everybody is doing? I know if teams are running successfully against you then they don’t have to necessarily be in passing situations.) – “True. I think there’s a lot of factors that go into it. I think that might be one of the biggest ones. If you’re not stopping the run, then why do I need to pass the ball when I can just run the ball down your throat and we’re putting up points and we have a lead and so on and so forth. At the end of the day, when they do get back there, it’s our job as a front to get to the quarterback. I think … it’s more in tight situations, making the most of it when you can. We also are tasked with stopping the run. Not only us; but us defensively, I think is another part of it, along with some other factors that nobody cares about because we don’t get the production, and that’s understandable. We have to get it done.”
(I wanted to ask you about Colts QB Andrew Luck. Over the years when you’ve played him, he’s been one of those quarterbacks where you will hang on to him and he’ll still throw the ball. How difficult is that when it’s not necessarily an elusive ability, it’s just hard to get him down?) – “He’s a competitor. Obviously, (he is) a big guy, strong. He’s going to do everything he can to make his play and you have to do the same thing. You do whatever you can to get him down without landing on him. I think in the end, it’s not going to be just one guy. It has to be multiple guys, everybody be where they’re supposed to be. Kind of same old song and dance as it was last week and a couple of weeks before that. I’m looking forward to it, I know the guys are as well and it should be a good game.”
(Are you looking forward to the return of QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “Sure.”
(Sure? It’s been a while since you had your starting quarterback.) – “It has been, but we’ve not had our starting quarterback, we’ve not had some of our other starters. A lot of guys have been missing. If guys are out there, obviously I can’t wait to play with them and love to have them, but if they’re not, you have to (have a) next-man-up mentality and go out there and do your job just as if you were the guy who was out there before, the guy you replaced.”
(How do you view being 5-5 and next to one of five teams tied for the last playoff spot?) – “That’s a distant vision for me. It’s too far ahead. Obviously, I’d rather not be 5-5; but we are where we are. We made our bed and have to lay in it. It’s no different than any other season where this part of the season is where teams are going to separate themselves. Teams at the end of the year that are going to be happy with what they did, it starts now. It’s no different this week, but I’m not looking … That’s too far. I’m looking at Sunday. Win Sunday and everything else will take care of itself.”
(How can you get hot?) – “It’s very simple. I think if you look at our wins, it’s complementary football. I’m not talking about just offense, defense, special teams. I’m talking about front, middle, back end, side to side for us especially. When we’ve had good games, it’s been that. It’s not been something magical. It’s been you do your job, I do my job. We’ve spoken about this before, where if you get guys untouched running 70 yards, I have not met the running back that can just make that happen. It’s usually somebody on defense doing something wrong. Receivers running completely open. We have some fast guys in this league; nobody is that fast. It’s somebody miscommunicating, not doing what they’re supposed to do. Doing your job is the easiest way. If we do that, I have no doubt that we’ll be hot. In my mind, that’s not hot. That should be the norm; but (it is) easier said than done.”
(What gives you confidence that that’s going to happen and you guys will be one of those teams that separates themselves?) – “We’ve done it before. I’ve always felt like a can’t and a won’t are two different things. You could not block me, I don’t care how hard you try. (laughter) If somebody won’t or didn’t, it’s very different. If he can and does it five weeks and then one week he doesn’t, that’s very different. We have the ability, so I’m confident in the guys, I’m confident in what we have. I don’t care, injuries and all that other stuff – we’ve shown that we can do it with the guys we have. Is there going to be a mistake or a miscommunication or all that? TBD. I hope not. If not, we will be fine. If we do, then you’ll have uncovered receivers running untouched to the end zone and 90-yard runs, running backs just sauntering down the sideline, which is not what we want to see.”
(It’s been a bit of a rough patch for DE Charles Harris trying to come back from injury. What have you seen from him during this time when he hasn’t been able to take the field?) – “It’s football. Sure, you get a new face; but we have a lot of empty lockers around here. His is not, so he’s doing everything he can to get back on the field. I was him three, four weeks ago whenever I was out. You just have to do whatever you can. You’re at the mercy of nature to some degree. I see that he’s doing everything he can to make sure he’s on the field when the time is right.”
(I’ve heard this about 30-year-olds: It takes their bodies longer to come back than it takes the 20-year-olds. What are your thoughts on that?) – “I don’t think you can make a blanket statement about that. Every single guy is different. Every single injury is different. His ACL (looking to his left) versus his ACL (looks to his right) are two different ACLs and he tears his, he tears his, it’s two different things, two different ways, two different processes. I can’t tell what he does when he’s at home. You can’t tell what he does when he’s at home. (There are) a hundred different variables that all probably go into recovery. To just make a blanket statement like, taller guys can heal … it just don’t work. Some tall guys yes, some tall guys no, some old guys yes, some old guys no, young guys yes … You can’t make a blanket statement.”
(Any thoughts on your first pro coach – Wally Buono of the CFL’s British Columbia Lions – coaching his final game before retirement?) – “Lots of good memories. I actually recently did a little media thing speaking about all of the times we had and all of the accomplishments that he’s had. I would assume I could credit him for kind of sparking my career. Thirty-two teams (in the NFL) had an opportunity to pick me up at any time; nobody wanted me. He did. He gave me a shot to get back on the field and be able to show what I could do and here we are literally 13 years (later), where I’m still doing what he believed that I could do and that, no disrespect, none of these other guys did. Obviously, I definitely have a lot of respect for him and the ability to not only see talent (coughs/laughter) but to kind of mold it into the player that I came to be and obviously other players as well. My hat’s off to him and I wish him all the best.”
(If you was honest with yourself, why didn’t you play at Penn State?) – “I played. Why didn’t I get drafted, you mean? Why wasn’t I known to the world? In hindsight, I probably would have played defensive line. Now, at the time, there were two defensive linemen who ended up being first-round picks, so it wasn’t like they were lacking in that department. (We had) a lot of talent. I didn’t know anything. Literally, that was the first time I played (football). Well, I played in high school a little bit, but Penn State was my third year playing football ever in my life. So I would just get out there and the NFL was not in my radar at all. I was just getting a good education and having some fun at the same time. When I realized that I actually am pretty good at this, maybe it was a little late; but I think I did all right. There were a lot of first-rounders and household names from back then, who (we have) no idea where they are. (They) didn’t make a splash in the league. I’m sure you could go back and look at all of them. All of the household names are at home and I’m still out here playing.”
(Who were the first-rounders?) – “That year, Michael Haynes. LaVar Arrington and Courtney Brown had just left when I got there. Michael Haynes was a first-rounder when I left there. We had Anthony Adams, Jimmy Kennedy. All the d-line, they were doing okay. Tamba Hali was my other defensive end. Not that they were bad players especially, but I’m still here.”
