Christian Wilkins – December 20, 2020 (Postgame)
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Sunday, December 20, 2020
Postgame – New England Patriots
DT Christian Wilkins
(What does it mean to be able to keep the Patriots out of the end zone today?) – “It’s big. It was huge for our defense. They threw a lot at us and they had their backs against the wall. This was an elimination game for them. So it’s big that we were able to keep them out of the end zone, get some stops, made some much needed plays at times. So that was good. It was good to see that out of the defense.”
(You’ve been a part of this rebuild since the beginning. Obviously, you were the first draft pick that Head Coach Brian Flores brought in here since he got hired. How rewarding is it now to hit a winning season and to be in control of your destiny for the playoffs?) – “No, it’s good to see. Since day one, there was never a doubt in my mind after I met Coach Flores and got around the organization that we could do some good things. But I just hope that good things can continue to keep happening for us, but it’s all about putting the work in, putting the work in each and every week and just keeping moving. I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
(I need to know and get to the root of the Hamilton obsession that you have. And also, are you the reason why they play Hamilton every Friday or is it every, every day? What do you have to do to get the Hamilton music played?) – “I’ve talked about it before. I’m just like a big, weird dude. I don’t know. I just have a lot of … like. I’m passionate about the things I like. I cling on to things. I like my Hamilton, as you guys know. Still love my Power Rangers. I’m a very simple guy. I just like things. I hang onto them, just have fun with it. But as far as the Hamilton thing getting played, (Head) Coach ‘Flo’ (Brian Flores) is a fan too. Don’t let him fool you. He knows Hamilton too. He kind of likes it and that’s kind of been the thing and we have been rolling with it ever since.”
(You guys gave up 100 fewer rushing yards in this game as opposed to week one against the Patriots. Is that something that’s just an improvement over the season or something you guys recognized on the film from Week 1 and that first matchup with New England?) – “We obviously made some adjustments and it was good that we were able to do a lot better this time defending them because in some ways they had, they did what they wanted in Week 1, so it’s just good to see the improvement and glad we were able to get the W today.”
(My wife is a big Hamilton fan, so she loves every time she sees you.) – “Oh, awesome. This is my birthday suit for the day. This is my birthday suit in Hamilton. Your wife is awesome. Good for her.”
(But piggybacking off one of the earlier questions about you guys having a winning season, what do you think this kind of progression has been, what does it say to the fan base about where you guys are as a team and what’s next for you?) – “Really, we just got to stay in the moment. That’s the biggest thing. Just keep worrying about each week, each game, and hopefully good things will continue to come for us, really. I’m not worried necessarily about, ‘Oh, what’s it going to look like next year, this year.’ You know what I’m saying? I just try to take it day by day and we as a team try to take it day by day and then good things will come for us if we just put our head down and grind and just continue to do things the right way.”
(How were you guys able to keep them out of the end zone there on those key drives forcing field goals? And also, did you feel a little bit for CB Xavien Howard? A couple weeks ago you had your touchdown overturned from a review and then it happened to him today too.) – “I definitely feel for him on that. I did my best. Just when you get 310 pounds running full speed in a direction, it’s hard to stop, jump, and move out of the way. But I definitely felt for him on that. But I’m just glad were able, like you said, to keep him out of the end zone and make necessary plays on defense just to win the game.”
(Why does it seem like you guys just always just find a way to win?) – “Really, I think the biggest thing is just love and care. We got a lot of guys who love football, who love each other, care for each other and just want to win. When you got that, it’s easy to play for the guys next to you, the guys around you, and for the guys on the other side of the ball. That’s really what we got. I feel like we just are a family, so that’s what we try to do.”
(Hamilton questions, I think everybody was expecting you to say, I’m not throwing away my shot. But just to follow up on that, I notice you’re getting a lot of shots on the offensive side of the ball. What goes into that for you? Like, how do you prepare for that when you’re so used to being part of this amazing defense?) – “Really just whatever the team needs of me, I’m willing to do it, whether it’s offense, defense, special teams, it doesn’t matter, I’ll play quarterback. It doesn’t matter. I just want to help the team win as much as possible, so if they ask me to go play some offensive snaps, I’m going to do that.”
