Christian Wilkins – November 20, 2023
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Monday, November 20, 2023
DT Christian Wilkins
(What goes through your mind when you think of the first Black Friday game, Friday afternoon game? Just how weird is that going to be?) – “I think it’ll be interesting. It’ll be cool. Obviously it’s never been a thing before and I haven’t played in a Friday game since I don’t know when, but it’ll cool. It’ll be fun and I kind of like short weeks because I just like playing the games. That’s why I like to hurry up and get to the next one as fast as possible, but obviously that means more prep and different things and you’ve got to speed up your process. But I’m looking forward to it.”
(I’m curious if you guys have had your defensive meeting today or not. I don’t know, but have you had a chance to look back at the play where you chased down Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow from the back?) – “Yeah, we watched it with some of the guys not too long ago. Just the standard I hold myself to and I take pride in being able to try to make plays like that down the field and all the guys thought it was a good play.”
(A little bit extra juice because it was also a former Clemson Tiger you were chasing down?) – “Definitely a little bit. Hunter (Renfrow) is one of my good friends, one of my best friends so definitely a little more juice there and glad we got the win so a little more bragging rights, talk a little more trash and whatnot. So when I see him in the offseason, it’ll be more fun then.”
(How is the Jets rivalry different than certainly the Bills and the Patriots, who you guys see just as much?) – “Well, they’re still a division opponent and every time we play them it’s always a tough game regardless of the outcome. That’s the tough thing about this league and the tough thing about playing division opponents; they know you, you know them. There typically isn’t much surprise. It’s going to be tough because both teams are usually up. It’s like I said, it’s a division game. It’s pride and whatnot so it’s always a little extra challenge and it’s always going to be a dogfight.”
(Quick follow-up, not to use a cliché, but in division games, records aren’t as relevant, I guess, and the quality of the team, they know you that you know them. Is the sense that no matter what the Jets have shown on tape, you’re going to get their best shot?) – “Yeah, like I said, it’s a division opponent and they’ve got good players over there. This is the NFL so regardless of records or whatever – I don’t even know their record. I don’t look at it as that. I just – nameless, faceless opponents. I just try to prepare the best way I can prepare and make sure everybody is ready.”
(I don’t know if you saw, but the Jets benched Jets QB Zach Wilson during last night’s game. They haven’t really announced what they’re going to do at quarterback. Are you kind of preparing for any option at quarterback right now?) – “Again, I’ll leave that up to the coaches and how we prepare and everything, and how we go about that. Either way, we’ve got to get ready.”
(I’m curious your opinion on some of the quarterback injuries that we’re seeing pile up across the league. Obviously there’s a lot of different factors that go into that, but I’m wondering what you think is the reason for some of that. Obviously defensive rushers are quicker, leaner, faster in today’s game.) – “I really don’t know what the reason is for that. Obviously the biggest thing is I just hate to see guys go down, especially season-ending or anything like that. I’m a big fan of football. I like watching games and we’re all brothers in arms at the end of the day so you’re always kind of rooting for guys in a weird way like wanting to see guys do well and do all they can for themselves and their families. So it’s obviously tough when a guy goes down and especially when it’s in season-ending fashion. But I don’t know what the cause of that could be or anything like that. It’s just obviously tough when you see that.”
(What do you think when you see CB Jalen Ramsey make the athletic acrobatic interceptions he’s capable of making?) – “That guy’s pretty good and I’m glad he’s on our team. Just really ever since Jalen (Ramsey) has been here, he’s just been great to be around as a teammate, guy in the locker room, leader. He brings it every day. He’s a different type of player and I see why he’s had the success he’s had in this league and like I said, I’m glad he’s on our side and hopefully he can continue to make big plays for us going forward.”
(Are there two or three biggest things that CB Jalen Ramsey brings to this team?) – “I just think overall he just definitely loves playing the game and you definitely see that, just the way he practices, the way he approaches each and every game. He just brings kind of like a calming presence to other guys when he’s out there. He’s just kind of like ‘all right, it’s all good.’ He’s never rattled, just really always cool, collected like ‘hey, we’re playing ball, we’re chilling.’ So that’s kind of nice to have that around. It’s definitely nice for me when I look back and I’m like, ‘oh okay, you’ve got some guys who can really do their thing back there.’ We’ve got a lot of guys who can do that on this defense.”
(Can you take us through the play where you had Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell wrapped up, about to get a sack but then he gets the ball off, then you find out LB Jaelan Phillips has the interception?) – “I’m just glad we were able to make a play regardless of how it shaped out. I’m a team guy so I’m just glad we were able to make a play and get out of that one. I was excited for Jaelan (Phillips) to get his first career pick. I know he was happy about that. I’m sorry I kind of tackled him. I didn’t realize I did it on the field, but I kind of messed him up pretty good. But yeah, whoops. (laughter) But yeah, I was just excited for him, happy for him. It was a big play in the game and we were able to string together another series to finish the game and close it out and get the win.”
