Christian Wilkins – November 22, 2021
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Monday, November 22, 2021
DT Christian Wilkins
(I’ve got to ask, how close were you to breaking that after catching that fumble?) – “I was close and I got a little too excited. I think that’s what caused the little fumble on the end. But nah, I felt like I had a good chance. If I got past that little mosh pit there, I think you would have seen some track star speed out there, some open running and some power behind these legs. I think you would have seen that but I’ll do better next time. (laughter)”
(I was about to say, are you running a 4.3? 4.35?) – “I’m going to be real, I’m not a 4.3 guy. Never been that. But maybe 4.5. You would have seen some speed. You would have seen some getaway speed. (laughter)”
(I feel like G/T Robert Hunt is coming from your crown as big-man moving, big-man sexy swag. Do you feel threatened by his emergence lately?) – “I don’t necessarily feel threatened but what he did was pretty impressive so I can definitely learn from him. That was pretty impressive, like I said. I don’t feel threatened, I’ll just do better next time.”
(Do you feel like there could be a package where you’re the fullback and G/T Robert Hunt is the back that follows you?) – “I’m the running back. He would be the fullback. I think I could lobby and try to get that done. I don’t think that’s likely but I’ll try and see if we can get that done. Who knows. Stay tuned.”
(I got to ask you, did G/T Robert Hunt say anything to you after the game yesterday?) – “Yeah he did, and this morning and stuff too. He’s kind of been on me a little bit, just making fun of me. Not really saying like, ‘Ooh I did this,’ but he’s just kind of making fun of me like, ‘Oh how you have two hands on the ball and still cough it up?’ and all this other stuff. I just take it and laugh. It was pretty funny but I’m just glad we came away with it in the end.”
(What do you see as the biggest difference between the defense now and the defense earlier in the season?) – “I would just say – I don’t know. I really can’t pinpoint one specific thing but I just feel like we continue to try to get better each week. When you do that, when you’re intentional each week you come in, you like the guys you work with, you compete every day and everyone is locked in and you’re focused on getting better and better each week, eventually you’ve got no choice but to get better and to improve on things you weren’t doing so well. Guys just stuck together. That was the most important thing. We’ve been able to do some pretty good things these last few weeks.”
(There was a shot during the broadcast, I don’t know if you guys saw it, after QB Tua Tagovailoa threw his 65-yard touchdown, up in the offensive booth where the coordinators are kind of looking at each other like, ‘wow.’ What was the feeling on the sideline when Tua finally unleashed a big throw like that? What did you guys think of it?) – “It was cool. We were just excited. It was a big play in the game. We were pretty lit on the sideline. Everybody was excited. It was a good play, a big play for us, a big play for our team and it was essentially the difference in the game.”
(You mentioned that next time you’ll do better if you have the opportunity to get out of that scrum and take it all the way to the house, showing off your speed. My question is if you make it 65 or 70 yards, what are you doing when you get in the endzone?) – “Yeah, I definitely threw away my shot. But if that happens, I’ll have something in store. You’ll just have to wait and see. It’ll be a surprise. (laughter)”
(Would you have enough gas after that?) – “I’d find it. I’d have to dig deep. I’d find it within. I’d be running on fumes but I’ll make it memorable.”
(A couple of minutes ago we spoke to LB Jaelen Phillips. I’m wondering what’s your perspective on his development as a rookie?) – “It’s pretty impressive to see what he’s been able to do. He’s just out there just having fun. just competing. And he works hard, works very hard. You could see it. He wasn’t a guy that came in thinking he was all that. He was very humble, willing to get better each and every day, each and every week. He has some want to. He’s competitive and he has all the ingredients to be a good player in this league. He just continues to put the work in and the other guys in the d-line room and the outside ‘backer room, we just try to keep him straight, try to keep him encouraged and he’s been able to have some success so we’re excited for that.”
(A lot of players have talked about, especially after this game, that the level of practice has improved or taken up a notch and Head Coach Brian Flores even addressed it. What does a good week of practice look like to you?) – “The first thing I would just say is high energy, guys out there working, competing and just enthusiastic. You can just see it’s clear that it’s infectious. Guys want to be there. That’s definitely important. It’s also just having a focus day in and day out to do your job and do your job at a high level. It’s not just one day, whether it’s a walkthrough or a full-blown padded practice, you’ve got to have the same mindset and the same energy. It’s just been fun to be around and that’s what we’ve been able to do. It’s definitely helped us.”
(How did you not panic during a seven-game losing streak? What was the key? What as the formula?) – “I don’t know. I know everybody else on the outside world wanted us to panic and just wanted us to bury our heads in the sand, but we weren’t going to do that. We just stuck together and just try to get better each week. One day at a time, one play at a time, one meeting at a time, one lift at a time. Just try to do those things, be great in those areas and everything else will fall into place.”
(I know obviously the most important thing is performance and execution, but is it a good thing that you all have an identity as a defense? Obviously, this started last year where you were known as a blitzing, attacking team that can be disruptive. Is that something you take pride in? Is that something good that that is the Dolphins identity defensively and that you have one?) – “Yeah, I guess. I don’t think too much of it. I just follow the gameplan, go out there and try to make plays and do my job. I don’t necessarily try to think about what everyone else sees us as per se. I just try to have fun and enjoy my time out there and be the best I can for the team.”
