Christian Wilkins – November 3, 2021
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Wednesday, November 3, 2021
DT Christian Wilkins
(We spoke to Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer yesterday about preparing for Houston QB Davis Mills and QB Tyrod Taylor. Just curious how much have you been watching both and what are the differences in the scheme they may be running if Tyrod can come back?) – “Both quarterbacks are good players and can get it done. Obviously, Tyrod has played a long time in this league and he has a good, productive resume. He’s dual threat, can do a lot of things with his feet, passing the ball and just a real smart guy. Like I said, he’s played a long time in this league. Mills, he’s a rookie obviously but he shows some good potential and everything like that. He does some good things as well. We’ve just got to prepare for both guys and be ready for whatever and just follow the gameplan to the best of our abilities. They both present challenges, different challenges a little bit. Both are good, solid players.”
(I know you played with Houston QB Deshaun Watson at Clemson and I think you are still close with him. I’m curious how this process has been for you hearing all the rumblings of this and knowing both the quarterbacks pretty well?) – “You definitely hear kind of everything. I just try to focus on what I need to focus on and getting my job done. That really doesn’t affect me until it affects me, I guess. I just try to focus on everything, focus on my job and making sure this team has the right mindset each week. Focusing on being a leader for the team regardless of what type of rumors or things are being talked about, whatever mumbles you hear.”
(Are you happy though with the deadline passing and no major movement and your teammates are still around here?) – “I don’t make those decisions. If any of the decisions are made, I still try to be the same guy in the locker room, same presence on the team regardless of who’s here or who’s not.”
(Have you adopted the Head Coach Brian Flores’ mentality of taking things day by day?) – “Absolutely. That’s been drilled into me for three years. I mean drilled into me. (laughter) I definitely take that mindset not just in football but in life too. I think that’s just a great way to approach things. Focus on the task at hand, be great where your feet are and just take everything one step at a time and then you can look up at the end and see the result you have.”
(We heard LB Jerome Baker say that something that stood out about the Texans offense was the team’s speed especially coming out the backfield. Is that something that you notice?) – “Yeah, they have a lot of really good players, a lot of fast guys. They got some solid players over there so we are going to have to prepare well. To his point, yeah, they definitely got a lot of good speed guys and a lot of speedy skill guys, offensive linemen who can run side to side and things like that. Their speed can definitely pose a threat so we definitely have to try to prepare well for that.”
(You were talking about the day by day but I’m curious do you have a favorite coaching cliché in all your days of what you’ve heard?) – “Man, golly. You put me on the spot right now. I don’t want to just give you an answer just to give you one but there is a lot that I’ve heard and a lot that I know. I’m sure later on in the locker room I’ll be joking with somebody and say something like, ‘Oh, that’s what this coach used to say to me.’ I’m going to have to think about that one to definitely give you my favorites.”
(Alignment, assignment?) – “Yeah, there’s a bunch of the clichés and corny sayings and stuff. It’s just funny with those things because they’re engrained. Like you’ll hear them forever. I’m sure I’ll be 40 or 50 and still hear X coach saying this, you know what I’m saying? A lot of those are so cliché, so corny. But they’re true and they stick with you. I guess they’re that way so you can remember them.”
(When someone does something that doesn’t show a lot of sportsmanship – that’s my words not yours – like Buffalo QB Josh Allen waving bye-bye to you during the game. Do you hold a grudge? Or are you able to say, ‘I don’t care, it’s all part of competition. It doesn’t matter. I don’t dislike the guy?’) – “No, it’s really all part of the game. Honestly, I love when things get a little chippy or things get a little whether it’s a little gamesmanship or little battles within the game. I’m sure if, and you can ask a lot of other guys around the league, they would have a lot to say about me. (laughter) I said if you ask other guys around the league, not if you ask me. (laughter) That’s just part of it and that’s when competition is at it’s best. Honestly, if it ain’t like that, I don’t want it. To a degree, I sometimes try to create that. It’s fun. I honestly laugh at it all. It’s funny to me and it’s funny to think about it the next day like, ‘Dang, you really said that.’ Or ‘he really did this.’ It’s nothing personal. It’s all love. We’re all brothers in arms in this league but when we’re against each other, we’re competing our butts off and it doesn’t matter if you’re my best friend in the world or if I don’t know you at all, we’re competing. You probably get it worse if you’re my best friend in the world because I got some dirt on you. I know what buttons to press. (laughter)”
(So if the game is going on, just a normal game and you’re in the third or fourth quarter, and now all of the sudden things get chippy and someone say something or makes a gesture to you, what goes on inside of you? How much more do you turn it up at that point?) – “It depends. I don’t know. I try to create it early in the game or like if it happens or whatever, I just try to go with it. Not that what other people say affects you to that point to where now I’m going to play angry or now I’m going to compete harder. You should be competing hard the whole time. But it definitely makes it more fun and just the whole element of everything kind of just gets heightened. You’re just like, ‘Alright, like okay now we playing,’ or like now there is another element to the game besides just the physical part or whatever else.”
(I’ve always heard about corners and how sometimes they’ll do research on the receiver. Like they’ll find out their mom’s name or something embarrassing about his childhood. Does that ever happen with offensive linemen? Do offensive linemen do research?) – “I haven’t gotten too much of that but I’m sure it does. I know there’s guys who do that. Any competitive edge you can get, guys will use it.”
(Have you ever done research?) – “I try to stay away from that. I’m just more of a mosquito, like an annoying kind of trash talker. I don’t try to get too personal but I’m definitely not going to stop, that’s for sure.”
(Do you know whose idea it was to tell Buffalo LS Reid Ferguson last week that LS Blake Ferguson was better than him?) – “I don’t know. I can’t tell you. Somebody, somebody. A funny guy made that up, I guess. I don’t know whose idea that was. Probably a pretty handsome guy’s idea. (laughter)”
(I don’t know if it’s affected you but the new taunting rule. The new taunting penalties that’s being a point of emphasis. How has that impacted those interactions?) – “You definitely have it in the back of your mind now. You definitely saw it in the preseason a lot. Just even small instances and you never want to cost your team any yards or you don’t ever want a flag against you or anything like that. It’s in the back of your mind a little bit. If you make a play or do this or do that, you celebrate but celebrate with your teammates or turn away or whatever. It’s on your mind but I hope you’re not jinxing me or I’m not jinxing myself but I’ve been pretty good with it so far, so I hope to continue on the path I am right now.”
