Christian Wilkins – October 9, 2023
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Monday, October 9, 2023
DT Christian Wilkins
(Between you and DT Zach Sieler, you have pretty good leadership in the defensive line room. Defensive Line Coach Austin Clark probably doesn’t need to tell you guys what you need to do more of. Did you or Zach talk to each other as a group, the five of you in the room, before this game saying what you guys needed to do more of as a defensive line collectively, whether it is more impact plays or whatever?) – “I think to your point, we do a good job of trying to keep the main thing the main thing and having a steady focus and understanding what it is we’re being asked of to do on this team, within the defense, whatever it is. We got a lot of guys who are humble and willing to do whatever it is that we need to do. There was definitely more of an emphasis this week. Obviously we had a bad taste in our mouth after the previous week. We just wanted to clean some things up, just learn from it, and have a better outing yesterday.”
(What do you think has lead to this recent run with LB Andrew Van Ginkel and the way he is playing right now?) – “Me and ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) go way back. That’s my dawg. I always knew, always seen it in him. I’ve seen the things he can do. I’m glad he is able to get some praise and some recognition. He puts a lot of work in. I’m happy for my guy. No one is rooting for him more than me. I’m just happy to see him have some success.”
(This week you all are back at home again. How does it feel knowing that you don’t have to go on the road for a game and are playing in front of the home fans?) – “So far it’s been great playing at home. The fans have been great, the energy in the stadium has been awesome so it’s been a lot of fun. There is just another added element when you don’t have to travel. You’re just in your environment, you have your routine and things like that, so that’s always nice to be able to play at home and to be able to have two weeks back-to-back at home. I’m just excited to put on a show anytime we go into that stadium.”
(What do you think of the game DT Zach Sieler had yesterday?) – “Zach had a great game. It’s good to see, again a guy that works so hard, it’s good to see him have some success like that and have a good game like that.”
(Do you expect to see the Panthers to come out with some desperation as they look for their first win of the season?) – “Honestly this is the NFL. Regardless of record, regardless of what’s going on, it’s always going to be a tough out regardless. I’m sure. I’ve been on teams where you struggle to get that first win and everything like that, so you have that extra sense of motivation. You’re just so hungry for it and I’m sure they might have a little something extra or just motivation.”
(Have the responsibilities for you and DT Zach Sieler in this defense changed much at all from Josh Boyer’s defense, or is it pretty much the same thing you’re asked to do in this system?) – “Well at the end of the day, regardless, we got to play with good technique and do our jobs at a high level. No matter what scheme you’re in, no matter what it is, if you want to be a good d-lineman, you got to play with good technique and do your job at a high level.”
(When the offense scores, you’re always down there so quickly. What goes into that? Are you just ready to sprint? I know you’re on the extra point team. How are you getting down there so fast?) – “I have to show off my speed a little bit. (laughter) No, I enjoy that stuff. It’s a lot of fun for me. It’s a fun time in the game. I’m just having fun out there. It’s nice to see a lot of guys who work hard, have success, get in the end zone and do things like that. So I like to join the fun. I’m pretty geared up and ready to go and get out there quick. I’m probably faster than most out there. It’s fun.”
(Are you more ready when they are in the red zone than if it’s a long touchdown?) – “The long touchdowns a lot of the time you don’t see me out there because I got to save some energy or whatever. (laughter) On that ‘Cheetah’ (Tyreek Hill) long ball, I sprinted straight to the field goal. I wasn’t going over there to celebrate. That was a long one, but I had to save some energy there.”
(If there was one missing element with this team, it would be forcing turnovers. What’s going into that? What’s the issue?) – “We just definitely got to make it happen. It’s something we emphasize and practice and try and focus on. I feel like we have the right mindset when it comes to that. You get what you emphasize. As we continue to emphasize and practice it, and try to make that happen, I’m sure they’ll come eventually.”
(What does it say about this team that you’re -3 in turnover differential on the season and you’re 4-1 with a big point differential?) – “I feel like the biggest thing is just having each other’s back. Like there might be times here when the defense whatever and the offense picks it up, or the offense whatever or special teams or someone picks it up. I feel like we have each other’s backs but we’re still fighting hard, working hard, to have more consistent or complete games from everybody. We’re getting closer to that. We’re trying to be better each week and it will eventually happen.”
(What are your thoughts on the evolution of the ‘Waddle?’) – “That was the best one I’ve seen yesterday. That was really good with the whole wind up and everything. That was official. No one told me about that. That was a true surprise to me. That was well done. But I love it. Jaylen (Waddle) has definitely taken that thing and run with it and having more fun with it. It’s his deal, so it’s always cool and always fun.”
(It was a very collective effort there with a lot of people doing their own rendition of the ‘Waddle.’ Who had the best one? Who had the worst one?) – “I don’t know. I really didn’t look into it that much. It was just fun. It was good to see everybody join in on the fun.”
(Can you believe how far these celebrations have gone from the no fun league?) – “Yeah. Definitely. I think it’s cool. I think it’s nice that now you can do things like that and make it more fun. It’s good when your teammates get involved and everything like that. It’s just cool. It’s just fun and guys can have their moment to do their thing.”
(What does a 4-1 start mean to you? Coming from last year to this point with the team’s trajectory?) – “Honestly, it’s obviously good to be 4-1. Obviously you’d want to be 5-0. At this point in the season, it really doesn’t mean much realistically. There is so much ball to be played. I feel like we haven’t fully hit our stride or are playing our best ball yet as a team. That doesn’t mean we won’t get there, but I think we’ve got the right guys, the right leadership, the right mindset, coaches and everybody where eventually we’ll get to the point where we’re playing our best ball. It’s just a good start for now, but we want to keep improving each week.”
(I know how the season ends will be probably what you guys will remember many years from now. But as you sit and watch this offense, whether it’s watching highlight from home or if you’re on the sideline, do you ever watch and say ‘boy I’m witnessing something special with the speed and execution with what we put together on offense?’) – “Kind of you’re just in the moment for the most part. You’re not thinking historic or anything like that. I’m just enjoying it. It’s a little added motivation for me to get off the field and watch our offense go, and get the ball back into those guys’ hands. It’s just fun to watch. I enjoy watching our guys and competing against them in training camp and practices. You want to see how guys do and I know they feel the same for us. A lot of times you don’t even realize guys are watching. They are like good game or I saw this, or I saw that. We all enjoy watching each other play and being a part of each other’s journey and being there for each other.”
(You’ve certainly been a part of teams where you don’t have that margin for error or like the defense feels that the team relied on you. How much different is that this year?) – “At the end of the day, whenever you have to be out there, no matter how many snaps you have to play, you want to be playing good ball regardless of if you’re out there every play or out there a few snaps or whatever. That’s more of the focus is just it doesn’t matter how many snaps you have to be out there, just make sure you’re playing good ball and playing at a high level.”
(Did you see Dexter Lawrence’s celebration? Was that intentional?) – “Of course. That’s my fat little brother. (laughter) I had to rub it in a little bit. I got to do his sack celebration, which was a lot of fun for me. I had to do that. I was planning that probably since I knew we were playing the Giants, honestly. It was good to be able to do that.”
