Transcripts

Search Transcripts
Connor Williams – November 3, 2023 Download PDF version

Friday, November 3, 2023

OL Connor Williams

(Head Coach Mike McDaniel said you had an outstanding week of practice, no setbacks. Is it safe to say you plan on being active and starting on Sunday?) – “I think at the end of the day, that’s going to be up to them. But it’s been a good week and I feel healthy so we’ll see how it rolls.”

(But you think you’re ready to get back in the lineup?) – “I’ll always say I’m ready.”

(Can you describe some of what you’re feeling right now, a progression sort of from the games that you have had to miss?) – “It’s definitely tough sitting out. The team starts moving, and you’re not in there, but you’re able to support from the sidelines and stay in meetings and everything. So it’s been a challenge on its own, but just to be able to come back and just get in the rhythm with the team again and be around the guys again full throttle, it feels nice.”

(Can you describe the challenge of going against a guy like Chiefs DT Chris Jones?) – “Yeah, I mean, obviously, tremendous respect for his game. I think he’s a great player. He’s one of the top d-tackles in the league. He’s long, he’s lanky, he’s got power. I think he presents a challenge to any offensive line. But I have full faith in our o-line as well.”

(Bringing things back to the past few weeks, Head Coach Mike McDaniel has kind of repeatedly said, you’ve given him death stares, that you’ve been desperate to get back out, that he’s kind of scared to tell you that you’re not going to play. Obviously, you want to be on the field, you want to fight through injuries, but what has had to be your focus then while you’re out and while you battle the frustration of kind of being held back?) – “I think to play on this level, you have to have that space you can access, that high space you can execute on a high level at. Just being out and having to withhold that and then just being around the guys and serving a different role and a different purpose these last couple of weeks, that might be where the death stares come from because I’m just trying to stay as locked in as possible. I mean, you only have so much time in this profession and so many years. So just to be able to be here and be present every day, it’s been a blessing.”

(Are you able to see just from the sidelines and maybe tell OL Liam Eichenberg, tell OL Robert Hunt and OL Isaiah Wynn when he was in or OL Lester Cotton, like hey, this guy is doing this? Or, watch this? How much input are you able to give from the sidelines?) – “Most definitely I turned coach for a second there. But we’re a unit, we’re a whole, we’re one living organism. Just to be able to help and support where you can, it acts – I know Liam (Eichenberg) does the same when I’m in there and I do the same when he’s in there and vice versa and with every player in all positions.”

(Someone mentioned Chiefs DT Chris Jones and the challenge of facing him earlier on. But I just wanted to – Chiefs DT Derek Nnadi and DE Mike Danna and DE Charles Omenihu and those guys that they’ve got on their defensive line, reducing inside and out. Nobody stays in the same position throughout the game and I wondered what sort of challenges that presents for somebody like you went on snap one you might be facing Chris Jones, then it’s Nnadi, then it’s Omenihu who’s a different player, much longer? Does that make it more difficult given what Chiefs Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo does with his defensive line for a guy like you to prepare snap by snap?) – “They definitely do a good job of presenting different looks on third down. I think that’s their specialty, definitely with the mix of talent and players they have. You see that throughout many teams and at the end of day, I mean, we’re a unit, we’re an o-line, we’re going to create a wall and we’re going to protect No. 1.”

Search Transcripts

Weekly Archives