Isaiah Ford – August 19, 2020
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Wednesday, August 19, 2020
WR Isaiah Ford
(Yesterday, a few of us saw that you were the last person to leave the field – putting in extra work at the JUGS machine. Where does that work ethic come from and what do you think about that opportunity over these next few weeks?) – “I think that’s something that was kind of instilled in me when I was younger, just growing up and watching my parents work extremely hard, working multiple jobs – my mom and my father. I think it started at a young age and just kind of carried throughout my entire playing career, whatever sport that was. If you want success, you’re going to have to put in work and put in extra work at times, too. I’m thinking that’s just kind of where it started.”
(You’ve kind of teased us over the last two years with strong early practices and then sort of faded with injuries. What is going to make this camp different than the past ones?) – “I joked around with our trainer, Kyle (Johnston). Usually it’s the second day of training camp that I’ve been injured, since I’ve been here. We’ve made it past that one, knock on wood. This offseason I worked extremely hard on just preparing my body mentally and physically. I’m actually 200 pounds now and that was a big goal of mine for a while. Me and our nutritionist have been working extremely hard on that and then this offseason, I’ve been working extremely hard on focusing on the little details and little muscles – stability, balance, core and all of those things to kind of strengthen everything around my major muscle groups.”
(This is unlike any traditional training camp in light of COVID-19. Has it been different from Day 1 to now? Different protocols? I know you can’t speak for your teammates but for yourself, are you getting used to all of this?) – “Yeah. I think the more you get into a routine of doing things, it becomes like a new normal almost. At the end of the day, we all want to play football, so we all want to take the necessary precautions and protocol steps that we have to take for us to play the sport safely. I haven’t had any trouble doing that or anything like that. It’s been fine.”
(How do you think CB Noah Igbinoghene has been doing out there the first couple of days?) – “I think he’s doing well. He’s going out there and he’s competing. You can tell he’s a really competitive guy. If he gets beat, he’s going to come back and try the next play. He’s not going to get down on himself or anything, which at that position, you have to have confidence in yourself. I think that the more reps he gets, he’ll continue to get better.”
(Last year I think it was, you mentioned how you had confidence in yourself the whole time. You had a chance to perform and you did that at the end of the year and yet, here we are again and you’re fighting for the roster spot and a prominent role on the offense. Up until now, how have you avoided saying ‘Jeez, what do I have to do to establish myself in this league?’ How do you avoid getting that feeling because you’ve been on that doorstep so long?) – “I just take it one day at a time. Throughout this entire process, I’m going into my fourth year, I’ve learned that you can only control what you can control. It sounds cliché but it’s the truth. Whether that’s me being intentional and getting to meetings early or staying after, doing work or studying extra – whatever I have to do, whatever that’s in my control that I can actually physically do and take control of, I try to do those things and let the chips fall where they may.”
(The last time we talked was about your foundation. I just wanted you to update me on how things are going with the Be The Change Foundation?) – “Things are going really well. We got a big donation right after we had that conversation last time. I don’t want to say who it was but it was somebody that was really near and dear to my heart, so I was extremely happy about that. The foundation is going well. We’re still raising money for the GoFundMe and if we raise enough money, we might even be able to do two scholarships, which would be pretty cool too.”
(Maybe it was a joke, maybe it was not; but QB Ryan Fitzpatrick said last season that you knew the offense a little bit more intimately than some coaches. I guess I wanted to get your take on Offensive Coordinator Chan Gailey’s new offense and how it may be easier for players to learn, and kind of how everybody is grasping it so far?) – “I think the unique thing about Coach Gailey is that he allows us freedom within the routes that we are running. As a wide out, that’s something that you really want to hear. To be able to be creative and have that freedom to kind of paint your own picture when you’re running routes and not just have to go in straight lines. In terms of the offense, it’s just like any other offense. You’re going to have to actually put in time to learn the playbook and implement things. I think the more that we can do collectively as a group to kind of learn full concepts instead of just one position, I think the better we’ll be in terms of everyone being able to move around and things like that.”
(I know that obviously you guys had WR Albert Wilson and WR Allen Hurns opt out and obviously that hurts the team; but from a personal perspective, that provides more opportunities for the other guys. How have you looked at maybe the increased opportunity to not just make the team but play a significant role from Week 1?) – “I’m honestly just trying to focus one day at a time. That’s how I’ve been taking it my entire time being in the league, and I think that’s something that I’ve found to work for me – staying focused on living in the now, whether that’s one rep at a time or one meeting at a time, and so on and so forth down the line. Then at the end of the day, we’ll see where we are. But I think the more that I can focus just being where my feet are and focusing on the now, I think I’ll be where I want to be.”
(How much did the experience that you gained playing last season and working in the slot, do you feel helped you in terms of your development?) – “I think it helped a ton. Being able to take those mental reps from the guys that I’ve learned from in the past, whether it’s been Kenny (Stills) or Danny (Amendola) down the road to Albert (Wilson) and Allen (Hurns) when he came on. Just watching film with those guys and being able to pick their brains and things like that, then getting in the quarterbacks room and watching film with Josh (Rosen) and ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) last year. Just seeing what they’re seeing and understanding the little nuances that help you see coverages and defenses better to get a better feel of where to be at and the timing and everything like that. I think that’s played a (big) role of not only building my confidence but helping me go out there and play, because now I’m not thinking so much. I’m just going out there and playing fast.”
(I’d like to revisit the opt-outs by WR Allen Hurns and WR Albert Wilson for just a second. Did you not think there was a door open that much more, not just to make the roster but for playing time, given there were two fewer receivers out here now?) – “We’ve got a room full of competitive guys. I think that’s something that has been stated before they decided to opt out, and even now. Our room has a ton of competitiveness, a ton of talent, and it’s just my job to go in each day and continue to work to get a little better each day and kind of just do whatever I can to be an outlet – whether it’s the younger guys bouncing ideas or things that I’m seeing that they may not be seeing or everything, just to make our group complete as a whole.”
(When you’re out there in the slot, what’s it like playing with WR Preston Williams and WR DeVante Parker both being those big receivers on the outside, drawing that attention?) – “It’s a lot of fun. I think those two are so unique in their demeanors and personalities. They’re kind of two completely different people but on the field, they’re both monsters in their own way. They’re extremely gifted, extremely talented people and they can make a big play at any time. It’s a lot of fun. I think we’ve got a really good receiving group.”
