Jakeem Grant – September 27, 2018
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Thursday, September 27, 2018
WR Jakeem Grant
(I hate to use the term ‘trick play,’ but I talk to people who say ‘don’t use them all, save some.’ How many of those unique plays are there? Are you guys going to run out any time soon?) – “That’s all up to (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase. He’s the mastermind.”
(With Head Coach Adam Gase, is it something that he presents to you during the week of practice, like ‘Hey, this is something we want to work on, and then you guys just run it a couple of times and see if it works and then use it in a game?’) – “Whatever he has planned for us, we definitely go out there and work on it. Sometimes he’s adjusting the things that we’ve been doing and we haven’t pulled it out yet. A lot of people think it’s just a play that we worked on during the week; but no, we’ve been doing it for months now.”
(Why are you guys just taking this as another game and not making anything bigger than what it is?) – “At the end of the day, (everyone) is a nameless, faceless opponent. New England is a great team, but at the end of the day we’re striving to be 1-0 after every week. Like I said, we’re not making it out to be this Super Bowl game or anything like that. We’re just going out there and just playing and going out there and competing.”
(How difficult is that because you have people in your ear saying ‘you go 4-0’ and they try to get you to look ahead?) – “That’s the thing about it. We’re not thinking about what we did last week, the previous week. We’re only thinking about getting better this week and becoming 1-0 at the end of the week. All we feel like is we’re all we have. We’re going to continue to stay level-headed and stay humble.”
(Is there some patience with this offense? You guys have shown to move the ball around to a lot of different weapons that ‘I’m not getting the touches now, but I know that can change in a quarter or next game.’ How do you kind of approach that?) – “The thing about it is we love to see each other shine. We’re not selfish. We love to see each other go out there and make big plays, and we know if we just continue to play for each other, keep blocking for each other, the next thing you know, the ball swings our way and one of us will make a big play when our number is called. Coach (Gase) does a good job with spreading the ball around. It’s not like he’s just up there like ‘let me get him the ball, let me get him the ball.’ If the guy is open at that time, that’s who’s going to get the ball. That’s the thing about it. We have so many weapons that any guy can get the ball at any time.”
(Piggybacking on that, a lot of people love that high five. Did you get any feedback from that, what’s that been like?) – “I haven’t gotten the feedback, it was all credit to my boy Albert (Wilson). I saw him reach up and I was like ‘I’m going to give him a high five.’ A lot of people loved it. We’re thinking about coming up with something new, so just stay tuned.”
(It’s on an elevator, it’s on the front of the media guide this week. That image, why do you think it resonated with so many people?) – “I don’t know. Some people see it as we were disrespecting them; but no, it wasn’t that. We were basically just having fun out there. That shows you that we’re actually truly going out there and having fun and playing for each other.”
(On that run, were you at all thinking ‘maybe I should wait until we get in the end zone?’ Did that ever cross your mind?) – “Not at all.”
(You were asked about New England as just any other game. When you go up there, some people do get caught up in the mystique. I don’t get the sense this current team feels that way. Why do you feel like you have that confidence in yourself? What’s kind of sparked it a little bit this year?) – “From the offseason standpoint of just working hard, just staying together and just being focused on everything Coach (Gase) has been talking about – the fundamentals, the details, everything about it. Just not going out there and making the game bigger than what it is. It’s just another game at the end of the week. Yes, we’re playing against the Patriots, a very good team; but we’re a good team as well. They’re going to give us their best shot and we’re going to give them our best shot.”
(I didn’t mean it just in the framework of playing against them. As a team right now, is it about another year under Head Coach Adam Gase too? Is it that experience of everybody getting to know him and him getting to know you?) – “I would say just the brotherhood of this team. We hang out with each other outside of this locker room and we continue to just care about each other. So when we go out there and play, we look to the left and the right of each other and just say ‘I’m not going to let you down. I’m going to do whatever I can to do my job.’ I think that’s what it’s been. We truly care about each other.”
(On the jet sweep, we were asking Head Coach Adam Gase why QB Ryan Tannehill tosses the ball rather than handing it off.) – “Those are passing yards. (laughter)”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said it’s up to you guys, so tell me what’s going on there.) – “It is up to us; but the soft toss, you can catch it on the run and continue to move. (You can do that) also with a handoff, but we’re just used to the soft toss and also, like I said, it’s receiving yards instead of rushing yards. (laughter)”
(Is there ever any joking from QB Ryan Tannehill about that, that he gets credit for it? Were receivers joking with him? Has that ever come up?) – “Not at all. Those are easy passing yards for him. Effortless and all it is is just a soft toss and just make a play.”
(But you don’t see that as any more risky than a handoff because it’s basically just putting the ball right in your path, right?) – “Not at all. Not risky at all. He’s basically just putting it right there in your lap. It’s just like the center hiking the ball to Ryan (Tannehill). I feel like it’s the same thing.”
