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Jay Ajayi – January 4, 2017 (Conference Call) Download PDF version

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Running Back Jay Ajayi Conference Call with Pittsburgh Media

(A question regarding your quarterback: what are your thoughts on QB Matt Moore?) – “He has been doing a great job since he stepped up for (Ryan) Tannehill. We have no problems with him running the show.”

(QB Matt Moore is a veteran who has been around for quite a while. Does he instill that veteran leadership? Do you see that in him?) – “Yes, definitely. You can tell that Matt, he has been in the league for a long time. He’s composed back there. He has had his times in the league where he has been the starter as well. He knows what to do, and we have full trust in him.”

(You’ve always spoken very confidently about your abilities and I was wondering how confident you were about running against the Steelers in the manner that you did the first time?) – “I was confident that I would have a good day.”

(What about this time? That’s what I’m asking.) – “The confidence level hasn’t changed. It’s exciting. Playoff game. Win or go home. The stakes are higher. It’s a great time to showcase your abilities on the big stage.”

(Before you lived in Texas as a boy, did you live in Maryland for a time after London?) – “Yes, I lived in Maryland for a year.”

(And then you moved to Plano, Texas, is that right?) – “Yes.”

(You spoke about playing the Steelers that first time. Do you see any similarities or differences between their rush defense in Week 6 and what you’re going to see on Sunday?) – “There is a little bit of a difference now. They’ve got a couple guys that were banged up earlier that are playing now. They’ve been a good running game, so I know they’re confident that they’re doing things right. It’s exciting; but at the same time, all that stuff that happened in the regular season is out the window. It’s a one-game season. They have to strap up; we have to strap up. At the end of the day, only one team is going to walk off the winner.”

(What are your thoughts about coming north? The temperature on Sunday, I think, might be around 20 degrees they’re saying at game time.) – “That’s not an issue. It’s the playoffs, so the weather is the least of our worries. We’re trying to make it to the next round (inaudible).”

(What have defenses done to adjust to your success after the first 200-yard game?) – “Defenses definitely respect our running game now. They’ve been doing a lot more things to try and make us a little bit more one-dimensional. That comes with stacking the box, giving us different looks in the schemes. But whatever the defenses throw at us, if we execute – our o-line comes off the ball physical, downhill, I’m running hard and receivers are doing what they do on the perimeter – we’ll be fine.”

(Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin spoke very highly of you yesterday, and he said that your success this season wasn’t out of the ordinary. How do you evaluate your second year in the league?) – “I think I was able to have a productive year. I’ve had my adversity and challenges early, but I’m grateful for the opportunity and taking advantage of it and being able to showcase to the world what I can do. For me, it’s all good; but I believe I’m only getting started in the NFL. I’m grateful to my o-line and my team for helping me have a productive year.”

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