Jay Ajayi – October 24, 2016
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Monday, October 24, 2016
Running Back Jay Ajayi
(Obviously this is a platform you can get used to after doing what you’ve been doing the past few weeks?) – “Yes. It’s been a good past two weeks. (I’m) just trying to continue being consistent, keep doing a good job on offense and playing together as a team.”
(You were like a kid in a candy store when people reference the fact that you’re one of only one of four backs to ever to that in back-to-back weeks and you ran down the list and said how you can appreciate being in that company.) – “Yes, I mean it’s amazing company to be with. All of those guys are Hall of Fame players, guys that pioneered at the running back position and so to be in that list is a great thing to have. Now it’s about continuing to build off of it and just keep winning games. I mean that’s really the best thing about all of this stuff is that we’re winning finally, and so we just want to keep that up.”
(How’d you feel getting out of bed this morning?) – “I felt good. (I’m) still kind of sore, just from the usual game of playing in an NFL game. (I’m) just back to the normal routine of re-gen and therapy, but other than that, yes I feel good.”
(What is your routine for re-gen and therapy?) – “I try to come in and do some stuff with the trainers – either ice down (or) get in the cold tubs. I go do cryotherapy as well and also getting stretched, working with (Director of Sports Performance) Wayne (Diesel) and the sports science staff. So there are a lot of resources and tools we have here to use, and I try to use as much of them as I can.”
(What is cryotherapy like?) – “It’s cold. It’s a thing I just started actually doing this season. I had never really tried it before or done it. I got to start doing it and I think that it’s been doing really well for me. I like doing it so it’s something I’m going to continue.”
(Can you talk about the effectiveness of the offensive line, the blocks they’ve been giving for you, the downfield blocking as well and how much that’s aided in what you’re doing?) – “Yes, I think there’s a very good confidence level right now that we have with those guys going into the game. All of those guys, being healthy, I felt great running behind them. I know they’re going to open up creases and holes for me to get to the second level and it’s just about running hard. I also think we’ve done a great job of keeping ‘Tanny’ (Ryan Tannehill) off his back and allowing him to go through his reads. The success of our offense is definitely a big credit to what those guys have been doing.”
(T Branden Albert said that he isn’t interested in any dinners yet. He said that you offered to take them to dinner and he said, ‘No, we’re not ready for that yet.’) – “Yes. I mean last week, I just wanted to show some appreciation to those guys. They kind of just told me, ‘It’s not a one hit thing,’ and ‘Let’s do it again.’ And lo and behold, we did it again. Really, we’re kind of just saving (the dinner) I guess for after the season when we can look back on what we’ve accomplished this year and really be able to hang our hat on something. Right now, it’s about just pushing forward and keep building.”
(What’s been the biggest difference for you, year over year, or has it been a matter of opportunity?) – “I think it’s been a little bit of both – taking your opportunity and making the most out of it. I think also, with me, just personally, I’m learning a lot about myself. (I’m) taking each week by itself and kind of just pushing to get through what happened earlier this year and move forward from that. Now being in this position, it feels good, and we just want to keep building off of that and not be satisfied.”
(You have to be careful. Those offensive linemen and dinner. That can get a little, you know?) – “It’s worth it. To keep those guys happy, keep them wanting to keep blocking their tails off for me and for the rest of the offense. I think we’ve been able to do some really good things on offense and we’re starting to play collectively as a team. We just want to keep this rolling. It feels really good to win. You guys have seen how it is kind of when you get those losses piled up. So now, we’re starting to kind of catch a rhythm and we want to keep it going through this bye week.”
(Have you talked to your peeps that didn’t start you last week in fantasy football and I’m sure they did this weekend.)– “Yes, they didn’t make that same mistake. They trusted me and I paid off for them.”
(You talked about learning about yourself, what did you learn about yourself?) – “Just to put my head down, get back to work, get back to focusing on what’s important and just work on being consistent. And to be ready for that opportunity when it came and to just really take it and run with it.”
(Do you realize how big this has gotten? I mean, you’re on SportsCenter now and it’s a national story. Have you gotten your head around how big this is?) – “It’s crazy. Every now and then I catch a clip or something on TV. I mean, it’s crazy. I just want to keep it up, though. I just want to keep building off of it and see where this can go. I mean I’m just really excited of where this team is at more than myself because I think that we still we have a lot of room to go and we can reach our goals if we just continue to just take it week by week and play consistently together.”
(There’s a lot of talk about the tackles that you break. When you have the ball, would you rather run around the guy or over him?) – “I think, when it comes down to it, when I run it’s a lot of just instincts and kind of not thinking too much. So, there’s times where my body tells me to just try and run through someone or try and make them miss. And so, really it’s just about constantly trying to pick up positive yards for this team (and) make big plays. So when the ball is in my hands and I can see those creases from the o-line (offensive line) and then I just hit them, it’s about trying to make a big play and get in that end zone.”
