Jeff Wilson Jr. – November 27, 2023
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Monday, November 27, 2023
RB Jeff Wilson Jr.
(The pregame speech, what was that speech? We want that speech.) – “Oh man. Pregame speeches are just all from the heart and that’s all. Seeing how the guys work and being around them for as long as I have, I feel like on the team, especially a team like this, there’s always a lot of things you can do besides actually being on the field that can help contribute and go forward to you getting to the goal you want to reach. Just for me to be able to do that no matter what it is, no matter how it is, that’s just a blessing for me to have in this role on this team.”
(What was the theme of it?) – “It’s time to go to work. It was kind of like Black Friday, kind of like a Black Friday feel to the speech. Normally when you hear Black Friday, it’s crazy, chaotic, everyone’s all over the place, people taking things. That’s kind of just what I told them. We’re (going) to come in here and (going) to make it Black Friday for us on the football field. We’re coming in, taking it home, taking the game, taking everything.”
(How have you been, I guess selfless this season, because you started off injured. RB Raheem Mostert is on pace to get 1,000 yards. You saw what RB De’Von Achane was doing with the long runs. What were you thinking about your role on the team and like you said, it’s about doing stuff when you’re not on the field. How do you maintain that when these other two dudes are going off?) – “It’s not about me. Like I said, when you have dreams and you have aspirations to get to a special place, you have to be selfless. Those guys are like my brothers. It’s not like I’m jealous or envy of them. I’m actually happy for them, especially Raheem. Everybody knows our story. We’ve been together for so long and to see his journey and see how he’s been cut and left alone and told you’re not good enough so many times to now being one of the best backs in the league this year, that’s just a testament to him and I couldn’t be more proud of him. Achane, I’ve seen him when he was first coming in. He’s an electric guy. He’s hard to keep off the field. It’s not like it’s hard not to be. These are guys who are in the same room as me, on the same team, and not only that, they’re really like my brothers. So it makes me happy to see them go off and it makes me want to be a part of it.”
(You had a good game, 11 carries for 56 yards. How do you view that game? A winning effort, you ran physically. How do you view your game with how it fits in with the running back room now?) – “I love it. Like I said, anyway I contribute is always going to be a plus. This is a very, very, very special team and we’re on the verge of doing very special things. Just to be in that car ride and have a seat in that car, on that bus with a seatbelt that I can safely buckle myself in, there’s no greater feeling.”
(You heard us talking with FB Alec Ingold a minute ago about the idea of becoming known for more then just finesse, for power. That’s something that we talked about with you last year, how you run with power. How much do you want to see this team use that power and physicality?) – “A lot. Especially with the explosive guys we have on our team. It’s kind of easy to ignore and overlook those things because you have Tyreek (Hill) on one side, you got (Jaylen) Waddle on one side, you have Tua (Tagovailoa) in the backfield. You have guys everywhere, and these guys make tremendous, memorable, remarkable plays on the field. It’s kind of hard to sometimes look down and see the nitty-gritty and the stuff that goes on under the surface of the whole ordeal, but to know that we have that and it’s in us and running hard and physical, that’s been my style. That’s been my way ever since I started playing football when I was five years old. That was kind of my father’s motto. You take no prisoners and you go out there and when you run, you try to take a man’s will. That’s always something that I’ve always tried to do, and is something that has always been a separation to my game. To have the physical part, you’re definitely need it going to the stretch we’re going to and playing the teams we’re about to face. It’s definitely going to be something that’s needed.”
(Does it bother you that Head Coach Mike McDaniel doesn’t call plays for the running backs on third and short? He’d rather pass. Obviously there’s a lot of talent in the passing game.) – “I would be not telling the truth if I said I wasn’t a little frustrated. But how you can be frustrated when you have a guy you can throw a one-yard pass to and it can turn into a 70-yard touchdown? So those are things you just live with it. Sometimes we’re going to get it, sometimes we’re not. Regardless, even if it’s us getting the ball or him getting the ball, whatever the situation is, I know it’s probably the best situation for us at that time. It’s up to us to execute and keep playing ball.”
(Have you ever gone up to Head Coach Mike McDaniel and said, ‘Give me the damn ball?’) – “I mean shoot, once you play ball in this game, everybody wants it at that time. I don’t know what kind of player you are if you don’t want the ball in those situations, especially when that’s your job description and what you do. But at the same time, like I said, when you have guys that are that electric on the outside that can take a one-yard (play) and take it 60 or 70 (yards) and make it one of the most memorable plays in the NFL season, it’s kind of hard not to ignore.”
(You talk about those receivers and their big plays in the passing game. When you watch the game back from Friday, what did you see from them and the blocking element?) – “Oh, a lot. Those guys, to just see the growth from the beginning of the year to now, some of the plays that we probably could have made if we got this block, then that’s a touchdown block. So to see them get those blocks and see the urgency of them to try to get those blocks, that’s one thing you love. Especially when those guys really don’t have to do it. Yeah, it’s asked of them but as long as they make their plays, I’m pretty sure they’ll be ok. But to see those guys really take that to heart, that makes it just much easier for us. That way when it is time for us to pass block, and they get their ball, it makes it easy for us to stand in there and bow our neck.”
(What makes December games different?) – “Everything is tighter. Everything is getting closer to that time. You obviously want to be playing your best football at this time. You obviously want to be – everything really has to be on point. And the teams that you’re facing, these are potential Super Bowl teams. If you look at our schedule, you can see that. We have some real good games on there with some real good contenders. As we keep going, it’s not going to get easier, especially when we get into the postseason, the playoffs. Those games are going to be the teams we’re facing and it’s going to be win or go home. So to get in that mindset already right now, still with stuff that we have to accomplish and can accomplish through this season, we’re just getting ready for it.”
(How much does that five-game losing streak from last year at this time influence you guys in the locker room?) – “I was just thinking about that. That was another thing. We know where that was at. A lot of that we took on in our room because if you go back and look at the stats, it was kind of the run game and everything kind of went down at that point. So to be conscientious of that and know that – everybody knows that. To come off that bye week and the season wasn’t going the way we wanted, especially with how we were feeling before the bye week, we felt like it was our year then. But things didn’t go that way. So as far as the approach in the meeting rooms, the walkthroughs, the practices, just everything, it just keeps us that more locked in because just as good as it’s going, it can easily go the other way.”
