Jesse Davis – November 15, 2021
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Monday, November 15, 2021
G/T Jesse Davis
(How was the mini-bye?) – “It was nice. It was refreshing to get a couple of days off and kind of work on your body more. It was nice.”
(Did you have any time just to reflect the last few days just on your play over the first half of the season? Just your views and thoughts on how things have gone?) – “I didn’t really think back on the previous games. I just thought of the recent one. I think I’ve been getting more confident with my hands. I’m just trying to improve each day out here.”
(How is the hand?) – “Good. When I say confident I mean like throwing it and trusting my – not like it’s hurt. I think every o-lineman’s hands are probably hurt but nothing serious like that.”
(What went well for you in pass pro in the last game? It seemed like it was solid.) – “I’m not really sure. They had some good edge rushers. Like I said, throwing my right hand a little more aggressive and not leaning on it or just trusting my technique, I think that kind of helped me more. I think they’re a good team. They have good edge rushers. If we can hold up in protection more and give our quarterbacks time to throw, obviously it will be more confidence throughout the whole team.”
(Do you guys feel some momentum coming along now, closer to what you guys felt at the start of the season?) – “I’m not sure about momentum but yeah that’s definitely the thing. Our team, I think we’re just starting to click a little bit better. I’m just focusing on our room and trying to get us clicking as a whole unit. I think that will help with the whole team. I think the team has been pretty solid. The defense played a really good game.”
(Have you ever caught a touchdown pass?) – “Me? No. I have not. And I wouldn’t attempt to catch one on a screen. (laughter)”
(Did you guys have some fun with G/T Robert Hunt after that?) – “Yeah, we obviously laughed about it and stuff. Every time an o-lineman catches one of those, it never ends well. That’s why usually I try to bat them down I guess. He’s really athletic. I was surprised. But I think personally, I wouldn’t have caught that. (laughter)”
(After Thursday’s win, S Jevon Holland was saying that the locker room was a really, really fun place to be and that you guys were excited. As you came back from kind of this mini-bye week, have you seen some more revitalized energy to know that you guys can string these weeks together and start to turn the season around more?) – “Yeah, I think maybe the energy in the locker room is a little bit more up. I think they’re always – the guys are all usually up. We don’t really sit down and dwell about each week or we lost seven games. I think we’re focused on this week coming up and how we can improve. I think the relationship in the locker room has been great all year. There hasn’t been any rift or nothing. I think the guys have been pretty solid.”
(As a leader of the group, have you felt at all that you need to try to lift T Liam Eichenberg’s spirits? Obviously at Notre Dame he went two-and-a-half years without giving up a sack. This is a different level. There are going to be sacks. Have you had to work on his mood or spirits?) – “No. I think usually Liam is pretty upbeat. I know we all have struggles and stuff but I think Liam, just the confidence he needs to gain in the league as a tackle. He’s bounced around too. I think it’s just him versus himself sometimes. I think he’s been growing. I think he’s getting better. But as a leader, I just try to help work with him and he works with me.”
(You were a Jet once, right?) – “Yeah.”
(Did you play in a regular-season game?) – “No.”
(What do you remember about your Jets experience?) – “I got in there in 2016 during OTAs and then got cut in camp. I liked it. Nick Mangold was there. He was a really good guy. A couple of other guys I still talk to this day were there. The experience was good. That’s when I was trying to transition to guard and I couldn’t really quite get it until I got here and worked with the previous o-line coach. I like it down here better.”
(It will be nice and chilly.) – “That’s right. It will be nice.”
(Are you looking forward to a football game in the 50s?) – “Yeah. I think we had one in Buffalo it was about that. I always enjoy the cooler games.”
(Not that many of them this year. Buffalo on Halloween instead of later this year. Jets in November. Tennessee might be cold.) – “Yeah, that might be a cold one. I was hoping it would be cold on Thursday when we played but that might have been the most humid one we’ve had. (laughter)”
(So I know everybody is kind of banged up at this point in the year. It is nice to have the extra weekend but I was wondering your impressions of QB Tua Tagovailoa having played through some obvious discomfort and pain and whatnot. How do you think he handled himself playing through the finger injury?) – “I think he’s always been like that. He knows how to win games, like I’ve said before. I think Tua, he prepares the right way. He’s always done that. He’s always understood everything. He knows how to communicate to us too so that’s really big. For him to come in off of a short injury from Jacoby (Brissett) or whatever, hats off to him. He did a good job.”
(There were times last year where I recall when QB Ryan Fitzpatrick would come in and players would talk about the jolt of energy when he came in. What was it like when QB Tua Tagovailoa came in the other night?) – “I guess ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) would bring in himself and ‘Fitz’ was ‘Fitz.’ Tua is Tua. Tua comes in and he’s confident. He looks you in the eye and he gives you the play with confidence. He doesn’t stutter. He doesn’t tell you ‘Hey, I need you to hold up,’ or something. He comes in with confidence and he shows the confidence to his players. Hats off to him. He’s done a good job of doing that all year.”
