Kenny Stills – January 1, 2018
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Monday, January 1, 2018
WR Kenny Stills
(On what happened in the scrum that led to the ejections of WR Jarvis Landry and RB Kenyan Drake) – “Honestly, I have no clue. I saw Jarvis had scored and then I saw a scrum break out.”
(You got flagged. What was your role in all of that?) – “I think they flagged me for trying to pull somebody off the pile but (Kenyan) Drake was underneath a guy with his helmet off, so I wasn’t going to just let him get beat up.”
(Are the Bills a dirty team?) – “No. It’s just part of the game.”
(How disappointing is it to be cleaning out your lockers earlier than obviously you and the rest of the team want to?) – “Yes, I mean when you don’t win games, you don’t make the playoffs, it’s disappointing. There’s not much else you can say about that.”
(How do you view your season from a personal standpoint?) – “I honestly haven’t had time to really look back and reflect on my individual season. I’m sure there are areas of improvement. I’m sure there are areas that I got better from last year. I’ve just got to get a chance to watch all of the film. I like watching the TV copies. Just get an opportunity to see how I played. I know that right now, off the top of my head, I can think about things that I want to improve on and my goals for next year. I’ve just got to get back to work and start preparing myself for next season.”
(Every year, players try to grow their game. What are some of the things that you would like to do going into next year?) – “I really don’t want to put them out there like that. I guess when you guys come back next year and watch, you’ll see what parts of my game I’m trying to improve. You guys all watch the game and know the game so you know players’ weaknesses, or you think you know players’ weaknesses, so you’ll see where I try to make improvements next year.”
(Did you have a broken hand earlier in the year?) – “I had a tear in a tendon in one of my fingers.”
(Was there ever a point where you felt normal during the season? Or did you play through that?) – “Yes, it’s just part of the thing where you just start playing through the pain a little bit but you guys saw I didn’t practice or I didn’t catch balls one of those weeks. It was just trying to get through the week and make it to the game because regardless of what’s going on, I’m always going to try and be out there for Sundays. Yes, it’s fine.”
(Do you need surgery or no?) – “No, I’m good.”
(You guys have had QB Ryan Tannehill around a lot this season. He’s been very involved. What are your thoughts about him coming back next year and what that might do for your offense?) – “Just him being healthy and him playing?”
(Yes, having QB Ryan Tannehill at quarterback.) – “Yes, I think we were making a lot of improvements this offseason in OTAs and training camp. We were pretty excited at the improvements that Ryan was making and the timing and us getting on the same page and knowing this offense, and so I think that’s where we’re back to, knowing that he’s going to be back, he’s going to be healthy and just continue to work on the chemistry that we’ve built these past couple of years.”
(What was your year like with QB Jay Cutler as the quarterback?) – “Like I said, I haven’t really had time to reflect on that. As far as Jay, I love the guy. He’s a good man. I think people in other places have kind of given him a hard time and I got to know him as a man and as a player, and I appreciate him and I like him. I’m thankful for the experience of playing with him and catching some balls from him.”
(What was QB Jay Cutler like as a teammate?) – “I don’t know, man. It’s kind of hard to explain somebody like that off the top of my head; but he’s a quarterback. He leads by example and he’s got that veteran presence in the room, and just really understands the receiver position to the point where we’re watching film and we see things one way, and he sees it that way, and we’re able to kind of make that connection real quick and get on the same page.”
(Is this team as far away as 6-10 would suggest? Or is that misleading?) – “That’s a tough question. I think there’s plenty of games that we should have won and we didn’t come out on top of those games. Like I said before, this team has a ton of potential and it’s about us going to work this offseason and building on that potential and making it come to fruition.”
(Was this year’s offense as talented as last year’s?) – “We have all the pieces. When Jay (Ajayi) got traded, Kenyan (Drake) stepped up and started making plays. Jakeem (Grant) came into the game and started making plays. We’ve got talent all across the board. It’s just a matter of us not shooting ourselves in the foot with the penalties and the turnovers.”
(Was that the story of the offense, do you think?) – “Some games. Then in other games, we just weren’t able to get it going and put points on the board.”
(Do you have anything planned community-wise this offseason? Any big initiative that you’ve got…) – “(laughter) That’s funny that you asked me that. Yes, so right now I’m putting in a little plan to do some traveling in the country, hitting some of the states and doing some volunteering and some community work. We’ve (been) playing and the season hasn’t really ended, so I haven’t been able to finish the plan; but basically, I want to drive my bus to a couple of the states close and volunteer and see how I can see some of the issues that people are dealing with in other states.”
(Do you have a commercial driver’s license?) – “No, I do not. But like I said, it’s a plan that we’re putting together right now and now we’ve got the time to kind of get that thing going.”
(Do you know what states yet?) – “No. Like I said, it’s just something that I thought of that I wanted to do. I reached out to people that I know that can help me out and we’re going to start putting the plan together.”
(What kind of volunteer work? Community stuff?) – “I want to find some grassroots organizations that need the help or might need the recognition, and reach out to them and come and lend a helping hand in any way that I can.”
(When you say bus…) – “My Volkswagen bus. (laughter)”
(What year is it?) – “I think it’s ’72 or ’73.”
(How many people can you fit in that thing?) – “Probably four or five comfortably.”
(Would that be the crew then?) – “I’ve got some buddies, yes. So the whole idea kind of would be to film the trip, let people track the trip and then possibly collect donations while we go on the trip. Then, at the end of it, being able to put all of that money back into the organizations that we stopped and visited with and worked with throughout the journey.”
(I know you haven’t mapped out your itinerary but are you thinking like the Southeast United States? Or are you talking something crazy like driving across the country?) – “Yes, it would be cool to – initially I think – going back to the West Coast and kind of making some stops all of the way there; but also too, I understand where I am on the map and how hard that would be. (laughter) So maybe (we’ll) just potentially hit some of the southern states or going up to the Carolinas. I’ve got to figure out what organizations I want to work with, who needs the help and go from there.”
(How many miles on the bus?) – “I’d have to look. There’s a lot. There’s a lot, for sure. I don’t know how many, for sure.”
(You’ve got an 8-track deck in there, the whole thing?) – “(Laughter) No, there’s a tape player in there.”
(Cassettes?) – “Yes. I’ve been getting it worked on throughout the season, making sure everything is good to go and kind of updating it a little bit.”
(You’re comfortable taking it across the country?) – “Yes.”
(Does QB Jay Cutler make you laugh? Has Cutler been funny?) – “Yes.”
(We haven’t seen a lot of his personality behind the scenes. Can you tell us like one good QB Jay Cutler story?) – “No, I don’t have any good Cutler stories.”
(Just one, man. Just one. I didn’t ask for five. Just one good QB Jay Cutler story.) – “I mean I’m sure you guys have seen him talk a little bit of trash to the referees during the games. Have you guys seen that?”
(No. You have?) – “That’s some good stuff right there. (laughter)”
(Like what? What’s one funny one. You don’t have to name the referee.) – “I’m not … I’m not going to tell you any specifics, but Jay … It’s funny. It’s interesting to see the relationship between a super veteran quarterback and all of the referees around the league. That’s all I would say.”
