Mack Hollins – December 2, 2021
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Thursday, December 2, 2021
WR Mack Hollins
(Just wanted your perspective on team things since you have a good feel for the roster. When S Bobby McCain was let go last May, was there concerned about the qualities you were losing as far as reliability, communication skills, what he did in coverage. And has S Jevon Holland totally – and not saying anything negative about Bobby – but has Jevon totally relieved those concerns because of how well he’s played?) – “I think in this business, there’s always a risk in getting rid of somebody who has been here who has a role – whether that’s he is a leader in the locker room, a dude that produces on offense or defense or in the kicking game. There’s always a risk in doing that. I think the only way to mediate that risk is by getting a player who can fill a lot of those roles. Obviously Bobby was doing a lot of things. He was producing, he was a leader, he brought energy. He did a lot of things. I think Jevon has done a great job at filling a lot of those roles. He’s a young player. It’s hard to just immediately become a leader. But I think the one thing about this league is if you become a good player, it’s easier to transition into becoming a leader. I think he’s on that path. I think a lot of that risk was mitigated by getting ‘Snowman.’ (Holland)”
(One other big picture thing I was going to ask you. Fans sometimes go over the line. They get angry when a player is not able to play for whatever reason. So WR Will Fuller has taken a lot of criticism even though his injury is not his fault, for not playing. Do you ever, as a teammate, do you see him or do you see WR DeVante Parker or do you see guys personally impacted in terms of being upset they can’t play and how they deal with it from an emotional standpoint?) – “I think everybody is a little different on how they deal with stuff. I think what’s unfortunate about this league is you have to be a tough guy all of the time, even around your teammates. It’s hard to be in the locker room and be like, ‘I’m so upset I’m not playing.’ It’s got to be like ‘I’m putting in this work to get back.’ I know personally I had an injury and I was out and I tried to be the tough guy and that eats away at you. But I think every guy wants to play. Nobody that’s in this league is like ‘I just want to get paid to not play.’ If I’m going to get paid either way, I might as well play and have fun. Nobody wants to come in at 7 a.m. and do treatment and then the one time that all of your friends and family are watching, you’re not out there. I would say every guy wants to get back. Every guy is trying their hardest to get back. But I guess for the fans that say ‘Oh, he’s not doing this and that.’ If there is a fan out there that can come to me with their perfect attendance at work and not missing a single day, then maybe we can have a discussion. But I think everybody has times where they want to be somewhere and they’re not able to.”
(I want to make sure I heard something. S Jevon Holland’s nickname, did you say ‘Snowman?’) – “Yeah. That’s the eight on his chest. And he’s Canadian. There’s a little bit of stuff.”
(Did you come up with that?) – “I did not come up with that. That’s just the locker room.”
(Is it more fun to lead when you’re winning?) – “Yeah, I mean everything is more fun when you’re winning. But it’s easy to lead when you’re winning. Five weeks ago when we were in here talking, it wasn’t as fun to have a conversation about how we’re going to keep doing the same things. We’re doing the same things but now the results are better. Kind of like what we said six, seven, eight weeks ago when we were on that down streak. It was we were going to keep doing the same things and the result’s are going to turn. And now the results are turning. It’s easy to think we’re doing something magical and we’ve got the secret. All of a sudden somebody found out the secret four weeks ago. We’re doing the same thing. We’re putting in the work and now that result is paying off. Those seeds we planted are finally growing.”
(I know you really love special teams. Is it harder to build momentum on that side of the ball just because the frequency of plays isn’t the same? Do you maybe see you guys getting better in that area?) – “I think it all goes back to confidence. Like any aspect of life, if you’re confident in it, you’ll do well or you’ll do it well. I think offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, we’re starting to build confidence. We’re seeing the results, we’re seeing the stuff that we’re doing is working and now it’s like, ‘Ok, let’s do it again. I know I’ve already done it once, I can do it again. I can do it again. I can do it again.’ With the kicking game, Duke (Riley) comes and blocks a kick early and everybody’s mindset on the kicking game is ‘Oh, we’re about to dominate these guys the whole game.’ Sometimes it can be tough when it’s a stalemate. ‘Ok, he punts it, fair catch.’ Nobody really gets a vibe for the game. It might be two quarters into the game, three quarters into the game when it comes to the kicking game. So you just always, when you go out there, this play has to be the best play because this may change the momentum of the entire game in the kicking phase. And if we can dominate a team in the kicking phase, it makes it easier for the offense and defense to build confidence.”
(With WR Jaylen Waddle catching passes at such a high volume, what makes him so good at getting open and now recently we’ve also seen him add the downfield.) – “He’s been coming to my camp for a little while. Just in and out of the breaks and stuff like that. I’ve been coaching him up. (laughter) Nah, he’s just a really good player. You all were about to sign up for the camp. (laughter) You’ve got Mack Fitness. You’ve got Mack Routes. (laughter) No, he’s a really good player. He comes to work every day. He put in the work all camp. Usually the guys that you see in training camp doing pretty well are going to do pretty well in the season. There’s usually not some severe drop-off like he’s a fast player. He knows how to get in and out of cuts. He knows how to attack a ball when it’s in the air. He understands offenses. He understands defenses. That stuff is critical in being successful and now as the season goes, he’s getting better and better because it’s coming quicker, it’s coming quicker, it’s coming quicker, and now he’s able to play loose. He’s able to hit higher speeds. He’s able to get in and out of breaks quicker.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle is on pace right now to break WR Anquan Boldin’s rookie record for receptions. How big would that be for not just him but the team?) – “If we’re losing, it’s worthless. If we’re winning, it’s great. It’s added accolades. But at least in my opinion – I don’t know how he is but I’m sure he’s on that similar page – winning will make it all better. Like if he breaks this record and we lose out, it’s cool you got a record but you’re also watching other guys play from your couch. I think that would be a great added accolade on top of if we can continue to win ballgames.”
(Last time I talked to you was before the Jets game and I asked you if you like celebrating downing balls at the 1-yard line or scoring touchdowns more. Did a 65-yard touchdown change that answer?) – “No, that’ll never (change). Downing punts – special teams is a little different. That gang of guys is different. Yeah, it was great to score a touchdown and a long one at that. But Duke (Riley)’s blocked punt, I don’t know it’s a different vibe. It’s hard to describe but like I kind of said earlier, you only get one chance at it. On offense, you get a couple of opportunities.”
(Did you and LB Duke Riley overlap in Philly?) – “Yeah. So I’ve known Duke for a few years. We actually went on a visit to Philly before the draft. That’s when we met. Then he and I were in Philly together for a year.”
(Have you guys been friends since?) – “Yeah. He’s followed me everywhere. The dude wants to be me. (laughter)”
(Doing the same things, grinding away and eventually the results come. But if you are doing the same things, why do you think they weren’t coming before?) – “Honestly, I don’t think we were doing the same things. I think we talked about it more than we did it. We said we practiced hard but we weren’t really practicing hard. We said we were studying extra film and we weren’t studying extra film. We said we were coming in and meeting and we weren’t. I think when guys realized we can win if we do it, we started doing it more. Now it’s like second nature. This is what we do. We come in and get extra work in. We come in and we lift hard. We come in and we practice hard. Now we’re getting the results.”
