Mike Gesicki – November 15, 2021
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Monday, November 15, 2021
TE Mike Gesicki
(Last Thursday was one of the rare games where you didn’t have a reception. I know you’re happy with the win, but outside of CB Marlon Humphrey, what did you see from the way the Ravens defended you?) – “It’s just one of those games. Like you said, it’s a team win. It’s a team game. Now we’re stacking good weeks on top of each other and that’s the most important part. I’m very pleased with the way that we’re progressing as an offense, as a defense, special teams together in all three phases. Now another great opportunity to continue to improve and get better throughout the course of this week. We had essentially an extra day today. We’ve got several more opportunities this year and just take them day-by-day and try to continue to improve.”
(We know about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s aura in terms of how he is in the huddle. With QB Tua Tagovailoa, is there something unique about his aura? Obviously he was such a winning player at Alabama, his personality is infectious. What’s the Tua aura when he comes into the game and helps lead you all to a win?) – “I don’t really know specifically what – I mean he’s obviously a great kid, a good leader, gets in there, the crowd went crazy and all of that kind of stuff. But he’s cool, calm and collective. He gets in the huddle, does his job, and does it at an effective rate. Everybody is excited to play with him and all of that kind of stuff. I love having him back there and I’m happy to have him in there.”
(Do you still feel like you had an imprint on the game because they didn’t alter what they would normally do to counter you? It kind of led to some breakdowns in their secondary.) – “Yeah, sure. I don’t really care about that, honestly. (laughter) It’s not like I’m trying to walk away from the game like ‘oh, that was a moral victory here.’ Together as a team, we got a win and that was really the most important part. I said the same thing after Week 1 when I came in here and everyone wanted to know if I was ready to pretty much hand in my helmet, go home and call it a season. I’m most focused on helping this team in any way, shape or form that I can. Whether that’s supporting the guys, playing my role or making plays in the pass game, or whether that’s attracting some coverage or whatever it is, we’ve got plenty of guys on this team that can make plays and I think we proved that on Thursday night.”
(I know you said that your spirits had been high after the previous losing streak, but after winning two games and getting the big win in front of the entire country, and having a few days off, when you came back, do you see that maybe the spirits are even more boosted?) – “I think that is probably the most important part for me personally, the way I carry myself. Obviously in the moment, you make a play and you get excited. But after that, never too high, never too low. You play great, it’s on to the next one. You play not so great, it’s on to the next one. That’s how I carry myself and I think for the most part professionally in this league, that’s how you have to carry yourself, and I think that’s how this team carries itself. I’m already excited to have another opportunity this week. Obviously there is positivity and happiness and all of that kind of stuff, but at the end of the day, we’re still 3-7. We’ve got to come in here each and every day to fight to get to 4-7. Then we’ll talk to you guys next week about new goals.”
(Do you look at the standings personally? Do you think you guys have a possibility looking forward, or do you stay day-by-day like Head Coach Brian Flores?) – “Day-by-day. Right now we have a squad meeting at 4 o’clock, so that’s our next focus. Then we go to O/D (offensive/defense meetings) from 4:30 to 5:30. Then I’ll probably roll out, stretch, get into the hot tub, the cold tub, leave here around – let’s call it 6:30. Go home, see what Durham (Smythe) is doing, maybe hang out with Durham. Then before I know it, wake up tomorrow, come back in here and do it all over again. I try not to look too far ahead, just take it day by day and be where your feet are.”
(How important is it to lead by example whether you get plenty of catches in a game or not? How important is it for you to be the same and be an example for the rest of the team?) – “It’s a team game. It’s not Mike Gesicki versus the other 11 guys on defense. When you see a guy like Isaiah Ford go out there and have four catches for 84 yards or whatever the heck he had, and you see Albert Wilson make a huge play at the end of the game for 60-plus yards, and Adam Shaheen go up and make three catches for however many yards he had, and then Durham (Smythe) put on the jets there a little bit and made a big play. Contributions from both of our quarterbacks. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) on defense made a big play and returned that for a touchdown. Some guys in the kicking game. There is so much more to it than yourself and there are a lot of games, and I’m going to play a lot more games in my career, and I will have another game in my career where I have no catches. And, if we have a win, I will be ecstatic.”
(TE Durham Smythe was much faster than I expected.) – “Yeah. I don’t know what the numbers came out to be, but he was moving. I’m not going to give him too much praise. At that point, it looked like he was the only person on the field. There was nobody around him. He pretty much just ran his 40-yard dash from the Combine. I am happy for him. Maybe he hit his – whatever he hit, 4.95 at the Combine, or whatever he hit.”
(One more from me on WR Jaylen Waddle. What do you think he can become? What do you think – how good?) – “Yeah. I don’t want to put expectations or anything on a guy, but I think Jaylen Waddle is a special player being himself. He can get in and out of cuts, he can make catches where he knows he’s going to get hit like the one at the end of the third quarter on Thursday. He’s extremely quick, has good hands and he’s a good teammate. He’s young and he has a lot of potential, and I think that’s something he’s going to continue to work on and get better each and every day to reach his full potential.”
(You’re a Jersey guy. Do you always look forward to this week going home to play the Jets?) – “Yeah, it’s fun. Obviously you walk out in the stadium and you hear a lot of people ‘hey, I’m from Manahawkin, hey I’m from Toms River, hey I’m from da-da-da.’ I’m like ‘alright yeah, good seeing you,’ and all of that kind of stuff. It is good getting back in New Jersey and seeing some family. It’s easier for them to get to some games and all of that kind of stuff. It’s cool, it’s exciting. But like I said, our number one goal is to go up there and get a win.”
