Christian Wilkins – October 10, 2022
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Monday, October 10, 2022
DT Christian Wilkins
(The QB Teddy Bridgewater situation, have you seen him today? How does he look to you? And what did you think yesterday when he left the game? Did you think that was necessary?) – “Yeah, I didn’t really know what happened exactly. It wasn’t until later I found out about what’s going on but that’s the – I guess those are the new rules. That’s how things are going to be handled. Not only Teddy, but other guys around the league, I saw there were a bunch of guys who kind of dealt with the same situation. That’s just what it is. We’re looking to protect the players.”
(How did QB Teddy Bridgewater look to you today?) – “Fine.”
(Defensively, just to give up 40 points, how do you rally around each other to make sure that this Sunday it’s a different result?) – “It’s simple. We watch the tape today and then get back to it tomorrow, and then everyone’s got to just hold themselves accountable and look themselves in the mirror and see what they can do better to make sure that that doesn’t happen. We all got to have each other’s back and carry guys with us.”
(Later in the game against Jets after QB Teddy Bridgewater has this situation, Jets WR Braxton Berrios takes what appears to be a hit to the head. He’s taken a knee to not get up. It’s kind of fascinating how things develop just within a game where players are adjusting apparently. Do you think that’s going to be a conversation among players now? Strategically, just hold on and don’t get up immediately?) – “Yeah, I really don’t know. But I’m sure the spotters or whoever will still do what they – they’ll be doing their job. I really don’t know how guys will handle it.”
(What sticks out to you? You probably haven’t looked at the Vikings too much. I know it’s Monday. But WR Adam Thielen is a stud, you’ve got WR Justin Jefferson on the outside and RB Dalvin Cook. What’s the key to making sure that you can limit them?) – “Yeah, they definitely got a lot of good players. They have a really good athletic offensive line. They obviously got really good skill players. They can do a lot of good things. They can put up points. They can do it all. We definitely got to have a good week of preparation. We’ve got a tough challenge in front of us. They’re a really good team and a really good offense. We’re all going to just have to put our best foot forward this week.”
(The last two fourth quarters, Cincinnati and the Jets, how much of it had to do with injuries? How much of it had to do with being on the road?) – “Yeah, you don’t make excuses. We’re all pros. We’re here for a reason. It doesn’t matter. We’ve just got to do better and we’ve got to finish, really. Everyone has a job to do. You’ve just got to do it to the best of your abilities for a full 60 (minutes).”
Jerome Baker – October 10, 2022
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Monday, October 10, 2022
LB Jerome Baker
(So how much, I guess, shock value was there among the team yesterday when QB Teddy Bridgewater goes out because you know that obviously QB Tua Tagovailoa was out? How shocking was that to the team?) – “Of course, when you see a guy like that go down it was shocking, but we have to approach the next man up. Skylar (Thompson) stepped in and did the best he can. So, that’s all it was.”
(Have you seen video of QB Teddy Bridgewater of the incident? And did you notice him stumble or anything like that?) – “Honestly, I didn’t even realize it. I think I looked over at ‘E-Rob’ (Elandon Roberts), and he said something. With the offense out there, we were kind of getting our stuff on defense, so I wasn’t looking at the play or anything like that. But it is what it is.”
(You haven’t seen any video of it?) – “No, I still didn’t really watch it just yet, but I’m sure I’ll get around to it.”
(What changes defensively when CB Xavien Howard doesn’t play?) – “What changes? I mean, the guy is a superstar in this league. He’s one of the best corners in this league. So you can just imagine, our defense is going to change a little bit. You can put him on any receiver and he’s going to pretty much lock them down or get interceptions off of them. So, of course it’s a blow to our defense, but we have great guys that come in and they can do a pretty good job. So the expectations don’t change for our defense when he’s out. We still have to get it done.”
(You guys haven’t produced turnovers at a high rate. Why do you think that’s been? I know there has been some dropped potential interceptions, but why do you think the turnovers haven’t come?) – “I don’t think there’s a real reason why. We had opportunities and we just didn’t lock in on them. But our approach is still to go after the ball, still come up with the ball and that’s not going to change. That’s a part of our defense, and that’s a part of our culture. We’re still doing that, it just hasn’t gone our way just yet.”
(The Vikings have a lot of weapons – WR Justin Jefferson, TE Adam Thielen, RB Dalvin Cook. An unfamiliar opponent, how do you minimize what they do?) – “I think for us, we just really have to do our job. I think yesterday was unfortunate because we didn’t do our job. One guy would do this, go rogue or whatever. At the end of the day, if we just do our job, we can handle any high-power offense. So that’s the main thing. They have some weapons over there, but at the end of the day, if we don’t do our job, it doesn’t matter who is across from us, we’re going to get exposed. So that’s our main focus this week is just do our job, do the things that we’ve always done, run to the ball, get turnovers and we’ll be just fine.”
(From watching the tape, were the mistakes defensively more mental or more physical?) – “I think it was a little bit of both. Mentally though, if one guy does this wrong, it’s just a trickle-down effect. If you expect the guy to do this and he didn’t do it, now that leads to a whole number of things. But I think we will do a great job this week of just getting back on track and just locking in. I think we’ll be just fine Sunday.”
(For the first three games, you guys were one of the best fourth-quarter defenses in the league. You kind of slipped down the last two games against Cincinnati and New York. Obviously, you guys have had some injuries on that side of the ball, but what are some other things that you need to clean up late in the game to get back to the level you had the first three weeks?) – “I think it’s just what I said before, just do our job. I think guys just want to make plays. The intent is there, but at the end of the day, our team, how we’re built, if we all do our job, the play is going to come to us. That’s the main thing. I think guys want to make plays, guys want to do the right thing. They want to be that guy that makes that third-down stop, or that sack, or that pick, whatever. But at the end of the day, if we just do our job, all those things are going to come. That’s the thing we got to focus back on is just do what you’re supposed to do, and the play is going to come to you.”
(Yesterday, the defense had two sacks and three quarterback hits. Are your blitzes having the effect that they did last season?) – “Is it having an effect?”
(Because you were so effective last season with it obviously.) – “Well, it is still early in the season – you can’t just compare these few games to a whole season last year. But I think the main thing is we’re going to be just fine at the end of the day. We believe in our scheme. We believe in the guys we have on our team and we’ll be just fine. I think now is just a wakeup call. We just have to go back to the drawing board and do what we do. It’s not anything new that we haven’t been through, and we’ll be just fine.”
Alec Ingold – October 10, 2022
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Monday, October 10, 2022
FB Alec Ingold
(Let’s start with QB Teddy Bridgewater. How much did you see? Did you see a stumble? Do you think that was a legitimate reason to pull him from the game?) – “I mean that’s not my job. That’s the first thing you could say. We were all really bummed how Teddy went out that first play. Obviously somebody saw something and we’re all competitors. We’re all going to try to strap up. We’re all going to try to play. That’s just the nature of the beast. There are people out there looking for us and a lot of hindsight from ex-players and people in those positions. As much as it hurts in the short term, there are people looking out and being extra cautious and safe. It’s definitely a double-edged sword. It was really tough to see Teddy go out like that, just knowing how he prepared and it was his moment. We’re really fighting for him.”
(How good was it to see RB Raheem Mostert and the running game get going? It seemed like he got loose really for the first time this season.) – “Raheem is a speed demon and it’s just so smooth when you watch him work, week in week out, day in day out. I think that’s kind of the whole message we’ve had as a running back room is we’re just going to stay on this process, we’re going to keep working at it, the running game is going to click, we’re inches away here, there or whatever. It was just a lot of guys staying on the details. The offensive line, myself, quarterback, running back, just kind of being able to put it all together. The wide receivers were blocking on the edge. We saw that jet sweep and you had Trent Sherfield and River Cracraft locking guys up over on the edge. It literally takes all 11 to make the run game work. I think that’s just the epitome of our team. Guys are going to work. We’re going to consistently play to our standard and I think the run game, you’ve just got to keep fighting and stay consistent with that work, and things will hit.”
(How close are you paying attention to what the Raiders are doing?) – “I talk to my guys over there, for sure. I talk to Foster (Moreau), Hunter (Renfrow), Josh (Jacobs), AJ Cole. I definitely have some friends over there that I check in on. I know they’re playing tonight. They’re playing the Chiefs. It will be a fun Monday Night Football, for sure.”
(What did you think of QB Skylar Thompson going in and just the contingency plans now if he has to go in again?) – “I think Skylar did awesome. A seventh-round quarterback, a rookie, having to step up immediately after that, going out to New York, a division game, ‘gotta have it’ type of game, to see him show up and play poised and have a guy like that who is – how old is he? He’s 25? He’s almost as old as I am. Shoot. (laughter) But he plays like that. He has confidence. He has composure and conviction. We trust him in this room. It’s cool to see a guy like that step up when you need him to. I think a lot of guys in our offense and the team in general really need to step up, for sure.”
(How does the team feel after the two losses from the standpoint you did so many good things in the first three games and injuries didn’t seem to bother you. How much of this are you attributing to injury and how much is this being beat by better teams?) – “You can have any excuse, any reason for any loss that you want and I think being a professional football player and being a guy in the locker room, you know the talent’s there. You know the coaches are there. You know the pieces of the puzzle are there. We’ve proven that, like you said. It’s just about us coming together as a team, finding our formula to win, having a standard and sticking to it. I feel like those are all simple answers that you can give but it’s really hard to do on a week-to-week basis. That’s what separates good teams from great. I think we’ve got a really good opportunity to show guys that want to be coachable, want to get better, want to have a long season – 17, 18, 19, 20 weeks – and that’s what we’re facing right now. There’s a lot of guys that have to look in the mirror and be accountable whether you thought you did good or it’s that reason or that circumstance. Let’s just get better. Let’s just keep working. I think that’s kind of where we’re at right now.”
(How much does the locker room believe in that?) – “I think you have to. I don’t think there’s any other option. When you get 53 guys pushing in the same direction, I think that’s where power is. I think that’s where a team can come together. I think that’s where an identity comes out of. And it comes with work. We can talk at a press conference and you can answer these questions and sound cool and like we believe it, but it’s going to start on Wednesday’s practice. And then it’s going to follow up with Thursday’s padded practice. How are we going to respond? Friday, Saturday, then let’s put it on tape Sunday. Whether the result – win, loss or draw, whatever that is – the way we go about our work and the way we consistently push this wheel and push this whole thing to move in the same direction, that’s what it’s all about. You look at a guy to your left and your right, do you trust him? Is he playing for you and not playing for himself? I could play for a coach, I could play for Raheem (Mostert), I could play for Chase (Edmonds), I could play for all of these guys and that’s where power comes in. That’s where you come together as a team and that’s what we need to do.”
(As a guy who takes a lot of hits – I’m just going back to QB Teddy Bridgewater for a moment – what are your thoughts on the addition of the new rule and just kind of taking that extra step to protect players?) – “Like I said earlier, it’s a double-edged sword. We’re all competitors. We want to be out there. We want to be out there. We want to play for our brothers. We want to play for the organization, the team, the coaches. You put so much, you sacrifice so much, for these limited opportunities. You get 17 opportunities. So as a player in the heat of battle, you’re always going to try and get up. You’re always going to try and play for the people next to you. For the organization, the NFLPA and the NFL to come in and protect us from ourselves a little bit and be able to say we’re going to protect you from injuring yourself further, for your family and playing with your grandkids one day, I think they have a lot of insight there too. I know I want to play with my grandkids. I’m going to play as hard as I can for my guys right now for all of these limited opportunities. You just have to trust the people in charge that they have the best interest for you.”
(Just being from Wisconsin, is there any extra giddy-up this week knowing that it’s the Vikings, with you being a football fan growing up?) – “I grew up and watched the Vikings twice a year very closely – the NFC North. I definitely know what that’s all about. I played up there my rookie year. I do think this is a week and an opportunity to play for these guys and play for the room, play for the organization. Any of that extra jazz, you can kind of leave to the side right now. We have enough to worry about right now.”
(Does this offense have an identity right now? Is it a big-play offense? Or is the identity still evolving?) – “It’s still evolving and it probably always will be. I think that’s power in having so many playmakers on offense. You’ve got ‘Cheetah’ (Tyreek Hill), you’ve got (Jaylen) Waddle. You’ve got all of the guys that can make the big splash plays. But then it’s the guys up front in the trenches too. I think the offense that we have and the personnel that we have, being able to step up when your number is called is huge. Whether that’s a run-first game, a pass-first game, a big-play game, a grind-it-out type of game, an ugly game, good weather, bad weather, whatever – I think being able to be a Dolphin and being able to win and be in any type of game that you need to be in, I think that’s where teams can get dangerous.”
(Do you think the run game scheme can kind of mask some of those injuries along the offensive line?) – “I think when you talk about a run game scheme, it really is like earlier when I talked about all 11 playing together. That’s where you have power in guys stepping up. So when you have injuries, when you have guys that are going down, when you have tight ends that can learn multiple positions, wide receivers that can take ownership of the playbook, running backs and fullbacks able to be adjustable, be football players and understand the whole concept and be able to give defenses different looks, I think that’s where there’s a little bit of power in the run game and the concepts that we run. It’s just a lot of guys taking ownership and just buying in and getting a little bit better every single day. We’ll put some good stuff on tape.”
(Considering it was QB Skylar Thompson’s first start yesterday, how much more importance did that give to you guys to finally get the running game going to take some weight off his shoulders a bit?) – “I think it was close for a while. Just being there with Skylar, seeing him call plays in the huddle, you know we had confidence in him from a great preseason and a great training camp. It’s great to see it in the regular season come to life. A lot of things that the players, coaches and the organization have been preaching, it really did – there were some good things to take out of it, especially from the run game. You’ve just got to keep building on that and keep pushing.”
Connor Williams – October 9, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
OL Connor Williams (transcribed by N.Y. Jets)
(On QB Teddy Bridgewater going down and the challenges of playing after that) – “Honestly, it’s tough to see. Definitely in the beginning of a game like that, you just got to put that in the back of your head and move on and take it one step at a time.”
(On if it is easier said than done to continue playing after watching QB Teddy Bridgewater go down) – “Most definitely. At the end of the day, our job is to go out there and execute at the top of our ability. So, that’s what it takes.”
(On QB Skylar Thompson’s performance) – “I think he did a great job. To be able to come out of college and run the offense like that and to be able to move us like that, I think he did a great job.”
Jaylen Waddle – October 9, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
WR Jaylen Waddle (transcribed by N.Y. Jets)
(On how QB Skylar Thompson handled things) – “I was impressed. It’s tough to go in there, but I think he handled it really well. He commanded the offense, got the o-line going, got the run game going. We just have to have more of an offense to put everything together.”
(On QB Teddy Bridgewater not being able to come back into the game even after passing concussion testing protocol) – “That’s for the higher ups. I don’t really have any opinion on that.”
(On the run game) – “(That was) something we wanted to place an emphasis on (and) work on in practice. We knew what we were capable of, so I’m kind of glad to see it come to light on Sundays.”
Durham Smythe – October 9, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
TE Durham Smythe (transcribed by N.Y. Jets)
(On the feeling when QB Teddy Bridgewater was injured) – “I think you never want to see a teammate go down on the first play, especially a guy who is playing quarterback for us and is getting his shot to play quarterback. But in terms of how the team reacted, I think we’re confident in all the guys in that room. Skylar (Thompson) showed a lot in the preseason, so guys had confidence in him. I thought he did a great job when he got in there. He showed confidence in himself, took command of the huddle. I think we’re confident in all those guys.”
(On QB Teddy Bridgewater being ruled out by the NFL spotter despite passing concussion tests) – “Yeah, actually I didn’t hear that. As I was saying just a second ago, I think the protocols are the protocols – there’s nothing we can do as players or as a team to change that. I think the intentions are right, so I appreciate what they’re trying to do in that aspect. There are always going to be situations like this, where maybe a guy saw something that wasn’t there and then he cleared everything. That’s a fine line you’re walking there, so mistakes are going to happen one way or the other, but luckily, like I said, we’re confident in everybody in the room, so we’re confident in the next guy up.”
(On whether you need to be more careful getting up due to the new protocol) – “I think so. Obviously, this is a new thing. One week into these new protocols and I think that’s something that I guess you have to take into account a little bit more now. But like I said, I think the intentions are right, so we appreciate that to a degree. But like I said, there’s going to be mistakes. If this was a mistake, then that’s going to happen. That’s part of the game – (the) physical game. Trying to keep people safe in a dangerous game, things like this are going to happen.”
Raheem Mostert – October 9, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
RB Raheem Mostert (transcribed by N.Y. Jets)
(On the offense’s reaction when QB Teddy Bridgewater left the game) – “It’s a little discouraging, but at the same time, we’ve just got to know that next-man-up attitude and have that mentality going into the rest of the game, which I felt like we did a fairly good job of. It’s all about working. You’ve got to do a little bit extra.”
(On the running game improving and him being the team’s first running back to eclipse 100 rushing yards in a game this season) – “We had a plan; we executed it. I felt like I left a lot of meat out there, especially on some specific runs. But all in all, it’s not about the run ability, it’s about the team effort. And I felt like we just didn’t get up to our standard and it just showed out there.”
(On QB Skylar Thompson in the huddle) – “He’s a young guy. He’s just got to take his time. We all have to trust and believe in him, which we do. But when he comes into a situation after that first drive, now all of a sudden he’s up. You’ve got to hang your hat down and go out there and play ball.”
Robert Hunt – October 9, 2022 (Postgame)
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Postgame – N.Y. Jets
OL Robert Hunt (transcribed by N.Y. Jets)
(On whether he feels better that the running game was better today) – “I mean, it’s an emphasis every week to get the running game going. It’s never a good feeling after a loss no matter what you do good. I’m glad we got it going, hopefully we can keep it going next week, but we didn’t get the job done today and get the win.”
(On the reaction on the sidelines when QB Teddy Bridgewater was injured) – “We see it. It’s part of the game, so next-man-up type of deal. Of course it hurt the team. We all felt it, but next man up. Skylar (Thompson) came in, Skylar played well for his first game. We’ll come back, we’ll watch the film tomorrow and see what we can do better.”
(On what QB Skylar Thompson was like in the huddle) – “He was good. He had a presence. He’s a natural leader, so I’m excited to see what goes on in the future.”
