Christian Wilkins – October 20, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 20, 2019
Postgame – Buffalo
DT Christian Wilkins
(On his ejection from the game after punching a Bills player…) – “I was just really extremely selfish. This is the ultimate team sport. It’s not just about me and I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed in myself about something, especially something that was in my control. It really, really shouldn’t have happened. There’s no place for it in this game and
that is not the standard I hold myself to. Because I love this game, I try to respect this game as much as possible and play it as competitively as possible. This game is meant to be competitive, not combative at all. I really let myself down and my teammates down in just a selfish moment so early in the game.”
(What led up to the punch?) – “It just happened so quickly. It was only the second play of the game. I just tried to come into the game with some energy on edge and just fired up. It’s an emotional game, so again like I said it all happened so fast but there’s no place for it in this game and just no place for it for me because I don’t want that reputation on myself. That’s not something I’m proud of. That’s not something I intended on doing coming into this game or anything like that. I just really let myself down and the team more importantly, you know, it’s just a learning experience, too, you live and you learn. That’s just a message to myself, a learning experience for my teammates and also a learning experience for people watching at home, kids watching at home. There’s no place for it. You have to play the game the right way.”
(Did you watch the game in here [locker room]?) – “Yeah. I definitely commend my teammates for fighting hard, I felt like we did some things really well, but just didn’t do enough to win. Respect to Buffalo because they did a good job.”
Matt Haack – October 20, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 20, 2019
Postgame – Buffalo
P Matt Haack
(Are you thinking touchdown on that fake field goal at any point?) – “Yeah, I was thinking touchdown a little bit just because we were that close, but at the end of the day the first down is what we needed so I was going for that.
(How did that open up for you?) – “I just ran right behind the white jerseys and put my head down to get that extra yard.”
(To be that close, literally and metaphorically, and not get the touchdown, how do you guys process that?) – “It’s something you go back [to], practice and make the corrections. You can’t go back and redo it, so we just go back to work and try to execute the next time.”
Jerome Baker – October 20, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 20, 2019
Postgame – Buffalo
LB Jerome Baker
(It seemed like the game shifted after halftime, through your eyes what happened there?) – “We turned the ball over, defense didn’t execute on long drives and we just came up short.”
(In practice this week, what do you feel like you personally have to do to help get the team a win next week against the Steelers?) – “We have to eliminate those little mistakes that we were making, penalties especially, turning the ball over and missed tackles. Those are the little things that we take for granted that we have to focus on.”
(I remember [Mike] Gesicki last week said there is no moral victories in losses but are there any positives that you take away?) – “Yeah, there are definitely some positives if you look over the film some guys did some great things, but we lost at the end of the day and you come to play and win games and unfortunately that’s not what we’re doing.”
(You were talking to my sports director earlier this week about the crowd and Bills Mafia and how they can be rowdy. Were they on your mind at all today?) – “No, I mean I love them, they’re fun. There was a little kid at the tunnel and his dad was telling him what to say and just getting him up to speed and it is fun. And at the end of the game they [Buffalo] got the win so he can talk all he wants. At the end of the day we have to come in and win, and for me I feed off the energy.”
Ryan Fitzpatrick – October 20, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 20, 2019
Postgame – Buffalo
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(A lot of good things happened in the game for you guys both offensively and defensively – does it make it that much more frustrating to come up short?) – “Yeah, for sure. To have the opportunity on the one or two yard line, to have a critical error and then to have another one and throw the interception down there is tough. I think we were looking to go up maybe 21-9 at that point playing with some momentum, and we were feeling really good coming out of halftime. That killed us a little bit. They were able to go down and score on that next drive, so that was a tough part of the game. We hung in there. We’re playing better in spurts, but we have to continue to try and learn how to win and continue to try and not make those big mistakes in critical times.”
(A little reshuffle in the offensive line had you standing behind two guys not in their-full time positions. How did you feel it worked out for those guys in front?) – “There’s been so much improvement from Week 1 to now. A lot of that is just working together, whether it’s at practice or just sitting at a lunch table. I think we all know each other a little bit now. Everybody knows each other’s names and that’s something we didn’t have in the first few weeks. Those guys are working extremely hard and I told them this week at practice that I’m extremely proud of the way they’re working, and they’re fighting their tails off on every snap. We have a lot of confidence in those guys.”
(It seems like every week we’re seeing a little bit better offense, defense — is this team near the point where they’re going to win football games moving forward here?) – “I think so. Again, from game one, to now, I think we’re just coming together as a team a little bit. We’re starting to get to know each other and I think it’s starting to show on the field. We’re having better practices – more crisp – and we’ve got a lot of young guys out there, but that first half was fun. There was great energy in the stadium, great energy on our sideline and we just have to continue to do that and put a whole game together.”
(You were on a team that was 0-8 here and you found belief in that group. How is that going to help you with this group?) – “Well, and I said this at the beginning, I think I’m the perfect man for the job, because I’ve been through it, I have zero ego, and all I want to do is go out there and win. I want to bring an energy. I want what I’m doing out there to be infectious to other guys. We have a lot of young guys that haven’t really played much at this level, and we have some guys that are a year or two into it. But I want to be that ‘stable guy’ that they can look to when things get a little shaky, and I’ve been in this situation a lot before. It’s something that I embrace. I’ve had a different career than a lot of different quarterbacks, but this has been a career that I’ve loved and a position that I like being in.”
(Tell us about your touchdown run. I know that’s a play you like.) – “Yeah, I love those. It just brings me back to Pop Warner and as a quarterback I don’t get to do that much. I got a little bit of a running start so it wasn’t fair, but just to have that play – I probably could’ve avoided it to get into the end zone but that’s just a play that I like.”
(To do what you guys did offensively against that defense, does it mean something to you?) – “Yeah. I think we’re constantly and we’re continuously growing as a team, so we have to be able to stack together these minor wins of going out there and executing, and then looking at the things that are going wrong and why. But we’ve gotten significantly better from day one to now, and we just have to continue on that trend. I think guys are buying-in, guys are getting comfortable – we haven’t won a game. I think everybody gets that and knows that, but at the same time we’re making strides, and I think we do take certain things out of this game.”
(Coming back here, what’s this cauldron like? It there a level of comfort to come back here because you started out here, or discomfort because of the noise?) – “So much so. It was so comfortable and the noise was awesome. The fans were great, but I made a wrong turn twice out of the locker room today to go out of the stadium instead of to the field, because we were always supposed to take a right when you’re a Bill and a left when you’re the opponent, so even though I played here a few times, I did it twice today. It was a strange feeling every time I’m here and it’s a strange feeling walking into the stadium – there’s so many good memories. Right when I got to my locker I texted two guys. I texted Fred Jackson, and just told him how much I appreciated playing with him and the memories that we made. And then sitting in the visitors locker room I saw two lockers and I texted Brandon Marshall. I just thought back to that game in 2015 at the end of the season, when I was on the Jets and we were 10-5 and a win gets us in the playoffs. For a guy that’s never been to the playoffs and Brandon Marshall who has never been to the playoffs, you just have that crazy range of emotion from all the fun times with Fred and sitting after that game with Brandon for a little bit. This place is so special to me as a player and as an opponent I guess, but it brings up great memories and a lot of memories that carry a lot of weight and emotion to them.”
(How would you describe Brian’s [Flores] approach with you guys especially these past couple weeks? Is it one of the building, making a young team grow as you go along, or frustration? Where does he fall on that scale?) – “I think we’ve been very aggressive. We’ve recovered two onside kicks this year, then offsides twice, we had the fake field goal today that all of a sudden we don’t execute, then I throw an interception. There’s some stuff that we’re doing really good, especially on the special teams that was super aggressive, but haven’t really done a nice job of finishing the job if you will. I think there’s aggressiveness in the play calls. I think we’re headed in that direction, so I was very happy. Just last week, you know, to come into work and for him to say that I was going to get put back into the lineup. I just think there’s a lot of things that he has shown that are showing that he wants to win football games and I’m totally on board with that.”
(How do you feel about those aggressive decisions? Whether it’s the special teams or the offense on fourth down, any of those kind of things that are going on?) – “Yeah I mean, what do you have to lose, right? What do we have to lose at this point? I think that’s part of the mentality and part of the mentality is just trying to get that to trickle down and rub off on everyone else, that aggression.”
(You say you’re the perfect guy for the situation but were you the absolute wrong guy for anybody that has any idea that it’s okay to lose or that’s acceptable? Because there is some thought that there are people in the organization who feel that way.) – “There are certain things that are way out of my control. I came here because there was an opportunity to play and I love playing football. I love going out there and competing with my guys and that’s about as deep as I get into it.”
Brian Flores – October 20, 2019 (Postgame)
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Sunday, October 20, 2019
Postgame – Buffalo
Head Coach Brian Flores (transcribed by Buffalo Bills)
(Coach, another tough game, you knew you had to play a perfect game, two turnovers, 15 points off of turnovers seem to be difference in this whole ball game.) – “Yup tough I mean, I thought, did a lot of good things in the game but you know turnovers are the biggest difference from winning or losing this league. We turned it over twice, they didn’t turn it over and that ultimately becomes a difference in the game. We look, there’s some good things happening. But we had an opportunity in this game and we didn’t take advantage of.”
(I know the goal is to win but do you see progress?) – “The goal is to win. Now I gotta go and watch the film and, yeah, you know, I’d see progress but
at the end of the day this is about wins and losses and, you know, I think this teams got to learn how to win. There’s a discipline of winning. Got to have execution in those critical moments and we got to learn how to do that. We did not do a good enough job of that today. I got to coach it better and we got to get better, because it’s there for us.”
(Coach you had a change in the offensive line, Boehm goes to center, Shaq [Calhoun] comes in, seem like you got some pretty good play out of that interior offensive lineman change in there and they were able to go out and get things done on the inside.) – “I thought we, you know, early in the game we put some drives together. We had a slow start with the 10-yard loss to start the game but after that we put some drives together, had some good
execution in run game, in the pass game, made a couple big plays, you know, putting the hands on in the red zone. Those are all good facts great, but at the end of the day we got to do a little bit better job of coaching it, we gotta do better a little bit better job of planning and executing, giving
ourselves a chance to win a game.”
(What are your thoughts on Ryan [Fitzpatrick] and what he was able to do?) – “I thought he played well. I thought he moved the ball well offensively. I thought he made some good throws. I thought he got out of some trouble. They got a good pass rush, he got out of trouble a couple times and made some plays for us. We got to continue to build and get better, and finish
a game. We gotta finish the game.”
(What happen with Christain [Wilkins] at the start of the game? Was that just a loss of discipline?) – “Yeah, I mean look if you want to win a game on the road in a tough environment, and the first thing you got to do is try to play penalty free and play a discipline ball game. We didn’t do that right
from the start. I expect a lot of Christian, already talked to him about that, he knows that. We got to be better now. Period. I don’t think we are asking for too much on that.”
(For the onside kick, what did you see there that allowed them to return the kick for a touchdown?) – “We got to have a better execution. We have to understand that they get it, we got to, you know, finish the play, we didn’t do that, they scored.”
(Brian, it was 14-9 and you guys are driving, start the second half, the ball is in possession, ends in an interception, is that it?) – “There’s other plays in the game. Look that happens. You throw interceptions, you keep playing.
You got to stop defensively, put another drive, the game wasn’t over right there. We can’t think that way, we can’t, I’m not going to go back and sit here and what I was doing in that situation. We had another 18 minutes left to play. A lot of things happen in a football game and you got to be able to move on and sit here and say, “Hey, that was the play.” There’s a lot of plays in the game that, Fitz played well. Turnovers are big though, I don’t care where they happen, or what time of the game, they’re big. They got them and we didn’t, and that’s the story of the game.”
(Are you pleased with how the team responded even after Preston [Williams] turnover, that you were able to cut it down to three with a minute left?) – “We just got to keep playing. Look, it’s a 60-minute ballgame. We preach that on a daily basis and practice that way. That’s what I expect from this team, that’s the standard. Yeah were just going to keep playing and see what happens. So, they did that, we just have to finish that ballgame. You know, we have to make a couple more plays and pull a win out.”
(You mentioned that Fitz played well, did he earn next week?) – “I mean, yeah, he played well. So, yes, he did.”
(Coach, it seemed like defensively you did a lot of good things out there, you threw a lot of blitzes. Did things change when you lose Christian [Wilkins] early on in your scheme or is that what you expected to do?) – “You know, we only dress 46 guys. We lose one right off the bat, that puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the group. I mean that is part of playing with poise, playing with discipline. So, do things change, you try not to change it, but we got to, you know, mix and match different groupings, what are we doing on the goal line, what are we doing short yardage, what are we doing on third down. We got a backup at every position but to start the game like, that it’s not what you’re looking for. So yeah, things change a little bit. I thought we adjusted well. The coaching staff made the right adjustments and we tried to get after them a little bit with a couple blitzes early and you know we got we got home a couple times. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t enough. We got to do more.”
(A lot of changes in the secondary, how did you feel like your guys were able to step up there?) – “I think it’s the next man up mentality. We’re going to compete. I’m a competitor. This team is gonna compete. We’re not gonna make excuses, we’re not pointing fingers, we’re not. I don’t care who’s up, who’s down, I really don’t. That’s not gonna change. We’re going to fight for 60 minutes and we’re going to keep playing and turn it over and we’re gonna keep playing, we’re going to make a play, keep playing. We’re not going to sit here and you know, point fingers and blame and place blame, we’re not going to do that. Dolphins aren’t doing that. We got to go back and get in, make the corrections. We got another big game on the road again next week against a really good team, in another tough environment. That’s it, that’s what we have to do.”
Brian Flores – October 18, 2019
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Friday, October 18, 2019
Head Coach Brian Flores
(C Daniel Kilgore and S Reshad Jones – are they going to be out?) – “Yeah, both guys will be out this week. They did everything they could to get ready for this one; but yeah, both guys will be out.”
(Where is your comfort level with CB Xavien Howard and the injury that he’s been working back from?) – “He’s doing everything he can to get back. I feel like I say that every day and it’s something that he tells me every day. Treatment, rehab – we can get into cryos and ARTs (active release techniques) and massages – he’s doing everything possible to get back. His desire to play is high and hopefully we’ll get him out there.”
(Is this a concern that if you rush CB Xavien Howard back it could lead to a prolonged injury or something?) – “That’s always (a concern). With any injury, we take that into consideration. ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), (Daniel) Kilgore, Reshad (Jones) – every injury, that comes into consideration. We’ll do what’s best for the player always and there’s always a long vision here. It’s a long season. We’ve got a lot of games left to play, so to have – we wouldn’t want to have a setback that would lead to instead of one game, it could be seven or eight games. You never want to do that, so that’s always the case any time we bring a guy back; and the idea is that he’ll be back for the long haul when he is back.”
(I wanted to ask you – with S Reshad Jones going down, I know S Steven Parker has been in there working with the safeties as well. Is that just the person who’s going to fill that void?) – “We’ve got a few guys who have played the safety-type of roles – Bobby (McCain) obviously, (Jomal) Wiltz has played in some safety roles. (Steven) Parker. (Eric) Rowe – he’s even played in some safety-type of roles. Walt Aikens obviously – he’s Reshad’s backup. We’ve had a few different guys. Reshad is a really good player. He plays a lot of different positions for us. It’s kind of ‘replace Reshad by committee’ in a lot of ways.”
(I noticed something in the last game that I haven’t gotten to ask you about yet. There were three third downs where the team got off the field. Third-and-7 incomplete, third-and-10 gain of one, third-and-6 incomplete; there was one defensive linemen and a bunch of linebackers and defensive backs moving around. I know that that’s been used in other places. When you guys do that, what are some good things about it? What opportunities does it create?) – “It gets speed on the field, first and foremost. We want to be as fast and athletic and aggressive as we can, so I would say it starts right there. It’s a hard look for an offensive lineman or a quarterback; but it’s hard for us to kind of get it and get in the right spots defensively, as well. At the end of the day, we want to disguise, we want to give them different looks, but you’re never disguised to the point where you can’t execute. That’s something we talk to the players about. We’ll continue to try to disguise and find different ways to do that. That was one grouping. We may show a different one this week, but disguise is only good if you can execute. At the end of the day, this guy, these few guys in these spots and these guys covering these guys – however we scheme it up – we’ll try to disguise. Buffalo’s a good team. They do a good job as far as diagnosing what you’re doing and finding ways to get things blocked or get things covered or get things really executed on their end based on what their opponent’s doing. It’ll be a tough test.”
(CB Ryan Lewis was a recent addition. With the first full week of practice, is he someone that you foresee some playing time for going into this game?) – “Ryan, he came in, he’s in good shape, he’s smart. He’s a tough kid. I’ve spent some time with him. We’ll see. It’s hard to come in one week in and jump out there. We’ve had a couple guys do it this year. If Ryan’s – he’s put the work in, I know that, I’ll tell you that – but we’ll just see how this shakes out. He may be in there. It may be defensively. It may be in the kicking game; but he’s definitely eager to play. Hopefully we can get him out there, but you can only have 46 guys up in the game. You’ve got to have some inactives.”
(I wanted to ask you about DE Charles Harris. He’s had reduced playing time the last two weeks. A lot of it coincides with DE Taco Charlton’s emergence. How do you keep a guy’s confidence lifted up in that situation where he’s kind of been moved out of a starting role?) – “I think each individual player – I don’t think there’s a confidence situation here with Charles or really anyone else on this team. I think if you work hard, you put the team first, you do everything possible; I think there’s a peace with that. Charles has done that. I think every week is different in this league, so I think what you need to do – as players, as coaches, as an organization – is move onto the next challenge, which is whatever meeting the next meeting is, whatever walkthrough, whatever practice and then obviously the game, and do everything you can to be productive within your next challenge. I think that’s – I know that’s – the case with Charles. That’s the conversation I’ve had with him. He’s a talented guy. We think he’ll have some opportunities to make some plays for us.”
(I wanted to ask you about DE Charles Harris’ wrist injury because it’s been lingering since the spring. Is it an actual injury or is just something that he just plays with a brace?) – “He’s got the brace on, so it’s something that he deals with on a daily, weekly basis. I think we’ve got a lot of players dealing with things that have lingered or wear a knee brace or a wrist brace or a shoulder harness or whatever the case may be. It’s a tough game. Guys get dinged and it’s just something he’s dealt with. He hasn’t complained about it once to be honest. That’s a good thing. Honestly that’s the first time I’ve even thought about it because he doesn’t complain about it; but it’s there obviously.”
Christian Wilkins – October 17, 2019
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Thursday, October 17, 2019
DT Christian Wilkins
(On the defensive game plan and Bills QB Josh Allen and RB Frank Gore…) – “They definitely present a good challenge for us. I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys, especially Frank Gore. He’ll be wearing a gold jacket one day, so I’m excited for the challenge and what the Bills present for us. They’ve just got talent everywhere. They have a good solid offensive line – real strong, real big. (They have) good receivers, a good running back, a good quarterback. It’s going to present a challenge for any defense no matter who you are.”
(Looking at film, were you surprised that RB Frank Gore can still do what he’s doing?) – “You’ve just got so much respect for it. I wouldn’t say I’m surprised. It’s just impressive to see a guy, 14, 15 years into the league, still running that thing like he’s in his third, fourth or fifth year. It’s just good to see him. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I definitely (do). Hopefully after the game I’ll gain even more respect for him.”
(I know all of you talk about one game at a time, but the way you shut out Washington in the fourth quarter, does that give you a lift going into the next game?) – “Last week’s stats don’t carry over. Last week’s production doesn’t carry over to next week, but you definitely want to improve and get better. Just knowing that we can do it – we can play at a high level defensively – you’re always trying to get better and improve and build blocks each week.”
(What’s the craziest road environment you played in in college?) – “I played in some good ones – some fun atmospheres. It was fun playing up at Syracuse all the time and NC State was always a good time. Florida State. I’ve played in some pretty good atmospheres.”
(Have your teammates told you anything about playing at Buffalo?) – “Yeah, they said it’s about just as hostile as it gets, from what I hear. I’m looking forward to that. It’s almost like a different sense of urgency. You always have a sense of urgency getting ready for a game, but it’s a little different when you go and take the show on the road and (it’s) literally you against the world. We kind of have that feeling. It’s going to be fun and I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be tough.”
(How much, if at all, has CB Cordrea Tankersley changed since you guys were together at Clemson?) – “The ‘Tootie man?’ He’s still the same old ‘Tootie.’ That’s my guy. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I’m glad he’s here, too – just someone I’m familiar with, someone I’m comfortable with. It’s always good to just see his smiling face around. He always just shows me love every day. It’s good that he’s around for sure.”
(If I could follow up on the atmosphere, S Bobby McCain said yesterday that Bills fans are notorious for giving you the one-finger salute and speaking about your family. Do you just laugh when things like that happen?) – “That’s fun. You’ve just kind of got to take it for it is. It’s part of the territory, part of going into an opposing atmosphere in someone else’s house. You’ve just got to go with what they bring to you. It’s just all part of it. You’ve just got to stay locked in. Hopefully we’ll be all so focused on the game plan and getting our jobs done that it won’t really matter to us.”
Vince Biegel – October 17, 2019
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Thursday, October 17, 2019
LB Vince Biegel
(On being vocal on the field…) – “I always try to be vocal out there and try to be a leader as much as I can. Any way I can lead – be vocal or lead by example – that’s what I like to do.”
(When you’re in the huddle, do you sense the guys kind of feed off of that energy from you pre-snap and in the huddle?) – “I think this last Sunday, I think we were all feeding off one another (on the) defensive side of things and special teams. I think ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) really hit it on the head – being us as a team, being able to lift each other up, being supportive, celebrating with each other. I think (from) the energy standpoint of things, last Sunday was definitely evident. I always try to do my part and just be myself. You don’t have to be somebody you’re not, but definitely having that energy was important for us this last Sunday.”
(I’ve watched you especially during kickoff for the past couple of games and your energy level before kickoffs is extremely high. Where does that come from?) – “I think for me, starting even back in high school, my dad always talked and instilled on me the importance of high energy and being able to control effort. In college, that was evident and obviously it’s transferred to the NFL, as well as having that energy, having effort and being able to be a guy that guys look to for that spark. Obviously I’m honored and want to be the guy out there for us to provide that spark.”
(You’re playing on your third team in three years. What do you think has led to the constant movement?) – “That’s the NFL, man. I got drafted by the Green Bay Packers – a new general manager, all new staff, they brought their guys in and then I was (with) the Saints. I had a wonderful year last year and then got traded. That’s the life of the NFL. I think what I’ve learned in that time is being able to be adaptable. (It’s) my third different defense, fourth defensive coordinator while I’ve been in the NFL (so) adaptability is key and if you don’t adapt, you won’t be here for long. For me, it’s always being adaptable and being a player that guys can count on and coaches can count on as well.”
