Matt Burke – November 21, 2018
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Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke
(With DE Charles Harris, do you have a feel yet as to what you have? A year and a half, but now with the absence, do you not quite know exactly what you have in the player?) – “I think we have a sense of what he is as a player. Obviously he’s had some up and down moments and the setback with the injury. I thought before that, those were kind of his best couple of games. You’re hoping you start to see some trends and those things and the consistent level of play. It’s disappointing to have the injury and have that setback and have to miss this time. He’s working his way back in. He’s looked good. He’s looked explosive. He did a good job while he was out and rehabbing in terms of putting some strength on and working with (Head Strength and Conditioning) Coach (Dave) Puloka and the strength guys to put some weight on and do some of those things. We’re hoping the trend we were seeing before the injury is something that continues post-injury when we get him back into things here.”
(Colts QB Andrew Luck hasn’t been sacked in five games.) – “I’ve heard that.”
(QB Andrew Luck’s yards per attempt, is that one reason? And getting the ball out so quickly?) – “Yeah, I think it’s a lot of factors. I think their o-line is playing well. He is getting the ball out fairly quickly – really quickly, actually. I think they’re just … (Colts Head Coach) Frank (Reich) and the offensive staff, they’ve done a really good job. It’s a very efficient offense. Luck is getting ready of the ball but there’s answers, there’s outlets, it’s going. It’s a well-oiled machine. They stay on track pretty well so they’re not necessarily bothered, I don’t think, by the yards per attempt. It’s just kind of part of what they do. They run the ball, they hit those quick passes and they keep on track. They’re first in the NFL on third downs right now. Part of their identity is built into that. I think the sack thing is just sort of an output of all of that. I do think their o-line is playing well. I think Luck is playing well but I think part of that is their identity and the mode they operate in is a very efficient offense. They’re always ahead of the chains or with the sticks and they’re kind of moving it. They keep those third downs manageable and keep the chains moving and its sort of part of what they do. I think Luck is operating at a pretty high level within that context. They’re doing a good job. They’re playing good ball.”
(LB Darius Leonard kind of came out of nowhere for them. Not so much because he was a second-round pick but during the pre-draft process he kind of came out of nowhere from South Carolina State. Is that a guy you were in on at that time and kind of lobbying for?) – “I don’t lobby. Yeah, we liked him coming out. He’s a good player. Smaller school, so whatever the stigma is that goes along with that. But, as an athlete, he’s a tall, long, rangy kid that can run. He made a lot of plays down there in college. We definitely liked him. We liked him coming out. He’s definitely having a lot of success in that system. They’ve done a good job with him. He’s making a lot of tackles. I don’t really watch that side of the ball much, but we’ve had some crossover games and you see him. It’s the same type of thing. He’s a long, rangy kid that’s makes a lot of those plays. I guess one of the questions you’d have about him coming out is from a small school and that transition to make the leap into the NFL, but obviously he hasn’t had a lot of problems with that transition.”
(You were impressed and then you thought … Not necessarily predicted what LB Darius Leonard became but you were seeing something?) – “Yeah, we liked his skill set and the tools he had. Absolutely.”
(Has S Minkah Fitzpatrick played about the same in terms of quality performance at safety, slot corner, boundary corner? Or is there one you think he’s been better at?) – “No. It’s hard. He’s doing a good job. I’d say when we put him on the outside part of the field, it’s probably where he has the least work. I don’t know if experience is the right word, but the least amount of reps out there. So there’s still a couple of nuance things he’s working with from the outside part of the field. It’s been two games we’ve had to play him at about three different spots just with all of the circumstances that were dictating (things). He’s done a good job. It’s hard to absorb. He’s doing a good job playing where we’re asking him to play and executing the things we’re asking him to execute. Hopefully the more we keep doing that and he keeps expanding on, he’ll keep making plays for us.”
Frank Gore – November 21, 2018 (Conference Call)
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Wednesday, November 21, 2018
RB Frank Gore Conference Call with Indianapolis Media
(How are things going for you down there so far this year, for you and the team?) – “It’s going great. I’m enjoying it. I like the coaches. I like the players. We started off real hot and things haven’t been going our way lately but we’re fighting as a team.”
(When you signed here, you said the reason you came was because of QB Andrew Luck. He was injured most of the time you were here but when you see him now that he’s returned to form, what do you think of the way he’s been able to play now?) – “I’m happy for him. He’s balling. I’m happy for him because I know how much he loves the game of football and how he approaches the game. I’m happy for him. He’s back … especially when you watch him early on. When I watched him early on, you could tell he was kind of timid; but now he looks like that boy coming out of Stanford.”
(Do you ever find yourself saying ‘only if’ you would’ve had a healthy QB Andrew Luck your three year here?) – “Yeah, I wish I could’ve played with him, especially being around him for three years and knowing how much of a football player he is and how he loves the game. Knowing that, I would’ve had some easy running lanes, because having a healthy Andrew Luck, you’re going to get six or seven in the box, which is something I never had in my career.”
(What are your thoughts on this offensive line and what you’ve seen from G Quenton Nelson and what RB Marlon Mack and some of these running backs have been able to do this season?) – “I know they’re happy. Not just them, but the group is playing well. They’ve got good schemes. I’m happy for Marlon because just seeing him go from Year 1 to now. They should be happy. They don’t have to deal with what I was dealing with when I was there. (laughter)”
(This is probably an offensive line you would’ve dreamed to run behind I’d assume?) – “It’s just consistency. When you know who you’re playing with, the o-linemen, once you get to know your guys, you can pre-determine certain runs just off of looks. They are doing a great job. I’m happy for them. I’m happy for them.
(Did you sign with the Colts three years too early?) – “I can’t say that, man. They were coming off the AFC Championship (game). When you’re looking from the outside looking in, you don’t know what’s in the locker room until you get there. Andrew Luck, I think the year he did come back and we beat Denver, I think we could’ve gone on a run. We were one of the first teams to beat Denver. I think we could’ve got on a run but he got injured again. When you’re playing with a bunch of injured guys, that’s tough in this league. It’s already hard to win when you’ve got guys healthy. So imagine when you don’t, especially the main guys who run the show. I had a great three years there. The organization was great. Great people. We were fighting. Things just didn’t go the way I was planning.”
(What were your conversations with Colts GM Chris Ballard like earlier in the offseason? Was it always just kind of a mutual agreement that you guys would part ways?) – “One thing I always respect about Chris is that he’s honest and he’s straight up. As a man, that’s all you want. Especially in this league, there’s a lot of BS. He said he was happy that he got a chance to be around me playing ball because he respects the way I play the game of football. We still talk. We still text. He still checks on me to see how I’m doing – him and (Assistant General Manager) Ed Dodds. I respect Dodds a lot. I think we look at football the same. I respect that – Chris Ballard and Ed Dodds. He told me that he was going to get it right, especially starting up front, and those guys have done a great job.”
(When we talk to guys about you throughout the league and even here, they say they don’t notice any fall off from your play. How much longer are you going to do this? Have you thought about it or are you still a year-to-year type of thing?) – “I’m still year-to-year. I’m going to really take a look at me after the season. Hopefully I can try to finish strong and do whatever it takes to help my team be successful and also have individual success. I’m going to just evaluate myself and my body and see if I really want to do it again this offseason. I take it one year at a time.”
(You have a lot of football knowledge that you’ve shared with guys over the years. Do you feel like that’s something in the future that you’re going to put to use after you’re done playing?) – “Yeah, I think I want to stay around the game. I think that will help me because of how much I love the game of football. Yeah, I think I do want to stay around it.”
(A lot of the young guys here have talked about what Running Backs Coach Tom Rathman has meant to them this season. How instrumental was he in your career when you were first coming into the league in San Francisco?) – “I think he came into my career at the perfect time because I was young and when I made the Pro Bowl … Sometimes when you make the Pro Bowl early on, you can kind of be cocky. Once he got there, we used to bump heads because I felt like I arrived already; but I think he took my game to another level. Just all-around game. He made me look at the game differently and try to do everything right. I think that’s one of the reasons why I’m still playing because of the way he moved my mind on the game of football.”
(I know you were only here for three years but do you think there will be any emotions for you coming back to Lucas Oil Stadium or just another game for you?) – “I’ll be excited to see all of the guys like ‘T’ (Assistant Equipment Manager Brian Seabrooks), ‘Frog’ (Equipment Manager Sean Sullivan), all of the trainers and some of the guys I played with. It’ll be good. We’re both 5-5. We both want to win. I’m coming there to try to help my team get a victory.”
Darren Rizzi – November 21, 2018
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Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi
(Is this as simple as WR Danny Amendola is our punt returner moving forward and RB Senorise Perry is our kickoff returner or did you open it up where there are legitimate other options that it’s not necessarily those two?) – “The punt thing, obviously Danny has been in the games already this year and he’s obviously had a long history with it, so he has the most experience of all the guys. Just like anything, with everything we have a contingency plan in place. We have more guys that are in the stable of kick returners. A little less group with the punt returners. Danny, we’ve worked a couple other guys in this week with (Kenyan) Drake and a couple of other guys. Kick returning, we have other guys with experience so we have a few more options there. Actually, the last couple days, we’ve worked a few guys through there at kick returner – just a few more options. We’re going to kind of wait and see and kind of see what Friday brings and then kind of make a final decision on Saturday. Certainly Danny, from a punt return standpoint, has the most experience of all the guys we have on the roster, for sure.”
(Can you share on kick returns who else has been in that position?) – “Of guys that have experience – (Kalen) Ballage is a guy that’s done a lot. Obviously, we have (Kenyan) Drake that’s done a lot of it before. Senorise (Perry) has already returned kicks this year and last year. Brandon Bolden has done it in the past. He has some history doing it. (Leonte) Carroo has some experience at both. Kenny Stills has some experience at both. Those are all guys that we’ve kind of flirted with a little bit this week and kind of look at to see what our best options are. The thing on kick return is with all the new rules, you still have to have those eight guys up front. With the athleticism and with the new rule, it really kind of changes the dynamic of the play a little bit because now when you take a guy out of there and put him back, you obviously have to replace him. There’s some roster things that fall into place there with who’s going to be on the 46 and who’s inactive. You’re just always having those moving parts, so just looking at whatever the best is. Whoever we have to put back, we have to make sure we’re not taking away and we’re not robbing Peter to pay Paul type of deal on the kickoff return.”
(Who else can return punts? You said RB Kenyan Drake and who else are other possibilities?) – “There’s some other guys, guys that have done punt return in the past. Kenny Stills has some reps in the past. (Leonte) Carroo, like I mentioned before, has done some punt-returning stuff in the past. Obviously, Danny Amendola. Those are the guys that are kind of getting some reps this week. Drake – if I didn’t mention him already – he’s done both. He’s been an emergency punt return guy his whole career here, so another guy that’s done it. It might be a game-plan thing. You might see a couple of different guys back there during the game depending on when it is, situationally, kind of where we’re at in the game. We’ll kind of have all hands on deck. That’s kind of how we’re approaching that one.”
Reshad Jones – November 21, 2018
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Wednesday, November 21, 2018
S Reshad Jones
(Colts QB Andrew Luck hasn’t been sacked in five games. Does that put a lot of pressure on the secondary?) – “Yeah. We just need to get our hands on guys a little bit faster (so he can’t) get the ball out of his hands as fast as he is. I think we’ve got to just slow down their timing. The offensive line hasn’t given up a sack in I think five weeks, so it’ll definitely be a challenge. We’re going against a great football team in their place; but I feel confident in the guys in this locker room. I think we’ll be ready.”
(What’s the challenge of facing a guy as fast as Colts WR T.Y. Hilton? What can you do when you’re lining up against a guy as fast as he is?) – “You just have to know where he’s at at all times. I think the most important part is to slow him down off the line of scrimmage. Get your hands on him and slow down that timing with him and his quarterback.”
(What are your thoughts on the practice schedule being adjusted so you guys can have Thanksgiving off?) – “I think it’s cool. I haven’t had Thanksgiving off in a while, so I think it’s cool for guys to enjoy family and spend a little time with the loved ones.”
(Are you going to watch some football games?) – “Definitely.”
(Do you have some memories of a Thanksgiving meal you really enjoyed?) – “Not really. I’m a big dressing eater, though. I like dressing. I love the dressing. (laughter)”
(Do you do any of the cooking?) – “No, not at all. (laughter)”
(How helpful was that bye week? CB Bobby McCain was saying you guys had a chance to see how offenses attack you. How helpful was that when you see multiple teams trying to do the same thing?) – “The bye week is always helpful, especially coming this late. It gives guys a chance to get healthy and come back in the season at the right time. (You can) look over the things that you didn’t do well and the things that you did do well in the first part of the season, and correct those mistakes and come back ready to finish the season off strong.”
Kenny Stills – November 21, 2018
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Wednesday, November 21, 2018
WR Kenny Stills
(You’ve never been one to complain, but your numbers in terms of catches and targets have been down this year. Is it tougher to get into a rhythm with that being said, or does that never make any difference to you?) – “I’m just focused on winning games. When the ball comes my way, I try to make plays. Nothing productive comes out of me complaining about targets, catches, balls, any of that. As long as we’re winning, I’m happy. And if we’re not winning, I’ve got to figure out ways to help the team win.”
(And the chemistry you and QB Ryan Tannehill have, obviously you’ve built it over years. Could that be a boost not just for you but for a lot of people on this offense?) – “Yeah. We’re excited to have Ryan back. Like I said, it’s about winning games. Whoever we have to have in there to win games, we’re happy about. We want to go out there and make plays and score touchdowns and put points on the board.”
(Health-wise, how are you feeling?) – “I feel great.”
(Are you close to 100 percent or almost there?) – “Yeah. I’m 100 percent.”
(Did the bye week kind of help you with the groin?) – “I think I was fine two weeks ago when we played the Packers. You always feel a little restricted coming off an injury, but I felt like I was fine. That hasn’t been a concern of mine.”
(We’re in the back end of the season. Is there any more urgency to try to fix some of the woes the offense has had this year?) – “We understand there’s six weeks left and everything is out there for the taking. It’s one week at a time. For us to go out there and get a victory this week kind of puts us headed in the right direction.”
(What are your thoughts on the schedule being adjusted this week so the players have Thanksgiving Day off?) – “You appreciate it. It’s not something that you expect. Most of the time, I’m sure other guys are having practice in the morning and then they’re getting afternoons off. It’s something you appreciate. We hope guys take advantage of it, are thankful for it and come back to work on Friday ready to go.”
(The way QB Ryan Tannehill is throwing, does he look back to normal to you this week?) – “Yeah, Ryan looks great. I know there’s always little details and things that he wants to continue to work on, but he looks great.”
(What do you admire most about QB Ryan Tannehill?) – “His attitude and work ethic. From the time that I’ve been here, the time that met him, just the amount of repetitions that he gets, how hard he works at his job. The guy is really competitive. I don’t think a lot of you get to see it or other people get to see it, but when you spend time with him outside of this building, you realize how competitive he is. It’s something that we admire and respect from him.”
Bobby McCain – November 21, 2018
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Wednesday, November 21, 2018
CB Bobby McCain
(Your thoughts on being out of concussion protocol?) – “(I’m) good to go. It’s football, so things happen. (I’m) good to go and I’ll be ready this week.”
(How big of a relief is it that you’re not going to have to miss a game?) – “Big. The bye week was big for us. (It give you) a little extra time to get your body right. Like I said, I don’t want to miss time. I don’t want to miss a game. I’m happy to be back.”
(How do you look at the challenge of facing Colts QB Andrew Luck and the Colts who are very hot right now?) – “They’re a good team. I know he hasn’t been sacked in a little while, so you try and get some smoke in his face. He’s a good player. He’s a good quarterback. He was out for a little while with his injury but now you can see he’s back on track with what he’s doing. It’s a good challenge, a good opportunity for us to go up there and play well and get a W.”
(How big was the bye week for you personally to overcome your symptoms?) – “It was good. It was good for us. It gives you a little extra time, even without the protocol, just throughout the little nicks and knacks of your body. It’s good that we had it late. Now, we can get guys fresh and get guys back on track and go try to win this stretch.”
(How do you plan to maintain that one-game mentality but knowing that there’s six left and you guys need to win more of those?) – “It’s always one game at a time. Always. We know what’s ahead of us but at the end of the day, you can only control what you can control, and that’s one game at a time. Each and every day we’re going in, putting the preparation in and we’re going to go out and try to have a great performance. Regardless of what happens on the field, the one thing we want to leave with is a W.”
(Is there any more pressure trying to fix some of the things you’ve had in the first part of the season knowing that the season is short?) – “No. We know what we’ve done well. We know what we haven’t done very well. Throughout the bye week, (we were) just taking a look at that and understanding how teams will attack you, how coordinators see the defense, how schemes are ran. Taking a look at that is big. Like I said, being able to go through on a bye week and see what teams are doing that are different than the week before, the week after. It’s a great opportunity and we’re going to correct the things that we haven’t been doing right and keep doing well the things we’ve been doing well.”
(Are you going to watch a lot of football tomorrow?) – “Yeah, for sure. A lot of football. Good and full, too.”
(Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving meal that you remember as a kid?) – “My big momma always makes a good Thanksgiving meal – turkey, dressing, ham. We have it all. I’m from Alabama, so we really throw that macaroni. We really throw down.”
(How grateful are you guys, because there are some teams that do practice on Thanksgiving?) – “That’s big. We appreciate it. They know how important it is and we know how important it is for this team, just being with their families. We have a lot of guys that are married, have kids. Not me personally, but a lot of guys that are married and have kids want to be with their family on Thanksgiving. That’s a good deal for us.”
Adam Gase – November 21, 2018
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Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Head Coach Adam Gase
(We’ve seen a good chemistry develop between QB Ryan Tannehill and WR Kenny Stills over time. Is that the type of thing that excites you, to have them back to try to see whether that can get certain guys going that Ryan has had a good on-field rapport with?) – “I think it’s good that they’re both trending in the right direction as far as health-wise. Kenny, especially with the long speed he has and being able to run after catch. Those guys always seem to find a way to hook up down the field. We’ll kind of see how it plays out.”
(Today, what’s the o-line that you’re working with?) – “Whoever is available.”
(Who do you have in?) – “All of them. All of them practiced today except I think maybe Ted (Larsen) was limited. But we’re rotating guys in there and stuff.”
(So today it would have been C Jake Brendel at left guard?) – “It was a little bit today. We move those guys around a lot in practice because we want different guys taking center work and things like that. You’ve just got to be ready for all of that stuff because you’re only going to have seven (active offensive linemen) most of the time, so you have to have a good contingency plan if somebody goes down.”
(What have you seen from T Laremy Tunsil and T Ja’Wuan James when they responded the next day?) – “They seem to keep improving. I feel like both of them were good yesterday and then today it seemed like there was a lot of passing going on, so they’re working their sets a lot. They seem like they’re in better shape than what they were last week, I know that.”
(When you look at your difficulties in the red zone, is there a theme? I haven’t seen dropped passes or penalties or anything like that. Have you detected anything?) – “We’ve missed a couple of opportunities. We just have to get the ball to the right guy. It comes down to when we have our opportunities, we have to hit them. We just haven’t finished the plays the way we need to to get in the end zone.”
(Is there anything you guys can do … is this personal accountability? Execution?) – “We just have to make the play when it’s there, whether it be throw it, catch it, protect it (or) however it works out.”
(What makes Colts WR T.Y. Hilton so unique?) – “He’s really fast. He can stretch the field, which when you have a guy like that, that gets DBs a little nervous so they back off a little bit and make sure he doesn’t beat them over the top. Then all of a sudden he’s catching clean 20-yard routes and he can run after the catch. Any time you get a guy with speed like that, it puts a lot of stress on everybody else.”
(What’s been C Jake Brendel’s trajectory since he’s been here? Has there been a ton of improvement or is there something you look back on or a point where he really sold you guys on keeping him around?) – “I think a lot of it has to do with the longer he’s been around and the more he’s absorbed the offense, the faster and better he’s played. I do think he had a really good energy about him when he came back from that injury. I know that was a long time for him because he didn’t have a choice. He had to wait. I think he was chomping at the bit. He came back and he’s made everything count.”
(Is C Jake Brendel one of your smartest guys?) – “He’s probably up there. I don’t know. I haven’t really given out IQ tests or anything.”
(Are you planning on watching the NFL games tomorrow?) – “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
(When you think of some of the reasons that the team’s overall penalties have decreased this season…) – “I think we’ve been a little up and down. At the beginning of the year we were really low and then we hit like a really bad streak where we dropped down pretty far. It seems like it’s cleaned up a little bit lately. It’s really about just being consistent week in and week out. It all comes down to … That’s why we try to make a big emphasis on individual (periods). It’s fundamentals, technique, hand placement … Do the right things at the beginning of the play to make sure that you’re not putting yourself in a bad position.”
(With tight end snaps, we saw TE A.J. Derby finally healthy and play the most of the group last week. Are tight end snaps for you now mostly who is our best matchup against this particular opponent as opposed to who did well in practice that week? A combination of both?) – “I think some of it is situational. Some of it is moving those guys in and out. We’re trying to make sure we keep the run/pass fairly even. I know sometimes it can get tilted one way or the other. We have different packages for different guys. Some games, one guy’s package might get called more.”
(Colts QB Andrew Luck hasn’t been sacked in five straight games. What does that tell you about what’s going on there?) – “I think their o-line is playing really well. I think he’s doing a good job of getting the ball out. Receivers are doing a good job of getting open. It’s a group thing that occurs when you have a run like that going on. It can’t just be the quarterback. It can’t just be the line. It takes everybody to make sure that … If all of those guys do their job right and the quarterback gets the ball out, that’s when you have a streak like that.”
(Colts QB Andrew Luck for a long time was hurt for so long and now he looks like the Andrew Luck of old.) – “He looks like what I remember. I saw him play maybe like (his) second year (in the league). He’s tough. He can make every throw. He’s got good anticipation. His accuracy is really good. He’s a tough guy to … Him being healthy and the more he’s played, you can see the confidence is going up. Hopefully we just keep him in the pocket. The last thing I want to do is have him get his confidence back and start running around. That’s when it gets really frustrating.”
(With the way Colts QB Andrew Luck is playing and the points they’re putting up, can you guys afford to get into a shootout with them or are you going to have to find a way to hold them down?) – “If we get in a shootout, that means we scored a touchdown, which I’m all for. (laughter) It’s been a while. We need to do everything we can to play team football, so we’ve got to make sure we hold them to field goals if we get them in the red zone. We have to find a way. If we do get a turnover, we have to create points out of that on offense. We can’t let up anything on special teams. We have to be effective of being on the positive in special teams areas. We’ve been talking about it, especially the last couple of weeks, of we don’t have one side favored over the other. We have to play team football and we have to make sure that we’re doing a good job with the turnover margin. Our penalties need to stay down and we have to figure out a way to win the third-down battle.”
(Will you get a chance tomorrow to just take some time and enjoy Thanksgiving?) – “Probably not. They’re not here, so …”
(How did QB Ryan Tannehill respond before practice today and how did he do today?) – “He was good. The last two days, he’s been excited to get out there. I think he was really tired of watching. You can tell he’s fired up. Both days he’s been out there, he’s been excited to be out there.”
Ryan Tannehill – November 20, 2018
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Tuesday, November 20, 2018
QB Ryan Tannehill
(What was your reaction when Head Coach Adam Gase said you’re starting Sunday?) – “I’m excited. It’s been a long road to get back to where I’m at now. It was a tough five, six weeks of grinding, of frustration, of pain, of working through things to finally be healthy enough to play again. I’m really excited about where I’m at.”
(The timing is right for the decision? Before now would have been too soon?) – “Yes, 100 percent. We had a process we were going through this whole time. The last time I talked to you guys, I tried to make it happen sooner and it just wasn’t ready. I didn’t have the arm strength, didn’t get it there. I shut it back down and then over this past bye week, we were able to have a throwing program and progress all the way through. I feel really good. Obviously, I’m not quite 100 percent, but I feel confident and have made all the throws that I’m going to need to make over the course of a game.”
(When was it that you guys tried to go again and you had to shut it down? Was that before the bye week?) – “Yes. That was – I don’t even know … three weeks ago?”
(You had said before that it hurt every time you threw and you were kind of resigned at that being the reality of the rest of the season. Is that still the case?) – “I don’t know if it’s going to be the rest of the season. Obviously, I’m not completely pain-free now; but it’s at a tolerable rate and it’s something that I can deal with. It doesn’t affect any throws that I make.”
(Were you worried that you were going to have to adjust the motion that you had to do based on the injury?) – “That’s one thing we didn’t want to do. If you had to adjust, then you’re running into other problems whether it be elbow issues or different shoulder issues. That was something that we were kind of working through is making sure that I was able to have a consistent motion that fits the way I throw the ball in order to not run into other issues. You could probably figure out a way to get especially shorter throws there, without getting your arm all the way up or all the way back, whatever it may be. But as far as pushing the ball downfield, you’re not going to be able to make those throws and you’re going to cause yourself other problems as you move forward.”
(What would be the latest thing that a doctor or doctors told you about how healed it is?) – “It’s something that is purely off feel at this point. We got the MRI way back and saw what we saw. Four or five doctors were all on the same page of what it was and it’d just be kind of working through it and it’s purely off feel at this point. Everyone is confident that no further injury is going to be caused by playing through it at this point, with where it’s at in the healing process, and confident moving forward.”
(Two years ago when the knee happened, you guys were on a roll and the team went to the playoffs without you. Now you come back tied for the sixth seed and you have a chance to go on a roll and make the playoffs. What’s your mindset with that?) – “I’m excited. We have a lot of football in front of us. Obviously, one game at a time; but I firmly believe that if we take care of business, then we control our own destiny. It’s going to be a matter of going out each and every week and performing and winning football games.”
(Do you personally plan on playing as if you’ve never been away? Is that a realistic expectation for you in this game?) – “Yeah, I think so. I think you have to step in and play your game. I feel confident. I don’t feel like any aspect of my game is taken away as far as running the football, getting outside the pocket. I’ve been doing that throughout my rehab the past week, making throws outside the pocket. The doctors are confident it’s not something that taking a hit running the football or anything like that is going to affect the injury that I had. I feel completely confident that we can do all the things that we’ve done in this offense.”
(You mentioned when you talked to us first, that the type of way that you got hit before can be the only way that it could worsen. How do you kind of prevent from that being a possibility?) – “I mean it’s always a possibility. That’s kind of the nature of the game. There’s always a possibility of taking a freak hit or getting your arm grabbed or whatever it may be. You can’t really think about that or plan for it. You play fast, get the ball out on time, trust your tackles and move up in the pocket. Past that, you just have to play football.”
(How different is this offense now personnel-wise than the one for the Cincinnati game?) – “It’s a little bit different obviously, losing a couple guys. Jakeem (Grant) going down, Albert (Wilson) going down, DeVante (Parker) is dinged up. The offensive line has changed. It’s definitely some different personnel, but I think bringing in Brice (Butler) will help us outside. He had some big catches today at practice. He’s shown speed, long range. (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase showed the quarterbacks some highlights of his time in Dallas, so we kind of have to get a feel of what he brings to the table. Obviously what we saw out of practice today is a guy with a lot of range and speed, good hands. He made a couple of big catches away from his body. We’re excited about what he brings to the table. We have Kenny (Stills). Kenny is still out there. We’re going to have to get our tight ends involved and our running backs as well. We still have a lot of good skill players that we can get the ball to, just maybe different guys than it was in Cincinnati.”
(I believe it’s been nine quarters since the offense has scored a touchdown. How do you get that turned around and what needs to happen for it to turn around?) – “I just think we have to execute and do our job. I think it goes all the way around, everyone who steps on the field. If we just go out and do our job and execute, we’ll end up in the end zone. It has to be finishing through the end zone. I think the past few games, we’ve moved the ball well and then got to the red zone and kind of stalled out. That’s going to be huge for us, is to be able to finish through the end zone and get seven points on those drives and not come away with three.”
(I might be wrong but it feels like you’re a little tired of talking about your health. Is that fair?) – “I understand. That’s unfortunately the position we’re in. But yeah, I’m ready to put this behind me and move forward and start winning football games.”
(Every shoulder injury is different, and I have no idea of the details of Colts QB Andrew Luck’s shoulder, but it just occurred to me that he has bounced back from a shoulder injury to play really well. What have you noticed about that and is it sort of encouraging that this great quarterback also bounced back from a shoulder problem?) – “I haven’t followed it too closely. I know that they’re playing good football right now. I know he was dealing with stuff throughout the offseason and kind of delayed camp maybe or something like that. He seems to be playing really well right now. I don’t know exactly what he had going on, but I have a ton of respect for Andrew and he’s playing really well right now.”
(Different players use different motivations for why they play and what they want to accomplish. What are you playing for these final six games?) – “I’m playing for the guys around me. I see how much work these guys put in. I believe in these guys, I believe we have a lot of football in front of us and we can go win a lot of football games. I’m going to give it everything I have with these guys and hopefully come out with wins.”
(It could come down to a shootout against the Colts considering how many points they put up. With the pain that comes with throwing the ball, how do you mentally prepare yourself for that if you do have to throw quite a bit?) – “I’m not concerned with the amount of throws. I’ve had big throwing sessions – over 100 throws – throughout the last week and a bunch today. I don’t know how many I had today. I’m not concerned. It’s at a tolerable level. It’s not something where it’s killer. It doesn’t feel like I’m getting stabbed or anything like that. It’s a tolerable pain. It’s not an issue. I have a ton of respect for this defense. They’re playing good football right now. They play very good fundamentally, they tackle well, they’re in their spots and we’re going to have to sustain drives. They don’t give up a lot of big plays. They do a good job of taking things away down the field. We just have to sustain drives and make the plays that are there.”
(As far as the shoulder, do you have to do anything extra to loosen it up or anything extra after practice to treat it?) – “Of course. It’s a work in process. It’s a process to get things going and get loose and go. Once I’m loose, then I feel really good. It’s a maintenance process of continuing to rehab and build the muscles around. It will be something that I think we’ll sustain the rest of the year is the process of getting ready to go and then rehabbing as well.”
(How confident are you of where you’re at right now from where you were and how can you keep that the last couple weeks of the season?) – “I think even if it stays where it’s at for the rest of the year, I’m totally confident in where it’s at. Hopefully it gets better; but if it doesn’t, then I’m totally okay with that and we can get fully healthy in the offseason. I can make all of the throws and do what I need to do. That won’t be an issue. As far as how far I’ve come, it’s been a big step from first injuring and trying to throw a few weeks later and just really couldn’t throw. That was the stabbing pain and I just didn’t have any juice on the ball. From there to here has been huge steps, and now I’m okay if it’s incremental steps or minimal steps.”
(The offense has been up and down most of the season. With six games left, maybe needing four of those to make the playoffs, is there any extra pressure now to fix some of these issues that have been plaguing the offense quicker or sooner rather than later?) – “We have to go out and execute. I think consistency is our issue. At times, we move the ball well. At times, we’ve scored touchdowns. It’s just been hit or miss on what it’s going to be, whether it’s turning the ball over, explosives, not playing well on third down. We have to be able to put it together for a full game. Sustain drives, convert third downs and then get the ball in the end zone in the red zone. We’ve shown at times, like I said, all aspects of that. We just have to be able to play consistent and put it together. I think we can do it, I believe we can do it; we just have to go make it happen.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase said he thought you were juiced up on Monday. Can you describe your emotions this week and when he told you that you’re going to be our guy?) – “Of course I’m excited. It’s been a hard five weeks of sitting out and kind of sitting back and itching, biting at the bit and doing everything I can to get back out there. To finally be healthy enough to get out there and go and be with my guys, I’m really excited and looking forward to the opportunity.”
