River Cracraft – August 9, 2023
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Wednesday, August 9, 2023
WR River Cracraft
(Tell me about these teams that you guys put together. Is it like when you’re a kid and the kickball team, one guy picks a guy and then the other guy picks a guy? Is that how it goes down or what?) – “What are you talking about with the teams?”
(The wide receiver teams.) – “Oh, it’s just a friendly competition within the room. You know, we have a little point system of catches, key blocks and big plays, and we have a fun time with it. Is this guy holding? Is he not? Does it count? Does it not? It’s just a little extra incentive to be competitive in the room.”
(WR Jaylen Waddle was saying his GM skills – he wouldn’t divulge who was on his team. But, are you on his team? Are you on team Tyreek Hill) – “I was ‘Reek’s’ (Tyreek Hill) first pick.”
(Tyreek’s first pick?) – “Yeah, I know, bold strategy. (laughter) We’ve got to bounce back on our team. I know Jaylen’s (Waddle) team has won a few more days. We’ve got some big-play guys over there, so we’ve got to step it up.”
(Is that a lot of pressure being the first pick?) – “No, no. It’s right where you want to be. You got some eyes on you. It’s fun.”
(So the loser has to treat the other team?) – “That’s right. Yeah, we’ve got to treat to dinner.”
(Is this weekly, daily or what?) – “Honestly, I’m not sure. I think it’s a week or a couple of weeks or something. It’s just finding a way to be competitive. So, if we’ve got to take the guys to dinner, then so be it. But it’s not a big deal.”
(What’s the nicest thing you all have eaten so far?) – “There nicest thing we’ve eaten, like as a group? We went down to Komodo last year. That was a good experience. They got some good food there.”
(So this competition has been going on for two years?) – “No, no, the competition is new. Yeah, we just went as a group last year.”
(So who determines the point system? Is it a coach that’s pointing it up?) – “Just collectively, the room. We kind of grade each other. So whatever everyone agrees on.”
(We know that Head Coach Mike McDaniel was not pleased with yesterday’s practice from the offensive standpoint. He said, “if the goal was to be average, I’m super pumped.” How do you think the offense responded today?) – “I think we had our moments. The whole point of training camp is coming out here and getting better and improving each day on the things that we focus on. So with the things that we had in mind to get better at today, I think we did a good job. We took a step in the right direction and we finished well there at the end with Skylar (Thompson) throwing that great ball. So we’ve just got to continue to come out and improve on the little things.”
(Were you near that little brouhaha that WR Robbie Chosen was involved in?) – “I was over there just trying to get my guys out. I feel like I never see actually what happens. I’m always kind of late to the party. I don’t know if I’m just dialed into the play or whatnot. But I kind of went over there and I saw people talking and I just tried to pull my guys out. I still actually don’t know what happened or who was involved. But yeah, hope that answers your question.”
(Tough to see WR Jaylen Waddle go down. What goes through your mind when you see one of your guys like that goes down?) – “It’s hard. Jaylen is one of our leaders and I have no idea what happened to him. I hope he’s all right. But it’s an opportunity for guys to step up. I think we did a good job of stepping up today in the event that Jaylen goes down or something like that. It’s very realistic to have guys go down in practice and in games, so it gives other guys opportunities to step up.”
(We know that practice is going to be a give-and-take with the offense and the defense whether you’re facing your own defense or another defense. Has Head Coach Mike McDaniel said anything to you guys about just kind of like working through the growing pains of Year 2 in the system, and just kind of any messages on that?) – “I think as an offense, our expectations are higher for ourselves. So we just try to come out every day and be better than we were the day before. Given the fact that we have been in this offense for one year, we expect better from us right now. So we’re going to continue to go in that direction.”
(You’ve spent a couple offseasons with Head Coach Mike McDaniel as either your head coach or offensive coordinator. What are some things that maybe set him apart when he goes into an offseason? How does he approach it, his mindset? Do you notice anything different about him the next year?) – “I don’t know. I mean, he’s very involved. He’s very aware of his personnel and he knows his guys and I respect that a lot. I’ve been places where that hasn’t been present. So it’s very nice to have somebody as involved as he is and care as much as he does about everybody on the team. I think it really shows and it affects at least how I can bring myself to the table every single day.”
(Do things from the previous season tend to eat away at Head Coach Mike McDaniel. Have you heard him come back to a new season and say “Okay, this is what we did last year. I’ve been thinking about this for a few months. This is how we’re going to change it.”) – “I think that might just be a question for Coach McDaniel. Sorry.”
