T.J. McDonald – October 22, 2018
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Monday, October 22, 2018
S T.J McDonald
(What’s the most important thing when you have an accelerated week like this for you guys?) – “Put the old stuff behind you and just focus. This is a big mental week. When you’re playing on such a short week, it’s going to be more mental because you don’t have as much time to prepare. Physically, your body is not going to be at the shape as it was from the week before. The more mentally prepared team usually comes out on top.”
(Did you guys review the tape from yesterday or do you just move forward to Thursday?) – “No, we’ve got our personal game notes and things like that from the coaches. We’ve got things like that but as a group, we haven’t reviewed the tape yet.”
(What have they said about the defense yesterday?) – “We haven’t met as a group yet. But the biggest thing was just executing the calls that were called, getting lined up quickly, making sure we see what’s going on out of the huddle and get lined up, get our feet in the ground, read our keys and just play.”
(Did it feel like yesterday that no matter what you guys did you just couldn’t turn the tide?) – “You can say that. That’s hindsight, you can say that; but in the moment, we’ve had times like that in the past throughout the season and we were able to come up with a big play and change it. We just weren’t able to make that play.”
(What did it mean to have DE Cameron Wake and CB Bobby McCain back out there yesterday?) – “It was huge just for the dynamic of this team. They are two great players, two great teammates to have. (They are) guys that bring a lot of energy. To have them back, you can kind of just feel through the week of practice having them back. I feel real comfortable with them out there and we’ve got two good leaders.”
(What’s unique about QB Desean Watson?) – “He can do a whole lot. He can run, he can pass, he brings a lot of energy to that team. He’s been fun to watch in his short time in the league so far. I’ve definitely got to watch tape on him and study as much as we can and the biggest thing for us is going to be executing the things we want to do.”
(You know that playing at home is generally better than playing on the road and traveling for a Thursday night game is even tougher I assume. Is there anything good about traveling to a Thursday night game and can you remember in your experience having success as the away team on Thursday night?) – “I’ve definitely won away games … Actually it was against Houston. I’m not sure if it was a Thursday night game or not; but I think that any time you’re away, you have to go up with a pack mentality, us against everybody. All of the outside noise is kind of quiet. You have to find your momentum and juices from within, from within the squad. We’ve just got to make sure we come up and bring our own energy, pack our own energy, make sure we mentally prepare all week and I think that we’ll be alright.”
(What are your interactions with QB Brock Osweiler and what are your thoughts on him as a teammate?) – “He’s been confident since he’s got in here. He’s been confident, he’s brought a spark. That’s all you can ask from a guy in that situation. When you have a quarterback who played like he did yesterday, we didn’t have his back like we should have. Everybody has got to improve, but he’s been confident. He’s come out there with a swagger about him and he’s been good. We can’t ask for much more with what he’s been doing since he’s been in and filling in, and not having a drop off or anything like that. Coming in and facing one of the top defenses in the league and to be able to respond the way that he did and come back yesterday and play the way that he did, he’s been good. He’s brought a spark, had a swagger about him and confidence.”
(You guys get to go against WR Leonte Carroo and WR Isaiah Ford most of the time at practice on the looks team. What have you seen from them that shows you that they are ready to contribute?) – “They compete. Every day in practice they compete. Carroo is a guy who’s been active before. He’s seen a game and caught balls. I know one thing about those guys is that they’re going to compete and that they’re going to listen and do whatever they are asked to do.”
(You guys have 11 sacks right now. I guess the pass rush has helped you get the interceptions that lead the league. What have you thought about the pass rush overall? How effective has it been and what needs to improve you think?) – “Rush and coverage works together, so we’re all working together. I can’t pinpoint one thing over the other. When we cover the guys and have them covered and make the quarterback hold the ball a little bit, they usually get to the quarterback and vice versa. I think that the turnovers that we have and the sacks we have both feed off of each other.”
(We’ve heard WR Jakeem Grant has a nickname with you guys as ‘The Bully.’ What is it that makes him so difficult for you guys to try to defend and what makes him so tough?) – “He’s just full of heart. He’s a guy that’s going to go out there and people look at his size and think one thing. When we were out there at camp, he was blocking well. Everybody sees him take the top off and he was out there full of heart, not scared to get into it. That’s what we’ve seen from him. He’s going to go out there and whatever he’s asked to do he’s going to give it 110 percent, whether that’s taking the top off the defense or blocking in the run game. He takes a lot of pride in that. I know he does.”
