T Austin Jackson
(We’re not sure when we’ll get a chance to talk to you again after today. It could be many months, so I was going to ask if you could please just reflect on your rookie season – what you think you’ve done well and where you think you need to improve moving forward?) – “What I think I’ve done well, I think I’ve done a good job just showing up every day and getting better. There’s a lot of new things, new adjustments from college to the pros, but one little thing I try to live by is I try not to make the same mistake twice. So whenever I come into a situation, make sure I do what I’ve got to do to get past it and get better, and make sure I’m getting better every single day. And things to improve on, there’s a lot of things you can get better on, especially when your goal is to be the best; so I’m always going to be working to get better and better at everything.”
(Many players make jumps between their freshman and sophomore seasons in college and their first and second years in the NFL. How strongly do you feel that you will be a much better player next season?) – “How strongly do I feel? I feel pretty strong about it. I feel pretty strong about it. Like you said, the game slows down the longer you play. I think the first year, you learn a lot. The second year, you kind of a handle more, so I would say I would expect to get a lot better next year, and then the year after that and then the year after that.”
(I wanted to ask you about RB Myles Gaskin. Statistically, he is the ninth-most productive player in the NFL per game with 99.4 scrimmage yards a game. What have you done this season, particularly in the run game, that has led to that kind of success?) – “Being a dog, I guess. He does it all. Throw him the ball, he’ll get yards, make people miss. Running the ball, he’s going to hit the gap, he’s going to find an opening, get through, break arm tackles. That’s just kind of his mentality. Every play he lines up like it’s a new play and comes with aggression. I think that’s how he does it. Kudos to him.”
(I don’t know if we spoke about this with you much during the season, but did you have any experience playing right tackle ever in high school or college before joining the team?) – “Yeah, you’ve asked me that a couple times. (laughter) I did play right tackle my freshman year of college. Yeah, I can play anywhere on the o-line, really.”
(I wanted to ask you about Jerry Hughes and the rest of that Bills pass rush. What are you doing to get ready for them and what are some of the challenges they present to your offensive line in pass pro?) – “What are the challenges they present to our offensive line in pass pro? They’re good rushers. They have two 10-year guys on the end … I think the only thing we have to do is just be decisive and execute. That’s it. They’re a great team, so we’re going to have to bring our A-game, especially to them. Like I said earlier, they’ve played a long time. They’ve got a lot of tools in their belt, so just making sure we show up to the party ready.”
(Looking back on your rookie year once again, what’s one thing that comes to mind as far as something about your NFL experience that surprised you?) – “COVID, for sure; but I’ll never forget pregame warmups against the Patriots – first game of the year. I’m just walking off the field like, ‘Wow, this is really the Patriots stadium,’ and I see Cam Newton running right past me. It’s my first time ever seeing Cam Newton. That was probably the most kind of surreal moment in the NFL. I love getting down and playing football every day, but when stuff like that – that’s when it really hits you where you are, seeing guys you’ve been watching on TV since middle school.”
(On that same line, I wanted to ask you about your relationship about Head Coach Brian Flores during the year?) – “My relationship with Coach Flores, it’s good. It’s good. When he’s not talking to you, it’s good, because that means you’re not messing up. (laughter) He doesn’t talk to me too much, so that’s a good thing. (laughter)”
(It was just about if there was anything different this week knowing what you’re playing for or a sense of urgency? Something different that you sense during the week.) – “It’s definitely a big game. You can’t hide it. You don’t want to do anything out of the ordinary because when you start trying to do too much, I think that’s where you get away from your identity. So we know it’s a big game, but we know what we’ve got to do to execute and a little piece of advice is you don’t want to get too high, you don’t want to get too low. You want to execute and do your job because getting too down and too up, it brings too many other issues.”
(You mentioned QB Cam Newton. Were there any other defensive ends or defensive players that you went up against that you have some familiarity with coming in, but when you saw them in person you were taken back at first?) – “No, not really. Of course, there are a lot of defensive ends and guys on defense that – there are a lot of different people. It feels like every week there is somebody new that I used to watch on tv or drafted in my little Madden fantasy. It’s like that every week, but now I’m more used to it. For Cam Newton to be the first one I see, that was like ‘whoa.’ That was different. But I see different people every day that I’m like ‘wow, I remember you,’ and stuff like that.”
(What specifically have you and G Solomon Kindley and T Robert Hunt had a competition about? The number of pancake blocks, the fewest sacks allowed? What have you been competing playfully amongst the three of you and what’s the prize for the winner?) – “We compete in everything we do. I don’t think it’s a set prize. We don’t have a set prize. It’s more like, you see someone off their A-game and you go correct them. You let them know. That’s what we do. Luckily for us, we’re usually on the same page for the most part, about how we want to dominate, so that’s a good thing for us.”
Head Coach Brian Flores
(If WR DeVante Parker is able to go on Sunday, it will probably be a great opportunity for him to help out offensively. How important is it for you guys to have him back and also as close to full strength as possible?) – “He’s working hard to get back. We’ll see how this goes. But the guys we have out there – receivers, running backs, o-line, quarterback – we’ve just got to put our best foot forward, have our best effort and best execution against a very good football team. Whoever we have out there, we’ve got to execute against a good football team.”
(You’re always kind enough to tell us on Friday when we visit with you who is questionable, who is doubtful. Do you have that list as of yet for the five guys in question?) – “Jakeem Grant, Solomon Kindley, Shaq Lawson and DeVante Parker are all questionable. Limited, questionable today. You said there was another guy – Bobby (McCain) was full, so he’s good to go. Just four guys are listed as questionable.”
(RB Myles Gaskin, I crunched the numbers and it kind of blew my mind that he’s like the ninth-most productive offensive player in the league per game at 99.4 scrimmage yards. What is it about his game that has allowed him to perk up in terms of productivity in recent weeks?) – “I think he does a good job in the run game, he does a good job in the pass game and he runs well with the football. He can play on all three downs. He’s got more opportunities and he’s taken advantage of them when he’s been available. He’s made a lot of improvement over the last two seasons. Hopefully we continue to make that improvement and we play our best as a team on Sunday.”
(What’s your reaction to the QB Ryan Fitzpatrick news and what it means to not even just have him out there on the sideline and him being just a huge part of this team whether he’s on the field or not this year?) – “I was disappointed, but he’s a big part of this team. I’m disappointed for him more than anything. I know how important this team is to him. But at the same time, we’ve dealt with adversity throughout the season, whether it’s COVID, whether it’s injury, whether it’s – we’ve had guys out in multiple games and recently. So we’ll just push forward and give our best effort on Sunday.”
(How optimistic are you with the protocols you’ve had in place that you’ve been able to isolate this with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick?) – “I think (Head Athletic Trainer) Kyle Johnston and our medical staff, they’ve done a tremendous job. He’s all over everyone about masks and distancing. We’ve taken every precaution, we’ve followed the protocols as far as close contacts and we’re in good shape from that standpoint. I think just overall throughout this entire year, with the different changes from the protocol, to going into intensive protocols for the entire league – everything we do from bus rides, plane rides, meeting spaces, how we meet, how we can’t meet. There are a lot of things that we’re used to that we haven’t been able to do this particular season, and a lot of that is from the direction of the league and Kyle Johnston, honestly. He’s a big part of this team and a big part of that facet, obviously the medical part and injuries. There’s nothing more important than the health of the team, and Kyle does an incredible job. Kyle and Troy (Maurer) and Nao (Inoue) and (Jon) Boone and Jasmin (Grimes) and the entire training staff. We can’t play if the guys aren’t healthy. Just like we can’t practice if the field guys don’t line the field. Our helmets and shoes and all of that stuff, we can’t play without the equipment, so everybody is important. I think Kyle has done a great job with what a lot of what we’ve done from a protocol standpoint. It’s ongoing. Every night it’s ongoing. We’ll hopefully continue to do as best we can. Like we’ve said all year, you can do everything right but it’s airborne, so it’s nobody’s fault and guys can still get it, which they have. Hopefully we’ve done everything we can and I think Kyle has spearheaded that.”
S Bobby McCain
(What would making the playoffs mean to you personally?) – “It’d just be big just because that’s something you know that we’ve worked for. You know the work you’ve put in all year and to have a game like this to be able to prepare for, you-win-you’re-in type deal; so it’ll be a big accomplishment for us as a team and myself as well, because this is what you work for.”
(Year 2 for you at safety. It’s gone well in our eyes, but just in your words, how has it gone for you? Are you happy with how you’ve played through 16 weeks at safety?) – “You can definitely be better from time to time and just getting better each and every week was one of my goals that I started at the beginning of the year. Getting better every week and making plays and doing your job, doing what you’re supposed do, there ain’t too much more people can ask of you. So it’s just trying to be better every and this week is another week we try to get better. There’s always things you can correct and fix in your game and you only get 16 opportunities to go out there and do it, so I wouldn’t necessarily say – I’m not going to sit here and judge myself on how I played, but I just know I want to get better, keep getting better and keep making plays.”
(Obviously it’s the second matchup with the Bills this year, playing them back in Week 2. How would you say you guys have evolved as a defense since Week 2 and how would you say the passing attack of the Buffalo Bills has evolved since that game?) – “We know the Bills are playing really good football right now. Josh Allen is playing at a high level, Stefon Diggs is playing at a high level, Cole Beasley is playing at a high level. Offensively, they’re playing really well. Their defense has always been good, so we know what we’re up against. We know it’s going to be a hard-fought game. It’s going to be a dogfight until the end and that’s what we’re prepared for.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores said something earlier this week – he told us that Assistant Defensive Backs Coach Curt Kuntz leads a lot of the third-down meetings and I haven’t gotten to know him yet. Can you tell me what his approach is like?) – “He’s just very detailed in his explanations of what’s going on throughout the week and third downs as you said. He’s very detailed, a very good coach, and he helps us out because I’m not – correct me if I’m wrong – I believe we’re one of the top third-down teams in the league, so give him his credit where credit is due.”
DT Raekwon Davis
(I’m wondering what it’s like to watch football games when you’re a football player, of the team you want to win. Of course, I mean Alabama. What’s that like when you want them to win but there’s nothing much you can do about it?) – “Yeah, most definitely I want them to win. I want them to go out there and destroy those boys. Yeah, when I get done with this, I’m going to go home and get everything ready and everything situated and I’m going to have my eye on the game.”
(We’re not sure when we’ll talk to you again. I was just going to ask you, your play this year has obviously been encouraging. How close are you to how good you think you can be as an NFL player?) – “Not even close yet. Not even close.”
(Going back to the Alabama game, how much trash talking have you been doing with TE Durham Smythe?) – “I don’t really trash talk. I don’t really like trash talking. I just hear all of the stuff and what’s going on. I just let it go through one ear and out of the other.”
(The latest forecast for Buffalo is just a little bit of wintry mix. Not that bad, maybe in the 30s, maybe an inch of snow. Have you played a game in a little bit of snow or frozen rain or sleet or anything like that?) – “No, I’ve never played a game like that. It might be fun. I might be able to get me a snowman or a snow angel.”
