Tuesday, September 8, 2020
G/T Jesse Davis
(Now that it’s officially Week 1 and the depth chart is out obviously, where do you think the offensive line is at as a whole in terms of gelling with you being the only returner and a lot of new faces right there starting with the starters?) – “I think everybody’s done a good job gelling together. We spent a lot of time in the offseason doing it and then we have a lot of this so called, call it ‘in-house preseason looks’ that we got together, so I think everybody did a really good job and we’ll see what we have come Sunday.”
(Do any of the rookies seem a little bit in over their heads this week? Do you find yourself kind of trying to calm guys down or try to reassure them a little bit more than usual?) – “No. No, I haven’t seen any uneasiness or any anxiety or anything out of them. I think they’ve all done a good job. I think with our game plan, everybody’s pretty prepared and with Day 1 – it’s only Tuesday – so hopefully at the end of the week, we’ll see how everybody handles it. But I think everybody’s ready to go.”
(From going up against him in practice, what do you think is the quality of this defensive line? It seems much improved obviously – DE Emmanuel Ogbah, DE Shaq Lawson, DT Raekwon Davis, etc.?) – “I think they’ve got a solid lineup. (Emmanuel) Ogbah’s really good. Shaq Lawson has proven that he’s a good player. (Davon) Godchaux had a great year last year. The rookie Raekwon (Davis) coming in, everybody seems to be doing really well and I’m excited to watch them go play.”
(I wanted to ask you in what ways do you think this team is better than it was a year ago?) – “I think just everybody that we had last year in the building. ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is returning to getting some veteran players as well on the o-line and the running back situation seems like it’s doing well. The receiver corps is doing group and I think organization’s got a lot of good players and a lot of good people that they want, that’s shown that there’s no quit, no lip or anything like that. They’re just ready to play with the d-line to the back fields, and I think this coaching staff has shown that. They’ve done a really good job putting together a program.”
(Talking about the rookies and what they might be feeling this week, take us back a few years as a rookie, you were just cool and calm and no butterflies whatsoever as a rookie right?) – “You try to act like it and then once you get out there, it’s a little bit different with seeing things and trying to figure it out when really you don’t really know how it’s going to be, how it’s going to play out; but you learn as you go. You’re kind of thrown into the fire a little bit and then you either survive or you don’t and we’ll see what happens.”
(My question is about the Patriots and the way they’re going to attack you on Sunday. They’ve got plenty of guys up front that are kind of new to whether it’s the NFL or just haven’t played that many snaps in the NFL. How does that change your preparation for Sunday with guys that maybe you don’t have as much NFL tape on?) – “I think you just kind of do your best. You try to research as much as you can, who you have and then you kind of go from there. I think with everything going on everybody’s in the same boat; so they kind of know how I play, but I don’t know how their rookies are going to play, who’s going to line up with their d-line situation. You just go out there and you try to do your best and then you come to the sideline, communicate and then whoever makes the best changes will probably win that game.”
(I was noticing during one of the NBA games in the bubble between the Mavs and the Clippers that the Clippers players were cheering really loudly trying to knock Luka Doncic off his game a little bit. Do you guys think that you will need some energy on the sidelines, you guys are going to have to cheer on for each other, energy, bring the juice for you guys on Sunday?) – “I don’t know. I don’t think I can hear my teammates cheering for me or something like that. I don’t think that’s going to be a factor. I think it’s just keeping your composure when you’re out there – not panicking, not doing something out of the ordinary and just kind of staying in that little even level, even keel. Just not getting too high, not getting too low and then communicating. That’s going to be the biggest part with us, is what we see and we can adjust to on the run.”
(How did you guys find out that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was the starter?) – “I don’t think we really had a meeting on it or anything. I was just kind of assuming that since he was taking all the reps that’s how it was going to be; and I think watching Tua (Tagovailoa) develop, it’s just been great seeing him develop as a pro athlete and how he’s picked up things and how he is with ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) and how ‘Fitz’ is with him and with how ‘Fitz’ is with us. I think it’s just kind of an assumed thing.”
(What’s your impression – what do you think it’ll be like to play in a stadium without fans?) – “I was kind of preparing myself for that. I don’t know how it’s going to be. I think it’s going to be kind of either a dead feeling or it’ll just kind of feel like practice. I don’t know. It’s going to be interesting to say the least.”
(I know obviously Offensive Line Coach Steve Marshall is doing a lot with the young kids but have you and C Ted Karras and G Ereck Flowers talked about doing anything special this week with G Solomon Kindley and T Austin Jackson? I’ll throw G/T Robert Hunt in there too, but obviously Solomon has been identified as first-team as has Austin. Have you guys paid extra attention to meetings about the Patriots?) – “We kind of took them aside with Rob (Hunt) or with Austin (Jackson) and Solomon (Kindley), just kind of telling them how they’re going to play and what to expect. It’s early on in the week right now. We haven’t really got too much into third-down stuff or anything. It’s kind of early downs, so we’ve just kind of been telling them how they’re going to play us and what to expect with movements to adjustments. So I think with everybody doing a good job, with (Offensive Line Coach Steve) Marshall kind of telling us what to expect as well; but I just know from experience playing these guys what to expect, too.”
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
LB Jerome Baker
(Do you remember the last football player that you tackled in a football game? My point is, it’s been a long time since you actually tackled somebody right?) – “Right, right.”
(Do you remember it? I know it was the Patriots.) – “I have no idea. No, (it was) the last play. Who was it? White? James White? I think he was the last person I tackled actually. They kept doing the lateral stuff. I think he was the last person I tackled.”
(Are you wondering how sharp all of the tackling is going to be?) – “I think naturally it’s going to be a little sloppy just across the league. That’s why we work on it every day. That’s why we go so hard on it now. I think that’s pretty much around the whole league. We all haven’t tackled in so long, we all haven’t really got that much time as we’re used to. Over time, we’ll definitely get better at that. We’ve been working on it every day, but we’ve still got to go out there and perform.”
(Head Coach Brian Flores told us that you guys voted the three captains with S Bobby McCain, LB Elandon Roberts and with LB Kyle Van Noy. Specifically with Kyle and Elandon, they haven’t been around here that long. What did it mean to vote them as captains and can you speak on the presence that they’ve given you and obviously heading into Week 1 against their former team?) – “Yeah. What’s unique about them is they’ve played in this system. They really know the ins and outs and they do a great job of vocalizing that and making sure everybody knows what things to look out for. They just have a lot of experience, really. They are great people off the field, so definitely ‘E-Rob’ (Elandon Roberts) and Kyle, they are great leaders. It wasn’t really no surprise of them being captains. Definitely congratulations to them.”
(What’s a realistic goal for you guys as a defense as far as ranking? What you guys can be by year’s end?) – “Realistically, that’s hard. That’s really hard because nobody really knows what’s going to happen for sure. The one thing I do know is we definitely take pride in different things – batting the ball down, interceptions, sacks. Just the regular – every defense has those goals. We have our goals and we truly strive for that every day. Our goals are not just on Sundays, but actually during practice. That’s the one thing we definitely strive for.”
(LB Kyle Van Noy, LB Elandon Roberts and even LB Kamu Gruiger-Hill I think have spent some time in that organization. To kind of give you an inside look at the Patriots mystique and how they kept it rolling for so long and the faces would change but the result would stay the same; have they drawn back the curtain a little bit on that place?) – “What’s funny is that they don’t really talk about the Patriots too much. You know me, I like to know things. I keep asking about it, but it’s kind of hard to get the little things out of them. The one thing they really truly only talk about is honestly football. That’s really all they talk about, just the different things they had. The one thing they always bring up is that you have to be consistent because being consistent and truly getting better throughout the year – that’s the one thing they bring up, just being consistent. No matter who’s in – that person that comes in that’s new, whoever it is, you’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to do the same thing. You’ve got to truly just get better. They don’t really talk about the Patriots too much.”
(I found it really, really funny that Head Coach Brian Flores came up to you and said that his kids love when you say “Jerome is in the house!” How would you say Flores has evolved himself as a coach and as a person with you guys from last year to this year?) – “I don’t think he’s really evolved that much I wouldn’t say that. It’s more that people are starting to see how he really is. He smiles, he jokes around, he truly loves his players. He likes building that connection. I think now people are finally starting to see it. That’s pretty much one thing. I always find it funny with him. His kids, they truly think I made up ‘Jerome is in the house!’ But everybody knows that came from Martin, so shout out Martin!”
(You had a solid year last year, no question. Where do you think you can be better as an NFL football player? And has either Head Coach Brian Flores, Defensive Coordinator Josh Boyer or Linebackers Coach Anthony Campanile told you that you’re a good player, but we think there is more there that you haven’t tapped into yet?) – “Yeah, they do a good job of just pushing me every day. Even going back to last year, I can make a good play – for example, an interception or whatever it is – they still get on me about that of, ‘Yeah, you caught an interception, that’s cool; but you could’ve had a pick-six.’ Even this year, there is just more pressure of they want me to get better in all phases of the game. If it’s pad level, if it’s hand placement, if it’s rushing the passer, coverage. Whatever it is, they stay on top of me to get better and be consistent every play. The one thing I know is ‘Camp’ (Anthony Campanile) always gets on me (about) getting off blocks – getting off blocks clean. That’s the one thing that in this offseason has been grinding in my head. We’ve been working on it nonstop, so I’m definitely excited.”
(When you think about all the guys you’ve added, there is probably seven of them between DE Shaq Lawson and DE Emmanuel Ogbah and CB Byron Jones and CB Noah Igbinoghene – I could keep saying more and more names. How would you describe the overall talent has increased in the defensive group?) – “We definitely – talent-wise, we definitely got better. But one thing that is unique is all of the guys we have, they truly work hard in the sense of they go hard no matter who it is. Our expectations for whoever is in are high no matter who it is. That’s the one unique thing of even just rushing the passer. I might not have that much experience, but Shaq gets on me on how to do it. Kyle, he coaches me up on how to do it. The expectations do not change no matter who it is. Just having that, I think that raises everybody. It’s not just the individual player; but everybody in the room, it just raises your game. That’s one unique thing that truly I’m excited just to see, because it’s going to be a race to the quarterback. It’s going to be fun.”
(For so long, there was a quarterback that was associated with New England and when you went in there you think of Tom Brady. Have you reminded yourself, have you had to remind yourself that it’s going to be Cam Newton? Is it still hard to kind of grasp?) – “I think now, just our week to week thing is – when you look at film, all you see is Tom Brad. You can go back three years and you still see Tom Brady. You keep seeing Tom, keep seeing Tom; but the one thing about Cam is – it’s Cam Newton now. He can do it all. He’s got a strong arm, he can run, he’s athletic. If you still think about Tom and all of that, it’s going to be a long game. I think we do a great job of just making sure everybody remembers that it’s going to be Cam Newton. The type of player he is, he’s dynamic. In our heads, the coaches do a great job of constantly putting that in our ears. It’s going to be a different quarterback. A lot bigger, stronger, just an ultimate different player. I think we have a good idea that’s it’s Cam Newton, it’s no longer Tom.”
(How would you compare the excitement level of heading into this regular season after bringing in a lot of talented players this offseason compared to last offseason when there were a whole bund of big name players who were leaving the team?) – “Of course it’s different. It’s unique. But I think the excitement is truly – it’s around the whole building of just like any organization, nobody has played football in so long. We haven’t played any preseason games, we really didn’t have OTAs in the sense of being out on the field. I think not just us, but everybody in the country, everybody is waiting to play football. The excitement level is definitely up there. What’s unique is this is the first time there is not a preseason game. The first game is a real game, so all those nerves you have or whatever it is, you’re going to have to get over it quick, because it’s the real thing. I think we’re all excited; we’re all prepared. Guys are just ready to go out there and just have some fun.”
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
WR Preston Williams
(Do you think that you’ll need juice from the team with there being no fans in the stands? Do you guys think you need to cheer each other on to kind of help with the morale and help you guys along in the game?) – “Not really. We just treat it like we’re at practice or something. There really aren’t any fans at practice, so we just kind of treat it the same way and go about it the same way. When we score, we all hype each other up. A celebration is a celebration. The juice is going to be out there.”
(I know we had talked before about you and WR DeVante Parker. I just wanted to ask, now that he’s getting back healthy, what do you guys sort of look at going into the year as what you guys can do as a tandem, particularly when you face these top corners like a CB Stephon Gilmore? Do you talk about you versus him or what you have to do against that particular player?) – “No. If we stay healthy, a lot of the numbers are going to speak for themselves. The main thing is just getting better every day, staying healthy and just trying to be at every game this year.”
(They had three guys in their secondary last year with five or more interceptions. I know they lost S Patrick Chung to the COVID opt-out, but they still have a lot of playmakers back there. What do you remember about when you played against them in Week 2 last year, and what’s that challenge like facing that secondary?) – “They have a good system and good coaching. They’re a tough team; but if we play our game, we know it’s going to be a challenge. We’re just ready for whatever they throw at us. If it’s Week 1, Week 2 or the end of the year, we’re just going to be ready for whatever. We know they’re a good team but every team is good in the NFL.”
(Compare how it feels for you right now, knowing you’re established on the team now, you’re starting – how does it feel for you now compared to one year ago?) – “The game has definitely slowed down to me. Personally, it’s just one of my things – the game has definitely slowed down to me. Last year, coach told me that I needed to have a better jump from Year 1 to Year 2. I’ve just been focused, trying to improve my game and learn more positions. This year there’s probably a lot more on the plate. I’m just trying to manage everything. I was a rookie last year and still getting my feet wet but now the game’s slowed down. I’m just working every day.”
(You’ve obviously looked very good in camp. Do you feel like you have everything back physically? Does the knee feel the same as it did last October? And was there anyone who had ACL surgery who sort of guided you through this process? Any NFL players or friends?) – “Me, personally, (I) feel good. Of course I’ve got camp legs. It’s been a long camp. We worked really hard. It’s hot outside. I feel good. Last year, I felt probably close to the same. Nobody has guided me as this is my second ACL (injury). Nobody guided me through it. I’ve just been here working with the staff and just getting back healthy. I already knew what I needed to do to get back to this point.”
(When you suffered that injury last year, was being ready for Week 1 a realistic goal for you or did you think it might take a minute to come back for this?) – “Yeah, that was definitely in my head. It didn’t happen, then in my head I probably didn’t work hard enough. I was preparing for Week 1 and worked my butt off. We’re here this week.”
(So often it seems like if a guy has an ACL injury, maybe they do come back the next year but they admit later on down the road, “I didn’t quite feel right. It took that much extra time.” Are you not surprised at all that you feel as good as you do right now?) – “I’m not surprised. You really don’t feel good until a year after your injury. That’s when it really feels just normal again. I know it happened. I know I’m still kind of 10 months out. I can feel it. But I’m used to feeling like this.”
(I know the team has been doing a lot of “load management” with you during practice to make sure you kind of come back right from it. Do you anticipate that kind of lingering into games and you kind of getting a certain rep count, per se?) – “I don’t know exactly. When my number is called, I just try to perform. If it is a certain amount of reps, it’s going to be my best reps. If I play the whole game, I play the whole game.”
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(After the passing of your mother, what did it mean for you to get back so quickly to your teammates and barely miss any time at all and continuing your prep for Week 1?) – “There’s a lot of different responsibilities that I have and being a leader on this football team is one of them. We’ve done a great job of kind of preparing with the short time that we’ve had and we know that everything is so critical in terms of practices and the time that we have that we’re out on the field, because it has been so limited with the pandemic. It’s finally nice today to stop practicing against our defense and to get into some New England stuff and to really start paring down what we’re trying to do. This is the stuff that I really enjoy as a quarterback – the week-to-week game planning. I’m glad that we’re at this phase and we’ve made it this far.”
(The last time you played the Patriots up there, you had a fair amount of success. WR DeVante Parker had a lot of success. What was the key in going after CB Stephon Gilmore and do you think he’s going to be ready for you guys this time around?) – “Yeah. He’s a former teammate of mine and Defensive Player of the Year. (He’s) a guy that’s had a ton of success in this league and is definitely one of the top guys defensively around the league. They’re very talented on defense; very talented and experienced in the back end. So for us, it’s trying to throw to the open guy, trying to pick the best matchups. They do a great job of making sure that everything is contested and challenged on every play. We’ll have to play our best, whether it’s receivers, tight ends or backs, the way that I’m throwing the ball. Everything is going to have to be on point for us to be able to move the ball versus these guys.”
(Over the last, I guess, week or so, we had a chance to talk to a bunch of your teammates and coaches about what they see is your value and your appreciation. I was kind of struck at just how much praise everybody had for you. I think it just kind of struck me that at this stage of your career, you’ve seemed to find a home here where everybody loves you. Have you felt that? And I guess, what does that feel like for you personally, knowing you’ve been so many different places?) – “Yeah, I definitely feel the love. I think with a personal tragedy with my mom passing away, I think you feel it extra – all of the people. It was a lot of teammates and people in the building but it was a lot of people I had been in contact with almost in a past life on different teams in different cities. There were a lot of people that reached out. I’ve been feeling a lot of love lately in that regard, just people that want to let me know that they care about me and they’re thinking about me and my family, and that’s been good. In terms of the coaches, I’m about the same age as most of them, so we have more in common than some of the younger guys. (laughter) I think that’s just part of the position – part of the position that I play – being able to interact with everybody and get a good feel for everybody and spend a lot of time in all of the different rooms.”
(The support you got from Head Coach Brian Flores, we could kind of see it from a distance at the scrimmage that it looked like he really reached out to you. I can’t imagine how much that must have meant to you.) – “I think just being the head coach and leader of this team, he’s meant a lot to me and to all of us. Just the situation that I’m currently in and was going through and him going through something similar within the past year or two, just being able to sit and have somebody to talk to about it is great. I feel like Coach Flores has really grown, just as this team has really grown over the last year. Hopefully that continues and hopefully we start to see some results on the field.”
(I wanted to ask you about your weaponry. More than in past years, it seems like everybody that’s in your arsenal has a different skillset or brings something different to the table. Have you noticed that and if so, how can that impact this offense?) – “Yeah, we definitely have. We’ve got guys that can make plays in a variety of ways. I think a lot of that – especially when a new staff comes in – is learning these guys and learning the things that they’re great at, the things they need to work on and maybe some of the things that we should stay away from. One of the things that I’ve harped on since (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) got here is playing to guys’ strengths. It’s something that he does a really nice job of putting them in a great position and putting me in a great position. We have a lot of talent on the offensive end and I think being able to utilize each guy, playing to their strengths and giving them some freedom to go out there and do what they do best, that will hopefully show up here as we get going.”
(I wanted to ask you, what does it mean to you to be the starting quarterback in Week 1 in the NFL at this stage of your career?) – “It means a ton. It’s not something that I take for granted. I’ve kind of gone back and forth and been the guy and not been the guy. I know how difficult it is to earn something like this. I know how difficult it is to accept this responsibility and to go out there and to shoulder everything that I’ve got to shoulder as the starting quarterback to get these guys ready to go play. It’s the reason I still play. It’s why I love the game so much. I’m honored and I’m really excited to be able to lead this team out there on Sunday.”
(I want to go back to a question. You mentioned CB Stephon Gilmore and you had a comment last December after that game that it’s not that you necessarily don’t respect the guy you are going against, but you have ultimate confidence in a guy like WR DeVante Parker to give him chances to make plays on the football. Is there a measured approach you have to that like a certain time or a look that they give you or is it just “I’m going to trust my guys all of the time?”) – “Yeah, there’s definitely a calculated risk, but I can’t give you all of my secrets. (laughter) A lot of it does come down to that. Their best players are going to be on our best playmakers. So the way these games go, do their guys make more plays or do ours? Going into matchups like this, I just want to make sure that my guys know that I have the ultimate confidence in them, and I’m going to give them opportunities to go out there and make plays. That’s no secret to the defense. That’s no secret to my guys. That’s how we’ll figure out who is going to win the game – if our big playmakers show up and I can get them the ball or if they can’t.”
(I know it’s a “this year” deal but obviously the last game you guys played and this team played was against that team in Foxboro and you guys won. How much confidence can that help you catapult to where you guys are going Sunday from what you guys did last year?) – “We’ve got a ton of new faces. We’ve definitely been harping on this just being a new year. (It’s) a completely different team for us, a completely different team for them. I don’t know that we can draw a whole lot on that. The other aspect we haven’t talked about is no fans, fake crowd noise and how that’s going to play into it. There’s some unknowns going into this game that haven’t existed in the past that both teams will have to deal with and feel out. There’s going to be some interesting storylines and things there that we’ll have to figure out. But in terms of comparing last year to this year, we haven’t even really talked about last year’s game because it is such a new team on both sides – for us and for them.”
(I know there’s a sense of excitement going into any season but this season is obviously very different for you guys after an offseason of bringing in a whole bunch of new players compared to last offseason where it was a bunch of big-name players leaving the team. How much more exciting might this year be and how much higher might the level of confidence be?) – “There’s definitely a different feeling right now than there was last year at this exact time. I think right now there’s a great vibe in the building. I think in terms of the personalities and the guys that have been on this team, with the guys that were added to this team, everybody is pulling in the same direction right now. That’s easy to do when there’s no adversity and you haven’t played any games. We’ll figure out real quick what kind of team that we have. I think we’ve brought in the right guys. We have a great group of guys in the locker room and hopefully that adds to our success on the field of being able to get along and everybody have the same mentality and mindset.”
(Do you expect this club to be involved in the playoff discussion and playoff relevant?) – “Raised expectations is relative since the expectations last year were probably zero, right? (laughter) It’s all relative. I know that we’re excited to see what happens this year. I think there’s so much uncertainty around the league. I think I know what we have here. I think we’ve put in a lot of work and we’re gelling right now but until you get out there and do it on the field, you’ve really got no clue. Every year there’s uncertainty and this year there’s probably more than there has ever been.”
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Head Coach Brian Flores
(We got a look at the depth chart last night. One place of interest for us was at the right guard/right tackle decision. What went into putting G Solomon Kindley with the ones?) – “Like I said yesterday, I wouldn’t put too much into the depth charts. We’ve got a really tough opponent. It’s going to be a competitive environment. Everyone’s got to be ready to play. That’s been my message to the team. That was my message this morning. That will continue to be my message. Again, like I said yesterday, I wouldn’t put too much into the depth chart. Everybody’s got to be ready to go.”
(My question is QB Ryan Fitzpatrick more secure in his starting spot this year than he was last year … ) – “’Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) has done a good job in training camp. Obviously he’s a veteran. He’s got leadership. He’s experienced. We feel good about where he is and really the offense, the defense, the special teams; so we’ll see how things go, but we feel good about where he is right now.”
(I wanted to ask you a little bit about the nickel position. That seems to be one of the hardest positions to play and you’re facing one of the teams that utilizes the position quite well. Do you want to go with experience there or is that something where you want to play the best player?) – “That’s always a combination of both. Talent, experience, ability to communicate – I think all of those things play a factor in who’s in at the nickel position or any of those sub kind of packages. We’ve had a lot of conversations about who’s going to be the nickel, who’s going to play the dime, who’s going to play defensive line in those situations. But like you said, Julian Edelman is a great player. He’s in the slot primarily, but he also plays outside. We’ve seen him in the backfield also, so they move him around quite a bit. We’ve got to be prepared for really all of it and that’s what this week of preparation is all about, so hopefully we go out there and have a good week of practice. They’re going to show us things that we haven’t seen. There’s been no preseason games; but if we can communicate, if we can play with good fundamentals and technique, I think we’ll be okay.”
(You just mentioned how there’s going to be some uncertainty going into Week 1. Is there uncertainty about your own team? What is your level of confidence that you know what you have and when you dial it up on Sunday, you…) – “We’ve had a month of practice – 14 padded practices and a little bit more whether it’s the OTA practices or the walkthroughs – so yeah, there’s uncertainty really across the board and with our opponent. Again, you never really know. We’ve talked about it, there’s a lot of young players playing. A lot of new faces on this team. So yeah, there’s a lot of uncertainty, a lot of unknown; you really don’t know until you step out on the field, but we’re going to practice and prepare and try to put our best foot forward and try to come out of there with a win. But it won’t be easy. We understand that. You can say ‘uncertainty,’ say this and that, but when you go up and play against a good football team, which one is it? Is it uncertainty or is it new competition? They make plays, we make plays, which one is it? So it’s kind of a tough question to answer.”
(I’m wondering whether there’s any significance in the fact that there are eight captains this year as opposed to four last year?) – “I would say there’s quite a bit of good leadership on the team. It could’ve been – there were four or five other guys who had votes as well, and that’s a good thing. There’s quite a few guys who received votes. There’s a good amount of leadership here and we need that. You need 53 leaders on your team and that’s what we’re looking for and that’s always something I try to talk about. You need as much leadership on a football team as you can get and just because you’re not a captain doesn’t mean that you don’t have a leadership role on the team. I’ve talked to the players about that. If you think something’s wrong or we’ve got to make a call on the field, it doesn’t just have to be the captain who makes that call. They were voted by their teammates, so you need 53 leaders on the team. I’m happy to have the eight guys we have. I would say there are four or five other guys honestly who also got votes. There’s some other guys who didn’t get votes who I see leadership in as well, so I’m happy with the eight guys that we’ve chosen and we’ll move forward with those guys.”
(I wanted to ask, I know you don’t take a lot of stock into last year but the last game we saw your team play was up in Foxborough against this team. Are you able to take any I guess confidence or I guess guidance in general from how you performed?) – “No. Last year was last year and this year is a totally different year. They’ve got different players. We have different players. We made changes to the coaching staff. They made a few changes to their coaching staff. So every year is different and our goal is to just prepare for this week. We’re not really thinking about what happened last year, and that last game was a totally different situation and two different teams. There were fans in the stadium. There’s so many differences from this year to last year on so many levels that – we weren’t taking COVID tests every day last year either, so there’s differences. The schedules are different. The way we travel is going to be different. So no.”
(You had mentioned a minute ago about the fact that there will be no fans. I’m wondering as the visiting team, how does that affect your preparation, if at all, because when you go into a really noisy situation, hand signals are involved and so forth. Does this affect your preparation very much this week?) – “There will be some noise. I’m not exactly sure – I mean we know what the decibel levels are supposed to be; but does it affect our preparation? We’ll go about it as if there is a situation where we may need to go to a silent count or hand signals. If we we need it, we’ll go to it. If we don’t need it, we won’t. But, yeah, the preparation is a little different in that in some cases, you know there is going to be crowd noise and you know it’s going to be loud. In this situation, I think we’re going into it with the assumption that it will be – whatever decibel levels it can get up to, it will be loud enough that we will have to make hand signals or silent count or things of that nature. That’s how we’ll prepare for it. It will be different; it will be unique. I don’t think any of us have been in a situation like this in an NFL game. There is going to be a little bit of a learning curve here as well.”
(I wanted to ask you about your slot receiver role. I know I’m in your nickel packages right now. WR Isaiah Ford is obviously a guy who played a lot last season. How much do you feel like he’s ready to become an NFL starter or do you feel like this is a situation where you’ve got enough receivers you can move around and WR Jakeem Grant can be in that unit?) – “I think we have a lot of good players in the receiver room, in the tight end room, in the running back room. Who aligns in the slot is really dependent on what formation we give them. You can see a running back in the slot, you can see a tight end in the slot, you can see a receiver in the slot. It depends on what formation we’re giving them, what matchup we’re looking for. The specifics to one player – if it’s Isaiah or Jakeem or (Matt) Breida or DeVante (Parker), they’ve all been in the slot. So specific to that area of the field, it could be a number of people. I think your question is about maybe a couple of players – Isaiah, Jakeem. I think Isaiah has had a good camp. He’s been dependable and productive in practice. He’s made a few plays in games, particularly at the end of last year. Jakeem obviously is explosive. He’s as explosive a player as there is in the league. I think we have a few options. Once we get to Sunday, we’ll see who is out there and who can help us try to win a football game.”
