Could you kind of take us through the week because you didn't know where this was going and maybe found out late in the week, I don't know?
Yeah listen, I think I've been around long enough. You just got to stay on your toes and prepare. That's kind of how it was. I didn't want to assume anything or not assume anything so I kind of like I said, went into the building, prepared like I know how to, and kind of waited until some kind of decision was made.
Could you explain the throw to Michael Pittman Jr. and just the faith in that?
Yeah well, I mean listen, we talked about maybe having that opportunity at some point in the game. Not necessarily on that play, but they played cover zero there, and I knew I had the corner and the other guy on the right side. I knew I had him coming across the field and I just had to take a knee drop, so I can buy just enough time to get the ball up. Let him get across the field a little bit, get the ball up. And then besides that, you got to ask him. I mean it was a great catch, just great going up for it. I mean it's a 50-50 ball that he wins so that's huge.
What have you learned about his toughness (Michael Pittman Jr.) over the last week?
Dude, I've only been here—what week is this six? Week five? Six? He's got to be one of the toughest players I've played with. I think part of him is probably trying to prove a point. I think there was a report that came out earlier about him, even I saw it on like my ESPN app like "Pittman out" or whatever it is. It's awesome, I mean when you have guys like that you can go a long way and that's the kind of guys you need to have to play winning football and he's unbelievable for that.
How's he (Michael Pittman Jr.) wired? What gets him to be like this?
I don't know. There's probably a lot of things that go into it. I didn't grow up with him, but I'm sure he's always been like that. He's been through a lot in his life to kind of make him like that. I'm sure his parents held him to a high standard so that he doesn't have that quit in him. So, there's probably a lot of things that go into it.
How have you seen that kind of trickle down to some of the younger guys in the receiving core?
Anytime you have a guy like that, it's like having that figure, that father figure. You don't want to disappoint them. You want to show up through them. Part of it is, you just don't want to disappoint. So, you have that expectation that like, 'Hey this guy does it, I need to do it.' So, it goes such a long way. I don't think you—you can't quantify it. I mean those guys are playing great, and they all are very resilient, and they keep their heads in the game when things aren't necessarily going completely right. I think that's a huge testament to probably him now that you say that.
How valuable was Josh Downs today?
He's been huge the last few weeks. I mean ever since he's come back and been in this line up, I mean he's been a force to be reckoned with. I don't exactly know what he did today in terms of catches and yards, I know we didn't throw for a ton, but I'm sure he had a ton of big plays on third downs.
Last week, a ton of yards, but you guys lose. This week, not as many, but it felt like the clutch play making in yourself and from those guys. What role did that play in today?
Yeah, it was huge. I mean listen, I think there's definitely times where I was over there on the sideline a little bit frustrated. Just feeling like we maybe left a little bit out there. Especially even in the second to last drive, or whatever that was, that we had AP (Alec Pierce). We hit that, I probably would have had 250 not whatever I had. So that is frustrating, but at the same time, playing in Baltimore for all those years had a lot of tough division games. I think it really teaches you a lot about how to win football games and keep your head on right and stay tough in the moments where you need to be tough and fight through. And I think we have a bunch of guys like that on our team.
What went into the interception?
Yeah, it was just getting greedy. Probably not having that dialog with myself to just stay patient and next thing you know, I'm trying to fit a ball in the seam. But the linebacker's squeezing and the Mike was opening that way, and I can't really get it in that seam, so I got to try and get it over him and that's not possible, then I'm throwing a pick and setting our team up for failure. So yeah, I just got greedy and bad bad bad decision.
Dalton (Tucker) makes first start at right guard against a pretty good defensive line, do you feel that pass protection still hold up with him in there?
Yeah, I think he's done an awesome job. I mean, he's undrafted, correct? Made the football team, now he's starting, and playing really well. I mean how impressive is that? He's a rookie, it's unbelievable so credit to him.
