Derrick, can you talk about the play on the fumble? Did it get ripped out there?
I was trying to break a tackle. Trying to get a few extra yards. I've got to take care of the ball. We practice that. That's on me. No excuse. The organization puts a lot on me to carry the ball and put it all on my shoulders to do what I can for this team and make plays. There were three games in a row where I fumbled the ball. No excuse. I need to do a better job taking care of the ball. In the last three weeks I have not done that, and I've got to get back to work. I feel terrible, terrible about it. I'll feel terrible until we play again. There is no excuse for it. I'm going to be better. He made a play and I didn't have the ball held tight.
After that play, you came back on the field without the sleeves on, did that give you a better feel for the ball?
Trying to find something if that's the case. At the end of the day, (inaudible) trying to break a tackle, guy came from behind and he raked it out. Like I said, no excuse, three weeks in a row of fumbling the ball. I've got to find something different. If I've got to drop the sleeve, that's what I'll do. I'm going to do that to see if it'll help change, but I'm very pissed about that. I feel terrible. I've apologized to my teammates because I've got to take care of the ball.
How difficult of a stretch is this? Is it the most difficult stretch since you've been here and what can get this team out of it?
Rally together. Five in a row is very tough. Trying to find the words to say, but at the same time you've got to be positive. We have an opportunity in front of us. We've got a short week, so we've got to have a short memory. For me, it's definitely going to sting because I feel like we were in a position to score and I didn't take care of the ball. At the end of the day, everybody who is a leader on this team, we'll do everything we can to rally the guys together and stay close and figure out a way to go out and get a win. Short week. We've got to come back and be ready to work.
How hard is this on you because you didn't do a lot of losing at Alabama and, up until this year, you haven't done a lot of losing here either?
It's always hard. You never want to lose. Losing five in a row is tough. Just trying to find anything you can to be a better teammate, be a better leader and everybody is just trying to work as hard as they can to get a win. When you come up short it sucks, and we still have two more games and we've got to come back in and, like I said, it's a short week, and figure out a way. Go back to work. That's just want it is. Put this one on me. That's just how I feel. I pride myself on doing the right thing for the team and (inaudible).
Where do you find team hope and team expectation out of what you guys have done in the last five weeks?
I think you just pull the positive things from this game, because we have a lot of good things that we did, and look at those and just try to build off of those. We know the stuff that can get us beat and hurts us, penalties, turnovers, you can't do things like that in a close game. We have to build the positives and look at those things and see things that we can do more of and try to go out there and execute.
You mentioned the bad things seem to have become habit. How do you break out of bad habits?
Me fumbling, I've just got to go back and work with Coach (Tony) Dews and do whatever I can to not let that happen again. And that's just been focused a lot lately as far as the penalties on offense and just working on everything we need to do better in all three phases. And continue to push and have emphasis on those things and continue to work hard so it helps for whenever we come out of the next game, which is Thursday.
Were there similarities in the last three games in terms of the way the fumbles have occurred?
It comes down to me taking care of the ball. And I'm trying to work as hard as I can this upcoming week to try to prevent that from happening. It sucks. I feel like crap right now and just try to get better at it. That's all I can do. Sorry to everybody out there that (inaudible) the fumbles but I'm going to do whatever I can to get better.
Ever since you've been here this team has been really good at winning tight, one score games, what has changed?
We just haven't executed as much as we need to. Sometimes we shoot ourselves in the foot with turnovers and self-inflicted wounds with penalties, and guys were down but there's always a next guy up mentality here. I think execute and go out there and play our style of football. I feel like we haven't done that, sustained that.
We know that outside of the building, there's a lot that you put in to prepare for a game. Do you find a lot of the younger guys coming to you and asking what they could do as well? And if so, what do you tell them?
Guys ask me about, as far as how I work, what I put in my body, what I eat, how I recover and I just try to be a resource for them and let them know what I do and try to help throughout the week, while guys are trying their best to make sure their bodies are right week after week so they can go out and play and help this team win.
Is that an area where maybe collectively as an organization, you guys can improve upon that? Coach (Mike) Vrabel said that people should fall in love more with the things that go into preparing for a game before the game is played?
I think Coach (Mike) Vrabel just wants us to embrace this whole thing, day by day, what it requires, the grind and continue to have emphasis on those things so guys are available, guys are healthy, guys are coming in and doing what they need to do to come out here and compete and help us win games. I think guys are trying their best to do those things and we've just got to take care of one day at a time. I think (Mike) Vrabel wants us to embrace the grind and appreciate the game, the highs and lows, the adversity it brings and I feel like guys will do their best to do what he's asking.
