Like this kind of mess with your preparation to get fully.
Ready for the next upon it.
Yeah, I mean you sort of just got a you know jam pack you know, installs and and your days all like together. You got two days really, you know for us really today you do you know your base first and second down and third down, put it all together, go through you know a couple of walkthroughs and meetings and and yeah you're just trying to pack everything in within a couple of days and then being able to get your body right to play on Thursday. So it's different.
The preparation is just it's it's more intense, you know, for both teams. You don't get you know, four or five days of preparation to you know, lengthen everything out. You have two days put it all together and roll.
So this time for you going through without having to deal.
With broken rims, yeah a lot better, i'd say, you know, just you know not obviously, yes, treat treating my body and everything, making sure I feel fresh for Thursday. But yeah, last year the main focus was you know, will I be able to throw, you know come Thursday. Obviously I didn't throw a ball for you know, four days or three days whatever it was up until the game game day.
So now it's like, all right, now I can hone into the plays, the details of the operations of the offense, all that stuff, not worrying about the broken rib.
Is there a point in that game where you ever didn't feel pain or felt comfortable or just.
I would say, yeah, I was definitely like not comfortable, you know, the whole the whole game for four quarters. I felt it for sure, But yeah, we were able to pull it out.
So the lines of preparation, Kyle said last year, he didn't have any time to treat you with kid gloves or kind of ease you into things. Now that you've had an offseason, I'll be at one mark by injury and having to deal with reapping stuff. How much more is he putting on your plate from compared to where you started.
Yeah, I feel like, you know, last year we were rolling as a team. You know, Jimmy was doing great, and you know he was doing what he did with Jimmy and what he's always done with Jimmy, just in terms of in terms of like the install how our offense looked, what plays we're gonna run, and so once you know I got in, it was really the same. It was like, we're gonna continue to roll and see, you know how I do with that. And so moving into this year, honestly, it's been i'd say fairly similar.
Like he knows I can, you know, handle what he's had with Jimmy the last couple of years and what we did last year. Nothing really changed, and so that's really how it's been this year. You know, there hasn't been a drastic change of how we're gonna add more to his plate since he's playing more or anything like that. It's it's been about the same. That's how this offense has rolled, and that's how we've done it.
So how were you able to just roll into it last year? What about your background? What about yourself personally allows you to handle that kind of responsibility from the gig game?
Yeah, I feel like I'm I mean the four years obviously, I always say of playing the you know, the the day to day, week to week basis of studying and how to prepare and all that kind of stuff, and then obviously last year being the backup, knowing that I probably only get you know, one opportunity at this thing. If I do get an opportunity, just with the circumstances of being drafted last and and all that kind of things. So for me, it was always like, you know, be
ready for it. And you know, I studied and prepared every single week as if I was starting, and when I ended up going in, I was I was ready for the opportunity. So nothing has changed since that touchdown drive.
Just before halftime you had that twenty yard complition to Juan over the middle. It was back to you when you let it go and get a guy coming on. Let is that you type of timing and trust in this offense. I assume you would have made you made similar type throws last year. But is that more comfortable now for you or just more instinctual.
And naturally probably you know, a combination of both. You know, obviously the landmarks, the routes, the concepts. I feel like I have a better grasp of, you know, where the guys are supposed to be. Obviously a year under our belt of you know, experience together, you know, with Ba Deebo, Juwan George, you know, sort of knowing and understanding their
cuts stuff like that. It matters. But also you know, in the heat of the moment there's a guy coming through the B gap untouched and I have to drift a little bit, and I know and trust Juwan is going to be you know, twelve to fourteen yards breaking in at this angle. Like it's all I feel like, just it's both. It's a combination of both. To answer your question, so.
It sounds easy like just trust it, But I mean as a quarterback, sometimes it's like, oh crap, you know he's not looking at me.
Yeah, no, Yeah, that's real. Yeah, the anticipation, the trust, you know, it's real. It's part of this position. It's part of football. You know, you can't always throw when a guy breaks and he's wide open. That's just not how the league works. You know, windows close fast, and uh, you have to be on point. You have to anticipate, you know, guys and where they're supposed to be, per coverage, per concept. So that's something that you know, we work
on and we we take very seriously here. You know, it's part of our offense, being able to throw before guys break and whatnot.
So was a coaching point made didn't win the clock down to one second, that maybe you should have thrown the ball lower or faster into the ground rather than just lofted.
I mean, yeah, Kyle had told me, you know before, like hey, it's it's touchdown or throw it away, you know, you know, we want to have some time on the clock to but at least think about going forward on the one again or kick a field, go and get some points. That was what was said to me in the moments. You know, I was going to the flat, wasn't there, and I was like, maybe she should run. But in my head, I was like, now I got to get this ball out. So could I have done
it quicker? For sure? But I understood, you know how much time we had on the clock and we were good enough to have one more playing us.
Can you describe the energy and juice you get even if your body maybe is it physically there that you can use to your advantage on a Thursday night and or a short week.
Yeah, you know, obviously, I feel like as a quarterback, whether you're heard or not, like you just got to go in do your job. You gotta do your part for the offense. You know, you get the ball every snap. You know, you got to either make sure you're in the right play, hit the guys that are open. But at the end of the day, it's like, man, how can you create momentum and juice for your team to to get first down so to get points up on the board, and to create momentum for your whole team
as a whole defense to get some stops. You know, let's go get some points on the board and then win. You know. So, whether you're heard or not, I feel like there's always a way to create some momentum and juice for your team. And last year, I feel like when we played Seattle, you know, I was I was able to learn that that lesson pretty quick, you know, just in terms of you know, I wasn't feeling great,
but how to do it? It takes to win, especially late in the season, and every game is crucial for us.
So as far as some of those you know, deep throws you missed that you obviously won't pack, how do you sort of you know, assess and self correct without being you know, hypercritical of yourself and keeping your confidence.
Yeah, obviously, the as a quarterback you want to play perfect is that you know, you know, a real thing like can you play perfect? I don't know, you know, you're gonna mess up obviously, but for myself, it's like, man,
I hold myself to a standard. This whole offense, this team holds ourselves to a certain standard, and so for me, it's like, man, I gotta watch that the film, learn from it, get out of practice and rep it, you know, rep it, rep it to you know, build that confidence again that hey, we can hit those those shots and those opportunities we've done in the past, and it's something that you know, you learn from but not dwell on,
and I'll let it affect your game moving forward. So that's where I'm at with that, and I'm excited to get going for Thursday. THANKSSS.