QB Deshaun Watson (8.23.23)
Deshaun, Kevin (Stefanski) told us that you will be playing some in Kansas City. So how do you feel about getting out there and getting your feet wet again a little bit?
“I’m excited. I’m excited to get out there with the guys to kind of get my routine going, to prep up for the season and just go out there and compete. That’s the ultimate goal, is to compete and go out there and try to help the team. Whatever I can do to have successful drives and get points on the board.”
Deshaun, what is the most important thing you and the offense have gotten done a couple of weeks from Washington to Philly to this week?
“I think the biggest thing, is just keep adding on. Keep taking a step each and every day because we know we’re not all the way there yet and we shouldn’t be. There are a lot of different small details of the offense that we want to continue to work on with different looks, especially with a good Philly defense and a good Washington defense and then with our own defense. So, we’re seeing three different schemes, and if you want to include the (New York) Jets early on, so three or four different schemes, that is going to help us out and that’s the beauty of it.”
When we talk to Kevin (Stefanski) about what he wants to see, he always says, just clean operation. Beyond the clean operation, what are you, as you go into this in these 20, 25 snaps, aiming to get out of them and accomplish?
“I mean, that’s the biggest thing, not going out there and doing too much. Just real smooth, clean, like Kevin said. Ultimately, that’s the biggest goal. If you can do that and just go out there and be sharp and then execute the game plan and just follow your reads and follow your footwork, then everything else is going to take care of itself. So not even just for the preseason games, but for the regular season games, that’s what you want to go into each and every week with the clean, smooth operation. If you can do that, everything else is going to take care of itself.”
Deshaun when you went back and looked at the film from the two days in Philly, what was your self-assessment of your performance? What was your takeaways from what you saw when you watched what you did on the field?
“It was great as a whole. I mean, it was the Super Bowl runner-ups, the NFC champs. I mean, it wasn’t a team out there, you know or a guy out there that wasn’t playing in that Super Bowl last year for them. So, it was great work for myself, it was great work for the team. We went back and forth. We competed well. We took care of one another, and we focused on that. And you got to give props to Philly and their staff of you know, being on the same page with Kevin and us, and it was a great two or three days for us.”
You spent a lot of time trying to form chemistry with the guys who are going to be out there with you. What do you make of it when you see a guy like (Austin) Watkins just walk in here and making plays with guys he’s never known before?
“I mean, it’s great to see it. He’s hungry for his opportunity. He came in, he’s learned from all the other receivers – Coop (Amari Cooper), Elijah (Moore), DPJ (Donovan Peoples-Jones). He’s been a great addition. He’s been a great teammate, a great person. So everyone likes him, especially in that receiving room, you see everyone hanging out with him. Then as an offense, he’s always hanging out, saying, ‘What’s up?’ to everyone. He’s been a great addition to this team, and we’ve got to keep rolling, and he’s going to continue to just keep growing and get better.”
Deshaun, you said that you’re not quite where you want to be yet and that you shouldn’t be at this point. So my question is, how much longer will it take to do that? And so when do you think this offense will be 100%?
“I feel like this offense – it’s hard to say that you’ll be 100% in the NFL because every week is evolving. You got to add new pieces, new wrinkles, and go against a new defensive scheme. There’s ups and downs. So, I’m not going to sit up here and tell you guys, give you a timeline where we’ll be 100. I’m not sure whether this offense will be 100. I’m not sure if any team in the NFL will actually be 100% and clicking, because if you’re doing that, then you should be undefeated. So that’s how I see it. There’s always room to improve. There’s always room to get better each and every week and start fresh. And that’s the mentality that we got to have, is just keep trying to get better each and every day.”
When you did that interview during the game the other night, you talked about taking some of the wear and tear off of Nick (Chubb). Do you feel like now with more kind of the onus on you, do you feel like you have ownership of this offense?
“Most definitely. AVP (Alex Van Pelt) and Kevin gave me the keys, and they’re letting me control a lot of things that we do on the field along with them. Play calling in the headset and being able to see things that I can check out too. But that comes over time, me understanding this offense, understanding what they want to do and what schemes we want to do in the run game and the passing game, and then just being able to build that trust and build that ownership of taking control of the offense and being on the field and being that coach and player at the same time. So, all that stuff will just keep stacking and building that trust and we have another opportunity this weekend to continue to build it.”
If you end up playing 20 snaps in Kansas City, that would be about 30 for you in the two preseason games. Is that more or less the same of what you did in Houston those years?
“That’s about the same. It actually might be more than Houston. If I’m really thinking Houston, I probably played one game, maybe a drive, maybe two drives, but I didn’t really play too much preseason in Houston.”
Last year was your first taste of the AFC North. I think you played all three opponents. What were your initial thoughts?
“It’s good. I mean, it’s a tough division. And you got three teams, including us, you want to say four teams that have a lot of talent. Very coached hard, very tough, physical, and you got to go out there and make plays and the mental errors and the small things that you can kind of let up in certain games, you can’t do that in one division. So, it’s very, very tight and you want to go out there and try to go win.”
There are three elite quarterbacks and obviously another rising one. Does that drive you when you have guys in your division that are competitors of yours?
“Not so much. I’m self-driven. I want to be the best I can be for Deshaun Watson. I can’t get caught up in the other guys and seeing what they’re doing, and all of them are elite. If you’re a starting quarterback in this league, you’re pretty elite. This is a hard business. It’s a hard job to have, and it’s only 32 spots out of the whole world. So, I feel like everyone is elite and I got to be self-driven to be the best Deshaun Watson I can be for this team and for myself.”
Deshaun. Can you talk about Patrick Mahomes? I mean, I’m sure you guys are probably pretty good friends, same draft class and all that kind of stuff. What makes Patrick so special? And I know you’ve talked about how people here really haven’t seen anything of you yet, that you can do so many of the same kinds of things Patrick does. What are those things?
“Yeah, I mean, just the playmaking skills, the leadership, the work ethic. You’ve seen it all. I mean he wins two Super Bowls for a reason, could have won three or four of them, and it’s just special. And with the staff that they have over there and the guy that he’s been with, Andy Reid, coaching Patrick Mahomes, that’s a pretty good combination to have. And he’s been taking that team, taking the organization to higher and higher heights and he’s doing a hell of a job. And you have got to give him credit. You got to – nothing but salute to him and what he’s been doing and what he’s going to continue to do and he just makes everyone else around him better. So, he’s definitely the standard for the NFL and we just got to continue to just keep building that up, especially being in the 2017 draft class together. I think he was the 10th pick; I was the twelfth. So, both of us have a lot to prove and we want to continue to show that we’re one of the top, us two, classes that been drafted. So that’s the plan.”
Do you watch some of his film? I know he might watch some of your film too, but I mean, do you guys trade thoughts or ideas or, you know, do you really look at Patrick’s games a lot and think, ‘I’m going to do some of that kind of stuff’?
“Yeah, it’s not so much of ‘Hey, I want to do that stuff or kind of do that stuff.’ It’s just mostly just kind of like I watch all the quarterbacks, not just Patrick, not just Lamar (Jackson), not just Joe (Burrow). But the young guys, the guys, you know, Jimmy Garoppolo, Kirk Cousins. I mean, I watch everyone. I just like watching football and what the quarterback is doing because everyone is special. Like I said before, it’s elite to be one of the 32 quarterbacks in this league and it’s special and you have to have some type of talent regardless of what other people are saying. So, I watch everyone and of course Pat, you see him playing the big-time games so you just kind of naturally just watch him and watch his game. But for me, I like to watch everyone and whatever I can do to learn from everyone. When I see him when we talk, we chop it up a little bit and learn from each other and just check on each other. But me and Pat’s relationship go all the way back from early on in college training in California. So, we’ve always had a long relationship and wanted to be in this position.”
So when I talk about running three times against Washington, if my memory serves me correctly, it’s preseason. How do you weigh the risk-reward of that or is that something you need to do in the preseason to get yourself ready for the regular season?
“No, I can’t go out there. When I step on a football field, I don’t think about if I should run or not should run just because it’s preseason. When you’re out there, you compete, everyone’s competing for a job, and everyone’s competing to be successful. So, when I’m out there I just let my instincts take over and I’m not trying to win the Super Bowl, but at the same time I want to go out there and compete and be successful for the season.”
So when you talk about being self-motivated, do you pay attention to how people have you ranked for the preseason and if you’re not included in the same top-tier discussion as Pat, Josh (Allen) and Joe, and those guys?
“Not at all, I mean I stay focused on what I got to do and control what I can control. The rankings, there’s always a ranking each and every year. So, at the end of the day, you can’t focus on that because that ranking is always changing. And for me, I missed two years of football. I shouldn’t be in those rankings, to be honest, if you ask me. I haven’t played ball. I haven’t played enough football the last two years to even be up there. So I got to go out there and prove and show what I got to do and to get back in those conversations. But for me, I just lock in on what I need to lock in on and just focus on my tasks and everything else will take care of itself.”
This has been a long training camp calendar-wise, because the extra game and all. First, does it feel like it’s been long for you? And how do you think it’s been managed with all these road trips you guys have been on?
“I haven’t really felt too long. Once you get in training camp as a player, you’re kind of just day-to-day. You take it one day at a time. You don’t look forward, you don’t look backward. You just focus on where you at and where your feet are on that day. And I think for us, I think being able to go on the road to Greenbrier and Philly has been awesome to build the team bonding, to kind of get to know everyone and just test us mentally. Not being comfortable sitting in our homes and in our facility, being able to go somewhere different and be able to manage and still put in the same work. So, it’s been good.”
Deshaun, a lot was made of that day two in Philly. A lot was written and said, you threw a couple of picks in that practice. And on social media, you took a lot of heat for that practice. What do you make of that? And I saw you kind of reacted to someone’s post of your stance. What do you think of the heavy criticism that you’re getting and the scrutiny that you’re getting even over a practice?
“I don’t get too involved in it. I mean, the response on there wasn’t about the sacks or anything like that. It’s about knowing the situation. And some of the situations, the media, you guys no offense, but you guys just don’t know what we’re working on. Not every period is just, ‘Hey, go out there and compete. It’s open field.’ Some period it’s third and fourth down, so we got to take our chances. Some period is the end of game situations. Some period is one-on-one. So on both sides, not just me and being on the offense, but on the defense, you got to give them credit, too, because a lot of times they don’t usually have safety up over top of the corner, and sometimes they don’t because it depends on what we’re working on. I don’t really get caught up in that. That’s the only reason why I responded. It was nothing towards Philly or anybody in the media. It was = just understand the situation of what we’re working on when you have joint practices. And then with the criticism and stuff like that, like I said before, I don’t get involved in that. I guess you must be pretty good if you have some type of criticism. So, you always have to have those talks and negativities to keep you motivated, keep you pushing forward and keep trying to better. So that’s the biggest thing.”
Was there a little piece of you that wished Lamar left the division?
“I don’t even know how to respond to that. It’s going to make the games against Baltimore even more fun and competitive. I played against him when he was in Louisville, so that was a fun match. I know everyone saw that. So, we want to continue to just do that and compete and try to win for our organizations.”
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