QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1.1.25)
Coach (Kevin Stefanski) told us that he might have you and Bailey (Zappe) share time or split time against the (Baltimore) Ravens. How do you feel about that?
“I feel grateful to have another opportunity. I feel very blessed, like I said, just to be able to still be in this room. I get to come to work every day and put my best foot forward.”
Do you know yet if you’re going to actually start?
“I do not.”
How do you balance trying to put some put some good stuff on tape in this last one but also not try to do too much?
“Yeah, I mean it’s going in, treating it like it’s last week, the week before. Coming in, sticking to my process, sticking to the plan that the coaches have here for me and going out there and trying to work every day at practice.”
What about this (Baltimore) Ravens defense, I mean, their tough, work hard, Kyle (Hamilton), all those guys, what do you have to deal with on that?
“Yeah, it’s going to be a handful in all facets of the game; special teams, defense, offense. They’re very familiar with us, we’re familiar with them. So, it’s going to be a tough battle for sure. ”
You were obviously very dejected Sunday. Are your spirits back to where you want them to be now?
“I mean, of course it’s tough when you’re losing and you’re not playing well, also. But you come in with the same attitude every day. We got a bunch of plays in the day, got a bunch of extra routes in the day. So, my attitude and my effort were never going to change.”
How did the calf feel after Sunday?
“Yeah, felt like it did when I first injured it. It’s not going to go anywhere anytime soon playing this game, so we’ll deal with that in the offseason.”
On the intentional groundings, as you kind of went and looked at the plays, was there something you kind of found this is a common thing in terms of what you’re doing on those plays or what correction you can make to alleviate that?
“Just know the rule and know that if you’re inside the pocket, you got to throw it near a defender. Outside the pocket, just making sure it gets past the line of scrimmage. So again, it falls on me. I just got to know the rules.”
Along the lines of being frustrated, I know you said after the game you felt like execution wise; you were largely doing what you needed to do. But with those frustrations of like just the offense not maybe flowing the same way, how have you learned to kind of cope with that and get through it to a point where you kind of get yourself ready for the next game?
“Yeah, you don’t have time to sit and sob when it’s the last game of the year. So, just coming in today, came in on Monday, still sticking to extra meetings, extra film, extra routes on air. Still sticking to the same process that’s gotten me to this point and this offense and not trying to steer away from that just because of some outcomes.”
With Baltimore trying to play for the division title, what are you expecting as far as that environment goes and how much does the fact that you’ve played against them help you as far as knowing what to expect from an intensity level, what they’re going to throw?
“Yeah, for sure. We know we’re going to get their best shot. Obviously, they’re going to get our best shot because of the culture we’ve set here. And so, like I said before, it’s going to be a hard-nosed battle, tough fight, something that both sides of the ball are expecting. So, in terms of my experience and how that plays into it, obviously I’m going to go back and watch other games when I played them. It’s the same scheme, same coordinator, so we’re just taking those old experiences, adding the new, talking to Jameis (Winston) from when he played and getting all those into one and making it work.”
I know you and Ced (Cedric Tillman) have built a really good relationship for the last two years on the team. He obviously got put on the IR. I guess from your vantage point, like how bummed are you for him that a promising season for him kind of ends that way and you didn’t get a chance to play with him these last couple games?
“Yeah, for sure. It hurts seeing any of our guys hurt. But obviously with Ced, I have a close relationship with him. And then I went through IR at the end of last year, so kind of going through that process. It’s tough, but I know he’ll bounce back from it. He’s been through some injuries before coming out of college, so it’s nothing new to him. Just wish he could be out there with us. I know we miss him as an offense, and I miss him as a quarterback.”
It was kind of tough for you to connect with other receivers in this past game besides Jerry (Jeudy). How has practice gone so far this week and why do you think that might be a little bit better at Baltimore?
“Yeah, like I’ve been harping on, we’re getting extra routes on air, we’re trying to get this timing down and chemistry down. Now Bailey’s (Zappe) getting reps, so we got to get him up to speed with the guys, too and Really just trying to take advantage of this full last week.”