Post Game Press Conference – Patriots Players
PATRIOTS PLAYERS
Antonio Gibson, RB
(On Joe Milton III and his development)
“He looked great today. That’s what you call a pro football player. Someone who hasn’t touched the field all season, since preseason, and to come in and do what he did, that was amazing to watch. We’ve all been with Joe, and of course he’s frustrated. He wants to play, he wants to be out there, and he had to work all year long. Then to come out here, prepare like he needed to prepare all week and go out there and have a performance like that, that’s the definition of a pro quarterback.”
(On what Joe Milton III was like in the huddle and commanding the offense)
“Man, today he was cool, calm and collected, just like he said with Drake [Maye]. That was impressive. Like I said man, for somebody to not be able to touch the field all year, to have the last game and to perform the way he did, no hesitation, no flinch. The confidence he had rolling out, throwing the ball down field, I feel like that’s a pro quarterback. He belongs. I feel like he proved that today. Yes, it was just one performance, and he has a long way to go in his career, but that’s a great start right there. To not play the whole season, to go out there and do what he did and the confidence he had, big shoutout to Joe.”
(On the emotions in the locker room)
“It’s still good. We finished off strong, but it’s not the season we had, so that’s something we’ve got to go into the offseason with. But hopefully that drives a lot of people. It’s a season you want to forget, but we shouldn’t forget it. That should be our motivation this offseason, to do what we need to do, work a little bit harder to come back next year and change things around.”
(On what this season meant to him and what it proved to him about what he can do)
“It’s just another lesson. You have your ups and downs. You have your highs, you have your lows, and this is one of the lows. I feel like you learn so much throughout those, and it just goes to show – I feel like it’s a payoff when things do turn around. Remember these times. I remember where we started, but look where we’re at now. So, you learn so much. Honestly, for me, I feel like I can come in how I need to, and maybe – well, not maybe, but a lot better to go through that the whole season and not have a midseason and be like, ‘Alright, I need to switch things up.’ Go through the whole season and not cheat myself short.”
DeMario Douglas, WR
(On what it meant to get a win)
“It feels good, you know. I like winning. It feels good to end the season with a dub.”
(On Joe Milton III’s performance)
“Nice. I already knew that though, I trained with him in the summer. I always knew he had talent.”
(On what this season has been like considering he likes to win)
“For me, I’m going to work. I don’t like losing seasons. I feel like for the team, everybody should have the same mindset, we don’t like this taste. Get another taste next year and a good taste this time.”
(On how he feels he’s improved this season)
“I’ve developed pretty good, I’m better than last year. I’m going up and up. As long as I’m going in the right direction, I think I’m doing pretty good.”
(On if he will train with Drake Maye in the offseason)
“Drake had come up to me and said ‘Pop, where will you be?’ and I said ‘I’ll be in Florida.’ He said, ‘Oh we’re going to be at the beach working out’. I said ‘Let’s get it.’ He’ll be in North Carolina, I’ll come up to North Carolina with you. He said ‘I don’t know if you want that, it’ll still be cold.’ I said, ‘it’ll be alright.’”
Jonathan Jones, CB
(On the emotions in the locker room)
“Every season, guys know how hard they’ve worked and when the results aren’t there, it’s tough. You know, the locker room will be different next year, some guys won’t be here, and some guys will. It’s kind of the last time we’ll all be here after a game, so it was emotional.”
(On the Patriots’ future)
“Whether I’m here or not, I’m New England. I want to see New England winning. Football is better when New England is a good team. Those decisions are above me, but just the fans, this community. I want to see New England back to New England football and winning.”
Keion White, DE
(On getting a win)
“Yeah, I feel like if you go into a game explicitly trying to lose, that’s a locker room killer more than anything else. If we were trying to lose or we weren’t putting ourselves in the best position to win, then I feel like some of the guys would feel that and we would be even more like oh whatever, checked out. We didn’t, a lot of our guys who don’t get a lot of time stepped up, stepped up big. We can be proud of that, for sure.”
(On individual development)
“I think this year I rushed the passer a little bit better. Had a decent amount of pressures. I think I can improve on one: run defense and two: turning some of those pressures into sacks. I don’t really know what my time of pressure was this year, I think it was alright, but just shrinking that and getting to the quarterback a little bit faster. That’s the difference between a sack and a pressure and just improving like that.
Christian Elliss, LB
(On players Titus Leo, Miles Battle, and Truman Jones going from the practice squad to having a role today)
“That was awesome, that was awesome. That’s basically my story. I was P-Squad, I have been cut multiple, multiple times. So I know what it’s like being on P-Squad, being brought up. It was awesome seeing them flying around and having fun. I love playing with those guys, I love playing with guys like that who are just hungry, who have never gotten the opportunity, so when they get the opportunity, they just fly around. I was so happy. The moment I heard you say those names, smile on my face. So I’m happy for them.”
Cole Strange, G
(On Joe Milton III)
“Yeah, it was awesome. I think he played really good. I think he really rose to the occasion. Yeah, it was awesome.”
(On how it felt being a part of their first win since his injury)
“It was huge. Yeah it feels great to win, it feels awful to lose. So it meant a lot to actually be playing center and win a game. Yeah it was really cool. Sorry I do not have more to say, but it was awesome.”
(On his experience playing center these last two games)
“I guess I will just say it feels like kind of inviting more opportunities to come back at the end of the season and get some games under my belt. There has been some talk about me playing center, me playing guard, and I play anywhere. It’s good to have that experience because practice experience, OTA experience even more so, is not even close to the same as a game. So to be able to come back at the end of the season and get some experience at center, I feel like it was huge. It is good to know moving forward if I am the center, it will not have been my first rodeo.”
Jacoby Brissett, QB
(On what it meant to the team to get a win)
“Awesome. Obviously never come out on the field to lose. The guys did a good job and excited that a lot of those guys got a chance to play.”
(On Joe Milton III’s performance today)
“He played great. It was a lot of fun to watch. Saw the preparation he put in throughout the week, and I told him on the field, ‘It’s hard to do. You haven’t played all year, you come in for the last game of the year and do the things you did.’ Obviously put a lot of people on notice around the league. I told him I was excited for what he did, it was a lot of fun to watch. Wasn’t surprised at all. Like I said, the preparation he did throughout the week and it came to fruition today.”
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