LINEBACKER CEDRIC GRAY
To lose a leader like Jeff (Simmons), what was it like our there?
It's definitely tough to lose a player like Jeff, the leader that he is for this team and just the energy and grit that he plays with. But it's always the 'next man' mentality. We got to move on, and just keep playing.
In the first half, to see you guys flying around out there, what do you think happened to the team in the second half?
I'm not quite sure. I thought we kind of came out, and played well in the first half, like you said. It kind of got away, with us, a play or two, here or there. Like I've said, the game can change so quickly, from just one or two plays, and I think that's kind of what happened.
(Drake) Maye, obviously a big guy, but pretty mobile, hurt you guys with a couple of runs today. How tough was that?
Yeah, definitely. Kind of had to do a little bit better job of keeping him in the pocket. He was able to get out, and make a few plays sometimes. So that definitely kind of played a factor, in him being able to extend the drives.
Anything different with the way Coach (Mike) McCoy was running the show today, as opposed to Coach Callahan, or did it feel the same?
I mean, it felt similar. There are some things, that internally we'll kind of keep, that he's changed up, or just emphasized. But nothing too crazy of a difference.
So I'm curious, is this the toughest stretch of football, in your young career?
Probably since high school. My sophomore year in high school, I think my team started off like 1-8. So that was probably like the last time, or really, any time I've kind of ever been through something like this. Obviously last year, I was a part of that last year, but was hurt most of the year, but still kind of playing. It feels a little bit different this year. But definitely, a tough stretch.
Having been through a couple of tough experiences like that before, is there something you can pull, and spin forward to this, and keep yourself going, other than what motivates you already?
I think it's just building. Just keep improving and building. It might not be our time right now, or this year. We just got to find ways to keep getting better, keep stacking and our time will come. It feels a lot better when you stay through the s---, you work through the s--- together, and then you finally come out on top at the end. It's going to feel a lot better, so we just going to keep working. We're going to keep getting better. We're going to find a way.
Along those lines, Coach (Mike) McCoy has really stressed, that you guys stay together throughout this. How important is that going to be?
Yeah, it's very important, it's very important. We start turning on each other, quitting on each other, worrying about ourselves, and different things like that, it's only going to make the season worse. So if we stick together, come together as a team, keep fighting as one, it's going to make things better and it's going to give us a better chance to get the outcome we want.
