Wednesday Media Transcript: CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

November 15, 2017

DRC: At the end of the day, you got to be accountable and to be called out on film in front of everybody, I think it does something to a player. You don’t want to be that player. It could either go a good way or a bad way. But I think it would definitely do some changing.

Q: Because guys could react to it by playing harder or they could just shut it down, too.

A: Right, right. It could go either way. But I think it’s good because change will come from that.

Q: Did anyone who get called out get a chance to explain themselves?

A: No, no, no. You see it on film. You can’t explain some of it. You just got to own up to it.

Q: Did he mention guys by name or just showing it?

A: Just showing it on film.

Q: Do you think that should have happened sooner?

A: Definitely, but it’s about being a pro, though. You give guys a chance to be professionals and understand that they got to hold their self accountable. But at some point, you do got to step in and say whether it is too early or too late, it’s the same.

Q: Were you surprised when he first started doing it today?

A: No.

Q: Did you know that that was what he was going to do in the team meeting?

A: Nah, I mean you didn’t know that.

Q: Did you look around to see how people were reacting?

A: Nah.

Q: Were you hoping he wasn’t going to show any of your plays on the screen?

A: No, nah, nah. I watched that film good enough. I don’t get nervous about that.

Q: Do you think it would have helped if he did this earlier?

A: I think it would put guys in a different attention span, put us on alert. Nobody wants to get caught, I don’t care what you say. Ain’t nobody want to have a play up there where you got to come back in the locker room and everybody is looking at you like you’re that guy. So I think it could have helped if it was done earlier or not, but at least it got done.

Q: How much do guys think their jobs are on the line?

A: I don’t know. I don’t know what anybody else thinks about that.

Q: Do you feel that?

A: That my job is on the line? Hell yeah. I’m old as hell. That’s why I just try to go out there and do what I do, man. But at the end of the day, I just keep on pushing. I know I’m on the line. Older guy, still making a lot of money. You don’t got to tell me twice.

Q: Do you expect him to make changes?

A: Oh yeah, definitely man. Whatever the change is, you just got to roll with it. I’ll be prepared for anything. I don’t think I’ll let it take away from my preparedness and still going out there and having fun and still being me. You know what I mean?

Q: In four weeks you went from the guy everyone in this group was pointing fingers at.

A: They can’t point a finger at me. No, no, no. Never happened. No, no, no.

Q: But now you have become a voice of reason for the team talking about how they need to put in more effort. How do you explain your role?

A: I look at myself as one of the veteran guys. I ain’t going to say too much. I’m going to lead by example. I’m going to go out there and try to fly around and be accountable and even if I do make a mistake, own up to it, and be coachable. Just show them that way. I ain’t no vocal guy. I’m not going to just go to a player. I would just say watch me, man. If I’m out there giving everything effort. None of y’all are older than me so I just tell them watch me.

Q: Is it at the point where if there aren’t any changes, are players going to have a problem with that?

A: I can’t speak for other players, you know what I mean? I ain’t a coach. I ain’t got the game plan. All I do is wait, see how we’re going to line it up and just go do what we do.

Q: Did what you see from some of your teammates disappoint you?

A: Nah, I mean as a player, man, you never know what’s going on in a player. Only thing I can say that’s disappointing is the lack of wanting to after all that we’ve been through. I’ll take a loss playing hard, flying around, but how we’re losing, nuh uh.

Q: Why is that happening?

A: I can’t explain that. I can’t speak for nobody else. Whoever you think, you got to go to them. Ask them. I don’t know.

Q: Would you go to your teammates and voice that displeasure?

A: No, no. We got leaders for that. We got different kind of leaders. Like I told you, I ain’t no vocal leader. I would never go to a man and just downright get on them like that. I’m all about bringing everybody’s spirits up. Does it need to be said? Yeah, but that’s why there are guys who are appointed in the locker room to do that and for the most part those guys do that.

Q: So if you noticed another defensive back wasn’t going all out on a play, you wouldn’t say something to him?

A: I would tell him to pick it up. I ain’t trying to make no commotion. I’m ain’t trying to go crazy because then he might go crazy back on me and it’s a problem. I just keep it chill.

Q: Who do you view as the vocal leaders?

A: Snacks (Damon Harrison), Jonathan Casillas, JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul). They’ve been guys that have come to the sideline and got after guys. They’re the guys we look to, to do that.

Q: Have you been a part of a meeting like this with other teams in your career and did it work?

A: Yeah, I think it’ll do good because like I said, you don’t want to be the guy that when we look at film this week and it’s the same guys, then it’s going to be hard to walk in this locker room and still have trust from all of your teammates.

Q: You think that trust still exists at this point?

A: Of course.