NYG Postgame (at Jets) Transcripts: DL Leonard Williams -- November 10, 2019
Q: Was the chance to go out and play those guys as interesting as you thought?
A: There wasn’t too much talking going on when we were on the field. It still felt like they were an opponent, that’s what they were. Obviously, there were some familiar faces on the other side, but that didn’t stop either one of us from going at it.
Q: They had obviously been struggling a lot offensively. How frustrating is it for you guys to give up 27 points to them, all things considered?
A: It’s frustrating. We needed this win before the bye week. It was going to be good for the team and good for the morale, good going into the bye and coming back from the bye, all those types of things. Obviously, a win is going to feel better than a loss and it was definitely a disappointment on the defensive side giving up that many points.
Q: How sick and tired are you of losing?
A: I’m tired of it, man. Hopefully we can get this thing turned around. Hopefully I can be a helping cornerstone for this team and help be a leader and all those types of things to help us win out the rest of the season.
Q: What was it like being on the other side of the rivalry here today?
A: It was fun. Like I said, obviously, there were some familiar faces on the other side of the ball, but that didn’t stop either one of us from going at it. We still competed, we still treated each other like an opponent, which we were. After the game was cool, we all shook hands and said what’s up and stuff like that, but during the play and between the whistle and stuff like that, we still treated each other like the game.
Q: What were the emotions like in this game? You fall behind early, take the lead in the middle, then fall behind at the end.
A: Just like you described, that’s one thing we want to avoid, is all the ups and downs and the inconsistency. It’s like sometimes we get a fast three and out, sometimes the offense is looking great, and then sometimes not so great. As soon as we can be more consistent at being great, the better off we will be. Just keep working at that.
Q: These types of results consistently cost coaches jobs. How aware are you guys of that kind of reality?
A: I’m not sure anybody is really talking about it, and I’m also new so I don’t really feel any type of energy like that happening. But like you said, it’s the NFL, it’s a business. Clearly, I got traded, it’s like people get fired, people get traded, people get hired, it just is the nature of this business. Like I said, we want to be able to win so that we can keep these pieces and keep some camaraderie and consistency.
Q: Do you see positives here? Do you see reasons to be upbeat if you’re this team?
A: Definitely. There’s a lot of great talent on this team, and a lot of them are young, which is even more important because those young guys are just only going to get better. Like I said, the main thing about any team is you want to be consistent. Too many ups and downs. Too many times when we looked great and other times that we don’t look so great. Clearly, it’s not a perfect game played by perfect people and there’s going to be ups and downs, but the more we can eliminate the downs, the better we will be.
Q: Your old Jets defense had six sacks, they held Saquon Barkley to one yard. Were you surprised by what they were able to do today?
A: I wouldn’t say surprised or anything like that, but they did their part, we didn’t do ours. That’s just the business of it. That’s really all I have to say.
Q: Was it strange chasing Sam (Darnold)?
A: No, it was fun. It felt nice being able to hit him. I hit him a lot of times, I wish some of them were sacks, but I was getting back there fast, I was hitting him, I was affecting the game. They were still our enemies between the whistle and that’s how I treated it, as such.
Q: Did he say anything to you?
A: Yeah, I hit him one time and he got rid of the ball and as I had him wrapped up he still had the ball in his hand an he got rid of it and I was like, ‘Damn, Sam,’ and he just started laughing and he was like ‘F- you,’ or something like that (laughter). It was funny. Other than that, there wasn’t much talking going on during the game.
Q: Who got your jersey after the game?
A: Steve McLendon. I gave it to him because we both laughed that we wear 99 now, and another reason is because he’s been one of the oldest, great vets to me that I’ve been able to look up to and get advice from throughout my years, and I just cherish that friendship.
Q: He said he was going to pull rank on everybody in that locker room.
A: For sure, we already talked about it before everything, before the game even came up.
Q: Is it harder to lose to the Jets? Is it harder now that you’re wearing blue to lose to them?
A: It’s hard to lose to anybody in this league, especially before a bye week when this team needed a win, it’s going to be hard to lose to anybody. Like you said, it might have been slightly harder losing to this team because it would have felt a lot better beating the team that I once played for.
Q: The Jets were having problems when you were there. Did you think things were going to be better when you came to the Giants, that you were going to a better team that wasn’t going to lose to the Jets?
A: Just because we lost to the Jets doesn’t mean that we’re not a better team. Because they won doesn’t mean that they’re a better team. It’s just that both teams have their—almost every team in this league has their own problems. We have our own and we’re going to have to work on cleaning that up. The Jets’ problems aren’t mine anymore.
": Just because we lost to the Jets doesn’t mean that we’re not a better team. Because they won doesn’t mean that they’re a better team."