Transcript: WR Golden Tate III

WR Golden Tate III

October 8, 2020

Q: Can you walk us through your version, number one, of what happened after the game with Jalen Ramsey? Number two, regardless of who threw the first punch there, do you regret putting yourself in a situation where you approached him after the game?
A: Honestly, it’s Dallas week. I don’t even want to back pedal and discuss that, because I don’t think going back to that is going to help us this week and I really don’t want to draw any more attention or put any more highlights out there that don’t have anything to do with Dallas. I just want to keep moving forward and get a win this week.

Q: Just do you regret it at all, anything that happened after the game?
A: Next question.

Q: Not sure you’re going to like this question either, but I was just going to ask if there was anything, what you said to your nieces or your sister after that happened?
A: My sister and I talked about it, and we talked about it in detail. But that was it. Again, I want to move forward to this week because that’s what’s important.

Q: My other question would be have you heard anything from the league on it? Do you expect to be able to play against Dallas, or is there possible discipline?
A: I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I’m just practicing and trying to get ready for Dallas. We’re hungry for a win right now, and that’s all that matters. I don’t want to draw any attention away from what’s important, which is Dallas.

Q: In terms of actual football, when you look at how your first three games have gone, have you played up to the standard that you want to play up to?
A: Are you asking individually or collectively?

Q: Individually.
A: Absolutely not. There are things I definitely want to do better. There are ways I want to figure out how to help our team win. We’re all still figuring it all out. But we’re excited for this week. So far, we’ve had a great week in practice. We’re looking forward to getting out to Dallas and competing and trying to get out of there with a win.

Q: I wanted to ask you about the Cowboys defensive backfield. It looks like they’ve had some struggles back there. They’ve had some different guys come in and out of the lineup. What have you seen from that group? Are their struggles maybe a little deceiving to the talent that they have?
A: Week in and week out, no matter who you are in the NFL, you’re going against some superior athletes. There are a lot of really good receivers. But I see a very talented secondary over there. The young guy they just brought in, (Trevon) Diggs, he’s a long guy who can play. Jourdan Lewis, he can play some good ball. Their safeties as well. I think they are a good secondary. I think it’s going to be a great challenge for us. But I think we just need to go out there and execute the best we possibly can and everything will work out.

Q: Just wanted to go back to Sunday real quick. Did you address the team at all about what happened? What was your reaction to everybody kind of jumping to your defense as quickly as they did?
A: Like I said, I’m trying not to relive any of that. I’m trying to move forward because in my mind, it doesn’t really matter what happened outside of the game. We lost. We lost last week. Whatever happened, happened. I just want to move forward with this week’s game and try to get a win.

Q: Well what has to be different in this week’s game? You guys are averaging like less than 12 points a game, seems inconsistent. What has to be different against the Cowboys, who have given up more points than anybody in the league?
A: I can only speak for the offense. I think offensively, we just need to be a little more detailed. I think we need to be fundamentally more sound. A lot of the things we’ve done have been self-inflicted. We just need to be a little bit sharper. I know that we’re working hard every single day at practice. We just need to put it together on Sundays or whenever we’re playing. You look back at that film. If a receiver does something slightly different, then that third down ball is completed and we move the sticks. Things like that, we just need to be better at.

Q: I know you want to move forward, but in order for that to happen, how important was it for you to go talk to Coach Joe Judge about everything that happened to sort of move it forward?
A: Joe just kind of asked me what happened and I told him. He took my word for it, then he moved on. That was kind of it.

Q: What’s this week been like for you? Obviously, it did attract a lot of attention. How much has that sort of entered the picture for you this week and been part of your preparation going forward?
A: I haven’t really thought about it at all since really Sunday and Monday. When I play well, I try not to read all of the stuff. When I don’t play well, I try not to read it. I’m pretty consistent with that, so I haven’t really thought about it too much. Just kind of been trying to get focused. We’re trying to get a win any way we possibly can. I’m putting all my focus on that and seeing what I can do better as a receiver, and how I can help the receivers make some more plays.

Q: Quick question. I know football is a team game, but when your defense plays as well as it did this past Sunday, on the offensive side, are you guys sitting there going ‘sorry guys,’ or are you just sitting there saying, ‘we’ll get you next week,’ or whatever?
A: I think offensively, we hold ourselves to a high standard, and we haven’t met that. We just take ownership for what we are doing. We do acknowledge that the defense has been playing very well. You have to score points to win games, point blank, end of story. We’re trying to figure out ways to isolate guys, make more plays, stay on pace, make it third and manageable, also make the plays, don’t turn it over, things like that. We’re just trying to do those things. We definitely see how well the defense played against a very explosive offense last week.

Q: In practice today, how did Jabrill (Peppers) look? Was it good to have him back on the field?
A: Yeah, it was definitely nice to have him back. Just glad to see him out there and his personality. I didn’t get a chance to focus in on him to see what he was doing so much just because I was too focused on figuring out what’s the next period, what plays we have, what I can do to get on the same page as DJ (Daniel Jones). I didn’t get a chance to actually look at him. I’ll look at him on film tonight, though.

Q: When it comes to punt returns, Coach McGaughey said a lot of that has to do with you and him sort of communicating about who goes out to field those punts. How do those conversations work?
A: I just stay ready for punt returns. I’m always, no matter if I’m a starter or not, that’s how it’s been in my career. I understand that there are going to be times where Pep or whoever it is might need a breather or something happens, a shoelace breaks, whatever it is. I’m always ready on third down before a punt happens and just kind of feeling it out, counting guys, seeing if we need a returner or not. I’m just ready. I think both Pep and I, and really any other returner, just want an opportunity to make a big play and gain some momentum.

Q: I don’t really see any bruises on your face. Doesn’t that mean you won the fight?
A: I had my helmet on.