DL Dalvin Tomlinson
October 12, 2020
Q: What’s missing from this team that’s not allowing you guys to win?
A: I feel like we have to execute for 60 whole minutes, that’s the biggest thing right now. Our execution throughout the whole game.
Q: Do you feel like part of it is some of the players have to learn to win?
A: No, I don’t think it’s learning to win. It’s the NFL, you have to play 60 consistent minutes throughout the whole game. I feel like we have to get over the top of the hill with that. As long as we get ready to play those consistent 60 minutes, we’ll be good.
Q: Do you look back at the five games this season and say in maybe four of him we were that close?
A: There were some close games we had this year. All we can do is worry about the next one because you can’t change the past.
Q: There are people who look at this and say you guys are 0-5, the Jets are 0-5, is any team ever going to win a game in this area? Do you feel it’s there?
A: Yeah, most definitely. Every game is super close for us, we just have to get over the top. Like I said, we have to execute in those critical moments when we need to execute.
Q: What do you lose without Zo in the lineup now?
A: Lorenzo Carter is a great player. He was having a great season so far. Missing him is going to be a key to our defense. We had some other guys who were in that position who were able to step up and take up the role that Lorenzo left.
Q: With that being said, how big is it that you have a guy like Markus Golden? Obviously, 10 sacks last year, pretty good resume, proven player in this league that’s kind of sitting there that you can put in that spot.
A: Markus is a great guy. He always has his head on right ready to work each and every day. The energy he brings out there when he comes out there is going to be super effective for us on defense.
Q: Do you guys find that it’s hard to not look at the NFC East and say despite the fact that we haven’t won a game, we’re still within striking distance?
A: I feel like, it’s in the picture, but I feel like the biggest thing for us is we want to focus on getting wins and keep improving. As a team, just keep growing. We know the wins are right there around the corner.
Q: Coach always speaks about improvement, that you guys are making improvement. He talks about not necessarily the numbers, but what’s on tape, the visual evidence. What visual evidence is being made as far as the improvements that maybe isn’t translating onto the field just yet?
A: The physical evidence? The physicality of our team. We’re growing as a team. Each and every week, we’re growing and just playing more collective. We have to just continue to grow and continue to be able to learn of each other and how each other plays. Continue to execute the game plan.
Q: Some of the new players have not been through this before with the Giants. Joe Judge and pretty much the whole coaching staff have not. You have been around for several years. Is this losing in any way the same as past losing? Is it different, is it better, is it worse? Does it feel the same or does it feel like it’s building to something different?
A: I’m not one to compare losing seasons. I feel like what we have here on this team is special. The guys we have, the way we come to work each and every day, whatever we have to do each and every day at practice, we go and do it, no questions asked. The mentality of the team, I feel like we have something special here.
Q: You’ve been on college teams that obviously were special and won a lot. Can you have a special team that doesn’t win?
A: I wouldn’t say that. I would say it’s a thin line between winning and losing. If you don’t execute what you’re supposed to, you can give the game away.
Q: You see signs though that what you’re saying will eventually pay off in wins? Is that too much to say at this point?
A: I feel like we come in with our heads down and just work. It’s bound to pay off in due time.
Q: There’s been a lot of talk the first five weeks now that offensive holding penalties are down throughout the league. I’m just curious, from your perspective, from a guy who’s in there on the interior battling the other side. Have you noticed anything different? Have there been plays where you kind of just look around and say I can’t believe there’s not a call? How do you not change your approach based on what maybe you think you have seen in the past versus what maybe you’re seeing now?
A: As a defensive interior lineman, I just feel like holding is a part of the game. You don’t really focus on why they didn’t call this holding or that because we get held all the time. You have to play with it. You don’t want to depend on penalties, so you just try to make plays if they are holding or not.
Q: Have you seen that, though, that it’s getting called less this year? Have you noticed that?
A: I haven’t even noticed it because I don’t look at penalties and stuff like that. I just try to execute what we have to do up front.
