CB James Bradberry
December 23, 2020
Q: What was it like watching the game last week? Did you feel any sense of responsibility for the loss?
A: It was definitely weird watching the game from my couch. I was just really disappointed that I wasn’t able to go out there. I couldn’t really say I blame myself. It’s just a predicament because of COVID. It was an uncontrollable accident that happened.
Q: Talk about when you found out you made the Pro Bowl. You’re first one. Talk about your emotions there when you found out.
A: It was surreal, and I was excited of course because this is my first Pro Bowl. But it was just surreal. Going into my fifth year, I didn’t really think about making the Pro Bowl honestly. I think I went into my fourth year definitely thinking about the Pro Bowl and it didn’t happen, so I was disappointed after the season. This year, I just tried to go in there with an open mind and just try to play the best football I could.
Q: You’ve seen Kyler (Murray), you’ve seen Russell (Wilson). Where does Lamar (Jackson) stack up?
A: He’s definitely similar to those quarterbacks. He’s able to make plays with his legs and also has a strong arm. He’s able to complete several explosive plays down the field because he has Marquise Brown, an explosive receiver on the outside. So, they’re very similar in certain ways.
Q: If I could just go back to that first question, it’s been pretty well reported that what happened was you went to see a chiropractor. I’m just curious if you could shed any light. Is that somebody you had worked with previously? Was that a first-time appointment? Had you been led to believe he was tested and he wasn’t? How did you get in that, I think you called it an ‘unfortunate predicament’? How did that happen?
A: I’ll start off by saying football is a physical sport. It takes a toll on your body, so of course, when you come to a new city, you want to get a routine started with people that will help you with your recovery. I was introduced to him. I found out that he was with the Jets, maybe I thought our first or second meeting after we got talking. But I had been working with him since the beginning of training camp. Of course, he got popped with a positive COVID test later in the season. But I knew he was with the Jets, so I knew he was getting tested every day. I didn’t really see it as a problem.
Q: Do you think you’re playing better this year or you’re just getting more recognition?
A: I think I’m just getting more recognition.
Q: Do you think you were playing at this level in Carolina?
A: Yeah, definitely my fourth year there. My last year in Carolina, I feel like I played pretty well. I think I’m just keeping it going right now. I think I’m playing as well as I did last year.
Q: One more about this Ravens matchup. You mentioned their explosive pass plays, but what’s it like for a corner when they’re going to run the ball a ton, and I guess you kind of can’t fall asleep? Is that how you have to approach it, where it’s not a team that’s going to air it out 50 times?
A: Yeah, definitely. You just want to make sure you’re locked in the whole time throughout the game. You have those run plays, especially when they’re going away from you, they’re running the ball away from you, you can tend to get lackadaisical and lose focus. You definitely want to make sure you stay locked in because you never know when they’re going to try to throw the ball deep.
Q: You mentioned you played against some mobile quarterbacks. Is Lamar different? He’s a little bigger. Some people think he’s the most difficult guy in the league to tackle. When you look at him, you don’t want to get on a highlight film of him going past you. What is the key when it’s a one on one matchup with a guy like that?
A: Really just taking the air out of it. Getting close to him as fast as you can, but also, trying to get under control to where you’re able to cut left or right when he makes his cut. But like you said, Lamar Jackson, he’s an elite runner. He’s able to run full speed and make cuts on a dime. That’s kind of like Kyler, but Kyler’s a smaller quarterback. When you add that skillset to a bigger guy who has a longer stride length, able to cover more ground, it makes it even harder to stop a guy like that. Speed, quickness, all of the above.
