Wide Receiver John Ross III
October 4, 2021
Q: Just kind of a big picture question for you, what did yesterday do for the team’s confidence after
starting 0-3?
A: I think going forward it kind of showed us what we can do as a team if we play together, and we finish
games together. I think that's big for any team in this league. I think we did a pretty good job of showing
that once we stick together, we play through every down, and we stick together, and we fight together,
that the outcome will be basically based on what we've done all week. We’ll continue to work hard, take
coaching, and continue to fight together.
Q: Can you just take us through that touchdown catch or fumble recovery, or whatever it's technically
called? Can you take us through what happened there?
A: We kind of got what we were looking for. DJ (Quarterback Daniel Jones) put a great ball out there,
and I just had to go get it. That was pretty much it. It was a great call by the coaches and I just wanted to
make a play.
Q: Obviously, you wound up missing quite a bit of training camp with your injury, and then you
missed the first few weeks and you only just started practicing this week. So, how big was that for you
to get out there and kind of show what you can do after missing so much time?
A: It's very big, given the numbers that we have and the guys who went down, we needed a few people
to step up. I was thankful with the opportunity granted to be one of those guys that had to step up.
Q: This has probably been your story your whole career, but what impact do you think your speed and
(Wide Receiver) Kadarius Toney’s speed and elusiveness had on (Running Back) Saquon's (Barkley) big
game? With you guys out there, it certainly looked like the Saints couldn't put as many guys in the box
as other opponents have been putting in the box against Saquon. Did you see that? Did you feel that
impact?
A: I look at it a lot of ways. We’ve got a lot of really good players in my opinion. Not just saying me and
Kadarius, you’ve got (Wide Receiver Kenny Golladay) 19 out there doing a great job. You’ve got (Tight
End Evan Engram) 88 out there doing a great job, (Tight End) Kyle Rudolph too. All those guys are
making plays. So, I feel as if it's hard to focus just on me and Kadarius when you've got so many other
guys who make plays as well.
Q: I just mean the speed element. I don't think it's a secret to anybody that you two are the fastest
guys on the offense. I'm sure that's been the case everywhere you went, so I was just talking in terms
of ‘speed kills.’ I assume defenses have to play you differently than they do other receivers. Is that
true?
A: I believe so. I think that's something that's hard to coach against. Once you utilize it, it's something
you have to really hone in on. I think what me and Kadarius can do opens up a lot of things.
Q: Did it matter to you if it was a touchdown catch, or a touchdown fumble and recovery? Does that
matter to you?
A: Not at all. It put points on the board, that's all that mattered. As long as it was called a touchdown,
that was all I was focused on.
Q: Obviously, the deep shot is something that you want to be known for with your speed, but you had
two other catches which kind of showed different, a comeback and a slant. Was that important to you
as well to show that, ‘Look, I'm not just a guy they can use on a go route, but I can do everything, and I
deserve to be out there because I can do everything?’
A: I feel like every facet of my game is important because I have to continue to show why I should be in
there for multiple reasons. I’ve always said this, I never want to be a one-trick pony. I don’t want to go in
the game and the defense is like – I think I went in yesterday, and the defense was kind of waving back,
like, ‘Get back.’ I kind of want to be more than that. So, for me to go out there and make those two
plays, it felt good. It felt good to put us in a different position and help continue moving the ball in
different ways, and not just all the way down the field.
Q: Along those lines, as far as setting it up for everybody else, how much do you see them almost
respecting your speed like you said, and it sets up the rest of your route tree and being able to take
advantage of that because they're almost sitting on your speed?
A: You can kind of see it, even early in the game. I think, there's no secret that I’m fast, so I would expect
when teams put out a scouting report, or whenever my name is called, the first thing they think of is
speed. So, I expect to kind of get a softer coverage a lot of times and for guys to play deeper.
Q: Was that always a part of your growth as a player that you knew if you could become a good route
runner that you could take advantage of those things as you progressed?
A: Absolutely, that's kind of what I like to work on in the offseason. Trying to add different elements to
my game more than just speed because that can easily be taken away with different coverages. You
want to get better at some of those short-area yardage things.
Q: I'd imagine that was the first career touchdown for you with one shoe on, but can you just go through
what you were thinking there, and how quickly you recognized that you needed to pounce on that football?
A: I'm all about the ball, so I just felt that no matter what it was, whether I was down or not, I wanted to
make sure that I ended up with the ball. I wanted to leave no question, whether someone else tried to
recover it or not, I wanted to make sure I got on it, no matter what it was. I thought it was a catch, but I
just wanted to make sure I got up with the ball no matter what.
Q: An overlooked aspect I think of not just your game, but also all the receivers’ games, is the
downfield blocking for the running game. I was just wondering if you could talk a little bit about that
and the pride you guys take in that? How much does the speed help with that?
A: It helps a lot. We try to get guys’ eyes turned and down the field. The biggest thing is when you have
someone as talented as (Running Back Saquon Barkley) 26 back there, you never know. You want to
make sure you block as much as you can, as long as you can, because you never know where that ball is
going to go when that ball touches his hand. It's always critical for us to take pride in that because that
ball can start left and end up right and you never know. We just want to make sure we try to take our
man out as best as we can.
