Defensive Back Logan Ryan
Q: Do you feel good coming out of a couple performances in a row like you guys have had after the way you guys were struggling a bit at the start of the year?
A: I can't say we feel good. There are no 'attaboys.' We played well on defense, but not well enough to win. There was some unfortunate stuff at the end. We're moving on from that. I think there are things to learn from from that game. We'll take from the good, we learn some of the bad that we've got to clean up. We've got a great opponent coming in. I think honestly the Las Vegas Raiders are playing better offense than almost anybody we've seen this year, so they're operating at a high level at the quarterback position to the receivers, the running game. It'll be a tough opponent.
Q: What's this morning been like with all the COVID stuff for you guys as players?
A: It's a 2020-2021 NFL season. It's nothing new. We wear tracers every day, get COVID tested, so stuff like this comes up. Obviously, results have got to come back. I'm not going to speak too much on it, but we obviously had experience with this last season. It's been a different type of football these last couple years. We've got to be able to adjust on the fly, so we're well-trained and versed in that. Whatever it has to be, we'll do whatever it is to keep everyone safe.
Q: Any sort of inconvenience for you guys?
A: No, no other inconvenience that other teams in the league don't have to go through. We'll be able to adjust. It's just the challenges of playing during this pandemic and this virus. There are going to be some circumstances that are out of our control obviously, so we've just got to do the best with the schedule, but I think I've said I think we had great practice in that from last year.
Q: Is it still a reminder that this is something you have to consider, that you have to be vigilant, that you have to protect yourself?
A: For sure, it's a great reminder. I don't think anyone is out there trying to go get anything or anything like that. This stuff happens. This virus is out there. It's still out there, obviously. We've got to do the best we can with it and still got to socially distance, still got to wash your hands, still got to take care of your general health. You have to wish well for anybody gong through the virus. It's not a thing that I want to wish on anybody, so I encourage everyone to be vaccinated.
Q: When you watch the tape of Vegas's last game and (Raiders Quarterback Derek) Carr is hitting 31 of 34, was he just on point that game or what?
A: He's got great command. That game against the Eagles was a clinic, an offensive clinic. He's got great command of his system and the quarterback has a lot on his plate at the line of scrimmage. I know in that system he's calling a lot of plays at the line of scrimmage. When he knows what you're in, he's calling a good play against that defense and he's taking the profit. He's an accurate thrower, he's a smart thrower of the football, he's taking care of the ball. Like I said, he's operating the quarterback position at one of the highest levels in the league right now. You've got to give him his respect. Again, a staple of what we do is we've got to make it difficult on him pre-snap in what he does and what he's seeing, and not let it be the truth all the time, only the truth some of the times. Make him hopefully check in some plays that aren't ideal, so he does worse than 31 of 34.
Q: For a second, you said you encourage everyone to be vaccinated, right? Not everyone here is vaccinated, that's the reality that (Head Coach) Joe (Judge) said before. Most players are, but not everybody. How much does that put you guys at risk? How do you view that when maybe not everyone in your room decided to make that choice?
A: Well, it's my opinion for everyone to be vaccinated, but I can't control what people do. It's their right. I think our building is probably 98.9-percent vaccinated – much higher than America, much higher than most households. I think our building is safer than everyone's houses. We've got a high vaccination rate in this building and that's almost the best we can do. You've got to respect everyone's choice, but I think having 98-percent of your building or 99-percent of our building, whatever our building is, is pretty high.
Q: What's the overall morale of this team at this time?
A: I think it was a great game, a tough loss. The morale is in the middle I would say. I don't think it's sky high after a loss, but at the same time I think there's something to learn from in that one. I think we learned how well we can compete with some of the best in the league and we're ready to go out there and get a win this week. We're heading into the bye week. This is a big game for us on our schedule. They're a very big opponent, like I said, and we're ready to go out there and play well in front of our fans like we did last time we were at home.
Q: Obviously, you're not getting the results that you want, but do the guys as a group feel and see progress being made?
A: For sure. The results aren't the entire story. In sports, they may seem that way because of records and numbers, but it's not the entire story. You've got to take it – being someone with nine years of experience in this league, you've got to take that silver lining and everything and you've got to live in the middle a little bit. If you ride that roller coaster, you won't last long in this league. You won't be a productive player in this league for long if you hear everything bad and everything good said about you. You've got to ride in the middle there. I think there's some progress made there. We obviously want the progress to be wins. Like I said, we have a really good opponent coming in and we've got to build on what we did, and we've got to be able to finish the game better to result in a win.
Q: What is it about Joe and his approach that you think guys won't tune it out if you keep losing?
A: His approach is he's going to do everything he can to prepare us for the game. The Carolina game had nothing to do with the Kansas City game. We prepared really hard. Obviously, did not finish that game and he's going to come back and be consistent, and we're going to be as prepared as possible to play the game. I think people have got to respect Joe's consistency and his ability to go over every detail and leave no stone unturned and stay here late at night and put a lot of work in. Like I said, it's not a lack of effort. I think Joe's consistency and his approach earns the guys' respect because he's not changing with the times week in and week out. I think guys need a constant message, guys need a consistent message, guys need to be pushed, guys need to work hard because the wins and losses and the margin for error is really small in this league, as we've experienced sometimes in these games. You've got to do the little things right in order to be on the other side of it.
Q: As a veteran – it's not your side of the ball obviously, but early in the game when a young quarterback makes a mistake like (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones) did, do the other teammates look and see how he's going to respond to that? Because that can be rough on a guy, a quick interception and it goes to seven points…
A: It's all about how you respond in life and all about how you respond in this league. I think Daniel is responding really well this season compared to some of the criticism he's dealt with in his career. I'm not going to speak too much on it, but he's been through a lot and I think he responds everyday in his work ethic and responds in the game. A quarterback like Derek Carr, who we just talked about, he threw an interception early last game and then he goes 31 of 34. It's all about how you respond in this league. You're not going to be perfect, I haven't been, but it's all about how you respond and how you lead the next play. That's just part of sports. That's how heroic stories and some of the greatest athletes that we admire, they always tell you about the shots they missed, then they go back and make the next one. That's just the mentality that you need to have.
