Browns DB Denzel Ward chats with the media ahead of the Browns home game against the Jaguars.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 It wasn't that bad.
00:01 It was earlier in the game.
00:04 But you were able to finish the game.
00:07 Yeah, yeah.
00:08 It was kind of bugging me throughout the game, but it was bearable.
00:11 I was able to push through it.
00:13 And yeah, it was earlier in the game.
00:16 It seems to me that you had a shoulder injury inside this room.
00:19 Man, I know.
00:20 It's crazy.
00:21 I wish that wasn't the case, but I mean, that's this game.
00:24 Injuries happen.
00:25 Every year it's going to happen.
00:27 That's the worst part of this game.
00:28 But stuff happens.
00:30 You've got to fight through it and find a way to still get a win each week.
00:32 He's been on an attempted tackle, an un-attacked.
00:35 Yeah, yeah.
00:36 What makes Turner so good?
00:39 Oh, man, he's able to make any pass on the field.
00:43 He's got a very strong arm.
00:45 Goes through his progressions.
00:47 He's got playmakers on that side of the ball.
00:49 But he's just a high-caliber quarterback in this league, able to make every throw.
00:54 And he's a good quarterback back there.
00:56 What stands out about Ridley?
00:58 Yeah, he's got quick twitch, great route runner, good hands, a playmaker for those guys.
01:05 So he's going to present a threat for us that we're going to have to up for the challenge and able to take care of him.
01:15 What does this defense have to do to get back on track?
01:18 Yeah, I mean, we just got to -- we don't have to do nothing out of the ordinary.
01:21 Just be us.
01:23 And like I said, we put a lot of great tape out there on film.
01:26 We've got the ability to be elite defense in this league.
01:31 And we just got to play to who we are.
01:33 Got to play fast.
01:34 Got to play with that swag out there and play complimentary balls.
01:37 So I think we'll get back to who we are and help our offense, all help special teams, and help the team win.
01:43 Joe, this is obviously December.
01:45 It's, you know, the make-or-break time of the year for teams that are competing for playoff spots.
01:50 How much can you draw from the 2020 season?
01:53 I know it was real abnormal with the COVID protocols and stuff like that.
01:57 But can that experience of what you guys went through help you this time around as you go through another playoff chase here?
02:08 Yeah, to a certain extent.
02:09 I mean, every year you're going to be faced with a lot of adversity.
02:12 And just got to try to find ways to overcome it and ultimately find a way to get a win.
02:17 That's always the goal.
02:19 You know, and get a win.
02:21 But, yeah, just find a way to overcome that adversity.
02:24 But I think we're capable of doing that.
02:27 The last thing that I saw at PFFV at you is single coverage at like a 26.3 SRA agency.
02:40 Do you feel like you're having your best season in single coverage right now?
02:44 Oh, I do, honestly.
02:45 I feel like I am having one of my better seasons, definitely, in man-to-man coverage.
02:51 But I count that to Coach Schwartz, my position coaches, and the D-line being able to get a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks and the back end.
03:01 We've been playing a great complementary ball when I've been out there.
03:05 And they've been doing a great job helping me out and putting me in great positions to make plays on the ball and just being great position, really.
03:14 So I thought I have been doing pretty well in that aspect.
03:17 But a lot goes into that and how I'm able to get necessarily one of the best man-to-man coverages.
03:25 That rush is putting a lot of pressure on that quarterback, making them get that ball out pretty quick.
03:29 So I don't have to cover too long back there.
03:31 Obviously, this is the ultimate team.
03:33 Back-to-back losses with you out, the defense having a little bit of a struggle.
03:38 How much pride do you take in being able to give them a boost when you get back out?
03:43 Yeah, I take a lot of pride in that.
03:45 I try to be that spark and be that big energy and playmaking guy out there as best as I can and doing whatever I can to help my team win.
03:54 So it's been hard for me and her just being out for my guys.
03:59 I want to be there.
04:00 So I'm just feeling like I've been kind of letting them down.
04:02 But I'm just trying to fight to get back out there with those guys.
04:06 That's the goal.
04:07 But just trying to do the best I can and be myself and help this team win.
04:12 Denzel, you've had a few concussions in the shoulder injury just now.
04:17 At this stage of your career, what is your attitude about the way you play?
04:23 You're not going to change anything?
04:25 The way you play, the way you attack, all of that?
04:27 No, man.
04:28 I feel I'm a playmaking corner.
04:32 I feel like my team needs me and I need myself.
04:35 I need this game.
04:36 I'm not playing this game.
04:38 I mean injuries are going to happen.
04:40 Stuff is going to happen.
04:42 Like I said, I had a few concussions, but I'm not too worried about that.
04:45 I did my research and everything on that and overcome those.
04:49 It hurt my shoulder a little bit, but that's just how the game goes sometimes.
04:53 You just got to try to find a way to continue to stay on top of my body and everything.
04:58 And once maybe I do go out, get back as fast as I can and get back out there.
05:02 But it's definitely not going to affect the way I play the game.
05:05 I feel like when I'm out there, I just do what I can to help my team win,
05:09 and that's playing fast and physical and being who I am.
05:12 When you say you feel like you're going to help your team,
05:15 why would you feel that way when you're obviously out with a shoulder injury
05:19 that you can't do anything about it and you've been fighting so hard to get back?
05:23 Yeah, I just want to be out there with my guys.
05:25 That's it.
05:26 I know the team needs me, and I just want to be out there with them,
05:31 out there fighting with them and trying to fight for the playoffs.
05:35 That's the biggest thing I want to say.
05:37 I feel like I'm kind of letting them down.
05:39 You know, if stuff happens, that's life.
05:41 Things are going to happen, and you're going to be faced with situations
05:44 where you may be out and may not be able to do certain things.
05:47 But just trying to be the best me I can be.
05:49 If I'm out, being a great coach, coach on the sideline
05:52 and helping those guys out as best as I can.
05:54 But I know for me personally in this situation,
05:57 it's best for me to be out on that field than on the sideline as a coach.
06:01 Denzel Apollo, you said you're dealing with injuries regularly.
06:04 When you're out there, we know that you play at a Pro Bowl level.
06:07 But it has been something you have repeatedly overcome and come back.
06:11 What keeps you going?
06:13 What keeps your head up when you're dealing with that over and over and over?
06:16 Yeah, I mean, I understand that injuries are going to happen,
06:18 stuff is going to happen.
06:19 That's football.
06:20 I think I just compare it to life.
06:22 Everything is not going to be perfect in life.
06:24 Things are going to happen.
06:26 It's about how you respond and how you overcome it.
06:28 So I take a lot of pride in being able to fight back.
06:31 Regardless of the circumstance, being able to come back
06:34 and execute at a high level of play and still doing my job.
06:39 So that's like something is going to happen in life,
06:41 but just being able to overcome.
06:43 I heard in the beginning that it may have been something to do with your neighbor.
06:47 Was it something sort of structural that you've been dealing with?
06:50 I'm not going to disclose any sort of injuries or that.
06:55 But I'm feeling a lot better and just looking forward to getting back with the guys.
07:03 Thank you, guys.