TRANSCRIPT: Patriots DT Davon Godchaux on WEEI’s Jones & Keefe
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Here’s the full transcript of New England Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux’s interview on WEEI’s Jones & Keefe on Monday:
It was a good start for the defense yesterday. A couple of held field goals for the Niners. You guys were able to hold up in the red zone before San Francisco started to really get rolling on offense. What changed as the game went along for you guys on defense?
“Well, we just all got to be on the same page, man. We got guys, just to be honest, we got guys, some guys just being selfish. Because guys, I get it, I mean, we’re down, guys want to make plays. I get it, but everybody got to play. I’m talking about defense. Everybody has to play as 11, and everybody has to sacrifice to do what’s best for the team. I know some guys want to make plays when we’re down, trying to get back in the game, but we got to just keep going as a team and play team defense.”
Do you mean going for picks when they shouldn’t, going for sacks when they shouldn’t, or just going away from the design play call?
“Just both. We have a standard of holding guys accountable. If I’m not doing my job, coach is going to hold me accountable. My teammates are going to hold me accountable. Everybody just got to be as one. Because I get it, you get down, and everybody wants to make your play, and everybody wants to get the big splash play, to ‘I brought us back in the game’ play. But at the end of the day, it takes a team. Nobody is good as an individual. We’re good as 11. We don’t have guys going out there being good as individuals. We have guys that’ve been good as 11, and that’s on every unit, special teams, offense, defense.”
“I think once guys get that, I think we’ll be okay. We have a really good team, but we don’t show it for all 60 minutes. We have a really good team. That team is probably going to be, San Fran is probably going to be in a Super Bowl again. When they get healthy, they’re a really good team. Shanahan’s system has always been pretty good in the NFL, but we have a really good team. We played good in spurts, but we didn’t play good for 60 minutes. I challenged us to do that this week. Miami is going to play tonight. I’m sure we’re going to watch them. And then we play them Sunday, which is another banged up team. But on the same offense, we just basically played in San Fran, the Sanahan system with Mike McDaniel. So we have a good chance to… I’m not looking ahead, but we have a good chance to pull some wins if we can just play as a team and do things the right way.”
Was this something that you addressed the team after the game? Did one of the coaches say this? Because this all makes a lot of sense, but I’m curious, at what point did you guys communicate this?
“This is coming from me as a guy who played a lot of football in the league, who’s been a starter in the league since day one. It’s coming from me. I’ve seen a lot of football where I can tell when it… And I’m not calling nobody out. I just know guys are just trying to make a play, and I get it. Everybody trying to make a play to get us back in the game to make that old wild play, that sack fumble, that the quarterback, TFL, big TFL. I get it. I’m not saying what they’re doing – I’m not happy with what they’re doing, but it could be better. We can’t have guys doing their own thing when we call something as a defense, and we have to do something to get us back in the game. But I get it. Guys want to make plays. Guys want to make the splash plays, but it’s a time and a moment for that. And I just feel yesterday, we had too many plays where guys were just trying to do their own thing.”
You say that you’re confident you guys will get it cleaned up. Where does Where did that level of confidence come from? And I guess the reason I asked, we talked to Dietrich Wise, your teammate, last Friday. He said, focusing on keeping the quarterback in the pocket after Aaron Rodgers is going to be key against Brock Purdy. Didn’t happen. A lot of blown edges on the edge of the defense yesterday. Jerod Mayo said a lot of those things would get cleaned up against San Francisco. They didn’t. So why are you confident it will get fixed?
“Because it’s all self-inflicted wounds. It’s not like the teams are doing something that we haven’t seen. It’s all self-inflicted wounds that we’re basically doing it ourselves. I know I had one yesterday where I could have contained the quarterback. And when I did contain the quarterback, I know I shouldn’t have mentioned Deatrich Wise, he ended up getting the sack. But I know I had one that I could have did better on. But it’s all self-inflicted wounds. It’s not nothing that the team is doing. It’s us beating ourselves. And I’m not discrediting the Jets. I’m not discrediting San Fran, but it’s all self-implicated wounds. It’s all things that we can clean up. And it’s just a matter of doing it, not talking about it, doing it. And I think it’s another great… Any given Sunday is another opportunity this Sunday to go and face a divisional team who’s banged up also, who’s going to be looking to get a win. And we have them at home. It’s an opportunity to get a win and get back in the win column. Like I said, I’m not looking ahead, but just looking at the next quarter, I’m not underestimating no team that we played, but these next couple of games are very winnable.”
“You look at a Seahawks team who’s still undefeated, and they got a San Fran team who’s probably going to… I mean, a good shot of being back in the Super Bowl again. You look at Cincinnati. I know they’re one and three now, but that’s a play-off team, proven team with Joe Burrow. We just got to keep trusting each other, trusting our techniques, trusting the coaching, and I think everything will be all right. I remember my rookie year here. I’m not looking in the past, but we started out one and, I think, if I’m not mistaken, we started out one and three, and we ended up winning seven, eight games in a row. I don’t really get scared when people are like, ‘Oh, it’s one in three.’ It’s the first quarter of the season. It’s the first four games. You got so much football left. September, I get it. Some teams want to jump out to an early start, but November, December, that’s when the good teams put great wins together and make a push for the playoffs.”
Is there ever a risk of a rift in the locker room between the offense and the defense? When you’ve seen sometimes when one side is …
“No. No. We’re professionals. At the end of the day, you know what you did on film. You know what you put on film. We’re professional. We’re teammates. We’re brothers. At the end of the day, we got to pick each other up when someone is down. I thought Special Teams played a hell of a game yesterday. A really great game. I mean, that guy, Brendan Schooler, man, that guy’s unbelievable. He’s an all-pro at what he does. That guy is just watching him on the field, on the sideline, just attacked…I mean, they got to double him, and they still can’t double him. That guy, he’s an all-pro at what he does, and he does it every day in practice. So I’m not surprised by what he does in the game.”
You think you’re a good team? I hear this over and over again. You think you’re better than your record shows, better than Vegas predicted, win totals, four and a half, things like that. You think you’re a good team?
“Yes, absolutely. At the end of the day, the game still has to be played. I mean, how many times has Vegas been wrong? Vegas, they just said this team is going to win a Super Bowl, and the other team ended up winning it. It’s all just their prediction. And there’s nothing wrong with that because everybody has opinions. But at the end of the day, the game still has to be played in between the white lines. The game still got to be played on a Sunday, no matter if it’s a 10-point underdog talk, whatever it is. The game still has to be played. I get it. Everybody is going to make their opinion and say, ‘Hey, the Patriots are this, the Patriots are that.’ But as long as we believe in the guys in the building and the people that we go to work with, that’s all it matters.”
I’ve noticed there hasn’t been a new Chauxtalk on your YouTube channel in a few weeks. Is that on pause during the season, or are you going to get some more of these out soon?
“No, it’s not on pause. I can shoot people every week if you want me to, but I just want to shoot the right people.”
Yeah, you’re, right the right guest. Do you have somebody lined up for the next one?
“I’m sorry for the delay. I think the next guest is going to be a special guest. I’m just waiting on confirmation, is all I’ll just say. I’m just waiting on confirmation.”
Any hints? Is it a teammate or is it somebody outside of the locker room?
“I’ll just say somebody big in Boston.”
Interesting. All right. Well, I’ll be thinking about that a little bit. During the game yesterday, Greg Olson was talking quite a bit about how big Joey Slye is. He lifts more than any other kicker he’s ever been around. He’s got to be the most jacked kicker.
“[I’ve] Never seen a kicker work out like he does.”
Really?
“By the way, congratulations on him making the 63 [yard field goal]. I think that’s a franchise record, right? Nobody never did a 63-yard field goal.”
I think it was tied for the fourth longest, something like that [in the NFL]
“The Patriots have had some great kickers.”
They have, Oh Yeah. That was a boot and half. Yeah, he had a great game.
[Slye]’s putting up a lot of the hang clean, bench press, squats?
“This guy lifts like he’s about to play linebacker I swear. This guy lifts a lot. He lifts, he squats, bench press. I’m like, ‘Damn, are you playing linebacker this week? Are you coming down here?’ This guy, but congratulations to him. Well-deserved. He’s another guy, puts the work in in practice, and you see the results out there on the field.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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