On evaluating the team heading into Week 1:
“We still have a couple more days of game planning and still have a couple more days of practice here. We are just fine tuning everything, putting new things in and just trying to make sure we are as sharp as can be come Sunday.”
On starting the season at Kansas City and how last season’s AFC Divisional Round loss to the Chiefs fueled players in the offseason and preparing for what they want to accomplish in 2021:
“Last year, we knew the season did not end the way we wanted it to, but we still did some things really well. We managed to make it to that game. Now to have the opportunity to go back there in their environment with fans, we know it is going to be just as tough as a battle for us. We are putting the final touches on things, preparing and expecting nothing less than a good game.”
On how much last year’s AFC Divisional Round loss to the Chiefs drove him during the offseason:
“We want to get where we want to get. As we have seen for the last couple of years throughout the AFC, that is one of the teams you that have to face and you are going to have to beat and play with. You definitely train and prepare with a lot of those things in mind. Ultimately, too, we believe a lot that happened in that game and last season was self-inflicted. We did things that did not help us win games. We are trying to get those things corrected throughout this offseason, throughout training camp and here finishing out the week before we head up.”
On Head Coach Kevin Stefanski delivering the message to turn the page from last season but also be motivated by what occurred last season:
“We understand who they are and things like that, but we also understand the importance of us and the things that we did not do really well that game and the season. A lot of that stuff has been corrected and a lot of those things are getting the final touches put on for the upcoming year.”
On if there is a danger to potentially putting too much pressure on a season opener:
“It is a long year. Bullets have not started flying yet. For us, we have a one-game mentality, a win one-game mentality. That is the way we are approaching it so this game is the biggest because it is the next one.”
On if there is an extra level of excitement level for the matchup against the Chiefs, given both teams are expected to have good seasons:
“It is definitely exciting. For us, too, it is just exciting to get back to the game the way that we know it with fans and with this team. It is really going to be exciting. We are looking forward to it.”