Take a look at top quotes from Chargers Head Coach Brandon Staley, wide reciever Mike Williams, safety Derwin James, Jr. and running back Austin Ekeler following the Bolts game on Thursday Night Football.
Head Coach Brandon Staley
On quarterback Justin Herbert
"He's ok, it was a tough game and you're not going to see a quarterback at any level of football play tougher and do more for their team and will their team to give them a chance than him. There's nobody that can do what he can do, nobody. He showed a lot of guts, he showed us what he shows us every day that we're never out of the fight. He brought us back and gave us a chance."
On wide receiver Mike Williams' performance Thursday night:
"You know Mike Williams, the reason why we brought him back was because he's an elite competitor, he's a big-time player, a primetime player. With Keenan being out we knew that the coverage was going to be tilted to his side, we knew there was going to be a lot of rolled up coverage to him, but he still produced. That's the type of player he is, we gave him a bunch of opportunities today we were trying to be aggressive to get him the football, get him off to a good start. I really liked the way we featured him tonight and I thought he played a whale of a game."
On how backup players were able to 'rise to the occasion':
"Will Clapp is an outstanding backup center, we also had [right tackle] Trey [Pipkins III] go out but that's why you create depth, that's what we were after [this offseason]. We had [tacke] Storm [Norton] be able to go in there and you know how much football he's played for us and those two guys gave us a chance to compete. We had a lot of guys rise to the occasion that were backup players today that gave us a chance and I'm proud of the way we competed as a team."
Wide Receiver Mike Williams
On Herbert's toughness:
"That's just the mindset and the toughness that he has. To be going through whatever he was going through and to stand in there and make plays that's the quarterback that leads us and that's what we like."
On his one-handed TD catch in the third quarter:
"Just try to make a play. That was the whole mindset this whole game, was no matter how it's coming to me if the ball's coming to me make the catch. Just try to make plays for the offense, get the offense going."
On getting the chance to step up without fellow wide receiver Keenan Allen:
"Oh I love it. I mean as a playmaker, as a receiver obviously when you get a lot of opportunities you look forward to it so I was looking forward to it tonight."
Safety Derwin James
On if he thought cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. caught the overturned interception:
"Yeah, I thought they were going to let it stand because they ruled it a catch. I mean there was a little movement, but he had his hand on the ball so I thought it was a pick, but you know [the referees saw] it different."
On Justin Herbert's performance after the apparent injury:
"Warrior man, for being able to gut it out he can't even walk, can barely stand up. To be able to hit a dot up the seam to give us a chance at going back out there. I feel like it was a great show by him."
On how much of a concern the injury is to him:
"I know Justin will be fine, he's a warrior he'll be good. I'm not worried, that boy different, his blood different."
Running Back Austin Ekeler
On the message to the team following the Week 2 loss:
"Just the importance of battling as a team, you know that's why we are here. That's why we have the guys on the field that we have on there because we believe in ourselves. We're going to believe, we are going to battle and we showed that tonight, we just didn't up making enough plays, too many mistake and that's what football is right? It's a team sport, but we showed the world tonight that we are going to battle all the way to the end. Even when we're banged up a little bit like you saw at the end, we are still going to put everything we can on the line to show that hey, we're trying to contend."
On how much losing center Corey Linsley impacted the offense:
"You know [backup center] Will [Clapp] picked it up, Will came in and picked it up right where we were. You never want to lose any of your guys, but if you do you know you're expecting the next guy to know where he is. We have a lot of confidence in Will, Will's been doing it for a while and has showed us that he can play at a high caliber level too. It obviously hurts when you lose anybody from your starting lineup. Hopefully Corey [Linsley's] alright which he said he is, but Will did a good job stepping up and running the show out there, communicated well, didn't have any mishaps and kept it moving."
Bolt Up for 2022!
Secure your 2022 Season Ticket Memberships today! Click here to learn more.
