What They’re Saying: Right Place, Right Time for Isaiah Williams

Here is a collection of quotes from Detroit Lions and New York Giants players and coaches after Detroit’s 14-3 preseason loss to New York.

Head coach Dan Campbell

How he evaluated Nate Sudfeld’s performance: “Yeah, I’ll watch the tape but there’s some decisions in there that I would like to be better, and that I expect from him. You know, I’m not as concerned right now, or yet, about the accuracy with what it is, wet ball, this and that. There’s a couple of decisions in there that I know he can be better on. But like I said, I thought when he came back in he played a lot better. I thought he got in a rhythm, kind of got us going there, that was good to see.”

Quarterback Nate Sudfeld

His assessment of Hendon Hooker’s debut performance: “Yeah, I was super proud of Hendon. Hope he’s feeling better but I thought he brought some juice and he looked athletic, strong arm. All the things that I know. Yeah, it was really good to see him out there and spin it a little bit. But it’s also just nice to get the first one under your belt, no matter how old you are. I was really proud of him, hope he feels better.” 

Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw

How it felt to don the Lions’ uniform for the first time in a game setting: “It felt good. Football, for me, is something I’ve always wanted to do. So to just to sieze the moment and finally wear the NFL logo that I’ve dreamed about my whole life was pretty eye-opening to me. I’m a guy who, once I saw the stadium and once I saw the stage was set, I bloom.” 

How he evaluated the secondary after their performance Thursday: “I’d say we’re good, we’re gonna be great. We’re gonna be everything that we want to be, and everything that people want us to be. We just take little steps day-by-day, get better every single day. This loss don’t define none of that, so that’s how I feel.” 

Cornerback Amik Robertson

What he tries to bring when he’s on the field: “I know what coach Dan looks for. He looks for grit, energy, details. So when I’m out there, and also the other guys, that’s what we try to do. Unfortunately, we didn’t come up with the win tonight, we’ve got room for improvement. I just can’t wait to get back out there, I was out there for a limited time but I try to take advantage of my time out there because the game’s always fun to me when I’m out there.” 

His advice to rookies Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw before taking the field: “Energy, man. Gotta be the guys out there. Know who you are, we’re the dogs. So this secondary, we’re gonna take the team, if the secondary be good, then the team be good. I just told them, when they’re out there, be themselves. Play confident. At the end of the day, we’ve all been playing this game since we was young. It’s just football, man, always have fun with it.” 

Wide receiver Isaiah Williams

How it felt to make his NFL debut: “It was a great feeling. Starting off in that first half, I was a little nervous, honestly. But then I got a kick return. After I got that kick return, kind of got the jitters out. After that I was ready to go. After that, I was like, ‘I’m gonna be in the right place in the right time.’ And then, if I get the ball, I get the ball. If not, the coach is gonna see I’m in the right place. I got the ball, and I was just like, I’m gonna make a play when I do. It felt great.” 

His preparations for the rainy conditions in Thursday’s game: “That’s one thing, so going into the game today, we hadn’t had one practice with bad conditions. But I think that goes back to my college days playing for coach Bret Bielema at Illinois. When it rained, anything, we were out there practicing. So kind of taking those reps and letting it carry, and also understanding, man I’m out here, I’m gonna just let God work. I’mma just be confident in his plan for me. It’s already written, so I’mma go out there confident and just let the cards fall how they fall.”

New York Giants

Head coach Brian Daboll

His evaluation of Tommy DeVito’s performance: “He’s getting better. He’s got firm control of the offense. I think the guys have a lot of confidence in him. I have confidence in him. I think he’s come a long way since he’s been here. It was good for him to play as much as he did, so keep on developing him. Quarterbacks are hard to find in this league. Undrafted free agent, won three games, played in some games last year for us. Still knows he has a long way to go but smart, accurate, makes good decisions, good young player to work with.”

Quarterback Tommy DeVito

On if he made a case for himself to make the Giants’ roster behind Daniel Jones: “Every day is a step in the right direction. Trying to build off it every single time I get on the field and have the opportunity to be on the field. I have a couple that I’ve noticed from now but I’m sure when I watch the film there’s gonna be a couple more things that I want to correct and get back. But I’m continuing to try to use upcoming two more games to put my best foot forward.”

On if practicing with the Lions prepared him better for the preseason game: “Yeah, it definitely helps. It’s a little different in practice, you get some more exotic looks, some crazier things. Same thing with us, we run some different plays and then we get out here, it’s a little more vanilla if you will. Yeah, to be able to go against them, see what their personnel is like, how they play certain things. But sometimes it’s paralysis by analysis, just go out there and play.”

Running back Eric Gray

How he felt scoring two touchdowns boosted him after a strong start to training camp: “Yes, for sure. I just wanted to put my best foot forward. Like I said, I just want to be Eric Gray; just be me. Last year, I kind of made football more than it is. It’s just football at the end of the day. Just being me.”