Q. Can you tell that there's extra energy around this team or for a team that's so young and not having as much playoff experience or does it just feel like another week?
TYLER LOCKETT: Oh, man, I think it's just one of those exciting weeks that -- I know at least for me, it's hard depending on so many things to happen in your favor just to be able to win. It's like you'd rather everything be in your control.
I think it was just one of those moments where after we were able to win such a crazy game against the Rams, it was like you want to celebrate but it's hard to celebrate. Like Mike was talking about that on Twitter leading into the game.
It was like, to be able to sit at home on Sunday night, watch the game, it was one of those like weird type of feelings because you can't get mad at every single play. You've kind of got to let the game play out, and luckily it played out in our favor, so once DJ Shark had caught that little stick route, I was celebrating with my fiance, with my family. We knew we were going to the playoffs.
So it was kind of like one of those cool feelings where yeah, we won and didn't know if we were in, but it was really exciting to watch us be able to get in. It just made that day so much more better.
Now coming into this week we understand that we're like one of, what, 14 teams that are in? Nobody expected us to be here. For us, we really don't have nothing to lose.
Q. There's a lot of young guys on this team. As a veteran who's been through a lot of playoff games, is there anything you offer up to them just to get them ready for this?
TYLER LOCKETT: No, because to me, like again, this is just different. We've got such a young team, and when you hear about all the stuff that was said about us from the beginning of the year all the way until now, it's like, I mean, if nobody expected us to be here, it's like nobody expects us to win outside of our building.
We believe that we can win, but nobody else does. Nobody thought that we would be able to do any of the things that we were able to do. Everybody was shocked that we even got into the playoffs.
I mean, for us it's like, man, we're just going to go out there and just play free. We're not going to play with any worries. We don't really care what the weather is going to be like. We really don't care about any of that stuff; we're just going to play like we've got nothing to lose.
Q. I'm not sure people expected your quarterback to do what he did this year. Out of the records that he set and the plays that he made, what was the biggest takeaway from you in working with him?
TYLER LOCKETT: The biggest takeaway for me being able to work with Geno is just the fact of how when bad things happened he never flinched. I think that was the biggest thing.
Obviously when you look at a lot of the stuff that was being said about him on social media, him and Drew, it's like they both approached this season with a chip on their shoulder, like they fought to try to be the best that they could be, and even when Geno won the job, like I remember hearing Drew say he's going to be the best backup that he can be; he's going to be right there helping him along the way like talking to him about what he sees or whatever it is that Geno needs.
That's what you want when you look for teammates to be able to come on the team.
Just to be able to see the great stuff that he does, that's amazing, but to see that he doesn't flinch whenever stuff like that happens, like yeah, we beat the Rams in overtime, and it was a great game, but the fact that Geno was able to throw two picks and still didn't flinch and still was throwing the ball, still was making plays with his feet, like people don't understand how mentally strong you have to be in order to be able to overcome that type of stuff, and so to look back at the type of season he's had just in the regular season, I could see how mentally strong he is. Just to be able to see half the stuff that people said about him even leading up to the season, it was just kind of like, wow, like that would get me mad and get me wanting to get ready for the season.
The fact that he controlled all his emotions, he really bought in, he did all the stuff that he wanted to be able to do, and everybody else is shocked, but inside the building we knew what he could be able to do if he was given that chance.
So just real happy for him.
Q. What gives you the confidence that he's going to be the same quarterback in the playoffs even though he's never started a playoff game?
TYLER LOCKETT: Oh, it doesn't matter. Whatever happens, we know that he's going to overcome it. I mean, to me that's what you want when you're looking at the players on our team. It's not I need a play to go right in order for me to feel great the rest of the game. It's no matter what happens we're learning how to play through it. That's one of the biggest things that I've learned even looking at this season. I started off and had some unfortunate plays not go my way like in the return game with getting -- we kind of got hit when the punt happened. I dropped the touchdown pass. I fumbled a punt return. It's like, within those games like your team rallies behind you and you keep on playing and you keep on playing.
You look at Quandre, how early on he was missing some interceptions, but you keep on playing. So now when you look towards the end of the season, it's like that's all you see is players that aren't flinching. Like Quandre catches that big-time interception and helps keep our season alive.
If Geno threw a pick, it was like, okay, that's the first play. You would have thought, oh, man, this might not be going good, as a fan. But no, we came back, we battled back, we even won. We missed a field goal to win the game; people outside might be like, oh, my gosh, that might have been it, and it's like, no, you keep on playing, and we won.
Even though we have such a young team, I just think that we have a team that's been through a lot of stuff as far as like losing some games that we felt like we should have won, or offense hitting their strides at times or defense hitting their strides at times, special teams trying not to ever waver and just trying to remain consistent.
It's like the battles and the things that we've lost, we really learned from them, and we're starting to see that as we continue to play together this late in the season.
Q. Over the years have you felt any extra intensity in games against the 49ers? When you came here there was still a lot of guys who were there from the really intense rivalry days.
TYLER LOCKETT: Yeah, I mean, I think there's always going to be some type of rivalry, but I feel like all three of our rivalries are within our division. You just know what type of game it's going to be when you get ready to play. It's going to be a very, very physical game, and you've just got to be able to get ready and bring it.
I think that's really the mentality that you've got to have.
It's really weird that you get a chance to play a team three times. That's something that doesn't really happen.
I mean, for us, man, we're just accepting the challenge, and we're just going to go out there and play.
Q. You've talked before about some of the freedom you have in this offense. Do you feel like you have a greater voice than kind of what happens out there maybe this year more than in the past? Do you think that's something you've earned?
TYLER LOCKETT: I mean, it can be, but I don't really talk a lot when I'm out there. Some games I do, I kind of pick and choose, but sometimes when you're given freedom, you've got to learn how not to use that freedom at times, too. You've got to be able to stay within the offense and not do things your way all the time, which can be hard when you're being given a lot of freedom. For me I try to make sure I'm still listening to what it is the coaches want me to do, understanding when they are giving me that freedom and leeway to do certain stuff and when not to do it.
The biggest thing is if I do do anything, I've got to make sure I'm on the same page with Geno because I could be out there doing whatever, and if he hasn't seen it before, it can mess him up within his reads and progressions.
For me, it's just communication. I think that's the biggest thing, whether you do stuff or not, whether you're on the same page with the OC or the receiver coach or Geno, you've just got to make sure y'all are always talking things through based off of looks but also not trying to over think it like he would say going into the Rams game, like just play what you see.
Q. When you see nearly 70 percent completion percentage for Geno this year, throwing for almost 4300 yards, what do you think that speaks to when you hear those numbers and the way this season has gone and what he's done for you guys?
TYLER LOCKETT: I think it just says a lot about the way he plays the game. I think for him, it says a lot about how he trusts that he can throw the ball to whoever, whenever. It's not like he just throws it to certain people when the game is on the line, like he's willing to throw the ball to anybody.
I think for us, it's like you never know when you're going to have a chance to get the ball. You can draw up a play and it's supposed to go to one player and he throws it to somebody else.
That's the cool part about it because it keeps everybody involved and it makes everybody have to run their routes because sometimes you can get lost in oh, I'm the last progression, but sometimes he could pass up progressions and go straight to you even if you're the fourth progression.
I think that's the cool part about it because all of us have to be able to keep running no matter what, and we have to be able to stay open or to help other people get open.
That's the biggest thing that we learned just with Shane coming in is being able to understand the importance of us being able to finish our routes.
Q. What's the most obvious difference in Ken Walker over the last three and a half weeks?
TYLER LOCKETT: I think Ken has just gotten real comfortable, man. Starting at the beginning of the year, he was able to have penny right there who was able to be that big brother kind of walk him through, introduce him to the NFL, and unfortunately things ended up happening with penny.
I think Ken has just been able to like come into his own. He's been able to, like, be content. He's been able to kind of learn what the NFL is like, but also he's been able to be the Ken Walker that we always knew that he could be. He's learning every single day. Like he takes advice, he listens to the coaches if they tell him certain stuff. His IQ of the game is rising rapidly.
Those are the things that you look for.
I was super happy for him to be able to get 1,000 yards. I know we all were really happy for him. He's been making terrific plays, making people miss, doing so many exciting things.
It's really cool to be able to watch, and like I said at one point, I think when it was me, DK and Geno, they'd rarely say anything, and I don't think any of the rookies understand the type of success they're having so early in their career and what that means.
Q. Do you usually know when a play is called what number read you are for the quarterback?
TYLER LOCKETT: Yeah, I mean, you kind of learn that from Madden. You play Madden enough, you understand the reads that you've got to be able to go through and who's number one, who's number two, who's number three. Sometimes when you're looking at the game plan and stuff, you kind of have an idea based off of scheme what we're trying to do. Once you learn defenses, you understand what you're trying to do.
But you've also got to understand, too, as a quarterback, you're going up to the huddle and you're expecting a certain coverage, and if they go to a different coverage, the reads may differ. You know, it goes one way if it's cover three, but then if it goes cover two it goes a whole different way.
Luckily I'm just a receiver. I can just play and react in a different way that the quarterback has to.
I think it's pretty cool just the fact that as a quarterback, like all the quarterbacks in the league, they have to be able to adapt at the snap of a ball because sometimes teams can disguise and show you a whole different look.
Q. Geno Smith was joking and laughing like he's been with us all year before you came on, and then dancing yesterday before he came off the field. Have you noticed anything different in him this week?
TYLER LOCKETT: I think everybody is just free. Like I honestly think everybody is just more free. You don't have to be uptight. You don't have to be tense.
Obviously we're going into a playoff game, and it's like you can really make it like oh, my gosh, it's the playoffs, we've got to -- but it's different when everybody is telling you like you've got to win or it's a bust type of season, or when people thought we were going to win four games.
At the end if people thought we were going to win four -- I guess one dude thought we were going to win zero. For us it be here, I keep saying, we really don't have anything to lose. We're just going to go out there and have fun, go out there and play, and I feel like we're getting better each and every week.
Yeah, we've been struggling with red zone, but that stuff can be fixed. We saw the type of offense we could be early in the season. Defense is starting to do a lot of great things. They've been stopping the run. Being able to get us the ball. I think the Rams only had three points in the second half. Like that was real big.
When you look at us being able to run the ball like really good, like we've been running the ball really well the last couple of games, second half starting versus the Chiefs, so it's stuff like that that we understand when you go into the playoffs, we understand that you've got to be efficient on both sides. You've got to be able to run the ball. You can't just be able to pass the ball, and you can't just be able to run the ball. You've got to be able to balance it out and pass it, as well.
We understand and we feel like we're starting to get there. It's kind of pointless for us to try to talk to the young guys and say, hey, man, it's the playoffs, like this, this and this. It's like, no, man, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Q. Geno said for a real estate agent you're a pretty good receiver.
TYLER LOCKETT: Yeah, I was shocked Pete told y'all all that stuff. Yeah, I love real estate. I've gotten into it. I just got my Texas license. I hadn't told nobody that yet. I was going to wait until the end of the season. I've got my Texas license, got my Washington license. Something I'm really excited about, just when the season is over. Hopefully it's after the Super Bowl where we can celebrate and stuff.
Yeah, I've just been looking forward to it, man. It's not like I'm trying to do it full time right now because I've got a full-time job, because it's just an addition.
The cool part of it is when I get deals or when I'm able to close certain stuff, all it does is show everybody else that I'm more than a football player, and it shows everybody that I actually know what I'm doing instead of people just saying, hey, stick to football, run this route, do this, do that. So I try to keep everything within a certain amount of people, a group of people, so that way you don't have to deal with the fans and stuff being like, hey, man, you're so worried about this, stick to this. It's pointless to let people know what's going on within your life until football is over, and then you can start kind of showing the real estate side.
But yeah, man, I enjoy it, and it's kind of cool because when you're somebody's agent, you've got to be able to learn how to do what's best for that player.
The cool part with me being a captain for my first year, it's like you have to learn how to sacrifice, and even if you think that this might be the best deal, you've got to be able to understand like not every person that's your client might see it the same way. So you've got to be able to learn to meet your client where they're at. You've got to learn how to give them the run-down of everything, and it works the same way with the team. I've got to be able to learn to meet teammates where they're at because some people might be excited and I've got to be able to learn how to mellow them down so they're not overly excited. Some people -- we might not feel like practicing some days or we might get, like I said, overly excited, and you've got to balance it out, calm it down, learn how to talk to people. You can't yell at everybody, you've got to sometimes bring them to the side. Some people you can talk to in front of everybody.
It's kind of cool how those things can intertwine within.
Q. Have you closed deals then already?
TYLER LOCKETT: Yeah, so I did -- my first one that I did we closed at $3.25 million, which was pretty cool, and the second one I did, we did a commercial property in Aberdeen, so yeah, I was able to -- I think we had that pending right before camp, so I was like, yes, I can focus on football. But then I had to get help with seeing it close, and it closed in like October. I was kind of dealing with a little bit of that. Not so much; I had people helping me that worked at Keller Williams east side, so that helps a lot because they understand I'm in football and what I'm doing, so they kind of helped out with some of the people that I've met that can really take things off my hands and really help me with it.
Yeah, I did that, and yeah, let's just focus on winning this game.
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