{"id":61337,"date":"2022-12-02T04:30:39","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T08:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jetnation.com\/?p=61337"},"modified":"2022-12-03T01:27:52","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T05:27:52","slug":"mike-white-the-best-part-is-the-comradery-the-locker-room-hanging-out-with-the-guys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/2022\/12\/02\/mike-white-the-best-part-is-the-comradery-the-locker-room-hanging-out-with-the-guys\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike White: The Best Part is the Comradery &#038; the Locker Room, Hanging Out With the Guys"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mike White: The best part is the comradery and the locker room, hanging out with the guys\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sjOy_oO_kPw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Mike White mania is taking over after his amazing game against the Chicago Bears. White spoke to the media on Thursday and this is the entire recording.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What stands out about the Vikings defense?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Veteran. They\u2019ve played a lot of ball, they\u2019re an experienced bunch, they\u2019re smart, they play with vision, so you\u2019ve definitely got to be on your P\u2019s and Q\u2019s, and you got to execute and be on your details, because on top of that in the back end in the pass rush, I mean Za\u2019Darious Smith and Danielle Hunter, they\u2019re good. It\u2019s no walk in the park, got to be on your stuff and got to execute.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Will they test your patience because it seems like they play a lot of cover two and certainly going to test you that way?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I\u2019m sure. They play what they play, and they play it well and I think, like I said, it helps having a lot of experience on the back end and yeah, they kind of play that dome-ish, quarter, quarter half type, keep everything in front and limit the big plays. So, yeah, I think it\u2019s a test of patience, they\u2019re like alright, how many times are you going to take what we give you? And know when most of the time, quarterbacks do want to make that splash play and push the ball downfield, but you can\u2019t get caught in that game, you\u2019ve got to take what they give you and there is space to be had and when you do that, you have to consistently do it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We talked to (Mike) LaFleur today and he was referencing how the Bills game last year when things didn\u2019t go so hot, after watched the film you saw you basically were just a little bit ahead, like your body was a little off from what you were seeing, but your reads were right, and you were there. How much did you learn from that game and how much different did you feel after that game?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I learned a lot from that game, and I can play, I think I\u2019ve said it in a couple interviews before, I can play every play in that game in my head over and over again way more than the Cincinnati game or even last game just because I think that\u2019s when you learn the most, is the games that don\u2019t go so well. So, I learned a lot and like you said, like LaFleur said, I think the problem that I can get into is I am, luckily, I\u2019m able to process things pretty quickly, it\u2019s just keeping my body in sync with how fast my brain is processing. So, if I know this isn\u2019t going to be open I get off of it right away, whereas in a timing sense with routes, it\u2019s necessary to take a three and a hitch to that one and then second hitch to this one because it\u2019s not going to show up in time and I think that\u2019s just what happened in Buffalo is I got off of that knowing it wasn\u2019t going to be there and I was there too early and things are all thrown off because pass game\u2019s all about timing. So, I learned a lot and on top of that it\u2019s just not playing hero ball like I\u2019ve referenced a bunch of times and I\u2019m going to continue to reference because I think that was a big part of why I think that game got away from me is I thought I needed to get the team back into the game with every throw and that\u2019s just not how the game is supposed to be played.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can you talk about how three years ago you got here as a practice squad guy who was relatively unknown and now you\u2019re starting in a December game with playoff implications, how crazy does that sound?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is crazy, but that\u2019s the NFL. It\u2019s me right now, I\u2019m sure a couple years down the road, it\u2019ll be someone else and you can go to another team, it\u2019s somebody else and that\u2019s just the nature of the sport. Injuries happen, a lot of things happen and change so quick in this League, and you got to be ready, and you got to be prepared because when that time does come, you\u2019ve got to be able to seize it and that\u2019s how you can make a long career out of your journey here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mike, you obviously last year had the starting job for a little while. Is your mindset this time around to play a high level like last week so you keep it long-term? Do you feel like you\u2019re a good enough player to be a long-term starting quarterback for the Jets?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I think right now, the only way to attack this, and the same as last year, is a game at a time. The NFL is, I remember someone told me last year, I can\u2019t remember who, the NFL is 17 one-week seasons. Because when you win one week you\u2019re on top of the world, you lose the next week and it\u2019s the end of the world, so I think how I\u2019m going to personally attack this is a week-by-week basis, try to win, try to beat Minnesota this week, do it and have fun with my guys, preparing going out there and performing. Then once this week is over, we move on to whoever we have next week. I truly believe that\u2019s the only way you can play and that\u2019s kind of how you stay focused in the now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you not look over your shoulder though?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, the human nature of it, you\u2019re always going to do that. I think it just comes with maturity and experience, and the experience of it. Like, that even happens in high school, when I remember my junior year I was in a quarterback competition, and I lost the battle, and my senior year same thing and I won the competition. In the beginning, I think I did look over my shoulder and I didn\u2019t play as well as I could\u2019ve, and I kind of eliminated that from my brain and just went out and played. I think whenever you\u2019re looking over your shoulder, you\u2019re not going to play to your true potential. So, the human aspect of it, you\u2019re definitely going to, but you got to find a way whatever your process is or your mental ability is, to erase that and just go play.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But it has to be like some type of, in the back of your mind that you can make this interesting, especially considering the way that you played, if you continue to play well and make that decision a lot harder than what it is?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The only thing that I\u2019m focused on in playing well, if I play well that correlates to wins, and that\u2019s all that matters. That\u2019s all anybody in this locker room wants to do, and I\u2019ll let the chips fall where they may after, but right now my only concern is winning and helping this team win, and seeing where that gets us come beginning of January, middle of January.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Robert Saleh was saying the other day that, you know you kind of had a slow start in training camp this year. And he mentioned something about maybe having a conversation with you, and then you had that good game against the Giants. Did you get off to maybe a little bit of a slow start in camp, and kind of what was the turning point to get it turned around?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah I think just kind of a reset, and really focusing in on the fundamentals and taking a step back, and working on the little things that helped build to bigger things. I think yeah just, for whatever reason it was, I mean that feels like four years ago. Whatever the reason was, but that\u2019s what training camp is for, in my opinion, is getting better at things, and honing in on the fundamentals. You start from square one every year and then you build up to this point, so I mean yeah, that just kind of was what it was, and work on, and I\u2019m proud of coming out of the other side of it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When we talked to you after the Bengals game last year, I know Training Camp feels like four years ago, so that feels probably like a decade ago, one of the first things you said to us was that you couldn\u2019t wait to get home and see your family, you couldn\u2019t wait to see your family after the locker room. What was the embrace like with them after this one? Or was your wife now like you\u2019ve done it once before, so was she a little more critical?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My wife actually looked at me and when I first saw her, she was like, \u201cWho are you?\u201d She was awesome and my parents were able to come up. This time, the only difference was walking into my apartment and my kids were running up to me. Instead of that Cincy game last year, they were in their rockers, just four months old just wondering when the next bottle was. So, that was cool having them run up to me and want to play. I think that\u2019s the coolest thing about having kids. I\u2019m going on a little off-football tangent, but it just helps you separate football and outside life. Whenever I\u2019m in here, I\u2019m Mike White the quarterback, but whenever I go home, I\u2019m just Millie and Maddox\u2019s dad. It\u2019s so cool.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do they have any comprehension of your job?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Absolutely not.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How\u2019s your chemistry going with Garrett (Wilson) because he\u2019s a guy that you didn\u2019t have any game experience with I guess outside of the preseason, but how is your chemistry going with him?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Garrett is awesome. He\u2019s a really, really good player, but he\u2019s an even better guy. He\u2019s so easy to build chemistry with because if you see something and you come up to him, whether he agrees with you or not, you\u2019ll never know because he\u2019ll always go, \u2018Yeah, uh huh, I got you for sure,\u2019 but in the back of his mind he could be like, \u2018Yeah, I don\u2019t see it that way,\u2019 but he\u2019s never going to let you know. He respects the quarterback and what the quarterback is seeing and what the quarterback is saying. He\u2019s always going to do it that way. He\u2019s willing to have a dialogue about what he sees. A lot of times, he\u2019s correct, too, because he does see the game really well and has a good feel for stuff. Anytime you have a guy like that who is a good player and a good person, it\u2019s fun to work with.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You talked about that compartmentalization between family and here. How much do you think that helps you as a football player to be able to leave it here when you go home and kind of have those two separate identities?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I, personally, think it\u2019s awesome. I remember my second camp in Dallas. I was in a quarterback competition with Cooper Rush, and I was so consumed in stress and worried about what was going on. I took it with me outside of the facility, and it consumed me, and I didn\u2019t play well. I just flat out didn\u2019t play well, lost the job, and that\u2019s how I ended up here. I think it\u2019s big. You got to be able to separate work \u2014 because this is our work \u2014 and home, and whether it\u2019s your kids, your friends, your family, whatever you got, I think you got to have something outside because if you let this consume you, it is a stressful job. When you\u2019re winning, it\u2019s fun, but when stuff is not going well, that\u2019s when it can start to pile up. You need that stuff to kind of lean on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You played in a couple different offenses, right? You had Dallas, I think you were here with (Adam) Gase for a minute, and now Mike (LaFleur). Is there something about this scheme that tends to fit your play style at all?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I like all three offenses that I\u2019ve been in now. One thing I do like about this one is that I do think it gives the quarterback a little more freedom as far as it\u2019s not your job to do a lot protection wise. There\u2019s some little things that we can do here and there, but for the most part, the protection is the protection. As a quarterback, that\u2019s awesome because when you go to the line, you get to, \u2018Alright, what\u2019s the coverage?\u2019 I\u2019m not too worried about the protection. I know my issues, but what\u2019s the coverage, and you get to just go out there and distribute the ball. I think for whatever reason it is, playing in this offense, something clicked, and I see it pretty well and I feel like I see it pretty well and I have confidence. Going back on something I\u2019ve said countless times to you guys, I think confidence does wonders, and I\u2019m guessing that\u2019s what it was and having success, too, always helps.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s pretty clear that your teammates just like you. I\u2019m just wondering as a quarterback and as a leader, do you think it\u2019s part of your job and responsibility to connect with your teammates on both sides of the ball and also inspire them to rally around you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I think that\u2019s the best part of about football is the comradery of it and then the locker room and hanging out with the guys. I mean not a lot of people get to go to work and just hang out and play a sport for a living, so, while I\u2019m doing it, I know I\u2019m going to try to do my best to get to know everybody, enjoy it, mess around with them, talk some crap on the football field, and then come out in here and maybe play some dominos, play cards, and hang out with them. I just genuinely enjoy that part, and then I think when you develop relationships that way and then you go out on the field and that just kind of comes to life and then you can build upon it that way.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mike White mania is taking over after his amazing game against the Chicago Bears. White spoke to the media on Thursday and this is the entire recording. What stands out about the Vikings defense? Veteran. They\u2019ve played a lot of ball, they\u2019re an experienced bunch, they\u2019re smart, they play with vision, so you\u2019ve definitely got [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":61308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[213],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-61337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jet-news"},"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/USATSI_18880188_168398080_lowres.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peLffi-fXj","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61338,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61337\/revisions\/61338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}