Will Beatty transcript
April 22, 2014
A: ...Right now we’re all in the meeting rooms watching film so right now I’m keeping pace with them. When we’re allowed to get out on the field I’m going to make sure that I can do field work. If I’m not full-go strong… we’re not in helmets and shoulder pads hitting to require that anyway. It’s like, I want to be ready when they say it’s time to put on pads. Let me put on pads and see what I can do. That’s being smart during the offseason, building and getting stronger but not trying to be stupid about it and say that I’m Superman.
Q: You’ll have certain hurdles set up that you have to do to get medical clearance to get out there and participate?
A: It’s rehab so it’s like, I haven’t been like, ‘OK, you’re on your own, do whatever you want to do.’ It’s knowing that you had an injury and it has been a few months after that. I don’t think you can just go run a marathon and everything’s going to be alright. We have to build up. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to build up so when it is time for me to run that I can run and when it’s time for me to hit I can hit. They’re giving me short timelines. Focus on the day, let’s do this, let’s do that, rather than the big picture that it’s not going to take care of itself unless you focus on the little things anyway.
Q: Usually those small steps do add up to a large step. Are you almost ruling out to some degree that you would be ready for Week 1 or is that something realistic?
A: No. My mind is like, do what I can do to get out there when everybody does. I’m trying to keep pace with everybody else. That’s my benchmark. Like ‘OK, we’re out there on the field today. Let me get out there and see what I can do.’ The coaches aren’t telling me I can’t do it so that’s a good thing. They’re not saying no.
Q: So Week 1 is still in play?
A: You don’t want to hear no and right now I haven’t heard no. TC would know more of the ins and outs of the days. We haven’t sat down and been like, ‘OK, this date right here you’re doing this.’ It’s, ‘You did this today, let’s improve on it tomorrow and the next day. Let’s come back, let’s move forward and not have any setbacks.’
Q: But they haven’t given you a date for when you can start running or anything like that?
A: I’m doing running, I’m doing movement right now on the field but it’s more straight ahead, it’s not like chasing a chicken. I am doing running, I m doing movement. I’m doing footwork to make sure that I’ve got mobility and that the stretching is still there. Running is not the thing I have to do. I have to be able to run and hit somebody and move somebody so it’s not just like, ‘You can run, you’re good to go.’
Q: How much do you, now that you’re rehabbing, look back at your season last year and maybe what didn’t go right or what did go right?
A: The good thing about this year is we have a new offensive coordinator. We have a lot of new players that, looking back on last year, it’s not going to say what the team this year is going to be like. You have so much going on that it’s, ‘What are we doing? What’s going on today? How are you learning the new stuff that’s being thrown at you?’ That’s going to determine how our year turns out. We don’t have time to worry about the past. The past is behind us. We have to stay focused now to make sure that we have a better future.
Q: You didn’t’ study anything or look back? Obviously it was not the year you had hoped?
A: It wasn’t the year we hoped.
Q: I’m talking about you, your performance.
A: Coming off an injury it’s like, ‘The year did not end well for me but I have a chance to start a new year fresh with a new coordinator, that everyone has to learn these plays.’ It’s not like, ‘You’ve been here five years, you know these plays, you have it down.’ We’re all on the same page so that’s my concern. And try not to let the rehab or fact that I got injured affect me from moving forward. I’m trying to keep pace with everyone else.
Q: I know your timeline is vague. I just wanted to make sure I got this right. You don’t know yet about training camp or opening day? All of that is still to be determined, right?
A: Who knows the future? I know today I’m doing good. I know today I am past expectations of the doctor and I want to make sure tomorrow I’m the same way. I want to make sure I keep improving so when it is time for opening day, I’m there. When it is time to put on pads for the first time, I can put on pads. Those are my goals, to hit those, I guess, mile markers.
A:… I got carted off the field, went to the hospital, did surgery. They were like, ‘Surgery will be the best way to get you back the fastest.’ I left the hospital, came right to the training room and they were like, ‘Let’s start moving that knee.’
Q: Wasn’t there a break, too?
A: My tibia, yeah. But it was more bone than ACL, MCL or stuff like that. I did ask the doctor not to tell me too much information because opening me up is not something I want to hear about. Tell me what you need to tell me. Let’s get this fixed and let’s move on.
Q: What did they tell you about recovery time?
A: They didn’t give me a date per se. It was more of, ‘Let’s see what you can handle. Come back and let me check on the surgery. Let’s make sure and build you up some more.’
This post was edited by xnozx. on Apr 24 2014 05:03pm