Everything Texans DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson said after Day 7 of training camp

USA Today

5 days ago

Here's everything Houston Texans defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson said following Day 7 of training camp practice, including his thoughts on the roster as a whole going to the postseason and more.
Question: On what the secondary is working on as a group
C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 'You do see a lot of young guys getting better, a lot of young guys actually getting to the ball. In camp, that's the hardest thing is running to the ball, putting your hands on the football. So for [S] 'J-Reed' [Jaylen Reed], [CB] 'Jayroc' [Jaylin Smith], all the young guys we brought in, the buy-in… Even me, I feel like I'm a new guy, rookie, learning to play book all over again. Just encouraging them, letting them know that we are here with you, we are here at camp with you, so whatever mistake you do, go full speed. But, know that there's always corrections and learning points to get better.'
Q: How is the secondary getting to the ball so much during practice
Gardner-Johnson: 'Encouraging each other and not caring who really touched the ball. A lot of groups fight for it. I don't speak for everybody, but some groups you can tell, they fight for interceptions or they always worry about who got the next pick. But, in reality, if you play good football, the ball will find the right person to defense. I think with the group of guys we got, we just want to line up and go play. I think me coming here has made me realize that 'Playing football and the ball will find you,' is something that I like doing.'
Q: On his comfort level with the city of Houston and how he has gotten his family situated
Gardner-Johnson: "Football started with Houston, so I'm here with a new chapter in my life. Like I said, I closed a chapter in my life when I went to the ring ceremony. Everything we could do. Now I'm here, ready to play football with Houston Texans. Focus on my new teammates. I can't…That's the past. The more I sit and think about what happened, what happened, what happened, I will never be the best version of myself as a team here. So, I'm happy. My family's happy. We're all good and ready to continue to go out here and have fun.'
Q: On how getting his Super Bowl ring tangibly amped up the reality of chasing another Super Bowl
Gardner-Johnson: 'It didn't, because I don't play for them no more. I'm not defending anything. I'm actually chasing it now.'
Q: On if he's hungry for another Super Bowl or not
Gardner-Johnson: "I'm hungry. Like you said, they're prey. I got to go hunt them. They're champions. When you're a champion of something, you become the prey to a lot of predators. That's no shot at them [Philadelphia Eagles]. It's just, you got to understand when you switch sides of the ball or switch roles, I got to go hunt again."
Q: On what kind of predator he is
Gardner-Johnson: "I don't sleep. I don't sleep. I feel like coming here, I got to get better. As a man, as a teammate, father. Whatever this team calls me to do, I'm here to put my best foot forward.'
Q: On if it's different in Houston than other teams he's played for
Gardner-Johnson: 'No, because football is football. Only time camp is different is when you're not doing what you're supposed to do and you're messing up. You got to do the extra, come in extra to fix the corrections. But when you're actually doing what you're supposed to do, making the right calls, coming in early on your own time to sharpen up on tools and knives that you already have, camp doesn't change. Ball is ball. You're here for a whole month. Season starts next week. Not next week, next month, you got to understand, we got 14, 15 practices left. So, the clock is ticking. So, it doesn't change. You got to understand the sense of urgency is high at all camps.'
Q: On what Super Bowl teams possess and what they get better at in Training Camp
Gardner-Johnson: 'I've been on a lot of good Super Bowl-contending teams. I've been on one Super Bowl-winning team.
I think let's talk about the contending teams. They all have one thing in common. They're hungry.
They're ready to continue to work. I don't want to lay out a bed or say anything to put anything out there, but this is a Super Bowl team right here. Super Bowl-caliber team. You got to just go out there and show it week in, week out. It starts from practice, starts from meetings. Everybody's a Super Bowl contending team. We're all high-caliber players in the field. So, we go out there and compete. We got to understand who's next to us, who's across the ball and we got to understand that this is a job for us. We got to get it done.'
Q: On what stands out most about this defense and what he likes about Head Coach DeMeco Ryans
Gardner-Johnson: 'We get to attack. You got the SWARM mentality. For me, playing the attack mentality has actually been good because the past couple years I've actually been in the half, in the post, protecting the defense. But, being a close-up to the line of scrimmage and doing interchangeable jobs with the guys in the back end, I'm loving it.'
Q: On how he's seen the intensity and competitiveness grow at practice
Gardner-Johnson: 'It's nothing personal. It can get chippy, but nothing can get personal. When things get personal, that's when you don't get better. I think the best thing you saw from that, there was nothing out there. No extracurricular. Like you said, in the past you would see the extracurricular, but here we all have an understanding. We're brothers. I'll be the best co-worker to each other and the best teammate on the field because if not, I can't sleep well at night. I know I'm not doing my job for my teammates to help this team get better.'
Q: On his belt celebration and the mentality behind it
Gardner-Johnson: 'That's self-explanatory. In the PG terms, out-competing, out-hustling, and doing your job better than your opponent.'
Q: On what being a better player, man and father looks like him at this point in his career
Gardner-Johnson: 'Being honest, looking yourself in the mirror and waking up and saying, 'Am I actually getting better? Am I actually taking the steps forward to become a leader?' Not just for your teammates, yourself. You've got to be able to lead yourself in the right direction because if not, you're going to fall off.
Like a lot of guys in the league, they get lost. They don't understand that you've got to make all the money, all the accolades, but you've got to know how to control it. The best way to control it is to look yourself in the mirror and be honest. Are you doing what you need to do to get the job done every day? Are you feeding your family like you're supposed to? Are you legally staying out of trouble?'
Q: On what it has been like going against this wide receiver group so far and what he's seen out of WR Jayden Higgins
Gardner-Johnson: 'It's like the Daytona 500. We're running fast every play. Everybody fast. All the cars are competing for first place. We've got a fast receiver core. I'm going to be honest, it's probably one of the fastest cores I've ever seen. But, they're a dynamic group with different skill sets. They're diverse. They understand that [QB] C.J. [Stroud] needs them. They need C.J. and C.J. needs them. They work very well in practice. We have our days. They win some, we win some. But today we got the best of the NASCAR group.'