One-on-one with Diontae Johnson, Oct. 14, 2021

One-on-one with Diontae Johnson, Oct. 14, 2021

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Deonte coach Tomlin said this week during his press conference
that he felt like, you found your professional routine taking
care of your body. Can you kind of take me
through how you got to that point and if anybody
helped you? Uh? Really, just extra really just me. I'm like,
I want to say that a badger, but you know,
just me going through that a little rough time, you know,

(00:21):
dropping the ball or whatever. You know that makes you.
I want to come back obviously next year with a
better purpose or not. And I feel like in the
off season I've been working my tail off or whatnot,
drill at the drill at the drill and carrying it
over to the season or whatnot. Just Blue out there
with me throwing extra every day. I gotta give it

(00:43):
a props to him, because without him, nothing that's gonna
be possible, you know. So I'm just taking it a
day out of time. For real. I've seen you outside
even on Tuesdays that's a player's day off. So is
it an everyday thing for you? Yeah? Every day. I mean,
it's it's always something to get better at, in my opinion,
in but you know, I just try to do what
I can and help the team out. Each of her day,

(01:04):
and those little jewels I do on all days on.
It's been paying off in the games or whatnot. So
I'm just gonna keep doing it. Um, hopefully it's gonna
continue to carry out through the season. So we've seen
it at the practice facility, we see it pregame at
you know, Hinesfield opposing stadiums. Is it a certain amount
of balls you want to catch or like what is
your quota or what you're trying to accomplish. Um, that's

(01:28):
not really a certain amount. It's just like just trying
to kind of woman up my eyes or what not.
I would call it just to be a catch the
ball in different positions obviously, and towards the end of
the routine, I tryed to we catch twelve because that's
how many drops I had last year. So I keep
that in the back of my mind. I got it
in my locker buff on east Side. So what what

(01:50):
do you mean in your locker, like just the number,
the number, because that's the number of drops that had
last year, your mom, myself, and you know, I pray
about those. I pray. I gotta live whatnot goes. I
want to reach a prayer of him every day. You know,
I feel like it's been showing on Sundays out. I
don't have no jobs because of my hard work, but
paying off. I'm gonna continue to do that and lean

(02:12):
on them. Man upstairs, I know that you spent time
in Florida this offseason training, but you also said you
were you know, with your family. Did that help you
maybe reset and get ready for this season? Yeah, I
would say me. I had a little boy, my son,
Creek Johnson. Uh, he's been motivating me every day. So
that's why I do what I do because of him,

(02:35):
and I don't want to, you know, give him a
better life obviously, you know that's what's just then keeping
me giving me this, Uh, his motivation. Just keep pushing
for him, because at the end of the day, I
know he count them and I'm not gonna lay him
down no matter what. Ben in the gun, which Nelly
was right, band's gonna throw it down the right side
buying that passage cut touch, I take Shotshi pulls it

(02:56):
in that's shop for four hundred for a big band.
There it is thirty seven, throws it long down the
right side line. Yeah, how do you step it side
to five and into the edge for the Steelers touchdown.
I'll see your forty five from last weekend. I'll raise
you fifty, Billy. Is it fair to say that you
and Ben are going to connect on every opening drive

(03:18):
now moving forward? Oh? If he if he looked my way,
I'm gonna make a play from regardless of Obviously we
got other guys out there that can make plays too.
So if you throw me the ball my way, I'm
gonna do what I do and continue to make plays from.
And that's each and everything that where it's a bad through,
good through, still got to make him look good at
you can do. Do you guys have a good connection

(03:38):
because you're Mac guys or what is it he get
on me, joke about me, joke about it a lot.
He loves the Mac. Yeah, I would say just the
competitiveness that the Mac brings or not because a lot
of people kind of sleep on the Mac or whatever.
But I feel like our connections grew out the time.
You know, you don't just happen overnight, So come with trust.

(04:00):
And I feel like he's been trust me a lot
to be in the right position that every time or whatnot.
So just being aver had that connection on him, so
is that he can rely on me in any moment.
I'm be able to rely on him to put the
ball in the right spot so I can make a play.
And that's what I've been doing and I'm gonna continue
to do that. Fun he got hurt your rookie season,
so you didn't really have a lot with him. And

(04:22):
then last year and you said he did believe in you, so, um,
how did he help you maybe get through two thousand
twenty Just you know, you got the ball, you getting
you kind of get in your head. Um, he's kind
of there from you know, just telling me just pick
my head up, whatnot. Um, just keep going, you know,
not the dwell on it because we just still more

(04:42):
football to platform and they drop. Everybody gonna drop the ball,
you know, the best of the best doing so I
can't let that get in the back of my mind.
I gotta focus on the next play. And that's what
I've been doing this year. I've just been locked in
playing that. I feel like I ain't even reason my
highest love of that. Yeah, you know, so it's something

(05:02):
I still got a lot more to prove and I'm
gonna continue to do that. Each never didn't take it
day by day, one at a time. Obviously opposing coaches
see the connection on film between you and then only
two targets against Denver or teams doing something different to
try to take away that connection and to defend you.
I don't want to say they took away to connection
that game. And I was opened a couple of times.

(05:24):
You know, you're not gonna get the ball every time,
but I was open. If you look at the film,
the film don't lie. Um it was times I could
have got the ball. But you know, like I said,
I got other team that's out there that's making plays,
getting open, you know, helping us win. That's all I
care about at end of the the day. Whoever is hot
that day, that's who gonna get the ball. And Chase
is hot and perfect. I can't do nothing, but I

(05:50):
can gratulate them and just route them on each and
every snap. So, like I said, the ball come my
way and making my play do what I do. Is
it fair to say that Juju was the lead or
of the wide receiver's room. Yeah, he was a leader,
although he was an oldist or whatever, but we look
at him as a leader because he's been here longer
five years in or whatnot, the same team or whatever.

(06:12):
But he he we looked out to him because he's
he's a football player and that he knows the game.
He's smart, real tough player. Just it was hard to
see him go down like that, and we just we can't.
You can't do nothing to just beat that for him
on on the field. Even then when he's in the building,
we try to do try to be around him or whatnot.
So that's all we can't do and just keep his
spirits of that moving game. So then who steps up

(06:35):
in the room who kind of maybe you can't replace Juju,
but maybe that intangibles the off the field things. Wait
and see. Yeah, we're gonna wait and see him. I'm
not a vocal leader. I'd like to lead by example
on the field. So we're just gonna see uh Seattle's defense,
Jamal Adam somebody that coach Hama mentioned. What do you

(06:57):
know about them and what are you expecting to see
on Sunday. We know that they're a real good team.
They got a good defense. But Jamal, he's a great
player playing against for my rookie years as well, so
I'm familiar with him. Um, just the competitives he brings
to the game and how alread he plays each and everything.
Now you see it and on the film and whatnot.

(07:17):
But we're gonna come out there already. Um, we're not.
We're not afraid of nobody. We got a game plan
for every every game. We're gonna execute it on every Sunday. Perfect.
Thanks