Q: What are your initial impressions of the Giants this year and last Sunday against San Francisco?
A: They've got a lot of talent on that defense. It starts up front with them. They're talented all the way through to the back end. The one thing we need to do is make sure that we're on point with what we're trying to do, go out there and execute and just know that it's going to be a heated game, very competitive. This is a divisional game, so I'm looking forward to my first taste of divisional action.
Q: In your first taste of divisional action, what impact are you trying to make?
A: I am looking forward to having my first opportunity, but I don't look at it as a statement game or anything like that. It's another football game against another good football team in the NFL. From that aspect, I'm just looking to do whatever the coaches ask me to do and help my teammates push towards another victory. It's not going to be easy, we know that, but that's all we play. We play to compete, we play to win and you strap it up every Sunday because you know you have that chance to win.
Q: How do you attack the Giants' defensive ends and how do you utilize your ability to get to the edge?
A: You just have to realize that you...the edge pressure guys that they do have are extremely talented. Some have said, and I would agree, that they're one of the best d-lines, if not the best d-line, in the NFL. From that aspect, we'll try some things to alleviate some of that pressure. For the most part, we have to go about and just execute our game plan and realize that we have good players, too, and that we can go out and try to out-execute anybody as long as we're taking care of what we have to do.
Q: Has your mentality or aggressiveness changed since suffering that concussion?
A: I don't think my mentality has changed as far as the aggressiveness goes, but I told the team the following Wednesday last week that I was going to do a better job of protecting myself in those situations like the one against Atlanta. I can't leave them hanging; this is my team, I'm the leader of this team and I have to make sure I'm out there to help them win. From that aspect, I did tell them that I would do a better job at taking care of myself. I thought I executed that well against Minnesota, got down, got out of bounds when I had to and when I could. I was proud of that fact, but it doesn't change the mentality. It's still aggressive, just being smart and knowing that seven yards on first down is good as long as you're getting down and staying safe. You can get those extra yards when it's needed in crunch time.
Q: What did you think about getting down or getting out of bounds on that first interception against Minnesota?
A: I tried to make a play and forced a ball. In those situations that can't happen. As far as getting down, you don't want to get down when you're ten yards behind the line, you don't want to lose yardage. You don't want to run out of bounds in that situation because it's also a sack, so really the only thing I could've done there was throw the ball away. I didn't throw it away, I threw an interception. I accept the blame for that interception, I came back the rest of the game and played a really crisp game to help us win along with the help of my teammates. That's the biggest thing. When you have those mistakes, you have to learn how to overcome them and just look past them.
Q: Tom Coughlin said you looked like the fastest player on the field against Minnesota, do you often feel like that?
A: We have some pretty fast guys on our offense so I'm sure that's up for debate in our locker room. My job is to be a quarterback and when I am called upon to do other things that aren't like most quarterbacks in the league, then I use that ability. You have to believe you're the fastest guy on the field, but I also that I have to make sure that I stay safe. In that situation, I wanted everyone to know that I did push up field for six yards to ensure that I had the first down and I did think about getting down, but once I felt...my instincts told me to keep going, I kept going and the rest was history. Every situation is different; you always have to feel like you're the fastest guy on the field, or the best player on the field.
Q: How fast do you think you ran those 76 yards?
A: I have no idea. I didn't know it was that long in the game. I told a couple of the guys that it was a very quick 76 yards. That's what happens when you can go basically untouched down the sideline. I don't know how fast it was, I know there were a bunch of different times going out there. All that matters is we scored.
Q: Have you had any problems becoming the leader of the team?
A: You do it one step at a time. I tried to make sure I came in and showed them first the kind of player I am, the kind of person I am. With my work ethic and how hard I work, I showed them that. Through the preseason, you can show how you can play a little bit, the more playing time you get. When it comes to the regular season, I think everyone had bought in already; the way we played through the first six games helped everybody also buy in. They look at me as their leader. The one thing you can't do as a leader is come out and say that you're a leader. You have to go out and prove it to them and I think I've proven it to them over the first six games and I'll continue to prove it to them over the rest of my career.
Q: How similar is the offense that you guys run compared to other mobile quarterbacks like Vick or Newton?
A: They're all different in different ways. I wouldn't compare our offense to Carolina's offense. We do many different things and try to attack defenses in different ways than they do. Cam's a great quarterback, but I wouldn't compare the Panthers' offense to ours.
Q: Do you follow Andrew Luck statistically?
A: I don't. The one thing, I know it's a huge cliché, but we don't play against quarterbacks in this league. That's the one thing I don't worry about. I don't worry about what other quarterbacks are doing. The only thing I focus on is helping our team move the ball and score points and win games. From that aspect, I kind of just shut down once I leave work because football is my job. Once I leave work, I shut down, I enjoy my time with my family and my fiancé, and then when it's time to go back to work, whether it's up here at Redskins park, or if I'm pulling out my playbook here at the house, I'm all about that. I try to keep my focus on the Redskins and not anyone else.
Q: So you don't watch highlights of other players?
A: I think it would be foolish to say that. I'm pretty sure my eyes have glanced upon a few highlights here and there. I see what's going on around the league, but it's not like I'm checking numbers, checking facts, or anything like that. I'll catch a highlight or see that the Broncos had a comeback victory on Monday Night Football, I know that kind of stuff, but I won't know what a person's completion percentage is or how many yards they threw for or anything like that.
Q: Did you find Osi calling you "Bob" funny?
A: Osi is a guy that has proven himself in this league. He's a sack-master; he's done a lot of great things over his career. I didn't mind it at all. I got where he was coming from. I know why everyone blew it out of proportion because it's the Redskins and the Giants. I also remember him saying after the Saints game that he would call me whatever I wanted to be called. It's not something to build up or make a big deal out of. Whatever else he wants to call me, it doesn't matter, I've had people call me worse things on the field. It doesn't bother me at all. I look forward to playing against those guys.
Q: Anyone else ever call you Bob in general?
A: No, not really. My dad didn't want people calling me Bob. If they asked me what my name was, I never really threw Bob out there. One of my coaches at Baylor used to always call me Bob because no one else called me that, so he wanted to have that name on lock. It was kind of funny, other than that, not really.
Q: Did teammates or friends joke around with you by calling you Bob?
A: No, not really. Some of the media down here in Washington started calling me Bob for a few days, trying to laugh it off. Other than that, it really hasn't stuck; I don't plan on letting it stick, either.
Q: Has anything in the first year in the league surprised you?
A: It's football. I've talked to a bunch of rookies around the league; we definitely respect the game and we respect the players that have been playing here for the short term and have been playing in the league for a long time. Once it's all said and done, once you finish your preparation and you go out and try to execute everything, it's still football. It's still fun; winning is obviously a lot more fun than losing. You just can't put too much emphasis on the fact that you're in the NFL. It is the NFL, but it's still football. As long as you go out and you prepare and you're ready to play in the games, and you're on top of all of your stuff, it's still football and it's still fun.
Q: Has the game started to slow down for you through six weeks?
A: I think it has. It's not to the point where it slows down like a veteran guy like a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning, or anything like that. It's definitely slowed down a little bit. Just being able to see things and just have an in-game experience. The only time you can really notice the speed of the game if you're sitting around watching it, and most of the time as a quarterback, I'm not sitting around watching anything. I'm trying to attack a defense and do things of that nature. Everything is sped up in my mind to go out and execute and be aggressive, but it's not like I'm just sitting back watching guys run all over the place saying, "Whoa, what am I going to do?" I'm prepared and I try to see everything the way the coaches ask me to see it.
Q: Thoughts on Eli Manning:
A: I met Eli and talked to him at the ESPYs. I got to meet Eli and his brother Peyton. It's great to talk to those guys. They've done a lot of great things. They've won Super Bowls, they've won big games, they've done many things that I hope to do in my career. You definitely appreciate that, but I'm sure Eli would say the same thing. It's an honor to play against him or any other quarterback who's been in this league and has been as successful as he is. From that aspect, yeah, it's an honor, but if you're going to ask me if I plan on competing against Eli, I don't plan on that. I have Pierre-Paul and Tuck and all those other guys inside to be competing with.
Filed under: