Super Bowl XLVI – Monday, January 30, 2012(on how often he’s had to pinch himself as the season has gone along) “I think I still have the sore mark right here on my arm. It’s been an amazing ride for me man. It’s one that I didn’t imagine having initially. I just wanted to come in and do some good things and see where I could fit into this team. It’s been amazing.”
(on if he consciously came up with his end zone dance the first time he scored) “No, it just kind of happened. It was one of those things where I was coming into the week and it was Hispanic Heritage Month around Week 3. My coaches were like, ‘Man, you’ve got to do something special. You’re half Puerto Rican and you’ve got to do something to really get the people fired up.’ So I said alright, and whatever, as I wasn’t expecting to get into the end zone as it was my first start. So I got into the end zone and as I’m running in, I was like, ‘Wow, I need to do this thing now.’ It’s just something that kind of came about and then my grandmother loved it. It just continued from there.”
(on dance instructors in New York stating that his dance is not technically correct) “This is my way. When those dance instructors get into the end zone, they can do it whatever way they want to.”
(on if there is some irony in that he was not invited to Indianapolis for the Combine) “I guess so. Being from a small school, I understand how that whole thing goes. I wasn’t 6-5, 220 pounds or I didn’t have off the wall statistics, so I understood how that whole thing goes. I’d rather be here for the Super Bowl now than the Combine.”
(on if he was disappointed that he wasn’t invited to the Combine) “No, I wasn’t disappointed. I just knew whatever opportunities were in front of me, whether it be Pro Day, Combine, or whatever it was, I just had to make the best of it. I had two pro days. One was at Boston College and one up at UMass. I just did the best I could and was fortunate enough to open up some minds.”
(on what it says about the draft process and the League that they can miss some big talents that go undrafted) “I just think there are so many guys out there. There are so many guys that you’re essentially just taking a chance on. Some guys just slip under the radar. Once those hidden gems kind of get figured out and somebody sees them and they get their opportunity to make the best of it, then it’s a great opportunity. It’s a great shot that they took. If they don’t, then it’s another one bites the dust.”
(on if he sees opportunities to exploit the Patriots’ pass defense) “I think so. Any time you look at a defense and you see a receiver playing defensive back, you automatically open your eyes up and want to exploit those matchups. Going into the game, we just have to understand and see where we can exploit them and see what coverages they come out in and what they do defensively against us. It should be an interesting time to see how they do and see how they play us. We’ll see how it goes.”
(on if he thinks he can exploit matchups against Devin McCourty, who has struggled this season) “Anytime you line up and you’re playing football, as a competitor, you think you’ve got a good shot. Anytime I line up against anybody, doesn’t matter who it is, I think I have a good shot to do some good things, catching the football and making good things happen.”
(on the biggest surprise this season in terms of the attention he received) “I think just all of it. I think the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ thing was pretty eye-opening. It’s just been an incredible ride. I can’t even put it into words. Sometimes I kind of think back to where I was a year ago and where I am now, it’s just a complete 180. It’s just amazing.”
(on how the difficult times have helped shape him as a person) “They’ve just helped me to learn to battle through adversity, battle through things that I wasn’t comfortable battling through and understand those moments and just battling through them. Understand that this is something that God has placed before me that I can handle, and I just have to get through it and keep plugging away. He’ll get me out the other end of the tunnel.”
(on who he is most thankful to for helping him along the way) “Definitely my mother. She’s the one that has kept me humble and grounded and just made sure that she never gave up on me. As many times as she could have, as many times as she could’ve just dropped the ball and say, ‘Forget it. You’re just screwing up and you’re just not going to be anything.’ She never did that. She never gave up on her son. I thank her for it every day.”
(on who is most thankful for on the Giants team) “Everyone, man. Everyone. The staff. Everyone that believed in my talent. Everyone that was up there during the whole process that believed in me and really gave me a chance. The entire organization has just been a class act and they treated me just like anybody else.”
(on what the plane ride was like coming into Indianapolis) “Guys were excited, initially, getting on the plane and sitting down, everybody was talking. Everybody was videotaping and recording everybody. It was cool going in. Once we got in the air, everybody was relaxed, falling asleep, things of that nature. It was a good flight.”
(on if he’s spoken to any of his UMass coaches or teammates and what their thoughts were on everything) “I speak to Coach (Brian) Crist, my former receivers coach there, and I speak to (former quarterback) Liam Coen all the time. He was texting me earlier today. They are just proud of me. They’ve seen how far I’ve come. They really have been around for my entire journey, so it definitely has been great to talk to those guys. They’re just proud of me.”
(on if there is a veteran player that has pulled him aside and given him advice on what to expect this week) “I think it was Deon Grant. Deon Grant just came up to me and was like, ‘Man, just enjoy it. Enjoy the moment. Understand what you have to do. Focus. Understand what you do well and hone it on that. Watch film. Watch all the film you get. Don’t let the moment consume you. Don’t get overwhelmed with this. It’s just another game. We just get a trophy at the end. That’s the only difference.’”
(on at what point they’ll be able to flip the switch back to it feeling like any other game) “I think that’s going to happen right when we get to practicing. We got today off and tomorrow is Media Day. Right after that, I think I’m going to flip the switch and we start practicing and start getting into those meeting rooms. It’s all business after that and we have to go out and prepare to win a game.”
(on what he is expecting to be different with the Patriots from the first time they played earlier this season) “I don’t know. They did a lot of good things. They executed very well on offense. I think they’re going to change some things defensively, mainly because of our three receivers and they’ve struggled a little bit throughout the season in that area. We’ll see what they do. We’ll see how they come out and play us. It should be an interesting matchup.”
(on how he would describe the Giants season) “I would describe it as up and down, a little bit of a roller coaster. When we had to play right and when we had to play the right way, we hit our stride at the right time and we’ve been playing great ever since.”
(on the importance of the slot receiver) “It’s important because it’s just another tool, another tool you can use inside. It causes some matchup problems because when you get a smaller or faster guy in there in the slot, it’s harder for guys like linebackers. You have to bring in another defensive back into the game and typically that’s their third or fourth best guy on defense. It’s just a subtle difference that they have.”
(on similarities between him and Wes Welker) “Yeah, he’s a guy that I’ve looked at growing up. You always watch the best in the League and he’s definitely one of the best at his craft and at his position. He’s definitely a guy that I take a few things from and you add it to your game.”
(on if he gets antsy about the thought of scoring a postseason touchdown as his teammates have scored multiple times) “Of course. You want to go in and score, and you want to get into the end zone one time in the postseason. You understand your role and your role is to catch everything that is thrown to you and make the best play possible. It’s just something that comes with the territory and I’m happy with those guys. When those guys score, I feel like I score. I feel like a part of me scores. Whenever any of them score, I feel like it’s for the good (of the team).”
(on facing the Patriots for the second time this season) “We’re really familiar with them and it’s different because you have to game plan a little differently and understand that they’ve seen a lot of your stuff. You have to come in and try to disguise a few things, and not let them get a good beat on you. It’ll be a challenge for us and coming in, we’ll see how they play us and adjust accordingly.”
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