Super Bowl XLVI – Tuesday, January 31, 2012(on facing New England Tackle Matt Light) “It’s going to be a physical game. We need to go out and play great football, and that’s what it’s all about.”
(on New England Quarterback Tom Brady) “We have to get after him, and that’s what we have to do.”
(on what Brady does well that scares him) “He can pick our defense. He can throw the ball even if our coverage is very good. That’s scary, but as defensive linemen, we just have to get to him fast enough. Our secondary can cover the guys real quick, and hopefully that will help us out.”
(on what the Giants need to do to stop the Patriots) “We just have to go out there and play great football no matter what the consequences are. We need to play great football and get after the quarterback. It all starts up front.
(on his decision to play football in high school) “Basically, I started out playing basketball and broke my leg. I then went to football my junior year, and I think it was the playoffs–Coach Greg Minnis, to this day I thank him, Coach (Manny) Martin, Coach (Art) Taylor – those are the coaches that helped me out and convinced me to play football. I never thought of playing football. They dragged me onto the field. I didn’t know what I was doing. All they said was rush the quarterback, basically, and that’s what I did from there on out.”
(on if going to junior college in California was his first time on a plane) “No. I had to do a couple of college trips.”
(on who took him to the airport when he left for junior college) “Coach Taylor did. I remember that.
(on if that was emotional) “Not really. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I was just going out there to go to school and continue playing football because he asked me if I wanted to continue playing football, and I told him, Yeah if it could help me get an education. That’s what I did.
(on how he’s brought his basketball skills to football) “Being in basketball and changing over to football, basically, it just carries on–the quickness, the way I do things, the way I lift up my arms-it just all carries on and helps me a lot. I’m more of a football guy now.
(on Justin Tuck saying he still hasn’t scratched the surface) “I think that’s very true. I think I still haven’t scratched the surface. I have a lot of potential. I’m still studying the game. I’m being a sponge to the game. I’m soaking it in. Everyday I learn something new from my teammates or my coach. My coach tells me a lot of things I can do. I’m just learning from him, and it’s a great thing.
(on if sacking the quarterback is an equal thrill to a dunk) “You know, the adrenaline is pumping. You just have to get there, and like a dunk, you’ve just got to dunk the ball. Once you do it, you just want another one. Like a sack, once you get one sack, you just want more. The guys on my front line, if Osi (Umenyiora) gets a sack, I want two sacks, because if I get two sacks, Justin Tuck is going to want three sacks. So, the adrenaline is pumping and you just want to get there as fast as you can, but at the same time you have to play the run.
(on if things change with Patriots’ Tight End Rob Gronkowski’s injury) “We practice as if Gronkowski is going to play. If he doesn’t play, then you just go to a different gameplan, but It’s all on Coach Perry (Fewell), how Coach Perry wants to play it out. He will put us in the best position to win the football game.”
(on where the linemen’s confidence is) “To be honest, I think our confidence is very high. We know what we have to do and
what’s at stake. This is our last game, and we’re in the Super Bowl. We have to go out and give it our all. We can’t feel sorry
for ourselves, no matter who’s hurt and who’s not. We just have to go out there and give it all we’ve got. That’s basically it. As a defensive line, we know it starts up front. We have to be the most physical of the defense.”
(on his athleticism) “I can do a lot of things. I can do backflips, front flips. Everything I do is to surprise people.”
(on if Michael Strahan has given him any advice) “Michael Strahan told me to keep on fighting and I’m going to be a great player one day. I believe that. I’m still learning the game and he just told me keep on fighting like Coach Coughlin always says.”
(on when he talked to Strahan) “I talked to Strahan a couple of times, did a couple of interviews with him. That’s basically it.”
(on what he attributes to the defense’s success in the playoffs; as opposed to the regular season) “It’s all starts up front with both sides of the ball, offense and defense. I know we have to be the most physical defense in the Super Bowl.
(on if he enjoys the buildup to the game) “Honestly, I’m just ready to get the game going. Just waiting this long eats at your nerves a little. We have a hotel for the whole week. I’m pretty sure if you look around, everybody is ready to play. I’m ready to play right now. But we can’t and we have to wait. The hype is building up but I’m not going to let that get to me. I’m just going to approach the game like I’ve always been approaching it, have a great football game and come out there and dominate.”
(on playing football in high school) “I was playing basketball at first then I went to football. At the same time I had a job to take care of my parents to take care of some bills at the house because my daddy wasn’t working. I had to figure out how to make that all work at one time. I was working at Boston Market. At the same time I had to figure out how to manage my time. I went into work and thought I was going to get fired. So I told my coach, I can’t play football because I have to make money to help my mom. So I went in to talk to the manager and he asked if I was playing football and I said, Yeah. And he was like, ‘You know what, I’ll adjust your schedule for when you get out of practice.’ So when I got out of practice, it was about six o’clock. So 7:30 I had to be at work so I took a shower in the locker room and went straight to work and got off work at twelve o’clock. I went back home and the next day I woke up and went to school.”
(on what he’s learned from his dad) “Just knowing my dad, my dad never quit no matter what. Since I was born, he couldn’t see. But it is what it is. He never let that stop him. Most people, when something like that happens, they just think they’re life is over. But that’s not true. My dad can still do things like a normal person. He still cooks, watches my sister’s and brother’s baby when my mom’s not home. He does things like a regular person. What I bring to the table to help my team out is that no matter what it is, we could be down 20 points, two touchdowns, I’m never going to quit. I’m going to keep rushing to the ball until the whistle blows and it’s the end of the game. That’s how I’m going to keep on playing.”
(on if his dad will be at the game) “Yeah, he’ll be here. My mom, my whole family will be here. It’s going to be a great thing. It’s going to be the first time they’ve all been to a football game and they’re all going to be here.”
(on if he can imagine what his dad imagines the game is like) “To tell you the truth, I imagine that because I’m not in the same shoes that he’s in, so I don’t know how it’s going to be for him. But I know one thing’s for sure, that he’s going to be rooting me on and that my whole family is going to be rooting me on. That’s going to be a great thing knowing that he’s here rooting me on no matter what.”
(on if his dad understand what he does for a living) “Yeah, my dad understands. Coming from Haiti, the only football they know is soccer. My mom, my dad, the only football they know is soccer. I was born in America and the only football I know is football. So the only football they know is soccer. But after the game, I’ll call home and get their two cents about the game. They say I played great, keep on playing great. My dad, it’s fun, because he just starts explaining about what I did in the game, and how the other team lost. He’s got it down pat now. He’s been watching football ever since I started.”
(on if his dad is big) “He’s not a big guy. My dad used to be bigger than me but I’ve outgrown him.”
(on if his dad played soccer). “I don’t know. I’ve never asked him anything about (playing) sports. As far as I know, I think I was the only one playing sports in my family. I think I’m the last one to play sports in my family.”
(on his dad losing his sight) “He lost his sight before I was born.”
(on what caused his dad to lose his sight) “I don’t know. He never told me. He said he was driving once, and he lost more vision in one eye. He went to the doctor and the doctor said he couldn’t find anything. That was basically it. Then he lost his other vision and was totally blind from there.”
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