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Bradshaw and Nicks Conference Calls with NY Media

Eric from BBI : Admin : 10/29/2014 2:34 pm
Colts RB Ahmad Bradshaw

Conference Call, October 29, 2014



Q: You have become a big factor in the passing game. What has made it so successful?

A: I think it just a combination of things. Our offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, he opened the playbook up enough so Andrew Luck can find the open receivers. I think with Andrew Luck, and how good of a skill set he has, he looks to find the open receivers and my job is to get open and be a big part of the passing game. He knows when to pass and just run the ball hard when it is a run.



Q: Can you talk about the time from when you left the Giants to just finding what your niche is in Indianapolis and that journey?

A: Just last year, they took me in and I was starting to get acclimated with the offense. It was coming along and I had the neck surgery in October. When I left they let it be known that they wanted me to be a part of this team, I let them know I was willing to be. They signed me back in the offseason, just gave me their trust and I believe that they believed I would come back strong and healthy. That was just my push all offseason, just to get back healthy and improve myself, I started getting stronger. Once my strength came back, that is when I realized I wanted to play football again and wanted to stick with it. The summer came along, and training camp I started feeling good, just getting back to myself. It is just showing now how strong I have gotten and as long as I can keep it going.



Q: Were there some periods where you wondered, as the injuries occurred, whether you had it in you?

A: When I first had the surgery, there was a question, there was never doubt. It is neck surgery, it was spinal, I just wanted to take it seriously and I just had to sit back and realize what I wanted. I just started getting all of my feeling back in my arms, just after that I knew I wanted to play football again. I knew I wanted to be out there on the field and I wanted to be at my best.



Q: You’ve had some time to let it sink in for a while and think about why it didn’t work out with the New York Giants. How much do you attribute that to the injury? Do you view it as the money part of the business, or the performance part?

A: It all comes in that conversation. Just with the Giants, before I left, I know it is a business, I know how this business goes, just being around, seven years at the time, or six years at the time when I left. I knew it was a business, and I know I gave everything I could to the Giants, injury-wise, and just being out there on the field. They got my all. When I left, I didn’t know at first why, and I kind of sat back and thought about it being, like you said, business, money, and injuries. When I left I knew that injury was the question, and the neck was a big part of the reason they let me go. It wasn’t a factor when it was there. I ended up getting hurt there and playing the whole season with a neck. Like I said, I gave it my all whenever I was out there, hurt or not. Saying that, I just felt I had something to prove at all times. Coming off of injuries, just showing the NFL I can be a reliable back in this league. That is just saying even coming out of college, I have always had something to prove until now, and it still goes on.



Q: Did it take you a while to get over that? The business side of it.

A: It didn’t take long to get over it. You’ve got to realize at the time what they were going through. They had a first round draft pick in David Wilson, they had Andre Brown. Younger guys that they felt they can handle the task that I left. It didn’t take me long to get over it, it just hurt me because I felt that was my family, that I was a big part of that team and I still felt like I had a lot of football left.





Q: When you go up and play against your former team like you will on Monday night, is there a little extra juice there?

A: Oh of course, that was family to me at one time and that was like home to me. Just to be able to go back home and be around old fans, and play in front of old fans of mine, and family, just to get back and see those guys, and be in that atmosphere, it gives you a lot. It makes me anxious just to be ready for this game and be ready to go.



Q: What is the biggest difference for you from a football culture standpoint?

A: It is real similar; it is two great organizations that want the same thing. They care about the same things and when I came over here, it wasn’t a big difference. You had a good group of guys that had a lot of veterans in it and a lot of leadership. You had a lot of young guys that were making a statement. As in, Andrew Luck and a lot of different guys here, T.Y. Hilton, and those guys. It wasn’t a big change in organizations, it just a different team, different state.



Q: What have been your impressions of T.Y. Hilton?

A: He is a great guy and he is a character off the field. When he is on the field, he is strictly business. He is a smaller guy who likes to prove his point and he uses his speed to do it. I think when he is out there on the field, he is tough to stop being as fast as he is. I guess as small as he is, he is tough to get his hands on.



Q: Having won Super Bowls with the Giants, what have you been able to bring as far guidance and advice? The Colts seem to be very close to being one of the better teams in the NFL. What have you been able to offer your teammates getting them on the right track?

A: Just the leadership I can bring to the team. At the Giants, I was known as the heart of the team. Here, they look to me for leadership, also like a spark plug, also I was known at the Giants also. I think the team looks up to me to get the team sparked up. To get them amped up for games and just a leadership of what I have been through, so much in the two Super Bowls and the experiences I experienced over there with the Giants.



Colts WR Hakeem Nicks

Conference Call -- October 29, 2014



Q: Can you talk about what extra might be flowing through your heart and veins for this game on Monday going against your former team? Will there be something extra for you?

A: Definitely. We just want to approach it like another game. It is a game where we know what we have to do as a team going into this game, coming off of the game we had last week. We just have to bounce back and have a great week of practice. I think that is what we are going to look forward to as a team. As far as myself looking forward to this game, I think everybody knows we are all looking forward to this as a game to win because it is the next game.



Q: Was it difficult for you to go to another team and have to start over?

A: With the transition period and coming to a new team, I had to learn my role. First things first, I had to learn my role. I have to play it well. My job is to contribute to the team in the best way possible and make plays when I am called on. That is what I want to continue to do and bring to the team and to my game. I look forward to being out there and competing on the field each play and every game.



Q: Do you know yet what your role is yet halfway through the season?

A: Within this offense, I am going to make plays when the ball comes my way. Whether it be in the blocking game or the passing game, we just have to go out there and go to bat for each other. That is what great teams have to do. I was a part of a championship team in New York, so some of those things that were instilled in me are still in me and I carry to this day. I know what it takes to get to that the next level. I just have to make sure I am staying on top of my game, practicing hard every day and showing up. When that time comes for me to make plays, I will do that.



Q: Do you physically feel back to where you were back in your heyday with the Giants?

A: Definitely. Physically, this is the best I have felt since my early career in New York. My last couple of years were rough for me, fighting through injuries and playing through them or whatnot. Right now I have been good. My body is feeling good. I have to keep working hard and making sure I am taking care of my body. Just have to keep on going. We have a lot of games left.



Q: What is the difference for you playing in Indianapolis compared to playing with the Giants?

A: Obviously it is a different offense than what I was in with New York underneath [former Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride]. I am still a receiver. I still line up all over the field. I run the plays that are called and I am a guy that is dependable, a leader and a veteran.



Q: How hard is it for you to take in the different kind of role since you are not playing the same kind of role you were earlier in your career? How big of a transition has that been for you?

A: There was a little bit of a transition, but like I said, I was a part of team where we won a championship and I feel like I keep those things with me. I don’t let that mental part get to me. I just focus on [being] in this new situation and the chance that I have to prove to this organization and this team what I can bring to the table. I think that is what I look forward to each and every day.

Q: Did your few injury-plagued seasons teach you something about yourself that you have taken forward as far as the future goes?

A: Yes, definitely. It taught me how to go about things in the future if things like that were to come about. I take everything from the past and I learn from it. I don’t really dwell on it. Take the good with the bad. It is life. There are going to be ups and downs. You take the good with the bad and, like I said, I look forward to continue to play this game that I love and compete each and every Sunday.



Q: What are your impressions of T.Y. Hilton?

A: T.Y. is a phenomenal player. He has great speed. He is a small guy who can get open in the slot and can actually take you deep, too, as well. T.Y. is a talented player. I enjoy playing alongside of him and I look forward to playing deep into the season with him.



Q: Do you see any similarities playing with Andrew [Luck] and Eli [Manning]?

A: They are different personalities. As far as quarterbacks, you can’t really compare [them because] it is different offenses and different schemes. I was in a whole different scheme in New York than I am in here now. It is really tough to compare those guys, but the competitiveness in both is there and the will to win. Both are great quarterbacks.



Q: What is the difference personality- wise?

A: Nothing that you can really put your hand on. You have to be around them to observe them. I am an observer, so after being around Eli for five years and seeing how he is and then being around Andrew for this year, they have different personalities. Eli is more laid back and quiet. Andrew is a little bit more outgoing. [He] interacts a little bit more. But as far as that, that is all I can say.
Insightful  
The Turk : 10/29/2014 2:43 pm : link
not
Why do we care about TY Hilton again?  
Curtis in VA : 10/29/2014 2:52 pm : link
.
RE: Why do we care about TY Hilton again?  
26.2 : 10/29/2014 3:12 pm : link
In comment 11946908 Curtis in VA said:
Quote:
.


because he might catch 15 balls for 200 yards and a couple of scores against us.
I understand that,  
Curtis in VA : 10/29/2014 3:19 pm : link
but was it necessary to ask them both the same question?
I am having visions of Bradshaw trucking somebody on our defense...  
Britt in VA : 10/29/2014 3:27 pm : link
Monday night.
bradshaw interview was very good  
japanhead : 10/29/2014 3:29 pm : link
didn't read the nicks one.
.  
arcarsenal : 10/29/2014 3:31 pm : link
I miss Bradshaw.

One of the very, very few times we let a guy go whom we should have kept.
Hilton  
bronxct1 : 10/29/2014 3:55 pm : link
leads the NFL in receiving yards....why wouldn't you care about him?
What are your impressions of TY Hilton?  
Curtis in VA : 10/29/2014 3:57 pm : link
.
ditto arc  
ligmen : 10/29/2014 4:04 pm : link
that one hurt a lot
RE: I am having visions of Bradshaw trucking somebody on our defense...  
Arcanum : 10/29/2014 4:05 pm : link
In comment 11947002 Britt in VA said:
Quote:
Monday night.


More than likely, it will be Demps.. Hahaha
Yeah  
rocco8112 : 10/29/2014 4:42 pm : link
Bradshaw should still be in blue.

Team could really use him too.
another horrible misevaluation  
area junc : 10/29/2014 4:47 pm : link
let's draft david wilson in the 1st round (passing on big bad cordy glenn when our offensive line SUCKS) and wave goodbye to bradshaw
Bradshaw  
stretch234 : 10/29/2014 5:53 pm : link
He was not healthy here. He could not practice and fighting it just to play. For the money you could not keep him

32 teams passed on Glenn and some twice because no one thought he could play T in the NFL because of his size. Teams did not want to draft an over weight G. He has proven people wrong
Nicks:  
old man : 10/29/2014 6:24 pm : link
Dependable? LEADER?
He's a hero (in his own mind only).
Talk about players  
TMS : 10/29/2014 7:14 pm : link
coming back to haunt you. These two could make Monday night very long and painful.
If Nicks comes back to haunt us as bad as he is playing  
Jimmy Googs : 10/29/2014 7:23 pm : link
then the Giants have no hope of covering anybody.

Nicks should consider himself lucky that he is even getting any snaps for Indy.
...  
SanFranGiantsFan : 10/29/2014 7:45 pm : link
It's going to suck to see AB on the opposite team Monday night.
someone please take away thomas/area junc's computer  
GMenLTS : 10/29/2014 10:07 pm : link
he's a rambling drunk all over the place these days.
Why would we get rid of a guy with inside info?  
arcarsenal : 10/29/2014 10:14 pm : link
.
made sense to walk away from Bradshaw  
bc4life : 10/30/2014 6:41 am : link
One of my favorite all time Giants but the injuries and the need to move forward made it a reasonable business decision.

Lot of players with Bradshaw's injury history would have retired. One tough son of a gun.
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