WR Sterling Shepard
Postgame vs. Philadelphia Eagles, December 17, 2017
Q: It looked like on the last play that you guys got snuffed on the flea flicker, but the pass in the end zone it looked like you didn’t get the call you wanted…
A: Yeah, I was pretty upset about that one. I kind of let my emotions get the best of me on that one. It was just such a critical play for the game. I just didn’t like how it all played out, but I’ve got to be smarter at the end. But I mean, you can’t tell me that it’s not a pass interference. I mean my guy couldn’t even lift up his left arm, so you hate to see it happen that way, but I’ve got to be better.
Q: Is your reaction like that just kind of frustrations boiling over because you’re so close and you don’t get anything out of it?
A: Yeah, it just kept building up from I think the one where they said it was a ‘no catch’—that was pretty frustrating because you’re trying to get the tempo going and it slows you down, so from there on it just kind of built up frustration and that one was just a huge one, so it really got to me on that one.
Q: What happened a couple plays before that? I don’t know if it was you, but both sides were in a little bit of a skirmish?
A: Yeah, I guess a guy over the top of me—two-seven —he didn’t like the way I did him, so he tried to get after me a little bit, but could be better at that, too. Can’t let that get to us and affect the team.
Q: Had you guys been talking back and forth throughout the game or was that just sort of spur of the moment?
A: Nah, I guess he didn’t like the way that I do ‘em, every time we play, so he had some words to say and I did, too, so.
Q: Do you think he was just trying to get under your skin? Was that sort of your impression of it?
A: Probably so. He does all those vet moves, trying to get under your skin, so it doesn’t really work with me.
Q: How good was it to see the offense clicking?
A: I mean, it felt good. We had the ball moving. We scored the first what, two, three tries? Yeah, so it felt good to get it going. It just shows you what this team’s capable of and we could put points on the board, so we’ve got to keep doing that.
Q: What was different? You had way more successes than you probably had at any point this year. What was different for you guys?
A: I think everybody was just on point with the tempo and the way we were going to attack the game plan. Coach Sully [Mike Sullivan] gave us a great game plan, that’s pretty simple and that’s straightforward, and guys just bought in and I feel like we want to be the team that we can be, so we’ve got to do it every week.
Q: Tempo—that was part of the game plan? To go even faster than usual?
A: Yeah, tempo was huge. It’s always a huge deal for us, but…
Q: You seemed to be moving a little bit faster, though, than usual.
A: Yeah, it looked like we were moving a little bit faster.
Q: With the way the offense was clicking, how confident were you that you were going to come away with the win at the end of the game?
A: I was pretty confident. I mean, we had drove the field. You know, like I said, we got to eliminate some mistakes throughout the game. I feel like we got to eliminate some mistakes, but especially when we get into the red zone. You know, that can get us and just hate to see it end like that.
Q: Has there been a lot of games this year where you can taste the victory and it gets pulled away from you like that. How different is that?
A: Yeah, I actually haven’t experienced a win. I was hurt all of our wins, so I was itching for one and I think that’s the reason why emotions got to me like that. I usually don’t let that type of stuff happen, but well, I was just staring dead at it and I’m like, ‘what are you looking at?’ I apologize for reacting the way that I did.
Q: Did you apologize to him?
A: To the official? I should. If I ever see him, I will, but, yeah, on camera I’m telling you I’m sorry.
Q: Sterling, that’s the team with the best record in the NFC. What does it say to you guys to be one play away from the win?
A: I think it shows what this team is capable of. Whenever we buy into the game plan, there’s no telling where we can go.
Q: Is that you apologizing to the official, but is that kind of you just, somebody on this offense needs to become the identity or speak up or be the leader for this offense?
A: No. I’m not going to shy away from that role, but that’s just not the way the New York Giants do things and not the way that I handle things, but it’s tough in that moment if you’ve been put in that moment and you’ve been fighting your tail off the whole game, it’s pretty tough for it to end like that.
Q: Would you like to carry this momentum that you finally had in this game offensively maybe into the last two games and show the team can win?
A: Yeah, we can just build from here. We found what really works for us and hopefully we can just take it into the next few games and carry it onto the next season as well.
Q: Can you believe that you guys haven’t topped thirty points since you’ve been here?
A: Yeah, I mean know that, I think about it after it’s all over with. It’s surprising, though, because we have guys that can do this and put points on the board, so it’s pretty surprising when you look back at it.
Q: You also missed an extra point. I mean that point blocked, field goal blocked…
A: Yeah, those kinds of things can kill us, too. We’ve just got to be great at the basics I feel like. And that’s what we went back to and it worked well for the offense and that’s what we’ve got to do going forward.
Q: Did you see a little something different from Eli [Manning]? I mean you’ve seen a lot of things, but I don’t know if you’ve seen him throw for 430 yards before.
A: Ah, man, Eli’s great in my eyes no matter what he does. He just played like [what] he’s capable of today.
Q: Do you think people need to be reminded of that once in a while?
A: Yes they do. I feel like they get after Eli [Manning] a lot, but I mean that’s how they’re going to do every quarterback in the NFL, but you know what, Eli’s a great guy and a great quarterback, so people do need to see that from time to time.
Q: What was it like to hear chants of defense while you were on the field, in your home building?
A: It was pretty loud, but we block that out.
Q: Are you disappointed that Giants fans were selling their tickets to Eagles fans?
A: I don’t want to get into all that stuff. It doesn’t matter who’s watching us if we go out and execute.
Q: What is Eli like in the huddle with everything that is going on.
A: He is the most professional guy I know. He is a great example and it shows you how to handle that situation if you were ever to be in a similar situation.
