G Justin Pugh
September 9, 2015
Re: Atmosphere in Dallas on Sunday night
A: Yeah for sure, and it’s something that we have to go out there and run that ball early and kind of quiet the crowd down. Take them out of it and have some good, long drives. Keep their offense off the field. So, we know what type of environment it’s going to be. We’ve got to come out there and play our game.
Q: Coach always talks about you have to break the season up into four sections. How important is the first group of four games?
A: Huge. Especially since Dallas has beaten us the past two years. We’ve got to go out there and finish a game. Run the ball, convert third downs, and have a good game.
Q: You guys have struggled in openers in the past. How important is it to get off on the right foot?
A: For sure. It’s definitely a big game for us. We’ve got to go out there and it’s going to be a crazy environment. That first quarter, when they have the flames going, the cheerleaders dancing around—we’ve got to go out there and focus in, lock into our game, run the ball, and then give Eli some time.
Q: You feel any more emotional, any more focused, heading into Week 1?
A: For sure. You come in here and I’m sitting in the team meeting room, I’m used to 90 guys. I look around, I’m like, ‘People are late, where is everybody? Half the guys are here. So it definitely opens up your eyes. This is the team we’re going to win with, this is the team we’re going to go out there and play with on Sunday. So it definitely raises the awareness level and that excitement level, because we know we’re getting ready to play a big time game. A division opponent, you’ve got to go out there and win in the division. That’s what we’re here for.
Q: Does it make it any more special that it’s the Cowboys, not only the division? America’s Team?
A: Yeah. It definitely makes it more intense. It’s Sunday night, everybody is going to be tuning in, everyone’s going to be watching. So it’s a lot of excitement in the locker room. I know there’s some guys who played in Dallas last year that are looking to show them up a little bit. So I know 17 [Dwayne Harris] and 93 [George Selvie] are going to be excited.
