Monday Media Transcript: CB Prince Amukamara

CB Prince Amukamara

November 23, 2015

Q: How ready do you feel right now?

A: I feel like I’m ready to play four quarters of a football game.

Q: More ready than you would’ve been last week you think?

A: Yeah. I feel 100 percent. I feel ready to go.

Q: If you’re back in for the first time in a few weeks and DeSean Jackson is probably going to be there on the other side of the field, what type of challenge is that for you?

A: He’s freakishly fast. I’ve been watching the Redskins the last two weeks and he’s been flying past a lot of people, but I’ve played against him my five years here so I know what to expect.

Q: Does he look much different?

A: Just looks well rested and just looks fast.

Q: How do you get a pec ready to play? Do you do any hitting or do you just have to see what happens when you get hit?

A: There’s some drills where you could throw like a medicine ball against the wall and absorb the weight as it comes back or you hit dummies, but, like you said, it’s not even close to realistic as hitting a 230-pound human going full speed. I’m sure I’m going to be in a brace to protect myself a little bit, but if I had any doubt that I would injure it more or if the doctors did I don’t think I’d be out there.

Q: Between yourself, JT Thomas, Uani’ Unga and JPP coming back, how much better can this defense be now in the next couple of weeks with some reinforcements coming back?

A: I think we’d definitely help improve our defense. I think our defense was doing great without us and we’ve seen the last couple of weeks, especially last week against the Patriots, I think we just add more bodies and add more help to help our defense.

Q: With 6 games to go, do you look at the big picture and say we’re in first place, we’re a game in front, everything in front of us, or what?

A: I think it’s great to control our own destiny. We know that this game, Coach Coughlin says, is worth two points because it’s in the division and we know that if we take care of what we have to take care of I think we’ll be good. We’re in the driver’s seat and if we win out then we will be happy at the end. We definitely don’t want to be in a position where we’re paying attention to like Minnesota or other teams to lose and stuff like that because that’s not a fun way to look at it.

Q: As disappointed as you were when you got hurt that you were going to miss time, do you feel maybe that much more fortunate that you’re back for this stretch run?

A: Yes, for sure. Definitely excited for it to be short-term unlike last year and just to come back and finish where I started. Hosley, I feel like did a great job in my spot and I’m just glad to be back.

Q: You’ve obviously been here, you’re one of the guys in this locker room back when you played a meaningful game after Thanksgiving and the last couple years haven’t been that way. Do you have a sense of where this team is right now and is everybody kind of feeling it?

A: Yeah, we know most of the games this season it’s been us hurting ourselves and I think last week against the Patriots it was pretty much like confirmation of how great we can be as a team. I mean we stood toe to toe with one of the league’s best, the defending champions. I think a lot of guys were bummed that we lost that because there was so many chances that we could’ve ended it, but I think guys were encouraged also because we knew that we could’ve won the game.

Q: Has that brace been tough to get use to?

A: It’s funny, at first it’s a little stiff at first, but once I start warming up and get some sweat in it I forget that I have it on. I don’t feel any restrictions, I run pretty good, jam pretty good. If I had any restrictions I would tell them like, ‘Hey, I’m going to roll the dice. I can’t have this on me.’ But it’s just all about protection.

Q: So the brace you’re wearing in practice is what you’d wear in a game?

A: I don’t think so. They keep talking about another one and if we go shoulder pads this week I’m sure I’m going to have that other one on, but when we don’t have shoulder pads I have the one that I was wearing on today.

Q: Is it important for you to get over that mental hurdle? I mean you’re not that typical corner being out there just to be playing space and not really wanting to come up. I mean you’re the opposite of that. You want to be at the line, you want to be physical. Is that something that you need to get straight in your head before you get out there?

A: No, I think anytime I step on the field I think my body just assumes it’s 100 percent. Like even today, I didn’t think I was hurt unless I did a movement and then I felt something pinch, but I didn’t. So anytime I step on the field I just trick myself that I’m 100 percent so going up to tackle, I think, would just be instinctive. I hope there’s no hesitation.

Q: Is it different for a cornerback to have an injury here as oppose to coming back and you know you guys when you’re legs are no good you guys go nuts? Is it different?

A: Yeah, it’s very different. I think if it happened an injury below the waist, I think I’d be more cautious and a little bit more worried especially this week with DeSean and (Pierre) Garçon, but since my legs are able to run I feel like I’m able to go. And that’s how it was the last five weeks, I didn’t really feel like I was injured because I was able to walk, able to run a little bit, but I just knew my chest wasn’t ready.

Q: Your legs feel fresh?

A: Yeah, yeah. Very fresh. I worked out this whole bye so I feel like I didn’t miss a beat. And I didn’t feel out of wind today with this practice. It was good.