WR Sterling Shepard
August 9, 2016
Q: How excited are you for your first game?
A: Pretty excited. We have been banging around with each other for a little while. It is going to be fun to start hitting somebody else and playing against other guys, playing against other DBs.
Q: What are your expectations?
A: I expect it to be similar to practice, you know, physical, fast. We have a good defense and they give us good looks, so I expect the same thing.
Q: You got to go up against another highly regarded rookie in Eli Apple today. What was that like for you?
A: Well, I go against him all the time. Iron sharpens iron. We are both getting better. He is just trying to learn the schemes and I am trying to learn the plays, so we’re doing the same thing.
Q: What makes it difficult to go against [Apple]?
A: Like I said before, just his length and he is strong and has good feet, so it is kind of hard in the red zone especially where you don’t have much space and especially dealing with a guy like that that is rangy.
Q: Are you interested to see how your success on the practice field translates to a game?
A: Yeah, it is just like the saying, ‘you practice like you play’, so I try to give it 100 percent effort at practice all the time because it truly does show up in the games, so I expect that.
Q: Are you picking up any tips or guidance from guys like DRC and Jenkins, the veteran guys?
A: Yeah, in one-on-ones, if something doesn’t go my way, then I am always quick to ask DRC what tipped him off or show him what angle I am going to go at, so I try to learn from those guys and I am always out there trying to learn, so I am definitely asking those guys questions.
Q: McAdoo said something to you during special teams early in camp. What was he talking to you about and how do you feel those adjustments are coming?
A: That happens all time. He pulls me over all the time, so I don’t know which specific moment you are talking about.
Q: Basically he said, “We know what he can do as a receiver, but we want him to work on special teams, too.”
A: Oh, yeah. It is just different technique, just different things with the special teams. I didn’t do much in college. I did punt return. They have me doing some things out here that is new to me, but I am getting it down, I am still learning and it is coming along.
Q: What is it like working with K.J. Maye?
A: Yeah, it was crazy, we were at the Senior Bowl talking to each other wondering where we were going to end up and we ended up at the same spot, but I love working with him. He is quick in and out of his breaks and I try to take something from each and every guy out there that I can use in my game and he is so low to the ground, he can get out of his cuts really fast, so I try to look at his feet sometimes.
Q: What can you learn in watching the relationship between Eli and Odell?
A: That is the way it is supposed to be and there are things that go along with that that Odell has had to gain his trust and I am still trying to pick those things up, so that is what the quarterback-receiver relationship is supposed to be like.
Q: What do they do that you maybe aren’t at their level where it flows naturally?
A: Well, this offense is based on timing, so I am still getting the timing down, but they just click like that. They have been working with each other for a while, so he knows where Odell is going to be and Odell knows where he is going to put it.
Q: Going into Friday, are you sitting there thinking that the most important thing is running your routes correctly or just taking one to the house?
A: I think a little bit of both. I want to run my routes correctly and if I run my routes correctly, then I’m going to be able to take it to the house, so both of them.
Q: How many snaps do you expect to play on Friday night?
A: I have no idea.
Q: Is it a big deal for you? The first preseason game.
A: Of course. It is my first time being able to put on the Giants uniform. Every time I step on to the field, I want to give my max effort and I don’t want to put any sloppy film out there.
Q: Coach talked about Cruz sitting out a little. This may impact your responsibilities quickly. Have you thought about that pressure?
A: Honestly, coming into this thing, that has been my mindset the whole time. You never know what is going to happen, so you have to be ready and I feel like I have been carrying a big load trying to learn all the positions on the field inside and outside, so that has kind of been my mindset the whole time, so it is not that big of a deal.
Q: Obviously there are expectations for a second round pick. When you look around the room at some of the guys, your same age making the big plays, like Roger and Darius and King, what are you thinking? Does that competition put pressure on everyone else to perform?
A: Yeah, we all try to put pressure on each other. It is just going to intensify the play effort on the practice field, so we are all trying to make plays, everyone is trying to make the team, so of course you are going to have guys giving it their all and guys like you mentioned are doing a great job, especially Roger and Darius and all those guys.
Q: You see and hear all the hype about what people think you can do. What are your feelings on all of that?
A: You just have to tune all the outside stuff out and that is what I do. I have been doing that since college. The media is going to talk, people are going to talk, but you just can’t let that type of stuff get to your head. You have to focus on what you have to do and I have been dealing with that since college, so it is nothing new.
A: Yeah, in one-on-ones, if something doesn’t go my way, then I am always quick to ask DRC what tipped him off or show him what angle I am going to go at, so I try to learn from those guys and I am always out there trying to learn, so I am definitely asking those guys questions.