Safety Landon Collins
December 13, 2017
Q: What are your thoughts on the Eagles running game since they added (Jay) Ajayi?
A: He’s an all-around back, he can do it all. He can catch it, he can make the dynamic cuts and he definitely can run-down hill and east and west. He can do it all. It kind of threw me off when they did it and I was like, ‘Why did they do it?’ But he’s a great asset to their team.
Q: How are you feeling after the injury on Sunday?
A: It’s sore, but other than that, I’m going to be able to play on Sunday so that’s all that’s key to me.
Q: Spags (Steve Spagnuolo) said that he may need to protect you from yourself.
A: Yeah, I asked somebody about that, I didn’t know what that meant when he said it and he kind of broke it down to me. It’s a little bit of a compliment because I mean for myself and the competitor that I am, if I know I can play, if I feel like I can play or I can do something, I’m going to do it. What Spags said, I took it as a compliment because I would feel like I’m letting my boys down if I’m not on the field with them and that hurts me more than anything.
Q: How hard is it to even watch practice for you?
A: It’s going to be harder when I get into this film room to see all of that. I didn’t watch practice yet today, but it’s definitely going to be hard watching it in the film room and hearing them boys talk and me not being on the field with them and not being able to fix problems and say anything. But I’m going to help the guys that were on the field and tell them what they need to be doing and what they need to see and stuff like that.
Q: How do you balance being smart about an injury and the competitive urge to get out there?
A: I look at it as, people recognize when I’m on the field. Even though I’m injured, at the same time I can still do something and make a difference and be a playmaker regardless if he’s on the field or not and make plays. Just my presence on the field helps our defense as a whole and it betters each one of us knowing that we have all of our guys out on the field.
Q: How much does it change the approach going up against Nick Foles instead of Carson Wentz?
A: It’s crazy. I have to watch a lot of film on Nick Foles, I haven’t seen him in a minute. He’s a great quarterback, he’s been to the Pro Bowl, he can do great things. He’s not Carson Wentz, we call him Houdini. He’s not him so we expect different things. We know what kind of quarterback he is, but we have to see from the last game he played that he finished for them and the games that he played in the preseason and prior games before that.
Q: How hard has this year been for you with the injuries?
A: Frustrating, it’s been very frustrating for myself to deal with injuries, but it’s a part of the game. It comes with the game. I hate it, but at the same time, if I know I can be on the field and I can play, I’m going to do it regardless.
Q: Do you look at film of yourself playing this year and say, ‘That’s not me?’
A: Oh yeah, plenty of times. It’s like I could have done this, I could have done that. But at the same time, I’m like, I’m glad I was on the field because I know it would be different if I was fully off it.
Q: Has the thought of shutting it down crossed your mind?
A: No, I’m still young, I’m still young. Maybe if I was 26 or 27 or something like that, maybe I would consider it then, but not now. I’m still young right now.
Q: Is there any concern you can make it worse?
A: No. Actually, this ankle injury is 10 times better than the one I had against the Chargers. If you could go through all the stuff that happened, I should have never played the next three games.
Q: So this is a different ankle injury?
A: It’s the same one, but it’s not as severe.
Q: It doesn’t seem like you regret playing those three games.
A: No I don’t regret it at all. If I feel like I can play, if I can make myself play, I know I can make a difference on the field, I’m going to be out there.
Q: A lot of fans might say you guys only have two wins, why are you trying so hard to get back on the field?
A: It really just comes from myself because I don’t want to be one of those players where I knew I could have been out there or when I look at my guys, I’m letting them down. I don’t like that for myself.
Q: You have a little streak going yourself.
A: Yeah like I said, before I talked to OV (Olivier Vernon). OV said he had over 100 and something snaps so I’m trying to catch up to him, try to get up there.
Q: How do you approach these last three games and what are you guys still playing for?
A: I love answering that question. We are playing for this organization for one, the tradition here and for yourself. At the end of the day, you’re playing for this game, you love this game, you come out there and play each and every down. This game is not for long so if it’s not for long, then why not give it every best chance you get because any given day it could be taken away from you. It can be taken away from you any day.
Q: Did public perception bother you at all because there was thought that you didn’t reach your potential this year?
A: I’m not looking for credit. A majority of the time it’s he said, she said. I know what I can do, I know what kind of capable player I am. At the same time, I was fighting through an injury, but some key guys that are in the league are not playing through their injuries. I’ve always been a player that played through injuries and I’ve always been on a team where all of our players played through injuries. The only way you’re not playing on that field is if something is actually broken.
Q: Have you spoken to Eli Apple about his problem of not being able to stay on the field?
A: Yeah I had a sit down with him, a couple of us had a sit-down with him and we just said, ‘Man regardless of the situation, we got your back. You’re our brother.’ Because at the end of the day, we have to go into battle whether if he’s on the field or not on the field. We have to go to practice with him and we need him to be here. We need him to want to be here and not fighting against us or fighting against the coaches. Because if he’s fighting against the coaches or the organization or whatever he’s fighting against in his head, we don’t need him fighting us because that causes conflict.
Q: Was this recently?
A: Yeah. It’s been throughout the season.
Q: Was the sit-down this week?
A: It’s been throughout the season, multiple times.
Q: Do you believe that message has gotten through to him?
A: Yeah, certain times, certain times. It’s a within him battle. It’s inside him that he’s fighting with it. It’s within him.
Q: Do you wonder why he’s not on the field?
A: He’s got a lot of personal things going on at this point in his life. I’m surprised he’s still here and didn’t step away from the game because most players would. But he’s got a lot going on in his situation. That’s when you have to be a brother towards him and know and tell him that you got his back and we are here for you.
Q: What was the reaction to tweeting about the touchdown?
A: What was the quote that he put behind it? I don’t really know what the quote was. I just know that he retweeted it and if he said something, I’ll have to go back and look what he said.
Q: He didn’t tweet anything, he just retweeted a video of the Rod Smith touchdown. Were guys upset?
A: No, you just got to know Eli (Apple). That’s it.
Q: The outside perspective is he’s supporting someone beating up on the Giants.
A: I don’t know if that was one of his friends or one of his buddies. Maybe he was just supporting his buddy. He’s not on the field. I think if he was on the field, he wouldn’t have retweeted it, but at the same time he’s not on the field so it’s probably different. I don’t know. That’s a good question, I’ll have to ask him myself.
Q: If one of your Alabama teammates scored an 81-yard touchdown against you guys, would you retweet it?
A: If Coop (Amari Cooper) went over the top of my head and caught a one-handed reception, I would have retweeted it for him, yeah.
Q: Is Eli Apple talented enough?
A: He has the most talent in the world. He can do some amazing things. He already has a bad rep with the refs, they talk about his holding. Other teams will tell the refs he holds and they’ll keep an eye out for him. So other than that, he’s a great cover corner. He understands the game, understands our concepts of what we’re trying to put into the game and he does great things, yeah.
Q: Why doesn’t it work with him?
A: It’s mental. Right now, he has a lot of personal issues.
Q: Is it confidence also?
A: No, it’s not his confidence.
Q: So by personal you mean off the field?
A: Correct.
