Safety Landon Collins
July 27, 2018
Q: How’s the arm?
A: The arm is 100 percent. I would to say 110 percent but the reality is its 100 percent.
Q: You weren’t limited at all yesterday?
A: No, I’m not limited at all. I’m going full go 100 percent and we are going from there.
Q: When the pads come on and people start making contact with you do you think they will go easy with you.
A: I’m pretty sure no. They are going to let me go full go. I guess it’s to my discretion and if I feel anything I can pull myself out but most likely like in the offseason I have been putting a lot of pressure on it. I have been pushing things so I can see where I’m at.
Q: During the season, are you going to wear something protective?
A: No.
Q: What do you think this defense has to prove?
A: This defense has to prove it’s capable of being one of those top 10 defenses. We are going to play hard, we are going to play fast and we are going to have a lot of aggression. That’s how I see this defense playing and that’s how we all see it as a group.
Q: Does this defense set up well to unleash what you can do?
A: I don’t know yet, this is my first time playing around in the defense and we are still fishing around with it to see what the outcome is. I’m just ready to play honestly, just be on the field with my guys and play football honestly.
Q: Do you know guys on the Cardinals that played for Bettcher?
A: Yea, I know Tony [Jefferson], I know Tyrann [Mathieu] and I know Reshad Jones.
Q: Did you pick their brain at all?
A: I picked Tony’s and I picked Reshad’s because here is now. Just seeing what they like to do. They told me guys of my caliber tend to move around so we will see how it goes.
Q: What do you want to do this year, this is a big year for you, a contract year.
A: I just want to play ball, I’m not too stuck on the contract. At the end of the day what got me here is not worrying about a contract. What got me here is playing ball, playing fast, playing aggressive and trying to be the greatest each and every time I touch the field on Sunday.
Q: Do you think anything will be done or any kind of talks contract wise, this summer or into the season?
A: I have to ask my agent, I don’t know. We probably had a discussion earlier, but not toward the fact that we are going to discuss during training camp and during the season.
Q: A lot of players going into their last year they are thinking about it, are you?
A: No, because if I weigh on it will cause me to push for plays and plays will go over my head. Bad stuff will happen, so I just go out there and play ball and that’s what I have been doing. It’s gotten me this far and I’m not going to change it.
Q: You want to spend your whole career here?
A: I would like to, I definitely would like to. My biggest thing was when I came into the league and whatever school I went to coming from high school is where I wanted to finish, that’s my kind of my motto.
Q: Just to clarify now that the season has started you don’t want those things (contract talks) to take place?
A: No, to me I just want to worry about football. My mindset is to play football and be one of the best safeties out there and that’s my motto. If they talk contract just leave that because I don’t even want to worry about it. I don’t want to worry about money or what goes into the paper work. It will just take my focus away from the field, its going to take my focus away from studying and the plays I need to make.
Q: You are open to your agent talking with them right?
A: Yeah, I’m open to my agent talking.
Q: Is it hard to divorce yourself from those conversations?
A: No, its not hard to do at all.
Q: While the front has changed from a 4-3 to a 3-4 does the job in the back change at all?
A: No, I wouldn’t say that necessarily, just reading is a little different. Knowing where your shade is, knowing where your nose guards and defensive ends are at. From that point on no, not really.
Q: Landon, who is the best safety in the NFL?
A: Who is the best safety? Sean Taylor. I’m just messing with you, there are a lot of great safeties out there, I look up to them all and it’s vice versa, we all play great ball. At the end of the day I’m going to always say I’m the best because I feel that way. I feel like I can be one of the best or I am the best.
Q: Did you feel that way last year, when you look back at how the season went?
A: I was hurt most of last year so I didn’t make the plays I know I can make. At the end of the day I was looking at it as I was five plays behind the top 3 safeties. I look at it as if I was still up there and giving competition to those guys.
Q: You do anything different training wise this summer?
A: Nothing different, I just stayed to my normal routine with Ryan Clark. He has been pushing me and from that point on I am back in shape and ready for action.
Q: What did you go into the off-season trying to improve?
A: I think I always work on my man-to-man coverage and most of the time I am sticking to the best tight ends on the other teams so my concept is always to work on man-to-man technique stuff. I want to be one of those dominant safeties all around.
Q: Does it help going against Evan [Engram] every day?
A: It helps me a lot. That’s one of the tight ends that’s going to be phenomenal. He is faster than most guys I have faced, knows how to run routes and can get separation. I make that a big part of my training going against him every day to really step my game up, so when I do play those top tight ends we will face this year I make sure they get no catches.
Q: What is your sense of what this offense can be?
A: The sky is the limit honestly. We have all the guys, all the attributes we need for offense and now we just have to put it together. They are doing great right now, as we saw after the first day. They are catching everything and turning short gains into long gains, it’s going good.
Q: What was it like seeing Odell [Beckham] out with his teammates?
A: It was exciting, just knowing that he loves the game and he shows that. He is not saying I’m going to sit out and not play football because I want a new contract. He’s out here with his guys and he loves what he does.
