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Thursday Media Transcript: Safety Antoine Bethea

Eric from BBI : Admin : 3/14/2019 5:34 pm
Q: Tell us about why you picked the Giants:
A: "I think it was a fresh start for me; some familiar faces. Obviously, (Defensive Coordinator) James Bettcher being the 'DC', and me playing in that system, and having some success in the system. So, those are some of the things that kind of peaked my interest of being able to come out here and play for the Giants."

Q: What do you know about (S) Jabrill Peppers?
A: "Good young safety! Being a fan of the game and playing the safety position, you look across the league and see what other guys are doing, looking at his play the first two years, he's been doing some great things. Even looking at him when he was at Michigan, very versatile, can do a lot of things -- play in the box, play back in the post. I'm excited to play alongside with him."

Q: How do you think you guys will complement each other?
A: "The first thing that I think of -- both of us being able to play both (safety) positions. The offense can't dictate who's going to be the down safety, who's going to be back. I think that'll play in our hand where we can disguise the defense, disguise the coverage and make a quarterback think post-snap rather than pre-snap.”

Q: Did any of the recent transactions by the Giants concern you when you saw them walking out of the door?
A: "I've been in this league a long time, and I've seen things go on. It's just a part of the business. I know some Giants fans might not like it, but it's just a part of the business, and we have to keep going.

Q: This is going to be your 14th season. Do you view this Giants' team as a rebuilding team? Or, do you think this team can win in 2019?
A: "No, it's not a rebuilding team. At the end of the day, we have to go out and play on Sundays. Regardless of the names you have on paper, you still have to go out there and perform. You get a good nucleus, some good guys that can work together. Obviously, the league year just started. I know upstairs, they're doing what they need to do to build a great team. As players, our job is to come out there and put our best performance, our best foot forward and put the best product we can put on the field."

Q: Can you explain why you wanted to come here, and how it all got put together?
A: "Again, obviously with Bettcher being familiar with me playing in his system, just what they were looking for. I just think it was a mutual partnership where they wanted me to come in, and I wanted to come in.”

Q: How close are you to (DE) Markus Golden? Did you make any calls to him to try to get him to come here?
A: 'MG' that's my guy, that's my guy! Maybe I can do a little recruiting. I would love to have 'MG' here. He's a hardworking guy. A good guy. Most importantly, a good family guy. Maybe I can make a few calls and get him out here."

Q: What has been the key to your longevity and your durability? Is there anything physical that you can't do now, that you could do years ago? Any limitations?
A: "It's all about being consistent, taking care of your body as far as that longevity. Coming into the league, I was fortunate to walk in the locker room and be around some greats. (Pro Football Hall of Famer WR) Marvin Harrison, (Former Colts/Broncos QB) Peyton Manning, (Former Colts TE) Dallas Clark, (Former Colts WR) Reggie Wayne. Those guys taught me how to be a pro. I think that's one of the things I hang my hat on, of being a pro's pro -- coming to work, and being where my feet are. Obviously, having some longevity in this league is something a lot of people can't say, and I hold that close to my heart, but as far as myself, I still feel good. If I didn't feel good, I wouldn't put myself in a situation to go out there and put bad film out there. I still believe in my play, I still believe in myself, I still believe I can go out there and play at a high level. So, that's what I expect to do, that's what I expect out of myself.

Q: A lot of Giants fans are grieving over having a three-time Pro Bowler in (S) Landon Collins walk out the door. What can you tell the about how this secondary is coming together, and going to be able to overcome the loss of such a good player?
A: "They should be upset. Like you said, Landon is one of the best safeties in the league. He's a three-time Pro Bowler and played well for the Giants. Myself, I know Jabrill would say the same thing -- he's very confident in his play. I'm very confident in my play as well. So, we're going to come in here, we're just going to do what we need to do, what know what we need to do, and just come out there and play at a high level."

Q: You mentioned Peyton Manning, you're going to be teammates with Eli Manning. Having gone against him the last couple of years, where do you see him as a quarterback looking from an opponents' eyes since you have for 13 years?
A: "A champion, being the leader of this organization for a long time and can still make all the throws. Having Saquon (Barkley) back there running the rock, obviously that's going to help him out a lot. Happy to be a part of this organization, happy to be one of his teammates. I'm excited to see where he can lead us."
Class act  
Vegas Steve : 3/14/2019 5:50 pm : link
.
Should be a good signing  
ChaChing : 3/14/2019 5:54 pm : link
a couple things I liked in there:
Quote:
Q: How do you think you guys will complement each other?
A: "The first thing that I think of -- both of us being able to play both (safety) positions. The offense can't dictate who's going to be the down safety, who's going to be back. I think that'll play in our hand where we can disguise the defense, disguise the coverage and make a quarterback think post-snap rather than pre-snap.”

I mentioned elsewhere the two seem more versatile than one being a FS and the other a SS. Iirc Spags & also Fewell talked about interchangeable S. On paper this is among the best tandems we've had going into the season in ages (KP nor LC had good pairings even tho they were individually better). And at a better price than LC alone (assuming Bethea is a moderate $). So we likely have a long term option in Peppers and now will need to find a younger replacement for Bethea in 2-3 years

Quote:
I was fortunate to walk in the locker room and be around some greats. (Pro Football Hall of Famer WR) Marvin Harrison, (Former Colts/Broncos QB) Peyton Manning, (Former Colts TE) Dallas Clark, (Former Colts WR) Reggie Wayne. Those guys taught me how to be a pro. I think that's one of the things I hang my hat on, of being a pro's pro

And of course the obligatory leadership bit, but those are great names to learn from. Also almost all our adds are very durable be it Zeitler, Peppers, Bethea, Tate...
Should be a good mento for Peppers  
George from PA : 3/14/2019 6:04 pm : link
Still think we need a rangy FS....probably in draft
RE: Should be a good mento for Peppers  
ChaChing : 3/14/2019 7:00 pm : link
In comment 14337867 George from PA said:
Quote:
Still think we need a rangy FS....probably in draft

Well if that bit in the threads about him improving his coverage to top 3 for a S in 2018 is true and he can continue, isn't he possibly the guy?

That plus his swiss-army knife description I thought of Mathieu. He'd of course need to do this yearly as well as up the ball skills / picks / PDs. But it's just a thought as I read more about him esp given the Bettcher connection now
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