NYG Postgame (vs. Redskins) Transcripts: RB Wayne Gallman Jr. -- September 29, 2019
Q: Wayne, take us through the first touchdown. Looked like Daniel [Jones] was looking to his left, you kind of slipped down to the flat there.
A: We were just open in the flat. Thank the Lord. Glad Danny saw me and he was able to get it to me. I’m glad I got the first one on the board.
Q: Overall, how do you feel you played the first game?
A: I feel like I played good. There’s always room for improvement, but just seeing what we did today is a great step for the team and that we’re only looking better from here.
Q: How hard was it to get that first touchdown and to grind and kind of be aggressive? You get another fourth and two and you can sense you were going for six and weren’t going to settle for three.
A: Well, the whole focus was to come out fast. You know we don’t want to come out hot in the second half. We want to come out hot in the first half, so the focus was just getting that first drive going and we did. We got it done.
Q: At what point did you start to feel comfortable?
A: I was comfortable from the first snap. You know I’ve been waiting for this moment a long time and just been ready for it. Just been waiting a long time for it and I wasn’t about to let it get away from me.
Q: What was this week like, your anticipation since you have been waiting for a long time? How fired up were you as the week was going on? Were you trying to temper your emotions a little bit?
A: Oh yeah, I was just trying to keep the main thing the main thing this week. Not try to think too much about things, just follow the reads in practice, do the right things and get better everyday. So, that was my focus.
Q: Saquon Barkley had a tweet earlier in the day saying that you were going to go off today, you were going to go crazy. What advice did he give you? Did you know about that tweet and kind of how did that help you? How has he been helping you?
A: I don’t know why he does some of the things he does. [Laughs] He told me when I was getting taped. I was like, ‘bro, why would you do that?’, so I was like now I’ve got to show up. But no, he’s a little bro. We talked at halftime and he told me what he saw, what he didn’t [see] as I do for him when he’s in the game, so, you know I love him, I love what he does. I just want to also contribute.
Q: Wayne, knowing the void he leaves, how important was it for you to step up the way you did today?
A: I was going to show everybody that even though Say [Saquon Barkley] is out, I’m Wayne, and I can do whatever it takes to win.
Q: Is there a different feel in this locker room?
A: All I feel is energy from my teammates. We all want it and we just want to be better, so next week I can only picture how much better we get next week.
Q: If the back page tomorrow morning says “Saquon [Barkley] who?” how will you react?
A: I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t pay [any] attention to it. Saquon is Saquon, but I’m me and it’s all about just feeding off each other, so when Saquon comes back and we go back to the original rotation, I’ll always be prepared and always ready.
Q: What’s been the biggest difference for this offense the past two weeks? It looks like you guys are looking a little better on third down and fourth down; more prolonged drives.
A: Difference? I would say just preparation and practice. Just not goofing around. Keeping the main thing the main thing and just striving to get better each week, so you know everyday throughout the week I can only look at my teammates and after every practice, I know that we got better.
Q: Do you feel like that wasn’t the case the first couple of weeks? Maybe guys just didn’t have the same approach?
A: Not that that wasn’t the case, it was just we were just figuring it out. It was the start of the new season. Of course, we were going to see how the first game goes and we’re just going to learn from it. So that’s all we’ve been doing. Just learning and getting better each week.
