WR Golden Tate III -- November 6, 2019
Q: If the game doesn’t go your way, it’s six in a row, you’re 2-8. If you lose to the Jets, do you think some changes will be made around here?
A: That goes through my head every year, because the recipe to staying in the locker room is winning. When you’re losing, something’s got to change, you don’t know who it’s going to be. So, I think about it. I love this locker room, I love the personnel, I love our coaches, but ultimately we’re all here to produce wins.
Q: You mentioned you haven’t been around for when Saquon has walked off the field as a winner, at least not without crutches. There are some key players here who haven’t tasted that feeling yet.
A: Yeah, it’s something that I wasn’t expecting to experience. Here we are, we are what we are. I’m focused on this week, I think we’re all focused on this week. I think we’re all excited to get back out there, get this bad taste out of our mouth. Today was more of a mental day, but we’re going to continue to work hard, prepare ourselves, and one thing I want to do personally is kind of be more fundamentally sound this week, just do my job the best I possibly can and see what happens.
Q: The Giants and Jets are both in the same boat, both teams are just so incredibly hungry for a victory. Every team wants to win every week, but the desperation that both teams must have right now is kind of unique.
A: Yeah, I can only speak for us, but we want to get this thing back on track. Like I said a lot of the last few weeks, I feel like we do have a good team. We have great personnel. I don’t know if you guys can get a sense for this locker room, but we don’t seem down and depressed, I don’t feel like we’ve tanked, despite our record. I think we’re still hungry to win and I think we still feel like we have a shot to do something special. We’ve just got to get it going, and it’s going to start with us.
Q: How much of that is knowing that most of the games, against the Patriots and even last week, you were close, you just kind of let it slip away at the end? How much of that is kind of consolation, if you will, to say that “Hey, we’re close, but not there yet?”
A: I’m a believer that we look at all the good things we do each week and we praise the guys and say, “Hey, good job. We want more of that.” The things that we don’t do so well, I think we need to be very, very critical and accountable and make sure those things don’t happen next week and the week after that. So, hold onto the good and get rid of the bad and I think we’re fine. We’ve just got to be a more consistent team.
Q: Away from the Giants and Jets, when you hear Shep (Sterling Shepard) has gone into the concussion protocol again, is that scary?
A: Yes, it’s very scary. One, we know the game of football, this organization, his teammates are very, very important to him, and he is one of the ultimate competitors in the NFL. It’s very unfortunate that he’s still dealing with the concussion, but that’s something you do not want to play with. You can kind of wing an ankle or other injuries, but when it comes to your brain, you only have one of those, and the picture outside of football is way more important, I think. We obviously want him out there, but I think it’s important that he makes sure the timing is right, if it is right, that he comes back and he is completely healed. Me being married and having a family, that’s kind of the most important thing in my life and it’s more important for me to remember my child’s childhood than to force myself to play right here and now. So, we want him to understand that we support him, we’re praying for him, and we want him to make sure that he’s right. Whether it be this week, not anymore this season, next year, whenever it is, we’re going to support him.
Q: I know you can’t speak for him, but as a competitor, as an athlete, some people will kind of fool themselves. They say even if the body breaks down, it’s not time to go. So, how do you kind of balance that? Speaking for yourself, like when the time comes, will you say, “My body just can’t do it, but I still want to do it?” How do you make that decision?
A: That’s something very, very tough to cope with, and as a guy who feels like I have a bunch more years in me, I don’t know how to answer that question, and that’s what makes it tough. As a competitor, I feel like it is very, very hard to ever say that I can’t play. I could imagine me being 45 or 50 and feeling like, ‘Hey, I could still go out there and be effective.’ This situation is a little bit different with his brain. It’s not really his body, it’s his brain. But I don’t know. I think we’re just going to all gather around him, support him, let him know that we love him, we miss him, but you’ve got to take care of yourself right now. All these other things you can kind of play through, but not when it comes to your head and your neck.
Q: Back to the game, what do you expect from your first Jets-Giants matchup?
A: Hopefully a win, first and foremost. I don’t know, you guys kind of have to put me on game on what to expect. I’m assuming it’s a pretty intense rivalry when it happens. The battle of MetLife, I guess. We’re just going to go out there and try to win the game.
