Safety Julian Love
Q: How excited are you for this for this opportunity?
A: I'm excited. First time in my career being in the playoffs. We've got a good opportunity in front of us and ready to go get it.
Q: How do you guys stay even keeled but still embrace the moment?
A: Yeah, I mean I feel like the moment outside of the building is big for a lot of people. In here, I feel like this is another Wednesday. We're taking advantage of just taking it one day at a time and making sure our prep is good.
Q: How do you stop (Minnesota wide receiver Justin) Jefferson?
A: We've got to know where he is at all times. We've been saying he's a top two receiver and he's not two. He's the real deal and the stats prove it. He's a guy you've got to account for at all times.
Q: You said you're confident and ready for this team to make a run. What makes you so confident in this team?
A: I just believe in us. When you look at the season, it's been – it hasn't been perfect, but it's been a lot of fun because we've won a lot of close games and we've done a lot of key things in critical situations. Right now, everyone is fired up. Once you're in the playoffs, the attention to detail heightens and when we're on our details – this team – the sky is the limit.
Q: How much does it have a different feel for you? It sounds like it's different for you, you can feel it.
A: Everybody is excited. I've been at home at this point in the season so it's exciting to be here. A lot more of you guys, media, walked out to practice but other than that, it's the same. We're just practicing, our same routine, our same schedule and we're going at it in the same way we've always done.
Q: What do you think of the story line the Giants are playing with house money, they're just glad they got to this point?
A: That's an outside of the building type of phrase or topic. I feel like early on we had so much confidence in who we were. (Head Coach Brian Daboll) Dabs said it from day one – we're going to be humble about it and we're going to go about our work while everybody sleeps on us. We take it one week at a time. We know it's never going to be perfect. We're going to continue to be who we are.
Q: Do you prefer that? That teams are sleeping on you, that you guys can fly under the radar a little bit.
A: Now in the playoffs, I feel like no one is under the radar. They know who we are, we've shown it for 17, 18 weeks or whatever it is. Teams know who we are, now we've just got to go show it and let our game speak for itself. Offense, defense, special teams – we've got to bring it all together each game –starting with this one, obviously.
Q: What's your message for Giants fans?
A: It's exciting. I would say this week, rep your Giants gear Friday. Wear your stuff, wear your blue to work, to school or whatever you've got to do just to support the team. This is an exciting time.
Q: That is one of the louder environments in Minnesota. Does it help you at all that you guys have played there before? Defense, obviously you guys are used to the noise, but offensively all around do you know what you're going into?
A: Yeah, we got a taste of it. Minnesota was so hype; the fans were very much into it. They'll be even more so now. It's an exciting atmosphere, they do a good job at home. Their fans are very committed to that atmosphere. We know what we're going into, but we can expect something even more heightened than what we saw on Christmas Eve.
Q: Just the familiarity of the logistics, right? You know where the locker room is. You know how to get to the field. The recency of which you did that, does that help playing on the road now?
A: It is. I'm a guy that likes to stick to his process, to his routine. To know what it is going into it, you're not going to a new place like I was on Christmas Eve. It's exciting. You know the field, you know the layout. Yeah, we can take advantage of our routine. But then, they know us, and we know them. It's going to be a different game for sure.
Q: You talk about sticking to your routine so much. Because it is the playoffs, because there's more attention – there might be more family attention even to it – is it harder to stick to your process?
A: For somebody who's not locked into their process, I'm quick to just say no and block out all outside distractions. But yeah, this is the time when everyone wants a piece of you because you're a part of six games that are being played this weekend. Guys, we're locked into just focusing on our work right now and everything else will be there when the season is over.
Q: What kind of boost would it be to finally get (cornerback) Adoree' (Jackson) back in the secondary?
A: Adoree' – he's that guy for us. He's a leader for us. He's an extremely talented player. We're excited to just see him progress throughout the week. He's, obviously you saw earlier in the year, a key part of our defense.