I think as an away team, if you like that type of atmosphere where everybody's against you, you know it's going to be just you and your guys there for three hours trying to get a win. When you can get a win in that environment, I think it builds great character.
There's been a lot of legends that I've gotten the opportunity to play against, some to play with. Those guys, sometimes they retire or different things, younger guys come up, they start over them.
As you get later into the season, you always have to be prepared for if a guy is up or down, and that's something we talk about constantly.
The game slows down each game you play, the more you play.
Two teams trying to win a football game at the end of the season is going to be chippy. It's going to be everything from pushing and shoving to fighting for extra yards.
In the NFL you can't say this game is the biggest game ever and you get all pumped up and you go win and then you're like 'alright we did it' and then you go out and you play bad for the next two or three. Like every week you've got to be ready to go because they're all big games.
The reason I got into sickle cell was my aunt has the disease, my uncle has the disease, and then the more I looked into it, a lot of minorities have the disease and it just doesn't get covered. No one really talks about it, and I felt it was the same thing with the different social injustice issues and topics that I kind of dove into.
Yeah, I think that's the best part of being nominated and receiving awards is whatever you care about that you have given time to, have served different people, you get to spotlight and highlight that.
I think when you look at the NFL, I think people try to highlight the negative things. So, I think anything that brings a positive light to our game and to the men that go out here and sacrifice and put their bodies on the line and still use their free time to give back and help other people out, I think that's what it's about.
I think in this league, that's how it works. You're either getting better or you're getting worse.
When you go into a different stadium, you know there's no home crowd, there's no energy coming from the crowd for your side.
Like I've always said, there's a lot that goes into being a football player that isn't the playbook and being on the field, but having everything worked out in your personal life.
We've been playing football for so many years that people kind of forget we're also college-educated, so we know how to get something, study it, go out there and try to inform people.
I always think if you're blessed and you've got great opportunities for some reason, you really should go and try to pass that blessing on to other people and go on and try to give them opportunities they wouldn't have and try to be that blessing.
There is always going to be a Super Bowl winner, a league MVP, a Super Bowl MVP, great defenses and offenses. But I think to be part of real change - you talk about athletes like Muhammad Ali or Bill Russell - when you are able to do things that truly affect not just the game, but people everywhere, you find true meaning.
I believe in this country. I love this country.
My father was in the Army. My older brother was in the Army. Those men and women go out there and put their life on the line. I respect that.
I'm proud to be a part of the NFL.
We love this country, but it doesn't mean we can't improve it.
I try to be an example for guys who first come into the league of how you can have a huge impact off the field and on the field. For me, I'm going to continue to try to do that.
My mom has done an awesome job with all my brothers of instilling in us how to give back, how to make a difference. Everything I do is to try and make her proud.
I think the NFL is always going to put their interests in front of everything.
Obviously Massachusetts has one of the best public school systems in the country. But there are schools, like in Brockton, where kids are struggling because they just need more funding.
It's always good to get back to football.
Something so simple as breakfast and eating the right things and making sure you eat breakfast was key to us, and it helped me specifically when I got to college to gain weight and get on the right nutritional plan.
There's no individual that's bigger than the team.
I'm a physical guy. I'm not scared to compete.
I think adversity hits people and we all know what to do when adversity hits we keep praying and we find hope.
Don't lose sight of what made you who you are.
Like I always say, the goal every day is not to get fired.
When it comes down to why we play football, we play to win.
At the end of the day, when you have more points than the other team, you win. So, defensively, it's all about not giving up touchdowns. It's about trying to keep them off the board.
That's a part of being a good football team and being good players is when it's time to go play and turn what you've practiced, what you've watched, into the game reality, we've got to go do that.
If you're trying one thing and that's not working, try something else.
It's the NFL. It's simple. You either get it better or you have to look for a new job, so I think we all understand that.
As a DB you're trained to never look for a flag.
I never thought I could play safety in the NFL.
Don't just be successful, but redefine success and then do it again.
Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result.
In the beginning of my Rutgers journey, I had to learn fast that I would have to continue to redefine success. I had to understand that things would not just come to me.
Rutgers didn't want me at first, but they wanted Jay. So I did what any smart sibling would do - I rode his coattails all the way onto the banks of the ol' Raritan.
We thought playing in the Super Bowl was nerve-racking until we went to the Massachusetts State House to testify for an education bill.
When chasing success, you never know where it will take you.
I think as you get older, you realize football as a whole isn't guaranteed.
Every time I've played in the postseason, it's another huge accomplishment that I want to take full advantage of and go out there and play my best for the team.
As we've gotten older, we've used resistance bands more and more.
The StairMaster - that thing is tough, man. You put it on ten and just go.
I truly believe what we do off the field has a way bigger impact than going out there and winning games.
It's always fun going back to Rutgers.