|
MICHAEL STRAHAN’S ONE-ON-ONE WITH AARON DONALD
Strahan: What’s up, man? It’s good to see you.
Donald: “What’s up with you?”
Strahan: Not much, man. I’m just sitting here looking at your Instagram (laughter). Hey, going to make me get back in the gym. Want to flex on them fools.
Donald: “You know you gotta share the progress.”
Strahan: Share my progress. I know a lot of people out there will hope you stop progressing — that’s the offensive linemen. You’re on a tear. You watch it and you go anytime it’s one-on-one, it’s just flat-out unfair.
Donald: “Just playing ball. Once you make a name for yourself, the attention you get — when you get the one-on-one opportunities you’ve got to take advantage of it. That’s when you’ve got to eat. Tired of having two or three guys block you all the time. You get that time when you get that one-on-one, you’ve got to win it. That’s what they pay you for. That’s what you’re here for. You gotta show out.”
Strahan: When you get double-teamed, triple-teamed, are you frustrated? When it first happened to me I was frustrated. But then I started taking it as a compliment.
Donald: “I’ll definitely be frustrated, but then you start to talk some trash, like, ‘Dang, man, you all getting paid just like me. What’s up?’ Let me get the one-on-ones, try to motivate them to play. I don’t need to slide this time. Just gotta try to find a way — they get attention. The guys around you gotta make the plays. Been doing different things that we’ve been taking advantage of.”
Strahan: This team is led by the defense. You’re the leader of that defense. I think I’ve seen you be more vocal this year than I’ve ever seen. What brought that out of you?
Donald: “This is year seven. At times you lead by example. At times you’ve got to let your guys know. You talk to them, try to motivate them, let them know what we need to do. Typically you’re not speaking that much, so when they hear you speak, they know it’s real and they are going to listen to us.”
Strahan: You remind me a lot of myself. You’re a much better player than I ever was. You’re so cool and so calm. And when you get on that field, it’s focus. Howie Long and I sit and talk about you all the time. We watch you play, man, and just marvel. From us old, beat-up retired guys, we give you all the credit and all the praise in the world, Aaron.
Donald: “I appreciate that. That means the world coming from a great like you. We play this game to leave a legacy behind like you did, have an opportunity one day to have that jacket on as well. So it’s definitely an honor hearing that from you.”
JAY GLAZER’S ONE-ON-ONE WITH MIKE TOMLIN
Glazer: When you got this job you said the Steelers will have a first-class, blue-collar work ethic, you’ve stuck to that to a T. What do you remember from that day?
Tomlin: “The thing I remember most about that day, and it’s funny, Mr. and Mrs. Rooney picked my wife and I up and took us to dinner. I don’t know what we were anticipating. Maybe a car service or something of that nature. Mr. and Mrs. Rooney were in this two-door sedan, this Buick. That told you everything you needed to know about them, man, just down-to-earth people. My wife loved it. Mrs. Rooney got out of the passenger seat, she lifted the seat up and she said, ‘Hey, Kiya and I will get in the back and let you boys talk up front.’”
Glazer: You sat shotgun.
Glazer: You’ve never had a losing season. That’s absolutely ridiculous. I don’t think you get enough credit for it.
Tomlin: “I don’t know that I want credit for it, you know? That’s like saying you’re competent every year. When I get out of my car in training camp in July, I’m not thinking about being competent; I’m thinking about bringing that Lombardi home.”
Glazer: You’re the winningest minority coach in NFL history, passing one of your mentors, Tony Dungy. Did you ever imagine?
Tomlin: “About every couple of years, somebody surpasses Jim Brown’s career rushing total, but they’re still not Jim Brown. That’s how I feel about me and Tony Dungy. He’s Jim Brown and I’m not. I may have had an opportunity to surpass his total, but he’s still the legend to me.”
Glazer: During this whole COVID, when you were shut down, what was your new guilty pleasure?
Tomlin: “‘Glee.’ I got a 14-year-old daughter, okay? Anything to bond and spend time with your kids, man, that’s her passion. So it’s mine. I spent a lot of time watching ‘Glee’ if you really want to know the truth.”
HOWIE LONG’S ONE-ON-ONE WITH MYLES GARRETT
Long: It’s almost a year to the day exactly where we saw another side of you that I don’t think anyone saw coming, and I don’t care what was said, what wasn’t said in the bottom of the pile, when you see that Myles Garrett from a distance a year ago, what do you see?
Garrett: “Just anger. I was so much better than that moment, and I didn’t prove that. I didn’t prove that to myself, my friends, my teammates, my family. And it was just all that wrapped into one picture. I never want to have that experience again. I won’t allow it to happen.”
Long: You’re tied for the league lead in sacks. You’re considered one of the frontrunners for Defensive Player of the Year. And you know I always told my boys that I don’t believe that football and money define the kind of man you are. And I’ve read about your random acts of kindness and the charity work that you do. Talk a little bit about Waterboys, the trip to Tanzania and the impact that had on you.
Garrett: “It was life-changing. Going to the villages, seeing the children, just the excitement on their faces when I was telling them that we were going to be able to put a well there, them just wanting to dance or jump, to laugh and play. These people are appreciative of the lives they live, but they can live better just like we do. (from past interview: I do feel like I’ve changed a little bit, just my heart’s opened a little bit more. This would be something I’ll come back and do every year). I’m just going to try to make it as big and well-known as I can to keep on giving back to those I met in Africa.”
Long: You had to sit through that for a period of time, and that in many ways, I think, defined what people think of you, which is wrong. You know, sitting down with you today has given me an opportunity to see the kind of man that you are. You just keep being you, man.
Garrett: “Yes, sir. It’s been a pleasure to talk to you and I’m glad to finally have sat down and talk man to man. It’s been great.” |
