Ten Texts With Kenny Phillips

Here’s our first set of text messages to and from Giants safety Kenny Phillips.  He was a first-round pick in the 2008 draft, and he is being counted upon to help fill the void created by the departure of Gibril Wilson.

Q:  How did that first game, in prime time, feel?
A:  It felt pretty good to be playing in my first NFL game especially since we were the only game on that night so that meant everyone was watching.

Q:  Have the guys been showing off their rings?
A:  LOL not at all.  To be honest with you a lot of the guys don’t even wear them.

Q:  Did you feel extra pressure because you’re on the defending NFL champions?
A:  No I wouldn’t say that.  When you are a first round pick there’s an automatic pressure to play well ASAP but so far I haven’t felt any and that’s thanks to the guys and coaches around me because they are making sure I know what I’m doing before I step out on that field and I feel as long as you know what your doing there’s no such thing as pressure.

Q:  Has the team recovered from Osi Umenyiora being done for the year?
A:  I think so.  Even though having him this season would have probably made winning a lot easier, we couldn’t focus on who we didn’t have.

Q:  Did Strahan seem like he wanted to suit up on Thursday night?
A:  I didn’t get a chance to see him.

Q:  Did you worry in the second half that you guys were letting the Redskins hang around too long?
A:  No the offense played very well and even though they didn’t put up a lot of points they controlled the game clock which helped us out a lot.

Q:  The Rams [New York’s next opponent] looked rough.  Are you already being warned not to take them too lightly?
A:  It was the first game of the season so no team looked perfect.  I do expect them to bounce back and play us very hard especially at home.

Q:  Is the pro game a lot faster than what you were used to in college?
A:  No sir.  I think the game only becomes fast when you are not sure what you are doing.  When you know your assisngments football is still football, no matter what level.

Q:  There’s a lot of talk about you becoming a starter soon.  Are you anxious to break into the starting lineup?
A:  Yes.  The goal in camp was to compete for the starting job and I’m going to continue to do so until that happens but right now both safeties are playing well so I’ll play my role until I earn another one.

(profootballtalk.com)