DE Myles Garrett (9.20.24)
What are your thoughts on practice today? Kevin (Stefanski) said you look good. Do you feel like you’ll have any limitations on Sunday with the foot?
“No. I mean, I guess we’ll see when we get there. No, don’t feel 100%, but feel good enough to go out there and make a difference. So, I’m go out there and do that.”
It looked like it was bugging you after chasing down Trevor (Lawrence) on that long 33-yard run, did that kind of aggravate it a little bit?
“Well, it was aggravated from the jump. It didn’t help trying to chase him down. He’s definitely not slow. I mean, my man can move, and I had to take a little second to recoup. But, got back out there and continued to play.”
Myles, is this something you might be dealing with all season or might go away at some point?
“Hell, I hope not. Hopefully next couple weeks, things will continue to get better until it’s not something that’s bothering me as consistent as it is. So just trying to stay on and manage things as they are right now.”
With how much Jim (Schwartz) rotates you guys up front, I mean, does that help when you’re dealing with something that’s kind of nagging like this?
“It does. And in some ways, like when I’m out there and I’m consistently out there, obviously, you get tired. You know, you’re going back-to-back. But the warmer I get and the more reps I get, it starts to feel more comfortable. And then, you know, you kind of once you start to sit for a little bit in those lulls, then it kind of gets cold and things of that nature, so it definitely helps and I’m not taking no too many plays at a time and that’s just better on my body for the long term. But it’s also good to be out there for a little bit and to make sure I get warmed up and I feel like I can move.”
You mentioned chasing Trevor around. I mean, how much is that also going to be something to have to worry about with…(Daniel Jones)?
“Oh, yeah, I mean, it’s as much of a problem as we make it. If we let them out the pocket and we don’t rush knowing where the other guy’s at with chemistry, then we’ll be chasing them all day. The guy can run, he’s athletic, he’s big, he’s strong. So, just a matter of keeping him containes and integrity of the pocket and getting after him but not allowing him to escape where he wants to.”
Did you get a chance to hear Kayvon Thibodeaux’s comments about you, and if you did, what were your thoughts?
“I did not.”
You’re either really skilled as a pass rusher or you’re Myles Garrett, future Hall of Famer. What do you think when you look at him on the opposite side of that defense?
“I think he’s great. I think he’s coming off a great year, and he’s going to continue to do great things now where he’s at. They’re only going to continue to stockpile the defensive presence they have out there with each guy coming along that front, the back end. They’re continuing to get better and better, and it’ll be interesting to see who has a better defense in New York throughout the season. But he’s definitely one of the really good pass rushers we have and edge rushers of this league and it’s great that he has that kind of respect for me, because I have a lot of respect for him and the kind of work he puts in day in and day out in his game. I definitely respect that. I’ve seen it in person. He really cares about the grind and being true to it. So, guys like that don’t have nothing but respect for it and he has really a high ceiling where he can take it.”
What about Andrew Thomas? What are you seeing on film about Andrew and what are you looking forward to going against him and trying to do?
“I don’t know if I can beat him. No, he’s very talented. He’s strong. He’s on the taller side and he’s got long arms and he’s able to kick well. He doesn’t allow a lot of guys to beat him on the edge and you have to be a little bit patient. You have to play the game a little bit and, you know, don’t play into him. He’s gonna chain up the sets. He’s gonna take his hands back. He’s an experienced pass blocker for the years that he’s been in and he’s definitely working on his craft as well. They’re going against Kayvon and those guys over there, so it’ll be a task when we as edge rushers go against him and we all look forward to the challenge because he’s one of the best ones.”
Alex Wright had kind of a sack streak going since the end of last year, and then he got that big one in Jacksonville. Did you see a light go on for him toward the end of last season?
“I think just a little bit of experience in time just helped him realize the kind of mentality and mindset he has to approach the game with, whether it’s on Sundays or throughout the week. Just being that professional, knowing what he’s got to do, learning how to study film and attack his matchup. And that’s really the light bulb that I’ve seen, not only studying those guys, but coming up to me and be like, ‘yeah, I took your move. I’m going to be using it this week because I know this guy is susceptible to it.’ I’m like, ‘you can take every move as long as you win.’ So I’m glad he’s learning from all of us, whether it’s me, Ogbo (Okoronkwo), Z (Za’Darius Smith), and some of the other guys that are younger or his peers and years in the league. So he’s definitely picked it up and he’s going to start running with it.”
The Giants are an 0-2 that don’t look like an 0-2 team on tape. So for you guys, as you approach this game, how do you not let that record impact what you guys do on the field or how you approach it any differently?
“I mean, the records don’t matter when you step on the field. Both teams got zero points and you duke it out and see what happens from there. So, everyone is desperate to win. Doesn’t matter what your record is. So, we’re just as desperate as them to make a name for ourselves, to make a statement and continue on and start streaking ourselves. So, they have something to prove, just like we do, and we got to come in with that mindset throughout the entire 60 minutes, if not more.”
When you’re dealing with a foot injury the way that you are, does it in some ways force you to be even more dialed in or more locked in on your technique or when you have to fight through pain like that, do you go into sort of the Mamba mentality zone where you have to just fight your way through it and it, I don’t know, might help you in some weird way?
“I wouldn’t say I go into a Mamba mentality. I feel like I have that every time I step on the field. I don’t think it’s any different with the injury, but it does make you lock in on your technique and your fundamentals, knowing that maybe things will be a little bit slower, maybe this cut off won’t be quite as crisp or whatever it is. Knowing that you’ll have to be a little bit better somewhere else to supplement where you’re deficient at. We’ll see when I get there on Sunday, how deficient I am if I am, but that is something that I have to be aware of and we’ll take it to account.”
You mentioned (Andrew) Thomas is a guy who makes you be patient. What does patience look like for a guy in your position?
“It looks like not allowing yourself to fall into the trap of shooting your moves too early or running up field while he hasn’t made his move, he hasn’t really – not playing the game with him like, ‘Oh, he’s just sitting back, he has his hands down. I need to play into the bull rush.’ Well, he’s sitting down with his hands back, usually because he can take the bull rush and he’s trying to stop you, not the depth of the quarterback or whatever. So, using that knowledge is like, ‘He’s sitting back with his hands down. I can go power, but what else? What is my counter when I get to the depth?’ or making him react, ‘How do I get his hands to pop up using those things that if he’s being patient, I also have to exercise that myself until I put pressure on him to make him make a move.”
Are you able to disclose yet the exact diagnosis of your foot?
“Feet and no. [laughs] ”
It’s a both feet problem?
“Something like that.”
When you don’t practice Wednesday and Thursday, do they calm down? Do you feel like that much better when you get on the field Friday? Or is it just, it’s still there and still the pain?
“It’s still there, still painful. It’s just trying to get it as well as I can. Really try to lower the amount of inflammation and manage the pain until Friday, and then I definitely got to get some reps and some high-speed reps on my leg, get some running in so that I don’t have to worry about anything else, like soft tissue injuries, hamstring or anything like that. So just trying to take really the high-speed load off until Friday and then see how it feels, see how well I can go. Feels good. Lock and load. Let’s go. Until then, we’re letting it ride.”
Is this one of those things where after the season, you’ll have to sit down with medical professionals and your doctors and see if there’s any kind of a procedure or anything that could help you?
“We talked about it, but, you know, that’s something that we’ll probably talk about further down the line. It’s not… hopefully the pain and everything else is something that we deal with and it goes away, but the issue itself is something that I’ll probably have to deal with for however long I end up playing. So it’s just about managing that and playing through it.”
You had surgery when you were young on both of your feet. Is this just an outgrowth of, dating all the way back to something like that?
“Something like that. Not completely, but it probably has something to do with it from those events.”
On that safety, I know you obviously want to get sacks, but when you set up Alex (Wright), like you did there, when you forced Trevor (Lawrence)… Do you take pride in kind of setting other guys up?
“Absolutely. That’s what I try to talk about every time I get up here or before the season, and you all ask me how I can continue to improve as a player. It’s instances like that, where it’s setting up other guys, whether it’s picking for other guys or pushing the quarterback to my teammates. Of course I want to make the play, and I want to be the guy who gets the ball out and gets the sack, whatever it is. But if that’s not gonna happen or if the play is not for me, how can I be as instrumental to being disruptive or complimentary to my teammates as possible? How can I be instrumental to their success and our success? And it looks like that, and I’m continuing to do that while offenses are completely keyed in on me or trying to chip, double all this. Finding ways to put my guys in positions to get wins on the board, individually and as a team. I’ll do that every time. So, continue to find ways for myself to win, but also for my brothers to win.”