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Mike Pouncey – October 4, 2016 Download PDF version

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Center Mike Pouncey

(On whether he is practicing today) – “I’m back at practice (and) excited to be back out there with the guys. We’ll see how this week goes and prepare to play in the game.”

(On how mentally difficult returning from an injury can be) – “Mentally, it’s very tough. Seeing the guys you’ve been working with the whole offseason go out there and accomplish a goal – and that’s to be ready for a season – and to miss games, it was very tough on me. I definitely didn’t see this coming, but I’m glad to be back. It’s definitely a blessing. (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase has been awesome the whole time, trying to keep me as patient as possible to come back to the practice field. Today, we’ll see where we’re at.”

(On whether he was lobbying Head Coach Adam Gase to return to practice) – “I’ve been feeling good for a long time. It’s something that we had to be real careful with, so we didn’t have any setbacks. I’m excited to be back out there.”

(On when the injury occurred) – “Some pile-jumper from the Dallas Cowboys jumped on me. That’s basically how it happened. He fell on top of me; we fell at the same time.”

(On what doctors told him following the injury) – “(I) fractured my hip.”

(On whether he will play this Sunday) – “We’ll see. I want to see how practice goes this week. Honestly, it’s up to (Head) Coach (Adam) Gase whether I play or not. But I’m looking forward to showing them what I can do out there this week at practice.”

(On the big picture for the rest of the season) – “Big-picture-wise, we’ve been in this position before. It’s only four games in so far. We’ve got 12 games left in the season. We’re looking forward to turning this season around and winning a bunch of games here. Luckily, we got a four-game home stretch, so we’ll be looking to play real well these next four games at home.”

(On whether he still feels this team is different) – “Of course I do. I feel like the players … We’ve been in every game. Unfortunately, we started slow in some, but I feel like this team is very competitive. I think we can turn this season around very easily. We’ve been beating ourselves for the most part, if you watch the film. But we look forward to these next games (and) can’t wait to go out there and play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.”

(On whether his hip injury will linger) – “You can’t predict injuries. Honestly, I didn’t predict the guy jumping over the pile and falling on me. But other than that, I feel good enough to go out there and play. I’m healthy, and we’ll see what Coach (Gase) thinks after this week.”

(On whether there is a long-term concern about his hip injuries) – “We all have concerns long term – every guy that plays in the NFL. Right now, I’m not too much concerned about it. I wouldn’t put myself in a position to hurt myself or have a setback and go out there if I wasn’t ready to play.”

(On the effects on the injury on his career and if he thought the injury might have been more serious than it turned out to be) – “Well, yes – sitting there talking to the doctors, all the ‘What ifs?’ came into play. If this would’ve happened or that would’ve happened, you start questioning how long you can play in this league and how physical this game is. I’m very fortunate to be back as fast as I am right now. When I first injured this hip, there was a lot of doubt in my mind (about), ‘Would I ever come back and be the same player?’ I guess we’ll see today.”

(On whether his return can have a positive impact on the team) – “I think whenever you have one of your leaders that has been there – a guy that a lot of these guys on this football team looks up to – I think it helps out a lot. That doesn’t guarantee that we go out there and win games. We’ve still got to go out there and do the right things the right way. Hopefully me coming back, it gives this team the spark that we need.”

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