Q: After getting on the field, how do you feel?
RG:Great. I feel good. Everything is just back at a normal pace. Just going out, practicing with the team, it feels good to be back in the normal routine.
Q: Late in the year is it tough to put the pads on in practice? How has it helped you guys?
RG:It's whatever coaches' call is. We practice in pads throughout the year, so it's really no difference, no difference if it was beginning of the year, end of the year. [We're] just more used to the pas anyways at the end of the year. It's just good to always be hitting, to have the mind and the body used to it, so when the game time comes, you're ready to roll.
Q: Do thinks feel different around this time of the year?
RG:No, it's the same way you feel every week. It's just put everything you've got into the opponent. It's the Titans this week, and you just have to concentrate on them And we just have to focus and put all the work into the Titans this week.
Q: What do you say to rookies about how the game changes this time of year?
RG:Just tell them to keep working hard, keep playing hard, and give it everything you've got. And keep doing what you have to do to help the team out.
Q: What do you think of Delanie Walker?
RG:He's definitely a great tight end. He's got a lot of athletic ability — he can make plays out there. It's always good to see other tight ends being successful out there, making plays. It helps out the position. It's good to see. But just during the game, I'm just focused on the defense of the Titans.
Q: How important is it to have an open dialogue with the team and the training staff when you're coming back from injury?
RG:It's definitely important. You just want to be open. You want to be honest with all the people around you that go into the decision if you can go out there. You want to be open with the doctors on how you're feeling with the training staff and with the coaches.
Q: Do you ever have to throttle it down and make sure you do what's best?
RG:I can't speak for anyone else in those terms, but if I feel like I need to be throttled down, if I just feel like my body isn't going, then yeah. You just have to speak up and speak how you're feeling and just let them know so everyone is on the same page and everyone can work around with it and see where you are at. Definitely if you're going to hard or if you're doing too little you can amp up the workouts or you can decrease the physicality of what's going on.
Q: What do you think of Leonard Hankerson?
RG:You've got to come in, work hard, get the playbook down and everything. There are always opportunities for new players when they come in, to come in and make an impact. You just have to work hard and catch up at a fast rate.
Q: What have you seen from the Titans defense?
RG:They're good. They have pass rush. They can get to the quarterback, and we just have to be ready. They bring it every game. They have a lot of solid players out there who are big and fast. They play physical, so we have to be ready to come hit them back in the mouth when they come this Sunday.
Q: A lot of people say that you're one of the most important playing in the AFC right now. What's it like to have that kind of pressure?
RG:I don't really focus or listen to stuff like that. I just really just trying to get better as a player every week, just focusing on the team we have to play this week, and just trying to do whatever is best for the team that week.
Q: Did you have a targeted number of snaps last week?
RG:There was no target number. That was just the coaches' plan to get me back in the feel of the game, and I was down with it. It worked out great, and now, whatever the coaches' plan is this week, whatever they have this week, I'll be ready to roll.
Q: Do the Titans have a heavy blitz percentage?
RG:They have a good blitz package, definitely. They have solid linebackers, outside rushers who can rush hard. They have good D-tackles, so [they're] putting together a solid blitz package. We have to be ready.
*Q: Have you watched Delanie Walker play in the past *
RG:He's a good player. He's athletic. He can make plays. It's always good to see other tight ends being successful out there. It helps out the position.
Q: What do you think of the Patriots tight end group as a whole?
RG:I love working with the group we have here. We go out to practice every single day and we have fun out there, but at the same time, we're getting work done. We're going hard. If it's reps for the scout team, we're giving them good reps. If we're getting reps for the first team as a tight end group as a whole, we try and go out there and put our best out there as a group effort.
