NFL

Serby’s Super Bowl Q&A with … Shaun Phillips

Broncos defensive end Shaun Phillips took time before Super Bowl XLVIII for a Q&A chat with Post columnist Steve Serby.

Q: What is your on-field mentality?

A: Kick [butt]. That’s my mind-set, is I just want to go kick [butt], and that’s how I approach every single game, every single play so I can go kick [butt], because my mentality off the field is not the same as my mentality on the field.

Q: So when you put that uniform on, describe the transformation.

A: That’s why I like watching the movie “Gladiator” because it’s like that. … I don’t want to compare it to war, but it is war in our mind-set. It’s athletic war, not war as you can lose your life, it’s not the same. But that’s what it’s basically like going to war because that guy across from you is trying to take food off your table, and you’re trying to take food off his table, so it’s just a battle.

Q: Which pass rushers do you enjoy watching now?

A: I would say Robert Mathis, because he’s been one of my favorite pass rushers his whole career, and definitely a guy I like, DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller.

Q: What problems does Russell Wilson present?

A: He’s very elusive, and he does a good job of improvising on the run. He has a big arm. He does a great job of making something out of nothing. So he’s going to be a special player in this league for a while. In this game, we love challenges, and he presents a challenge for us, so we look forward to answering that bell.

Q: Whom would you compare Marshawn Lynch to?

A: He’s got like a Jim Brown-type run style where he’s never down. He finishes every run, and he always tries to finish every run going forward.

Q: Does he run as violently as Adrian Peterson?

A: Adrian Peterson’s a little faster, but he has that same type of physical mind-set, and he wants to deliver the blow as opposed to take the blow.

Q: What drives you?

A: What drives me is just wanting to be the best. Just from when I was a young kid, like being doubted and just knowing where I came from. Also, I would say, I enjoy all the perks that come with being an NFL player and making the type of money that we make and things that I get to go do that I never thought I’d get to go do, whether it’s traveling or eating in a nice restaurant or providing for my family, or having scholarships put away for my kids, those things. So I just would say the motivation to just keep living my lifestyle and understanding how I got here.

Q: You got to know Junior Seau — what kind of guy was he, and what do you remember about the tragedy that unfolded?

A: He was definitely a high-energy kind of a guy and a guy that you loved to be around, very personable. He was just a good spirit. The day it happened, I just thought it couldn’t have been real, that a legend like Junior Seau would kill himself. But, knowing Junior, by shooting himself in the chest and not the head, he served a bigger purpose while he did that to himself. Granted, no one should ever do that, but I think he wanted to get brain checked to let people know the severity of what football players really go through, especially a guy like him, playing at a high level for so many years, and that just goes to show that you never know what’s going on in someone’s head.

Q: How many concussions have you had?

A: Knock on wood, zero. You know what you signed up for. Of course it’s scary but I can’t live my life and play my game in fear.

Q: You’re OK with your kids playing football if they want to?

A: Yeah, if that’s what they want to do. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. All you can do is take all the preventative measures that you can take, and hopefully it works out.

Q: What do you recall about your playoff loss to the Jets in San Diego?

A: Nothing was right. Throughout the game, it was just a bunch of little nuances going wrong, and it just didn’t feel right.

Q: What was it like being LaDainian Tomlinson’s teammate?

A: It was incredible, because he’s not only a great player, he’s also an on-and-off-the-field kind of guy. He leads by example in the locker room. He leads by example in the weight room, and he was a helluva player. He’s just as good on the field as he is off the field.

Q: How much do you want to win this not only for yourself but maybe for Champ (Bailey)?

A: He’s arguably one of the best cornerbacks in the game, if not the best cornerback, and it’ll just put an extra little stamp on his legacy.

Q: If I was NFL Commissioner, I would…

A: Allow celebrations. Fans enjoy that, people get a kick out of it, and that’s what we do, we play for the fans, so therefore we should allow that for them.

Q: Why Purdue?

A: I thought I was going to play offense. I was a better offensive player (tight end) than defensive player in my mind, so I knew they threw the ball 50 times a game so, therefore I was like, “I’m going to go there and catch the ball and I’ll be The Man playing football.”

Q: Boyhood idol?

A: Charles Barkley.

Q: Why?

A: Just because I played basketball, and I tried to emulate his game growing up.

Q: Allen Iverson?

A: Growing up, I wanted to be a basketball player, so therefore I wanted to be like Barkley. Iverson was in the league while I was in college, so therefore I knew I was playing football, so my mind-set flipped. But Iverson definitely is my favorite player of all time.

Q: You went to high school in Willingboro, N.J. Did you ever go to Giants games?

A: No, we couldn’t afford stuff like that. I’ve been to the old Giants Stadium once for a Syracuse game, but that was about it.

Q: Your 12-year-old son Jaylen.

A: He acts just like me, it’s almost kind of scary.

Q: Your 8-year-old twin boys.

A: The twins act more like their mom, they’re more laid back and chill.

Q: How good is Jay Z in concert?

A: Incredible. He’s been my favorite artist since I started listening to rap.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: W.E.B. Du Bois; Malcolm X; Michael Jordan.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “Gladiator.”

Q: Favorite actor?

A: George Clooney.

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Meryl Streep.

Q: Favorite entertainer/singer?

A: Martin Lawrence.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: Oxtail.