Q: How often do you speak to your mother, and when was the last time you spoke to her?
A: She calls me [from Federal Correctional Institute prison in Tallahassee, where she and his grandmother have been incarcerated since 1997 for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base] every week before a game, every week after a game. She calls me every morning to pray before the game.
Q: So she’ll call you on Sunday morning?
A: Yes sir!
Q: So the last time you spoke to her was when?
A: The last time I spoke to my mother was Monday.
Q: What was her message?
A: To keep playing hard, keep working hard, it’ll pay off and hopefully you make it to the Super Bowl, and just tell her about stuff that I got going on.
Q: If you make it to the Super Bowl, you’ll have to talk about this over and over, you know that, right?
A: Most likely.
Q: How do you feel about rehashing it again and again for the national media if you win?
A: That’s the main thing, if you win. You got to win first, so … if we win, it won’t be a problem for me.
Q: Was it ever painful for you to talk about?
A: At first it was. I got a better understanding about what happened ’cause when I was young, I didn’t really know what happened, I just know they went away for a while for drugs.
Q: Has your mother ever expressed how sorry she is to you?
A: Yeah, yeah.
Q: What did you tell her?
A: I just wanted to know why she went to prison. I accepted her apology so, that was it.
Q: Why have you been so open about your mom and your grandmother? You never hid from it, why is that?
A: Actually, I did when I was younger, when I was in college I never talked about it, but once I got older, me and my mom and grandma talked about what happened, why they made certain decisions, and she was like, “It’s OK to talk about it,” so that’s when I started talking about it.
Q: Your mother is getting out on Christmas Day 2016?
A: I hope so.
Q: Have you envisioned what that day is going to be like for you?
A: I have no idea. I have no idea. The main thing is I’ll be so happy once my mom gets out, but I have no idea what we’ll do, or what will be happening, but I can’t wait for that day.
Q: You lived with your aunt and uncle. Tell me what they meant to you.
A: That’s when I started going to church. Then probably woke up every Saturday morning to work in the field and work in the yard. Then it made me a better man, a stronger man.
Q: Are you proud of yourself that you didn’t fall in with the wrong crowd?
A: Yeah I am, ’cause I could have easily did it, you know? I told myself I’d never do it.
Q: Growing up, what was the worst thing you ever saw?
A: (Pause) Probably somebody putting their hands on my mother or something.
Q: How old were you?
A: I was a little boy. Probably 5 or 6.
Q: Are you in touch with your father?
A: Yeah. My daddy’s been to every game this year.
Q: How would you describe your relationship with him?
A: Our relationship’s great. He was in the Army when I was in high school and middle school. He offered me to come stay with him when I was a little kid, [but] I didn’t want to leave my friends. But he was in the Army for about 25 years and he came to some of my games in high school in basketball and football, and once I went to college [at Georgia Tech], he came to more of those.
Q: Who would you compare yourself to as a receiver?
A: I’m gonna have to go probably with B. [Brandon] Marshall or Andre Johnson.
Q: Do you watch tape of other receivers around the league?
A: I watch B. Marshall, I watch Calvin Johnson, I watch Andre Johnson, I watch Vincent Jackson, a little A.J. [Green], Julio [Jones] … kinda the bigger guys, but mostly I watch B. Marshall, Andre Johnson and Calvin.
Q: Do you sense that Peyton Manning feels the pressure of having to win this game?
A: I don’t feel it, you know? I’m sure he wants to — and everybody else wants to.
Q: What is Peyton like in the huddle?
A: He’s cool, calm, collected.
Q: Do you notice a difference in Peyton’s arm strength this year?
A: I feel like it’s a little stronger than last year.
Q: What’s this Omaha thing he says at the line of scrimmage?
A: I have no idea. I’m watching the ball half of the time, but Omaha I guess is trying to get somebody offsides, I really don’t know.
Q: Omaha doesn’t mean anything to the receivers.
A: No, it don’t.
Q: What’s the level of confidence in your team right now?
A: We’re sky high right now. We’re in a good position, we got ourself home-field advantage, we got somebody coming in our house. We played this team once, they beat us, but we’re still confident because that’s over with, what’s in the past, and you got another chance, so hopefully you go out Sunday and get the win.
Q: Aqib Talib.
A: I think he throws a lot of different things at you. He’s a bigger corner, he can run, got great feet. He’s good at what he does.
Q: Is he the most physical corner you’ve gone up against?
A: This year for sure he was.
Q: What problems are posed by a Bill Belichick defense?
A: They do a lot of different things to keep you on your toes and try to get you off beat so you can be off the field quick.
Q: Wes Welker.
A: He’s great at what he does, he’s a hard worker, once he got to Denver, I could see the work that he put in to make himself better. He helped me in meeting rooms with coverages, matchups on cornerbacks to help me out to get open, so he was a great addition for us.
Q: What makes him so tough to cover?
A: His quickness. He makes everything look the same, you just have to figure out which way he’s going.
Q: Eric Decker.
A: He’s subtle in his routes, makes everything look the same.
Q: Julius Thomas.
A: He’s a playmaker.
Q: What was it like catching that game-winning, 80-yard TD pass from Tim Tebow to beat the Steelers in the playoffs in 2011?
A: It was amazing. That was big for me.
Q: How did you get the nickname Bay Bay?
A: She gave it to me when I was a little kid. There was a cartoon show called Bay Bay Kid, and it was a bad kid, she said when I was growing up I was a bad little boy, so she gave me the name Bay Bay.
Q: Who gave you the name?
A: My auntie.
Q: How were you a bad little kid?
A: I guess I just stayed in trouble all the time, I was always messing with stuff.
Q: Athletes in other sports you admire.
A: LeBron James; Cristiano Ronaldo.
Q: Favorite movie.
A: “Life.”
Q: Favorite meal.
A: Fried pork chops, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, with cornbread.
Q: Any message for Broncos fans?
A: Be loud.