Rookie Giants defensive end took a timeout during training camp for some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: How do you feel about quarterbacks in general?
A: I mean, they’re all right off the field, but I mean, on the field, that’s my No. 1 enemy.
Q: Who are some of the quarterbacks you’re looking forward to sacking?
A: All of ’em (smile). Whoever I can get my hands on.
Q: What is so great about a sack?
A: It’s hard to explain. They’re trying to go deep, and go long, and all of a sudden the quarterback’s not paying attention to you, and then you just get the sack. … There’s nothing more humiliating, because first of all, you done put a good lick on the quarterback, now he’s gonna be constantly be looking at you or nervous trying to figure out where exactly are you coming from, and it can mess up his read progressions. … A sack can just change the whole game by a swing in momentum or just getting in that quarterback’s head.
Q: What’s better: sacks or sex?
A: (Laugh) Oh man! That’s a hard question. … I don’t know. … I’d probably go with sacks.
Q: Sacks?
A: For right now. That can come with time, you can do that later on. You only got a certain amount of time to play this game. Especially with me leaving college early, like I don’t get the extra year of college, and then you never know when your last play is gonna be in this game. … It can end tomorrow for all I know, and then all I’m gonna have is the memories so, right now I’m gonna take the sacks (smile).
Q: From your Twitter page: “I make my opponents quit by taking their will.” Elaborate on that.
A: You’re going up against another man, and I think this might just play into the whole masculinity thing in being a dominant alpha male, but I love it when people underestimate me and say that I can’t do this or do that, and then I’ll just prove them wrong and then just do something that they didn’t believe. … [Then] they just got a whole new outlook on you, and it’s like you made them quit, and this game is about being aggressive — only the strong will survive. I pride myself on being a survivor, and not being defeated.
Q: Who gave you the nickname Damonster?
A: It’s funny, my aunt gave me my nickname when I was little. I used to always watch like “Loony Tunes” and Tasmanian Devil. She used to say I used to go around being very destructive and she would call me Monster when I was little just ’cause I was always breaking something or always into something. And then my freshman year in college [at Texas A&M], we played Louisiana Tech on my birthday, I got like three sacks in that game, and I guess a reporter just started calling me Damonster.
Q: Describe your on-field mentality.
A: I’d probably just say relentless. … I don’t like losing that often.
Q: Describe playing for the New York Giants.
A: Everybody’s genuine around here, they really care about you. And then they have a winning tradition. Who wouldn’t love that? I feel like it’s the perfect situation. They have a history of having great pass rushers, so to pick a lot of those guys’ brains, and people that are still here, it’s like a dream come true.
Q: Playing in New York.
A: It’s breathtaking. There’s countless movies that you see that represent New York. It’s this fast-pace place and when you get here, it actually is as fast as you see in the movies. And they have so much to offer here, you don’t know what you want to do, you’re just in awe trying to take it all in.
Q: Have you met Michael Strahan?
A: No, I’ve talked to him on the phone.
Q: How do you know him?
A: Jessie Armstead, he’s like my mentor, since we grew up kinda in the same neighborhood. One day I was sick, and I missed one day of OTAs or something, and Jessie was like, “Yeah, he was up here,” and he was gonna introduce me that day. … I’m waiting to actually meet him in person now.
Q: What did Strahan tell you?
A: Just saying that he heard good things about me, and just work your butt off and all things’ll come, and then he can’t wait to get up here and just give me a couple of pointers and stuff, so I was real excited about that.
Q: “Eat Greedy” … what does that mean?
A: Never be full, never be satisfied, always be hungry. It’s like the old saying, “A hungry dog hunts best.” Always striving for more and never being complacent, ’cause once you get complacent, you will get replaced.
Q: How did that start?
A: I don’t even know. It was just like a saying or a term in Dallas that a lot of people used to say.
Q: You call Broncos linebacker Von Miller your brother.
A: We built up a close bond. [Miller and his parents] just looked out for me while I was in college. They just took me under their wing ever since then. They call me their son, and so those are my godparents and he’s like my godbrother.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Will Smith; Charles Haley; my mom.
Q: Why Charles Haley?
A: He was a great football player, and I model my game after him. Sit there and just pick his brain, get some secrets or something from him. When he came into the league he was real small. He was, if I’m not mistaken, he was like 230, 240, around that range, so he always played light, and same here.
Q: Describe your mom.
A: She’s one of the most loving, caring persons that I know, but also at the same time, one of the most disciplinary persons that I know too. When she’s mad or upset I call her Old Yeller — she’s like 6-foot, light-skinned, and when she gets mad like instead of being yellow she just turns like bloodshot red.
Q: The angriest you’ve ever seen her?
A: She gets really mad when I joke around with her when she’s sleepy. I’ll come in there while she’s sleeping and I’ll lick like the side of her face, like her whole face, and she gets real sensitive and mad about that (smile), she turns red like immediately.
Q: What was her reaction when you were arrested for marijuana possession in June 2011?
A: She was disappointed and heartbroken. She did what any mother would do: “You made the mess, now let me try to help you fix it and let’s learn from it.”
Q: Did you apologize to her?
A: I was more hurt that I hurt my mom than anything. Of course, I apologized for it, but … you just handle the situation.
Q: Was that the worst moment of your life?
A: It’s up there.
Q: Who’s tougher, your mom or Coach Tom Coughlin?
A: I’m more afraid of her than Coach Coughlin (smile).
Q: Your impressions of Coach Coughlin?
A: He’s real cool … real strict. … He just reminds me of [former Texas A&M] Coach [Mike] Sherman.
Q: Growing up in Oak Cliff in Dallas?
A: It was good days and there were bad days just like any other place. Every place has their ups and downs, it just depends on how you look at it.
Q: You were there for how long?
A: I was around 12, going on 13.
Q: How did you avoid trouble there?
A: I had good parents that didn’t let me fall into the influences.
Q: Best practical joke you’ve played?
A: My little brother was sleeping, I put hot sauce like all on his lips, and it dried up and so when he woke up that next morning, he was just like licking his lips and his tongue kept burning, and he couldn’t figure out what was going on (chuckle).
Q: You’re a big “Lion King” fan.
A: I was a big “Lion King” fan when I was little. I used to watch it all the time. I can remember having the “Lion King” tent and being in my living room watching the “Lion King,” dressed up in my costume. And I went to see it here on Broadway. It was a magical experience (smile). I was a kid all over again. I was singing the songs, like I remember some of the old songs from when I was little.
Q: You would dress up as a lion?
A: Yeah, I had the Simba outfit and everything when he was a young cub, and I had my little “Lion King” outfit. I went dressed as Simba maybe two or three years in a row, and then eventually I got too big for my costume.
Q: You were dressed up for Halloween?
A: Halloween I was dressed up. … Sometimes I’d just throw on my costume and just be sitting in the living room watching the movie.
Q: “Teen Wolf”?
A: I just love the whole vampire and werewolf-kinda thing.
Q: Favorite tattoo on your left forearm?
A: My cross with two army dog tags and a red and a blue rose. My two grandpops that passed away, they both were in the Army, and both of ’em meant a lot to me, and they taught me a lot of stuff growing up, so when they passed away, I was real upset and heartbroken. I feel like they passed away too early before they really just got to see me succeed and just do great things. We had blue roses at one of my grandpop’s funeral , and we had red roses at the other one. We still actually have the roses put up in the memory books.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: “Bad Boys II.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Will Smith.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Jada Pinkett.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Fried pork chops, black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes and gravy with greens and chitlins. And peace cobbler with vanilla ice cream.
Q: Where do you get that?
A: My granny makes it back at home.
Q: What’s your weight?
A: 262.
Q: Have you gotten stronger since the combine?
A: Oh yeah.
Q: Are you going to take it out on the teams that passed on you in the draft?
A: I’m taking that out on whoever my opponent is that weekend, it doesn’t matter (smile).
Q: What drives you?
A: My family drives me. The want-to and the will to make my family name, make them proud of me and not just be another statistic or something like that. And just my competitive nature just drives me. I want to be the best at what I do. And then self-gratification when you sit there and you’ll be like, OK, I did something that people thought was impossible or said that I couldn’t do, and then you worked your butt off and then you actually succeed — that’s a reward in its own self.