TY WARREN – DEFENSIVE END
New England Patriots
Q&A – January 17, 2007
Q. Ty, you won two Super Bowls right off the bat. First of all, do you
feel lucky at being drafted by the team you were drafted by; and, secondly, can
you appreciate really how hard it is, the Dan Marinos and those types of guys
and Peyton Manning who have played for years and years and Hall of Fame
careers and haven't won even one yet?
TY WARREN: Yes, I think that I do feel fortunate enough, blessed
to be drafted where I was drafted and to the team I was drafted, to win the two
Super Bowls back to back. I would say it's kind of spoiled me to do so.
But along with all that, I think it instills another level of work ethic
and how to go about my business as a professional athlete. Because there's a
lot of examples in the locker room, and I could go on all day naming those
examples, but I think you know who they are.
So, yeah, I feel fortunate. I think the Dan Marinos of the world and
even John Elways, the pinnacle of their careers, I've got a special amount -- I
have a certain amount of respect for guys like that. It doesn't come easy, and
you know every athlete plays their sport to win the world championship. So, yes,
I do feel fortunate.
Q. Ty, can you talk about overcoming diversity like in the game versus
the Chargers and how that mentally boosts the Patriots team going into this
game versus the Colts?
TY WARREN: I think it's always good to get that win, and we had
several wins prior to that going into the playoffs and wanting to start the playoffs,
and it's always good to have a streak, kind of so-called streak going on, positive
streak going on going into a game like this.
At the same note, the same token, I think Indianapolis has had the
same streak. They have strung some wins together here this last part of the
season and that's built momentum for them going into this game.
And so it's always good. But we do have a tough task at hand
coming Sunday, and they are two up on us in the latter part of this series.
Q. The Colts have won their first two playoff games without Peyton
playing his best. Are you at all concerned that he'll break out all of a sudden and
start to have one of those games you've seen him have before?
TY WARREN: No question. I think he's dangerous any time he
steps on the field. I think the fact that he had two of his best games to start off
the playoffs is kind of irrelevant to how he will come into this game. Peyton is a
professional. He's one of the best athletes out there at his position in the NFL
and in the world.
So I'm sure he's prepared. He's been in this league for a while. He
knows how to prepare. He knows how to bounce back. He's done that. There
were a few things in the middle part of the season where they were having some
losses and things like that. And (you can) look at the team, at the end of the day
as a team. I think they've been playing complementary football with the offense
and defense playing together.
Q. Ty, all four of the teams left in the playoffs, use two or more running
backs a lot. As a defensive lineman does that change what you do or how you
approach things when you have more than one running back to worry about?
TY WARREN: Yes, it does. I think you mentioned these four
teams have two running backs, and usually both -- each running back has a
different style. So you always have to be aware of the back and the type of style
that he brings to the table, because it can affect how you approach it.
And a lot of times with that being said, you know, different players,
different backs have a different running style.
Q. As a follow-up to that, how are Addai and Rhodes, how are their
styles different?
TY WARREN: I think Rhodes is similar to Edgerrin (phonetic) in
the sense because he's played behind him for so long. That type of running
game, they do a lot of stretch run where the running back runs all the way to the
numbers and starts, charge on the numbers after the offensive line and
everybody tries to stretch everybody out and get the defensive line separated
and the linebackers separated.
So he's more a run to the numbers, cut down the numbers and just
go downhill. Addai, he's a home run hitter. He can pretty much do any run you
ask him to do. He can meet that type of run I just that explained Rhodes does or
cut back. He jump cuts, a lot of things that Rhodes can't do. That's why he's
emerged as a starter here the latter part of the season.
Q. I know a lot of writers had you on their All Pro teams. Yet you didn't
make the Pro Bowl team or the official All Pro team. Did you feel you had that
type of season, a Pro Bowl, All Pro type of season this year?
TY WARREN: I think so. But the fact that I didn't make with the
official deal or even the Pro Bowl, it has no bearing to the type of work that I'm
going to continue to bring to the table. And I think all those things are coming in
due time. I'm still in my yo uth. And I think the thing is, I said before, I feel like I
got so much more growing to do as an athlete and just knowing the system.
The sky is the limit for me. I think I can only go up from here as
long as God willing I stay healthy and everything.
Q. Ty, I want to ask you about the familiarity between these two
teams. You guys have played each other so much over the past few years.
What impact does that have this week?
TY WARREN: I think in a sense you kind of look at it as even
though they're not an AFC East, we've played them just as much as teams we've
played in the AFC East that we play every year. It started to become a series I
think before I even got in in '03 and it's continued to be so.
And you know this is a good series. I think it's good for the league.
It's good for football. Every time we play each other it always goes to the wire.
So I think it's just a good match-up.
Q. From game to game, though, do you see a lot of difference in what
they do or when you play them do you tend to say: This is kind of what we saw
before and then it's just a matter of who can make the plays? I mean from a
scheme standpoint, do they do a lot of things that get you off guard?
TY WARREN: I think they do, they pretty much do what they do. I
think that's the reason why they're good at what they do, because they don't
spend too much time trying to be this copy cat team and do what everybody else
is doing. They pretty much stick to what they do so they can master what they
do.
But at the same time it's a copy cat league. If they see it hurts you
in the previous weeks some of those things might show up. But at the end of the
day they tend to stay with what they've been doing the whole season.
Q. Can you talk about how to prepare for a guy like Peyton Manning,
would you do something specific to prepare for the game?
TY WARREN: I mean Peyton is a guy -- they do a lot of timing
routes and those, him and those receivers work day in, day out and you can see
it by their production, consistently on a year-to-year basis and this week -- this
season on a week-to-week basis.
So I think it's important that we try to get to them as much as we
can and try to try to reroute and break up some of those routes before they
develop, things like that.
Other than that, that's the only thing that's going to make us
effective against their men. And I think first and second down is going to be the
key because they are the number one offense on third down this year. And he's
the number one pass completion percentage quarterback in this league this year.
Q. What's the sense that the defense has on the side lines in the
fourth quarter when Brady is on the field? Do you all kind of anticipate something
good is going to happen because that's happened so much? Or what's going on
there with you guys?
TY WARREN: I think so. I think you know Brady's history as being
a clutch guy has spoken for itself. It's on this long list on his resume, and we
always feel comfortable. We always feel like we have a chance when he's out
there on the field in the fourth quarter.
Q. Ty, what have you done with your two Super Bowl rings and do you
ever wear them?
TY WARREN: I haven't worn them in a while. They kind of get old
after, you know the first couple of months. So I don't wear them much. I just
keep them in a safety deposit box and you know on occasion, if we have any
type of appearance or some type of speaking engagement or something like that,
people like to see it.
So I just go show them.
Q. How many Super Bowl rings do you think you're going to win in
your career?
TY WARREN: I don't know. I don't know. Only time will tell. I
couldn't tell you that.
Q. Ty, can you talk about coming in as a young player and work with a
guy like Bill Belichick and defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, how have they
been able to develop your game coming from college?
TY WARREN: Well, I think every year even during the year your
coach -- we always sit down with our coaches and they tell us how we're doing
and some of the things that can take us to the next level.
And every offseason I've got word from Bill on things I can work on
as well as every other player does, and then these past couple of years, we've
taken the wind out of our schedule in the off season, watch them throughout the
whole season, throughout that previous season and just look at the game from a
run defense standpoint and from a pass defense standpoint and see the things I
can do better and try to improve upon the things I've done good.
Q. Ty, the Colts have your old kicker, won games for you. And now
the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak. What would you feel like if he went out
for them to try a big kick on Sunday, how comfortable or uncomfortable would
you feel in that spot knowing his background?
TY WARREN: It was awkward at first when they came and played
us early on in the season. He threw us a bone early on in the season, but they
still came out with the win. Almost gave us a chance to get back into the game.
But it felt awkward early on when we first played them. But it's
football. These are the guys you end up on different teams at the end of the day.
So he was clutch in his last game against Baltimore with the five
field goals and I'm sure he'll be the same if we give him that opportunity to come
through.
Q. The San Diego game essentially turned in your favor on a fumble
by Marlon McRee after he intercepted a pass in fourth down, which he would've
been better off just knocking down. Do your coaches instruct the players
specifically not to intercept the ball when it's fourth down?
TY WARREN: Just emphasizes making plays, making small plays.
Marlon made a good play on that ball Sunday. And I think he made probably --
he made the biggest play of that game by stripping it from Marlon McRee, giving
Brady an opportunity to go down there and put points on the board, which they
did. We talk about capitalizing on our opportunities out there on the field and just
playing smart.
Q. Ty, what's the toughest thing about Peyton Manning, playing
against Peyton Manning?
TY WARREN: It's difficult. It's difficult. I mentioned that he's the
number one pass guy that had the highest pass completion this year and was
one on third down. He's going to hit his passes he knows where his guys are
going to be. It's going to be important for us to strike anywhere possible that we
can, because he's dangerous any time he's back there and he has the ball in his
hand.
Q. What about all of his audibles and check-offs that he does at the
line of scrimmage, how does that affect you?
TY WARREN: There's been a lot said about his audibles and
things like that over the years. I think we've kind of learned, and I've learned not
to really get into that. It's a system they go by. Some of the calls are (inaudible)
you just really can't get into that. You just have to press into who is on the field
and the person that's out there on the field and what they can do out of that.
Q. The fact that the Colts won the last two meetings you played even
though they were in the regular season, does that give them any kind of
psychological advantage, do you think?
TY WARREN: It probably does for them. I don't know. I think the
way the series has went in the past, you had us, the Patriots being at the top of
that series for a while there and now Colts are on top of that series and they're
going to continue to go on top. So we need to go out there execute whatever
game plan we put in this week in order to go out there and be successful on
Sunday.
Q. A lot of people have made a lot of the post game incident in San
Diego with Tomlinson. How do you respond to people saying the Patriots image
is now tarnished with how that game played out?
TY WARREN: I disagree with that. With the things being said after
the game, a couple of things I agree with. A couple things I don't agree with.
What I do agree with, I didn't see a lot of guys jumping on logos and doing all that
stuff that he said he seen them doing. So I can't really say that they did that. But
if they did, maybe they did take it too far. What I do disagree with is that maybe it
came from the coaches, the head coach Bill Belichick. I think I disagree with that
because Bill has never condoned any of that. What he has condoned is
enthusiasm and showing your emotions and you know sometimes those things
you can't control.
Being in a game like that, if you ever want to draw up a football
game, that's the way you draw it up. You have two teams, tough teams that went
head to head and it could have went either way. And it ended up turning to our
favor at the end of game because of heads up plays made by Troy Brown and
Antoine and Brady and Carl and Samuel on the last three and out.
So he does condone that but he never condones us going out there
and being --
Q. You talked earlier about disrupting the routes of Peyton's receivers,
how much emphasis does Belichick put on that during the week and does your
defense do any hitting at all during the week?
TY WARREN: Oh, yeah, we'll do some hitting. We'll do ball
stripping drills, you know things to try to make turnovers and things like that. And
along with trying to defend some of the things that Peyton does. And what you
just said, just trying to strike some of the routes and getting in his face and things
like that, some of the key things.
Q. You have a young defensive line. Can you talk about how it is to
work with Richard Seymore and Vince Wilfork in the middle, what chemistry do
you have?
TY WARREN: I think we have a special D line here in New
England. I think, you know, Richard, myself, Vince, Jarvis, Mike Wright has
made a name for himself as a reserve here on this defense and stepped up when
he's been called to. So I think we have a unique line and we are complementary
to each other.
Q. In terms of your development, Ty, is this about where you thought
you would be at this point in your career?
TY WARREN: You can never determine it. But you know different
people peak at different times. I haven't peaked yet. But it has been steady
improvement, steady improvement that I've been happy with.
Q. A lot of experts think that you and not Richard Seymour should
have been in the Pro Bowl, how do you feel about that?
TY WARREN: I mentioned earlier the Pro Bowl and things like that,
that will come in due time. I still say I haven't reached my full potential. I have
things I can work on to improve my game. I'll continue to do that. I'm happy for
Richard going. He deserves it. You know what I mean. It's not his fault that he's
going and I'm not going. He's a great player and he's been a great player for
some years now.
Q. Just what do you recall about the regular season game against
Indianapolis this year?
TY WARREN: I know the first game they hit a lot of pass routes for
a long time in the first half, first game of the season, and they kind of got up and
we -- the defense took a lot of time out there on the field. Reggie Wayne and
Marvin Harrison they stepped up and they hit passes, we could have got more
pressure and right on down the line.
So everybody, you know, everybody can take a little blame for how
that game went there in the first half and then the second half we kind of settled
down. With the team like the Colts you can't, you know, you can't settle down in
the second half. You need to be settled down in the first half and be
complementary with the football from the front line to the back line.
Q. I just wanted to ask about you and Keesha, the foundation you've
started, the First and Goal. Can you kind of tell me what you guys hope to do
with that?
TY WARREN: Me and Keesha, we grew up, me and my wife grew
up in the Boys and Girls Club here in Bryant, Texas, and the Boys and Girls Club
has done a lot for us as teens and adolescents coming up, as a youth.
We just feel like the Boys and Girls Club has done a lot for us. So
we feel we should give back to them because they've done a lot for us which has
allowed us to get to where we are right now. So we're pretty much targeting the
boys and girls clubs, United Way and nonprofit organizations like that.
Q. Considering your background and the way you grew up like you just
spoke about, can you talk about being a role model for young kids? I mean
working hard and achieving what you did.
TY WARREN: Yes I always, I believe you know, in influencing kids
in a positive way. I have two kids of myself and am expecting another one. And
I know when I was younger growing up in the Boys and Girls Club, I didn't grow
up in a town where there was a lot of professional sports being played, but we
did have Texas A&M, which is the college I went to.
And you see them on TV and hear stuff in papers, good stuff about
them and the people wearing the gear and stuff like that. You would see that and
you say I would like to be a part of that.
And whenever you get a chance to go to one of the basketball
games or football games and things like that you grasp that and you hold onto it.
There's been guys that have been influences to me when I was younger and I
just want to be the same to them. And I think it's important to kids to tend to hold
onto that and grasp those moments and ends up being a positive thing for them
in the future.
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