How does it feel to be selected to another Pro Bowl?
It feels great. It's a tremendous honor. This is my 16th year in the League and my 10th Pro Bowl. I've had the chance to play with a lot of great players from around the League during these Pro Bowls. It always excites me because I get to hang out with (different) guys. This year with Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, and the other quarterbacks. Other guys you watch from around the league who you respect and had great years. A lot of veteran guys here too who you've probably played against for a long time or maybe even played in some Pro Bowls with. Guys like Greg Olsen, this will be another Pro Bowl with him and a few others. To be reunited with Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles for another game, that's pretty awesome as well.
What do players discuss when they meet at the Pro Bowl? Is it all football or chance to catch up?
Both. It's probably more so to catch up on family and friends, get the families together. The time you spend at the hotel and off the field hanging out, that's where I think the bonds are created. The time out here on the field is very limited and short, then you go out and play the game. It's really the opportunities off the field where you can bring guys together.
How laid back is the atmosphere?
The practices are fun the fans come out. You don't put pads on or anything. There's so base-level stuff that you have to get through. The offensive and defensive schemes. For the most part, it's stuff everybody already does, they just call it a little different. There's a little memorization to be fun going into the game. It's just fun to be able to throw to different guys, be around different coaching staffs, hear different systems. That's all part of the fun as well.
On the skills challenges…
It was fun. I love the fact that they brought that back in to the Pro Bowl. I think it was something they used to do during my first or second year in the Pro Bowl, then they did away with it. It adds another element. It's fun for the guys, but it's still competitive. There's a lot of jawing and going back and forth, it's just another something that fans enjoy as well.
Do you like the format going back to AFC vs. NFC?
I think the drafts were cool because you get a chance to play with guys who you hadn't played with before: AFC guys. There is a competitive element to the AFC vs NFC, so that part I like… For example, a couple of years ago I got to play with Antonio Brown. I would have never gotten to play with him had it not been for the draft. Guys like JJ Watt. I'd much rather have JJ Watt on my team than have him chasing me.
On having his family with him…
I'll be posting stuff on social media all week long, they're having the time of their life. I brought the boys on the bus with me to team practice, they were running around the locker room stealing gloves from everyone's lockers. Having guys like Odell Beckham, Dez Bryant and Richard Sherman throwing the ball in the locker room, it was such a blast.
Was Odell Beckham Jr. the guy they were looking forward to meeting most?
They were probably most excited to see Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles again. My oldest son is a huge Odell Beckham Jr. fan. He's been watching his every move here over the last few days. He really looks up to him. It's funny, when your kids start looking up to athletes, it takes you back to when you were a kid. These are the same exact things I used to do. You watch their every move and replicate them. It also shows how impressionable your kids are and it shows how important it is to be good role models. These kids are watching your every move and want to be like you, so to set that example for them is important.
Do you have a favorite Pro Bowl moment?
Man, I don't know. There have been so many, it's hard to choose one. We've won a lot of these games. When you throw touchdowns to Larry Fitzgerald or Steve Smith; Jordy Nelson, I threw to TY Hilton. Stuff like that, these are just great experiences. But now that the kids are of a certain age, it's all about the family and I love to provide those moments for them.
