Sammy Watkins on winning the Super Bowl: 'one of the best feelings I’ve ever had'
Sammy, you’ve been sitting up here the last few minutes just talking to yourself. What are you saying? What’s going through your mind right now?
“Man, I’m so thankful, man. For my family, my wife, my kids, my parents, man, my support staff, the whole 239. It’s one of the (most) amazing times in my life, man and we did it man. We did it for Coach Reid, this organization, this (is) one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. I mean, just going through so many tough times and up to this point now, man, I’m thankful man for everybody that’s helped me achieve these goals and for my teammates and coaches and everybody that’s supporting.”
What were those tough times?
“Just injuries and being down, going through those tough times, those troubled times. Everything that happened, it got me to this point now and it’s amazing.”
Down 10, and you guys went back in the huddle. What was said and what were you guys thinking at that time down 10 in the fourth quarter?
“We’ve been down many times and we’ve been down (against the) Texans, Titans. We’ve got one of the best quarterbacks in the league so, you’ve got a guy that special and an organization and a team that’s special man, we feel like we can’t be stopped. We’ve been through hard times and the resiliency of this team. We package these situations and Andy Reid always keeps us focused and driven and those things like that in practice and we come into this game and make special plays.”
Take me through the route, it was a huge play, you got off as an inside release but you got back outside and stacked him which was a great play. Take me through that route and what was Richard (Sherman) playing? How was he playing you?
“Shoutout to Devante Adams. Watched him beat him on the post and beat him inside. Richard Sherman does not want to let you outside. One of the best cornerbacks, I think, top players in the league but I felt I had an easy release inside and took my advantage on him and me and Pat just connected on a great play. He was too close to me …. And I just played fast and man, depending on my speed and physicality and made one of the biggest plays in the game.”
I know it’s a huge moment but you made some headlines this week talking about if you win the Super Bowl, you might walk off into the sunset, man. You want to make any announcements tonight?
“Not at all. I just play around. Life is a game so why not play with it, man? I love this team, I love this organization. I’m a young guy and like I said, man, it’s amazing. I will not sit out, man. That’s not my motive. When the media comes in and ask you crazy questions, sometimes, you throw out crazy things but nah, I’m coming back and I’ll be ready and prepared to win another one. I’m too young to sit out.”
What does this mean to kids back at the crib in Fort Myers to dream man?
“Amazing, man. As a kid, just seeing you grow up and how you handle business, man. The man you are, the father you are, how you take care of your family. That’s what drove me, man and you drove me all my life, man and I’m just looking up to everybody in Fort Myers, man. This is for the city. This is for the 239. I hope everybody watching, everybody that came to the game, man. This is for them and I’m going to come back and do a lot of great things in the community like you have and it’s one of the biggest moments in my life, man and I’m thankful.”
What is it that separates Andy Reid from other coaches in this league?
“I think he’s a good dude, man. Not to say the other guys aren’t good dudes but, I think he told me the plan he had for me and he was going to revive my career and that’s a guy who always had confidence in me, like I said, I had injuries up and down when I got here and he literally gave me the faith, man. He drove me, he lifted me up, he worked my tail off and I say he’s one of the best coaches in this league because he really drove me every day and he’s one of the hardest coaches and he’s one of the best coaches, man and he wants the best for everybody out there and I love him, man. He revived my whole career and he’s going to go down as a Hall of Fame coach and I’m so blessed and thankful to have that guy in my life."