REGGIE WAYNE
1/15/04
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on the possibility of WR-Brandon Stokley not playing on Sunday)
"If Brandon's not able to play, somebody's going to have to step up. Troy Walters has done a great job all year, Aaron Moorehead came in during the Buffalo game and made some great plays. We've got guys that can come in and fill his shoes. We've got to just do the things we've been doing."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on playing in the cold)
"It's kind of tough because it's hard to prepare for the cold. Just like yesterday, we went outside but it's still hard to prepare for the type of weather New England has. You've just got to do what you can to stay warm. You don't want to wear too much stuff because it can slow you down. Hopefully, we can keep the chains moving and stay warm that way."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on whether or not you'll wear gloves)
"Yeah, I wear gloves. It can be 100 degrees and I have to wear gloves. I kind of like my cushion for my hands."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on being comfortable playing on the road)
"You better get comfortable, because if you're not comfortable, you're going to have a long day. That's kind of been our thing this year as far as away games, you want to start out fast and take the crowd out of it and make it feel like our home. We've been successful so far this year, we've got to just keep going from there."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on preparing as a road team)
"We prepare so much for it throughout the week with the crowd noise and the things of that nature. In away games you have to tune in so much. We prepare for each game the same way. When we play away it seems like were more into it, we're more zoned in as a team. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but, hopefully, it's a good thing this week."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on your personal development)
"It all comes with opportunity and being able to get plays thrown your way. My first year, I was fighting injuries and last year, I was the third receiver. I was sitting on the sideline wanting to play, ready to play and pretty much just cheerleading there really. Now this year I'm starting, so the opportunity is there for me. With this offense, it can get kind of complicated so you have to wait your turn and be patient. That's been going on for me. I'm just riding the wave and continuing to stay on it."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on whether you get frustrated when you go long stretches in a game without seeing the ball)
"No, not really. You pretty much get accustomed to it. At some point in the game the ball's going to come your way and it could be a crucial situation. In my case, I get a lot of balls thrown to me on third down and it's going to be a key play and a first down we're going to need. That's the moment I live for. I've got to step up to the challenge and when it's thrown my way I've got to make something happen."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on never knowing when you'll have the opportunity to make a big play)
"I'm not sure, but I probably had two catches that game (2003 season opening 9-6 win at Cleveland Sept. 7). That's the main catch. It kept a drive going and got us the winning field goal. That's the situation that I faced a lot this year. When you have an All-Pro receiver like Marvin Harrison on the other side you've just got to wait your turn and wait for your opportunity and whatever comes my way, I've just got to make the best of it."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on having multiple weapons on offense in the passing game)
"That's something that we have to work on to our advantage. With all the talent that we have on offense that we can go anywhere with the ball and whoever has the ball in their hands can make anything happen and that's just something that we have to use to our advantage. If guys are going to double-cover Marvin Harrison, I have to step up or Brandon Stokley's has to step up, Troy Walters or (Marcus) Pollard and that's just something that we have to use to our advantage. It's something that we're going to really need this week."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on putting this game in perspective)
"You have to seize this moment. Next year's not always promised to you and as we can all see, this is real hard. Look at the two championship teams from last year, the Raiders and Buccaneers, they didn't even make the playoffs this year, so it gets harder and harder each year. This is just an opportunity for us to seize and everybody on the team is looking at it like that. We know the big dance is a game away so everybody's going to do what they have to for us to get this win."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on whether you've heard from more people this week as opposed to past weeks)
"Not really. I pretty much hear from the same people. They're just as excited as I am. They want us to go to the Super Bowl. It kind of pumps you up a little bit. It gets you in the mode to where you want to go out there and you want to win and you want to play your best. They (New England) have the same understanding that we have. They understand that it's hard to get to that point. That's just something that we've got to take advantage of. We've got to continue to do what we do."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (more on the cold weather)
"The cold weather makes the football feel like a big brick. As a receiver it can either hurt you or it can help you. It can hurt you if the balls coming 100 miles an hour and your hands are freezing cold. It's like throwing a brick against a building. That can hurt you in the long run but in some kind of way we've got to keep our hands warm. Hopefully, they've got the heat benches going and we can just stay warm that way."
