Q&A: Defensive Tackle Keith Hamilton
by BBI Reporter walterb
walterb: Some consider you the best defensive tackle in football. Does it bother you that you have not received more recognition?
Keith Hamilton: No it does not bother me because I did it my way and the way I wanted to do it. I am not going to make crazy statements. I know what kind of player I am. I know what I have done. Whether it is getting to the pro bowl – or things like that. Yeah it drives you, but it is not going to be the cap of my career. As long as people here know that I did the very best I could that is the most important thing for me.
walterb: How did giving tips to the offensive line start?
Keith Hamilton: Hey, I am not a coach. I tell those guys when they ask me. I am not their coach. I mean if there is something I can pass along to them that can be helpful. I am more than happy too. But as far as giving them advice on technique and all that, that is not what they pay me for to do here. I am here to stop people from moving the ball.
walterb: Have you changed your conditioning since Lomas Brown left?
Keith Hamilton: No, it worked so good I am holding it down for Lomas!
walterb: What exactly are you doing?
Keith Hamilton: It’s just cardio. You know what I mean. I was always able to make plays in games. It is just on a more consistent basis. I feel good. I am in shape, and I am ready to go.
walterb: What would you like the fans to know about you that they probably don’t know?
Keith Hamilton: Even when I am not feeling good I am going out there to give it everything I got. And, I am going to play as hard as I can for as long as I can.
walterb: NFL line play: What percentage of it is physical, what percentage is technique, and what percentage is mental?
Keith Hamilton: It’s 70% technique. The rest mental and physical.
Keith Hamilton on camp and season: I am here to work and ready to go. I am excited about this year. Since I have been here we always do the best when people count us out. And I think everybody has got a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. I can’t remember a camp that I am more excited about. And, I think we play our best when we feel that way…we play our best when people say we are not going to be nothing – you are not going to do nothing…Everybody is out to prove people wrong, even the offensive guys. That’s a very dangerous game we could be putting together.
Keith Hamilton on TE Jeremy Shockey: We need people who can keep those chains moving – and I think the thing that he possesses is he gets in the defense and he can run like a wide receiver. The thing is for them to get the confidence because it is a little different from college to the pros.
Keith Hamilton on the offensive line: They will be better than a lot of people think. Those guys are new starting but they have been around. So they are familiar with the system – and they work real hard and have a good coach.
Notes: Keith Hamilton’s comments about his separated shoulder injury during the St Louis game were interesting. He felt it was a late off camera hit that caused it. Also of interest were his feelings that the Giants could put together a team with a “chip on the shoulder” chemistry, and it could help carry them. He cited New England as not having any more talent than the Giants based on how they played during the last training camp. He went on about how unimpressed he was with what they showed during that camp when of course he participated in those practices.
