Q: Seems like a heated practice out there for both sides; what was it like being out there on the offensive?
JG: It was good, it was good. You know, refreshing, you get to go out there against – same thing I said last week – I mean, get new guys, new faces, different techniques, and you know it's fun, it's competitive. I love that stuff.
Q: Do you feel it's different than last week because both teams have been through a little more training camp, so maybe the intensity is kind of a little bit higher than maybe it was last week?
JG: Yeah … it could be a number of different things, you know. It's hot out here, guys are leaning on each other, sweating on each other, [it] gets tiring after a while. So, you know, it's football, stuff happens and you just got to react to it.
Q: Did you see Rob Gronkowski leave the field with what looked like maybe a hamstring, not exactly sure, obviously means immense to this team, what do you think about all this?
JG: I didn't even see him leave to be honest. Hopefully he's alright, and we'll see what it is.
Q: Talk about what he means to this team.
JG: He's a good player, I mean all those guys – the offensive skill guys, the offensive line – we're just trying to come together as a unit right now, and you know, piece together one day after another, and you know, we're on the right track.
Q: Hey Jimmy, Tom Brady said that you've worked really hard to earn the respect of everyone in the team and organization, what does that mean for you to hear that from Tom?
JG: It's awesome. You know, Tommy is a guy that I look up to and I've learned a lot from him. And, you know, it's always a privilege to hear something like that from a guy that you respect like that.
Q: And has that been your mentality from day one, just kind of put your head down and go to work?
JG: Yeah, I mean, you know, it's contagious in this building. It's a great group of people in there. Coaches, staff, everybody, players, and I mean you don't' really have a choice but to do that, so it's contagious.
Q: We know you did the radio show this morning, and the attention that commanded you, what's the process been like trying to absorb how bright the spotlight is here and how you can compartmentalize that going forward?
JG: You know you just got to take it in stride, really. You know, it's an opportunity and I'm excited about it. It's a privilege to be in the situation I'm in and you just got to go take advantage of it.
Q: Is there urgency or any type of pressure or immediacy that you feel to seize it?
JG: You know, it's the same mindset I've had since I walked in here day one. You know, just got to take it day by day, try to get better every day, and if you keep that mindset, good things will happen to you.
Q: Jimmy, as a quarterback, when you see tempers flare on the field, you're obviously coached to keep your head about you throughout good and bad, what goes through your mind as a quarterback when you see that?
JG: You know, it's mixed emotions, I guess. You like to have guys on your team with that type of mindset, I mean it's football, it's a physical game and things are going to happen out there, and you want to have a guy on your team who's going to have your back. I think our team is full of those types of guys.
Q: And then there's the discipline aspect of it though…Â
JG: Yeah, no question. Yeah I mean it's not a good thing to fight in practice by any means, but it's a mindset and I think our team has the right mindset. We just have to do it in a controlled environment now.
Q: Jimmy, now you get to learn from Tom Brady, when you were growing up what quarterbacks did you study, or did you watch and really try to emulate?
JG: Oh man. Well Tom is one of them, obviously. And you know, even though I'm from Chicago I always liked Brett Favre growing up. Yeah, I thought he was a heck of a quarterback, and so you know you watch so many guys. I was addicted to football as a kid, and it's just fun to watch guys, I mean everyone's different, has a different throwing technique and everything, and you just learn things from each one of them.
Q: Was it just because the Bears didn't have any great quarterbacks?
JG: Oh man, come on. Yeah they went through a little bit of a dry spell there, but no I just always liked Favre, his toughness and everything. He was a heck of a player.
Q: How do you never know when guys walk off the field that's in your offensive set, whether it's Julian Edelman last week or Gronkowski this week, you guys don't seem to know?
JG: I mean there are so many things going on at practice. You have a million things to worry about yourself. I mean, if you see it, you see it, but it's just, I don't know, it kind of happens that way, I guess. You're thinking about so many things, what the next period is, what happened in the last period and yeah it's just tough to see everything, I guess.
Q: Jimmy, both on and off the field, is this something you could have handled even two years ago, and how did you get coached up, especially with all the attention?
JG: Rookie year would have been a little difficult, not going to lie to you. You know everything was so new. It's tough as a rookie to do anything like that, but just leaning on the veteran guys, seeing how they go about their business with the media in the locker room, I mean everything. We have a great group of veterans, especially my rookie year. I mean some of those guys, they're not even here anymore, but you just learn from them as you go and try to take a little bit of their technique and put it towards yours.
Q: The fact that you're in a position that not many have been in where it's a, you know, four game stint there, can you consult with anybody who knows what it's like to be in those shoes?
JG: Yeah, that's a tough one. I don't know if anyone has been in that situation, but you know, you can always find guys to lean on. I mean whoever it may be, veterans in the locker room, family members, friends, whatever it may be, you just have to have a good support system.
Q: Just wondering after you looked at the film of the preseason game, what are your takeaways from your performance?
JG: Like I said after the game, we have to get off to a faster start. That was pretty clear, we didn't start the way we wanted to, but you know it's something we need to work on. And I think that coming out here to practice and having fast starts and the periods and everything it's contagious, I guess.
Q: Regardless of the start, do you build on a stronger finish? You finished today's practice well it seemed.
JG: Yeah, you know, being a quarterback you can't be too high, can't be too low. You kind of just have to be even keeled throughout the whole thing, and I mean it's football. Good things are going to happen, bad things are going to happen, you try and minimize the bad things, but when they do happen you have react well to them, you know your teammates are always watching you and you just want to react the right way.
Q: Jimmy, you're learning from Tom, but Jacoby Brissett probably learning from you. What have you seen out of him so far?
JG: Jacoby? Oh man, he's a good young player. I mean he's only a year younger than me, what am I saying he's young, but he's been doing good, he's another guy. I mean like I said before, it's contagious in this building to come in and go to work every day, and he does that.
Q: Jimmy, have you allowed yourself at any time during this process over the last couple of months to really contemplate these four games mean for you personally, beyond the scope of the team here and your career?
JG: Not so much. It's a mindset in this building that team comes first, and if the team doesn't play well for those four games then it's not going to be good for anybody. So, you know, we just got to take it one practice at a time, one game at a time, and we still have three preseason games left, so I mean we got ways to go. So you know, just going to take it game by game, and day by day, and see where it takes me.
Q: Did you guys watch the weather to see if it was going to be cooler today?
JG: Oh please, we're going outside in the heat regardless. So no, just it was a nice day, a little cooler than yesterday.
