Q: Do you know if you will be the starter Friday against Carolina?
JG: Like always, your guess is as good as mine. I'm preparing like I'm going to be the starter. You never know, last week was a good example, you never know what's going to happen. We'll go from there I guess.
Q: How beneficial would it be for you to get a start on the road?
JG: Yeah, I mean obviously just different facilities. You try to make it as similar to your home schedule as you normally would. There are always some different variables and everything but you kind of just adjust on the go with those. This will be a good test. It's pretty much the closest thing we'll get to Week 1, so we'll see how it goes.
Q: Have you looked at Arizona on your own to see what you will be up against in Week 1?
JG: We're just focused on Carolina right now. We've got a big game Friday and we're not taking it lightly at all. They're a very talented football team with a very good defense, that front seven, they're really talented, so we have our hands full right now.
Q: How much can it help your development to play the defending NFC Champions in the always intense third preseason game?
JG: It will be good. It's a good test. Like I said before, it's a very talented defense and all the way across the board they have good players everywhere. It will be a good test, and we're on the road, so it's a pretty close simulation to Week 1. It will be good for us.
Q: What was your reaction to the reported release of Bryan Stork?
JG: It's tough; it's that time of year. There's a lot of movement between teams and players and everything. It's tough to see one of your guys go like that, but that's the business I guess.
Q: After all the talk about how unusual this preseason is for you, has there finally been some normalcy to it?
JG: It's pretty normal, I mean, this is normal. You kind of just have to adjust as you go kind of thing. Coach [Bill Belichick] does a good job at practice of mixing and matching guys with starters and second-string, whatever it may be. That's kind of how the season goes, you don't know who's going to be in, who's injured, who's whatever. You just kind of have to react to it.
Q: Has it become normal because the team and coaches have helped make it normal for you, or have you just tuned everything out?
JG: A little bit of both. I do a pretty good job of tuning everything out, trying just to focus on the job at hand. You can't worry about the things you can't control. That's a big part of just everything, really.
Q: What has David Andrews shown you and how has he proven himself as a capable center?
JG: David [Andrews] has been doing a great job this camp. The whole [offensive] line as a whole, it's a good group of guys. No one gets mixed and matched more than those guys do. To be able to work with different people all the time, you're getting adjusted to them, they're getting adjusted to you, it's really a credit to those guys and they all just handle it very well.
Q: What is it that makes the center position so difficult to handle from your perspective?
JG: The calls are a big part of it, but all the way across the board, the whole [offensive] line, it's tough to play any one of those positions. There's a lot of communication that just an average fan sitting in the stands probably won't see just because in the trenches down there, it's tight quarters. There's a lot of communication between those guys and in the blink of an eye, the whole play can change for them. Those guys are doing a tremendous job for us though and hopefully they keep it going.
*Q: Can you sense when a center is taking charge of a situation? *
JG: Yeah, it's not only the center though. We have different leaders in all positions. I think that's a good thing about our team and our locker room; there are leaders all over the place. People lead by example, there are different ways of leading, but everyone has their own style of doing it.
Q: How would you evaluate your performance against the Bears now after having watched the film?
JG: It was a pretty good night. Obviously, room for improvement, little things here and there; finishing that drive in the beginning of the third quarter would have been nice, but overall it was a pretty good night.
Q: What happened on that last throw?
JG: Yeah, the linebacker made a nice jump on it. It's unfortunate what happened.
Q: Was the linebacker not in your field of vision?
JG: It was just one of those bang-bang plays. In the red zone, there are tight windows down there, so sometimes you're going to make throws that get tipped or whatever it may be. You don't try to make those happen, but sometimes it happens down there.
Q: Where are you at in your decisiveness and decision making right now compared to this time last year, and what has the process been to improve?
JG: Yeah, I think part of that comes with just learning the offense overall. Year after year, you're going to be more comfortable in the system, whatever it may be. I think I'm progressing the right way. There's obviously a long way to go, you always want to be as precise and decisive as you can be, but I think I'm working in the right direction.
Q: You looked really comfortable in the two-minute drill, is that something you particularly like or feel more comfortable in?
JG: We got a nice rhythm. I think that was a big part of it, just getting the drive started and everything. The pockets were very clean in that two-minute drive, the [offensive] line did a great job blocking and that always makes it easier. It was a good rhythm that we got into and things worked out well.
Q: How much does it energize both the sideline and the locker room when young guys make big plays in these preseason games?
JG: Yeah, no doubt. That's part of the mixing and matching, you never know who you're going to be in there with. You get a new guy in there, a young guy, and it's exciting. I can remember my rookie year throwing my first touchdown pass in preseason. It's something these guys have never experienced, so it's an exciting moment for sure.
Q: Do you ever take a step back and think of how you will be starting the first four games for a franchise of this caliber?
JG: Not really, I just kind of go about my business the same as always. I've prepared like this for the last two years, so I think that's a big stepping stone for me and definitely helped out. It is what it is; it's football at the end of the day. You've got to go out there and play, study and prepare as you always have and good things will happen.
Q: Do you think you'll reach a point in the preseason where things will click and you'll know you are ready?
JG: It could be, could not, I'm not sure. I'm just preparing as if I always have. I'm getting ready for the Panthers right now and after that, we'll just progress the same way we always have. Just take it one game at a time. If you look too far ahead, you'll get yourself in some trouble and it never ends good.
Q: How do you show leadership during this period of time while still being differential to the overall picture of how things will be when Tom Brady returns?
JG: It's a tough situation at times, but you can't worry about that too much. It's one of those things where if you start worrying about that, then you can't focus on whatever it is – your reads, your checks, whatever it may be. You just have to go about your business the same way you always have. I'm not trying to do something crazy and do something I've never done before, I'm trying to be myself and do what I do.
Q: Have you had any conversations with Tom Brady about not worrying about him and just doing what you have to do?
JG: We have a ton of conversations, day in and day out. We're together 24/7, but he's been helpful this whole way. Whether it's encouragement, helping me with little things here and there, he's been nothing but helpful and I thank him for that.
