DeJon Gomes Transcript

[InsaneBoost]

Sorry this is a little late, Evan was super busy and couldn't get it to me till now, but no worries cause without him we wouldn't be able to have these, so a big thanks to him for getting it done.

Ray Smith: DeJon, welcome to the show, we appreciate your time.

DeJon Gomes: Thanks for having me.

RS: Looks like you guys have quite a bit of excitement surrounding the team. It’s so great to see all this positivity surrounding the Redskins. How has your offseason been in preparation for camp this year?

DG: He offseason has been a lot of fun. Usually, most people can’t say that with the offseason just because you don’t have any games to look forward to. But we’ve just been looking forward to the season and getting better as a team every day. Just going out there competing and having fun doing it.

RS: This has been your first season since you’ve got to come in a have a full offseason schedule. Last year you got drafted, then the lockout happened. Has there been a difference for you, a shell-shock coming in to the full routine, or is it more like college with spring ball?

DG: It’s more like college. I’m not really shell-shocked. It’s actually helped me out by having the OTAs and the minicamps and the offseason works outs. You get in the books that much more and you get a greater grasp of the defense coming in to camp.

RS: There’s a lot of hype coming in. You were a pretty hyped up player coming in to the draft last year, and you obviously came in with friends. Talk a little bit about what that whole process was like of being a guy who was considered by some to be a top defensive back in the draft, and then you fall a little bit into the 5th round. Talk about that motivation and just that whole process that you went through.

DG: Last year during the draft, you couldn’t really do anything about it but wait for your name to be called, and I waited for that. And it actually turned out nice, coking out here to be with the Redskins, seeing how they drafted two of my college teammates. I just go out there and prove myself day in and day out. That’s pretty much all you can do.

Kiel Maddox: Did that make the transition easier, that you were able to come to a team in the NFL with 2 of your college teammates, instead of being the new guy with nobody else? It’s kid of like going to a new school. You don’t know anybody and you’re kind of by yourself. Was your transition easier because of that?

DG: It was definitely easier, especial how we didn’t get in to team activities until we got in to camp. Everyone knows how long camp is and how strenuous it is on the body and the mind. Just having a roommate that you were teammates with in college, during camp, just to talk with someone after camp and after practice, to see how things are going for him, it definitely made things easier.

RS: It’s got to be great to know the guys that you’re going back to the dorm with, right? To know that you’ve got guys that you can hang out with and relax a little with, they know what you’re going through, and you know what they’re going through. Does that support system help you get through the camp grind and does that make you guys try that much harder to impress your friends that you already have here?

DG: Definitely. We were going out, and of course we were supporting each other. Although I’m on the other side of the ball from Niles and Roy, we still made sure that we gave it our all every day and didn’t leave the field with any regrets.

RS: Mike Shanahan has gone, really, way out of his way this season, during the OTAs and the rookie mini camps, to talk about how this is a team that has been built on young players, young, talented players, that have competition at every position. And we’ve seen him do some interesting things with your buddy Niles who was on the show with us a couple of weeks ago. We talked about his transition from WR in to becoming TE. You look at those opportunities that are opening for Niles, and you see the opportunities that Roy obviously has.

He started a couple of games as a rookie, he played extremely well, there’s a lot of hope for him. And even yourself, you started a couple of games last year and you got some pretty significant playing time in the secondary as a rookie. I believe it was twelve tackles you put up in the Dallas game, and just were very impressive. What’s it like to see those opportunities, not just for you but for Niles and Roy. It only your second year, what it’s like to play for a team where you’re not buried behind veterans? You guys are getting the opportunity to show how you can help this team right now.

DG: It’s definitely a positive thing anytime you know that you can go out and you have a great possibility of contributing to the team. Of course you want to make the team, but you don’t want to be just that guy who is out there filling up a spot. You want to be doing something to help the team win. So anything I can do to help get victories is a positive thing, especially when two of your other college teammates are doing the same thing. On that hand it’s almost like you don’t want to be that odd guy out that’s not doing anything. Me and Niles and Roy and I came on the same class, so I think we push each other too.

RS: There’s a lot of new faces at safety this year. We’ve all heard about LaRon’s exit, and unfortunately seeing some of the other guys come and go. For fans of this team that follow this team religiously, we probably don’t know a whole lot about the players that are here. You’ve got Brandon who has come in from Chicago and New England, and Tanard that’s here from Tampa Bay.

Tell us what the feeling is inside of this safety unit. Because it would be really east for a fan to say, “Hey, who are these guys, they’re kind of quiet, what should we really expect?” Kind of take us in to what you guys are expecting for yourselves going in to the 2012 preseason.

DG: Coming in to the preseason, with offseason workouts and everything, its seems like were jelling pretty well, it seems like we’re very, especially with the safety position, we’re pretty close. You would think that, since everyone is not familiar with each other–we brought three in and drafted one–that we would kind of be off-synch, but we’re all helping each other out and pushing each other to get better, giving each other tips on what we can do to become a better secondary and better safeties.

RS: So we’re talking about the new faces that are in the safety position, and a new face that stood out to all of us is the addition of Raheem Morris on the coaching staff, who’s comes in [as] a very highly touted guy. The guy was one of the youngest head coaches in the NFL. We’ve witnessed him with the media out at the OTAs and at training camp. He’s a vocal guys, he’s a fiery guy. He really seems to expect a lot from you guys. To us on the outside, he can look kind of demanding. Talk to us a little bit about Raheem and what he brings to the table, and what you guys see for yourselves under him coaching your unit.

DG: I definitely see him as a players coach. He’s doing whatever he can to make sure we are in the best position to succeed. He’s just out there, and he’s definitely demanding but if you don’t have a coach who’s demanding, you really don’t have much room to get better. So it’s expected, and he expects us to bring out our full potential. So it kind of works both ways. At times, he’s vocal and we know he doesn’t mean any harm by it, he’s just a high energy guy and that’s how he coaches all the time.

RS: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe he’s younger than London Fletcher. So is it kind of weird? I mean, do you guys give him a hard time about being so young, [and] giver London a little bit of a job about being older than the coaches on the staff? Talk about what that dynamic is and how that affects you guys.

DG: I think he and London go at it a little bit, but it doesn’t really affect the dynamic of the situation, because at the end of the day, he’s the coach. He’s knows what he’s doing, he’s been a head coach; he’s been at that spot. Having him as a position coach is a blessing,

RS: It seems that the pieces you guys have been bringing in this offseason, whether it’s at safety, at quarterback, it looks like the role players have been brought in to do specific jobs. Mike Shanahan has always talked about how much he enjoys having fast guys and speed guys, especially on the secondary and on the defense. I know last season he went on and on about Josh [Wilson] and how fast he was and the speed that he bought to the corner position. Just how fast are you guys? Is that something that is focused on during practice? I know we talk about tempo and stuff like that, but is speed of play something that you guys really focus on, or so you just kind of say, “This guy’s a fast guy, this guy’s a hitting guy”, and everyone has their role?

DG: It just makes practice that much more intense, just having that speed at all the skill positions. Just to get those reps and make sure that you’re giving it your all. Because if you’re not giving it your all, you’re going to be able to see it via the receivers you’re going against or vice versa, the receivers going against us. So it just makes practice that much more intense and competitive.

KM: FedEx Field…big stadium, holds eighty-some-thousand. Can you compare it in any way to Nebraska? I know college atmosphere is a lot more crazier, but FedEx Field has been known to get pretty wild. I’ve been a season ticket holder for quite some time, and there are times when it starts swaying back and forth and shaking like crazy. How’s it like for you guys down on the field? Does it help you out a lot more in reference to Nebraska? Is Nebraska a lot louder?

DG: Honestly, I don’t hear the fans too much when I’m on the field. I don’t know if it’s something I’ve just zoned out through the years. One thing I can say that’s similar between here and Nebraska is that the fans give you their support 100% and they’re going to be behind you. So that’s a positive thing.

RS: It’s still gotta be pretty great though, in the middle of a big game, like a Washington and Dallas game. That is just an absolutely huge rivalry. People have said that people down in Dallas don’t take it as seriously as the Redskins do, or the Redskins fans anymore. But as a player, we’ve talked to a lot of you guys who’ve said “No, we feel that. We understand the rivalry.” For you as a rookie last year, to perform the way you did in the Cowboys game, to have fans cheering you–or when its in Dallas, to have fans booing you–that’s got to do something to pump you up, to keep you going, right? It’s not just another day at the office.

DG: Definitely. Before I got here, I didn’t know how much it meant. After being here a year, I can see how seriously that game was taken. So it definitely seems like it’s turned up to another level during that week.

RS: Niles told us a couple of weeks ago that one of the things he really respected about this organization was that rookie hazing never really gets out of control. You might see some guys carrying some stuff and you might see some guys doing a little bit of funny things, but it’s never anything that’s over the line or hurtful. We understand that there was some talent shows that happened last night, and I’m hoping that you can give us a peek at–without getting anyone in trouble or releasing anything that’s in house for the team–but talk a little bit about the talent show last night? Who impressed you and who didn’t?

DG: Actually, the talent show…Coach Shanahan announced that tonight is the first night, so we haven’t gotten a chance to see any talent yet.

RS: Ah, because I hear that RG3 is supposed to have a pretty decent singing voice.

DG: Yeah, hopefully he gets called upon tonight.

RS: We get so caught up in how serious football fans are, how serious especially Redskins fans are about this team and what happens on Sundays. But you guys are kind of like a family. We had Keenan Robinson on during rookie camp, and he talked a little about the hijinx in the hotels and stuff like that. You’ve got to have dome pretty fond memories of that kind of stuff. Are there any stories that stick out to you in the year and a half you’ve been a Washington Redskin?

DG: Well my talent show, I went up there last year and juggled three oranges, and I got booed so I had to go again.

RS: Three oranges wasn’t enough?

DG: That wasn’t too fun.

RS: So what did you do the second time?

DG: Me and a group of the rookie secondary did a little skit on a…oh man,,,a defensive meeting, I believe?

RS: Nice. We’ve had some of that stuff leak out before and it always seems like it’s a good time. So we’re really excited about what you guys are going to bring and what you’re capable of bringing. There’s just a lot of hope in this fan base, and we’re really excited about, not just RG3 and the things that are happening on offense, but what you guys can do as a defensive unit this year. You saw Shanahan from year one to year two, under [Jim] Haslett, it jumped from one of the last ranking defensive units in the league to I believe 13th or 14th last year. In closing, what’s the limit for you guys this year? What can we expect from this defensive unit with the pressure you expect to have up front with the new additions? Where do you see this defense and where do you see yourself going? What is the goal for you guys this year, in 2012?

DG: I think for any defense, your goal is to be the best, especially when you’re at the top of your game as far as being a professional. Just going out there and doing what we have to do to get to the top and match our potential. Hopefully everyone stays healthy so we can do that.

[Monkeydad]

Our starting strong safety!

[Lotus]

It would be awesome for us if he developed into a solid starter.

Edit: Thanks again for your efforts with the great interviews. IB.

[backrow]

Originally Posted by Lotus

It would be awesome for us if he developed into a solid starter.

If he doesn't make it with the B&G, he can do his thing with French's Mustard!