Q&A RB PRIEST HOLMES

May 24, 2005, 3:09:32 PM

NFL NETWORK INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT WITH RICH EISEN & ROBERT SMITH
(Click here - Broadband Video)

EISEN: (Joking) “If it’s O.T.A. time in Kansas City you must be coming back from injury. That just seems to be the case the past few years. How are you doing?”

HOLMES: (Laughing) “It seems like injuries are very much a part of football and I’ve been a perfect example of how injuries are a part of football. But right now I’m able to bounce back getting into the swing of things, getting back on the field with the teammates, I’m excited to be back in uniform and ready to start another season.”

SMITH: “You know I think it’s pretty funny, early in my career is when I had most of my injuries and oddly enough I had right ACL and left MCL, PCL, and I think you had left ACL and right MCL and everybody was calling me injury-prone and I said well that’s like calling a race car driver accident prone, I mean it really is just part of the game. But are there are things you have to deal with but at some point you have to say, ‘How much more of this can my body take?’ Has that gone through your mind at all?”

HOLMES: “Well right now I think about two years ago was the first time that I had an opportunity for my mind to just kind of waver a little bit and started to focus more on the injuries but right now I think I’m back in the swing of things as long as the body is able to come back from any injury, which I believe it is, I’ll be ready to play.”

SMITH: “You know I think it’s amazing, there was a time when a torn ACL would mean pretty much the end of a player’s career, but look at yourself, look at Terry Allen who ran on two reconstructive knees, I ran on reconstructed knees, it’s pretty much the fault of the player if he doesn’t come back now.”

HOLMES: “Well, I’m excited about the fact that I’ve been able to bounce back because I think it’s a perfect example and a perfect story for those guys who get that first time injury where their devastated and they feel like they cannot come back, but there’s plenty of examples before each of us and we know that in terms of the body it can always come back from any injury.”

SMITH: “Are you running with some pain? Are you still feeling it? Can you walk us through how your feeling now and what it’s going to take to get you back on that field come Week One.”

HOLMES: “Well you know it is always fun once you get a chance to see the draft because then you get a chance to see some of the younger guys coming out, they’re wanting to make a name for themselves and it always gets you hyped as a veteran to be able to go back out there and show them once again what your able to do. In terms of my game, I’m just excited about being out (on the field). The one thing that keeps me going is that I changed up a few things in terms of my strategy and my approach this year and I’m doing a lot more core exercises and I’m pretty much and I’m pretty much in perfect condition, and right now it’s just a matter of getting out on the field and running routes.”

SMITH: “Did they actually do any sort of repair on the MCL or did they just let it heal up on its own?”

HOLMES: “No repair at all. It didn’t require any surgery so this MCL was able to heal on its own. In terms of if there’s any type of looseness in the knee, of course there’s going to be some type of looseness, but in terms of each month that tends to tighten down and that’s exactly what I’m looking forward to.”

EISEN: “Speaking of young players that get drafted, the Kansas City Chiefs for the first time in their history Priest, they take somebody from UTEP they took somebody from A&M, they took somebody from Texas Tech, but a fellow Longhorn for the first time in the history of the Chiefs is a first-round pick. Derrick Johnson, a linebacker, and you most know his game better than most people on that team following your Longhorns I would imagine?”

HOLMES: “Well the thing about D.J. and that’s the name I’m pretty sure everybody knows him by, is that I know exactly what is inside of him. I know the type of training he’s been through over the last four years, I know exactly what type of mentality he’s going to have coming out of the University of Texas and that’s one thing I’m excited about. There’s been years before when there’s been myself and maybe one other player from the University of Texas on the offense, but now that we got someone with a little bit of dog in him on the defensive side of the ball, it’s going to bring about a great defense, I believe.”

SMITH: “Perfect seg-way, speaking of fellow Longhorns, what do you think about Ricky Williams and the possibility of him coming back into the league? Have you spoken to him at all? Or is there any indication that you have? What do you think? Do you think he’s going to come back?”

HOLMES: “Well I don’t have any inside scoop for you all right now on Ricky Williams but I can tell you that it would be really exciting to see him back. In terms of how much money he owes or in terms of his contract, not exactly sure what’s going to happen with that, but I’d really like to see him come back and once again get back in uniform and show exactly what he can do.”

EISEN: “Let’s get, real quick, back to the defensive side of the ball. Are you excited by the changes that were made? These are changes that I know fans have been looking for a long time. What does the offense as a whole think about these changes that were made on defense?”

HOLMES: “Well I think we’re excited because of the fact that it’s going to change the face of our defense in terms of anybody being able to relax on defense, it’s not going to be the case this time coming through our training camp. There’s going to be a lot of fighting going on, in terms of fighting for a position. There’s not too many positions left out there because there’s been some guys that have been brought in to our team that have been given a position. So now, for the guys that were veterans and for the guys that have been here for the last four years, they have to fight for that one or two positions.”

EISEN: “Just so fans get to know what your life’s going be like over the next few months, how much rehab are you still doing on that knee?”

HOLMES: “Well in terms of a day, starting of at eight o’clock or ten o’clock in the morning is when I’m doing a regular workout session, either that’s working out with the team or in the weight room. Then it goes to one rehab session which is during the day right around three o’clock, and that’s a matter of doing core exercises, box jumps, and just being able to keep the core stability real tight. The thing for me to make sure that I’m on top of is making sure my flexibility and mobility are the number one things that I’m trying to achieve this year.”