Q&A G WILL SHIELDS

Aug 02, 2005, 12:33:30 PM

TRAINING CAMP

Q: Can you talk about your doctor’s appointment back in Kansas City? What is the prognosis and when do you expect to be back?

SHIELDS: “We are still evaluating that. To go and see the doctor to have him tell you different things is good. We have another doctor who is going to check it out today and give me a call me back. Once we have all of the results, we will let you know. I am feeling better today than the other day.”

Q: Any thought that this injury may force you to retire?

SHIELDS: “I don’t think so. Everybody else is speculating on what I am going to do. Nobody has ever asked me the question.”

Q: Are you going to retire?

SHIELDS: “I hope not. I think the only way that would happen is if somebody came up and said, ‘hey Will one of the people who runs this place says you need to do this or do that.’ I am going to come back this year and do the best I can. That is what I am going to do.”

Q: Were you thinking about retiring in the off-season because of the back?

SHIELDS: “It was just overall. There is more to it than just the back. There is the back, the knee, the elbow, there is old age and all of the above. In consideration of future in order to function normally for your family.”

Q: What can you do for your back?

SHIELDS: “First of all, you have different exercises. You do a lot of stomach things, back things. Things you really have not concentrated on at any other time in your career because there has never been an issue. All the other things you did sort of automatically worked and worked itself out. There are more things you have to concentrate on as you get older. These are thing I am learning as you get older. I am thinking I will have use forever and keep going. But there are a lot of little problem areas.”

Q: Do people realize what you go through to start 191 consecutive games?

SHIELDS: “I just think it is anytime you are a professional athlete or an athlete in general you just want to play regardless of what it is. You always want to be on the field and do the best you can. There have been times that you are like I just was not as productive as I could have been. You still go out there and be as productive as you can be.”

Q: Do you hope to be as productive as you have in the past?

SHIELDS: “Anytime you go on the field you want to be productive and that is the big thing with me. I don’t want to go out there and just be a guy out there. I want to contribute.”

Q: Do you need camp to be productive?

SHIELDS: “There is a lot of camp left. It is not like I am sitting around not doing anything. There is a lot of work I am doing at it. I am pretty sure I will be OK.”