LINEBACKER ERNIE SIMS -- JULY 30, 2006 AFTER HE SIGNED HIS CONTRACT

LINEBACKER ERNIE SIMS -- JULY 30, 2006

>> On what it was like to get his contract done
“It was very exciting. I was very excited to get this all out of the way and get ready for the season.”

>> On whether he was anxious to get in camp
“Oh yeah. I was getting real excited. I was handling some business with my house and everything. I was just anticipating what was going on over here and just waiting.”

>> On whether he was working out on his own
“That was the only thing I could do. I couldn’t come over here so the main thing that I had to do was to stay in the playbook and stay in shape as much as possible for two-a-days.”

>> On whether his teammates gave him a hard time about having fresh legs
“Yeah. I talked to my roommate, Anthony Cannon, a couple of times and he gave me some insight to what was going on out here.”

>> On when he reported to camp
“I came in this morning to sign my contract.”

>> On when his agent called to let him know the deal was done
“They called me late last night. We were all excited; my family was excited. Then I came in this morning and made it a done deal.”

>> On how late his agent called
“I don’t know exactly – probably about 11 o’clock or so.”

>> On what he was doing when his agent called
“Well, laying down trying to get some rest. It’s kind of like a road call – I didn’t know when I was going to get ready to go.”

>> On whether he was able to get a good night sleep or could he not sleep because he was too excited
“It was kind of both ways. One, I wanted to get out there but two, I didn’t want to get under that sun. It went both ways.”

>> On how this heat compares to the heat at Florida State
“It’s kind of tough because down there in Florida we get excruciating heat. I would say its kind of the same. Either way it’s going to be awfully uncomfortable.”

>> On if he minded the coaches barking at him in his first practice
“The main thing with me: I love putting on pads. When we’re doing OTAs, you don’t have any shoulder pads on and you really can’t express yourself the way you want to express yourself. When I was out there (today) I felt like I have a point to prove – I feel like I have to earn something. Those guys, they’re talking back to me any everything and saying all kinds of things to me and I like that. Because that makes me better and it lets me know that I’m somebody and I’m doing something that they want to talk back to me.”

>> On how his first collision felt
“Oh yeah, that felt real good. It always feels good to get a little lick in. I really couldn’t explode on him like I really wanted to but to get a little forearm in there felt real good.”

>> On whether he already feels he belongs in this league
“I definitely feel like I belong in this league and that I can compete with the NFL players. It’s real exciting to get a chance to play against people I’ve been watching for so long like Ray Lewis. A player like that, it feels so exciting to play against them.”

>> On whether he expects any rookie hazing
“It will probably be a little bit but not to the extent of hazing and all of that. I had that at Florida State and that would be the last thing that happens here in Detroit.”

>> On whether he got a special welcome from the veterans like any joking or kidding
“Not yet – I’m going to give them a welcome in the next couple of days though.”

>> On what kind of welcome he’s going to give
“Laying the wood.”

>> On whether he feels that he is behind at all
“I’m a little behind. They’ve got a little step on me but at the same time my legs are a little more fresh than theirs so you have to take that into consideration. The main thing right now is that I have to catch up with my studying and my playbook and everything. That’s why I’m about to get into the film room and study hard.”

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