Tag: GOLDEN TATE
Giants’ Tate: ‘I don’t feel like we’ve tanked, despite our record’
The losing streak is up to five games for the New York Giants(2-7) after losing to the Cowboys at home on Monday night 37-18. Fortunately for the Giants, they have a chance to snap their losing streak when play the Jets(1-7) in the battle of New York on Sunday.
“Yeah, I can only speak for us, but we want to get this thing back on track,” Giants WR Golden Tate said on Wednesday. “Like I said a lot of the last few weeks, I feel like we do have a good team; we have great personnel. I don’t know if you guys can get a sense for this locker room, but we don’t seem down and depressed.
“I don’t feel like we’ve tanked, despite our record. I think we’re still hungry to win and I think we still feel like we have a shot to do something special. We’ve just got to get it going, and it’s going to start with us.”
When healthy, the Giants have decent personnel, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but the defense has struggled at times and rookie quarterback Daniel Jones has struggled with turnovers, and quite frankly, he has played like a rookie.
No one expected the Giants to be very good this season, and therefore, no one would accuse them of tanking. But, they should beat the Jets on Sunday; however, both teams are struggling, so this game could go either way.
Jones on playing Pats: ‘I think we’ll be prepared and confident going in’
As the Giants(2-3) prepare to travel to Foxboro to battle the world champion and undefeated New England Patriots(5-0) on Thursday night, they know that not many are giving them a chance, including Vegas, who has the Patriots as 16.5-point favorites.
While the Patriots are an excellent football team, Giants WR Golden Tate said the team wouldn’t be intimidated by New England.
“I don’t think we have a locker room full of fanboys,” Tate said on Monday. “I think we understand we’re all in the NFL; we’re going out there to do a job. We’ve all played in big games, I think, at some point, and it’s a big one because it’s the next one on our schedule, but I don’t think we need to put too much pressure on ourselves.
“I think we need to keep our emotions in check—I don’t think we want to get too high, we don’t want to get too low—just live in the moment, enjoy having the opportunity to go play in a very hostile environment against a great team, and go out there and shock the world. It’s as simple as that.”
Over the years, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been hard on rookie quarterbacks, and the Giants rookie QB Daniel Jones is a guy who has had a lot of success this season, but playing the vaunted Patriots’ defense won’t be easy for Jones.
“I think they’ve been a good defense for a long time,” Jones said. “I don’t know—probably rookies and all other quarterbacks—they’ve been a good defense, they can play well against anyone. I think like I said, we’re excited for the opportunity, we’re excited for the challenge, and I think we’ll be prepared and confident going in.”
New England has the number one ranked defense in football and is only allowing 6.8 points per game, which means that Jones could have a rough night.
The Giants probably won’t win on Thursday; however, this is the NFL, and on any given Sunday or in this case, Thursday, anything can happen. But, no matter what happens, these are the games that will help Jones’ development as a quarterback in the NFL.
Tate: ‘There is no secret that in the slot I’m pretty dangerous once I get the ball in my hands’
Whatever the Giants are doing right now is working, and Golden Tate doesn’t want to mess with it.
He will add to it, though.
The NFL leader in yards after catch since 2010 returned Monday morning to the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. On Sunday, the Giants defeated the Washington Redskins, 24-3, for their second consecutive victory on the heels of a 0-2 start. Tate was forced to watch the first quarter of the season on TV while he served a four-game suspension for violating the league policy on performance-enhancing substances. That suspension has ended. He is on the exempt/commissioner permission list for up to a week until the Giants activate him. In the meantime, he can fully participate in all Giants activities.
“I just want to come in and be a spark, an addition to what we’re doing, just help everybody around me get better and just be myself,” Tate said. “There is no secret that in the slot I’m pretty dangerous once I get the ball in my hands. I feel like I’m pretty dangerous on third down. Hopefully, I am utilized that way. Whatever it takes to win. These four weeks have been very long for me. I have just been thinking about football, ready to get back out here and the time is now. We just want to get another win, go 1-0 this week and keep this thing rolling. As you can probably see in this locker room, the vibe is great. When you win, it’s all great, so we’ll see.”
Tate spent the past month in San Diego, where he lives with his family, and he insisted it was no vacation.
“I have trainers, massage therapists, and rehab people there,” Tate said. “I just went back home and worked my tail off, tried to stay ready and get better and hang with the family. I tried to keep myself busy just to take my mind off of it.”
Sundays were the toughest. Already sour because he wasn’t playing, Tate had to find the games on TV, which can be difficult if you live out of market and don’t know where to look. For the past decade, he spent his Sundays racking up 611 catches for 7,214 yards and 38 touchdowns. He never needed a subscription.
“Because I’m on the west coast, they weren’t showing the game,” he said. “I had to find it somewhere streaming. It started off and then I’m just sitting, looking like, I should be out there. It was tough, but yesterday was kind of the first pleasant game for me. One, we won, and I knew as soon as the game was over I was pretty much allowed to be back. It was exciting.”
Tate tweeted after the yesterday’s divisional win that he’s going to “see whoever’s around at 12:01 AM TMRW!” His wife, however, wouldn’t let him spend the night at the facility. He had to wait until 8 a.m. instead.
“Because she knew I would be spending eight or nine hours a day here,” Tate said. “She said she wanted to enjoy the last night. It was a great vibe, we won last night, I went straight into the weight room, started saying hi to everybody, giving out hugs and it was great. I loved it.”
One of the people he saw was Pat Shurmur.
“Well, I think it’s going to be great he’s back,” the head coach said. “He should be fresh and ready to go. I have already spoken to him this morning. He’s in the building, and he’s looking forward to getting back at it.”
Tate came back to a new quarterback running the show on offense, but Sunday won’t be his first time playing with Daniel Jones. The rookie quarterback started the preseason finale in New England and so did Tate before he began his suspension. The veteran receiver, who signed with the Giants this offseason, isn’t surprised by how well Jones is playing in his 2-0 start.
“I’m delighted,” Tate said. “I’m liking what I’m seeing, for sure. He’s been handling the moment very well and hopefully he continues to improve each day and each game.”
Tate added: “He’s slippery. He finds his way out of some sticky situations and makes plays. Obviously, he’s helped us win. Watching from afar, his decision-making has been great, I think. I’m here to help him, helping his development, help make some plays and take some pressure off of him and just help us continue to win.”
It’s reciprocal.
“I’m excited,” Jones said after Sunday’s win. “I’m excited to have Golden back. Looking forward to it, and looking forward to what we can do.”
Courtesy: Dan Salomone
Golden Tate on suspension: ‘I’m not trying to cheat’
On Tuesday, the NFL announced that Giants WR Golden Tate would be suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Tate, 31, who had appealed the suspension, which was denied by the league, will be able to return Week 5 against the Vikings. The 10-year veteran signed with the Giants this offseason after spending time with the Lions and Eagles last season.
Today, Tate addressed the suspension with the media.
Here is what he had to say:
Q: You seem surprised by the ruling, why is that?
Tate: I just thought after we looked at the facts and the situation that the NFL would be understanding. It’s kind of a non-tolerance policy. They upheld the suspension.
Q: What was the substance?
Tate: Clomiphene
Q: How did you find out that wasn’t allowed?
Tate: A few weeks after my test, I went back and spoke to the doctor. Initially, the doctor said it was not a banned substance. In fact, he had given it to other NFL players, which is why I trusted it and kept living my life. I was out to dinner one night with a guy who worked for me and he started talking about another player who was getting suspended for something completely different. A light went off in my head and I said let me call the doctor to make sure, to make myself feel better. I asked him what the active ingredient was and he looked it up right then and there and sure enough it was a banned substance.
Q: How frustrating is it, this decision that was rendered here?
Tate: It’s very frustrating. I have no problem with accepting the punishment. I’m responsible for what’s put into my body, ultimately. The tough thing I am dealing with is I’m letting down a lot of people. My family, the guys in the locker room, the people in the organization that brought me here. That’s kind of what’s been crushing me with this whole situation. I’m taking it day by day, the Giants have been overly supportive of this situation and worked with me throughout. I’m just ready to move on and get back to playing football. I guess my wife put it into perspective for me, although these times are very, very hard on me because I love this game and I take it very, very seriously. I think I’ve had a clean slate for the majority of my career. She put it into perspective yesterday. She said I played 182 games in my career, four games is a small part of that. Although right now it’s very hard to swallow and hard to deal with, she kind of put it into perspective.
Q: Why didn’t you go to the league or the team doctor before taking it?
Tate: I think ultimately because the doctor had said no, it’s not a banned substance and I have prescribed it to other NFL guys. If the doctor says I’m not sure, I would have 100 percent looked into it. If the doctor never said he had never given it to other NFL players, I 1,000 percent would have looked into it. I’ve gone through the TUE process for a couple medicines and I completely understand it.
Q: Are you going to take any action against the doctor?
Tate: We are definitely looking into it, we are kind of examining all of our options. This all came out a few days ago, so I’m still trying to get through camp, trying my best to focus and continue to be a leader for this organization, and practice hard.
Q: How do you think the league should adjust how they view these things?
Tate: I don’t have all the answers. It’s a slippery slope. If you let my situation slide, then you have other guys that would probably try to say the same thing and it can open up a can of worms, that’s what I’m assuming. I have some ideas that I’m going to present to the NFL when the time comes. I think there are some ways to work with the players. (Inaudible).
Q: Is this one of those drugs that could have been a therapeutic use exemption had you gone to them before you took it?
Tate: I believe so.
Q: And you didn’t go to the league because the doctor told you it wasn’t banned?
Tate: Yes.
Q: You said that he told you he gave the same treatment to a couple other players. Did you find out who they were? Did you try to get them to testify on your behalf? Did you find out whether those guys had been suspended before?
Tate: Because of HIPAA, he wasn’t able to reveal those people.
Q: What is your plan, since you can’t be around the team those four games because of the rules with the suspension. What is your plan for those first four weeks? Where are you going to work out? Are you going to stay here?
Tate: I have to figure out what’s allowed as far as communication with the coaches and people inside the building.
Q: I don’t think you can be here.
Tate: Yeah, I know that. I’m not sure about the communication part. I’m going to get with (Strength and Conditioning) Coach Wellman and get an intense workout plan or something that allows me to stay in tip-top shape so once I get back in Week 5 I can hit the ground running. Like every year, you kind of use camp to get in shape for the season. I have to come in that Monday after the fourth game ready to rock and roll and ready to be rolling. Again, this is all new to me and I was expecting not to have this suspension, but I am going to deal with it. I’m going to deal with it the best I possibly can, stay positive and continue to try to lead this team and just work through it.
Q: Do you think this will fuel your fire even more once you get back on the football field?
Tate: No doubt.
Q: How do you mentally move forward from this for the rest of the year once you come back?
Tate: I think you just take it day-by-day. I honestly think the hardest part is just about over. I’ve been thinking about this since April or May. This has been on my mind. I’ve lost a lot of sleep. It has kind of hurt me to my core having to explain to the organization what’s going on. I’m just ready to move forward. I just want to play football. Look at me, I’m not trying to cheat. I think I have represented the NFL shield pretty well in my career. I have achieved a lot of things, and I hope this doesn’t smear that reputation that I have worked very hard for.
Q: I don’t mean to pry, but a lot of people have written stuff saying your wife had a baby earlier this year, why does he need a fertility drug – can you answer that?
Tate: That’s pretty personal. Very, very personal, so I don’t want to get into it.
Q: You have said in the past, I think 2013, that it was selfish that two other guys on your team at the time had gotten suspended. Do you know what they got suspended for? I think it was for drugs like marijuana or something?
Tate: I think that’s a completely different situation than me taking a substance to try to have another kid.
Q: I was just going to say, if the players in the locker room felt the same here what would you say to them?
Tate: It hasn’t been asked of me, so I haven’t had to address it. I’ll think about that one though.
Golden Tate did not know route on game-winning touchdown(VIDEO)
Nick Foles and the world champion Philadelphia Eagles kept their season alive last Sunday night by the beating the Bears at Soldier Field 16-15 in the wild-card game to advance to the divisional round to face the New Orleans Saints. Fortunately for the Eagles, luck was on their side as Bears K Cody Parkey hit the uprights on a 43-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Before Parkey’s miss, the Eagles were able to convert on a fourth and goal as Foles connected with WR Golden Tate on a two-yard touchdown pass.
Tate, who was acquired by the Eagles in a trade with Detroit back in October, admitted after the play that he did not know the correct route to run on the game-winning touchdown.
The magic continues in Philly!
Watch below:
4th and goal with the game on the line, and @NickFoles and @ShowtimeTate come in clutch!
Haven't we seen something like this before? 🤔@Eagles | #NFLMicdUp pic.twitter.com/fQfKBLpUwO— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 9, 2019
Stephen A. Smith on Eagles: ‘I love the acquisition of Golden Tate'(VIDEO)
The world champion Philadelphia Eagles made a splash move before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday. Philly acquired WR Golden Tate from the Detroit Lions for a 2019 third-round pick. With the move, the Eagles add a big play wide receiver to the lineup, which gives QB Carson Wentz another weapon.
While Wentz(1788 yards, 17 TDs) has played well this season, the Eagles were in need of another weapon on the offensive side of the ball. I think Philly had enough talent before the acquisition of Tate to win the NFC East, but is this move enough to put Philly up there with the Rams and Saints in the NFC? Maybe. Defensively, Philly is holding teams to 19.5 ppg, which is seventh in the league. Also, they still have Wentz, who is a top-10 quarterback, so the Eagles at 4-4 can still be a factor in the NFC.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is a big fan of this move.
Listen to what Smith had to say on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday:
.@stephenasmith thinks Golden Tate could be the missing piece for the Eagles. pic.twitter.com/D1HZtTbTef
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 31, 2018