09-04 Damar Hamlin

WGR-AM / WGR 550 SportsRadio

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin addresses the media on Wednesday after being named a starter for Sunday's Week 1 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals in Orchard Park. (Courtesy of the Buffalo Bills)

Transcript

00:00Good, let's put the message you got in the shirt, don't quit.

00:04Yeah, it does, it aligns right with who I am, don't quit.

00:11Share with us, it's been a long road for you, and it's always been your goal to

00:16get back to discipline, what's it been like to be there right now?

00:20Truly a blessing, you know what I mean?

00:23I reflect back on the whole process, and

00:27not knowing if I will even be able to play again.

00:30Sitting in that uncertainty was like eating at me,

00:33it was really eating at me because football is truly my passion.

00:37It's the thing that I've always been obsessed with my entire life.

00:40So I'm just sitting back and thinking all the way back then.

00:45But it just all goes to the power of being process oriented and

00:49taking things one day at a time and accepting where you are at each moment of

00:53the process, it truly allows you to conquer anything of what you're facing.

00:59How much did that skip, skipping a step?

01:01And going through the foundation, which went to the flesh, but not skipping a step.

01:06And you've talked about how to put your mind close to the mission.

01:09How much did that all help get you to this point?

01:14Yeah, not skipping a step was important.

01:15And last year primarily was, for me, just about healing.

01:21And coming back into myself, who I always was, and then who I was trying to become.

01:26And I thank everybody in this building from top down for supporting me and

01:31giving me the space to allow me to heal and have my process exactly how I needed to go.

01:37And it truly propelled me into allowing myself to be free this season.

01:44Last season was primarily just about healing and making myself do the hard

01:48stuff, thrusting myself into things that were uncomfortable, that maybe were fearful,

01:54or gave me anxiety, but I was doing the hard stuff last year to make it easier this year.

02:00You talked during training camp about just from a football perspective,

02:03wanting to be more consistent with everything.

02:05Where do you feel you're at with that?

02:07Sean talked about your consistency too, but

02:09just what feels like the biggest step just from a strictly football standpoint?

02:13One thing we talk about is consistency is the true mark of greatness.

02:17And I wrote that quote down on a sticky note.

02:20I write all my quotes down on sticky notes and stick them all over my bathroom.

02:24So I can, as I wake up in the morning and do whatever I need to do,

02:28I'm reminding myself of the things I wanna take with me for the day.

02:31And consistency being the mark of true greatness is something that resonates well

02:36with me, and I got to watch some of the greats do the same thing I'm doing right now.

02:42And I watched them be consistent in their processes.

02:45So I'm truly being process-oriented, and

02:47I'm trying to make my process at a championship level day in and day out.

02:51Is it a new sticky note every day, or how often do you update your quotes?

02:56So I read a lot, so if I find something I like, or

03:01it's a lot of knowledge just walking through these buildings.

03:04We really got a lot of mentors as coaches and as teammates.

03:07So I'm always keeping my notebook around me,

03:10writing stuff down to take home later, jot it down.

03:13You had a lot of key veterans here around you since you were a kid.

03:16Who have you learned from the most that have helped you get to this point?

03:21Man, it's hard to pinpoint just one.

03:24The coaches, Micah, Jordan.

03:28They're probably the main two that I gotta give credit to.

03:32Whether it was hands-on or not, I was learning, I was a sponge.

03:36It wasn't hard to come in and just watch and just learn.

03:40So them two primarily, and the guys up front, Vaughn, just a lot of the true leaders.

03:47I'm blessed to have K-Jack in the building now, 15 years of experience.

03:52I'm picking his brain as much as I can.

03:55But just everybody, there's always something you can learn from anybody.

03:58And whether you filter out what you need and let the other stuff fly by.

04:03Samaras, that night in Cincinnati gets further and further into the rearview mirror.

04:08How much do you think about it as much versus all the other things that you've

04:14heard over the last season, like you say, the feeling?

04:19What do you find yourself reflecting on?

04:23As much as I'm growing and evolving into a new person, I think about it all the time.

04:31As much as the world experienced it, it happened to me, you know what I mean?

04:34So I think about it all the time.

04:37There's moments where, but I enjoy that part of it because it allows me to stay

04:42connected with the reason why I'm here and my true purpose, you know what I mean?

04:46And to know that I'm blessed in many reasons.

04:50And I have a second chance at doing things the right way in all areas of my life.

04:54So the more that I think about that, the more that it connects me to

04:59my blessings of why I'm here.

05:01And I would never want to disrespect my blessing.

05:03So I take this opportunity and this process super serious.

05:07Sean told us it was a defensive coach that told you you'd be starting.

05:10Can you just tell us a bit more about when you found out who it was and

05:13what that was like?

05:14I've been so process oriented and

05:19taking things one day at a time that I was super excited, like not gonna lie, man.

05:25It's like a dream come true to work so hard and then get what you worked for.

05:30But I wanna continue on, it's not about just performing in one game.

05:36I wanna be able to take my process and

05:40make it allow me to be successful the entire run.

05:42So I'm head down, I'm just focused on doing my 111 and

05:48making sure that I'm doing everything I need to do to help our defense be successful.

05:53What's your comfort level with Taylor Rapp right now and

05:57being back there with him and communicating with him?

06:00Very comfortable, I love playing with T-Rapp, T-Rapp is a leader, he's a vet.

06:06He's been in the league a long time and he's seen success at the highest level in

06:09this league, which people that have played 20 years

06:13don't reach the success that he has in this league at one point.

06:17So we've built chemistry for these past two seasons.

06:22Behind the scenes, behind, day in, day out,

06:25just being with the tools or whatever the case may be.

06:28And as we worked through this year, just getting on the same page,

06:32it was pretty much easy because he takes his game serious,

06:35he takes his process serious, and so do I.

06:38So we just pass reminders back and forth and then we just go focus on making plays.

06:42What's, go ahead.

06:45You mentioned last year about getting past things,

06:48you were being critical of your time, anxiety.

06:51Some of those things that maybe wouldn't have been those feelings a year ago,

06:55but you're beyond them now.

06:56Man, as you can imagine, it was everything, it was a process.

07:03Like I said, man, being process-oriented truly got me here.

07:07I remember before camp last year, I was right here on the indoor with Nate,

07:11our trainer, and I was doing tackling drills before the first day that we put

07:16on pads, just being able to get that little hint of contact before we went

07:24into it as a team.

07:25And that's kind of how we walked the whole process down from the day that I sat

07:29in front of y'all and said I was coming back to play.

07:31We walked the process down step by step by step by step by step.

07:35And being in the moment of each part of the process allowed me to ultimately be

07:41where I am right now.

07:42Amar, you proved to your coaches a couple years ago you started 13 games,

07:47and now you've proven it again, you know, now,

07:51getting the opportunity and the trust from them.

07:53Have you thought about that?

07:55I mean, that's an important thing.

07:56Obviously, you have to trust the coaches and all, but to be in that role,

07:59do you think about what that was like, showing them that you're back to being

08:04that guy, maybe even better than you felt in 2020?

08:08Yeah, it was a journey, man.

08:09I just had to prove myself.

08:11And, you know, it was just day in, day out.

08:13But, you know, I just kept my focus internal and how I can show

08:17up the best me each day.

08:19And, you know, I competed with myself, you know, in a competition,

08:22in a competitive environment.

08:23You know, I kept my competition internal, and I think that allowed me

08:26to be my best self.

08:27So, you know, I'm using the past experience, however many starts you said it was,

08:31I'm using the past experience to allow me to, you know, be more of a veteran presence

08:36out there on the field this year.

08:37What stands out to you about the Cardinals offense as you're preparing for them?

08:42James Conner, man, that's my brother.

08:44You know, somebody that I've, you know, been a fan of for a very long time.

08:51You know, I came in the pit watching him go through his process, you know,

08:55overcoming his cancer.

08:56And, you know, I watched him fight back and just overcome so much adversity

09:01and then get back to success on the field.

09:03And, you know, it was not easy for him.

09:04But, you know, that was somebody I truly leaned on as well going through my process.

09:10And, you know, he was there every step of the way just as he's been,

09:13you know, my entire life.

09:14So, you know, that's my man.

09:16Shout out to him.

09:19Thank you, guys.

09:21For sure.

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