Joel Thorman of SB Nation was at the NFL Honors show on Saturday night and experienced all the action behind the scenes. Thorman wrote an article titled, "NFL Honors Show: The View From Behind The Scenes." He caught up with Baltimore Ravens center, Matt Birk, who received the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award for his performance on the field combined with his community service off of it.
Here are a few questions and quotes that he was able to get from Birk:
Did you ever think there'd be an NFL awards show like this?
"Not me, no. Never thought I'd walk the red carpet. I'm usually on the other side of the ropes. I'm usually at home. I think this is great, I think this kind of turns...you take all the guys individual accomplishments and celebrate them together."
Prediction on the game:
"I'm not predicting. I guess I'm pulling for the Giants because the Patriots loss still hurts. It's an intriguing matchup. Great coaching, two great quarterbacks, all those things. I'm also a fan. I love football and watch a lot of it."
On Bill Belichick and his game plan:
"He's an innovator. It's not gimmicky. When it comes down to it it's guys making plays. That's a tribute to the players but also to the coach for getting guys to understand exactly what they're supposed to do n a certain play or call. When it comes down to it, it's hard to out-scheme people in the NFL. It's about match-ups and guys making plays."
Favorite super bowl memory:
"Not my favorite but I do distinctly when the Raiders blew out the Redskins and I was wearing my Joe Theisman jersey. That was 1983, and that crushed me. Just crushed me. The Redskins were my team. Believe it or not, I was a chubby kid and they had the Hogs so I thought this was my team. Pick-six, Marcus Allen...it was bad."