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McFadden coming into his own
Rob Rossi is the Penguins beat writer. He can be reached via e-mail. Also check out Rossi's blog or follow him on Twitter.
Q: Have the past two games been everything you expected for life in the NFL?
A: Oh yeah. First of all, it's a tribute and a blessing to be out there with my teammates and having fun doing it. Being productive -- that's probably the main goal.
Q: What have you done, preparation wise, to have such an immediate impact?
A: Just focusing and being prepared mentally and physically, and executing to the fullest of my abilities.
Q: In a way, did the time off with your injury help you find your footing in this defense?
A: That helped a whole lot. I know now more what's going on than I did before. It's a complicated defense, so any time you get to study it helps -- and I had a lot of time to study this defense and watch my teammates play in it.
Q: How do you explain your knack for seemingly always being around the football?
A: It's a blessing from God, really. It's focusing on tendencies from different offenses, things they like to do in certain situations.
Q: So, you're a big watch-the-tape guy?
A: Absolutely. The game of football is a lot more mental than it is physical.
Q: Would you say that you are smarter than you are physically gifted.
A: I'd say it's about equal. The physical tools can only take you so far -- I kind of learned that from seeing veteran guys really reach their peak later on in their career. I'm just trying to get on that early.
Q: This secondary that you are a part of looks as though it could be great for years to come.
A: We really don't talk about that too much. The biggest thing we talk about in this secondary is competing with each other and making one another better -- that's all we are worried about.
Q: Is your role going to change what with some injured guys coming back?
A: I really don't know what my role is going to be. I just have to try to continue to get better and be productive.
Q: Who is going to win the ACC championship?
A: It doesn't really matter, does it -- who Florida State is going to play? Nobody is talking about Florida State, but they will be after the ACC title game.
