New Giants tight end Martellus Bennett, who faces his former team in Wednesday’s opener vs. the Cowboys, blocked out some time for a Q&A session with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: How much of an impact do you think you can make with Eli Manning as your quarterback?
A: I think we can be huge. I gotta keep growing though. I’m still learning the offense. I’m still learning some different things that he likes. It’s like when you first start a relationship with somebody, like you’re dating somebody, you don’t really know her that well. The more you go to dinner, the more time you spend, you start to know their likes, their dislikes, what makes them comfortable and uncomfortable, so I think we’re still at the first stages of our relationship as if we were dating.
Q: Once you learn this offense, can you be a Pro Bowl tight end?
A: That’s my goal, to be the best right end in the NFL. My goal is to be the perfect tight end for the New York Giants. If it gets me in the Pro Bowl, so be it. But as long as I’m the perfect guy for this team, whether it’s blocking, catching, I know I want to be the prototypical tight end.
Q: This is the perfect place for you at the perfect time?
A: Here it’s just football, football, football.
Q: Was it less football in Dallas?
A: It’s easy to be distracted. You could be a backup with a TV show, [junk] like that.
Q: Did you have a TV show?
A: I had like four TV shows, and a radio show.
Q: Were you a good host?
A: Excellent. I was made for TV.
Q: In what way?
A: I’m just comfortable in front of the camera. I’m like the male Oprah (smile).
Q: What would you say your on-field temperament is?
A: I don’t know, it’s a mixture. I’m like a happy … killer. I’m like always smiling but I’m superaggressive. I have like a different type of chip on my shoulder. I’m happy all the time when I go to work, like I don’t want anybody there to cover me, I don’t want anybody to get past me on a block. Whatever it takes to get the job done, I’m that type of person. … But at the same time, that don’t mean I can’t smile and have fun while doing it, you know?
Q: What are your emotions going to be playing your old team Wednesday night?
A: I know everybody’s looking at it like it’s a personal battle for me, but it’s not. I’m just out there trying to make the team better and help the team out. It’s the Giants versus the Cowboys, it’s not Martellus versus the Cowboys. I just want to go out there and do the best I can. I want them to feel like, “Damn, we missed out on something great.” It won’t be a vengeful or spiteful game for me, it’ll be more of a look-at-me-now game.
Q: What was the low point for you in Dallas?
A: I almost retired my third year in the league. I didn’t realize how unhealthy of a situation it was for me till I got out of there. For me, it felt like no matter how hard I worked, no matter what I did, I was gonna always be in the same situation ’cause they had a guy [Jason Witten] and my role was always gonna be the same unless something happened to that guy so … all the [stuff] you work on in the summer, all the extra running, you start to feel like, “Damn, what is this for?” You know? It was tough for me, but I was resilient about it and showed some perseverance.
Q: Who were your favorite players growing up?
A: Randy Moss, Alvin Harper. I was more of a basketball kid growing up ’cause that’s all we played all the time so … Michael Jordan, I was a big Bulls fan, Scottie Pippen, all those guys. … Shaq is one of my favorite alltime athletes ever. Shaq and Muhammad Ali’s my favorite two athletes of all time. It’s probably why I have a lot of quotes and stuff (smile).
Q: But sometimes your quotes get you in trouble, don’t they?
A: I’m a straightforward person. I think sometimes it comes off the wrong way.
Q: What criticism about you bothers you the most or you think is the most unfair?
A: When people say I don’t work hard. You can say anything, you can say I’m ugly, anything, but I work very, very hard at everything that I do in life.
Q: You’re a second-round pick, so people consider you an underachiever.
A: I don’t think my career’s been what I imagined for myself thus far, but people don’t realize what the situation was. I was the second tight end. A lot of teams you don’t even know who the second tight end is. I did my job. They asked me to block, I became one of the best blocking tight ends in the league. I was very good at what I was asked to do. I wasn’t asked to catch 80 balls. [Witten] was catching 90 balls, getting 150 targets or wherever, so it’s not enough balls to go around. So I think people just look at me and my athletic ability. Sometimes it’s all about timing and being in the right situation.
Q: Why is this the right situation?
A: I just feel like these guys up here they really believe in me. I just feel like for where I’m at in my life, it’s just time for me to step in and have a fair opportunity to be “the guy.” I love this place, I love the city, I love the fans, the coaches, the players. Couldn’t find a better situation than this.
Q: What’s your favorite Jerry Jones story?
A: One night we were having dinner at his house, and we got to talking about art. I didn’t realize he was such as big collector of art. I think he was surprised about how much I knew and the things that I’ve done. Other than that, we were just telling jokes all the time to each other. Jerry’s a great guy. I like Jerry Jones.
Q: How much pressure is there on Tony Romo?
A: I think he has the same amount of pressure as anybody else that’s an NFL quarterback. The difference is the franchise that he plays for is the historic Troy Aikman and Staubach and all those guys. … There’s a tremendous amount of pressure for any quarteerback ’cause you can win games, but if you’re not winning Super Bowls, that’s what makes you a great quarterback in this league. But then there’s guys … Dan Marino didn’t win any Super Bowls, he was still a great quarterback. But, I think that’s everybody’s goal.
Q: Favorite Romo anecdote?
A: One thing that Romo told me that still sticks with me is to be urgent but don’t rush. I think I’m finally understanding what he was saying now (laugh).
Q: What does that mean?
A: Sometimes when you start, you try to make a play so fast that instead of being urgent, you just start rushing. When you rush, it’s totally different than doing something with urgency. Now I just take my time, and be quick about everything that I do.
Q: Amani Toomer said Romo was better than Eli. What’s your opinion?
A: I think they’re both good at different things. I enjoy playing with Eli, and I had fun playing with Romo, too. I always prefer Eli, he throws me the ball (laugh).
Q: What have you learned about Eli as a quarterback?
A: He’s very direct. Everybody imagines him as just a laidback guy, but he’s really uptempo, upbeat. He’s very decisive, and when he’s talking to you there’s no confusion. He makes it easier for the receivers. One thing he does that I’ve gotten used to is he sees things happening before it happens, so before you even make the break, the ball’s in the air because he’s expecting you to be there and all you gotta do is turn around and find it. I mean, that’s pretty awesome.
Q: An Eli anecdote?
A: Eli, he’s a jokester. I think he’s a really funny guy. … I know he seems like he’s always got this look on his face like he’s just floating on clouds (laugh), but he’s very in tune with everything that’s going on. He’s well-rounded. There’s some things that I talk to him about that’s in the black community just to throw him off a little bit. … Like the other day, I was like, “What size ring are you? I want to get you a four-finger ring that says ‘Dope’ (laugh).”
Q: Boyhood idol?
A: My father. … My dad was a single parent for a long time before he remarried. In a black community, it’s usually the other way around, the men often leave the family and things like that, but my dad’s always been around. He’s still my idol, and my big brother, too.
Q: What’s the age difference between you and your brother Michael?
A: One year. It’s kinda why I grow a beard. My brother plays for the Bucs. He has a beard so I kinda started growing one to be more like him.
Q: What happened to your biological mom?
A: I just never really had a relationship with her.
Q: Favorite NYC things?
A: Probably food and shopping. You can go to a different restaurant every day of the year if you wanted to for breakfast, lunch and dinner. … In Texas, it’s very black and white. Out here it’s like a melting pot of people, a melting pot of styles, and I think I enjoy that a lot, too.
Q: Black and white as far as people?
A: For people and as the outlook on life as well. I was in a gray area in Texas (laugh) I was always in a gray area.
Q: What do you mean, both?
A: No, I was always like the black sheep of everything I did, from the way I dressed, the way I do things, or things I like in life so …
Q: How did you dress that made you a black sheep?
A: Like I dress here. The way I dress now when I come here, it’s cool, where in Texas, it’s weird.
Q: How would you describe your style of dress?
A: I say casual cool. … I take a lot of stuff from women and switch over to men’s stuff.
Q: You’re not afraid to be different?
A: Oh no I’m not. I wear whatever I want to wear whenever I want to wear it. That’s kinda like my thing.
Q: Why do you think you’re not afraid to be different?
A: I wouldn’t really say different. I think the biggest thing is I’m not afraid to be myself. A lot of times, the way the world is, to be yourself is kinda frowned upon. If you’re not doing what’s “in,” you go to school [and] the kids talk about you. Even here they’ll talk about you. You gotta keep up with what’s in, and what the media and the blogs are talking about, ’cause if you’re not that, then you’re not cool. But my whole thing is if you’re you, you’re cool. So I think my biggest thing is I’m OK with who I am as a person. I know I may be a little wacky, a little weirdo sometimes, but I’m OK with that. I’m OK with the things I say, I’m OK with the things I do (chuckle). I [mess] up, I do [messed]-up [stuff] sometimes and I tell myself, “Damn Martellus, that was [messed] up,” you know (laugh)? So, I just accept myself for me (laugh). … I’ve got a long list of [blunders] and a long list of great [stuff] that I’ve done, too, and I think my list of great [stuff] is better than my [blunders] (laugh).
Q: You were a class clown but an honor student in school?
A: Yeah, in school I was definitely a class clown. I still talk to some of my teachers from high school to this day. Actually, I just called my school because I want to make a donation ’cause I want to start building up the art community back in Houston as well so, I’m creating what I call The Imagination Fund.
Q: You got in trouble for that YouTube video you did eating watermelon.
A: It was stupid. They said I was racist or some [junk], which I’m not. I like all people. It was stupid (laugh).
Q: You and Coach Tom Coughlin would be an odd couple.
A: Oh, I love Coach Coughlin, though. I like structure. I like to know what I can and can’t do, where I can and can’t go, and I like to stay within those walls, you know? My wife is kinda like that, you know.
Q: What was the most difficult hardship you faced growing up in Houston?
A: I have a couple of friends from school that are already dead, a lot of people are in jail, some guys have tons and tons of kids already. I think the biggest thing was staying on a straight course and making the decisions for the goals I had in life and not fall victim to the things that were going on in our neighborhoods and things like that. So I think the hardest thing was just to be able to say no or not go somewhere — I didn’t really go to parties growing up. … I used to jog to school during football season to go shoot the basketball so I would stay fit for basketball season, and kids used to laugh at me ’cause I’ll be jogging, they’ll be on the bus. I’ve been the same person since I was a kid and I think anybody’d tell you that.
Q: The worst thing you saw?
A: One time we were walking home in San Diego, and there was a drive-by, and we were all running and things, and one of the kid’s got his arm shot off. It was one of my next-door neighbors, and his arm got blown off when we were going home that day. … I had a friend, he found out somebody’s pregnant, he shot her, and then he killed himself. I’ve seen a lot of [messed]-up [stuff] in my lifetime. But I’ve seen a lot of great [stuff], too.
Q: Did you want to play basketball?
A: Yeah .I came out for the NBA Draft out of high school. I worked out for a couple of teams, and some people said I’ll be a late first-round pick to second-round pick.
Q: You think you could have been an NBA player?
A: Yeah.
Q: Who has a similar game to you?
A: I used to steal stuff from everybody. … I think Carmelo Anthony.
Q: What are your thought on President Obama?
A: I love to listen to him speak. Statistics say that black men mumble. …
Q: I couldn’t hear you, you were mumbling?
A: (Laugh). The way he speaks and the way he carries himself, it’s awesome for kids and people to see that things can be different in the community so, I support him.
Q: Fill in the blank: If I were NFL commissioner, I would …
A: I don’t even know what the commissioner really does. When I think of commissioner, I think of Vince McMahon of WWF. So I probably wouldn’t do [anything] ’cause I don’t know what I would have to do (laugh).
Q: If I were president, fill in the blank, I would …
A: I’ll be the second black president, and one thing I would do … I don’t like the thing when if you have a company and if you go overseas, you get a tax break. I would double tax those guys, ’cause they’re taking jobs out of America, so if we kept ’em over here, we’d create more job opportunities for more people here, we’d create more money in the economy for our country, so I would tax the people who leave the country and try to keep the U.S. laws and get the U.S. benefits for their companies bv taking them overseas, and if they build over here, if they start manufacturing over here, I would give ’em a tax break.
Q: OK, what would be your foreign policy platform?
A: I don’t know what they do with that (laugh).
Q: So you have no plan to run for president when you’re 35?
A: No, I don’t. I don’t think America would be able to get over the tattoos and me being in office with all these tattoos and things like that.
Q: How many tattoos do you have?
A: 287.
Q: You’ve been married a little over a year. How did you meet Siggi?
A: Actually when I went to an Usher concert, which is probably the best place to meet women … I was just at The House of Blues, somebody called me to go to like the afterparty and I went up there and she happened to be in town from school ’cause she went to Sarah Lawrence here in New York, so we met then.
Q: Describe her for me.
A: Very intelligent, outgoing, funny, stylish, caretaker. She’s a brilliant person. I care about her more than anything else in the world. I love her more than anything.
Q: Hobbies?
A: I paint, I write, photography … anything pretty much creative is what I do in my spare time. … There’s a new social network’s that gonna be dropping soon that I was as big part of building as helping create in as well. … I’m an innovator by nature.
Q: What’s it called?
A: Can’t tell you that.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: Jesus, Julius Caesar, Aphrodite.
Q: Aphrodite?
A: i just feel like everything about her would be lovely (smile).
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Right now I only eat fish. So any type of fish.
Q: How long has this been?
A: A couple of months.
Q: Why did you start this?
A: Try to live a healthier life.
Q: Favorite movies?
A: “Finding Nemo,” “The Lion King,” “Pulp Fiction,” “All About the Benjamins,” “Willie Wonka,” the original.
Q: Favorite actors?
A: Mark Wahlberg, Will Smith.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Julia Roberts.
Q: Anything else you want to add to your Q&A?
A: I love Jesus and America. … People love it when you say that (laugh).