TL;DR
- Shedeur Sanders felt relaxed in his NFL debut, attributing it to preparation and faith.
- He acknowledged the difficult journey and insufficient preparation but stated it's no excuse.
- Sanders expressed confidence that those expecting him to fail would be disappointed.
- He feels he has a new understanding and opportunity to show his true self.
Shedeur Sanders didn't attempt to elevate his inaugural NFL start beyond its actual significance. He commenced his postgame comments with the identical composed demeanor he maintained throughout the week. “I’m here once again. How y’all doing? Chilling, relaxing, thankful.” That was the prevailing atmosphere. Absence of nerves. No sense of alarm.
“I felt very relaxed,” Sanders said. “And half of that comes from preparing, studying, and knowing I got God on my side. Throughout all that, I had no worries.”
The performance itself felt like confirmation. “I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot,” he said. “Six, seven months ago, I couldn’t tell you I’d be here…without God, nothing possible.”
He openly addressed the events preceding this point. The difficult journey, the lost summer training sessions, the insufficient preparation. “Everybody starts [in] different places,” he stated. “Just because I didn’t get the summer reps…it’s no excuse. You got to go out there and perform.”
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He then spoke about the aspect that drew the most interest. “A lot of people wanted to see me fail and it ain’t going to happen,” Sanders stated. “It ain’t going to happen.”
He described how the last half-year transformed him. “Since I went through everything the past six months, it led me to a whole different understanding,” he stated. “This the first time I…never had stress…I did the work.”
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He talked about finally getting to show who he is after time spent adjusting behind the scenes. “Sometimes you have to compromise your personality,” he said. “I got an opportunity to show everybody who I really am.”
He attributed the offensive line and coaches with fostering stability, he stated. “I’m thankful for the O linemen being able to take me under their wing,”
And he understood the weight of the moment without making it larger than it needed to be. “You don’t know how surreal that feeling is,” he said. “We have a long way to go, a long way to grow. And I know it’s only one way and the only way is up.”
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