I definitely had a gang influence with friends and family growing up in South Central, and people might think that Beverly Hills definitely shielded me from some problems. But in actuality, it only opened up a whole new can of worms.
Spencer Paysinger
The coaches can only put us in the right position, but it's up to the players to take the action.
I've been in cars that have been shot at.
Obviously, if you are playing against a guy who is known for an up-tempo offense, you'll probably tailor your practice a little bit to say, 'Hey, let's get a couple of fast-paced plays back to back to back to try to simulate that.'
Me and both my brothers got permits to attend Beverly because two of my uncles and my uncle's wife all taught and coached at Beverly Hills High. But I grew up in South Central.
Every linebacker that plays in the NFL wants to be a starter.
I wish football, as a culture, bred more than just a football player. It has the ability to be an incubator and transition players properly.
I don't bad-mouth football, but I also know that it has a long trail of tears and heartbreak and animosity built up by past players who feel that they put so much into the game and didn't get a lot out of it after.
It's extremely uncommon in sports to retire and have a show about you within eight months of retiring.
I don't get hyped when I see stars now because it's like second nature to me.
I've been in places that have been robbed.
I pride myself on that, even though I'm kind of under the radar, when I step on the field, I try to do an admirable job.
I never wanted football to be my highest peak.
It dates back to my dad and my uncles. They all got permits to go to Beverly Hills High School back in the '70s and early '80s. After they finished college, they came back and became football coaches there. So I was there with a permit.
I've seen Jay-Z and Kanye West. I've seen actors like Tom Hanks and Nicholas Cage.
My mom gets mad because she'll read on Twitter or some message board that Spencer Paysinger is no good, and the Giants need to get rid of him. I tell her to stop reading that stuff because, at the end of the day, the media has no say on what happens in the locker room.
I don't want this to be, 'Hey, you're the guy who had that one show. What are you doing now?' I want it to be a career.
Beverly Hills didn't save me from anything. It exposed me to a whole new world of problems I didn't know existed.
There's a rich family culture in South Central. The block that I grew up on, all the kids were best friends. They hung out at each other's houses. I can knock on the person's house two doors down and grab some food and just hang out or go into the backyard and play basketball when they're not there.
That L.A. traffic is no joke.
I just felt like I didn't have to go back to football. Anytime I don't have to hit somebody, I'm all for it.
Just growing up on 'Friday Night Lights,' other dramas, that kind of shaped my childhood. The fact that I can have one talking about my life - it's insane.
I've seen a lot of guys who can't get beyond their playing days.
At the end of the day, I want to help my team out as much as possible in any way I can.
I'm not the type of person to dwell on what's not happening and what I can't control.
I don't think there's anywhere else better than the Giants in terms of organization and history.
We prided ourselves at Oregon, where teams said they were going to try to beat us down and try to manhandle us, and maybe in the first quarter they were running with us, but it was just, 'Let's see how they are come the fourth quarter when they're tired, and they've had 70 to 80 plays coming at them non-stop.'
No matter what schemes you have, if you're not in condition to run, you can't succeed.
South Central's been portrayed so many different ways in the media for however long.
I like order, structure, and accomplishing goals.
It doesn't matter if I'm in a boardroom pitching to a group, attempting to perfect the latte heart, or stopping a running back on 4th and 2. If I'm passionate and willing to devote the time and effort to something; I'm unstoppable.
I must learn to adapt, or else I'll fall victim to the negative statistics surrounding retired athletes.
Playing for the Giants for four years, you had this idea that the Jets are the other team, and then, going to Miami and playing in the same division, you learned to hate them as well.
Miami gave me an opportunity to grow. I wanted to see if I was really a one-team guy, or if I picked up my suitcases and set up shop somewhere else, would I be able to make the team?
To me, you have to pay it forward.
I'm a simple man; I like to stick to what I know.
I wear the same socks after I wash them, and I like to eat the same meal the morning before a game.
Professional or amateur, athletes want to see progress. We like to see numbers and metrics improve, and when you have deeper insight into what's going on inside your body, you're empowered to make changes to improve and become stronger.
Truthfully, I think anything involving Tebow opens people's eyes.
They say that when it comes to the depth chart, it can change any day and that we dictate how the depth chart goes. If one person has a great day, he might be going with the 'ones.' If a person slips up a little bit, he might be going with the 'twos' and 'threes.'
It's easy to look at South Central and say, 'That's a bad place,' and it's easy to look at Beverly Hills and say, 'It will be a cakewalk,' but it just exposed me to a different set of problems. Both sides relate to each other more than they think.
Coach Coughlin, he's one of the best coaches I've ever had. He's one of the best coaches in the NFL, hands down.
I myself have the utmost respect for Coach Coughlin.
