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The Football Diner Big Interview:
Maurice Jones-Drew
interviewed by Michael E Lawrence
5/2/2010
 When we last spoke with Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew back in 2007 he was Fred Taylor’s young, multi-talented understudy, his star very much on the rise.
Three years on, and Mojo is a fully-fledged NFL superstar, one of a handful of truly elite, all-purpose backs in the league today. Coming off a career year that included his first ever Pro Bowl and a place on the AP All Pro second team, Jones-Drew is a marquee name in football, and yet remains as down to earth and personable as ever.
Just days before the Super Bowl, the Diner caught up with the Jaguars’ offensive centrepiece and asked him all about his career year, his future goals, and whether the Jags’ fierce rivals Indianapolis can be stopped by New Orleans in this weekend’s Super Bowl.
Football Diner
Hey Maurice, great to talk to you again, how are you keeping?
Maurice
Livin’.
Football Diner
Pardon?
Maurice
Livin’ it’s what we say down here to mean doing well.
Football Diner
Got it. Listen, congratulations on a great individual season and your first trip to the Pro Bowl. Does it go down as a good year even though the Jaguars missed the playoffs?
Maurice
You know it was a very challenging season overall because we had 35-40 new guys on the roster and a tough schedule. Physically it wasn’t so tough but mentally it demands a lot to be taking a leadership role and yelling at the newer guys to be in all the right places. Saying that I was lucky enough to have a lot of great playmakers around me Mike Sims-Walker really emerged and veterans like Tory Holt and Greg Jones really played well.
Football Diner
Do you take pride in what you personally accomplished?
Maurice
Individually it does mean a lot to me, but just the fact that I got to the Pro Bowl shows how great the o-line, the receivers and Greg Jones were blocking and how well they were doing their jobs.
Football Diner
In week eight you become just the third NFL player ever to register two 75+ yard touchdowns in the same game. Describe what it’s like to score that type of touchdown
Maurice
Oh man. You’re not thinking at all while it’s happening, apart from not wanting to get caught! Not until you get in the end zone, then the excitement hits you. The first touchdown was a toss play from the 20 and I just took that thing and ran. There were bodies flying everywhere and it was like running through a forest with branches hitting you. Then I cut that thing back and broke a tackle I think it was Michael Griffin and I had three guys ahead of me. It was like: “Just run man! Get in there!”
Football Diner
You now rank as one of the NFL’s premier backs do you feel any kind of competition between you and the likes of Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson?
Maurice
 I just try to worry about what I can do help the team win and be successful. Obviously Chris, with his 2000 yards rushing this year, and AP, with the last two years he’s had, are outstanding players but for me personally I measure it in terms of: how well did our team do?
Football Diner
So for you it’s playoffs or nothing, the rest is just a bonus.
Maurice
That’s exactly it.
Football Diner
Before we get your thoughts on this weekend’s Super Bowl, tell us quickly about some of the coaching changes happening down in Jacksonville obviously Jack Del Rio is still in post but there are some big shifts elsewhere
Maurice
That’s true but the main one for me was my running backs coach (Kennedy Pola) leaving for Tennessee. He was a very inspirational coach and a great teacher so I’ll miss him. But saying that, we’ve got Earnest Byner coming in and that’s gonna be exciting, it’ll be another chapter in the book to look forward to.
Football Diner
And no doubt you’ve heard the Tim Tebow rumours too what are your thoughts on Tebow coming to Jacksonville?
Maurice
We’re not really worried about Tim Tebow coming here if he did it would be a lot of pressure for a guy to come onto the team and be expected to have the kind of success he had at school. Honestly, I think Tim is a great player but I think Jacksonville might not be the best place for him to succeed. That’s just my opinion and I’m not sure what our owner and general manager are thinking and if he did come here of course we’d do our utmost to put him in a position to help the Jaguars win.
Football Diner
Okay, let’s turn to the Super Bowl. The Colts are favoured can they win?
Maurice
I hope so!
Football Diner
Really? Why?
Maurice
Because we play them twice a year and having the Super Bowl champion in our division would help us out. We’d have to compete with them and get to that championship level.
Football Diner
Do you think they’ll get it done?
Maurice
I do. It’s always tough to call a game any given Sunday any team can win but when you get down to it the Colts only lost two games because they rested starters. The Saints lost games to Tampa, Dallas and Carolina with their starters on the field.
Football Diner
What do the Colts have that gives them the edge above and beyond Peyton Manning?
Maurice
 I think their defense. I’ve run against that defense and it’s playing at a high level right now. The health of Dwight Freeney is pretty important but the Colts’ philosophy is plug another player in and go at them.
Football Diner
Would you care to venture a scoreline?
Maurice
That’s a bridge too far for me, but I will say this: I think it’s going to be a much more defensive game than offensive because in my experience, when everybody spends time talking about how great offenses are, the defenses get a chip on their shoulder and get out there wanting to prove a point.
Football Diner
Tell us whose going to be the unsung hero on the day?
Maurice
I’ll tell you who: (Colts safety) Antoine Bethea. Watch out for him!
Football Diner
We will indeed. Let’s get back to MJD before we wrap up how long before we see you in a Super Bowl?
Maurice
Oh in the very near future I think the next two years or so. It’s the reason I’m playing. You’ve got to have fun playing this sport what’s the point in doing it if you don’t? but it’s all about that Super Bowl in the end.
Football Diner
And where are you going to be watching the big game on Sunday?
Maurice
Down here in South Florida in a big mansion with family and friends, it should be fun.
Football Diner
It sounds like it. Lastly then, I hear you’re a keen fantasy football player
Maurice
Absolutely. I love fantasy football! I am fantasy football!
Football Diner
In that case since you’re on my dynasty team can you tell me what kind of season you expect to have in 2010?
Maurice
I’m definitely gonna try to top what I did this year, to try and be a touchdown machine, and I’m already in training now.
Football Diner
Well that’s a relief. Thanks for talking to us Maurice, and enjoy the game and the rest of the off-season.
Maurice
No problem you too.
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