In today's "Five Minutes with Roob," Reuben Frank chats with Eagles defensive end Steven Means:
Roob: OK now, most of your teammates played football, played basketball, maybe baseball in high school. Your bio says you were actually a swimmer back at Grover Cleveland High School in Buffalo.
Means: I really didn't swim. I swam one meet and they gave me the trophy. It was pretty bad. Freestyle relay. By the time it was time for me to jump in, everybody else was already done. Pretty bad. I can't even tread water.
Roob: OK, so much for swimming. Let's talk football. You grew up in Buffalo and then went to the University of Buffalo. What went into that decision to stay home to play college football?
Means: I wanted to leave and my mom wanted me to leave - my dad didn't really care - but my SAT scores kind of held back a lot of colleges and then once I qualified, other colleges came, but Buffalo stuck with me, and that loyalty meant a lot to me.
Roob: You played at Buffalo with a pass rusher, Khalil Mack, who went on to become a top-five pick of the Raiders in 2013 and made first-team All-Pro in each of the last two years. Are you guys still close and what was it like playing with him?
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Means: Yeah, we're definitely still close. None of what he's done really surprised me. It's about time he finally is getting the recognition he deserves. We saw it all the time in practice. We went against each other in practice sometimes, joked around a lot, real cool guy, real down to earth.
Roob: And you guys play Oakland this year, so you'll see him.
Means: Yeah, Christmas. I told him I was going to tell the coaches to put me at tight end for that game.
Roob: The Buccaneers drafted you back in 2013 in the fifth round. What was that experience like?
Means: It was a learning experience down there, period. It really left … a bad taste in my mouth.
Roob: Then they released you after opening day in 2014.
Means: That was tough, especially with the circumstances, with what happened behind closed doors. But now I'm happy it happened.
Roob: Then you had stints with the Ravens and Texans before the Eagles claimed you late in the 2015 season, so you actually were here at the tail end of the Bill Davis era as a 3-4 outside linebacker.
Means: Playing linebacker kind of got me real comfortable in space, so any time we've got to drop as a defensive end, it's second nature really. I practiced it in Tampa and then in Baltimore played a lot more and especially when I got here.
Roob: Then Jim Schwartz comes in and installs his 4-3 front in 2016 and the Eagles keep you around.
Means: Schwartz does a great job of keeping us real comfortable, keeping it real simple and keeping it fun.
Roob: So you played a huge role in one of the Eagles' biggest wins last year. The Vikings came in undefeated, but you guys beat them, and you had a sack on Sam Bradford for your first career sack and forced a fumble and you guys won, 21-10. You also had a blocked punt inside the Dallas 5-yard line in the win over the Cowboys on the last day of the season.
Means: Thank God for putting me in that position. Because clearly, normal circumstances, I wouldn't have been in the game. Same way with the Cowboys. Just God blessing me with an opportunity and me making the most of it.
Roob: This is your fifth year in the NFL and your third season with the Eagles. What's your mentality this summer as training camp gets underway here?
Means: Just get better every day. Every day take it one day at a time, don't jump on anything too fast, don't ever get complacent, just build on everything, try to perfect the little things, and everything will take care of itself.
Roob: It's interesting that you're still here when it was Chip Kelly that brought you in back in 2015. There aren't a lot of guys left from that team.
Means: The camaraderie is real good. When coaching changes come, you really can't get too hung up on that. Me, in the spiritual realm, I know that nobody has powers that God didn't give them. If I'm supposed to be somewhere, I'm going to be there, no matter what.
Roob: Does that include the pool?
Means: That includes the pool, too, but I try to stay away from water.
