Slants and Screens
At his introductory news conference, Lawrence flashed the charisma that is going to put a C on his chest.
**On what he prides the most of his ample skills: “**I take most pride in just burying the guy in front of me. The league wants to get pass-happy, but you can’t lose that dominance in the middle of the field. You can’t lose that attitude of choking somebody out and burying them.”
On Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s career-long 47-yard touchdown runs vs. his Giants in 2024:
“That pissed me off. That’s all I think about. That pissed me off. Now I’m on the same side as that, so it won’t piss me off anymore.
On any misconception of his departure from New York:
“That there’s a beef. There’s no beef. It’s all love. It’s part of the business. As a player, it is what can you do to be better for your family and do better for your family. I think this is what it was. It’s all love.
On why the fit in Cincinnati is so good:
“Playing next to Jonathan Allen and B.J. Hill and Slay (T.J. Slaton Jr.), that’s going to be fun, and then you’ve got those guys on the other side of the ball who make plays all the time. It’s just a different feel, and I respect Coach Zac a lot and what he’s been accomplishing here, and I’m just happy to be here.”
On being in a new weight room after seven seasons with the Giants:
“It was a little different. I was breathing a little heavy because just a lot of new names, new faces. You don’t know what you’re stepping in to, how these strength coaches do (things). I’ve been with the Giants, so it kind of was like I got comfortable a little bit, and so now, I’m warming up.
“The guys are very welcoming. On social media, a lot of them wanted me here, so that felt good. So, it’s been a smooth process. I mean, at this point in my career, I’ve had a lot of success, and a lot of guys have seen that, so the respect is there. I’ve just got to keep earning it.”
On how the Sexy Dexy dance get started:
In college, we used to dance a lot just before NIL, so we couldn’t really showboat on the field or anything. So in practice we would dance, and that was one of the dances we would do. My rookie year we’re playing the Patriots in a preseason game, and I was on the sideline dancing, and Saquon (Barkley) looked and said that should be your sack dance, right? That’s kind of where I got the idea.”
On how he got the nickname “Sexy Dexy:
“In middle school, seventh grade, my middle school coach, Coach Kline, just came up to me one day. He was like, he had the deepest voice. He was like, ‘Sexy … Dexy.’ It stuck somehow, some way, it just carried on to now.”
On how important wearing No. 97 is to him:
“There have been questions. I want to get it. I know (Shemar) Stewart had it last year, has it right now, but I’m speaking to him, and see what he wants to do.”