SERBY’S SUNDAY Q& A WITH ... Weston RICHBURG

Q: Do you think you can be the best center in the league? A: I do.

Q: What drives you? A: I think one of the biggest things is fear of failure. I don’t want to fail. I’m in the highest level of the sport, and I could be content and just say, “Oh, I’m here, whatever.” But I think each level I go up, I want to be the best. And I’ve seen myself do things that makes me believe that I can be better. And I never want to get complacent with how I play. I’m real hard on myself, but I think it’s good because it keeps me getting better.

Q: What is your on-field mentality? A: I try to get pretty pissed off, but like a controlled anger, I guess, controlled aggression. Because I’m a guy that’s gotta be making calls, and figuring out what’s going on, reading things. But then I’ve also gotta be able to come out and put my pads onto somebody, move some guys around. I would probably call it controlled aggression. Q: What style of center do you think you are? A: I want to be one that knows where everything’s coming from. I think some guys in the league now that are known for being really smart guys, I want to have some of that in my game. But I also want to be a guy that’s physical, that can get out, put his pads up under somebody, move somebody off the ball. Q: Why will this be a breakout year for you? A: I want to keep getting better, and I think I made a good stride in my second year going to center. I think it’s time for me to kind of take my mental game to the next level, be able to kind of help direct traffic better, so that’ll help me be more aware of what’s happening and make some better plays according to what I see. Q: Can you be the Giants’ Nick Mangold? A: I could be the Giants’ Weston Richburg. Q: Mangold has been the Jets’ center since 2006. A: He’s been very solid for them. So yeah, I would love to be one of the cornerstone pieces of this team. It’s gonna take work, it’s gonna take some dedication, but I love being a Giant for sure. Q: What are your personal goals? A: Super Bowl. That’s why we’re here. Like he [coach Ben McAdoo] always says, “Put another trophy in the case.” Q: Is that a realistic goal for this team? A: Definitely is. We’re one of the 32 teams in the league that has a chance to do it. If there’s a team playing in the league that doesn’t have the goal of winning the Super Bowl, what’s the point? Q: Your first two years were 6-10 and 6-10. How sick are you of the losing? A: Yeah, yeah. It can’t happen anymore. We’re not happy with it, that’s not why we’re here. Q: Do you sense a hunger in this group to get back to the glory days? A: I think so, yeah, yeah. I definitely can sense that. Like I said, our purpose here is to put another trophy in the case. There’s not a bowl game we can go to, there’s not anything like that. Our purpose here is to win a Super Bowl. Q: How explosive can this offense be? A: Very explosive. Obviously, the names at the wide receiver position speak for themselves. The guy that we have back there slinging the ball speaks for himself with what he’s done in his career. Us up front, we’re ready to get the ball going in the run game, and I think once we get that going, it’ll be very explosive. Q: You’re confident you can run the ball better than you did a year ago? A: No doubt. ... I think we’ve paid more attention to detail now. [Offensive line coach Mike] Solari’s done a really good job of focusing on those tiny details, whether it be hat position, hand placement, where our steps in regards to if it’s outside zone, inside zone. I think we’ve paid much more attention to those tiny details, and I think that’s gonna help us. Q: What’s it like being “the other” draftee in Odell Beckham Jr.’s draft class? A: (Smile) I get called Justin Pugh all the time. Q: By who? A: Everybody. Not everybody, but it happens quite a bit. And I’m OK with that. Q: You mean when you’re outside? A: Yeah, yeah. It’s hilarious, because I can go around incognito, just be myself. It doesn’t bother me one bit, and it’s cool to see Odell get all that attention ’cause he deserves it, man. He’s an unbelievable player. I think it’s kind of cool that I can kind of tell my kids one day that I was drafted in the same class as that guy, because he’s a very impressive, very talented player. Q: Describe Coach McAdoo. A: I would say he’s the same guy that he was two years ago, last year — [just a] different title. Some guys may change, he’s the same guy, which you can really respect from him. It’s easy to go play for a guy like that. Q: How does he command a room? A: It’s easy to play for him because you know he cares about you. He’s gonna help you out. He’s not just here to boss you around or whatever. He cares. That makes it easy for us to pay attention in meetings and on the field, things like that. Q: Do you like playing in the spotlight of this market? A: Yeah, it’s cool, it’s really cool. It’s very unique. It’s something that not a lot of people get to do, so I’m soaking it up. Q: Who’s been the toughest inside or middle linebacker you’ve had to deal with so far? A: NaVorro Bowman with San Fran. He’s just real slippery. He was hard to kind of front up and stay in front of. He was real good at getting off blocks. Q: How about Carolina’s Luke Kuechly? A: Smart. I think he knew every play that we were running, and I think we still rushed for a good amount, but he was very smart. We had to kind of give him fake calls and stuff. Q: Coach McAdoo wants this to be a heavyhanded team. What does that mean to you? A: We’re gonna go out, and punch ’em in the mouth, I guess. We’re not gonna back down, start the game off first quarter through the fourth quarter being physical, kind of imposing our will on the defense, and our defense imposing their will on the offense. Q: What do you want the mindset of this team to be by Week 1? A: Finish. Every play, every game. Q: Message to Giants fans? A: We’re in this all together. We’re going for it all.