The Questions With Shaun Phillips

What was your welcome-to-the-NFL moment?

My first kickoff against the Colts [in 2004]. I had never done kickoffs, and I asked [teammate] Stephen Cooper how to do it. He said [to] just run down as fast as you can. I wasn't aware that people come from the sides, and I got knocked about 10 yards in the air.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

Getting arrested for something I didn't do. [Last April he was booked after having, he says, a pretend argument with a woman he knew on the street in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. No charges were filed; he never appeared in court.]

What's one thing about being in the NFL most people don't realize?

That we work long days. We get here at six and go home at six.

If I weren't in the NFL, I'd ...

be a lawyer.

If I were commissioner for a day, I'd ...

allow [unrestricted] celebrations. It adds to the game.