Super Bowl XLVI – Wednesday, February 1, 2012(on a turning point this season) “Not one thing in general, but it was a group of things, guys taking time out to make sure that the little things we were messing up on are corrected, guys taking the attitude of not having a letdown again.”
(on if better execution contributed to the turnaround) “There’s no doubt. That all goes back to attention to detail throughout the course of the year. We had our gameplan. We were buying into what (Head) Coach (Tom Coughlin) was giving us, but at times, we were not executing. That kind of led to a lot of the big plays that we gave up throughout the season.”
(on things coming together during the Jets game) “I think things started with the big play by (WR Victor) Cruz during that game. We were kind of up and down, up and down, and I think that big play by Cruz kind of gave us that spark that kind ignited the fire for us.”
(on if his athleticism made him an attractive prospect out of college) “There’s no doubt. Coming out, I believe that I had some good success in college being that I only played three years. I felt that I did pretty good. My athleticism kind of helped me get to the point that I was.”
(on New England’s tight ends) “What do you want to know about them? They’re all top-notch tight ends, and, obviously, the first one we played in the playoffs, he’s been doing it for a long time. That’s (Atlanta’s) Tony Gonzalez, and we were able to come out and do a good job against him, not just myself. We threw a lot of different combinations at him and were able to be successful in the same thing—kind of one-one—with (Green Bay’s Jermichael) Finley and Vernon Davis and (Delanie) Walker up in San Fran(cisco). We kind of, along with myself—(LB)Jacquian (Williams), (S) Deon (Grant), (S) Antrel (Rolle), (S) Kenny (Phillips)—all five of us pretty much step up and get involved with those guys.”
(on how New England’s tight ends compare to the ones they faced previously in the playoffs) “I’m not going to say much different. Each one of them kind of possessed some of the same qualities of each of the tight ends that we faced throughout the course of the playoffs.”
(on what playing in the Super Bowl means to him) “This one means a lot just because it’s my first one. For a lot of guys, you never know, it could be your only one. This is the one game that a lot of guys live their whole life for. This is the dream you play your life for, so to finally make it, it means a lot.”
(on sacking New England quarterback Tom Brady) “For us, we just want to get pressure on him. If we get sacks, we get sacks, but for the most part, we just want to make sure that we keep guys in his face and make sure that he doesn’t have clean looks down the field.”
(on what he has learned from this postseason experience) “I’ve learned a lot about our team, just about the fight and the will that we have as a unit. We’ve had some bend-but-don’t- break moments throughout these playoffs, and it says a lot about our team.”
(on what New York’s four defensive end scheme does for him as a linebacker) “I think it benefits us as a whole defense. The things that our front does kind of complement what we do in the back end.”
(on if the four defensive end scheme changes what the linebackers do) “Not at all. The things that I do, or the things that the linebacking corps, the things that we do, it’s not going to change based on what they do up front.”
(on Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell) “He brings a lot. He brings a lot of fire and intensity to our room, to our whole group. Throughout the course of the year, he’s put together some great gameplans. We came out and executed those, especially throughout these playoffs against some very good teams.”
(on New England’s offensive line) “They do a good job with the things they do, especially protecting their passer. They’ve got some good guys at the tackle position to kind of keep guys from coming off that edge unabated, but they’re a good, solid O-line.”
(on who stands out as the vocal leader of the defense) “It’s not just one guy. We do a good job. We’ve got a lot of veteran leaders on our defense, so for us to be able to actually have that, just so that everyone’s not looking around (for) just that one person saying, ‘This is our leader. We need something from him.’ We’ve got a whole group of guys that can step up and assume that role.”
(on if there is any added motivation when facing an elite quarterback) “Not really. For us, it’s about getting to the quarterback, period, regardless of who it is. At times during the year, we had a stretch where we weren’t really getting much pressure on guys. For us, that really showed that we need this pressure in order for us to achieve what we want to do.”
(on if it is difficult to have strong practices this week because of the different routine) “No, it’s not difficult. For us, this is business as usual, so we’re going to make sure we come out here and keep grinding as usual.”
(on the team’s chemistry) “Very tight. We’ve come a long way from game one this year. I think at the beginning of the year, we were still trying to find our identity—who we are as a team. Obviously, it took us a while, but we found it.”
(on how the team’s chemistry became so strong) “Just everybody making that conscious effort to make sure that we’re all on the same page. Even early on in the season, we showed flashes of what we can be as a team. At times, we didn’t, so toward the end of the year, everything kind of came together, and here we are.”
(on what his focus will be two minutes before the game) “Two minutes before the game, in my head I’m just going through our gameplan, making sure everything is right.”
(on whether he has Super Bowl nerves) “No. It’s the next game. It’s the one we dream about, so there’s no time to be nervous.”
(on DE Chase Blackburn’s return to the line up late in the season) “It was great having a veteran guy who has been in the league for a while being able to come back and basically pick up where he left off. He’s been a guy that even throughout my short time here has—whenever we needed someone—he’s been that guy to hop in there and fill in. He’s done a great job for us, and I’m glad we got him back.”
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