DE ROBERT MATHIS
(on the Bears’ offensive line)
“I see a lot of big guys that will get physical with you if you let them.
They can beat you up.”
(on using the defense’s speed to their advantage)
“We have to make them play our game. We can’t get into more of a power
game, because that’s not us. We are more based on speed, we shoot gaps, so
that’s how we have to do it.”
(on playing against a team like the Bears who can run the ball
effectively)
“You better get in your gap and stay there, because they’re coming to
move you up out of there so you just have to do your job.”
(on what they had to do better as a team to improve against the run)
“It was just a matter of tackling. That was the equation. We had to tackle
better, and that’s the attitude we had to take with us to the playoffs,
because if you lose now you’re going home. Part of the solution to the problem
is just worrying about doing what we have to do and worrying about ourselves and
how to get the game plan done and how to execute it.”
(on how it feels to have a good defense again)
“It feels good, knowing that we turned it on at the right time, at a
critical time. We were just able to get it done.”
(on making it to the Super Bowl)
“Actually being here and envisioning it are two different things. You
envision it the whole time, saying ‘we want to get to Miami and we want to
win.’ Now we’re actually here and we have to win. We’ve been good enough
over the past three years to get to the Super Bowl and now we’re finally in
the position to take care of business.”
DT ANTHONY MCFARLAND
(on if there is legitimate respect between the two teams)
“There is legitimate respect. Anytime you can go 15-3 says a lot. They
definitely have our attention. They’re a very good football team in all three
phases of the game. We just have to be ready to play. It’s going to be a tough
game. It’s going to be a very physical game and a very tight game. Nothing is
made up, it’s all real.”
(on if reaching Super Bowl was a possibility when he joined the team
during the season)
“It was definitely a possibility. When I joined them they were undefeated
and we continued to be undefeated. We were 9-0 going into Dallas. We have a very
talented team. It was just a matter of us playing up to our talent level and we
started doing that going into the playoffs and here we are.”
(on if the game plan against the Bears is in place)
“The game plan is there. Right now we’re just going to fine tune it and
go over it. We’re going to get used to this Florida climate, and get ready to
play, get the rust off from having a couple days off and just get ready to go
play.”
(on if he embraces the Super Bowl and the importance of the game)
“Absolutely. The thing about the Super Bowl is that there is nothing to
hold back for. It’s the end of the season and you’re playing for all the
marbles, an opportunity to play for a championship.”
(on the importance of having Bob Sanders back at 100 percent)
“Bob’s definitely one of the best safeties in the game. Any time you can
add a playmaker to your defense, it definitely gives you a lot more momentum and
a lot more playmakers on the field.”
(on the effect that Tony Dungy’s faith has had on the rest of the team)
“When you have somebody who is the same way on the field as they are off
the field, it shows what type of man they are and what type of person they truly
are. He shares that with us, not only in football ways, but also in life. It
continues to help us, not only become better football players, but become better
men each and every day.”
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| Anthony McFarland leaves the field after winning the AFC Championship (Getty Images/Doug Benc) |
(on how he got the nickname “Booger” and if he likes it)
“I got it when I was two years old. My mom gave me the nickname. I was a
very, very bad kid to say the least. I got called a lot of things and one of
them happened to be that. Some of my friends who were older kind of heard it and
started teasing me with it. I love it. I’ve been called that for 27 years. It’s
just
part of me.”
(on how excited he will be on Sunday)
“The first five minutes of a football game – I don’t care what Sunday
it is – you always have butterflies going and you always have a little nervous
energy. Super Sunday is going to be no different. I think after the first five
minutes, after you get through with that, it’s time to settle down and play
football.”
(on how excited he was to join the Colts)
“I was excited to be moving to a winning team. As a competitor, you never
want to lose. Obviously, for personal reasons, we developed a good rapport and a
good relationship with a lot of people there (Tampa Bay). I still have that, but
at the same time we only get a certain amount of time to play this game. So you
want to enjoy it and you want to win. From that aspect I was very excited and I
think Tony was.”
(on what makes Tony Dungy so special)
“He never changes. He never changes. He knows who he is, and it doesn’t
matter who you are, he’s going to be who he is all the time and he doesn’t
change.”
(on if it took him some time to adjust to the Colts style of play)
“Not necessarily taken awhile, I just think that any time you come into a
new situation, it takes time for you to get acclimated. It takes time for you to
figure out what’s going on. I’ve never been a guy who wants to come in and
step on anybody’s toes. So you come in, you take your piece and try to fit it
in the puzzle. It may not fit on the left side, it may not fit on the right
side, but you’ll find your piece somewhere. And when it fits, that’s where
you’re supposed to be. So it was just a matter of guys learning me, me
learning the guys and us playing together. The guys in this locker room are very
smart. They’re not going to follow somebody or want somebody to follow them
whose not a hard worker. Just like I needed to see them work, they needed to see
me work. I needed to see them play and they needed to see me play. They needed
to see how I conducted myself on and off the field. It was a learning process
the whole team went through.”
(on if practicing against the Colts offense helps the defense)
“Hopefully Chicago will come out like our offense – come out in four or
five wide and not line up in tow or three tight ends and pound us a little bit,
which is what everybody says the gameplan is going to be. Peyton Manning is a
great quarterback. He sees things that not many people see. Our receivers –
Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison– if there is a better duo in the league,
somebody show them to me. You talk about Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, I like
Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes. Arguably, those guys definitely pose a threat
for us in practice. The Bears bring a different type of threat. They’re going
to bring that old NFC mentality, almost three yards and a cloud of dust. Then
you throw Rex Grossman in there, he’s definitely made a lot of plays with
(Bernard) Berrian down the field. You’ve got (Muhsin) Muhammad, who’s a wily
vet. They’re a young team, much like us, on defense. They’ve got a couple of
stars but they’re very young and they’re definitely playing well together
right now. Whether or not it helps us, we’ll find out on Super Sunday.”