(on if the kid in him is outweighing the man in him this week)
“I don’t know. Half of me tries to be as professional as possible, but the human in me just wants to take it all in, you know what I’m saying? So it’s hard for me to give you like a direct answer without bringing both sides out. Of course the professional side, you still have to go through meetings, try to come up with any type of edge, because you’re still preparing for a team, but all the festivities, the media, everything leading up into it, all you see is Panthers-Broncos conversations on TV, it’s hard not to just take it all in. I mean it’s hard. Like I keep saying, it’s a dream come true and hopefully we are prepared come Sunday.”
(on what WR coach Ricky Proehl has brought to the team)
“All that he brought as a player he brings that to our meeting room. That same competiveness, wanting his group to be the best that they can be. Working each and every day to perfect your craft. He’s a guy that has a lot of wisdom about the game and he knows how to communicate that. It’s tough when you were a good player, sometimes it’s tough to explain exactly what you were thinking and how to do something and he knows exactly what to say and when to say it and how to say it. He’s been, not only great for the young guys, he’s been great for me. He’s been great for me.”
(on making his presence known and his role when the offense runs the ball)
“Go in there and make a block. You know, it’s any play you can spring the running back for a touchdown run. You saw in Seattle. I got Richard Sherman and after that Stew (Jonathon Stewart) was off the races.”
(on how it feels to be in the Super Bowl)
“Right now at this very second, it’s okay, but once I get the chance to put my cleats on and get to Levi Stadium I think it will be much better.”
(on how he adjusted to Cam Newton from Ravens QB Joe Flacco as a receiver and blocker)
“It’s two different offenses. It’s two different quarterbacks. While Flacco was your traditional drop back guy, Joe Flacco is more athletic than people give him credit for. With this offense, Cam can beat you with his legs or his arm. So, you have to plan for both and stay on your blocks a little bit longer. Cam is never down. You always think he’s going to break a tackle or he’s going to be there and give the extra effort. Stay on your blocks a little bit longer. Probably an extra second to two seconds longer than you do normally with a drop back quarterback.”
(on what Ryan Kalil means to him)
“When I was at Minnesota, I got the opportunity to play with his brother. It’s pretty fun. Not many people have gotten to play with both guys. It’s kind of funny comparing. Both of them are great people, definitely Ryan. He’s just a great teammate and a great friend of mine. He’s someone who I know when football is all over, that we’re still going to be friends, we’re still going to talk. I’ve been very fortunate to play with them.”
(on the different paths the members of the offensive line took to get to Carolina)
“I think it definitely makes us who we are. So I feel like it gives us an edge so to speak. I think what makes us the way that we are is the fact that, like you said, five different people came in from five different places, five different backgrounds and have one mindset. It’s really tough, and I credit (Offensive Line) Coach (John) Matsko and (Assistant Offensive Line) Coach (Ray) Brown with that. Also with the help of the veterans like (Ryan) Kalil. Even the younger veterans like Mike Remmers, (Michael) Oher of course. It’s just a testament to the work that all of us collectively have put in on the offensive line to get this unit to be a strong focal point of the team. It’s something that we just take a lot of pride in. it’s not something that we brag about, boast about. It’s not like it’s a big deal. We just want to be the rock for the team.”
(on what the veteran players like Jared Allen have taught him)
“Just being patient. Obviously, everybody wants to be the guy that gets the sacks and everybody wants the notoriety and all that, but at the end of the day, that’s all going to come and that’s one of the things they’ve always told me. Don’t concentrate on just getting sacks. Get pressure, because the sacks are going to come and when they come, they come in bunches and there was a spell that I went through and it came in bunches for me. And it will come in bunches for me again, but those are the main points they are trying to get me to understand.”
(on if he remembers the first time he sacked Peyton Manning)
“I remember the whole play. They tried to block me one-on-one with a tight end and that didn’t work well. I got him, but we ended up losing that game. It stunk – it was 2008 – it was my very first start with the Vikings and we did it at the Dome (Metrodome). We ended up losing the game right at the end. Peyton threw a dart and set up a field goal and they won the game. I’ve enjoyed playing Peyton. I got my very first career start against Peyton. I’ve always enjoyed being able to play with the people at the top, at the pinnacle of our sport, so it seems fitting to play another one of best all time to try and win a Super Bowl championship.”
(on if he ever had any doubt that he’d play in the Super Bowl after his injury)
“When I initially found out, I didn’t think that I was going to have the opportunity to play in this game, but from my doctors looking at the images, seeing where the break was and seeing that they could go in and fix it, they told me immediately, ‘Hey, we can fix this, and we can have surgery in the morning.’ From that moment on, I was excited, and it was all about the rehab process.”
(on what it’s like being from Northern California and playing his first Super Bowl here)
“It’s great to be home. Like you said it’s a homecoming for me. This is my home away from home and I got some of my family coming up, but that’s not the biggest concern right now. The biggest concern is finishing the season out right.”
(on his hair compared to Super Bowl beards)
“You know, a lot of guys were growing beards and I couldn’t grow a beard, so I decided to grow my hair out. That was the best that I could do in that category. I mean you look at Mike Remmers over there, his beard is pretty strong, so I had to do something to be a part of that crew and this is the best I could do.”
(on free agency and how he handles those questions)
“(Points to Super Bowl 50 logo) All that matters to me. And after that game, that’s probably when I have a sea upon a sea of questions about all that stuff. And that’s, I think, the most appropriate time to sit down and answer those questions or if they’ll be posed to me. But moment in time right now I have three days left and all my time and energy is focused on this right here.”
(On if his biggest regret was the missing out on a Super Bowl when decided to hang it up)
“Yeah, absolutely. It’s the ultimate team game. It’s the ultimate team goal. To win a Super Bowl ideally, or be in a Super Bowl is what you dream of as a kid. So to be here right now, from the moment we landed in California, you get teary eyed when you step off that plane and go, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ You can’t put it into words because it’s been a dream as a kid and now you get to see it. It’s incredible.”
(on how his wife has helped him through this whole process)
“It’s been great because as far as I’m concerned, it really is about kind of a team atmosphere as far as we’re concerned with the fan base. Stephanie had been a coach collegiately and professionally. She has a little bit of a background. She understands it. One of the things she’s been really good about is she knows when I come home, there are certain things I have to get off my chest. She’ll pull it out of me. We’ll talk about those things. She’s been very supportive. I think it’s probably the most important thing that she’s been there. Especially the first couple of years, the very lame years. The beginning of the third season when things were tough, but in no way does she ever waver her belief in me and her support in me. So it’s been a great relationship, a great marriage obviously. We’ve been very fortunate.”
(on advice he’s received from his father and brother Eli)
“I have always enjoyed my conversations with my dad and Eli, as far as things that have to do with the NFL. I had dinner with Eli the other night. He and I talked about a lot of things. Certainly he played against these guys earlier in the year. We talked about the practice routine and the set-up. He is great to bounce ideas off of. My dad has always been a great sounding board from me throughout my lifetime. I am very grateful to have both of those guys, who have played in the NFL and still in the NFL, to be able to talk to. I feel very fortunate.”
(on if they need to establish the run early against Carolina)
“Why not? You want to run the ball as a running back and you want to run the ball and be successful. It doesn’t have to be early, it wasn’t early last week and it wasn’t early against Pittsburgh. We just picked our spots and when that time came. We know there are plays to be made in the run game and when those plays have to be made then we’ll make them.”
(on his pride of growing up and playing football in Texas)
“I take a lot of pride in the state of Texas and how I represent it. Texas is known for football, you go out there, we were practicing at Stanford and I remember talking with Brock (Osweiler) and we were stretching and I said man can you believe there are stadiums like this in the Texas for high school. High school football is big out there and guys take pride in it. My brother, he is actually coaching a spring football league now. So these guys are playing football 365 days out of the year and it is definitely big, and I am just happy to be able to represent the state of Texas.”
(on how his mom wasn’t able to attend the last Super Bowl and what’s different now)
“It’s totally different. Up towards the Super Bowl my mom and granny were able to call me, I talked to them I don’t know how many times, they were excited for me. They were saying this is going to happen, that is going to happen, but you know we didn’t come out on top last time and now we get another chance, and it’s special as well to also have her here. I don’t have to talk to her on the phone anymore. I can be in the same room, we can play together about it. It’s just special, and I will know she’ll be sitting at the seat, know she’s there and it’s just like a dream come true.”
(on the atmosphere from when he was with New England)
“It’s a lot similar. I’ve been saying this all week. It’s a lot similar, you’d be surprised. People think New England is like a military school and boy school and don’t talk. It’s not like that – they have fun over there as well, it’s just a tight knit group. Bill (Belichick) just doesn’t mess with you all. He just doesn’t mess with the media.”
(on why he calls Denver his “football family” and why this team with all of the former Texans players in the group)
“Well I mean that’s where I got my start. To be honest with you I never dreamed I would play in the National Football League. Dan (Reeves) drafted me in the eighth round. There is no longer and eight round, so thank God for that back in the day. Nine years of playing kind of got in the way. I wanted to coach when I got out of college. It was something I wanted to do and nine great years got in the way as a player with the Broncos and it became my football family also. Really as a pro coach I got my first start there. I know I had a year in San Francisco, went there with Mike (Shanahan), and Mike took a chance on me as a young coach and made me a coordinator. I’ve got many, many years invested in the organization, Mr. B (Pat Bowlen), his family, the city, and yet I come back ten years later and a lot of things are still the same. In that way I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of that for a guy whose been in this business as long as I have, I haven’t been in a lot of places and for the most part it’s been right there in Denver.”