Post-Game Quotes: Ohio State
11/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Michigan State Head Coach Mark Dantonio
Opening statement ...
Great football game, and congratulations to Ohio State. I thought our guys played extremely hard, and had opportunities to win the football game. It's disappointing in that aspect, but guys came to play. I thought we played well on the defensive side of the ball and made some big plays offensively. The consistency offensively wasn't there, but we did make some big plays. I think key thing to the game obviously was their ability to play defense when we had the wind, or when I thought we had the wind - I'm not sure which way that stuff was blowing sometimes. But in the third quarter shutting us out - a lot of three and outs. After the fake punt we came up with zero points, and I thought that we gained some momentum there. We needed to be able to score. Then obviously converting on the two-point conversion. End of the game plays. But, I'm proud of our football team. We are where we are right now. In some respects we're playing very, very well, and in other respects we need to make more plays. That's the nature of it.
On the thought process leading up to the 2-point try ...
All week long I had said that if we get close at the end of the game, we're going for two. We're going to take an aggressive approach and play to win the football game, rather than tie the football game. So, that felt like what we wanted to do. We had a number of play selections so that if they had us covered up on that particular play, so, good job by them. I still felt like we had an opportunity with four minutes to go - if we stopped them and still had an opportunity to get the ball back and kick a field goal and win the football game. And we were moving the football a little bit, especially running it. We had some big plays and things of that nature, so I felt like either way, we still had an opportunity to win the game. The kickoff after that should have been a hard squib down into the deep part of their field, and we didn't get it done. That didn't happen. That was a miss-hit, I guess, which flipped the field for them. On our 25, we get beat off the edge, they cause a fumble, and now it's second and 20. Had an opportunity to hit an underneath route for 10, decided to go throw into the wind which was a bad decision, and they pick it. We had no timeouts left and end of game. The way I saw this football game was we have been close the past few years - so we would compete with these guys and have an opportunity to win at the end. My belief in what would happen was coming true, and I fully expected us to get that 2-point conversion.
On the difficulty getting the correct personnel on the field at times...
First one (12 men breaking the huddle penalty), LJ made a long run and was winded, and I wanted to get Gerald Holmes in there, wanted to play him anyway. I called for him and he wasn't quite ready, or LJ stayed in the huddle. You can't break the huddle with 12 guys. If he would have come in and allowed the 12th guy to leave, no penalty. But, they broke the huddle with 12. So, five-yard penalty. Then on the punt return where we had two freshmen in there, two freshmen who were alternating, and they happened to be in there at the same time. Fortunately, we saw that that was the case, and called a timeout. Those are going to happen sometimes. We're playing a lot of players this year. Lot of players.
On assessing improvement ...
We're playing as well right now, defensively, as we have all season. I don't think there is any question about that. We had three sacks today, we got some pressure on some other ones. A lot of called quarterback runs by JT (Barrett), or by Coach Meyer. He's a great football player. 24 runs, 24 quarterback runs. The wind plays a factor in that and those types of things. But I think we're playing pretty well defensively as a football team, but have to be more productive. That's how you win games. Ohio State, you look at them - we scored two touchdowns against them today, and they had only given up 10 all season.
On if he thought that his team measured up...
Yeah, I thought we measured up. I think that's the case. You're one point away from winning and having the chance to win the game, maybe two or three different ways. You have a chance to win it on the 2-point conversion, or with a good kick you get them down on their 20, get the ball back around your 40, try 30 yards to kick a field goal. You have a chance with the two-minute situation at the end of the game. It's sort of how the season has rolled, you just have to make a play at the end of the game. Have to make a play. We came up minus-one in the turnover margin, even though they don't really count the pick on the 2-point try. But we came up minus-one, so if you're going to beat a good football team, you have to win the turnover margin, usually. And again I thought we had explosive plays on offense, but the consistency level, it wasn't there. We had some big plays, but we need to have more consistency and performance down the field.
On assessing the play of his young defensive linemen...
Yeah, we started (Mike) Panasiuk and Raequon Williams at defensive tackle - Kevin Williams went out early with an injury, which was unfortunate. Auston Robertson played, Josh King played, and (Robert) Bowers. Dillon Alexander who is a non-scholarship player is playing for us and doing some good things. We're playing a lot of players in there, and their level of play is rising. And we'll have some other players come along, because we have some guys that haven't played that are good football players, as well. We just have to keep moving and keep working.
On if there is something you can take from this game...
Yeah, I think it does. I think it does mean something, but we can't evaluate that and be happy with that. I do think it means that - sometimes you aren't as far as you think you are or as good as you think you are and other times you're not as bad as you think you are and the inches really separate the two. That's the story of our season right now. The inches have separated us and numerous opportunities we've had and you have to find those inches, it's the same thing we've talked about in the past when we've had these type of years. We haven't had one quite like this one, but the inches separate.
On the squib kick after the fourth-quarter touchdown...
Yeah I think if we would have gotten the kick it would have been like minus 40 and I think we would have been a little more run-pass things. Mike [Geiger] would have probably been able to kick the 40-yard field goal with the wind as it was. That was his pregame assessment. The wind was coming directly probably - I don't know - it was coming from the southeast I think. I think we would have had a good kick down there and the kick did drop the ball inside the 20 and knocked out in the first down and we got the ball back at about the minus 40. We had no time outs though. We ran two pass plays and we had two open guys. Two. One on each play. So you have to make the throw and you have to make the catch, you have to protect. It all fits together.
On the team not quitting...
I'm very proud of our football team, the way they handled themselves and not just on game day, but during the week in terms of how they got ready to play. Everybody is all in. Everybody comes to practice like I've said because you really don't recognize their effort in practice, whether it's this or it's that. Really no difference from the past couple of weeks. We have a lot of young players playing and they work hard and I appreciate that. Tough for our senior group as they lose this game in Spartan Stadium. You know, they have one more to play. That's the reality of the situation right now. We will recollect ourselves and figure out who we are. I am proud of the way we come to work every day and the way we come out to play every day. We play with excitement, we play with toughness, a lot of effort. We come in and play until the end of the game.
On LJ Scott...
He is a good football player and he has proven that he can make plays. You really want to get Gerald [Holmes] in there as well, but I think we had 24 plays at the end of the first half. It was a slower type game and I don't have my glasses with me, but they were in the low sixties and we were high fifties in plays, so not a great deal of plays out there so you have to take advantage of the plays that you have. LJ is a good football player. He is a powerful back, he's got good feet and we did a nice job blocking for him too. Great play selection on the second play of the game, a good screen, and he made things happen. He executed.
On what he told the seniors after the game...
I'm very proud of them. I respect them and I wish them the best in their lives as they take this next step. We have one more week to go. For some guys, this starts to become the end when you've played in Spartan Stadium for the last time. You start to think about things as you get older - a younger older I guess you would say - you start to think about the next step in your life and where that's going and what you're going to be doing.
On playing two quarterbacks...
I felt like Damion Terry needed to play and should have the opportunity to play. I also felt like Tyler [O'Connor], who is a senior as well, obviously he's done a nice job for us and he's a very good leader. The conditions out there were difficult. They throw for 82 yards and we throw for one [hundred] something, but 60 of that came from one play. So, difficult throwing situation out there for both quarterbacks.
On trick plays working for him...
Well you want to recruit kickers and punters just like you do everyone else. You want them to be athletes, you want them to be gamers, you want them to have the ability to play through pressure, so that's been the nature of what we've done. I can show you some trick plays that haven't worked. Great job by Mike Tressel. I asked him `is it there?' and he said yeah he thinks it is if they do this one thing, so we had an alert on where we could have called it off if it wasn't there. Great snap by our snapper, great execution by everyone involved and great run by Chris Frey.
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer
Opening statement...
I'd like to thank our Buckeye fans, also a lot of respect for the team we just played. Tough day at the office right there, so we'll take the win against a team that we know very well, on the road in November. 10-1 and get ready for our rivalry week.
On his expectations for the end of the game...
When I woke up, actually on Wednesday when I started hearing about the weather, we are a balanced football team and when we're not balanced, it's tough. They had the same problem, we threw a couple and the ball was bouncing and so it was just real difficult to execute in the throw game, had a couple of drops. So it's officially rivalry week, our eyes are forward, let's go.
On Michigan State's two-point conversion attempt...
They were controlling the line of scrimmage, once again that was a tough drive for us because that usually doesn't happen to us and they're a good team, a really good back, number three (LJ Scott), Ohio guy. I talked to him after the game, he's a hell of a player. I was somewhat surprised but I've been in that situation before, when you have all sorts of momentum, go swing and try to have a knock-out punch.
On the overall play of both lines...
We had a couple of penalties, we ran for two guys over 100 yards, in a situation where they knew we were running because you couldn't really throw much, I don't think we played great but I don't think it was awful. Defensive line, I'd have to watch a videotape, I don't watch much of that, but I know we had a couple of big hits and we take away those big hits but they had some big hits against us.
On Michigan State's play getting to where it needs to be...
I don't think they're far, just got a lot of respect. I've been in the fox hole against those guys and I know their coaching staff very well and I have great respect for them. I think they're tough, I think they shot everything they had at us today and they played very hard, but I don't expect anything different.
On the play of Mike Weber...
He's over 1,000 yards as a freshman, which is a great accomplishment for him. With three new starters on the offensive line as well, and very pleased. We had fumbles and two big plays in the first half and that's not us, it can't be us. We'll lose next week if we play like that so I talked to him, like we all do, and say the play is behind you type of ball, chin-chin-chin ball we call it, let's go.
On balanced play going into next week...
It'll be tough to win if we're not. I don't know the weather forecast yet but we have to be balanced.
On the comparison of play calling from last year's game versus Michigan State ...
Much better, we actually had a weather plan. Once again, I had two players rush for over 100 yards against a defense that says we know you're running, that's tough. We wanted to throw it, I wanted to, there's a couple of plays that were right on the tip of my tongue, but then you start watching the clock, if a ball is tipped you lose that game. So I wish we would not have punted out of the end-zone at the end and tried to drop them back in there, that was one of the disappointing things. I thought we did fine, I don't think it's a losing game, a high execution because on both ends of the ball, offense and defense, it's hard to run the ball when they know it's coming.
On the talk surrounding the rest of the season...
Well they don't want to hear it from us but they don't live in a cocoon either, so they hear it from the media, ESPN, and all that. I'm glad we're here. I don't know if I'll talk to it there, I didn't talk about it here, we enjoyed a win. We're going to go home, enjoy the win and wait for assignment tomorrow and I'll probably address it at some point.
Michigan State co-defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett
On the team's hard fought fight...
Yeah our guys have played their butts off throughout the year, believe it or not as part of our record. They come out to practice hard every week and there's always a belief that we can win. No matter what's going on, always a belief that we can win. Number two team in the country, we felt like we could compete with those guys and for the most part we did without the W.
On the energy of the defense today including pass-rushes and sacks...
Well I wanted to. I mean we talked about it for so long and I guess guys just finally got tired of hearing about it. Throughout the course of the week, this past week in practice, guys were saying Coach I guaranteed a sack so it's a little one two thing after a while. We did some things that we've been doing over the years no different, just how you execute and go after and get after. Credit to them for finally going up and hopefully we can keep it rolling from here.
On defense momentum throughout the game...
Well you know they started running the ball and I suppose the weather a bit. So schematically there was a few things we did and adjustments we made. We do whatever that every game based on how they attack us and that worked out pretty good for us. There were some adjustments and credit to the guys in order to get the adjustments and execute them when we needed them.
On the younger players' play..
Excited about those guys and like you said they're young guys playing out there. Got a lot of young guys playing out there, really young and (Mike) Panasiuk is a guy that started off well in camp, early in the season doing okay and kind of hit the freshmen wall and is fighting back through, and that's great to see and expect all those guys to just continue to get better throughout the course of the upcoming offseason. Obviously we have one more game, but we're excited about the future. Excited about the future. And we just have to keep our heads up, keep working hard and remember this feeling.
On advice to the players after holding the No. 2 team to 17 points...
Well like you said, there's no moral victories. We've won out here, we're champions. In our mind, we're still upset about the year and winning the football game, but I understand what you're saying, but at the same time [Ohio State] is a good football team, have a good coach and good schemes. So proud of our guys for going out there and playing hard, and again executing what was called. But then they still want to get the win.
On remembering how it feels to win and lose...
Absolutely it's like two fold and now these guys this is the year and the feeling of coming into the locker room with our heads down and not able to sing out fight song like we want to. Remember that and let that fuel you though our upcoming offseason. Because I don't think anybody feels like hey we're a 3 and 8 football team whatever it may be. So everybody is still believing that we can win. That's why we come out and compete like we can. We just have to find those close inches like Coach Dantonio talks about, and get those wins and victories. We've won in the past and we're going to win them again. We just have to work our butts off this season and get it done next year.
On the season not playing out...
Man it's a test. That's how I look at it. I'm a spiritual person. I know sometimes going through life that there's tests and I just hope that everyone involved and in the program and involved in the situation is the lessons and lessons you're supposed to get it. I'm definitely hoping to get the lessons and what we need to get out of it. But this is a test and you know I think we're going to be better for it. Whenever you go through a test and come out and we talk about storms and you can come out of the storm and expect big things in the future.
On Bowers starting...
He is shown in practice that he's ready to take that next step. He had been talking about it and talking about it. I remember in camp he was talking about it and we saw some flags in there. But he really has grown up and matured to be there and be a really good practice player, as well as earn an opportunity to get on the field during the games. He's always been a guy that has a fairly quick twitch and a motor and he was probably thinking too much early on in his career. He knows the defense now, so now his natural ability can come out. You can see why we recruited a guy like him. Really excited for the future for him as well.
Michigan State co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner
On the decision to go for two...
Coach said prior to the series. We knew we were going to go for two and when we got down there, had a couple of options. Tried to give the ball to Josiah [Price] and we throughout we were trying to get two and give it to one of our better players and it didn't work out.
On trying to use LJ Scott for the two-point conversion...
The play we called didn't work. And sitting right here right now, I'd call something different.
On LJ Scott's performance...
He was patient. Sometimes he's just not been patient with his reads so I thought he did a great job there as you mentioned. I thought he was very strong running through contact. Obviously had some big plays for us.
On the passing game...
I think everything, crosswind was probably a little bit shiftier in your face than you think, back so the ball was sailing on you a little bit. We could see it upstairs and it was certainly affected the game. Good things were running the football well. So it came down to the end there and he had to throw it and it might have been more difficulty because the last drive, we were trying to go into the wind there, the crosswind, and obviously didn't get it done.
On the quarterback rotation throughout the game...
It was similar to last year. Going in, we knew we were going to play Damion [Terry] a little bit, and we learned a little bit there, and I thought he performed well and not just the run up but they throw up and that gave us some opportunities there.
On the offensive line...
They're up front and those guys did a fantastic job of creating holes against a good football team and a great defense. So it says something about them. Those guys up front took a lot of pride going into this game and did a great job.
On the frustration level...
Even though it it's bottom line and it would certainly would not be a moral victory. We played well, we played hard but our kids have done that every week so this is just a very disappointing outcome for us but we just need to regroup as we've done time and time again and regroup ready for one more game again.
Michigan State senior linebacker Riley Bullough
On how the young defensive line did...
They have done a great job. It is always good to see young guys want to get better every day in practice. You want to learn, and that is what these guys have done. To be an older guy to mentor them and help bring them along, that has been special for me, too.
On the senior day emotion...
We just wanted to give it all we had today. For ourselves, for our team and for Spartan Nation and everybody watching, we just wanted to give our best effort and I think we did that. So, that is one thing we can hang our hat on. It is a crazy feeling that I won't be playing here again. It will set in over the next few weeks, but I'm proud of the way our guys played today.
On the mentality of the seniors...
It has been a tough year. Every day, we have come to practice hard and we have come to games and played hard. Things just haven't gone our way necessarily. I am proud of our seniors and older guys that have continued to come to work every day and give it their all.
On the defensive effort against Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett...
We knew he was going to run it. He is extremely athletic, so we had some things to counteract that. He had a few runs for a few yards, but I feel like we contained him for the most part. We contained the running game other than that big, long run. I think our game plan was great. I thought we executed it for the most part, we just couldn't get it done and win.
On how tough it is to get that close to beating the No. 2 team in his last home game...
This one hurts. It hurts a lot. I feel like we put in a lot of work this whole season, and this week we had a lot of confidence. The positive to it is that we came out and played hard. Ohio State is a great team. They have a lot of tremendous football players, so to hold them to 17 points and almost come out of here with a victory is something we can hang our hat on. It is not a win, but we have some young guys in there learning and have done a great job and come a long way, so I am proud of them.
Michigan State sophomore running back LJ Scott
On how close the game was...
We came out ready to play. We prepared all week in practice knowing that we had a great team in Ohio State coming in. We executed on almost every play and gave ourselves a chance to win.
On if it reminded him of the game last year at Ohio State...
It did. It did a lot. Once I was on the sideline and saw the clock winding down, I had the idea in my head that I was going to have to come through for the team on the drive. I had a feeling and my gut feeling was telling me the right thing.
On what this game means to him from a personal standpoint with being from Ohio...
Obviously, this game means a lot personally. The fact that I am from Ohio and during my recruiting process it came down to Michigan State and Ohio State. This game means to me just as much as it does a kid from Michigan when we are playing Michigan. It is about the same on a personal level. I knew I had to have a big game today. I had to hear from fans, `I bet you wish you came to Ohio State.' That is not the case.
On the improvement over the last couple of weeks...
The fact that we are young and started off not as good, practice makes perfect. Obviously, we have been practicing hard enough to get to the point where we played them the way we played them today. Overall as a team, we are just trying to stick together and come together better, knowing that the seniors have their last two games. I told them I was doing everything for them. The outcome isn't what we thought, but we came to play today, that is for sure.
On if it was a bittersweet day...
We came out and played hard and with passion and most of all, we played together as a team. At this point of the season, the fact that it hasn't gone as planned, we didn't have anything to lose, so why not take risks and take chances.
Michigan State junior quarterback Damion Terry
On the final score...
We knew what was at risk, and we knew the stakes. We didn't execute for four full quarters. It's tough, especially with this being the seniors last go around in Spartan Stadium, but we just have to learn and forget about it because we have another one next week.
On what he personally learned from this game...
I'm not too sure honestly. It hurts, this one really hurts. Just knowing this season hasn't been going the way we want it to, but we still could have upset them. We just have to learn from this.
On this young receiving group...
The young wideouts are great. It is cool to see them every week improving, and that's not just on the field because you see them catching everything, but in the film room as well. I know Donnie (Corley) is like the most popular one, but Trishton (Jackson) is amazing, I know you guys saw a little bit of that last weekend. Cam Chambers is redshirting, and he is going to be great as well too. I mean it's cool to see them keep growing, and it's going to be big for their development this offseason, but they will be fine next year for sure.
Michigan State defensive back Demetrious Cox
On the close game, and the locker room conversation...
I mean you always talk about the little things here and there, the things we could have done differently, but really I feel like everybody just felt bad for how close we were. Our seniors really wanted that one, we played hard, you can't really ask for much more. Time to get ready for Penn State.
On if this game was a moral victory...
You can get positivity out of a loss, but I don't see any type of victory out of a loss. You really just have pride that you played hard, and that you gave it your all, but at the end of the day you play to win.
On his optimism for the Spartan future...
I feel really good about it. A lot of guys grew throughout this season, they are going to be great leaders. The defensive line is going to have a lot of talent next year, a ton of talent. The same with a lot of other positions as well. With a lot of guys getting hurt, a lot of other guys get experience so hopefully next year they come out and dominate.
On the impressive defensive effort...
I feel like we played a more complete game, in terms of intensity and assignments. I feel like we didn't have very many, if any, coverages blown. I think we put together a good game, but at the end of the day the main goal is to win. That's the number one goal in our stat sheet, so I take accountability for myself, and hopefully everybody else is taking accountability too to do whatever we can do to get the win.
Ohio State defensive end Tyquan Lewis
On the mindset of the players going into the last MSU drive...
End the game. Just end the game, get it over with. Have to get back up, so get off the field and end the game. Get the ball back to the offense, take a knee and get up.
On if they play like they did on Saturday that they might not win next weekend...
That's very true. Come out next week playing kind of flat, giving up some runs like that. You obviously won't win like that. I give credit to Michigan State; that's a very, very good team, very physical team. You just have to correct the little things.
On if they were playing out of character today...
It was just missed tackles. Have to capitalize on those plays, on those short yardage plays, you have to capitalize on those. The Big Ten has a lot of physical ball carriers, and they're going to fight for those extra yards.
On if Michigan State looked on film like they did today...
Like I said, I give credit to them. You know, you have teams that come out and they show a completely different thing on film than what you're playing - their game plan is for you. Your game plan probably changed a little bit, but they came out and, it was better than advertised. You just have to play healthy to our standards.
On if they were looking ahead to next week...
No, not really. We just play one week at a time, one game at a time. That's the main mindset, mentality of the team, one week at a time, one practice at a time. Come out, everything is just one play at a time. Take it step by step.
Ohio State defensive end Jalyn Holmes
On coming back into the game after the injury...
I had to get back in the game and play as a part of my teammates, seeing my teammates going as hard as they can, offense and defense. I just knew I had to get back there and do my job as hard as I can luckily, they made the play.
On the game plan against LJ Scott...
We just, basically just wrap up. Play our big defense, stick to the basics and tackle them when we had the opportunity. He's a great player, and he made some plays but we stuck to the game plan.
On how the game will help them prepare for next week...
I knew Michigan State was going to come and play good, because they're a great football team. Their record maybe don't show it now, but they are a great football team, they play hard and got tough guys on their team. I feel like them and a team up north, they have a similar offense, not the similar plan style, but it's good that we get to see that now so we can prepare for next week.
on what happened when he went down...
It was my leg, it went numb for a little bit, then a lot of pain, but I'm good. Mamma raised a fighter.
On MSU's trick plays...
I knew they were going to mix it up a little bit, they're going to try something to get us off our feet, but we just stick to our base defense and we just held it down.
On how quickly their minds will turn to what's going on next week
I'm going to enjoy this right now but then Sunday morning, it's just back to the drawing board. We will see them when we see them.
Ohio State Junior Linebacker Chris Worley
On the key to stopping LJ Scott...
A lot of things, and not getting him before he got to the defensive edge. You can't play defense that way. We knew it was going to be a dog fight.
On whether he or Malik Hooker made the interception during the 2-point conversion...
Did you see it? I had it. He's just selfish. I kept it. I was just spying on the quarterback. I saw it in his eyes that he didn't really want to run the ball. I just zoned off a little bit and played the passing play.
On whether they've moved on to next week...
It is rivalry week, but we are going to enjoy this. Take nothing away from them. That's a College Football Playoff team right there and we knew it was going to be a dog fight. Coming around this time of the year, November, wins are hard to come by so we'll take any win any way we can. We watched them on film all week and they didn't look like a 3-7 team, at least offensively.
On the surprise of Michigan State going for two...
I wasn't surprised at all. As soon as they scored I saw coach on the sideline screaming, `they're going for two, they're going for two.' The biggest thing I try to do is force me and the rest of the defense is to just relax. So when it came down to it we made the play.
On the defense's feeling before Michigan State's final, failed drive...
As soon as it was 4 minutes left and we had the 17 to 16 lead, we knew that they were going to have another opportunity to score the ball. So at that point, the game is in our hands, we were just ready to let the dogs eat and go win the game.
On his defensive opportunities...
Not how I want it to be honestly. Sometimes I feel like they don't come my way enough. Coach tells me to stay patient and it's a good thing they're not coming to your side of the field as much as you want them to. When the time comes, I have to make the play. That's the difference between last week and this week. I dropped the interception and I was down on myself a little bit. Every day after practice I caught probably 100 plus balls this past week, knowing that opportunities are not easy to come by and I just want to capitalize on it.
On LJ Scott's running in Michigan State's final scoring drive...
First few plays, a number of plays, we didn't have the right personnel in the game. They were doing something and it wasn't right for the situation and then we got to the goal line and we just couldn't stop them, simple as that. It all came down to the two-point play and that's what this is all about.
Ohio State Junior Cornerback Gareon Conley
On the meaning of the game ball he is holding...
Oh, it means the world to me. Every game I take advantage of and every chance I get to go out there with my teammates, I take advantage of and it's just an honor to get this ball.
On his interception...
Yeah, it was just zone coverage. I watched the quarterback and made a play.
On why he brought the game ball to the press conference...
It feels good to get the win. To get any win is hard. In college football, it's hard to get W's and to put in all the hard work we do during the offseason and the regular season, and in camp, I want to keep it close to me.
On how it feels to seal the game with his interception...
It feels great. Like I said, it's an honor to play as a Buckeye. I want to thank God, first of all, and thank my teammates. Without the rush I wouldn't have gotten the pick. We all come together as one and play hard.
On why the defense has been playing so well...
The whole defense is special. We all play for each other and that's the key. We all play for each other. We can all trust each other to do our jobs and that's why we play so good.
On the feeling of the win...
It means everything to come in here and beat these guys and to win in a hostile environment. Everybody plays their hardest against us so we knew it was going to be a challenge just to get the win.
On the surprise of a close game...
I expect a tough game always. Everybody that plays against us always plays their hardest.
