On the play of CB Joselio Hanson: "You see he's making plays. He's putting himself into position to make plays time and time again. Over this year and last year, (Defensive Coordinator) Jim (Johnson) has gotten a lot more confident in having him on the field. It's the same thing with all of us. It's about having trust and confidence in having the guy you're lining up beside and knowing that he's going to get his job done. He's been doing a tremendous job of it."
On what he has told defensive players who have not previously advanced to this stage of the postseason: "You're trying to get them to understand how we got here. How we got here is being a very aggressive, tough, physical defense. That should not change in this game. We have to go out and be who we are. Everybody has to do their job, take care of their responsibility, and not try to do anything outside of what we have always done. That in itself should give us a great opportunity to win this game. It's going to be a tough game - we understand that. But we'll go in and do what we do, do what (Defensive Coordinator) Jim (Johnson) has asked us to do, and usually that's enough."
On whether this team is the best Eagles squad that he has played for: "It's tough (to compare) because the mindset was different in 2004. (In 2004), from day one we thought we were going to do our thing and win this thing. Not saying that we didn't have that this year, but it was just flat-out on everybody's mind what we were going to do that year. The way we're playing right now as a unit - I'm talking about every phase - I think that we're playing some pretty good ball. I think that you can put us up, if not the best, I think as one of the best units to play together. Every unit has picked up their game. Every unit is pulling their weight. There's no unit lagging behind or whatever you want to call it. Every unit is pulling its weight. In key moments in each game, you see each unit, whether it's a kickoff return, whether it's a punt return, whether it's the offense converting a 3rd-and-20, or whether it's the defense stopping somebody on 4th-and-1, every unit is holding up its end of the bargain. When you have that and everybody is doing their thing, it's a tough team to beat."
On why the Eagles were able to dominate the regular season meeting with the Cardinals on Thanksgiving: "We got a lot of turnovers early. It was the same thing as when Arizona played the (Carolina) Panthers. You get turnovers early and put points on the board, it changes the whole complexion of the game. We understand that the game we're about to play is going to be a different game. Anytime you get a team down 21-0 early, they have to come completely out of their game plan and go into a flat-out passing mode. That was one of the reasons we were able to do what we did last time. I'm pretty sure that they're talking about not turning the ball over, keeping a balanced attack, and running the ball, which they're doing a better job of. That's what we're expecting."
On the depth of the Eagles secondary:"It's very deep. To have guys to get on the field and not just fill a spot, but to make plays. Not just the individuals (the media has) talked about, but everybody. You saw when (S) Sean Considine got in the game, he had a big break-up on third down. When guys are getting on the field, they're not just getting on the field to rest a guy, they're getting on the field and making plays on the ball and having an impact. That tells you that it's not just depth, it's quality depth."
* On what it has been like to play most of his career in a defense coordinated by Jim Johnson:*
"I've loved it. He's absolutely turned me loose and allowed me to do a lot of different things. He's used my God-given ability to cause havoc wherever I can. Any time you have a coach as much as Jim trusts me to do all of those things, I've been loving it."
On Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald: "I don't know if there is another receiver that plays the ball in the air as well as he does. I think the two receivers last week on the field together do a good job, I'm talking about (Carolina's) Steve Smith and (Larry Fitzgerald). When (Fitzgerald) gets a beat on the ball, you can't have decent coverage on him. You have to be in excellent position to go up and challenge him for the ball because I've never seen a guy be able to contort his body and move it all over the place and adjust to the ball in the air. There are not too many times that you see him double-catch the ball. Once he gets his hands on the ball, it's a catch, and he doesn't catch the ball with his body. He's a big guy and a physical guy who can run through some things too. He brings a lot to the table, and being out in Arizona I don't think people really understood how good he is. I think people really understand how good he is now."
On the recent play of the Eagles linebacker corps: "This linebacker corps has grown into a very solid group. Each one of them brings different things to the table, but all three of them can do one thing and that's run and get to the football in a hurry. Chris (Gocong) is blowing stuff up right now. He's hard to block, and he's getting off of blocks. (Stewart Bradley) is controlling the middle of the field, being able to cover tight ends, and being able to get off blocks and clog things up. On the other side with (Akeem Jordan), he's a very athletic guy and he has a nose for the football. You're going to see some great things from him coming real soon. As a unit, they're doing some great things and they're allowing us to do some different things than we were doing early in the season."
On how differently Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner is playing from his days with the St. Louis Rams: "Not much different. The thing that Kurt has always done is seeing and recognizing blitzes, and getting the ball out of his hands very fast. He has a very quick trigger when he releases the ball. He's never been a guy who takes a lot of sacks because he gets rid of he ball fast. He throws a very catchable ball. He puts the ball in a position where his receivers either go up and get it, or he puts it away from the defender so that his receivers don't take big hits. It's going to be key for us to get pressure on him. We can't allow him to sit back there and pat the ball."
On the importance of each Eagle player accepting their role on the team: "I think everybody on this team knows their role now. We've fallen into those roles and we've been moving strong because we've all been collective in understanding our roles and moving forward. That's going to be key from here on out. This is a huge game coming up, and we're going to need everybody."
On how difficult it is for former starters to accept reserve roles:"It's very difficult, and it takes a strong individual to be able to do that. It's not an easy situation to be in."
On the emotions that he displayed after the victory over the Giants: "So many things brought it up – the magnitude of the game, the magnitude of the win, and how much was actually poured out on that field. It was a very physical game for me and I actually got put on my butt a couple of times out there, so it was a very physical game for me. Thinking back to where I was last year and where I was at the beginning of the season and all of the questions not just about me, but about this team. How much I care for these guys, and how much it meant for us to move forward to this next round. All of those things just came spewing out."
On whether it was difficult for QB Donovan McNabb to concentrate on football due to concern for his wife and expected children during the delivery process: "I would say yes. I'm not in his shoes obviously, but I just know where I was as my wife was going through the ordeal with our babies. Had that been during the season, it would have been very, very tough to focus."
On the difficulty an opposing offense has in preparing for a defense coordinated by Jim Johnson: "It makes it tough on an offense because you can't go over everything that we do. We have so many different packages and blitz combinations, it's going to be very difficult to go over everything. If you try to go over everything, I'm pretty sure that will drive an offensive line and the backs crazy.
On how much fun it is for him to play in a defense coordinated by Jim Johnson: "It's a trip. I can't tell you now much fun we have when I know that my job is to get to the quarterback, or my job on this is to cause havoc, whether to be a scapegoat and just run full speed into somebody to allow someone else to come free, or to fake up in there and run deep middle. That cat and mouse type of game is very exciting. Guys on the field, we are jacked up when our numbers are called, even when our numbers aren't called, because we know that the guys that are going to get home are going to force the quarterback to do something a lot faster than he wants to, so it's going to be up to us in the secondary to make a play on the ball when that happens."
On his teammates stating that they would like to win a world championship for him:"That means a lot, but I don't want them to try to just win this for me. I really don't. I want them to try to win it for all of us. I put in a lot of time here – absolutely. But I'm not the only one. There are other guys on this team who have put in a lot of time, played through some stuff, played through some injuries, and put up with a lot of stuff on this football team. I appreciate them. I think they know that I appreciate them, because I tell them that I appreciate them. I tell them that I love them, and those are not just words for me. It kind of hits home for me to hear guys say that they want to win it for me."
