On the flow of the game (getting sacked early and not much late): "They showed some stuff early on. It was just a matter of us weeding through it and figuring out what protections are going to be best…what routes are going to be best against it. Once we got our hits it kind of felt good after that."
On where his performance today ranked as a Bear and in his NFL career: "I don't know. It was a big game for us, obviously. We talked about it the other day. We have to keep going. We have to put this one behind us. The true test is consistency, especially in November and December. Whether it's in the red zone, third downs, turnovers, or winning ball games. We just have to keep going."
On how today's performance ranks for the offense as a whole: "A lot of guys came to play. The offensive line came to play, they ran the ball well. Scored some points early. Earl (Bennett) had a heck of a game. Greg (Olsen) had a good game. Johnny (Knox) and Devin (Hester) both played well. I think everyone is getting comfortable in this system and what their responsibilities are and what they're supposed to do each play."
On why the offense has performed better over the past month: "It's a new system. It takes time. It takes time for everyone to learn it. It takes time for me to learn it. It takes time for Mike (Martz) to get used to his guys and what we feel comfortable calling, or what you can and can't call."
On the absence of (Asante) Samuel: "He's a great player. Sooner or later, we're probably going to miss a player here or there. I've missed a game. Lance (Briggs) has missed a game. That's the NFL. Very rarely are guys going to be able to play 16 straight games."
On controlling their own destiny and getting better each week: "We just have to keep winning. We can't worry about anybody else…in our division or in the NFC. We just have to keep playing, trying to get better and better and worry about our offense, our defense, and our special teams."
Is this a signature win for the team?: "It's a good win. Like coach said, it's one. We can't hang our hat on this one. There's still a lot of football left to play. We've got to keep getting better and keep trying to improve and keep getting ready for the next opponent."
Are you proud of the way you played?:"Of course. We win the game. The offense scores points. I'm really proud of all of those guys."
What about you personally? Are you proud of the job you did?: "I did my job. That's all each of us can do. We just have to go out and do our job and execute plays."
How did it feel for the offense to come through given the way the defense has been playing?:"Our defense has been playing so well each and every game, just holding us in there…really battling, creating a lot of turnovers, getting us good field position. We've kind of squandered some stuff, so for us to go out there and kind of alleviate some of that pressure off of them was good. We've got to close the door a bit better in the fourth quarter. Sustain some drives, get some first downs, and milk the clock a little bit. But that just goes back to keep getting better week in and week out."
On the 10 minute drive in the third quarter and if it was part of the game plan to keep Vick off of the field: "We weren't worried about that. Our defense had been on the field quite a bit. We'd hit some big plays…had some quick scoring drives. Three, four, six plays. So I think that was kind of a signature moment in the game for us; to grind out the clock, get the running game going, pick up some tough first downs on third down. Even though we only got three (points) out of it, to burn up that much time and really let our defense rest and get some momentum going. It was huge."
On the matchup against Vick and whether or not he took it personally: "I take every game personally. Every game is very important to me. I do everything possible…and the later we get into the season the bigger the games are going to be. The stakes are going to be raised and the higher the expectations are going to be. Not just for this team but me (also) and we're all are going to have to rise to it."
On his scrambling ability: "I don't know. I do it as a last resort. Mike's a little more savvy with it. They (the O-line) were protecting well. They were giving us some running lanes…giving me some time to look downfield and if it's not there I'm going to take off and try to make something happen. Make some good plays through the air and moving the pocket a little bit today."
Is it oversimplifying it to say that the last four weeks the better you have run the better you have passed?:"That goes back to protection. The way those guys are playing. It's hard for me to run if they're not getting up to the right guys, blocking and giving me some time. Whenever we're getting pressure and losing guys I'm not going to be able to go anywhere. So it all comes back to those guys. There's no doubt."
On the momentum of the (Chris) Harris interception before the end of the first half: "To score right before halftime, then get the ball back and go down and try again…that's huge. That's a potential 14 point swing right there. Getting a pick down there. Our defense has come up with big turnovers and big stops like that for us all year long for us."
What do you like about the way you're playing right now?:"We're limiting turnovers, converting on third down, so we're doing a lot of good things that help you win ballgames."
On the flag he wanted but wasn't thrown: "Yeah, I got the flag. Everyone saw the replay. Everyone knows what happened. They'll probably be a fine levied on that, but whatever. We're out there trying to do everything possible to win this ballgame and something like that happens."
On being in the driver's seat in the NFC North following Green Bay's loss today: "We had to go out and make it happen today…go out and execute. We can't worry about Green Bay. They're going to go out and win ballgames. They're too good of a team not to. They've got a lot of leadership over there. So we've just got to take care of our business."
On how close we are to seeing Mike Martz's offense being complete: "We're getting there. We've got to get better in the fourth quarter. Got to get better in the four minute drive…kind of grind out the clock a little bit. But we're definitely getting there. There are still some things that are happening that we have to clean up. You can just tell that we're young in the offense…we just haven't completely grasped it yet. But we're making enough big plays to overcome some stuff. Limiting our turnovers and limiting our penalties."
