On keeping your cool? "We knew it was going to be a championship effort, looking back on last season. We came into it with that mentality and attitude on that first drive. We made them earn it that first drive."
Did you see a lack of confidence? "No I don't think that. The guys did a tremendous job of getting pressure early. No, if the guys up front make some plays on the quarterback early, then they make some mistakes. The guys up front dominated the line of scrimmage today."
Could you see him (Jake) being affected by it? "If you look at Carolina they got off their running game. Once we were able to get at him and they couldn't run the ball effectively then we were able to make some plays. Jake (Delhomme) is a runner. He'll bounce back and we never counted him out if that's what you're asking."
Encouraged by the first series? "Oh, definitely. We made them earn that first drive. We should have been off the field on the third down conversion. We had a penalty and they got the ball back then I think we had a nice goal line effort. We didn't let them run it in easily. We gained confidence with that effort."
On your two picks? "One of them I was actually playing safety in the middle of the field. They motioned the tight end outside of Steve Smith. Through film study you know when they put Steve in the slot he's gettin' the football. I kind of trailed behind the play. The safety on the linebacker made Jake throw the ball and I was in the right place at the right time."
On this team? "From my standpoint there's always going to be questions. It doesn't matter if the media asks them or not. We always have questions, because we don't know how the team chemistry is going to be or how we're going to develop. I don't think we've ever started this fast. We understand we haven't accomplished anything. This is a long season. If we win this one and lose the rest then it's not going to mean anything. We have a veteran group in the locker room and we're going to continue to work."
On the impact of the loss of Coach Jim Johnson? "It's still Jim's system. It's still the same concept. He did a tremendous job of game planning and calling it in certain situations, but it's still the same thing."
Faster as group than Carolina? "I think we had some things going early. I can remember some of the years where we were able to create turnovers, like Trent Cole, hit the quarterback. Where in the past on opening day the other team would recover it. Today, we happened to be able to recover fumbles and catch the football in the back of the end zone."
On off-season contract issues? "I'm not going to let my teammates down. They had nothing to do with that. That's totally separate from what's going on. My effort is for these guys. We work together, we bleed together and at the end of the day they count. That locker room counts to me and as long as I've got their respect that's all that matters."
