(Is Jacobs going to be as big and physical as you're going to see?)
He's definitely a very big and physical running back that we have to prepare for. I was disappointed we didn't get to see him the first time we went out there, seeing him play. You know, I love competition. I think he's a great back so I'm looking forward to playing against him.
(What was it about the way the Giants played you guys that caused your team to get two personal fouls?)
It was a very emotional game. They went out and played hard. We played hard. We don't back down from anything and they don't back down from anything. Sometimes you get personal fouls like that. We have to be smarter to do it before the whistle so we don't get the flag. When you have two teams playing their hearts out you have a little bit extra aggression.
(What did O'Hara do to Kampman?)
I don't even remember actually. I didn't even see it. I guess he jumped on his back or put his elbow on his neck or something. I don't know. I don't want to get into it. I didn't see it. I didn't see it on film either.
(You'd never pull something like that right?)
Of course not, I don't do anything like that. I'm the cleanest player there is in the league.
(Have your coaches talked to you about the importance of not retaliating given what happened in that game?)
Yes, especially in a game like this. You give them 15 yards, that's huge. We don't want to give them anything extra because of doing something stupid. Our goal is to go in there and play the same type of game that we've been playing, just keep things clean, keep them between the whistles and still play hard, still play aggressive, and fight all the way through until the last whistle is blown.
(How hard is it to keep your emotions in check in those situations?)
Sometimes your emotions do take control of you but you have to be smart and keep your emotions in check. Is it brains over brawn? If someone is grabbing your facemask and doing something stupid to you, your first reaction is to do something back. It's part of the game. I'm not saying that they do all of this stuff. I'm just saying if stuff like that happens we've got to just play our game.
(If it was an official who did something like that to you is there something that clicks in your mind to stop you from reacting like that?)
Especially if it's an official. You want to do something, trust me. You have to know what the consequences are and how bad you're going to hurt your team by doing something like that. Trust me, you definitely want to do something.
(How do you stay in your game as a physical player who likes to talk but not cross the line?)
I don't have a problem playing like that. I don't have a problem with anyone saying something to me or me talking to them. I love it. It sparks me and gets me going. Just as in I hope no one takes offense to when I do it. I'm just doing it for fun. It is what it is. It's football. I've been doing it since Pop Warner. I wasn't always the one on the giving end of it, sometimes I received some stuff. I learned at an early age it's just football. You take control of your own destiny and you have fun with it. That's what I like to do. I know some guys get into that battle and they take it very personal and get out of control. I think it's fun. I hope somebody says something to me. That's what I look for. It's just fun.
(Do you do it to try to get under a player's skin?)
I don't know. I don't even think that. I'm not that smart at that point to get under their skin. I just do what's in me at the time. That's a lot of thinking man. I didn't get my degree yet but that's a lot to think about.
(What was the trash talk in Pop Warner?)
Man, I sucked in Pop Warner so most of the trash talking was to me.
(As you were watching the Giants-Cowboys game and saw them trash talking, how much did you wish you were playing in that game?)
It looked like an exciting game. Didn't you think it was exciting? I'm looking forward to it. Marion Barber was getting his fans fired up and the Giants were doing the same thing. It looked like a heck of a game. I wanted to be involved in it. I just can't wait till it's here at Lambeau. It's going to be fun. Hopefully it doesn't get too out of control where we have any dirty stuff or whatever but I definitely want to play an emotional, exciting game. That's what you look for, those types of games.
(What do you think makes Eli special this time of year?)
I think he's making good decisions right now. He's got some weapons to use right now. His backfield is running well, two very savvy receivers in Plaxico and Toomer, and some young guys that are playing great too. He's doing the right things. I don't know what else to say. Our plan is to make sure he doesn't do the right things. This will be a challenge.
(What did they lose when Shockey got hurt?)
A great player. When Shockey got hurt they lost a very good playmaker. Obviously, everyone knows that Shockey is very competitive, physical guy who loves to win games. You can see it the way he plays. The guy that's in now is very good too. Don't get it twisted. He's out there doing the job that he has to do. I think the week after that he came in and made some plays. He's been doing the job.
(What's it like to tackle a back like Jacobs who probably weighs more than you?)
It's fun. He's a big guy. There are a lot of big running backs in this league, Steven Jackson, a lot of guys we have to tackle that are big. I don't know if they're as big as him. He's a monster. Football is not about weight and who's bigger. It's about leverage, intensity, explosiveness, and you just really have to be prepared to get your leverage right and explode at the right time to stand the guy up like that. Or you have to shoot low and knock his knees out, either one. I just look forward to whatever, to tackle. I do not have a game plan. I'm not coming in there to just shoot at his legs. I'm playing football and that's what it's all about.
(What possessed you to that to your hair (in reference to his gold mohawk?)
I looked at you and went home and said, 'Man, I'm going to have to do something.' No, I'm just joking. I'm just doing something fun. Honestly, I really wanted to cut it but I was like, 'Wait, I can't cut it because we won so I have to keep it going.' Hopefully, I don't cut it.
(Did you become more emotional after your father passed away?)
You weren't paying attention (before). That's when you noticed it. I was doing the same thing before that but that game was when you noticed it because we were down. I didn't care what the score was. I was just out there playing hard. Obviously, I was in a very emotional time in that game and I was just playing hard. I wasn't about to just let up at that point. I would say this, my rookie year, not a lot of rookies are able to come in and play emotionally and express it the way that you want to. You're young and you don't want to do too much. You just want to do your job. As I play more and more, I learned that it is my job. It is to play emotional. It is to be an emotional leader. It is to go out there and get guys excited to play. I'm able to express it more without as much criticism.
(Could you have done anything more to get in the Pro Bowl this season?)
I could have done a Chris Bosh tape. That might have worked. That was very creative. It's great to be noticed and recognized as a Pro Bowl snub and be a first alternate. Maybe, one year I'll go there. Right now the best bowl game you could possibly be in is right in front of our face. We can't look past the Giants but we have an opportunity to go there. I'm just blessed and happy to be in this position rather than being at home and thinking about Hawaii.
(Did you ask Lofa Tatupu last week is there was any chance he might not go to the Pro Bowl?)
I told him, I was like 'Man, I wish you would have got hurt in that game.' No, I'm just joking. No, I just told him he deserved to go. He's a great player and he said the same thing to me. He actually said it to me before. Not that it matters, but I was going to say the same thing to him, so we just kind of exchanged words and I'm a fan of his, he's a fan of mine. We just watch each other play. Obviously we've got to watch defensive tape in the NFC and I see him play all the time. He's a great player.
{sportsad300}(Do you get sick of hearing about the Packers past and all the Super Bowls and being compared to them?)
You know what, not really. To be compared to those teams is an honor. I would love to be a Super Bowl champion and to be thought of as one of those teams who won the Super Bowl. That's the standard that we live by here. If we don't go to the Super Bowl, our season is failed. That was a failed season, and that's how it always is around here. We expect excellence and if we don't get it then we're not going to hang our hat on the fact of being 8-8 or anything like that. We want to go to the Super Bowl and that's the bottom line.
(What did it mean to have Pickett back and does the stuff he does not show up in the stat sheets?)
Yeah, I don't think 95 percent of what he does shows up in the stat sheet. He's a necessity for me to play the way that I'm able to play. He's up front, he's taking up double teams and causing havoc and making guys have to stay longer on the double team. It frees me up. Just that millisecond or just that half a second, it helps that much more.
(What's the state of the pass rush? Do you need to bring blitzes to get the pressure you were getting earlier in the year?)
I don't think so. I have a lot of faith in our guys up front, in our pass rush and they'll get there. They'll do what they have to do. They work very hard every week to get there and sometimes we may not get the sacks in the game but we have a lot of pressures, a lot of knockdowns, a lot of hurries and that's just as good as sacks for us, incomplete passes. We're just going to continue to keep working and if we have to bring pressure we have a good blitz package waiting in the duffel bag and we're going to unzip it.
