Super Bowl, huh? Super Bowl we here.
Yeah, how does that me? How you feeling?
I feel great. Now,
you know, this is this is the ultimate goal. This what you
work for. So the be at this point, you know,
one we hear
and you know, we went we are world champions. So it feel
real good. Second half of the NFC Championship Game. You
stood up and made a very powerful emotional speech. What
exactly was your message to your teammates?
Pretty much Just let them guys know. We want game away. We
here. Now, you know,
it got to mean something to you. We plan for something, you
know, we trying to be world champion, we here so we just
got a boat what, you know, just trying to let them guys know
and film where I was at with it, you know,
because I'm a guy that lead by example. So
I know when I speak them guys is going to listen
and they can, they can
I wanted to make sure I look around a by look them in
the eye when I'm speaking to him, and so they can feel where
I was coming from. So
guys can lock in and do we need to do? And I think, you know,
we stood tall we needed to start it. Making some big time
stops, we found a way to win that game. A lot of guys talk
about that. You're very quiet guy.
You're not really a vocal leader. You lead. By example,
like you just talked about but now everyone's since starting
to say you're talking a lot more. Where's that come from?
Well, you know, it's just just a roll, you just get a growing
to, you know, we had brought lesher's more, the guy that
spoke he's gone. So I knew I needed to step up and then
I started to do a lot more, you know, Vaughn came. And I think
one thing Von Miller helped me a lot
with was just talking to him. It's a him just talking to me
saying
this to speak to the guy's a little bit more. You know,
I kind of feel like he challenged me to do that.
No, you give me a lot of talks and he's
expressed that to me a lot and I started to, you know, take it
in. He said when God when you speak, man, just because who
you is, guys are gonna follow you, you know, I know if you,
if you tell me something, you know, you know, I'm a follow
your more at that's gonna want
me to eat work that much harder for you. So,
you know, I started to try to, you know,
get out that comfort zone and just be more of that guy, you
know, for them for my teammates. You know, and see
how that work and they've been gravitating to it. So, you
know, I've been working, you've accomplished a lot. The short
time appeared that you've been here. Like, are you putting
more pressure on
yourself? Because of the Super Bowl.
I was a put more pressure on myself,
you know, getting to this point this time and second time
around, I definitely appreciate it a lot more, you know,
because understanding how hard it is to get to get here
a long season. A lot of UPS, a lot of downs, a lot of things
you go through, but
it's tough to get to this, to this point to be done. One of
the, you know, one of the last team standing. So, I appreciate
a lot more man. But you know, I'm just gonna go do my job and
play ball - all I can do.
I ain't worried about nothing else, but
only one thing and that's winning. You know,
how often do you think about that Patriots? Super Bowl loss
in 2018.
There's always in the back of your head, you know, because
you got to that point, you you right there like I got
the opportunity to feel what it's like to be in the Super Bowl,
but
I don't know what it feel like the wind was so
after that, you know, it kind of motivated me to do
everything I can to trying to get back. Super Bowl and find
a way to win one. You know
how different is this team compared to the 2018 Super Bowl team
different.
It's kind of its kind of similar kind of different, you
know, obviously, you know, I think the chemistry guys just
love being around each other, you know outside of football.
Think we got a good Bond guys. Like being around each other.
So
it's similar, but the same time you got, you know, different
guys that you know, a lot of guys have been at this point
before so we got more experience.
So the most impressive Thing to me about your team. Is that you
got Aaron? Donald, you got Jalen Rams. You got Von Miller.
You got all this star power, Matthew Stafford. Yet. You guys
find a way
to have that chemistry and have that continuity. What do you
have to do? Check your ego at the door before you walk in
here? Because that's a lot of vehicles coming in door.
It was you guys. We just got good guys, man, like they real
good people outside. Like they got good personalities. Like,
you know, it's good vibes around people, man. Ain't
nobody think they bigger than nobody else a body. Just like,
you know,
This is different. You know,
you can really don't usually,
you know, get them guys with the big names and they
you kind of feel like they pull the act a certain way but
everybody at the same a buddy's like real down-to-earth. Real
cool. So I've been good. Have you thought about your Super
Bowl performance in 2018?
Yeah, and and what you think about, I feel like I ended
enough,
you know, obviously when he wasn't so I did enough. I think
it has some opportunities to help my team and make some
plays that I didn't make. But
you know, you live and you learn, you know, at this point.
Point. I'm at my second Super Bowl
and this time, you know, I'm gonna try to do more than I did
last time because you know, it's the only thing I want to
do is win. Now, do you have personal goals? Because I know
remember talking to my
my guy Richard Seymour
and in a locker room, we were like, hey,
I want to be Super Bowl MVP. He's like, I'm going to be
Super Bowl. MVP. Have you discussed that with anybody? Or
is that something you think about in your mind? Honestly,
I really, really don't. You know, I'm really a guy that just
really just play.
I don't really think about that my main things, like, at
the bit, you know, a lot of guys got goals at the In a year, you
might as just do everything. I can play at a high level and
get to this point better Super Bowl
and then if you ask me am I think about being a Super Bowl
MVP? It wasn't in my head at all. You kind of put it there
now, but
but no, I just, I just want to win my honestly, I just want to
win, I want to spare. It's that feeling of being a world
champion. So and if I get the opportunity to have one of
those type of games and make enough plays to be that
it's a blessing but
just one is enough for me. So, what is the best word to
describe? Joe burrow? Jobar?
He's confident. You can tell he's a young guy, but he got
a lot of confidence, you know,
just watching them, you know, to couple films that I got
the opportunity to watch this far,
you know, East a porous, you know, through mistakes and lot
of
sexy, get that heat that hit quarterback, hit, you get on
them. He don't seem to rattle, but,
you know, he seemed pretty confident in himself. So that
was the thing. When I was watching the game, nine sacks.
And this guy young guys, coming off, an ACL continues to get up
play after play.
You don't see him yet.
That is offensive line. You don't see him
to me. That's the most impressive thing. Just
the mental toughness that he brings Does, it show the type of guy
he's going to be in this league. So you got to respect
them for that, you know,
but you know, he's in the waste we got to try to find a way to
you know, affect them all types of ways we can. But you also
see that he's moving pretty well. He's moving inside and
outside the pocket. So what is your plan to attack them? I
was the mobile Gap, but you
and of course
any quarterback in this league. Now is a mobile quarterback. We
got, you know, we got Russell Wilson, we play twice, Years.
So,
obviously, you got to be
Gap sound, you know, keeping try to bottle minute
as much as you can, as far as the outside world shoes. And
we do our job in the middle, so he can step up and we would be
fine. So, just like the game playing with any other mobile
quarterback. You get, you know, don't let him get out that
pocket extend plays and do certain things. So
our I
got to ask you this because like all your teammates talk
about how humble you are your soft-spoken guy and even just
sitting here,
you know, you're just easy to talk to but when you get on
that, All feel you are different different guide. Like
who do you turn it to? And where did that come from? Just
get into my
dark place and I think
anybody got a dark place, you know,
it's just, it's just like I grew up Ash a kid.
Once I put my football players on, I'd like,
always talking always, you know, upbeat that's always say
like when I put my equipment on turn into like a superhero
costume. Yeah, man, and I just spread always, it was able to
express myself through football. So,
you know, you play a game you love
You know, with some passion, a lot of different emotions come
out of that. So we talked about over here. We talk about
all the individual accolades.
But I told you, I said, you know, your view differently.
People look at you differently. When you're a Super Bowl champ
and you've accomplished everything you wanted to, you
can quit right now. You'll be one of the greatest
defensive players of all time.
But that's Super Bowl. That means something special to you
mean everything, you know, I heard so many people, tell me
so many stories about being the world champion. Hi,
You lie, all that, like,
I'm like, I just keep hearing it. I just gotta, I just,
I gotta feel that. Like, I like you said in a short amount of
time. I've accomplished so much and I'm blessed to accomplish
that. But one thing that I'm lacking is being a World Champ,
and I don't know what that feels
like. So I feel like
to make everything complete, the make me feel like, like
I accomplished, you know, everything for a reason and it
was like worth it, like worth it.
You know, I got to be a world champion. I got a see what that
feel like to, you know, see what I Confetti
and a hold of Lombardy and you know, hug it and then
the whole experience after the Super Bowl of being a world
champion. I just want to I just want to experience them.
What do you want your legacy to be?
You walk away. Just one of the best to do it, you know. It
started off as just being the one to be the best at my
position,
but
you put the body of working and now, you know,
you got get your name, mentioned with all types of
great. So
just to be one of the best of how do you speak humble with
that though? Like when you're being mentioned? Oh, he's
the greatest. I've said I think you're the best player on
the planet period. Like how does that make you feel like? Do you
like do
you really conceived that can you mentally conceived? Like
I am the best player on the planet right here, but I don't
think it really. I don't really I you here and you kind of if
anything it motivate me, but I don't I don't think I really
grasped it yet. If that makes sense. Like are you afraid that
if you grasp it too much then a level of complacency will kick
in? Or is this your way of just saying I'm ignoring? And I'm
staying home. But yeah, I think it's just me Stan
Focus, you know, I want to, you know, you don't want to,
you know, you hear so much and you just absorb it and you just
to the point. You just get relaxing, black,
man. I might maybe I am that, you know, and I don't work as
hard maybe or, no. I'm just a guy that just got to work
ethic. So it's like,
you know, maybe one day when I'm done playing football.
I sit back, you know, and really think about the things that
I accomplishing, like, the names that I'm being mentioned with,
it's going to be like,
because I think about an ounce.
That might be by myself. I might shed a tear because it's
a real man, because,
you know, I always had big goals and Big Dreams, man.
I thought they was, but I accomplished everything
that I wanted to and more. And so some things I accomplished.
I ain't even expect, you know, but just a body of work that
you put into
something like, my dad always told me,
it ain't what you don't want anybody watching. It's what you
do when nobody's watching and um, and it
is truly paying off big for me man. So, So
just to see, you know, the body of work that I put into this
game,
all the all the fam, all the training, during the offseason,
all the weight room work like
to see it come full circle and see, the thing that I was able
to accomplish this far and be where I'm at right now.
All I can say is hard work. It pays off, man, and I truly
believe that because I live off that. So who are that's great
answer to by the way who are some of your
football influences
like people that influence you
did. Look at a guy like
Lawrence Taylor. Like, who are some of the guys that influence
you? I always had like my older brother. He got a linebacker
always looked up to him. My dad was a big strong guy. Played
football looked up to him. But
you know, I just I gravitated to like I grew up in
Pittsburgh. So I'm going to Pittsburgh fans. I thought
I used to want to be a running back. So really Rome bed is was
a guy like he could do it. I could play running Jerome, you
got nobody like you
I'll let you roam bet. He's got Polamalu.
Ray Lewis.
So, you know, I just gravitated Hines Ward. It wasn't always as
defensive players, offensive players. So, you know, I seen
a lot of good matches with the Steelers and the Patriots.
We already had to try to find a way to get through
the Patriots, to get to the Super Bowl. So, let's see you a lot,
too. So, you know, I just gravitated to guy that made
plays and that was, you know, them, guys, you know, if
they'll, you know what I mean?