The fact is that we get to play a game for millions of dollars, and to get to play on national TV. And the reason why is we have brave men and women who are doing things in places that none of us would ever want to go to.
You don't ever want to intentionally hurt anyone. But the key is to take him out the game mentally.
We put seven in the box and then it was just a matter of our corners staying with (Smith), running with him. We took them out of their game plan, which was Steve Smith.
We didn't play it right or fit it up right. The game comes down to who makes the big plays.
We knew that the game was going to change. It was going to be a little bit more of a grind it out. That is what we did.
We knew exactly what they were going to do out of every formation. They thought they were going to run the same game plan that they did against Chicago, but we're too smart for that. At least you've got to change things up.
Speaking personally, at the start of the game I wasn't emotionally prepared like I needed to be.
This game is a physical game, especially this time of year. Carolina has been the puncher for most of the time, they line up and punch people in the mouth. Today, we took their push and we swung back, and our punches were definitely stronger.
It was important that early in the game, we hit them. It's when you get hits during the game that they don't feel comfortable. That changes 6, 8 inches on any pass.