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(How important was the win to get the first-round bye?)
Very, very important. The win today gives us the first-round bye, and we'll be smart as we move forward with the health with our football team. We've been smart all along, starting with our training camp - that great schedule that you guys all loved. We'll continue to move forward. Chicago is still an important game, but it definitely gives us a chance to get some people back.
(What was the difference between the first half and the second half?)
Well, we didn't play very well in some spots in the first half. Our tackling on defense needed to improve, and I think they definitely did that in the second half. I thought our defense was outstanding in the second half. Offensively, we had some opportunities both in the first and second half. We had a favorable play call versus a pressure and we did not execute. They did a better job of that - give credit to the Rams. I'll say for the whole game I thought our special teams was outstanding. I think they played a huge part in the victory today.
(On the record-setting pass, did you call that play for Driver?)
I didn't realize where we were as far as how many yards he needed. Sounds good, sounds for a good story, but no. It was just a base play in our plan and Brett did a good job of executing it.
(Does it bother you to get outgained and with the turnovers, yet still come out with the win?)
Those are all things you point to. That's part of playing the game and improving. Most important is winning the game, like you've already stated. I think our special teams played a huge part in that because we played with favorable field position all four quarters. As far as losing the time of possession and losing the yardage, I think that factors into our special teams play as much as than anything. Three turnovers is not what we're looking for, and we need to fix that as we move on.
(The Packers keep winning, but how important are all these records Brett keeps breaking in the context of the team's success?)
Well, I don't want to speak for Brett but I'm sure he'd say it means a lot more. He's had an incredible career and continues to just add another log on the fire as he moves through the seasons. He's been a tremendous player for us this year. His leadership and performance weekly at the quarterback position - I just can't say enough about him. You like to see good things like records happen to good people.
(It wasn't Lambeau Field but you had a lot of fans here today.)
Our fans are the best in the world. To line up at Denver, Kansas City, Dallas and to come to St. Louis and to hear your fans, it's incredible. It gives our players a great lift to see your defensive line waving their arms in the air on a big third-down call when you're on the road. It speaks volumes about the type of fans we do have.
(You've won the games you're supposed to win - how do you keep doing that?)
Well, we're a good football team, we're a focused football team, and we've kept our eye on the target. We need to continue to do so. It's a credit to the players. It's a very hard-working group. They enjoy practice. They're fun to be around, they're fun to coach, they're fun to push, and that's truly a credit to the players.
(Will the rotations at certain positions continue?)
Those are really discussions as we move through this week and next week, so we have plenty of time to do that. But it's not anything that's new for us. We have been playing a lot of people, particularly the last two or three weeks.
(on Favre)
He's a once-in-a-lifetime player. He'll go down as one of the greatest or the greatest player in the history of the National Football League. But just the way he goes about his business I think speaks volumes about him as a person. He's a joy to coach, he's a big part of our success this year as he's been throughout his whole career, and you love to see him just keep breaking these records.
(How difficult was it matching wits with a guy like Haslett?)
Jim is a tremendous football coach. Schematically that is the biggest challenge we've had all year without a doubt. He won a number of those pressures against us, and going empty and us releasing five, it's just a matter of us getting the ball out. We had some success there in the first couple of plays and had the big touchdown off the empty pressure, but it's a challenge and I think our players did a good job with the extra time with the blitz drills and the study this week. I give credit to coaches like Jim Haslett that come up and line up to play and try to win.
(What happened on the second interception?)
Well, I was expecting a defense which we did get. Safety got a good break on the ball. To me it was an opportunity to put the game away and get it up to a three-plus score game. If I had to do it all over again, maybe I'd run it, I don't know. They had come with a strong-safety blitz from that formation the play before, and I was expecting it again, which they did. It was a big-play opportunity, the one-on-ones I was talking about, where it could have potentially been a big play for us but it was not.
(on the run game)
Well, they challenged the line of scrimmage. Everyone talks about their pressure and everyone thinks it has to do with stopping the pass. Stopping the run as far as this pressure game is something they do very well also. A couple of times we had the ability to have the long runs. That's the whole philosophy of the game - it's high risk and high reward, and it's a challenge.
(What is Brett's best characteristic?)
Oh, just a tremendous competitor. One of many, but that's the first one that jumps off the chart. Tremendous competitor.