(Al Harris said the playoff experience will play a role in Saturday's game. How do you think the playoff experience will make a difference?)
I hate to disagree with a teammate. In some level, obviously (it will make a difference with) the atmosphere that surrounds a playoff game like this but in the same sense it's still football and we've been doing this for quite a long time and we've had some big games. I think probably the closest thing that our team has had this year would be that game down in Dallas, so we've had a little bit of experience with that as a team collectively this year.
(What do you think this team learned from the Dallas game?)
I think just stay the course in the sense of staying on fundamentals. We did some things that were uncharacteristic of us in that game that didn't allow us to have success down there and so I think really we'll have that type of mentality. We talked about it already this week. Our practices have been very sharp and that will be the key, just making sure we stay within ourselves, keeping our identity the same. That really just comes down to fundamentals for us.
(What does it feel like to have this much attention on you being at the podium?)
No different than being in the locker room I guess. That's the way I look at it.
(What will Pickett's return mean to the defensive line?)
I think it's huge. We always teach each other. We're the strong side, left side and to be able to have him in there really I think helps solidify a lot of things. The other guys, it's not a knock on them at all, but Ryan does so many things for us. He's very, very responsible, always in his gap, he controls the line of scrimmage and he makes a lot of plays. He's not just a guy that eats up blockers. He actually sheds blocks and makes tackles, so it's been good to have him back at practice and pretty much have all our guys full-strength.
(Is the Aaron Kampman-Patrick Kerney comparison a fair one?)
I'll leave that up to you guys. We both play the game very hard. I consider Patrick a friend. We got to know each when Ed Donatell was here and then he went down to Atlanta. We stayed in contact and he said that he thought him and I would get along pretty good, so he connected us and a couple, handful times a year we say hello and we both congratulate each other. This year we made the Pro Bowl and things like that, so he's a very good player.
(How much does getting pressure on the quarterback factor into a playoff game?)
I think it's huge. I think in the end these games, turnovers and things like that (factor) but I think one of the other major variables, obviously, is how much pressure you're going to put on the opposing quarterback. I know that's what we talked a lot about and I'm sure they're talking about the same thing. I think you can just really dictate how the game goes based on how uncomfortable a quarterback's feeling back there.
(How do you think you've done in the pass-rush department lately?)
As we've talked about before I think there's a lot of variables for that. You can look at the Chicago game as one example. They threw the ball 14 times. You don't get a lot of chances to sack the quarterback when they're only throwing it 14 times and I think only six of those were rush situations. We played some running football teams, did a lot more blitzing to give our opponents more to study before. You know I can go on and on with all these variables. What I've seen in practice I've really liked. I think our guys are excited to be able to kind of pin their ears back again and get after it if we're called upon.
(What are the things about Tauscher that give you trouble in practice?)
Mark is a very good tackle. Mark understands leverage, he understands angles very, very well. You think you can get into the guy, maybe power the guy but you can't. He does very well, sets his anchor very well. You try to get around the corner with speed, he understands well enough to keep his angle such that he's going to ride you by the quarterback. Brett does a great job of stepping up. We talked about it one time when I was in the unrestricted free agent thing. He said, 'Hey don't be sharing any of my secrets when you go out and about.' But he doesn't have a whole lot. He's a very good tackle.
(Is there any downside to the amount of rest the defensive players have gotten?)
Against Detroit I would have said it was a downside because I wanted to play, but now I really see the benefit of it. I feel great. I know Ryan (Pickett) feels the same way and the rest of the guys. It wasn't necessarily any major thing that was keeping us out. Coach just wanted to rest us. Some of the guys had some issues that they wanted to take care of, but for me, I can speak for myself. I feel great. This is probably the best I've felt in a while.
(Does the postseason history at Lambeau cross your mind at all this week?)
I think it about it every time I step on the field. You can't not do that at this place. When Mike Sherman renovated this building and put those concrete steps that used to be in the north end zone over there and you walk over them you recognize that every time you step on to the field. So to me every time you play at Lambeau Field it's something special.
(Do you think it's a bigger advantage playing at home or having the week off?)
Are they are a horse apiece? They're both great. ... I think we've done very well at this place this year. We're 7-1 and the bye I think was great for us as well. We were a healthy team going in to the end of the regular season but we're just that much better.
{sportsad300}(Have you talked about the Seattle game from last year?)
We watched that game. Four turnovers in the first half. We felt like we were controlling things pretty well early on in that game and obviously probably the biggest thing I remember is letting Alexander have some big runs, particularly that second half. But both teams are different this year. Yeah you look at that for just what it was but we're both different teams. I'd say they would say the same thing about themselves. They're a different team, we're a different club, but yeah, we did watch the film.
(What do you remember of Al's interception in the last playoff meeting?)
It was called 'Thriller Blitz.' Ed (Donatell) called it. It was called a population blitz which means that we're sending more than they can block. So I believe we sent all eight, three guys in coverage (with) the flat-foot read which means that the corners are off whatever they are, 10 yards, and it's flat-foot. You just stand right in that spot because the ball's coming out and sure enough Al just sat right there, the pressure came, (they) had to throw the ball and it went right to him.
(Can you talk about your matchup with Seahawks tackle Sean Locklear?)
He's a good tackle, moves his feet. He tries to be active with his hands. Yeah I think he's a good tackle.
(Does Alexander look like he's back to where he was the last few years?)
I think you'd have to ask him that but they'd probably say this - they're not running the ball as much as they had in the past couple years back. Having said that they're still very effective in what they do in their Eagle personnel and even in Zebra they do a nice job, so yeah, I do still think they're effective in their run game.
(Do you almost get the sense this is a pseudo-division game because of the similarities between the teams?)
It does kind of have that feel to it because we all know each other so well. It is kind of that. Someone was asking me earlier if since our coaches know each other so well is it going to play a big factor in the thing, and I made the comparison that, yeah, it's kind of like a divisional game in the NFC North. And in some ways it is. We've played each other a fair amount of times. I think we've been playing each other in the preseason the last two years then the regular season last year so we've seen these guys a couple times.
