The last few weeks we haven't been playing up to our capabilities on defense. We know that no matter what happens out there on the field, if we get a turnover they can't score. That's our mentality. As a good defense you have to be able to improvise on the run, even in adverse situations.

In practice there's very few words being interchanged between us, and that's always a good sign because we're on the same page, ... That's a bonus to know you can control your side of the ball, control what you do and not have to worry about, is the other safety getting it right?

I know what it takes to win a championship, ... It doesn't take your leaders to be on the sidelines to get it done. So I made the sacrifice. ... I'm at the point in my career where opportunities are getting slim.

It's guys like a Tom Brady and numerous other guys that when they come to work every day before an injury happens they prepare like they're the next in line, ... Those are the guys that are successful when they go in, and we expect that out of (Crowell). He has to take every advantage of this opportunity.

I told him this league is about winning and losing. It doesn't matter what your stats are, as long as you're the quarterback on a winning team you're going to be a star.

It's easy for me as a competitor to say, 'I'm not going to miss any time, ... But right now, I have to be smart about it. ... I'm not worried about Sunday. Right now, I'm just trying to let my hand heal.

There's definitely a sense of urgency. Even though we lost that Pittsburgh game (the season finale), we left feeling pretty good about ourselves. In this league, with all the movement and parity, you have to take advantage of the opportunities you get and not let them slip by. We want to take advantage of having a good team.

A lot of people are counting him out because he's old, but Curt is still Curt, ... We can't fall into that trap. I've been telling my guys this week, 'He's off to a slow start, but don't buy into it.'

The way the Patriots tried to back me into a corner. It didn't show a lot on their part, ... New England tried to squeeze me with a last-minute deal, so we took a risk and went on the market.

Defense wins championships. Our offense does and outstanding job keeping us off the field early. Down towards the end we had to keep battling even when they were moving the ball. But we remained focused and we talked about getting the ball. That's what happened.