HEAD COACH PETE CARROLL
*(Opening…) * "That was a classic defensive ballgame all night long. We had a lot of respect for this team that we're playing, because they're so good all the way around. They showed it, it was really hard for us to get the ball downfield and score any points, and we were fortunate in playing a really good game on defense. Some great stops tonight. Just classic short yardage starts, and down there on the goal line, Bradley I guess gets in the way on the fourth down play in the end zone. Just some beautiful football. Not the kind of football that everybody loves, but the kind of football that we love, and I bet Coach Zimmer, he thinks the same thing. It was a tough defensive day. Let me say this, too, about that. These guys had only been giving up 90 yards a game rushing, and we rushed for over 200 today. That's something to be proud of. It was hard to do, and our guys knocked it out; the guys up front, the guys running. All three running backs had good averages and ran well and we had a pretty good mix. Whenever you run 40-something times you ought to win, so that was pretty good. You're going to look at the numbers and see that Russ was 10 for 20, or something like that, but when you add it all up, 42 runs and 10 completions, that's that 50 we're looking for, so it worked out just fine tonight. When I step away from it, it's really about the defense tonight. I loved the way they played. They played so hard and so spirited. It was almost poetic after last week's game that Bobby would get the chance to block the field goal and he pulled it off and did it. It was just an incredible play. I think they're going to talk about it. We practiced all week with Bobby jumping over the guys; never touched anybody. I don't know what happened in the game, but that's the way he was doing. He was able to clear the line of scrimmage without touching anybody, and that was the plan. Very few people could do that, but he had pulled it off beautifully during the week, and that's what the officials called. But I know that there's some controversy about that. So, it's a really big night for us. I love winning here in this situation; Monday night. Something our guys have always done really well, and proud to be able to play a good football game for our fans. I know it took a while, but all of a sudden, it just changed. A fantastic sack by the rookie, Jacob Martin, turns into a touchdown play for J. Coleman. A beautifully finished play. Just a lot of good fun stuff tonight. I know you guys might not like it as much as we do, but we love the heck out of this one. Also, I'm proud to say that John Schneider is the all-time winningest General Manager. So, I think that should be really the focus. I know some people want to talk about that stuff, but I think it's really cool that John's the winningest GM in the history of the franchise, so we're pretty fired up about that."
(On cleaning up the missed tackles from last week…) "I thought the tackling was really good tonight, really good. Good running backs, too. Really quick, and we really saw Dalvin for the most part, but our guys did a really nice job in open field and we closed on stuff way better than we have. We've kind of been sporadic with it, but it was very consistent tonight. Really, it's a good statement starting this fourth quarter of the season to play like that on defense."
(On the thought behind using seven defensive backs…) "It was a little change up. Something the defensive staff kind of came up with, Kenny, and the guys. I thought it was a beautifully timed plan for these guys. That team is really good and they protect well and an experienced quarterback. I think he had them off kilter a little bit, and I think the mixes of the calls worked out quite well for us."
(On the blocked field goal…) "You got to give all the credit to Brian Schneider and Larry Izzo. They came to me and said, hey look, we think we have something. Every week, they're looking for something in some phase, just to see what's available. That was a great find by those guys."
(On the play of Tre Flowers and Shaquill Griffin…)"I thought they played great tonight. Unfortunately, the one deep ball, and Tre's all over it, and just didn't get his hand on the football. I thought those guys played great tonight, and it was really a big challenge because these guys are terrific. Terrific receivers. I don't know the numbers, what they threw for, but it wasn't; they've been averaging 275 or something like that. I'm sure they were below that. I think those guys took advantage of a really good game plan tonight. Kenny put together a great one, and it really made a difference."
(On whether there was a particular challenge to the defensive backs after last week… ) "So, that's why they responded, because we challenged them? No, it didn't really happen like that. But, there's obviously a challenge. I mean, it's not quite that easy. We could do all kinds of stuff if it was that easy. They were disappointed in the way it happened last week. But, remember, that we didn't give up very many points last week, it was just a lot of yards. But, the best part is the question that John brought up, pointing out how the tackling was way better, and we were happy to see that."
(On George Fant's reception…) "Wow, George, man. How about that? He almost scored. That's how he saw it. 'Gosh, if I just didn't slip I would have scored.' It was good. He's been playing a lot of snaps for us and done a great job at blocking for us, and he's run some routes and all that. I don't know if you saw the sidelines, but they went crazy to see George catch the ball. He didn't quite get all the yards that were there. Maybe next time."
(On whether he was a target because of all of the snaps he had played …)"That's one of the reasons. Yeah. He's been playing a lot of snaps but hasn't had any passes thrown to him. So, it's good that they know that he can catch it."
(On the series right before the end of the half…)"I'm kicking myself about that, because I wish I would have been the one that reminded him. We've practiced those situations all the time. I think there were 16 seconds left. There's time for all of our plays there. We're not going to run it there, because you get a shot, and we'd run it somewhere else in the sequence. To remind him that if it's not there, throw the ball away right now. It's something that we know, but he slipped. Then he goes into a whole different mentality; he's just trying to get up, he doesn't know what's up. He knew where he was going to the ball, but he slipped and so then we just didn't get rid of the football. That's what he needed to do. He's kicking himself about it. But, I wish I would have reminded him one last time before, when he had a chance to do that, and we didn't get that done."
(On what made Seattle's running game so effective…) "We ran it 40-something times. I don't know that it was anything other than just commitment. Our guys are pretty good at staying with it. Schotty calls it and Mike keeps dialing them up on the sidelines about where to go with the running game. It's really about commitment. We're ok. We did all right, and the running backs ran so darn hard again that it's a tough thing to stop if we can stay that committed. It's hard to run the ball 40-something times in the NFL. Not many people do that."
(On winning with different styles of play…)"That's balance. I think that's what balance is all about; that you got what you need on the day. You don't know how it's going to come to you. So, if you don't emphasize the running game, it's really hard to call on it when you need it. So, that's why you've heard the commitment; so strong for so many years. You have to stay with it, so when you need it, it's there and you can keep doing it. If they can't stop you, you don't need to throw the ball and take any chances. Unfortunately, we turned the ball over tonight, on that fluky play, but that was another great game of us taking care of the ball all the way throughout. That's all part of the thinking."
(On pitching a 58 minute shutout against a high scoring team…) "We were fighting like crazy to get that done, just for fun. It wasn't going to be the determining factor. It's really hard in the league to do that, and the guys almost got it done. It will happen."
(On the accomplishment of the team, being one win away from the playoffs…)"I don't feel that there's been anything accomplished yet. I'm happy that we're playing good ball. We know how we want to do it. We're in the mentality that we've been in other years when we've really finished really well and we've done some damage. It's available to us. It's there now. I'm really excited about that, but talk to me after we've accomplished something. We haven't done nothing yet. It's almost happening."
QB RUSSELL WILSON
(On the victory…) "It was a great battle. They're a great football team, they have so many great players on offense and defense. I thought our defense was lights out tonight. I thought we were able to run the ball really well and do some special things. We knew it was going to be a battle, we thought it was going to be a high scoring game to be honest with you and it wasn't. It was the complete opposite. At the end of the day, what we really want to do and what we really care about is winning. With a collective effort, we were able to find a way to win. We stayed poised, we stayed together. I messed up the one play, I slipped and just got kind of messed up there. I was trying to throw it away and that didn't work. But we stayed together. Our guys were great in the locker room and we were fired up in the second half to come out and try to find a way to win the football game in front of our fans. That was exciting just to be able to find a way to win. I thought Bobby Wagner was special tonight with him blocking the field goal. He's got to be defensive player of the year with how he's playing and what he's doing and the things he's doing. I thought our defense just kept making plays and when we really needed it in the fourth quarter, we found a way. We got some big runs. I think Chris Carson getting in the end zone, we needed that touchdown. Then we got the turnover and scampered into the end zone, [Justin] Coleman did. That was really cool. I was telling somebody in there in the locker room, it's great to be able to come to work every day and just to be able to work with guys who are dedicated to what we're trying to do and where we're trying to go. If you want to be a championship team, you have to find ways to win even when it doesn't look pretty. We've had a lot of great games and we've had some tough ones where we've found ways to get through it and tonight, we stayed the course and we kept battling and kept battling and kept battling. We thought it was going to be a crazy game anyways in a different way, but sure enough, we were able to get a huge win. But what we really care about and what we really love is winning. There's nothing like winning."
(On winning a game when it doesn't look pretty…) "We've been able to win so many different ways, we've been scoring a lot of points lately. We've been really explosive on offense and our defense has been great and have been pretty consistent throughout the year. What we knew is that it was going to come down to the wire and we thought it was going to come down to the fourth quarter. We're both fighting for a playoff [spot], we're both fighting for something special, we're both fighting for a chance for somebody to make a play here and there and sure enough, we were able to make a few plays on defense. We had the blocked field goal and the defense kept staying the course. And then on offense, we were able to get some huge runs and some huge plays. The offensive line was great to get us into the end zone. You have to be able to win games like that too when they're tight. It's going to be tight throughout the end of the year and hopefully in the playoffs and stuff like that. You have to remain calm and you have to remain poised and keep fighting and keep swinging and we were able to do that tonight."
(On the defense taking away the deep ball and making it tough without Doug Baldwin…) "I thought they played a really good job on defense in terms the Vikings and what they did. They got a really good rush too, they got some really good players on defense. They're really, really talented players. We had some chances down the field and unfortunately we weren't able to make them. But we also got a big pass interference, we got some big plays. David [Moore] made a sweet catch on that one, he almost got his second foot down, that would have been a sweet touchdown just barely, just by inches. That was kind of how the game was throughout the game. But like I said, we continued to battle, we continued to make plays. Anytime you don't have Doug [Baldwin], Doug's a great player and you want him on the field. He's one of the best receivers in the National Football League. He was great though, throughout the game and throughout the sidelines, he was talking to guys and keeping guys engaged. That's the leader that he is. We really felt his presence, even though he wasn't out there tonight."
(On having the defense play well when the offense struggled…) "That was huge how our defense was just battling and battling. They were really special tonight. It was really cool just to see how we stayed together. It was great just to see play after play, guys were making plays. The fans were electric tonight too just to feel that presence. They're always huge for us. We're excited about where we are and there's still a lot more to do. There's still so many ways that we can get better and we're going to get better and that starts with me and I'm looking forward to that and how many great things we have in store. We really believe in what we're doing and how we're doing it."
(On if you can compare this defense to the Legion of Boom…) "I think we focus on what we're doing right now. That's the only thing that we can control. I think we're right in the midst of a journey, we're right in the midst of a journey and where we want to go as an offense, as a defense, as a special teams, as a collective effort as a team. The best thing we have right now is we're all in it together, we're all hands on deck. We just really believe in what we're doing. We really believe that we can go wherever we want to go. We just have to take one step at a time, one practice at a time, one moment at a time. In terms of our defense, with our leadership like Bobby Wagner, the guys up front, Frank Clark has been great, [Jarran] Reed has been great. Just so many guys have been making plays. I thought Shaquill [Griffin] played great tonight and made some huge plays, [Tre] Flowers made some huge plays in there. [Bradley McDougald] made a couple big plays in the end zone. There's just so many guys making plays and it's just exciting to be a part of what we're doing on the offensive side, on the defensive side, special teams. It's a collective effort. Like I said, we've been really explosive on offense and we've been scoring a lot of points, but tonight, we weren't able to and our defense really picked us up in a big way. That was really cool to see and just fun to be a part of."
(On George Fant's catch…) "It was George's first catch and I gave him the ball after the game, it was his first NFL catch. I kept saying he was going to get the ball and sure enough. He's been a special player for us, he's been one of our MVP's in my opinion with how he's stepped into his role as being great. He's got a great attitude, he's passionate about the game, passionate about the details, George is. He's just fun to play with. He made a great catch there. I threw it pretty firm too, there was no holding back on throwing it to him. He made a great catch. I thought he was going to get even more yards, I think he tripped up on his own feet. It's just really cool to see him make that play."
(On why the pass to George Fant happened tonight…) "It was just the play calling and I thought [offensive coordinator Brian] Schottenheimer did a great job."
(On if they saw something on offense where they thought they should run the play to George Fant…) "No, not necessarily. We just felt confident in what we were doing and how we were doing it. I could've gone to the left or to the right and I just thought, George is probably going to be open right here so let's go to the right. Like I said, I didn't second guess it, I just let it rip and he caught it easy and smooth. He's such a tremendous athlete, he's a basketball star, he's a great player, great athlete and he's got a great attitude too. He can do anything for us, he can play tackle, he can obviously play tight end and be the extra blocker for us and he can catch it too. That was cool to see."
(On being a Steve Largent award winner…) " To be the Steve Largent winner, I was able to see him before the game, pregame and everything else, and I just told him how much he's meant to the Seahawks and just how much he's meant to me and just being around him when I get the chance to. He's a Hall of Famer, he's a guy that's really well-respected and everything else. To win that award, that's one of the coolest things. To be able to win because my of teammates and how much they mean to me and how much I love coming to work every day and working with those guys, it's truly a pleasure. It's the greatest gift you can ask for in terms of playing in professional sports and being a great group of guys. I'm really grateful for that, God is good and I just thank Him every day for that."
CB JUSTIN COLEMAN
(On how he makes a name for himself following the Legion of Boom) "You just take their legacy and you run with it. They set a style of play that the Seahawks love here and that's the way it's supposed to be. We take that style of play and we use it. The defense doesn't change as long as you do exactly how it's supposed to be done."
(On who brings the legion of boom mentality to the defense) "It's everybody. You have to start with the people who started it like Bobby Wagner, KJ [Wright], Frank [Clark], all those guys who have already been here. We just rub off their energy and we make our plays that we know we are capable of making."
(On what the scoring play was like for him) "I don't know, man. That's just something I expect to happen, but I didn't expect the ball to bounce my way that quick. It was exciting."
LB BOBBY WAGNER
(On his blocked field goal) "We seen on film – I think it was last week – we watched a guy jump over, so we felt like we had something. We knew if there was an opportunity because they were on the right hash, we were going to call it and so we called it. I tried to time it up and I got over and made the block."
(On technique used to jump the line with new rule changes) "I'm an athlete, so you just got to jump over people – it's not that big of a deal. They changed the rule to where you can't run up anymore, but if you start on the line you can jump over, so we did it."
(On holding the Vikings without a score until the final minutes of the game) "We just came out and we were real focused. I think the guys did a really good job watching film and studying. We felt like we knew what plays they were going to run and we knew when they were going to run it and we just had a good beat on them."
(On his tackling efficiency) "If the ball is by me, I just try to get them down – that's kind of my mindset. I know if I miss any tackles, it kind of hurts the team, so that's my mindset. I don't want to hurt my teammates. I want to do whatever I can to help this team and that's one way."
(On Seahawks ability to stop teams in the red zone) "It's a mindset that we have. No matter how we got down there, we don't feel like anyone can score on us. The more and more nobody scores, the more and more our confidence grows and that's what it is."
DE FRANK CLARK
(On the win over the Minnesota Vikings) "At the end of the day, we're playing with an attitude and we're playing with the mindset that no one's going to stop us. I feel like that's a whole mentality that everyone's adapted here and everyone's adapted to how good we can be. Actually, scratch that – everyone's adapted to how great we can be. At the end of the day, these December games, you've got to win in December. If you know football, that's all-around – whether you're in college, high school, all the big wins come now. This is when champions are made. This is when the season turns. This is when you see guys not being able to finish. You see offenses breaking apart. You see defenses falling apart and missing more tackles, giving up more big plays. We pride ourselves on not doing that. We pride ourselves on finishing strong, doing everything right, and all the little things. You've got guys out there trying to do too much or trying to do the extra stuff or just taking themselves out of the game, allowing themselves to get distracted. At the end of the day, when you're allowing stuff like that to happen, you take away from your plans. We're just staying focused on one goal and that's to go up. We're going to keep on going up. That's something that I've adapted and I feel like everyone around here has adapted. It's deeper than just going up as far as what some people think I talk about when they talk about the price and stuff like that. I'm talking about going up, just (with) the mentality here."
(On if this game was as good as they've felt all year defensively) "I would say yeah. I believe we felt a little better before the preseason started, but – no I'm just playing. Mentally, yes. Physically, no, but I'm sure everybody's hurting. That's the name of the game right now. Who can outlast the other opponent? Who can take the pain a little bit more right now? Who can thrive the best under the pressure of being great, the pressure of succeeding, the pressure of taking on the pressure when it's all on you? I feel like that's the one thing we're doing right now. Everyone's looking at the Seahawks, waiting for us to make a mistake. Everyone's looking at the Seahawks, waiting to talk about us or write a negative story. Right now, we're doing the opposite of what everyone wants us to do. I feel like we're sticking together and mentally, our focus is in this locker room. I feel like when your focus is out of this locker room and when you take your focus off the football being played here in Seattle, that's when everything gets lost. Coach (Pete Carroll) told us a few weeks ago, 'stay out of the media.' No offense to y'all, but really though because I respect your guys' job, but Coach told us to stop the media. You know how it gets sometimes, when you've got players – they think too critical of themselves or they have a bad game so the first thing that they do is run to Twitter and stuff like that. Nah, good game or bad game, we're staying away from all that and we're just keeping the vibe and the energy about us. That's all we care about, no matter what's going on. That's all we care about, is the energy within this locker room and within ourselves."
S BRADLEY MCDOUGALD
(On Shaquill Griffin's back-to-back pass break ups in the fourth quarter) "Just excellent play. Just trusting the technique. Just fighting. Just grit. Initially, off the break, Tre [Flowers] was deep and that's what made [Kirk] Cousins throw the ball. His make-up speed and he won't quit on anything, he just ran with it. He made the right play when we needed it. Everybody was making plays when we needed it. Everyone was making their plays when they needed it."
(On the young guys playing well) "It's awesome. It's a great feeling. It just gives you that much more confidence going through it. It's the difference between knowing you're good and going out there and making plays to really know you're good. You just think anything in you're head. You go out there, series after series, series after series, and continuously making plays, it's hard to hold a team at seven let alone zero points for the majority of the game. In the grit, and the fighting with us. I didn't want them to score any points. We were in that mindset, we were playing great defense, and we wanted that to show on the scoreboard."
(On Bobby Wagner) "He's just all over the place. He's a true, middle linebacker. When I say middle linebacker, that's what you think of, that's what you need. He's the heart and soul of the defense, somebody tough and strong in the middle, that's where all the stuff happens, in the middle and in the front. Once they come to the sides and once they come to the secondary, they have more power because they have me to face. They have Frank [Clark] to face. They have the young DBs to hold them. They're fast and they are willing to do whatever to get a win."
CB TRE FLOWERS
(On whose idea it was to go back to the old legion of boom) "It was all of us. They were coming at us. I just feel like when we play good, the whole team plays good."
(On how they made that catch on the long play) "I don't understand it either. I have to go back and watch it and I have to make that play."
(On how he stayed with it and knocked down balls in the next plays) "As soon as he caught it, Bobby [Wagner] and everyone helped me up and was like forget about it. It's their last score. I just wiped my mind and got to it."
DT QUINTON JEFFERSON
(On how gratifying a defensive win like this is…) "It's very gratifying. It's a big win, a win that's needed. I feel like right now you've seen in every team that it's playoff-time. Everybody is fighting for spots. Like I said, we want to raise our game and start playing playoff football right now so in the playoffs we are already hitting our stride. We just have to keep building off of these wins."
(On what Bobby Wagner means to this defense…) "That's what Hall-of-Famers do, they make big plays like that. That's Bobby, he's going to make them big splash plays and I hope he keeps on making them. He's a great player, he studies the game, he's always in the right position to make plays. That's what you see Hall-of-Famers do."
(On if his leadership has changed with the turnover in defensive personnel this season…) "He's always been a leader, he's always had the juice. Like I said, we have a lot of hungry guys, young guys who are accountable for themselves. So, I feel like we try to take as much off of his plate as we can. We know he has a lot, especially with KJ (Wright) out."
(On if he knew that Wagner had the jumping field goal block in his arsenal…) "We planned that. He game-planned the hell out of it, so we already knew he was going to block it. That was a great call and it worked. That's what we save those things for. He made a great leap, blocked it."
LB MYCHAL KENDRICKS
(On how much was on his plate this week coming back…) "It was a lot, being out for eight weeks. Getting back with the guys, getting acclimated to the system and practicing well, it turned over to the game, the game is just like practice. We've been practicing well and we play well. And we came away with the victory."
(On how they stopped them from not passing the 50 yard line until the third quarter…) "Well we knew that they like to come out running the ball. That's what one of their strengths is. Earlier on in the week, the coaches were talking about it would come down to their running game. We knew that was coming."
(On how critical the two fourth down stops were…) "Huge. Huge. They were big time stops. Anytime you stop anyone on fourth down, it's going to be big."
DE JACOB MARTIN
(On his strip sack which led to a Justin Coleman fumble return for a TD) "They gave us the opportunity with the pass rush. They were down six points. That's when we get our opportunity as pass rushers. It's in our DNA. The opportunity was there. That's what we practiced all week."
RB CHRIS CARSON
(On proving people wrong that doubt the Seahawks run) "We don't really talk about it. We know that our game starts with running the ball, so we put an emphasis during the week to run it. That's what we did today."
(On sticking to the game plan despite adversity) "Our whole game plan is basically run the ball to setup the pass. We know that by them respecting us running the ball, it's going to open up plays in the pass game. We wanted to stick to that and not switch it up just because of how good their defense is."
(On his rushing touchdown) "I was just tired. I was trying to get to the sidelines. I knew I just wanted to get in the end zone so I could go back. It was a great play. The offensive line did a great job and I found my running lane."
(On the scoring in the fourth quarter) "We knew that at a certain time, we believe that the first three quarters don't even matter in the sense of you don't win the game in the first three quarters. You win the game in the fourth quarter. We knew that if we do right longer, it was going to turn up in the end. The defense made a good play making the fumble and J.C. (Justin Coleman) picked it up and scored."
(On the Seahawks win against the Vikings) "It's a great win. Every win is a great win, a big win. So, we're going to keep rolling and try to finish out strong down the stretch."
CB SHAQUILL GRIFFIN
(On what impact the crowd has on an offense) "A huge impact. You could see how loud it gets every time we make a big play. It rattles everybody. I remember they had one call where it was a delay of game (and) that's something, even on film, we haven't seen from them. Man, when the crowd gets so loud, that 12 actually means a lot to us and that's something that we continue to use to our advantage. We appreciate the 12s so I've got to give them a shoutout for that one."
(On Justin Coleman's fumble return) "I just needed to be a lead blocker. I told Pete Carroll after that, don't be scared to put me at guard. I'm good at what I do. I can block if you need me to. I told JC (Justin Coleman) I was going to make sure he gets into the end zone, whatever it takes. It was awesome to see him in there."
(On not allowing a deep ball) "I think the win definitely is the most important part but after that, yeah. The whole thing we're supposed to do is keep everything in front. You can be a great corner if you don't give up anything deep. That's something that I'm going to continue to put into my game. I want guys to really try me so I can get some more chances to get my hands on the ball. I'm really upset they took away my pick because I thought I was going to have one this game. But no, it was good receivers, a good quarterback, (Dalvin) Cook is a good running back and everything they had was good. We just played our game. When get the calls and you execute the way we're supposed to, that's the type of outcome we have and I'm glad it happened the way it did."
T GEORGE FANT
(On being surprised about his reception) "I mean, yeah. It's funny because in practice, I dropped that play. We ran that play and I dropped the ball. I told him right away, 'give me another chance at that one. I'm not going to drop that ever again.' They ran it tonight and Russ (Wilson) threw the ball and I just had to make sure I secured it and after that, I was trying to get out as I fell. I tripped up a little bit. I'll work on that next, though."
(On if he tripped because of nerves) "Nah, I was really just trying to get the first down. I had seen it and I was like 'I'm fighting for this first down.' I took the hit and I kind of tripped up."
(On the success running the ball) "Yeah, man. It just shows what we want to do. We want to play smash-mouth football, run the ball and not worry about what anybody thinks about it. We don't care if they know or not. We'll just go out there and play smash-mouth football."
(On the chance to clinch a playoff spot in San Francisco) "It's huge, man. But it shows, once again, our team. Nobody's really thought we would be able to do this but we stayed on them and we kept working. We didn't care about the outside noise. We've got a lot of young guys, including myself, and a lot of young guys who haven't played a lot of NFL football but they came right along. We've got guys, vets in here like Duane (Brown) and Bobby (Wagner) just bringing them right along so it's huge having those guys in there and we're just going to keep fighting."
T DUANE BROWN
(On being part of a team that nobody wants to see during playoffs) "The atmosphere here is amazing. Guys have all the confidence in the world for each other. We are playing hard, we are playing for each other, we found all kinds of ways to win. Last week, we put up forty plus points. This week, we had six points going on the board going into the half. We find a way to win. That's the mark of a great football team. We are dangerous right now."
(On sensing the role that the crowd plays when Minnesota is on offense) "The 12s are the best in the league. It's amazing, the atmosphere they create here at CenturyLink. Offenses don't want to play here. You can just tell they're a little bit fidgety in their stance, overcommunicating trying to hear each other. It's amazing and I appreciate them so much for the energy that they bring and the support they bring."
(On what it means to him if they clench the playoff spot Sunday against San Francisco) "It means everything. That's what we play this game for, to make it to the postseason and try to keep advancing. Considering the way that the season started, the adversity we've been through, to put ourselves in this position, it means everything to us. We are looking forward to getting it done.
