You guys promised to hold down the top spot for a long time.

What do you think?

Contributed most?

You guys being back?

I think it was the mindset of the guys in the locker room.

I mean, we we really had that belief that we had to put in the exact same amount of work, if not more, than we did the year before on DSO uh, the mindset of those leaders in the locker room.

Uh, it kind of put through the whole entire team, and guys came to work every single day with the mindset of making it back.

What a monumental year for you, Super Bowl ring engagement ring, baby.

On the way back to the Super Bowl.

How would you describe the journey of the last 12 months for you?

Yeah, it's it's been a crazy one.

I mean, starting off getting the Super Bowl and within that ring and then and then going kind of right into the pandemic and a lot of different stuff that that entailed.

It was it was a grunt, just like it was for every single person in this country.

And so trying to put things in perspective and take advantage of every opportunity you have every single day to be with your family, to be able to get engaged, be able to be becoming a girl, dad and now having a chance to another Super Bowl, it's just been a blessing in a rough time for our country.

Do you think as you look back like there'll be one moment that really stands out for me?

It's gonna be, uh, whenever actually become a girl that, uh, sorry to bring in the engagement ring and everything like that.

But being be able to see that baby girl eyes gonna be a special moment.

Yeah, I don't have to list all the accomplishments of the quarterback is gonna be on the other side of the field.

But what Tom Brady has been able to dio how does that impact the standard you set for yourself?

Yeah.

I mean, when you're in athlete, you chase greatness on Tom Brady is the pinnacle of that.

I mean, he has been the guy That's one of the games you put up the numbers.

He's done everything that you need to do to be great.

And so for me to be able to have this chance to play against him in the Super Bowl, it's exciting.

It's something you want to take advantage of.

And then then as my career goes on, it will be something that there'll be something I'll have to chase for a long, long time.

What impresses you most about Brady e think it's just it's just how he continues to get better and how consistent that he is every single year.

If you look at this league, I mean, you deal with injuries, you deal with different teammates, you deal with different situations, and throughout that all, he's kept the same mentality of making himself better each and every day make yourself 1% better.

Um, I mean, he's never satisfied.

And whenever you're having that much, success is easy to become satisfied.

So his his determination to be better every single day of something that all a great athletes will have.

You're off thio and historical start yourself.

So right now, what's the ultimate goal?

The ultimate goal right now is that when the Super Bowl and get the second ring and get that back to back championships.

It's so hard, Thio do we only have five or six times in the history of the NFL s O to be able to do that would be special for me, and then you go into the offseason.

After that, I'm gonna try toe, do whatever I can to make our team better win or lose.

I'm gonna I'm gonna try to get right back at it on DSO that we can continue to have this sustained success for a long time.

And it's not just like a time of flash a flash in the pan.

You know, people say that teams can't just turn it on for the big game.

But you arrested starters in Week 17.

You have the bye week and then you guys can not firing in the playoffs.

What are the ingredients that this team has that allow you to rise to the occasion?

Uh, it's definitely just the people in the locker room.

I mean, it's very similar.

I mean, the guy's really embraced being in these big stage games.

Uh, if you look at us throughout the year on the Primetime Games or the Monday night games or whatever it is, you guys play better, and I'm not gonna say we relaxed in the in the season.

You have to play I with all your efforts, gonna win games weekend and week out.

But I remember that at first I week that we have for playoffs that the intensity of practice from the offense going against the defense.

You knew that things were different and you knew the guys were ready to go.

You beat Tampa Bay, Week 12.

You came out so hot there was a little cool patch there in the second half.

So when you have two weeks to prepare, what's the process you go through to try to find the answers to this book's defense?

Yeah, I mean, I think first you look at yourself trying to figure out things that you could dio better yourself that you've done the last few weeks and then you look at the defense and you understand that this defense that does a lot of different things have a lot of great playmakers on that side of bought every single level.

You look at that last game, you try to figure out where you could attack the voice that they that they have in their defense.

Um, there's not a lot of them, but we're gonna do our best to find ways.

Toe have success, uh, each and every play.

And if we don't come back next play and try to find a way to have success that Coach Reid says, you love the late game heroics when the game is on the line.

So if you're writing the perfect script for late and Super Bowl 55 with vivid imagery, what does it look like?

Yeah, I mean, if you're in the perfect strip, it's driving down at the end of the game.

Throw the game winning touchdown.

It would be special to do that, but whatever way we get the wind, I'll be happy anyway.

Anyway, that happens.

You have so many weapons, so game is on the line.

Who you throwing the ball to?

You can't say the open guy.

Oh, game's on the line.

I mean, I'm just probably throw it up in between Sami, Travis and Tyreke, maybe McColl and maybe one of them and one of those guys who come down on it.

You know, we talked earlier in the season and you had said the real turning point for you.

It was realizing it doesn't have to be about the special play.

You know, the check downs are great and long drives are great.

What is it that you're most proud of in the evolution of your game?

Maybe it's stuff that the fans can't even see.

I think what I'm most proud of about this entire offense is, uh, kind of like the last game that we just played is whatever the big plays, not there, being ableto have a long sustained drive down the field.

We have a lot of guys that make a lot of big plays happen, but if you see our defense is there playing us that they're playing with two deep safeties, super far back, almost not in the screen on non film, you have to be ableto make have success each and every play that kind of hide off yards, bite off yards, bite off yards on then to get the Reds on the next student support.

And I feel like guys have really embraced that and accept the challenge on and then when the Big Five presents itself, we try to attack and make sure that would make very successful.

You know, you talked about keeping things in perspective.

How often do you really get to just sort of sit back and take it all in and and appreciate just what you've accomplished?

I do it a lot, and I don't think it's more about appreciating what I accomplished.

I just appreciate that the situation that I was brought into, um, I understand that not everybody gets brought into a team like this.

An organization like this that's ready to win right away on be able to sit behind a guy like Alex Smith and learn a ton in one year and then get to go in when I was ready to g o on and ready to play.

Um, it's truly a special opportunity in place that I was kind of given on blessed with in my life.

And I wanna make sure I take advantage of the opportunity to be in the Super Bowls and try to win these rings because they aren't easy.

And they were hard to come by with two full weeks between championship game and Super Bowl.

What are the special precautions that you're taking just to make sure you stay healthy.

Yeah, for me, they've been all year long.

Pretty much.

I mean, I pretty much have been keeping quarantine between here at the facility and back home.

I'm trying to stay away and keep myself away from all the different cove it protocols and be away from that as much as possible.

I wanna be available from my teammates, um, and even make it more certain now, having had not parents the playoff games.

And I wouldn't I didn't let him sit in the suites with Britney because I have been with her and have a chance to be exposed to it.

On dso you have to do whatever you can t o be available for your team, especially these last two weeks leading up to this.

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