Keith Brooking Quotations

We have to get some pressure on Jake, and we've got our work cut out for us in trying to keep a handle of (Pro Bowl receiver) Steve Smith. It's a big job, but if we execute the game plan our coaches drew up for us, we should be OK.

We set the tone defensively. We stopped the run and had them in second-and-long, third-and-long. When the crowd here gets into it, it can be very difficult for the offense to hear and to execute.

When you put winning football teams out there consistently, you get these nationally televised games. You get the notoriety that you deserve. That's the way it works, and that's the way it should be.

I feel great about it so far. We're growing as a unit, progressing every week. When you have new faces and new guys playing in there beside you, it takes training camp and preseason games for you to gel.

He has a lot more power, deceptive power, a lot more than you see on film. He's strong, he has the speed to get outside. I think he got some tough yards inside today. That's for sure.

He made some throws but at the same time, when he wasn't sacked, he was getting pressure in his face and getting hit after the throw. That was the key.

When he's healthy, I've always said there's hardly anyone in the business better than him. He does so many good things. But I saw that knee brace ? it sticks out ? so you know he's not 100 percent. But he looked pretty good. He's running hard. They just wanted to get him a few carries and get him knocked around a little bit.

He's got that calmness. You can just tell. He wasn't rattled throughout the whole course of that game. And we got a couple interceptions. He had some bad plays. But he stayed right in there.

Just to be dead honest with you, a lot of it I think was on us, the linebackers.

I think the whole key to that game was the momentum that we did not create in the very beginning,

Jeez, I guess you can use whatever imagery you want. To me, it's all about winning football games, and that's something we've got to continue doing, no matter how many fire-breathing dragons we have to slay along the way.

I saw somewhere that the Georgia Dome is one of the easiest places for opposing teams to play. That's ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned, I can't imagine a worse place for a visiting team. It's a nightmare.

That drive, the one that let them tie the score, was embarrassing. He was just running right at us, and we couldn't stop him.

Winning a championship for city and state is the highest goal we have, but who wouldn't want to score a touchdown or two along the way?

Whoever did that poll hasn't been there in a number of years. When the place is packed, there's nothing better.

Those guys beat us pretty badly when we faced them earlier this month. Now it's our time to return the favor.

We have a lot of improving to do. We haven't even scratched the surface of what this team can accomplish. It's a great win. Great to be 1-0, but we have 15 more rounds to go and Seattle is staring us in the face.

We have to keep our four points of pressure, and when we rush, it might take a couple of us to get him to the ground. He's a big human being.

The outsiders might second-guess this, but we didn't quit. Until the very end, we gave it all out there. Give the Panthers credit. They played well. We didn't, but it wasn't lack of effort.

Yeah, I guess it's one of those things you look at and you say, 'I want to score a touchdown before I'm done playing football,'

We need to get our best football players on the field. I have complete confidence they're going to make the best decision for the football team.

To get nine sacks and with our crowd behind us like they were, that would fluster any offensive line in the league,

The results might not always look like it, but I feel our defense coming together as our younger players get more experience and learn how to make plays late in the game. The thing is, with our defense, if one guy's not in his spot, that's when you still see breakdowns.

There's not a choice, ... There's no other option with us.

I've never seen anything like that. I think it was just the emotion, tension and atmosphere of the dome boiling over.

I've always considered myself a builder, somebody who wants to put a foundation in place that will succeed for years to come. It's taken a while, but I know with all my heart that one day we'll get there.

That team knocked us off the mountain last year in the NFC Championship Game. Ever since the schedule came out we've been anticipating this game. And the city has been very excited about this game.

That's not something we were proud of. I can promise you that. You don't want other teams coming into your backyard and kicking you around like that. It's embarrassing.

You've got to respect that decision, ... It would have been tough to come in here and give it everything, knowing your job was ending at the end of the year.

They pretty much did anything they wanted to with us. They threw the kitchen sink at us.

It wasn't pretty today, ... That's for sure. There were so many mistakes out there. A lot of it, I think, was on us, the linebackers. We've just got to get better.

It's going to be hard to watch (the playoffs). It makes me sick to my stomach.

Don't ask me for tickets. I'm tapped out. Everyone in this locker room is, too.

It's very tough to swallow. I love this game with all my heart. I put so much into it. To come up short, it hurts. It hurts bad.

I need to see an injury report on my quarterback,

I'll be dead honest with you. I've been asked that question a lot this season, even when we were 6-2 and playing really well. You know, 'What about the opportunity to have back-to-back winning seasons?' That didn't mean anything to me at the time because that wasn't my goal or the team's goal. But right now, I have a different perspective.

I haven't even thought about (preventing the Panthers from making the playoffs). They could still get in even if they lost to us. That is not motivating me. On Sunday, that will be the last thing I'm thinking about.

It helps us a lot ? and not just because of the enthusiasm it gives us. It causes problems for the opponent. They have to call timeouts. They have false starts. All those things are very big.

But you won't hear any excuses in here. We're going to hold ourselves accountable. We'll look in the mirror and do what we have to do to get headed back in the right direction.