133 Quotes by Ron Rivera

With Foster back there, their character is a little different. I think they feel really confident about their ability to run the football, and so I posed the challenge to our guys: We have to stop the run and get them in situations where we can use our front four to get pressure on the quarterback.

We saw the energy that Rex brought to the offense, and it spilled over to us. Him coming in was a lift, and the team seemed to feed off that energy. Any time you can get a lead and add to that lead, you can really cut the guys loose.

Brandon came in and did an excellent job for us. Anytime you can have a rookie come in and make that contribution, you're very pleased with the effort. Leon Joe was exceptional. He made some mistakes, but he made up for it because he played hard and he played fast.

Following in a long line of teammates who have made an instant impact upon their arrival as a rookie, Chris surpassed everyone's expectations but his own.

That's not a particular problem because in our defense a lot of the linebackers are interchangeable. The outside guys can play either spot.

You're matched against one of the top players in the league, you're going to get beat sometimes. I thought he did a tremendous job in some situations. On that one, he stumbled and gave up that play. The other one, I thought he had the ball. Steve Smith, give him credit. That was a tremendous play on his part.

They thought they were better than we were and in some instances, some positions, maybe they were better.

As we said all the way through training camp: We felt we were a good team. We felt we were on the rise. ... We talked about where we felt we could be as a defense ? being in the top 10, being in the top five, being No. 1, finishing No. 1. The ultimate prize has always been the playoffs and getting to the Super Bowl.

It's kind of come full circle. It's a confidence that someone is going to get there and hit the quarterback, and it's a confidence that someone is going to cover and the quarterback is going to be forced to hold the ball. It's all working together, and it's reflected now in how we call the game.