QB Michael Vick
On how exciting it is to make his first playoff start since 2004: "It's exciting. Obviously, this is a very intense time, but this is what you play for. This is why you play so hard in the regular season and try to accumulate as many wins as you can, so you can play in the postseason."
On how he feels physically and how ready he'll be for Sunday's game: "I think come Sunday I'll definitely be 100%, based on the way I feel now, and (I'm) just confident. I give a lot of credit to the trainers, in helping me get back to a position where I can go out and compete, and (I'm) just thankful."
On how much different he thinks the Packers defense will look than what he saw in Week 1: "Based on what they've done, I think we may get some different looks. I think they've definitely gotten better as a defense. We'll really have to be conscious about what they're trying to do."
On whether he feels that losing to the Vikings and seeing the different looks teams will give him is a blessing: "Well, I would hope so. I think everybody took a look at that film and really critiqued it and tried to figure out what could we do to get better. If we see the same things, and I'm almost 100% sure that we'll get the type of looks—they might not be the exact same—but in some way, shape or form, it'll be similar, so we just have to be ready for it and I think we've learned a lot from watching that film."
On how tough of a defense CB Charles Woodson and LB Clay Matthews make the Packers: "Just a very dangerous group. Clay's playing some of the best football you'll ever see out of a NFL defensive player, and Charles—he's Charles Woodson. He's been making plays since the beginning of his career. So, it's great to compete against those guys, but sometimes it brings out the best in everybody."
On whether he likes going into a game knowing that the other team is going to come after him: "Pretty much, that's what it's going to be. They're going to come after you, they're going to try to get you rattled, get you off your square, but that's football. You have to just be ready for it. Like I said, know exactly what you're seeing and play the game."
On whether he has seen more of an assortment of blitz packages over the past five or six weeks: "Yeah, we've been seeing blitzes since my first game. My first game against Detroit, we were getting zero blitzed the entire game. So, the blitzing is just something that's been happening over the past couple of weeks. Defenses, they have coaches, too, professional coaches that do a great job of scheming. They've just been beating us a couple of times. We found a way to fix it and we're just moving on."
On what his emotions will be when he takes the field on Sunday: "I'm going to be very calm, excited to be out there, but very calm at the same time. You can't get too high in this league, can't get too low. Got to stay even-keeled, and that's what I do."
On the importance of protecting the football and limiting turnovers:"It's good not to (turn the ball over). Protecting the football is very important in the playoffs. It's always evident. Numbers show that teams with the least amount of turnovers always have the best opportunity of winning the game."
On how much CB Asante Samuel's interceptions meant to the team's offense and how much they missed those takeaways when Samuel was injured: "We all know field position is a very important part of this game. That's why special teams is so important. When the defense creates turnovers, gives you opportunities, gives you short fields, then it puts you in a position to score more points. We've had some drives when we started on a short field, we've had some drives when we started backed up, and moved the ball down field and score. So, we're just confident in everything we do around here. Everything we do."
On how key it will be to find receivers underneath, considering the pressure that he will face against the Packers:"It's going to be very key. Let me just say this. We have a great game plan going into this one."
On what he expects the atmosphere to be at Lincoln Financial Field:"Obviously, this is my first playoff game here, so I expect to be like any playoff environment—exciting, unbelievable, lots of cheers, and lot of boos for the opposing team."
On when he played in the NFC Championship game in 2004 in Philadelphia as a Falcon, whether he viewed Philadelphia as a difficult place to play: "Yeah, I mean, Philadelphia's always going to be a tough place to play. I've witnessed it first hand, and it was tough. This weekend, I know they'll bring that enthusiasm, bring that cheer, bring that fight with them, and we're going to need the 12th man this week."
On whether he feels like this is a new era of Eagles with him under center:"Well, I'm just trying to do what I'm capable of doing, and that's playing good football. Doing it with a young group, a lot of people didn't expect us to be in this situation and give us a chance or had doubt that we would make it. Yeah, it's a new era, so we're just trying to go out and make our mark, and play good football."
WR Jason Avant
On how much hopes to see the offense click on Sunday: "This is what you get to the playoffs for, everything else is for naught. We made it into the playoffs, but you want to go out and execute your offense as best you can. We understand that we've got a real stingy defense, a very talented defense, to go out there and execute on, but we're very capable of doing it. We just have to go out and focus and concentrate. Hopefully, we can start fast."
On whether the team can benefit from the loss to the Vikings, since they use the same nickel blitz as the Packers:"I think the Vikings loss was a loss that helped us. You don't want to lose any games, but I think it was humble pie enough for us to focus and realize that you can't go out and play games with any team and not expect to get burned without focus and concentrating. So, the Packers do the same blitz, and they're better at it, so we better get ready for it, and I think we're prepared for it."
S Quintin Mikell
On what he has said to the younger guys in preparation of their first playoff game: "I just tell them it is going to be more intense. It's going to be faster, but not to over think, not to go crazy. It's still football. At the end of the day, I think their bodies are going to naturally adjust to the speed and the intensity. As long as they don't stress about it, they'll be fine."
On what he makes of the defense right now:"The way I see it, we're 10-6 and obviously the stats aren't there, but we're winning games and that's what really counts. Obviously there's stuff that we want to do better, but at the end of the day we're winning games. So, we'll go from there."
On how much Packers QB Aaron Rodgers frustrates a defense: "Yeah, he's good. I think the thing he does really well is he gets the ball out quickly with a very fast release. Sometimes it's frustrating because he can get away from blitzes and use his feet and run for a first down. He does a lot of good things. Like I keep saying, we're going to keep coming after quarterbacks and he knows. We just have to be ready."
On whether they can beat the Packers without forcing at least one or two turnovers: "Obviously it makes it a lot easier. We definitely want to get turnovers, but I think the more important thing is keeping points off the board. If we don't get turnovers but we keep the points down, we'll be fine."
DE Darryl Tapp
On the new excitement that this team possesses: "Yeah, definitely. We all just continue to grow each day. It's been a tough battle at times, but we were able to get in the playoffs, do a lot of good things and continue to move forward."
On how important forcing turnovers will be against the Packers:"Huge. You have to force those guys in a bad situation and when we have opportunities to make plays we have to make them. We can't let Aaron Rodgers and that offense get a lot of opportunities."
On how they get the Packers in bad situations:"You have to stay true to the system. I know it sounds redundant, but as long as you continue to focus on your fundamentals things will work out."
On what can be gained from his vantage point by not playing in the first game against the Packers: "I think the biggest thing, like I said, from that situation is watching the game and seeing how things develop. It plays a little part, but honestly you study the last four or five games and that's where they are."
On what he sees from the Packers as far as their protection goes and Rodgers' ability to get rid of the ball:"Well, Aaron gets rid of the ball very fast. Protection-wise, you really don't know what to expect. Every team we played this year has given us a different protection look than what they shown on film. Like I said, stay true to your techniques and fundamentals, and use your keys."
LB Moise Fokou
On whether the Packers offense has changed since the first meeting:"Well, they lost (TE Jermichael) Finley, but other than that, they really haven't changed too much. He was one of their top go-to guys in terms of passing game. They still run the ball sparingly. I would say their strengths are definitely the quarterback and their wide receivers."
On how much more disciplined the defense has to be with mobile quarterback in Rodgers: "You know, the funny thing is, he's actually the second-leading rusher out of all the quarterbacks in the league behind Michael Vick. He does use his legs pretty well to create a lot of plays deep down the field."
On whether that requires the defense to be more disciplined on the edges: "Especially when he does that, you want to be more disciplined in terms of staying on your routes because if you get off of it, you try to look for the ball, find where he's at. He does a great job of keeping his eyes down the field and making big plays."
On what the defense has to do to get better in the red zone: "We're still working on that. The red zone, smaller space, it's magnified. You just have to clamp routes and kind of stay on them. Hope your front four can get to the quarterback and create some pressure."
On Rodgers' snap count: "He gets the ball out quickly and kind of changes some things up on you. We're hoping with the fans and the crowd noise, that can kind of slow him down a little bit."
