A dirty player is somebody who ultimately is trying to hurt somebody. There's a huge difference. There's no gray in that. Like, you have no conscience, no nothing, no guilt. I don't have that mean streak in me. I don't play angry. It's not anger.
You learn from your mistakes, or you go backward. I'm the kind of person who wants to move forward.
If you find my aggressive and dominating play dirty, then that's your opinion. But I would assume most people want someone who is going to do anything and everything within the lines to win for their team, because I know I would.
I understand there's damage control to do on my image, but people are always gonna have their opinion of me no matter what. I understand 100 people may like me and 1,000 people may hate me. That's fine.
You continue to build and work on new things, and continue to beat offensive linemen, week in and week out.
The game of football, especially in the NFL, is all about situations, and coming out on the big end of that stick.
I think any football is a guy that is able to one, be able to be humble and hungry off the field, but at the same time on the football field understand what they have to get done and be a little bit ferocious.
Defensive players kind of have that two-faced kind of way of being able to be very aggressive on the football field and going out there and getting there job done. At the same time, from my own incidents and my own personality, I'm much a person that's very likable and lovable.
I think it's very, very tough to compare postseason and in-season, just for the simple fact that there's the heightened levels of energy on both sides of the ball.
I was a defensive lineman coming out of high school who was considered amongst the top... maybe the top six guys, top five guys, and wanted to prove to my team that I was going to be a top guy going into college.
The players who said I am the dirtiest player in the league, it's ultimately their opinion, but I would love to hear from many of them on their true opinion on that.
I don't think one moment in somebody's life is going to define them.
Coach Bo Pelini and coach Carl Pelini are two coaches I talk to on a regular basis, especially coach Bo. They are coaches I feel elevated my game.
I wish that people had an opportunity to watch me 24/7, like on 'Big Brother.' You'd see a person who is quiet and reserved and very analytical - a huge observer.
Really, you just play football; that's all I can do... I don't change. I'm going to always play tough, hard - that's the way I was brought up at Nebraska, where I really learned football from the Pelinis and that staff and continue to play hard, play blue-collar football.
