Mike Daniels

If they're coming out full-steam, you come out harder. That's just how it is. It's the game of football.

This kind of stuff, it wasn't the cool thing when I was growing up. Now, pop culture is comic books, super-hero movies, anime, manga, and I've been doing it for a long time.

Just getting to the NFC Championship isn't good enough. Winning the Super Bowl is what the expectations are.

A lot of 'Shonen Jump' anime, you see a lot of battles, a lot of aggression, and it's very relatable to players. There's a hero, and he has to go through a lot of rough training, put his body through the unthinkable so that he can save the world or do his task. His or her challenge is saving the world; our challenge is winning the game.

We have to have each other's back. That's just football. That's how it's been since we were younger. Before you learn technique and scheme when you're a little kid, you're out there scrapping.

As a parent, you just want to really make sure your kids understand what you are trying to say as much as their maturity level will allow them to.

You're a defensive lineman, you get knocked around from all different angles. I've been knocked around like a pinball quite a few times.

Communication is key in any relationship - especially in a team sport, and football is the ultimate team sport.

Being under-recruited coming out of Highland, I've carried that with me. I keep pushing forward, keep working hard every day, keep my head on straight every step of the way. I tried to keep the reality hat on, knowing I might not get to the NFL, but I also knew it was a great possibility if I kept myself hungry.

Imagine being a running back or a receiver. You get tackled, and then when you get up, you're surrounded by a bunch of guys, and they're all screaming and yelling at you... Mentally, it wears on you, like, 'God, how long can I do this?' It's a mental thing.

Nothing was ever handed to me. I mean nothing.

I was never motivated by a contract. I was motivated by being the best. So I just compete against myself every day and push to get better.