Q: From a player standpoint, how big of an advantage is to get the second seed and the first-round bye?
DM: That's big. Coming in knowing that we're going to be playing at home, I think we take pride in playing at home. We love to play in front of our fans, so the biggest thing is we'll get another week to get some guys healthy and get them ready to go. And that gives us a chance to really fix some things we need to fix and get ready to go for whoever we play.
Q: What are some of the things you need to fix?
DM: We'll see. Coach [Belichick] will come in here tomorrow and he never falls short of having a bunch of things that we need to fix. He'll go over the film. I think since I've been here, there's no coach that gets you better prepared to go into the playoffs. So I think us as a team, we just need to be ready to come in here tomorrow and focus on whatever Coach Belichick has for us and get those things done, because if we get them done, we'll be in good shape.
Q: What does the bye week do for you mentally as a player?
DM: I think it gives you a chance to really focus on whatever you need to focus on. Especially a bye week like this where we won't know who we're playing, it gives us a chance to really focus on ourselves and try to improve in that week. I think we have to do a good job this week of just trying to improve and get better. This time of the year, it's all about going out and playing your best in each one of those games, because there's no game after that if you don't play well.
Q: How far has this team come since the beginning of the year?
DM: I think we've improved each week. I think that's something that we talked about and said we needed to do and I think we've done a good job of that. But I think the most important thing is this time right now, how much better can we get going into these last games. Going in, we don't know if there will be a tomorrow, so we have to come out and play our best. We can't afford to come out and have one bad game. I think this group has showed a lot of character and a lot of determination to go out there and play. Even games that we fell short this year, we've fought all the way to the end. So we're going to just have to use that ability and that character going into these games.
Q: How nice is it that you shut them out and can you use this going into the playoffs?
DM: I think the most important thing is that we came out and we played well. We talked about all week, as a defense, to come out and play well. [It's the] last game of the season and to come out and give yourself confidence, come out and play well. I thought we did a good job of that. We'll fix a couple plays we had, but we came out overall and played pretty well on defense.
Q: You guys had seven sacks today. Is there another level this defense can get to?
DM: Yeah, I think we have to. Going into the playoffs, we won't be the only team going to the next level. I think everyone knows once you go into the playoffs, teams step it up a notch, so we're going to have to do our part and try to step it up and match teams going into the playoffs. If we keep improving and getting better, we'll be able to get there.
