Q. What's the benefit in having familiarity with a team that you're playing on Saturday?
UCHENNA NWOSU: It's great for many reasons. We know them. They know us. We know their personalities, what they like to do. So it's like basically getting a head start in the game. So that's an advantage going into it, I think.
Q. What's it mean to have your outside linebacker to have --
UCHENNA NWOSU: Can you repeat, the first time?
Q. Your position group, what's it like having those guys coming on later in the season contributing the way they have?
UCHENNA NWOSU: It's great. You need that. When your whole room is doing good, you knees those guys to be there for you, especially with myself, I have not had a sack in like four games, which sucks, but when you have help those guys, DT getting five in four games, Bruce getting two, really brings up everybody and makes everybody play for it because we are all fighting for it and competing to see who gets the best stats. It gives everybody an energy boost and makes the rest of the linebackers and the team feel really well.
Q. Can you still take pride in a play where you flush the quarterback out-of-the-pocket and your teammates cleans up?
UCHENNA NWOSU: Yeah, absolutely, like that one on Baker, he flushed it out -- I was able to get my little head in. Felt good.
Q. What have you seen from Daryl over the last five games and what do you think has contributed to that?
UCHENNA NWOSU: I just see a more hungry DT. Started out the season kind of slow but he's really picked it up when it's been most important. We need that, especially him going to the playoffs, it gives him a lot of confident boost, believing in himself now more and more which we are definitely going to need on Saturday.
It's good for DT. I'm proud of him and he deserves it, especially since he's been dealing with injuries and this and that and whatever situation he's got going on. To see him playing like this is good.
Q. How do you make the 49ers seem one-dimensional, a team that has so many versatile ways to use guys?
UCHENNA NWOSU: I think you just have to go into the game just taking away something, and for us, it's going to be the run game. You know, that's Bernard's Achilles' heel, last week gave up 150 rushing, so just make them one-dimensional, don't allow them to -- we can rush anybody, you see what we did in the last two weeks, a four-sack game and five-sack game and we shall rush the passer definitely. If we can eliminate the run, we can get after them.
Q. How has it been after Jordan went down?
UCHENNA NWOSU: Really smooth, no drop off at all. Coby does a good job when he's in there calling the defensive calls and making sure everybody know what is they are doing and really communicating. He's also giving pointers to me out there if he sees somebody, alerting that this play is coming and there it is. It's good to have Coby out there, the guy is very smart, knows what he's doing and what he's talking about, basically another mike backer out there right next to JB. We miss JB, lose a guy like that, the plays and tackles he's made and how consistent he's played but Coby is doing a good job.
Q. You've had a couple playoff games a few years ago. What did you take away from that experience?
UCHENNA NWOSU: Yeah, you've got to be on top of your game, the first game we had, I think it was a wild-card against Baltimore, we played a hell of a game that game. Guys were on top of their game and the next game we went up to New England and we got beat up pretty bad.
But what I've learned from those, you have to embrace the moment because it's hard to give back those. For me, it's been five years since then. So you've just really got to embrace the moment and really take advantage when the opportunity presents itself.
Q. Plenty of people didn't think the team would be here this week. What were your expectations?
UCHENNA NWOSU: I thought this team could go really far. Just the talent, the back end, evident two of the best safeties in the league in Jamal and Quandre up front and you have guys like -- you bring in Q, you got Poona still coming back, DT who it a good year last year. Offensively you've got weapons and you've got DK and Tyler. You've got weapons all around. So good running backs; I'd expect this team to go really far. I know people didn't have us doing nothing but I thought otherwise when I looked at the roster before I saw it.
Q. People not expecting you to do anything, did that mean anything to you guys this year?
UCHENNA NWOSU: Not really. For me myself, I don't really pay attention to the media. I don't really read articles about myself unless somebody sends it to me on my moan like my dad or my mom. I don't really pay attention to the media. It is what it is. We are still the ones that have to go out there and compete and we are the ones that know what we are capable of and stuff like that.
Q. What have you learned about Pete and his ability to get the team to believe in itself?
UCHENNA NWOSU: I've just learned that he's special. He's different. He has that juice, that energy, that positivity, every day, no matter win, loss, rain, sunshine, doesn't matter. He's the same guy and that's what you appreciate as a player, when you got the same guy constantly showing up every day to work, you can't expect nothing different. You don't see anything different. You know he's not going to flip out on you and he's going to be the same guy who he is, it's good for the team because he knows how to bring everybody closer together and he just knows how to spread his positivity and energy.
Q. I take it that steadiness for a head coach is not the norm when you consider all the ups and downs of an NFL season?
UCHENNA NWOSU: I mean, I've only had three head coaches. I can say it's pretty normal -- the head coaches I've had, it's been pretty normal. Anthony Lynn, he's the same guy, still is now when we played the 49ers, I talk to him on the side and he's got that same energy and juice. Same with Staley, I played with him for one year.
Q. Anything on the line in the D-Line room for winning the sack title?
UCHENNA NWOSU: No, just bragging rights.
Q. When you talk about embracing the moment and being in the playoffs, do you think that's easier or harder for some of those rookies?
UCHENNA NWOSU: Repeat that.
Q. Is it easier or harder for the rookies for the playoffs in the first time --
UCHENNA NWOSU: I would say it's probably harder because they don't want to be the reason, so they are making sure they are on top of their game and their attention to detail is perfect, so they are probably like, ok, I've got to make sure I'm on point because if I get called to go, I can't afford to guess up because if we lose there's no more.
But at the same time, we try to bring them along and show that you can have fun with this and it's the playoffs. Everybody is already in Cancún but we still get to play.
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