PATRICK KERNEY

Q.  How will you be able to break up this whole line?

            PATRICK KERNEY:  You've got to play smart against them.  They do so much max protection to give Donovan the time to make the plays that he does, you've got to try to find a way to just not get frustrated and keep fighting and hopefully spring through some of the double-teams.

            Q.  I know you have some ties to the Philadelphia area and South Jersey; what's it like to be back here in a game of this magnitude?

            PATRICK KERNEY:  I grew up just north of Philadelphia and I grew up a huge Eagles fan so it's great to go back up there and play in this city with so much on the line.  It's great because I have a lot of family and friends that will be at the game.

            Q.  How does the situation of the Eagles losing three straight NFC Championship games, how does that favor you?

            PATRICK KERNEY:  I think it puts a little bit of pressure on them, this is a must-win just for the organization.  But with the way free agency is and whatnot, I'm sure they feel like this is a very different team from what they have had the past three years, and probably gives them a lot of confidence with the success that they have had.  So I think we are facing a very different opponent than the one who last the NFC Championship game the last few years.

            Q.  Practiced against Michael Vick, but are you glad you don't have to defend him at full speed?

            PATRICK KERNEY:  Absolutely.  He's so elusive and when you're rushing him, you pick a side of the tackle to rush, you see him one way and then taking off the other and before you know it, he's broken out for a 15-yard gain.

            Q.  You haven't really met a team with a scrambling quarterback like the Eagles this year, how will you be able to stop the scrambling quarterback?

            PATRICK KERNEY:  Aaron Brooks is as close as anything we've seen to Donovan and he doesn't even look to run as much as Donovan does.  Donovan has matured so much as quarterback, he uses his running ability really only when he has to but he's still a huge threat with it so it's a matter of closing down his lanes and not getting on too much, so, he can just pick up alley-ways and pick up first downs.

            Q.  Do you feel like the Falcons don't have anything to lose because of the Eagles situation and because of the great expectations that you didn't have until the playoffs started?

            PATRICK KERNEY:  I think a chance to be in the Super Bowl is a lot to lose, so we -- I guess that's what we have.

            We've had these expectations for ourselves all year, even though the outside expectations were not there, we started this thing back in March of last year, the expectations of going to the Super Bowl and winning it.  So not much has been added to our psyche since the season.

            Q.  Is it true that you once wanted to be an NHL player, and I was wondering if you would not mind telling us about your foundation and your brother.

            PATRICK KERNEY:  Yeah, I went off to boarding school in high school because I had done fairly well playing high school hockey up to that point, playing Division 1, I had to try myself against the best competition in the country and I went up to Connecticut to school and before I knew it I was wrestling in the winter, that's how well it went.  Obviously, if that panned out, I would be on strike right now even if that had worked out.  My father was a hockey player in college and my brother went off to school to play hockey, so I guess it's sort of in my blood and my brother and I have a very tight relationship and when I lost him, it was a very difficult thing to go through.  When I got to the NFL and had the finances to help other people, I thought the best way to do it would be to help him the way he would help people so I decided to start a scholarship fund to raise money.

            Q.  What position did you play in hockey?

            PATRICK KERNEY:  All five positions.