<span>DE BOBBY McCRAY  

(on whether the past month has been tough for him) "Not at all. The toughest stretches I ever went through was in the past when we lost a couple of games we should have won. As of right now, I have put all of those things behind me and gotten the positives out of it. We're winning and we're in the biggest game of our career. It's the Super Bowl. There is really nothing that can overcome that. I'm on a positive side right now and to come out with a win will be even better."

(on his back) "I got it (back injury) the second week and haven't really been able to overcome it all season. I've just been fighting through it every game. It's my lower back. This is probably my first season that I haven't been healthy. Other than that, I probably jammed a wrist and taped it and we were good to go."

(on being judged my his sack total) "It's pretty annoying. This is by far my worst season as far as number-wise, but I have to look at it on the bright side. I have gotten a lot of hits on the quarterback. Not to mention, the reps are down this year because I have been a little nicked up. It's been a little down year, but at the same time it went to a little high point at the end of the season, especially with the playoffs. At the same time that little nagging injury is still there."

(on the evolution of the Saints from an 8-8 team to the Super Bowl) "Two things happened. We brought in Gregg Williams, who is a highly-talented defensive coordinator then we had a lot of key additions to the defense. The offense was there. They were solid. We just had to get some key additions to the defense. We brought in S Darren Sharper and S Roman Harper, a vet and a young guy. Next thing you know they both made it to the Pro Bowl. LB (Jonathan) Vilma and I were additions last year. We got CB Jabari Greer off of free agency too. There have been a lot of young guys that have stepped up like DT Remi Ayodele when (Kendrick) Clancy went down. There are a lot of key additions that stepped up this year and that made the formula perfect for this year."

(on whether he can be 10-sack a year player again) "I can always be that guy."

(on whether he expects his sack total to improve next season when he is healthy) "Yes. Once I get back healthy I will be the same as I probably used to be. It's been a down year for me. This nagging (injury), but I just look at the upside – we're in the Super Bowl. I'm going to go out here and try to play hard like I've been doing the last couple of weeks in the playoff games and end this year with a bang. I will be okay with that, not even worry about the numbers. I might have a Super Bowl ring. I'm not worried about the numbers. I helped my team get a ring."

(on how DE Paul Spicer has helped him this season) "He has kept me fresh in practice because he is coming in with fresh legs and his knowledge of the game. In practice he always tells me, 'If the backs bothering you, I got you.' That's one thing he has really helped me as far as taking the reps of me in practice and getting in there a little bit. He has also been giving T (Jermon) Bushrod hell in practice. That has been getting him better for Sundays."