Tonight is an awesome feeling, it’s almost hard to explain. This was one of our first goals we wanted to accomplish this year — clinch the West — and I’m so happy… so ecstatic right now.

We understand that this is not our final place. We want to go to the Cup, that’s our ultimate goal, so we’re still going to continue working; no days off. We’ll keep going, and hopefully we’ll have a celebration at the end of the season.

We had our struggles in the first half, but we stuck together. From day one, we’ve always said we’re going to be a team.

The offence has helped us numerous times, and we’ve (defence) helped them, but that’s what it’s about. We tell ourselves if our offence scores three points the game should be over, we shouldn’t worry about anything else.

These guys have been a resilient defence all year. We had our backs against wall, and I think every time our backs were against the wall we just got more confident.

After we did what we could to keep our team in the game, our offence started making plays and we just kind of gelled together at the right time and made the plays when we needed to.

Tonight was really never about Kory Sheets, it was about us doing our job. When you go back and look at the film — even the big runs — it was us not doing our job. Not to take anything from him or their O-line, but we felt prepared, and when a guy gets talking like that it just gives you a little extra motivation.

What can I say about this team? We are brothers. I don’t want to see these guys every day for 17 weeks. You get tired of looking at these guys, but we understand that when the lights come on and it’s time to play that we are all one.

If you understand that as a professional, I think it will take you a long way and these guys, they know what we have to do week in and week out to be successful. We do that.

This locker room is great, this locker room is awesome and it just makes playing with these guys that much easier.

The front seven, even the DB’s, man, I’m proud of these guys. I say that being a six-year vet, and I’m proud of everybody in this locker room.

We’ve locked up the West final, but we aren’t going to let up until we host that Cup. We’re not being complacent.

This team has made a statement from day one, and we feel like we have a destiny. That destiny is to win that Cup.

We’re going to continue to work, and I think we’ve got enough veteran guys here not to let other guys fall off. Everyone knows what’s at stake and what we’ve got to do.

Juwan Simpson, #12
>> Simpson bio