Delmas on the Bengals and the Grind of the Season

“This weekend, I got a lot of time off to rest. With it being so late in the season, it’s starting to get kind of stressful being that you get up, lift every morning, etc. So it gave me a little time off to refresh my mind and my body.

“Making the quick turnaround to Thanksgiving was difficult. I didn’t think it would be that tough, but being a professional athlete, you do have to take care of yourself. You still have to practice just as hard as the week before even though you’ve only got two days of practice. You’ve still got to practice just as hard. Your body is kind of weary, I was mentally exhausted, but it all came through at the end.

“Looking at this season and being the last line of defense, I have dealt with it just like I’m supposed to deal with it. They drafted me to be a safety, so I know when I’m back there, no matter what happens on the field, I know I’ve got to get that player on the floor – no matter what it takes. That’s been my mentality week-in and week-out.

“I look forward to opportunities in the passing game this week, but the Bengals have got three great running backs. They can pound the ball down your throat if they want or they can go through the air. I’m just going to take it for what it is. They’re a great football team, they can pass – so I just can’t be one-dimensional as far as covering the run or covering the pass. I’ve got to do both. I’m looking forward to the opportunity.

“I didn’t know Carson Palmer was that big! He’s a big dude and he’s very smart. I don’t mean to say this in a disrespectful way, but without him, I don’t think that team would be running as good as it is. He’s a smart guy; he’s big, he’s very competitive. That’s what I think has given them so much success this year. The only way to defeat him is to try to get to him as fast as possible.

“The offense as a whole is going to be very tough because they’ve got a bunch of different threats. You’ve got Chad out there to catch the ball – he can catch it and run, make defenders miss. Benson is their running back and he’s big and fast. They’ve got a lot of different threats that we can hopefully take them down.”