Mike Rucker
Mike Rucker
Michael Dean Ruckeris a former American football defensive end who played eight seasons for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Nebraska, and was drafted by the Panthers in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft...
ProfessionFootball Player
Date of Birth28 February 1975
basically close found francisco last losing playing point rode san streak took turnaround winning
There was a point where we were losing a lot of close games. We were right there, but we were losing a lot. The turnaround was the San Francisco game. We were basically playing for last place at the time, and we just found a way to win. It just kind of took off from there, and we just had a winning streak and rode the wave.
giving hand matter pass rush works
It's a team, and it works hand in hand. If your DBs aren't giving you any kind of coverage, it doesn't matter what kind of pass rush you have,
anybody energy field focus humble inward mouth shut talk team type
It was frustrating to keep your mouth shut all week. What we did was focus that energy inward and let it out on the field today. That's all that matters. Anybody can talk.... We don't do that. We feel like we're a humble type of team and organization. And we talk with our pads.
next talk time
At least now, next time we play them we can talk about other things like football.
stuck
You can't get stuck on one category, on just sacks,
caught fine guy start
You can't get caught up in how many sacks does a guy have because it doesn't tell the whole story. Pep is off to a fine start and the sacks will come.
might points spot
You can't spot them those points at the beginning. If you don't do that, it might be a different outcome.
ball couple early running stop three yards
All those carries, you are going to get those yards one, two, three at a time. It's not like it was a couple big runs. He chipped away at us by running the ball over 30 times. If we stop him early this time, he won't be able to do that again.
believe devastated heard
I was devastated when I heard the news. I just didn't want to believe it. We know he's in a better place.
guys last learn takes throw year
Last year I had to relearn that, and those new guys had to learn me. It takes time. We went through all that going 1-7 last year. But now, we throw them in, and we're already clicking.
door great head limp proud stride walk
It's great to get back on stride because you don't want to limp in. You want to walk through that door with your head up, proud of what you are.
gets good growing hard people point start
It's so hard for Pep because once you start to do big things, the expectations keep growing and growing and growing. It gets to the point where the expectations are unreal. He had a good year, but people always want more.
anybody brings coach fox goes great guy listening player
I think each guy does a great job. Each guy brings his own personality to it. We haven't had anybody to where you're up there thinking, 'Wow, that was bad.' Because it comes from the heart, each man. And that's why I think Coach Fox does it. Because we play with each other, and a player listening to a player, that goes a long way.
We just feel like we've been through a lot of different situations.