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Aikman's advice: Don't try to do too much

The former NFL quarterback and current Fox analyst said one key to success in big games is not trying to do too much early on.

January 21, 2010 at 3:28PM

Former NFL quarterback Troy Aikman, who will serve as the analyst for the Vikings-Saints game Sunday on Fox, knows a thing or two about playing in NFC title games. During his career with Dallas, Aikman led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories and four consecutive NFC Championship Games.

Here are Aikman's thoughts on the pressures that players face leading up to this game:

"One, when you're talking about Super Bowls it's a little different than getting ready for a championship game because you have a much more normal work week. When I was playing you had to come in on Friday, when we played on the road. Now, I don't think these teams even have to do that, so it will be a normal week for them. I've always believed that just in a big game that there's a lot of adrenaline, emotions are running high and it's important to just go out and not try to do too much early in the game. "That goes for the players and that goes for the coaches and that goes for the play-caller. That's what I would tell myself going into a big game and that's what I would try to convey to some of the younger players. That eventually the game will settle down but when you first get out onto the field – particularly the Super Bowl more so than a championship game – you realize what's at stake and the opportunity that's there. "I don't know that prior to this game you really comprehend just how close you are [to the Super Bowl]. Even the wild card round, you're a few games from getting to the Super Bowl. But now these teams all know that gosh, [they're] one more game away from getting to where they had hoped they would get to when they started the season. With that everybody reacts to it differently and so you just try to calm everyone as best you can."

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judd zulgad

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