CarolinaPanthers Head Coach John Fox
Q: Update on injuries.
A: Charly Martin has a concussion. Todd Carter, kicker, has back spasms. Matt Moore there at the end had a concussion.
Q: Thoughts about Matt Moore's game in general.
A: Well you know, like all openers, you're going to struggle to some degree; you haven't done it in a year. I thought in the first half we did some decent things in the pass game. As the game wore on it got to be a little more to their advantage. I think it's tough for any quarterback. There's no question that they made more plays than we did, and we made a few more mistakes than they did.
Q: Comments on Matt Moore's interceptions in the end zone.
A: Again, it's a tight window down there, advantage defense, but I would have liked to see a couple different decisions but it was unfortunate. [Moore] gave a chance and we did move the ball fairly well, but those mistakes cost us.
Q: Comments on punt attempt down 17-16 that resulted in bad snap.
A: [The ball] never got off the ground; it got stuck in the turf. We can't allow that to happen. It's one of those mistakes that are critical mistakes, interceptions in the end zone are critical mistakes, and blown coverages are critical mistakes, you know, that I thought were the difference in the game.
Q: Surprised to see protection issues given the fact [the offensive line] has been a group that's been so trustworthy?
A: I thought it was hot and cold, and I'm not sure if that's why the results were the way they were.
Q: What did [Matt Moore] relay to you when he came off the field if anything in regards to what he was trying to do?
A: I don't really get into game time conversations.
Q: When you got down close on 1st and goal from the four, you throw three straight plays. That's not in your personality in the past. Did you think about running there?
A: I really didn't. 1st and goal from the four, you'd like to somehow score run or pass, and unfortunately that didn't happen run or pass. I think we ran it the next time down there and we got one yard.
S Charles Godfrey
Question: Can you talk about the team's interceptions?
Response: That's not something that I'm worried about right now. I don't think that we're playing good as a defense right now. We have to pick that up. We have to do better.
Q: Do you feel like there is an opportunity to make even more plays?
RE: Yeah, we had an opportunity to make plays and I think there were a couple of plays that we left on the field that we had to make. That's the defense that we had in the preseason and we have to get that back.
LB Dan Connor
Q: Can you talk about how the defense played as a whole?
RE: We came out strong in the first half and in the second half we came out a little flat and that was what determined the game in the second half. We're a young defense and we have to learn from it, learn from our mistakes, and come out next week and get better.
Q: What things did you take from this game from your part?
RE: It's experience. There's mistakes, we see them on tape, and we don't make them again. It's first week mistakes. That's kind of what it's going to be like tomorrow in the film room, just learning from mistakes and getting better, then not making the same ones ever again.
Q: Why do you think you came out flat in the second half after a solid end to the first half?
RE: You can never tell. You couldn't say one way or the other, but we definitely need to have that spark we had in the first half to come out in the second half.
DE Charles Johnson
Q: You guys played so well and the offense kind of struggled down there. You guys get a turnover and get it into the redzone then they turn it right back over. Is that kind of tough as a defense?
RE: No, it goes both ways. The defense has to step up when the offense doesn't. We have to be together.
CB Chris Gamble
Q: What did you think about the defense today?
RE: Yeah it was tough today. We'd like to say we did good in the preseason. Coming in against this Giants team, they threw the ball well, they ran the ball well. Like I said, we just have to make corrections and get ready for Tampa.
Q: How was the turf out there?
RE: It was a little slick out there with the rain, but you can't take that out of the game. That's football, you just have to play and you have to deal with it. Like I said, they came out ready to play and they did their thing.
Q: Talk about Nicks. He had a pretty good game obviously.
RE: Yeah he caught the ball well. All of the receivers caught the ball well. They did well on the offensive line. We just have to make corrections and step our game up and get ready for Tampa.
C Ryan Kalil
Q: Were you surprised you didn't run more in the second half considering that is the strength of this team?
RE: Yeah, but I think that's part of the game plan, and I think that's why we did it. Maybe we were kind of expecting them to think the same thing. Obviously there's plays to be made and they made more than us. It's Week 1, it's not the end of the season, but there's definitely a lot of things we need to get better at and work on. I think we're close, I really do, and hopefully we can clean these things up moving on.
RB DeAngelo Williams
Q: They had to watch last year's game over and over agan about all the rushing and everything, and obviously they came in this week determined not to let you guys get off.
RE: Well, you know, they did a good job. Like I said, I can't discredit them, but we left some plays out on the field today and they took advantage of them. They made more plays than we did. We were very inconsistent and we have to go back to the drawing board and get better.
Q: Obviously it's no time to panic.
RE: No, no time to panic at all. It's the first game. We've got 15 left.
Q: Were you surprised there weren't more run plays in the second half?
RE: No. I'm not the offensive coordinator and I don't make those calls. I think we just didn't execute and didn't play consistent enough to win this game today.
Q: How frustrating is it?
RE: It's not frustrating. It's not frustrating. It's the way the game is played. One team has got to lose and one team has got to win. We didn't like the way we lost because of our inconsistencies and they made more plays than we did. We've just got to make more plays.
Stay tuned to Giants.com for more postgame quotes.
