Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham

Q: You said last week we'll see how the guys respond, so how'd you feel like they responded?

A: Again, our guys competed to the very end, no question. You wish the result was different. They're a good team. But still stuff to clean up, still stuff to clean up. Whether it's the run game, the pass game, all that stuff in all facets – coaching as well, in terms of on me. I'm never complaining about the effort. I thought there were flashes. There were flashes and we've got to build on that for this week. They were able to capitalize more than we were able to, and we had some good plays. There was some good football out there. There was some good football in certain spots. You've just got to get the consistency going and just try to build on that and hopefully it comes together this week. That's the plan. That's the plan.

Q: When you see that opposing quarterbacks are completing 74 percent of their passes, what's your reaction to that? How do you change that?

A: I think you've got to do a better job of me personally just mixing up probably a little bit, whether it's the disguise part of it and just mixing in the different types of coverages and change it up a little bit on them right there. Again, I think a combination of that will help with the pass rush, too. As we go into this week with (Panthers Quarterback) Sam (Darnold), Sam's playing pretty good in terms of like for the first six weeks in terms of what they've done. Forget what happened with the Jets, but just with this new offense. We've got to find ways to just affect the quarterback more effectively and it's a combination of the rush. It's a combination of the coverage. It's a combination of a variety and mixing it up on them. But that's the plan to do it and then we've got to win our individual battles, whether it's the rush or the coverage. We've got to try to execute from there.

Q: Carolina's coming in, they've got a player second in the NFL in rushing touchdowns, but it's not (Panthers Running Back) Christian McCaffrey. So how do you account for what Sam Darnold can do with his legs?

A: I haven't coached in college in a long time, and I know there's other quarterbacks in the league we've had to deal with over the years, but we rely heavily on our coaches who have dealt with this for a lot of their career. What you've got to do is schematically you've just got to make sure it's assignment football. I'm not saying it's triple option, but I remember coaching in college and saying, 'OK, assignment football when you're dealing with the triple option.' I'm not saying that's what it is, but you've got to make sure someone's accountable for the quarterback every time, especially down there in the red area where it seems to come up, whether it's quarterback draws, zone read or him just making a play in the scrambles. So it's a combination of assignment football in the run game, making sure your gaps are sound, things of that nature and then in the pass rush, making sure we're disciplined. Because whether it's him or (Bucs Quarterback) Tom Brady, down there in the red area when points are at stake, all quarterbacks are more likely to run. That's what we talk about, so whether it's (Former Quarterback) Peyton Manning, once they get down there in the red area where points are at stake, everybody's likely to run. You've got to have some discipline with the pass rush. It's not just the design runs, it's also the pass rush as well.

Q: When you say assignment football, does that mean like a spy or an extra guy?

A: It can be a spy or just like in terms of how you use the safeties in terms of the run game. Just different schemes and how you use the safeties when you have to account for the extra gap created by the quarterback keeping the ball, like college stuff you're dealing with. You're dealing with college stuff.

Q: You talked about needing to create more pressure and disrupting opposing quarterbacks, how realistic do you think it is for this defense to turn it around if you don't get more off the edge? I mean, that's a position that generally is a pass rushing position and quite frankly, you're not getting much pressure or sacks in regard to that position the last few weeks.

A: Well, I think you saw glimpses of what happened last week early in the game. Again, no excuses, but like some of the stuff on third down where we had contain and they did their job on the edge and we worked our matchups on the inside. (Defensive Lineman) Leo (Williams) came free on a couple of them, him and (Defensive Lineman) Dex (Lawrence II), to make a play, so obviously –

Q: Is that sustainable? Because like we saw, that's a tough way to live in this league if you're relying totally on the interior and your edge, you're just asking them to contain.

A: I think it's going to come down to matchups. We're going to try to generate the pass rush on the edge and stuff and work those guys. They're working diligently on it, but again, whether it's me figuring out where to put them in the right spot to work those edge guys, it always comes down to the matchups for the pass rush. That starts with me putting them in the right spot. I think as we move forward, we're working on it. We're working on improving. I think we've got guys in those spots that can help us with it. Again, like we talked about last week, hopefully it comes in bunches. It comes in bunches and I thought Leo did a good job last week and then hopefully now we can start to get some more off the edge. Maybe it's with pressure too to help them with some movement stuff. You've just got to be creative and find ways to put them in the right matchup and try to execute and see if we can maximize their abilities because we've got guys that can rush on the edge.

Q: On (Rams Wide Receiver) Cooper Kupp's second touchdown, what do you view as the reason for why (Cornerback James) Bradberry and (Defensive Back) Logan (Ryan) didn't get over there?

A: I'm trying to think which one was that. Was that from the 15?

Q: On the left sideline on (Rams Quarterback Matthew) Stafford's no-look.

A: Oh, I think just looking back at that one, the call right there, as he came across – there's a few factors that come into it, whether with the rush getting there with the pressure, trying to work the pressure. It's just a matter of there's a lot of traffic as we work through there. Again, I think it probably could've been a better call right there. It could've been a better call right there. He's a good player. He worked his way through. I think he avoided a defensive end. He avoided a linebacker as he went through there and there was a lot of traffic in there and he ended up making a play. We've just got to work through that traffic when we're in man coverage. But it probably could've been a better call by me right there. We're working on it because we're going to be dealing with that same misdirection this week from Carolina. Once you get down in the red area and the offenses do a great job. Carolina this week – the misdirection down there in the red area, it's tough. It's tough. It's a tough task when you're in man coverage and sometimes we've got to call the man to get on them. Sometimes you're thinking run right there. They got us. They just got us right there and he did a good job. He's a good player.

Q: How is (Head Coach) Joe (Judge) handling the losing and the adversity?

A: You would have to ask Joe. I think the beauty of Joe is this, it's how we learn – consistency. The emotional consistency, the stamina, the emotional stamina to be the same every day. I think Joe – that's why he's a good leader. Whether we win, lose, whatever, Joe's going to correct us and there's a standard he has. If we won by three touchdowns or lost by three touchdowns, Joe is consistent in terms of how he's handling, trying to improve the football team as we move through the season. The goals still remain the same to be playing your best football again, once you get to Thanksgiving and obviously, we've got to start winning some games, but Joe is as consistent as I've ever seen him. Never too up, never too down. You'd have to ask him exactly how he's dealing with it. But to me, I've got so much respect for Joe in terms of the ability to be consistent over time whether win, lose or draw. I think that's the big thing that he's displayed so far.

Q: When an opponent calls out – (Panthers Head Coach) Matt Rhule said the other day that he wants to see his team run the ball 30 to 35 times a game. When a coach says that out loud like that, is that misdirection? Is that a challenge?

A: Hell no, it's not misdirection. A head coach does that, he's letting you know. He's letting everybody in that building know, giddy up, let's go, we're running the ball. I can't blame him. I think I've read the quote and I heard the press conference, 'The first three games, two turnovers running the ball, blah, blah, blah. Last three games, eight turnovers. We've got to protect the quarterback. We've got to protect the o-line, blah, blah, blah by running the ball.' He's letting everybody know – I'm so bad with sayings – everybody is on notice that we've got to run the ball. I take him for his word. Again, I don't know the man personally, but I've heard about him and how people talk about him. I take him for his word. They're going to come in here with the intent to run the football. He put the challenge down for those guys and I'm sure it was a motivating thing for his team. I mean, I like for a head coach to say something like that. That was pretty good. He's like, 'hey, we're going to run the ball.' It kind of displays the toughness that you can see from their team. I think the running backs run hard. I think the wide receivers, they run hard after catch, they block. He's trying to instill a toughness into the team, so he's letting everybody know what we need to do, and I respect him for that.

Q: Do you play that clip or read it to your guys?

A: I mean, they're aware of it (laughs). They aware of it. They can't be. You guys are going to be writing about it and Twitter and tweets. I almost sound like (Patriots Head Coach) Bill (Belichick) because I don't have any of that stuff.

Q: But you presented it to them as well?

A: They're aware of it. They're aware of it. I don't know how much I'm reading right now in the papers and stuff. I did see it. I did see it. I'll say that right now.

Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett

Q: Have you ever experienced what you're going through injury-wise like you have this season? Especially on the offensive line, you just keep losing somebody each week.

A: We've had a real mix of guys playing for us, but again, the biggest thing we have to do is focus on us and getting everybody ready to play. A real credit to the players, not only the linemen, but the receivers and the running backs, all those guys who have come in, backup players having more of an extended role. They're prepared, they're ready and they're trying to embrace the opportunity. The guys who are banged up are working hard to get themselves back as quick as they can, but when you have a different combination of players playing, you've just got to figure it out and try to make it work.

Q: How much did the plan change when you lost (Wide Receiver) Kadarius (Toney) so early in last week's game?

A: He was off to a good start in the game. I think he had three catches in six plays and unfortunately we lost him. We have some plays for him obviously throughout the game plan and all the different situations that go away, and then we have some plays where we just put somebody else in and they do that. Again, the biggest thing is everybody has to be prepared, you have to be ready to respond.

Q: When you look at (Quarterback) Daniel (Jones), he obviously had a rough day. Do you just chalk it up as a bad day and throw it away? How do you guys approach that?

A: Daniel has played really well for us. We've talked about (how) he's improved greatly from probably the middle of last year on. He's off to a really good start this year. Has done a great job taking care of the ball. He had two uncharacteristic decisions that led to interceptions in that game. The third interception, the receiver slipped down. That was going to be a big chunk play for us, but you just have to learn from those experiences going through your mind and what you saw and then you forget about it. That's something that he does a really good job of. He's critical of himself and then he's able to move on, and that's something he has to do in this area.

Q: You say uncharacteristic decisions. Was he just fooled on those?

A: Not really. They were fairly simple, basic plays and reads and maybe he got something into his head, he saw something that wasn't there instead of just going through what the progression is and making the right throw. Again, that happens. That happens to quarterbacks. They have the ball in their hands every play and I think he's made great strides in that area. Unfortunately, we had a couple the other day that went the other way and, again, you learn from them and you move on.

Q: What's the best way to protect an offensive line that's struggling scheme-wise?

A: I think there are a number of things you can do – running the football certainly helps the protection, throwing it quick, moving the quarterback, having extra guys protect and getting guys out to get them open quickly. There's a variety of things you try to do every week to help your offensive line. Teams do it all around the league and you've just got to try to settle in with some of the things that fit best for your team.

Q: What was your approach in Dallas when you went through losing stretches and adversity? As a head coach, what was your approach and what have you observed about (Head Coach) Joe (Judge)?

A: Not really my place to comment on Coach Judge. I think the biggest thing we all try to do when you have some tough times is just kind of settle back into what you need to do each day to coach your best and to play your best. Each day of preparation leads to an opportunity to play your best on Sunday. If you can get everybody focused on this, what we need to do right now, I think that's what gives you the best chance. Really applies to life, too – I don't want to get philosophical, but somehow you have to learn from your past experiences, don't worry about what's next, focus on what you do, the task at hand right now, and I think that's what gives you the best chance to have success individually and collectively.

Q: What have you observed about Joe during this stretch?

A: Again, not my place to make any comments on that, but collectively as an organization that's what we're trying to do. Every coach, every player and Joe, our leader, has done a really good job of that.

Q: What's the ripple effect of losing (Tackle) Andrew Thomas? Obviously, anybody who watches film can see that you have to help the other tackles more than you helped him. The New Orleans game was your most downfield aggressiveness when he was shutting off the pass rush. What's the ripple effect of not having him?

A: The positive is Andrew is really developing into a heck of a good player and I think we've all seen that. He has a challenge every week when you play left tackle. Every week, you put the tape on and there's a great rusher over there that he has to go against and I think he's responded really well to that. Again, probably from the middle of last year on, you start to see him settle in and play at a very high level, and when a player like that goes out, that has an impact on you. But, again, the mentality is the next guy goes in. (Tackle) Matt Peart goes in there and plays, he's a young player, he's going to get better the more he plays. Again, you're always trying to address what the issues are up front and try to help whenever you can and sometimes the guy has to block them, and that's just part of the deal. Andrew has been a good player for us. He'll be back quickly, but we're excited about Matt and (Tackle) Nate (Solder) playing tackles for us. Those guys do a hell of a job.

Q: How good is this front that Carolina brings?

A: Really good. They're really good on defense. The defensive line is excellent, they've got very good outside pass rushers, they're strong and stout inside with playmakers, the linebackers can run, there are good cover guys on the back end, they're opportunistic, they play fast. When you watch them play on tape, their defense leaps off the tape how they play, so it'll be a great challenge for us in all three phases.

Q: When you guys are prepping – obviously, they haven't had (Panthers Cornerback Stephon) Gilmore yet, but a player of that caliber – when you guys are putting together your plays, do you have to do an, 'If he's here, this is what we have to gear around,' or do you try to focus on the scheme?

A: Well, they have a lot of really good players at all three levels of their defense and he's certainly been one of the best players in the league at his position throughout his career. The biggest thing we have to do is focus on us and play at a high level, but you certainly have to be aware of a player like that and come up with a plan if he is playing. Got great respect for him, he's been a really good player for a long time.

Q: What has (Fullback) Eli Penny given you as a runner and are you going to try to keep continuing to incorporate him?

A: Eli's proven that he can be a versatile guy. His position is fullback and whenever he's been in that role, he's done a good job, particularly on some of the short-yardage runs. He's done a good job with that stuff. When (Running Back) Saquon (Barkley) is out and (Running Back Devontae) Book (Booker) is playing, Eli comes in and does a good job as a runner. I think he's proven that at different times throughout his career. We have a lot of confidence in him doing that. He's a bigger back, he's physical, he finishes runs, but he also is athletic and has good feet.

Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey

Q: Is (Assistant Special Teams Coach) Tom Quinn allowed back on the sideline?

A: He's a coach. Absolutely. Stuff happens. In the heat of the moment, you're trying to get stuff fixed, stuff happens.

Q: What happened on that play from your perspective?

A: They tried to sneak a guy on late. Typical. It is what it is.

Q: What is the rule on that? When is the latest you can get a guy on?

A: You can't have the intent to deceive inside the bench area. If everybody is on the field, and all of a sudden, a guy comes on to the field late, the guy has to come inside of the numbers, then go back out to get set. If he doesn't go inside the numbers, illegal substitution, both flags come out. It's illegal, you can't do it. 

Q: So maybe he can pretend like he doesn't know what he was doing and run on the field kind of deal?

A: Yeah, that doesn't work.

Q: Is (Cornerback) Sam (Beal) still supposed to see that or is it not a player's fault that he didn't see it?

A: No, he looked. He looked, he looked out there. They brought him on late. That's the intent to deceive, you can't do that. That's why they threw the flag.

Q: Did you have to holler, or did they call it right away?

A: No, as soon as the ball snapped, both officials threw it. The guy that's standing there watching the gunner, he threw it and then one of the line guys threw it.

Q: Was the penalty a result of you guys saying, 'Hey, they're bringing an illegal guy on the field' and that's what happened there?

A: Exactly.

Q: Any feelings for you seeing the opposite uniform this weekend?

A: No. We're playing the Carolina Targets (laughs). It could be Kansas City, it could be whoever. In this league, I've worn a bunch of different logos. Whenever we play a former team, it's always good to see the people that you worked in the building with, because this league is all about relationships. As far as any emotional feeling, no. It's another week at the office.

Q: How is (Panthers Special Teams Coordinator) Chase (Blackburn) doing as a coordinator?

A: He's doing a hell of a job. He really is. Chase is going to be – I truly think Chase is going to be a head coach in this league at some point in time. Chase is a phenomenal football coach, he's a great communicator. You see his guys, they play extremely hard. You watch his unit, they play extremely hard. I was super impressed with him when he was my assistant down there and the sky is the limit for Chase. I love him to death, and I wish him nothing but the best. Other than Sunday.

Q: You always talk about making the gumbo. Does the gumbo this week possibly include (Wide Receiver) Dante Pettis as a returner? What does Dante bring?

A: We've got options. That's the one thing about, again, (Senior Vice President and General Manager) Dave (Gettleman) and (Head Coach) Joe (Judge), they did a great job of giving us options. Dante has been a returner in this league, (Cornerback) Darnay (Holmes) did it last week. Darnay hadn't returned kick offs since he was in college. We'll have a couple guys back there, we're working guys in practice and whoever does the best job in practice, we'll have him back there.

Q: What did you think of the job that Darnay did being thrown in there?

A: He did a really good job to be thrown in at the last second. He practiced it the last couple of years and he's shown a lot of promise in practice. You wish you had it blocked up better for him so you can really see what he can do out in space. Darnay is a talented young man.

Q: You mentioned all those options. Who are your top few guys?

A: We just named them. We just talked about them, those last two. (Safety Jabrill Peppers) Pepp, you can throw him back there. We've got other guys that can do it. We're going to work the guys in practice, they all rotate, and we've been doing that all year. It's no different how we've operated all year.  

Q: Do you expect as (Linebacker Elerson) Smith and (Cornerback Aaron) Robinson get closer that you'll be their halfway point out to the field at first?

A: It's always that way. I don't foresee those guys coming in and starting. Those two are two really good young players with a lot of talent. We've just got to work them in slowly and find out what they can do. See what they feel comfortable with and let them go.

Q: Was that a flag happy officiating staff or were you guys undisciplined on special teams?

A: I wouldn't call it undisciplined, and I wouldn't call them flag happy. If you really looked at the calls closely, I think (Rams Punter) Johnny Hekker needs an Academy Award. The situation with (Linebacker) Cam (Brown), he's rushing, and then (Defensive Back) Keion (Crossen), same thing. It's kind of a got to have it situation, you're down by freaking 27 points, you try to make a play. That happens sometimes. Sometimes you'll get a penalty when you're kind of pressing. I wouldn't say undisciplined, I would say we were probably in a desperation mode. That's just the reality of football games and how they flow sometimes. You're trying to make a play at the end of the game when it's kind of out of hand, it's like that sometimes.

Q: What did you think of (Running Back) Eli Penny finishing that tackle without his helmet on?

A: It popped off. As soon as he made contact, it popped off and he made a tackle. That's Eli, though. Eli does a good job for us, he's a tough kid. That happens – those helmets, they pop off sometimes.

Q: What have you observed about Joe Judge during this rough stretch?

A: Joe's our leader. We all look to our leader for strength. He's done a hell of a job I think of keeping the team moving forward. The one thing that as a special teams coaches you understand is that the only constant that we have in this league is change, and it's always changing. You've got to be able to adjust to the change. Positive, negative, you've got to be able to adjust to it. Joe is a tough guy, Joe's mentally tough and he's doing a great job with our team as far as the leadership part of it and keeping us pressing and moving forward, staying focused on the task at hand and that's to win today. You don't have a chance on Sunday if you don't win today. We're focusing on right now, being where our feet are and just keep it moving.

Defensive Back Logan Ryan

Q: How'd you feel like the guys came out and responded this week. Obviously, (Head Coach Joe) Judge challenged you on Sunday, but how did you feel like guys came out to practice this week?

A: I think it's been really good. I think so far, so good. Myself personally, I think I've been caught up a lot in trying to rally the team and trying to give the great speeches and trying to figure out what's wrong and trying to pick everyone up and trying to make sure everyone does their job and trying to get lined up faster and trying to simplify – trying to do a lot of things and I think for me this week it's been about playing better personally and the better I can be for the team, the better the team can be. If we all focus on our own jobs and kind of – I'm a safety first. I'm a safety of the defense first and obviously they ask me to do more than just play safety. They ask me to do some other stuff leadership-wise, but I think I've got to be a great safety for the Giants first and foremost. The better I can play, the better (Cornerback) James (Bradberry) can play, the better (Safety) Xavier (McKinney) can play, (Safety Jabrill) Pep (Peppers) can play. That helps our team collectively.

Q: You see anything specifically that sort of ticked you off? It seems like you looked at it and you said, 'I'm not happy with the way I'm playing.'

A: No. Just the results. Just the results aren't what I wanted or what we wanted thus far and I'm always willing to make changes and adapt and trying to figure out what to do next. Maybe this game I'll play a little deeper to prevent this. Maybe this game I'll play a little more aggressive to help us in this. Maybe this game I'll be in the run a little bit more so I can help stop the run. Really, my job is to play with my instincts, communicate and handle my position and play really well, and that's what I get paid to do. I just felt like if I could focus on that personally and I think as a team focus on our jobs individually instead of all trying to collectively solve the problem, then you get away from who you are and what you do best.

Q: Guys who played the game – not just us, but analysts – said that on (Rams Wide Receiver) Cooper Kupp's final touchdown guys were jogging. You saw it. Did you think guys were jogging?

A: I don't think guys were jogging. I think he caught the ball and he scored the ball. If it's my effort or JB's effort, a question there, I think that I play hard every play and that play I think I played as hard as I could until the end of the play. I understand that's their right to analyze and critique, and I'll take it. I'm going to go out there and play as hard as I can every play. I think I made a living on that and I'll continue to do that. 

Q: Your position coach seemed frustrated with that play too when we asked him about it. What more do you think you could do on a play like that?

A: What was his response?

Q: He said, 'I don't know if they could've gotten there. I don't know, but we'll never know. That's the problem, we'll never know.'

A: I think he's just saying it's in the past and we don't know, and we can't harp on it now. I think we've got to go out there and play hard this week. I think you'll anticipate us playing hard, I think you'll anticipate Carolina playing hard. I think their coach called their team out about getting back to their identity. I think we've got to get back to our identity, so I think it will be an urgent game on both sides. I think we've got to show urgency on defense and that's something we can control, our urgency, so I think we're going to be urgent.

Q: You've played somewhere where you've pretty much only had success at home. Is playing at home becoming psychological at all for this team? It almost seems like you play better on the road. We know how the boos have started here. Is playing at home almost becoming a disadvantage for the Giants?

A: Never. No, I don't think so. I just think it's game by game and you don't want those factors to affect you. Playing at home will never be a disadvantage. It'll never be a disadvantage. It's just we haven't success in the last game. Wherever it is, home or the road, you execute like that you're not going to win wherever you're playing. We've got to play well, we've got to execute, play urgent and definitely got to do that at home. 

Q: You've been one of Joe's biggest backers always, especially because you're a team leader and you're out here. He said today that it starts with me, the mistakes from the head down. What do you think when you hear that and what do you see from him that makes you confident that what he's doing is correct them?

A: I think you've got to respect that. I think you've got to respect people who take ownership. I think finger-pointing and blaming is the easy thing to do and I think you've got to respect a coach who says it starts with him to get the team prepared. I agree, it does start with him, but it starts with me individually to be myself and to lead my unit, as well. I think all of us are up here taking ownership, but we can only answer the questions how we can. When there's negative stuff going on, there's only so many answers there are. At the end of the day, we need more positive results and I think that starts with people taking ownership, so I think that's been a good sign.

Cornerback James Bradberry

Q: On (Rams Wide Receiver) Cooper Kupp's second touchdown, why did you not get over to the sideline? What happened there?

A: I was making my way over there. I was on the left side of the field, he crossed over, ran a flat route, he caught it and ran it into the end zone.

Q: When you hear (Head Coach Joe) Judge basically challenge the team, do you feel like that applies to you guys on defense?

A: Yeah, I think it applies to everyone that's in that meeting room. Offense, defense, special teams, everybody.

Q: As the leader in your room, do you feel like the secondary game gave their full effort in the fourth quarter?

A: I think we gave it full effort the whole game, not just the fourth quarter. First, second, third, all of them.

Q: As a cornerback, what are you trying to accomplish, what are the keys for you when they run those crossing routes? We were watching them last game, where they had some success on you.

A: It just depends what coverage we're in. Given the play call, it's going to change my responsibility and how I guard crossing routes, so it just depends on the play call.

Q: How hard is it though, especially in the red zone?

A: Yeah, it's real hard to cover, especially if you're in man it's hard to pass those plays off – and then you've got to cross the field, (there is) some traffic area there. It's definitely hard because you're fighting against the traffic with your teammates. Also, they might have a guy crossing over trying to pick you. It's a lot that you're trying to get through and get over there.

Q: What makes (Panthers Wide Receiver) D.J. (Moore) such a good wide receiver?

A: I think one, his explosiveness. He's very fast and quick. Two, he's able to judge the ball well down the field. Also, he's a very good runner after the catch. I'm not sure what his stats are, but I know when I played with him, he was very good at catching the ball on slants and creating explosive plays off of that.

Q: But it probably helps to know him?

A: Oh, for sure. I've been against him before, and of course I watch film on him now. I think I know him.

Q: Going back to your free agency, did it bother you that they didn't value you as much as the Giants valued you?

A: No, not really, because it's a busines at the end of the day and I understood what was going on towards the end of my career there. (Former Panthers Head Coach and Current Washington Football Team Head Coach) Coach Rivera got fired, they had a new coaching staff coming in. Honestly, they had new personnel upstairs as well with GMs, new contract guys coming in. I kind of got a feel for it, I knew my time there wasn't going to be long.

Q: With that being said, anything special for you to play them?

A: Of course, it's special because that's where I started. I know some guys still on that defense and some guys on that offense, so I think it's going to be special to see some of my old teammates. As far as me having animosity or anything towards them, they weren't there when I was there, so I can't really blame them for not keeping me.

Q: Their quarterback is new too – he's opened some eyes with his rushing this year. What are you more concerned about with (Panthers Quarterback) Sam Darnold? His arm, legs or both?

A: I'm concerned with both. Anytime you face a quarterback that has the ability to run, it kind of worries you a little bit because they also have good receivers. You've got to go after the receivers and then after you go after the pass, he might run it. It's two things you've got to account for. He definitely has a strong arm. I've noticed clips on Twitter and stuff. He throws a really pretty ball, and he's very accurate.

Q: Their head coach made a comment basically that they want to run the ball, 30 to 35 runs or big numbers like that. How much do you pay attention to that?

A: We pay attention to it a little bit. You can't really get caught up on it because you never know what they're going to do on Sunday. We study tendencies throughout the week, I'm sure they study their tendencies as well, but sometimes when they get to Sunday, they might switch it up. You're paying attention to it, but I wouldn't harp on it too much.