Head Coach John Fox
On returning to Carolina
“Well it was strange. I’ve never been in this visitor’s locker room. Prior to even coming here as a head coach I had never been here as an assistant coach. That part was strange for sure. But, it was great getting back. My sons are still out here going to school. It was neat to see family – we came out Friday, so I was able to at least see them. I have a home here that we had in our tenure here so it was nice getting home and sleep in my bed Friday night. It was good.”
On defense recovering after giving up an early drive
“We tend to do this, I don’t know if it’s jitters or what, but we left a couple guys free and a tribute to their team, they executed well. We made some adjustments but I thought all-in-all, our defensive staff did a terrific job. It’s an explosive offense, you have a pretty good stable of backs there, you have a quarterback that has unique abilities, so we knew it was going to be tough coming in and we knew that they would be very inspired.”
On Von Miller
“Well, he’s a dynamic guy. I think this kind of meant something to him. Sometimes where you are in the draft and that kind of stuff kind of motivates guys. You’ll have to ask Von, but he definitely came to play today, that’s for sure.”
Quarterback Peyton Manning
On how the defense and special teams scores help the offense
“Well sure, our defense – they were pretty awesome today. And then, two weeks in a row with a kickoff return for a touchdown, I just can’t tell you what that does for the entire team, especially on offense. Carolina scores, they kick off, they have some momentum and then boom, you run it back for a touchdown and it can be deflating for the other side. Defense and special teams were awesome today. Offensively, I thought we were close on some things. Obviously, I’ve never taken winning for granted, but there are some things we can fix and need to fix and we’ll learn from this film.”
On his improvement since the start of the season
“It was hard to know what to expect on both accounts. This is totally new territory for me with a different team and I didn’t know what kind of progress I would make physically. I’ve made some, I continue to have some that I still need to make and I continue to have to do my rehab. The team, I think we have improved on certain things and are developing some type of chemistry. This is not a team that has been together for four or five years, so we still have some things that we can do better. But, any time you can learn a little bit about each other, make some progress and win some games, that’s a good thing, but we still need to get better, I think. Especially down this homestretch.”
On tying Dan Marino with 420 TDs
“Well, Dan Marino, after my dad retired, was my favorite quarterback growing up. I think it’s pretty well documented through the years when I’ve been asked about Dan Marino how I feel about him. I’ve never felt comfortable kind of being mentioned amongst him. But, a lot of players have caught a lot of those touchdowns, so I’m grateful for all the receivers and the protection I’ve received along the way. Marino is one of my all-time favorites and he’s been very good to me since he stopped playing, and I’ve really appreciated his friendship.”
Wide receiver Trindon Holliday
On the return
“It was a called return, so I caught the ball, I jabbed to the left and I had seen my teammates making a good block for me on the right side, so I just hit the hole.”
On if he’d ever have a punt return for a score and scoring in consecutive weeks
“No, first one. It feels great to be able to come back and do it back-to-back games. I’m just going to build on this, go to practice this week and be ready to go.”
On special teams scores changing momentum
“Oh yeah. I was brought here to return kicks and punts and make plays for this team. I just try to do my best when I get out there and make it happen for the team.”
Wide receiver Brandon Stokley
On the offense continuing to get better
“That’s our goal is to keep improving. I thought today was just an average game for us offensively. I thought the defense played great. Our special teams played great. But offensively, there in the second half, we got kind of in a lull there and didn’t do much with a couple drives. There’s definitely a lot of work to do.”
On the whole team’s effort
“That’s what you have to do when you come on the road. You need everybody. I thought all three phases played well enough to win. It’s a tough place to come and get a win and we were able to do that.”
On winning for Head Coach John Fox
“You always want, any time you have somebody from another team, whether it’s a player or coach, you want to play well for that person because there is always a little extra something special whenever they come back to a place that they worked or played at.”
Cornerback Champ Bailey
On the strong play by the front seven
“They did sort of what I expected. I thought he would make some more plays, but our guys up front, Von, he was on a mission, and when we lost Elvis, Robert Ayers came in and did the same thing. It’s what I expect from those guys and it doesn’t surprise me that we did that.”
On winning for Fox
“When you spend a lot of time in one place, especially nine years – that’s a long time in this league, it’s going to mean something to you to beat them. We knew what it meant to him. He didn’t preach it all week, but I wasn’t in his shoes, but I kind of understand what he’s going through.”
On all three phases contributing
“That’s how you have to be if you want to have a push in the playoffs or even get to the playoffs – you want to have all three phases clicking. We don’t want to have any weaknesses. I know we have a few things we need to iron out, but we’re working on that.”
Linebacker Von Miller
On the win
“I think it started in practice. We had a great week of preparation, just like the weeks before. It was hard to get some practice against the type of offense they can run, but overall I think we did pretty well this week and I think it showed in the game.”
On Cam Newton
“I played him in the Pro Bowl. I’ve seen how big he is. Everything about Super Cam, I think we were prepared on it. He can run the ball pretty good, he can throw the ball pretty good, he can shed defenders and he makes great decisions. I think he showed that today, but we were able to make a couple more plays and come out with the win.”
On possibly running out of sack dances
“You can never run out of sack dances. It’s always different on every play. The excitement is always different every stadium, every play. I don’t think I’ll ever run out of sack dances. If I do, I’ll just get with Keith Brooking. I’m sure he can show me a couple.”
Tags: carolina panthers, Quotables, Week 10
team is really starting to gel. i dont think anyone wants to have to play them right now