Xavien Howard – November 28, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 28, 2021
Postgame – Carolina
CB Xavien Howard
Q. Did today, at least on defense, feel like one of those days where you guys could insert your will as often as you wanted to?
XAVIEN HOWARD: I feel like we took one play at a time. They gave us an opportunity and we took advantage of it.
Q. Can you explain the turnaround this defense has had the last month or so it’s been lights out?
XAVIEN HOWARD: I feel like it’s just the confidence we have. Everything is clicking and going on the right path, I’d say.
Q. Overall the team, is this the kind of performance of what you thought? The defense coming together, the offense and special teams, is that really what you kind of envisioned?
XAVIEN HOWARD: Yeah, I feel that. Yeah, I feel that. I also feel like it was missed opportunities out there in all three phases. I feel like we are just still getting better each week.
Q. After those first two wins after the losing streak, it’s a real celebration back there in the locker room. Now that that streak has hit four games, what’s the mood back in the locker room now?
XAVIEN HOWARD: It feels great in the locker room. We take it one game at a time, it’s week by week. We’re focusing on just getting better.
Q. What have you seen in terms of growth from the rookies, S Jevon Holland and LB Jaelan Phillips, that had defensive plays today?
XAVIEN HOWARD: They play a big role in defense. Them guys out there balling, I say. Everybody works together and them two guys do bring a lot to the defense. It’s all 11 to the ball.
Q. When did you start to sense that QB Cam Newton was — that you were getting to Cam Newton, that you were rattling him?
XAVIEN HOWARD: What you mean?
Q. Well, he completed only five passes.
XAVIEN HOWARD: Oh, damn. (Laughter) I seen he was getting a little frustrated, though. I feel like our defense, we did that to him and we just got to feed off that and try to get every quarterback to feel like that.
Emmanuel Ogbah – November 28, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 28, 2021
Postgame – Carolina
DE Emmanuel Ogbah
Q. How do you rank that defensive performance?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: Just dominant. We’ve got to keep it going. A lot of plays we left out on the field, but we’ve just got to keep getting better every week.
Q. How about Jaelan Phillips to get those three sacks?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: I’m proud of him. He works his ass off – excuse my language – every game, every practice, but I’m happy for him. He is getting better and better.
Q. As the wins start to sink in more and more, if you look at the whole performance, are you thinking this is the team that we thought and we want it to be at the beginning of the season?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: We’ve always thought this was the team for us, but things didn’t go our way early in the season. But we got four in a row. Got to keep it rolling. Now we’ve got the Giants next.
Q. Do you dare to dream about if you keep this run going, what could happen this season?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: I focus on the next game, yeah.
Q. Does this feel like one of those – especially towards the end of the game – does it feel like one of those days where anything you all wanted to do you could do?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: They have a good, talented team, but we just have to bring it every play, and we just kept on bringing it all four quarters. We played a 60-minute ball game.
Q. What was it like chasing after Cam? Even a day like this, he is still 6’4, 250.
EMMANUEL OGBAH: I know. He’s a big dude. You’ve got to bring the wood when you hit him. He is a talented player. He can still run the ball. Good for him. We did a good job stopping him, and then we won the game.
Q. I know we’ve asked you about you guys batting balls down at the line of scrimmage a couple of times this year, but Newton is 6’5, and you are still batting balls. I think they said on the broadcast you guys are leading the league in that category. How are you guys pulling off so many?
EMMANUEL OGBAH: We practice this every Friday. We practice batted ball drills every Friday, and also it’s instincts. When we are pressuring the team, we can’t get back there fast enough; you’ve got to just put your hand up and bat the ball down.
Jevon Holland – November 28, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 28, 2021
Postgame – Carolina
S Jevon Holland
Q. So on that interception can you kind of break down what you saw and how you were able to come up with the pick?
JEVON HOLLAND: I was just reading my keys, two high and then I recognized the vert and then I felt him run the corner. Saw Cam looking out there, broke on it, and then got me another one, yep.
Q. When you and the defense as a whole is just like on this run, do you feel the momentum building? Or is it kind of like every week you just have to kind of start from ground zero and build back up?
JEVON HOLLAND: You feel the momentum within the game. Before the game it’s kind of hard to understand where the game is going to go, but after the first series, you’ve got to start fast. That’s our thing. We’ve got to start fast, and so we come out physical. First play you saw Rowe and ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) on that breakup, almost a fumble. That’s the kind of energy stuff that fuels you for the game, so then you just try to keep that going, try to build on that like a giant snowball.
Q. Cam Newton, five completions all day. McCaffrey, 35 yards rushing. You put all that together, how do you rank this defensive performance?
JEVON HOLLAND: I think it’s the defensive performance that we expect of ourselves. We left a lot of plays out there, and we plan on improving next week. I believe in our guys, and they believe in each other. There’s a lot of love around the locker room. There’s been that since the beginning of the season, and we knew what kind of team we were and we knew what kind of defense we were, and now we’re going out there and we’re executing.
Q. How has this transition been to the NFL? Obviously, you played quite well the first half of the season. What’s it been like?
JEVON HOLLAND: It’s been everything I’ve ever imaged. It’s super fun. It’s the most fun I’ve had. At first it was fast. Like it was guys flying around, bigger bodies, but just understanding myself and how I play and trying to take the next step in preparation so that I can just play free and kind of let things just flow to me. When preparation meets hard work and execution, then the splash plays happen.
Q. What’s fun about it?
JEVON HOLLAND: What’s fun about playing in the NFL or playing football in general?
Q. Either one for you.
JEVON HOLLAND: I would say for me it’s playing football in general, for me is fun. Just everything about it. Practice, meetings, understanding scheme, the relationships you build with your teammates and the coaches. I think football is the ultimate team sport really, and there’s a lot of characteristics that transfer off the field: accountability, respect, honesty. I think those characteristics make me a better person, and so that’s why I fully love football. I really do, yeah.
Q. What do you think of the performance today of another guy in your draft class, Jaelan Phillips? Three sacks.
JEVON HOLLAND: He is balling, man. I love it. I really do. Him and ‘W’, ‘JW’ (Jaylen Waddle). They were both balling. I love when the young guys go crazy, so seeing that out there, seeing them go out there and play and leave their heart on the field, brings nothing but joy to my heart.
Q. Head Coach Brian Flores talked about the way your rookie class supports each other. In what ways does that happen? How do you support each other?
JEVON HOLLAND: I think, first of all, we’re all friends. Not just teammates, but friends. We hang out after meetings, outside of the facility, things like that, and that really builds a strong connection. I feel like I’ve always been that way trying to be close with the people in my class, but also my other teammates. If they’re older, younger, doesn’t matter. I think that builds great chemistry, especially on the field. But yeah, I mean, we support each other regardless of what we’re doing. Those are my dogs. I talk to them every day. Even when we leave the facility, I’m with them all day, and we leave the facility, and I’m still texting them, sending them stuff on Instagram. Those are my good friends, man. Definitely.
Tua Tagovailoa – November 28, 2021 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 28, 2021
Postgame – Carolina
QB Tua Tagovailoa
Q: Is this as much complementary football as it’s been for you guys this year?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Yeah, I mean, we look like the team that we kind of wanted to be at the beginning of this year. You know, it looked like a lot of guys went out there confident knowing what to expect offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game. I would say this is the best that we’ve played complementary football yet, but there’s still some plays that were left out there on the field that we can fix.
Q: You have seven incompletions in the last two weeks. Is this the best you’ve felt…?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I just think it’s preparation throughout the week with the guys and feeling confident in what we got in as far as the plays.
Q: How do you assess the chemistry you once had with Jaylen in college and you wanted this to work and continue to grow. What made it work today? You had the touchdown and that long completion.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Well, you know, we understood that this was going to be a man team. They played a lot of man, and when they did play zone, we tried to take advantage of in-cuts, crossers, things like that, so it’s really what we expected, and what they showed us out there.
Q: Is that going back to the chemistry that you once had with him in college?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: That’s so far back, I can’t even remember. We had so many guys that I was working with there, but I would say it started when we got Jaylen, when Jaylen came in, and started with OTAs, and throughout the summer camp practices, and then leading up to this point.
Q: How do you explain the turnaround from seven losses in a row to four wins in a row? It’s pretty dramatic.
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I just think it’s everyone in there just not listening to the outside noise, just believing in one another, and really just zoning in and playing football that we know we can play. It’s playing complementary football.
Q: There were a couple sacks that were drive killers — a couple of fumbled snaps, too. Just overcoming those, has that been something you look at this game – all the positive and maybe that’s something you guys are most proud of?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I would say we’re not proud of taking a sack and getting us out of field goal range, missed opportunities that the defense gives us, and we have a fumbled snap. All of those things, obviously, we don’t like them, and we don’t plan for them to happen, but you’ve got to move on to the next play in this league, and you got to continue playing 60 minutes.
Q: Were any of the passes to Jaylen stand out to you as either communication with him or any of the plays stand out?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I would say no. Jaylen has just been in the right place at the right time. There’s times where he gets covered and he is still open, so you take a look at one of the third downs that we had. I think it was 26. Donte Jackson covering him. It was really good coverage. ‘J’ (Jaylen) still got open.
Q: I think I remember you saying earlier this year that you and Jaylen had a lot of open communication on the sideline, including him saying this is how I want to run a route, this is where I want the ball. How has that developed over the course of the season, and how has that, I guess, made this current stretch possible?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I don’t think anything has changed up to this point. It’s still been open communication with ‘J.’ It’s open communication with really all the receivers and the line. We come into the team meeting room as an offense, and really we go through all the plays, and it’s open communication. You know, everyone is in there — the o-line, quarterbacks, the running backs, tight ends — so that we can hear what happened on the play and then we can get it fixed.
Q: Did you expect Phillip to have the workload that he had off of maybe just two days of practice? What did you guys do to kind of give him – ingratiated into the offense, comfortable?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I think he did a great job today for us. Towards the ending of the game, towards the ending of the third quarter as well, you know, just coming in and not really understanding the offense, but really dialing in this week, staying after practices. Whether it was with me, Jacoby (Brissett), or Jake (Luton), trying to get the guys to stay after, run through some plays with him. I think he is a hard worker from the couple of days that I’ve known him. It shows. Excited to see what the next couple of weeks we can do with him.
Q: You know what it’s like as a rookie coming in needing the time to just transition to the NFL. What’s that been like with Jaylen? Has it been typical of what you would think a typical receiver is? Has it been smoother? What has his transition been like?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I don’t want to speak for Jaylen, but to me he has looked very mature coming into the league since we got him. You know, just seeing his development as a receiver working against man, knowing the spots in certain zone defenses to be in to get himself open. I think he has done a great job with that.
Q: Can you describe to us what the mood is like in the locker room and if it maybe gets more fun after the wins kind of stack up?
TUA TAGOVAILOA: Everyone is happy. I mean, everyone is happy in the locker room after a win, and that was a really good team that we played in all three phases. We’re going to enjoy this win. We got a victory Monday, so thanks to Coach Flores. Then we’re really on to the next game against the Giants.
Brian Flores – November 28, 2021 (Postgame)
Sunday, November 28, 2021
Postgame – Carolina
Head Coach Brian Flores
Q: Was that about as complementary as you think your team has played this season?
BRIAN FLORES: I thought we played a complementary game starting with the punt block early. I thought the offense played well. I thought the defense played well. I thought the guys had a good week of preparation. I think that showed up today, and I thought our coaches did a great job this week getting them prepared. Thanksgiving week – there’s a lot going on, so I think Josh (Boyer) defensively, George (Godsey) and Eric (Studesville) offensively, Danny (Crossman) in the kicking game; I thought they all did a nice job getting these guys prepared and I think the players executed.
Q: How do you explain the turnaround you guys have had on defense? It’s been pretty dramatic the last couple of weeks, and then lights out?
BRIAN FLORES: I think credit to the players, first and foremost. I think those guys are communicating well, tackling well, executing. I think the coaching staff has done a nice job putting them in positions to have success, but, yeah, credit to the players.
Q: To what do you attribute the rhythm that Tua got into and also the connection with Jaylen Waddle?
BRIAN FLORES: Preparation, practice. I think we worked at it and worked at it and worked at it, and we’ve been able to string some good weeks together from a practice standpoint, and you’re seeing that show up in the game.
Q: Jaelan Phillips had three sacks today. How do you assess his performance and progress as the season has gone on?
BRIAN FLORES: I think he is just getting better every week. For a lot of guys on this team, you just keep working, keep trying to improve and get better every day, and if you do that, they’ll probably see some of the fruits of that work. Jaelan is no different. He is in here early. He stays late. He does a good job meeting, walkthrough, practice, plays hard and is selfless in a lot of ways, and a lot of times we’re running games, and he is the pick guy and someone else comes free, and today he — I didn’t know how many he had. I didn’t know it was three, but good for him and obviously good for our team.
Q: I feel like Tua waited a long time for Waddle to sort of break with him. How good was it to see that happen?
BRIAN FLORES: He has been open. I think we just worked hard to get it to him, whether it’s protection, putting the whole thing together. This isn’t seven-on-seven where you just go out there and beat somebody. There’s a lot that goes into it, so play call, protection, good throw, good catch, you know, beating somebody at the top of the route. I would say he has been open, but there’s always a few other things that happen on any given play. We were just able to execute today. I think that’s a direct correlation to practice and executing in practice.
Q: On Friday you mentioned how difficult it is for a guy to contribute off one walkthrough and one practice. What was the determining factor that you allowed Phillip Lindsay to do as much as he did?
BRIAN FLORES: I think Eric (Studesville) did a great job getting him ready to play. As soon as he got here, which was I think Wednesday night, he was right in on the playbook. We had a small package for him. He was at the walkthrough on Thursday to practice on Friday to more reps and more walkthroughs yesterday and even this morning, we felt comfortable with a small package of getting him in there, and I thought he did some nice things. He brings a lot of juice, a lot of energy. We’re pleased to have him on the team.
Q: You held Christian McCaffrey to 35 yards. Cam Newton only 92 yards passing — I’m sure all week you were staying up late figuring out ways to stop them. What worked and then after he exited the game at that point, did you feel like they were limited offensively as far as what they could do?
BRIAN FLORES: I think that’s a good team over there. I think obviously (Christian) McCaffrey is a great player, and Cam Newton is an accomplished player who has done a lot in this league. You know, (DJ) Moore and Robby Anderson. They’ve got a good team, and they’ve played well this year, so we knew it was going to be a challenge, and I think our guys executed. I think our guys — we had a plan going in. I think Josh (Boyer) had a good plan going in, put together a good plan for us defensively. We executed the plan. We got off blocks. We made tackles. We got them into some third downs. They hit the big one early, which they caught us in the blitz. They blocked it up, and they got behind us, which happens occasionally, but I think our guys came back. We talked to them about playing for 60 minutes and the highs and lows of a game, the ebbs and flows of a game. I think our guys kind of withstood some adversity. Whether it was that play or the play before the half, I think our guys just kept coming back, and it was good to see that.
Q: You were asked about Waddle and Phillips. Obviously Jevon Holland also had a big play. Those three rookies seem to be just — those three players, how much confidence do you have in them to go out and play?
BRIAN FLORES: I think all those guys — I think we’re getting contributions from a lot of our rookie class. A lot of our second-year class, too. Again, they just work and they keep working, and I think all they want to do is get better. All they want to do is try to improve. I think they’re team-first. I think guys are supporting each other, and rookies are supporting the vets. The vets are supporting the rookies, and we just want to — those guys in particular just want to help this team any way they can, and I think that’s showing up in their play.
Zach Sieler – November 26, 2021
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Friday, November 26, 2021
DT Zach Sieler
(Head Coach Brian Flores was saying today that they’d like to get you more defensive snaps for you, maybe eight to 10 more a game. You’re in good shape. I assume you feel like you could carry an extra load if given it?) – “Yeah, I’m ready for whatever comes my way. Last year I had a good amount of snaps here and there with COVID, because you always have to be ready. And still this year with COVID. You never know what happens. I think we do a good job as a team making sure everyone is prepared and the next-man-up mentality.”
(Is it something you look forward to playing more? I know you’re a team guy, so you’re fine with anything, but…) – “It’s whatever we need. If there is a game with more runs and I play more great. If there are more passes and we need our pass guys to play, great.”
(What do you think about what DT Adam Butler has been able to contribute the times he’s in there?) – “Great. He’s a very good leader. He does a great job of bringing along the younger guys, explaining why we do things and what we’re doing them for, and helping them learn football.”
(What do you anticipate it’s going to be like facing QB Cam Newton?) – “We played him twice last year. I think it’s going to be a competitive game. There’s going to be trash talk both ways. I think we’re going to have to play our best ball.”
(It seems like DT Christian Wilkins has taken his game to an even higher level this year. What have you noticed about him and how he’s evolved in certain areas this year?) – “He’s evolved as a smarter football player, I think. He just keeps learning every day. His techniques, as you all know, and different things like that, he just continues to grow as a player. He’s always trying to get better.”
(Looking at the calendar you guys have, does it motivate you that you can go fix the record that you have now?) – “I think we just take it week-by-week. We’re not trying to look out four or five weeks ahead of time. We’ve got to worry about this game and worry about the Panthers.”
(It strikes me that you’re facing a unique offense in that the Panthers have a dual-threat quarterback and yet they also have a dual-threat running back in a different way. What sort of challenges does all of that mix present to you guys?) – “We’ve just got to make sure we know our plays, know what we’re doing and limit the errors. Just play good, sound, technique football.”
(Did you have a good Thanksgiving? Spend time with your family or teammates?) – “Yeah. My fiancé is here, so we had a good time. We ate, basically just made some food and stuff like that.”
Adam Butler – November 26, 2021
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Friday, November 26, 2021
DL Adam Butler
(What are the challenges of playing against QB Cam Newton? Obviously, you went up against him in practice for a year. Just your thoughts on what challenges he poses and what makes him so difficult?) – “He’s a versatile guy. He can do multiple things. Obviously, he’s a threat with his feet. He’s good and you have to respect that about him.”
(What did you learn about with QB Cam Newton that you might not have known after playing with him for a year?) – “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”
(S Eric Rowe was joking about how QB Cam Newton will trash talk during the game. He’s like QB Philip Rivers in that way, would he do that in practice a lot with defensive players?) – “Yeah, he’s just a competitive person. That’s really all it is. He’s competitive.”
(How do you take it when there’s trash talk in your face? Do you get juiced up with that or does it annoy you?) – “I like it. I bring it back. I mean it’s football. That’s what it’s about.”
(Is preparation any different when you get such a big day like Thanksgiving, a family day? I don’t know if you have family here but is it any different on Thursday and Friday?) – “You can’t let anything get you off your routine. You have to try to stay on that same routine as much as you can. Obviously, there’s some things you can’t control that can get in the way but you just have to re-focus.”
(Did you watch a lot of football yesterday or non at all?) – “I watched a few games.”
Patrick Laird – November 26, 2021
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Friday, November 26, 2021
RB Patrick Laird
(It’s been an evolving running back room the last couple of weeks with you moving up, RB Phillip Lindsay coming in, RB Duke Johnson coming up for a game. I know you all get along obviously but is it a competitive room right now with you and everyone that is just hoping to emerge?) – “Yeah, competitive in the sense that we’re all a competitive group that wants to help our team win. But I’d also say it’s a complementary group as well. There are certain things that guys do well so we can kind of just play off of each other and game plan that way. It’s always great to bring in more talent. Yeah, I really like where our running back group is right now and everything that all of the guys can do.”
(How much did you know about RB Phillip Lindsay before he got here?) – “So we played each other in college. I actually remember the first time I met him, it was after a game that we played at Boulder and he came up to me and he knew my story. He’s like ‘Hey man, I know you’re a walk-on and now you’re starting. I think that’s awesome.’ So he was just like – to me, I’ve always thought he was a really good dude so we’ve stayed in touch over the years. We’re both undrafted guys. He’s a really good dude when you get to meet him.”
(You had a play that might have flown a little bit under the radar. It really shouldn’t have but it might have. On that first drive, you caught a swing pass on third down and it looked at the time when you caught it that there was no way in hell you were getting the first down. What was your initial plan when you caught the ball and does that rank as one of your most satisfying plays?) – “Yeah, it was definitely one of the most fun plays I’ve been a part of just because – I talked about this a few weeks ago with you guys. When you convert on a third down to keep a drive alive, it just feels great. So I was happy I could do that for the team. But yeah, that’s my role. It could be limited at times but when I have an opportunity that comes my way, I have to take advantage of it. That’s what the coaches expect. That’s what my teammates expect. So I was happy to do that.”
(When you first caught the ball and you turned around, you had two guys converging on you. Did strictly instinct kick in or did you have like an inkling before you caught the ball that you’d have to make a quick move?) – “I think it was just instinct. And it was funny because it was a teammate at Cal that was the first one to come at me. I didn’t even know that until after the game and he told me, so I felt bad about that. Not really. (laughter) He was another walk-on at Cal too, which is cool. So it was fun to play against him. Then obviously he made some good plays so I got that one on him but he got us on a couple of other plays.”
(S Ashtyn Davis?) – “Yeah, Ashtyn Davis. He’s a really good player. That was fun. Again, it’s more about making that play for the team and keeping the drive alive, and we ended up scoring a touchdown.”
(What was the reaction from your teammates when you have a play like that? You don’t get a lot of opportunities but you have a great play that keeps the chains moving.) – “I think – this team that we have, the guys, I think we love playing and competing with each other and whether you’re a starter or a role player or you got brought up from the practice squad and you make a play, everyone is going to be happy for you no matter who it is. Yeah, guys were excited on the sideline but they’ve seen me make plays like that before. Maybe a couple of guys said they were surprised but a lot of people were just happy that I made the play. That was pretty much the reaction.”
(What impressed you about RB Phillip Lindsay as a runner? Obviously that’s a great story about you talking to him after a game in college. What impresses you just watching him as a runner, about his skillset?) – “He’s capable of a heavy workload. Obviously we’ve seen him run the ball. I think he’s run for 1,000 yards a couple of times, caught a lot of passes and made plays in the passing game. He’s just a versatile back. Yeah, he’s a great football player all around.”
(What did you think of RB Duke Johnson, who was elevated last week and got into the game a lot, especially on that last drive and got a few carries there.) – “Yeah. He’s an experienced back. I think he has the most experience of all the running backs. He’s another good guy just to have around. He’s always – I’ll ask him for tips and advice on stuff and he’s happy to give it. He’s a good running back veteran in the room and he’s not afraid to share his opinion on anything. He’s just been helpful since he showed up so I really appreciate having Duke around.”
