On how he's improved since his rookie year: "For me as far as my progression from year one to year two, it's really been about my knowledge of the defense we run and the ins and outs of why we do things. That's been my biggest growth. Coming into this year, I really understand a lot more of the defense."
On how the defense looked in preseason opener: "As a defense, we were spotty. There were times when we were playing really well and executing really well, and at times we just kind of fell off and weren't executing as we should. We were just kind of spotty. We've just got to clean some things up this week and make some progress before the next game."
On the value of preseason games for rookies: "When you play a live game, you actually get to follow through on tackles, and then you understand why we do certain things as far as technique work and our scheme."
On whether he's in line to back up Luke Kuechly in the middle: "I'm not really sure. That's not really in my hands. I don't really worry about that too much. I'll just let the coaches figure that out. I just go out there and do my best, and I'll let those things figure themselves out."
