Comments from Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox following the team's practice.
On injuries: Did not participate: Chris Harris - knee, Nick Hayden - toe and Jeff Otah - shoulder. Limited participation: Everette Brown - ankle, Charles Johnson - knee, Sherrod Martin - knee and Jonathan Stewart - heel.
On linebacker Thomas Davis, who made 18 tackles against Philadelphia: He didn't get a lot of time in the preseason, which always concerns a coach as you get guys prepared - mentally and physically. I thought both he and Jon Beason played very well considering missing that time. That was pleasing to see.
On if Davis has settled into the weakside linebacker position: I thought he did well last year. We did manage to win the division and win 12 games. We played good enough defense to win 12 games, and he was a big part of that.
On if this defense is designed for the weakside linebacker to make a lot of tackles: I don't want to slight Thomas or his production. Everybody has got an opportunity. Sometimes some games have got more opportunities than others. In this defense you are allowed to run and hit, and that's what defense is about.
On making rookie Captain Munnerlyn the nickel back against Philadelphia: He's a good, young player. We saw him improve and we thought he was our third-best guy going into that game. He earned it. We don't just make decisions; they actually make the decisions for us.
On how Munnerlyn did as the nickel back: He did well. We've got one game; we've got one look. We've all got to improve, but I don't think he did poorly by any stretch.
On if Munnerlyn brought any clarity to the punt-return situation: Like I said, it's one game. It's a what have you done for me lately league. He's worked at it, and, obviously, I think getting that underneath his belt was helpful. He does have some juice once he catches it.
On if Geoff Schwartz will start at right tackle if Jeff Otah cannot play: I won't say who's next in line. He's a guy that we've worked at tackle, backup tackle. We've got other options within our group as far as flopping a guy out there and putting somebody different at guard. We've got a couple of different options, but Schwartz is definitely a viable consideration.
