Comments from Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox following the team's practice.
On injuries: Did not participate - Jeff Otah (knee) and DeAngelo Williams (foot). Full participation - Dan Connor (hip).
On practicing indoors at the Charlotte Sports Center due to the weather: It was drier than outdoors. Every once and awhile it's not a bad deal. It's a little bit of a bus ride, extends the day a little bit, but we had good focus and had a good practice.
On if the team accomplished what it needed to: Yep. We didn't get as many deep balls as we'd like, but other than that it was like a regular practice.
On newly acquired linebacker Jason Williams: We actually worked him out at one point, so we were familiar with him. He's a good athlete, probably a little bit more of a Will type of position. Once he gets indoctrinated into our stuff, he should be a good (special) teams player and piecemeal getting caught up on the defense the second half of the season.
On if linebacker Thomas Davis will be activated next week: It's hard for me to say. He's day-to-day at this point, and we'll make that decision next Wednesday.
On if he saw signs during linebacker James Anderson's first four seasons that he could play as well as he has this year given the chance: We tried to duplicate what we did with Will Witherspoon. Will was a third-round draft pick. We did much the same thing with James. We basically spent some draft picks at that position with Thomas Davis, James Anderson. So we saw that kind of ability in him. Up until the second half of last year and this season, he hasn't really gotten a bunch of opportunities to play. This league is a performance-based business, and he's performed very well.
On the players still believing in Fox despite the team's record: That's something you'd have to ask them. I think we've tried to be consistent in our message, in our formula and the way we do things. We go to great lengths to get the right kind of guys, and they're competitive by nature. If you get to this level, that's pretty much the case. But even as a young team, I think they're still pulling together and continuing to try to improve, and that's how you change your record.
On how the New Orleans Saints defense has changed since the Panthers played them earlier this season: They've had some injuries in the secondary and they seem to just wheel some new guys in there. They've used some currency so to speak as far as draft picks at that position. It's not exactly like they're guys off the street that they're sticking in there. So they are good players no matter who they put out there. They're playing really well right now, not just the turnovers, but their run and pass defense has improved over a year ago.
On the key to causing problems for the Saints' offense like in the first meeting this season: Like every game, these things take on their own personality, even against the same opponent. They'll have a different plan; we'll have a different plan; and it's going to be who executes that plan. We've got to execute in all three phases for us to be able to beat a defending world championship football team.
