Giants quarterback Eli Manning
On momentum building after victory against the Dolphins on Monday night:"Well, we've got to keep it going. We played well and made the plays we had to make in the fourth quarter to win that game and in the kind of critical moments we were able to step up and make the plays. Obviously, we've got a great challenge ahead of us in Carolina. Their offense is playing great, scoring a lot of points. Their defense is maybe playing better than anybody else in the NFL, so they're clicking on all fronts and we've got to make sure we're prepared for them and go out there and play well."
On Odell Beckham against Josh Norman being a key to success:"It's just going to be a matter of everybody is in it to win their individual matchups and we're playing at our best when we get everybody involved -- all the receivers, tight ends and running backs. But it should be a great matchup. He's playing great football and great defense and taking the number one receiver out of the game a bunch of times, so we'll have to be smart and find ways to get Odell some completions."
On if this Panthers roster built by Dave Gettleman is similar to old Giants rosters: "He's done a great job with the personnel. From the defensive standpoint, the only thing I've studied, they've got a lot of good players. They've got a big, good front where they can get pressure just bringing four guys and just good players all around. Linebackers play outstanding, good DBs, they have some veteran guys, some great leadership, so it seems like he's done a great job of putting a good squad together and obviously they're playing great football."
On if he enjoys getting the chance to knock off undefeated teams:"No, I don't think it's about knocking the other team off, it's just in this situation in the season it's about us needing a win and we need a win to keep our playoff dreams alive. We've got to play great football. I guess I don't always look at the record, just look at the team you're playing, look at their schemes and see if we can get a good game plan and have the ability to make some plays."
On the 2007 season and being the team known to take down undefeated teams:"We had two opportunities at it. We played (New England) the last game of the regular season when they were going for the perfect regular season record and we played them tough but fell a little short. But I think we felt we had an opportunity to be in that game, so when we faced them off in the Super Bowl we felt that we had a good game plan and matched up well against them. We made a couple more plays and played a little bit better, we had a chance to win the game. So it's just about, it's not about taking down the other team, it's about us and our quest to win a game and in that case to win a Super Bowl and we're in that same kind of, same almost playoff mentality right now with the way our record is and what we're doing to get into the playoffs."
On the matchup between Odell Beckham Jr. and Josh Norman:"We've got to watch a lot film and see what routes we like against Josh (Norman) and it should be a great matchup. They're two guys who are playing at a very high level and we've just got to be smart about what routes we want to throw on them. He's done a great job of getting some interceptions and returning them for touchdowns, so he's a good player, but we've got to run our scheme and I've got to go through my reads and we'll see when you get the one-on-one matchups or you get your opportunities we'll take our shots. But I'm going through my progressions and the other guys have got to win those matchups as well."
On the injuries at the corner position across from Josh Norman:"I know they lost their other cornerback and a couple guys have been injured over there, so we've got to see who's going to be playing in that spot, but we've got to look at that matchup as well and see if that is one that is favorable to us and see what their scheme is as well. So again, we've got to see what coverages they want to play and what our best matchups are on each and every play."
On what the Panthers have done to become a top defense: "Well, I think that one of the main things that separates them is the ability to get turnovers. They're leading the league right now in interceptions, fumbles and everything, so that's what great defenses do. They're very multiple in their schemes, different coverages, different looks and they also do a good job of getting pressure on the quarterback, stopping the run. Just watching their third down cut-ups, most of their third downs that their opposing teams are in are seven and plus and so that means they're doing a good job on first and second down getting you into third-and-long situations. That puts a lot of pressure on the opposing offense to try to hold the ball a little bit longer. So we have to do a great job on first and second down and not putting ourselves in those third and long situations because that's where you get a lot of those, that's where you've got to hold the ball a little bit longer and they do a great job causing those turnovers."
On the NFC East this year:"It's been a different year, not very typical of the NFC East where a lot of years you have one, maybe two teams going to the playoffs, this year we haven't won as many games across the division, but as usual it is a tight race and it's going to come down to these final weeks of the season to decide who is going to go to the playoffs. So there have been a lot of close games, a lot of tough loses really all around the division and I know that we've had our fair share, but it seems like there have been a lot of tight games, games coming down to the fourth quarter and hopefully for our sake we have found a way to win those tight ones."
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin
On the job Dave Gettleman has done with Carolina:"Terrific job. I mean, Dave's a football guy. Give him a screen and a projector, whatever we call it today and give him players to evaluate and he's exceptional. So, he's done an outstanding job and they have certainly picked the right man as the general manager."
On if he introduced Gettleman to the term hog molly: "No, he had that one when I came here. I had to find out what he was talking about."
On if he sees similarities in how Gettleman has built the Panthers in comparison to his time with the Giants: "Well, I see what he's done up front and Dave's done an outstanding job at that and the way in which philosophically the ball is run, and they play outstanding defense and those are what the Giants teams had always done, is played great defense."
On what he has seen out of Hakeem Nicks since he returned: "He's been terrific. His attitude has been great. I mean, he'll do whatever you ask him to do. You know, he was a very successful Giant and then left in free agency and very happy to be back. His attitude is a wonderful thing to see. Hakeem is a guy that will catch the football. You know, he's got great big hands. He has always been a guy that'll catch the ball in any position, make those kind of plays for you and you know, he's been back a short amount of time but when given the opportunity, he's done that."
On how important the win Monday night was for them as they start this stretch run:"It kept the pace. You know, we have to keep the pace. We had some opportunities a number of weeks ago to build up some type of a - some wins that gave us a little bit of a cushion. We didn't do that. So, these games are vital."
On seeing Dave Gettleman get the general manager job in Carolina: "I wasn't sure what the plan was at the time. I was aware of it. But, I'm very, very happy and have been for days. And happy for his wife and his family, because he's worked very, very hard behind the scenes for an awful lot of years, maintained a great attitude, continued to improve himself and his abilities, his department, that type of thing. For a football guy, which Dave is, to have this opportunity at that point in his career, we couldn't be happier for him."
On what makes Cam Newton so difficult to defend in the red zone: "He can do so many things. He's not just a quarterback who drops back and throws. He's not just a guy who runs the nakeds on the corner. He's not just a guy who will sprint out with the ball. He will run with ball. He will run with the ball, he will run the naked bootleg. There's just an awful lot of things that you have to defend and when he does run, he makes yardage and he's a difficult man to tackle."
On what the issues have been defensively:"We're constantly trying to be a better defensive team, to tackle better, to be in better position. To have our spots on the field or recognize what's being - what the offense is throwing at us, so that we can be in better position. We've started to make some progress with the ball down the field, that occurred the other night. But, pressure, pressure on the quarterback, improving that. We've looked at, of course, the plus-18 number that the Panthers have and we're a plus-10, but we've been a plus-10 for a while. And, that had been a vital, vital part of the key. We hadn't scored off of turnovers like the Panthers have, but we had scored and the field position had been a critical thing for us. Those are the things that we continue to work on and a week ago it was individual player improvement. That each guy knew exactly what his number one critical error was and how he could improve that and the overall being the improvement of our team. So, we continue to work on all of these things and we did get the opponent stopped the other night in the fourth quarter and got the ball back and were able to finish the game with the ball offensively and that's something that we've struggled to do all year."
On if it's exciting to play an unbeaten team:"Well, yeah, it is. It is and certainly it's extremely motivational and inspirational to us because this is the best team in the league, the team with the best record and we have a chance at home to continue to battle and to keep hopefully our hopes alive."
On if it amazes him that the Panthers have won 17 straight: "Yeah, it's very, very difficult to do and they've done it the right way. They've won the close games, they've won the games that they've extended out. They've taken care of the ball and they've turned the ball over (defensively) and that's normally the way you get things done."
