Saints head coach Sean Payton
On watching the Panthers on film:"They've gotten off to a great start. When you watch the film, first off you see the confidence in the two younger corners that are now in their second year. The front has been outstanding and continues to look that way. The addition of (Julius) Peppers has given them added depth and presence on the outside and inside of their sub-rush. I think it's impressive on tape right now and just watching their two games."
On Peppers' career:"It reminds us how long we've been here as coaches, but I can go back and recall when he entered the league and when Coach (John) Fox was here at that time. I've always followed his career, and he's one of those unique individuals that's stayed in great health. He's got exceptional range and length, and it's impressive to see the type of career he's put together."
On rivalry with Ron Rivera and spending seven years in NFC South:"There always seems to be hard-fought games that begin to run together. We'll be watching tape and will wonder, 'Did that happen in 2016 or 2015?' I looked at something the other day from a 2013 game. There's a great deal of respect. I know Ron has done a fantastic job there and regardless of the records, there's always been hard-fought games and close battles. Sometimes there's games that get out of hand, but typically the turnovers, the details and fundamentals are what ends up winning."
On Christian McCaffrey:"He's a unique talent. When he came out in the draft, I think everyone saw him that way. I would say this to start, and you guys saw him in the preseason. I watched a few games already along with the regular season. He's a really good runner to begin with. I think he has really good patience and vision. His skillset allows him to do things in the passing game that we might reference the joker position. I'm not making the comparison to (Reggie) Bush, (Darren) Sproles or (Alvin) Kamara – these are players that have an additional skillset other than operating as a running back. They become interesting as you put plans together in regards to where you want to put those players. He's also an outstanding returner, so you know he's going to get his snaps in a game and that brings added value."
Saints linebacker A.J. Klein
On what the loss of Greg Olsen means to the Panthers offense:"Obviously Greg is an integral part of the offense. I actually texted him after the game when I heard he broke his foot. He's a great competitor, leader and teammate when I was playing there with him. Obviously he's a huge part of the offense and the passing game, so we'll see what happens on Sunday with his absence."
On Panthers fans confusing A.J. Klein for Luke Kuechly on the field:"I don't know. That would be interesting to see if (fans yell his name) as a joke. It wouldn't surprise me."
On the Panthers defense:"I haven't seen much recently. I know preparing for the last few games I saw some of their clips and they look like the defense they've been. TD (Thomas Davis) and Luke (Kuechly) are leading from the linebacker position, and obviously there's the pieces up front with KK (Short) and Star (Lotulelei). Then Peppers is back too. You really can't say enough about the defense, they play assignment sound and have great leaders on that side of the ball."
On starting 0-2:"I think any game in important. We have a long season ahead of us and obviously we're not where we want to be with the 0-2 start, but we can make the change. We can do what we need to do to turn it around. We're putting a lot of focus and extra time in the film room and getting after it today on the practice field to get ready for this game on Sunday."
On Cam Newton and shaking off the rust:"I think Cam is Cam. You know what you're going to get. He's a versatile, mobile quarterback in the pocket that can make every throw. He can hurt you with his feet in scrambling situations and always keeps his eyes down field. I don't think I see any difference with Cam. We're all going to prepare like we're going to see the Cam we've seen the past few years. We're not going to take it lightly and expect him to be any different."
