Fox Press Conference Transcript

Here's a transcript of Coach John Fox's news conference Monday, one day after the Panthers' 17-6 win at Oakland in which quarterback Jake Delhomme threw four interceptions. Questions and answers are edited for clarity and brevity:

   OPENING REMARKS: Really nothing to report on the injury front. Just so you guys know, (center Ryan) Kalil did leave the game and was replaced by Geoff Hangartner. I believe it was around the end of the first quarter. (He) just had a little bit of a problem pushing off. No setbacks, but that did occur.

   

   Q: Was he reinjured?

   A: No. Until you really get out in a game, sometimes you don’t totally know. Not that he was real inadequate, he just felt there was a little bit of a problem pushing. And they were pretty big inside and we needed some push.

   Q: Does this mean he’ll be further delayed because of the injury?

   A: We’ll evaluate it Wednesday and he’ll be day to day. That’s not sidestepping it. I have no idea.

   Q: Did  Julius Peppers injury his arm?

   A: I didn’t notice that and there’s been no report from our training room.

   Q: How do you feel about winning despite Jake playing poorly?

   A: Being from a defensive background, I don’t think there’s anything ugly about a 17-6 win. Again, would I have liked our offense to have played better? Yes, but I thought we ran the ball very effectively. DeAngelo Williams had arguably one of his best games here as a Panther. He made a lot of runs on his own, a lot of runs where he made people miss. To rush for that many yards, I’m still happy with (it).

   There’s no question we could’ve played better in the pass game. It wasn’t just Jake. There were a couple of drops, a couple of better routes (that could’ve been run), a couple of better protections. Jake is a standup guy. He’s going to take the responsibility. I think his teammates appreciate that about him, and I know I do as the head coach.

  That’s just an area we’ve got to work (on). These games all have different personalities. We had a pretty good idea what kind of game that was going to be, that they were going to challenge us to throw. We’ve had games like that in the past here, and we’ve gotten better for it. I thought it was an outstanding job by our special teams and our defense. When you can win two out of three (areas), usually you win the game, and we did.

   Q: Were your offensive struggles more a result of their play on defense, or your play?

   A: It was a combination of both. I don’t want to take anything away from them. I thought they covered us down pretty good and make it tough for us to run. But we were still able to run. I think one of the real bright spots was that. Most of that was against eight-man fronts – aggressive eight man fronts. I thought that was a real bright side. We just needed to be able to take more advantage of it in the pass game.

   Q: Was anything bothering Jake physically, like his arm?

   A: No, no, no.

   Q: Besides what the Raiders were doing, do you basically chalk it up as just a bad day for Jake?

   A: No, I already said what I thought it was. I thought it was a real good day in our run game, a not-so-good day in our pass game, and it’s not just Jake.

   Q: Jonathan Stewart hasn’t been finding much daylight to run recently. Is that because of his heel soreness, or has he hit a rookie wall?

   A: No, it’s none of those things in my opinion. He did miss two days of practice (last) week. That never helps. He made some hard runs, and part of (the gains on) those runs were his.

   There’s no doubt the bulk (of the carries went to) DeAngelo, and it goes that way.  Probably about a month ago, people were wanting (Stewart) to be the starter. It’s a long season and we’re going to need him. He knows it and we know it. So it’s nothing he’s done wrong.

   Q: Why has he had quite a few runs for negative yardage?

   A: I don’t look at those statistics. He’s made a lot of big runs for us. And we anticipate he mades a lolt of big runs for us going forward.

   Statistically, you guys were talking about the other guy (Williams) a month ago. So we don’t look at stats, except for that W.

   Q: Are you satisfied that he (Stewart) is being decisive enough on his runs?

   A: Yeah, I’m totally happily with Jonathan Stewart, as well as DeAngelo Williams. That hasn’t changed.

   Q: Given your success against the Raiders on kickoff and punt returns, was there something you saw that you thought you could take advantage of?

   A: I thought there’s no question Mark Jones did an outstanding job in both phases and has for the most part the whole season. He’s shown steady improvement. As much as it is the offensive line, fullback and tight end in the run game, it’s the same way (with) the blocking element on punt returns and kickoff returns.  There were definitely some good cuts by (Jones), but also some good blocking in both those phases.

   Q: Why do you think your returns and special teams in general are better this year than last season?

   A: I think there is improvement. We’ve – knock on wood – stayed healthier. We’ve got a little bit more experience on returns. Earlier in the year a year ago, we had a rookie (Ryne Robinson). I thought he improved as the year went on. I think Rhys Lloyd kicking off … affects your coverage. We’ve got guys who are coaching and doing things right and doing it under pressure. I think that’s probably the biggest difference.

   Q: How desperate do you expect Detroit, at 0-9, to be in the next game?

   A: No more desperate than we are. We’re all trying to win. Again, we don’t look at records. We look at the tape, and that’ll be what it’s all about and who prepares Sunday.

   Q: How about Jake’s ability to bounce back and put things in the past?

   A: He’s done it before and I don’t anticipate any problems on him doing it again. Those (bad games) happen.

   Q: Have you talked to Jake, since he is so emotional and gets so wound up with things? When a game is going like that one was yesterday, do you to have to kind of rein him in a little bit.

    A: Not really, Jake handles adversity and prosperity probably as well as any player I’ve ever been around. Of course, we talk to him. I talk to just about everybody. But he doesn’t need special counseling or anything.