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John Fox Speaks to the Press on Sundry Topics
By Brinson | May 16, 2008
Via the Charlotte Observer and ITP come a slew of questions that members of the media (for the most part) asked John Fox during a press conference yesterday. The first one — which comes from a partner in the P-Cats ownership — is probably my favorite. The rest are after the jump, with little to no commentary.
Q. How many games are you going to win? For those of you who do not know the gentleman who asked the question, that’s Cammie Harris. He’s actually a (ownership) partner with the Panthers. That’s one of Cammie’s annual questions. I’ll give my standard seventh-year answer: If we stay healthy, you’ll be happy.
Agreed. Healthy = Playoffs and an NFC South title.
Q. Are we going to make (opposing defenses) not double-team Steve Smith? He is a top-ranked receiver — if not the best, one of the best in the league. We’ve been trying to do that for some time. Getting Moose (Muhsin Muhammad) back, signing D.J. Hackett, hopefully Dwayne Jarrett is a year further along. Those kind of things, and being able to run the football That’s a huge, huge part of getting that coverage off of Steve Smith.
Q. There seems to be a lot of excitement about rookie safety Charles Godfrey, a third-round pick from Iowa. Is there anything you can say now to add credence to that? We put him with the first group to start with (at minicamp). He adapted well. It didn’t look like it was too big for him. He fit in well. Our players liked him. Maybe one of the good (things) was Steve Smith said, “Man, that (number) 30 is pretty good.” Smitty doesn’t give out a lot of compliments.
Q. About Spygate, how do you think (New England’s illegal videotaping practices) affected our Super Bowl (against the Patriots in 2004)? Wow. I thought I was getting softballs here, but I got a changeup. It’s something that the league is dealing with. When I went swimming as a youth, they always told me to stay in my lane. So that’s not something I feel free to comment on. It’s hard to say. There was no hard evidence that did occur, so we’ll just leave it at that.
Q. How are you going to use (rookie linebacker) Dan Connor? In just a three-day look at him (at minicamp), there’s no question he’s a fine, distinctive football player. Right now, he’s on the second or third tier as far as the depth chart. But I’ve seen those guys blast up that depth chart fast, and I have high expectations of him.
And now Q’s that Chandler added into the blog.
Q: What did you feel prior to the draft your primary needs were, and to what extent did you address those needs?
A: Really, from last season, I think our No. 1 need was quarterback. That was pretty well discussed by prognosticators as far as going into the draft and free agency. We felt good about Jake (Delhomme) the whole time. I can tell you right here he looks outstanding. … He’s bigger, stronger, he’s worked out very, very strong. His arm is looking fantastic, maybe stronger than ever. So that was No. 1. We felt real good about Matt Moore. … We feel good about where he’s at at this stage.
We needed to revitalize the running back position. A lot of prognosticators felt like free agency was the way to go there, but we decided we wanted to go high in the draft to meet that need.
We wanted to get more physical in the offensive line. I was tired of going for it on third-and-1 and then it being four-and-2. People have been critical of me for sometime not going for it on fourth-and-1. I’d think, “Wow, why would I ever do that if we can’t get it on third-and-1.” So we wanted to get more physical up front and I think we’ve accomplished that.
Defensively, we made some changes on the defensive line. We wanted to increase our ability to rush the passer, because that was an area we dropped off a year ago.
We’ve been trying to address a safety need for some time and I think we’ve found that in Charles Godfrey.
Q: What was it about Jonathan Stewart that caused him to move ahead of Rashard Mendenhall and some of the other players you were looking at in Round 1?
A: I think, truth be known, if Jonathan had not had the toe (surgery) situation, he probably never would’ve gotten to us. We were fortunate that we were familiar with it; one of our orthopedists (Dr. Robert Anderson) did the actual surgery, so we had a pretty good feel for the timing.
As far as what flavor you like, he’s a powerful guy, a thick lower body, excellent balance, great feet. He breaks tackles and gets yardage after first contact, which is something we look for.
Q: Talk about some of the changes on defense.
A: When we drafted Julius (Peppers) way back in my first year, he had been a right end in college. We had Mike Rucker who was a real aspiring player (at right end) at that point. So when we drafted Julius, we switched him over to the left. With Mike Rucker gone now, we’re going to take a lot at Julius on the right.
Inside, a lot of people probably wonder why we dealt Kris Jenkins (to the New York Jets for third- and fifth-round draft picks). He’s an outstanding player. We wanted to get a little bit smaller (at defensive tackle) and a little bit more athletic and quick as far as rushing the passer.
Q: With Richard Marshall, do you plan on using him the same, (in the) nickel (coverage), or do you think he can step up and fight for one of the starting (cornerback) jobs?
A: Well, he’s definitely capable. Anytime you put together a football team, or any sports team, you want to create competition. That way people are at their best probably a little more often than not. He’s a guy, in my opinion, who is capable of starting in the National Football League. RIght now, so are Ken Lucas and Chris Gamble. We also signed Ricardo Colclough, who has shown he can play in the National Football League. We just try to bring competition and it’s really going to be up to those players.
Q: How often do you override the offensive coordinator (in play-calling)?
A: Typically, it’s game situations. That’s the job of a head coach, to monitor the game and coach the game. There could be a situation at the end of the half or end of the game, where we may not run it or we may not pass it. Those types of game management situations are when you can override any coach, whether it’s the special teams coach, or the offensive or defensive coordinator. Like most decisions, people who get to sit and look at it 20/20, those decisions are a lot easier to make after the decision than before.
Q: What do you want fans to know about what you and the other coaches have planned for this season to make ‘08 one to remember?
A: One of the biggest things is we’re all in it. We work very hard. We don’t do this, whether you’re an assistant coach or a head coach, for security. I think players are the same way. (We) don’t do it for the security of the job, (but) the successes you get to attain. Winning that big, fat Super Bowl ring is the goal of all of us. Regardless of what gets written or what gets said, whether it’s midseason, preseason, postseason, I can tell you as an organization we’re committed to winning. We’re doing everything and utilizing all avenues to win. That’s what this league is about, and it’s only fun when you win.
Mmmm. Cut and Paste. The actual work done by me on this post is the reason for the Just Embarrassing tag, btw.