RE: The difficulty of a short week
“It’s just like when we had a short week when we played against Atlanta. There’s no difference. We’re going to be ready. Coach is going to be smart with how we go through practice this week. We’re going to be ready for Carolina. We’re going to be focused. We’re putting together a great game plan and we’re going to be well prepared. He’s going to make sure our bodies are well-rested, and we’re just going to be ready to play Sunday.”
RE: The Saints running game
“A lot of our opponents, they look at us as more of a passing team. But we have shown in the past games that we are a balanced team. I think when we’re more balanced out there on the offense side on the field, a lot of things are going our way; a lot of things are opening up for us. We just need to make sure we stick with the running game. Even though we may have a few runs that are not to our liking, we can’t give up on it.”
RE: The rotation of the Saints running back corps
“I think it’s a good rotation between all of us. I think we all bring different things to the table. Mark (Ingram), he’s explosive, he’s quick, agile, and he’s one of our tough runners. He’s going to get that third-and-short or that fourth-and-short down. (Darren) Sproles is one of those guys, he’s agile, quick, great hands. He can be a receiver and at times when gets a chance he can run the ball also. I see myself as more of a hard-nosed runner, always going forward and keeping my legs moving and not giving. I see myself catching the ball as well. The rotation for us is real good; just keep pounding at the defense and not letting up. After a while as a running back if you start getting big run after big run; say you have three big runs back-to-back, you get a little tired. It feels good to have another guy that can step in and do the same job to keep getting that pounding to that defense. That’s something you want.”
RE: Eagerness to get back on the field after a loss
“We’re very eager to play our next opponent. We’re not worried about that game that we just played Monday night; that’s in the past now. We’ve got to swallow that and keep moving forward. Now we’re looking at our next opponent, which is Carolina. We know they’re a tough team and they’re doing good this year. We’ve got to be ready for them, which we will be. We’re getting prepared now.”
RE: If it is surprising to see the Panthers performing so well
“No, I don’t see a surprise at all. The Panthers have always been a tough obstacle, always been a tough team. Since I’ve been here, I know that we’ve always had problems with the Panthers. There’s always been ups and downs between the Panthers and ourselves. We know what’s going to come. They’re going to bring their A-game, and we’re going to have to bring our A-game. It’s a division game in our conference. We can’t take any teams lightly, especially in our conference.”
RE: What Seattle did to bottle up the Saints run game last Monday night
“Seattle did a good job, very explosive. Their staff on defense is what we knew it was going to be. A lot of things didn’t go our way. We didn’t pick up some blocks, we didn’t catch the ball; we didn’t execute like we needed to. We put ourselves in a hole in the beginning of the game with the interception and a lot of penalties; it’s a lot of things. Once we try to fight from behind, it’s kind of hard to be a balanced team when you’ve got to focus on trying to get that passing game going and try to catch up. It’s in the past; we’re not really worried about Seattle anymore. That game is behind us and we’re moving forward. We’re not thinking about it anymore, everybody is now on to Carolina.”
