Post Game Press Conference – Panthers Players

PANTHERS PLAYERS

Bryce Young, QB

(On staying engaged on the sidelines knowing you’re not playing)

“I just play the game on the sideline. I just want to be there for Jack [Plummer] and the rest of my teammates. So it’s not hard at all to be engaged on the sideline.”

 

(On the conversations had with teammates)

“Tonight was their night, I was just really hearing them out. Obviously Will [Harriger] was doing a great job coaching them on the sideline. I was just trying to be a resource where I could.”

 

(On Dave Canales)

“He was good, I think he did a good job. He talked about it being his first time as a head coach too. It was a good experience for everybody. This was a learning experience, we have some things we’re going to have to work on. Two days from now we’ll go and watch the tapes and go from there.”

 

Jack Plummer, QB

(On starting the game)

“It was good to be out there and playing in an NFL game. Obviously as an offense we have to eliminate the penalties and put ourselves in better situations. We have to convert on third down and put points on the board.”

 

(On playing the first preseason as much as he did.)

“I was talking with Andy [Dalton] the other day and if you told me in January that I was starting the first preseason game I would have told you no way. I just have to make the most of my opportunities.”

 

(On the play to Jordan Matthews)

“I just was going through my reads and got moved off my spot a little bit. He flashed and the presser was coming in and any way of getting it to him. I saw him out there he was wide open and I just threw it to him.”

 

Jackson Mitchell, LB

(On his first appearance in an NFL game)

“It was just exciting to be out there and it is everything I ever wanted. Just to be out there, especially playing in New England for the first game, obviously close to home. It was exciting and I had a lot of people there, but I was kind of just trying to make plays and kind of play my game and show that I deserve it.”

 

(On his expectations)

“It’s kind of what I expected I guess, although like everyone said, it’s just football at the end of the day. You get in there and you practice a lot through OTAs and training camp, so you are kind of ready for it. You just have to trust your training and go out there and play your game. It just kind of felt regular.”

 

(On strategy for making the team)

“I think I just need to be the best version of myself every day and continue to try and get better, strive to get better every single day. Hopefully that’s enough at the end of the day, and kind of get a chance with one of these teams, and have a team take a chance on me and make the most that opportunity. That is all you can do is strive to get better every single day.”

 

Jordan Mathews, TE

(On the play of Jack Plummer)

“He hit on two conversions, for the three times he went to me. I think we were happy about that. I felt like he came out and did well. He threw a couple of really good balls early on, I know that Moo [David Moore] and Mingo [Jonathon Mingo] will bring those in next time. I feel like for his first game he wasn’t rattled, he stuck in there and scrambled some, so I was proud of what he did.”

 

(On the difficulty of preseason)

“Obviously you don’t want to make excuses because like I said, we have talented guys in the room. These guys want to make catches first, whether they are contested, whether there is weather and whether it is anything. To come out in the first pre-season game there is always going to be jitters, and then it was raining early on too. They will make those plays, but that is tough, it’s tough situation to come on in. I know those guys will bounce back. For Jack [Plummer] to come out and find out he was going to start, the first game. Once we realized Bryce was not going, I think he handled himself like a professional this week, He really set himself up for a good night, and I think he will be happy with the film when he sees it.”

 

Jacob Hollister, TE

(On coming back to New England)

“It’s awesome, I feel blessed to come back to where it all started for me. I have a lot of good memories here. It’s awesome. Coming back here is really special. Right after the game I was giving everyone hugs. Especially seeing [Matthew] Slater out there, I didn’t know if he was going to be on the sidelines. It was really good to see him. He’s the type of dude you can’t replicate. He had a big impact on me and my brother.”

 

(On training camp)

“I’ve been here pushing a week now, but I love the culture. Coach Canales has done a really good job, you can tell. In the locker room we have a good thing going. I’m just happy to be a part of it. Guys are encouraged. I knew the coaching staff that’s here so I got excited about that right away. They called me to come work out so I came with a bag of clothes hoping I would stay. It was within 24 hours, so I put everything on pause at the ranch and came ready to play some ball. It’s been fun.”

 

(On the game)

“I got out there a little bit. I felt good. I have been working out at my ranch out in Oregon, I had been doing double duty so to get the call to come out here, I was pretty excited and got thrown right into it. I got some action tonight. I felt good. For me, I evaluate by my effort so I was happy with that. I was high effort out there but there’s some rust because I only had a week of practice. I can walk away tonight feeling good.”

 

Ikem Ekwonu, T

(On training camp and the game)

“It’s going in the right direction for us, it’s been going good. I feel the team is putting the pieces together. Obviously there were too many penalties and that’s something we want to clean up. I felt like the attitude was there and I felt like we played hard. It’s hard to attribute (the penalties) to just one thing. At the end of the day it is just about focus.”

 

(On what the Panthers need to work on)

“The little things like pre-snap penalties which does not set us up for successful drives. Doing what we can to get better.”

 

 

Transcripts are provided by the Patriots media relations department as a courtesy to the media and are edited for readability. All press conferences are posted and archived in their entirety on patriots.com. The duplication or posting of this transcript in its entirety as original content is prohibited. Media are encouraged to link to the complete transcript on patriots.com when sharing full quotes with their audiences.

Download the Word Doc here: PanthersPlayers 080824