QB Cam Newton
RE: His big game experience and if it makes him ready and comfortable on this stage
“It’s just a football game. The only thing that’s probably changed is the media out there. We could have this game in the parking lot, we could have this game on the practice fields, we could have this at the practice facilities, it’s nothing different. The only thing that’s changed is probably the media that goes in to it and for people who understand that and the players that understand that, they get it. But nothing typically is going to change for me. Yeah I played in a lot of big games but none of them would compare to this game because the next game.”
RE: Do you get nervous?
“No, I don’t get nervous. I’ve been playing football for too long for me to get nervous. It’s a weird feeling that you get and I used to dream of being in this type of position so I don’t necessarily get nervous, more so anxious for Sunday at, when do we play, 6:40? Which is a weird time, but I’m ready. This is why you play football games. I used to idolize the quarterbacks who would be in these positions and just dream, like, ‘I hope and pray that I get the opportunity to do it,’ and you see so many different quarterbacks have the chance, but yet you know, nothing happens. Who is promised for me to be back in this position again?”
RE: Losing Kelvin Benjamin in the preseason
“Benji was not the only asset missing at the receiver position. I think Stephen Hill is being overlooked. He’s had, or was having at the time, the best training camp as well as OTAs. He was making that step, making strides and we’re all talking about him going down and then a week later or a couple of days later for Benji (Kelvin Benjamin) to go down, that was really the point in time where it’s like guys are going to have to step up and that they did.”
RE: If he remembers taking Luke Kuechly to dinner shortly after being drafted
“Yeah, I took him out to dinner. We went to the pub right up here on, I don’t remember, but the Draft was still going on and other athletes were there. I don’t want to bring those guys in, you know, but had a pretty good meeting then and he got to know who I was to a degree, and it was pretty good. But that wasn’t my first time meeting him. I met him Luke when I was at IMG and he was running routes and I didn’t really know who he was at the time. You know they were saying Luke Kuechly-da-da-da-da. He had pretty good hands then, so I was thinking that he was like a tight end. So when we got him, I was like damn he’s a linebacker? And then when I really dug down deeper and found who he was then I was extremely excited because we needed that type of dynamic player on the defensive side of the football.”
RE: His take on Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly on and off the field
“I think TD is more consistent personality-wise on the field and off the field because he has that aura about himself. When TD walks into a room, he’s so sociable that he brings everyone along with him. Luke on the, other hand, he leads in a different way. He’s so friendly, like extremely friendly. He’s always aware of the surroundings and you would never think in a million years a guy like Luke Kuechly, the way he looks on everyday life, is one of the if not the best defensive player in the National Football league. He has this alter-ego that he manages to control. In the locker room he’s so jolly. ‘Hi, Cameron.’ ‘Hi, August.’ And then on the field he’s like, ‘Arghhhh’. It’s crazy.”
RE: Was he taken back the first time he saw Luke Kuechly go into game-mode
“The persona of Luke Kuechly has taken over a whole … everybody says ‘LUUUUKE’. I was thinking they were booing and all of the sudden I hear ‘LUUUKE,’ second and ten, ‘LUUUKE,’ third and twelve, ‘LUUUKE,’ fourth and four. Luke is everywhere, and when you really pay attention and focus in on the defensive side, you really will respect him even more. But I guarantee if you look in that linebacker room right now he’s still in there and that’s what people don’t see.”
RE: How did his car accident last year change his outlook on his career as well as his life
“It’s a constant reminder that, really makes you put what’s really important in life first. Yeah we’re playing for the NFC Championship right now and potentially, if everything goes as we plan it, playing in the Super Bowl. But the truth of the matter is if I’m not in my position using my influence in a positive way then shame on me … People look at my situation and they see hope, and when you see me play, you see a kid out there. Some people call it immaturity, I could care less. I think with this accident it made it even more, I could really care less what a person thinks as long as when I see a child or see a kid they’re smiling ear to ear because they got a football. That’s what I care about and making sure that when people say, long after I can stop playing, that the positive things outweigh the negative things.”
RE: What is he most proud of that he improved on individually as a player?
“Us winning. Like, bringing the pride of the Carolinas back to Carolina. I was so intrigued about, talking to guys like Ryan Vermillion (Head Athletic Trainer), even Steve Drummond (Director of Communications), guys who have been here for a long time and talk about the glory days of Carolina. When they talk about when they went to the Super Bowl and when they talk about when they went 13-3 and talk about things of that sort. And I would always just dreamlike, I want it to be that way because I was coming off, obviously the national championship and I knew I was in a place where they weren’t necessarily accustomed to having that type of season. And now we’re in that same type of situation. People will be talking about the 2015-2016 Carolina Panthers for years to come and shame on us if we don’t capitalize on it.”