On the value of QB Cam Newton
“There are some intangibles that you can’t measure. First of all, he is a very unselfish player. He wants to spread the ball around. He wants to throw the ball to everybody. It’s kind of neat if you look at the box score and see how many different guys he targeted … Whether he is handing the ball off or he is running the ball or whether he is throwing it, he understands that. His energy level that he plays with, I think his teammates feed off of it.”
On the first career start for rookie WR Devin Funchess
“He really came into this under control. I like the routes that he ran. More importantly, I like the way he went after the football, very Kelvin-esque in terms of trying to make plays. Cam put the ball where he needed to, where he just had to go up and get it, and he did. He went up and got the ball a couple of times and really made some spectacular catches. I think the young man is progressing very nicely.”
On RB Jonathan Stewart‘s performance
“I think Jonathan really is playing at a very high level right now. I like the way he is playing. I like the way he is doing things. Our guys feed off of his energy in terms of the running game. That’s one of the things we have to be weary of is to not overuse Jonathan. It was great to be able to get him out of the game once we got into the fourth quarter and give him a break. But he has been very vital to what we do on the offensive side.”
On the defense forcing five turnovers
“I like the way we went after the ball. I like the physicality of our defensive players. I really thought Sean McDermott came out and did some really good things. I like the first call in the second half where we brought a pressure and we were able to hit the quarterback on a play action to cause a fumble that we recovered and that really put us off to the races.”
On if the turning point was the overturned pick-6 by Redskins CB Chris Culliver
“That’s the refereeing part of it. That’s what happens I guess and we will just go from there.”
On the national attention this week likely focusing on the Cowboys
“That’s fine. Seriously it is because we will move forward … One of the things we talked about yesterday is our greatest victories aren’t behind us, they are in front of us, so we just have to keep going forward.”
On the injuries suffered Sunday
“We made out pretty good. Fozzy Whittaker had a little tweak on the side, so he had to come off. Amini Silatolu, I don’t know how bad it is but he may have just sprained the knee. That’s pretty much the extent of what we got that I know of.”
On proving to critics he’s more than just an athletic QB
“I’ve said since Day One I don’t really care what people think as long as I have the trust of this organization. More importantly, the trust of the guys out there on the field with me. I’ve always labeled myself as a pocket passer with the ability to run.”
On the offense scoring 44 points
“I think one thing we did great today was battling adversity, especially after penalties. We got a sack early on. We still got a first down – found a way with a big completion to Jerricho (Cotchery). We had a hold and right after one penalty found a way to execute after that. We’re going to need those types of great efforts moving forward and that’s going to be hidden in statistics, but yet always good ingredients for good teams and great success.”
On the emergence of Funchess
“I kind of took him under my wing talking to him and giving him that big brother guidance. Sometimes it’s going to be good – sugar to the soul – sometimes it’s going to be something he doesn’t want to hear, but he has to hear. He’s growing up to be the player we all want him to be.”
On if he’s taken a step forward
“You guys keep saying it’s a big jump, but if I get the opportunity, then I’m going to try to make the play. If he’s throwing the ball my way, then I’m going to go out and make the play the best I can.”
On producing after putting in extra work the past few weeks
“You have to grind. Coming from Detroit, that’s all we know is the grind.”
On going up and attacking the football
“I was always a hands catcher, that’s what people don’t understand. I don’t catch with the body, so that’s what I’m always trying to do too much before I get the ball. That’s the main thing that’s wrong with me. That’s my criticism on myself.”
On if he agrees with Rivera that he was ‘Kelvin-esque’
“I’m just Devin. I’m just Funchess.”
On breaking Wesley Walls‘ franchise record for most receiving yards by a TE
“Obviously, Wesley kind of set the standard for tight end play in this organization for a long time. I think it is more interest to credit that I have been able to play for a while and not miss much time and be consistent playing a good offense. There are a lot of things that go into catching the ball and getting open. There are a lot of pieces that go in. I’ve been fortunate that I have been on the receiving end of a lot of Cam’s (Newton) throws and hopefully some more to come.”
On if Newton is proving he can be a prolific passer
“I think he’s showed it. If he is still out there having to prove that to people, then those people obviously haven’t been paying much attention.”
On the defense helping the offense with five takeaways
“If our quarterback throws five touchdowns and our defense gets five turnovers, then I’ll go out on a limb and say we’ll probably win every game. That’s a great formula. If we can do that and put it in a bottle, we could sell it. Obviously the short fields are huge and make a huge difference and we converted them to touchdowns. That’s something we talked about here for a while, capitalizing on short fields and quick changes.”
On the defense’s performance
“The defensive line got after their tails today. We were able to do things on the back end and change things up where they were able to hunt. Once they did go hunt, then they ate. They spelled blood in the water and went to go eat.”
On creating a turnover for the first time since Week 4
“I said a quick prayer up to God and let him know that even though I’m frustrated right now, I still have to maintain my discipline. I was fighting between what they wanted me to do and what JNo wanted to do. I just had to be mindful enough and know that my time was going to come and my play was going to be made when I’m most patient. Give the under stuff up and make a play on the big stuff. Finally, I got tired of it and saw something and tried to find me a play and Lord knows I needed it.”
On exchanging words with Redskins LT Trent Williams
“I don’t care how big you are. It really doesn’t matter. We lions, we dogs out there. It doesn’t matter if you want to hit me or chip me. I’m not going to sit back there and be lax about it. I’m going to do something about it. I’m not backing down from nobody. I don’t care if you’re 6-8, 350. I’m going to take a shot at you and see what that looks like.”
On playing the Cowboys after QB Tony Romo‘s return
“They won, I don’t think they won without him, so we’re going to enjoy that challenge.”
On facing former Panthers DE Greg Hardy
“I’m looking forward to seeing G. Hardy. He helped me with a lot of things when he was here. He was the one to give me a shoulder bump and say, ‘Your time is going to come’ and he was always encouraging.”
On the thousands of Redskins fans at Bank of America Stadium
“It is what it is. They can go back home like the rest of them.”
On shutting down the Redskins’ run game
“Any time you can make a team one-dimensional then it makes our job easier. A lot of that has to do with the offense too. They put points up on the board and put ourselves ahead and they had to throw the ball. That’s the only thing they could really do.”
On the feeling of helping a defense force five turnovers
“Electrifying. Like I said time and time again, we don’t know our own strengths sometimes. That surprises us sometimes.”
On Funchess
“Well, you know, it’s Michigan week, but [he’s] coming along. It’s a joy to see him putting his time in and working with the older and younger guys in the room. I believe he’s coming along at the right time for us. That’s all you can ask for is a guy to sit back and pay attention and learn then come out and read and execute.”
On if Newton is doing something better than he has in past years:
“No, he’s just being Cam. He’s dabbin’.”
On the loss
“I have to do a better job of getting our team prepared. Quite frankly this is on me. We had too many penalties, turnovers and these are things that we have to get fixed. Last week we were feeling pretty good, top of the mountain. This week, this game is a humbling game. You feel like you can’t do anything right. We have to make sure that we ride the roller coaster, but we have to try do the best we can to stay leveled, but we’re not doing that right now. We are either really good or really poor.”
On the Culliver interception that was nullified by a penalty
“It had an impact. That is a 14-point swing right there. The referee made a decision, made a call; it’s unchallengeable so there is no use in me even talking about it, but it’s unfortunate. That was a huge play in the game.”
On Culliver’s negated pick-6
“I don’t think he led with his head. It was just one of those plays where, I’ve never seen anything like it before … It took away a lot of momentum. A lot of the guys were frustrated on the sideline by that play because we play tackle football, it’s not two-hand touch. For an unnecessary roughness call, that’s a crazy call. But I’m not a referee, and I don’t get paid to do that, so it’s not my decision.”
On the snowball effect after the negated pick-6
“It was an accumulation of things throughout this game. They played better than us, they out-coached us, out-played us, so they won the game, fair and square. You’ve got to give them the credit.”
On the Panthers’ defense
“They disguised coverages well. They have several Pro Bowlers. As we’ve alluded to, they are undefeated for a reason. It doesn’t just happen on accident. They have great players and a great scheme and they execute it well, and they have several guys who have been playing in this system now for several years. You see the fruit of that in the way they have played all season. So you know it’s a place where we would like to get to over time to develop that kind of talent and experience.”