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PANTHERS RB DeANGELO WILLIAMS
(on if he feels like the bye may have stopped some momentum that they built up in the first few weeks)
No, what happened was we had a few guys with injuries that were banged up or nicked up and had an opportunity to get those guys back. It was a good relief to rest guys up going into this eight-game stretch. We are looking for the best and we are going to give it our all-and-all and nothing has changed. I think it's actually going to speed this team up because we had an opportunity to self-scout ourselves and see what we did good and what see we did bad and make our weakness our strength.
(on if Cam Newton's mobility is helpful to the running game)
Oh yeah, it's definitely huge especially in the pass game too because they kind of come out in the spy coverage and they have to adapt their defenses. It's no longer where we have to adapt to what the defense does, it's what the defense has to do to adapt to our offense because Cam (Newton) can hurt you in so many ways with his arm or his legs and the good thing about that is he has options. We have a great receiving core, we are stacked at tight end and I think at running back we can hit you at all angles and that's what makes Cam more of a deadly quarterback than a lot of quarterbacks out there.
(on Cam Newton's energy)
There is no question about his energy. He is a young guy coming in as a number one pick and everyone talked about what he couldn't do versus what he can do and now I think he has reversed that. Everyone is talking about what he can do and not what he can't do and I think that's the chip that he plays and has on his shoulder and he is going to continue to do that. He comes in with great energy and keeps it. Nobody wants to win more than he does in the locker room.
(on if he sympathizes with Chris Johnson and knows the pressure and expectations that come with a new deal)
I know (Chris Johnson), we have talked on the phone a few times and (Chris Johnson) is not going to let that bother him. It's a love/hate relationship, they love you when you are doing good, and they hate you are doing bad instead of the other way around when they should pick you up when you are doing bad and hate you when you are doing good because that just drives you to get better. For him missing all of the offseason, all the preseason and then to jump into that offense with (Mike) Heimerdinger being gone, all of the things that have been thrown at him I think he is doing a great job at what he is doing now. I know he is only going to get better. It's not my call in that offense. I was dealing with the same thing early on and then people found out that it's a different offense and you just have to find your way and find your niche in the different offense and I think we found ours here.
(on if he feels he is a "marked man" after getting a big contract)
Oh yeah, with more money comes more responsibility. They expect you to come out and be and do things that you have never done before in your life in terms of they want you to come out and they want you to basically be on the field by yourself and score every time you touch the ball or pick up a first down, but they fail to realize that other people get paid too. It's not necessarily whether you get the ball or not, there are other variables in that scheme, the run, the blitz. There are other variables that play a part into that. I think fantasy football makes it tough for us because before fantasy football people used to watch the game and be happy that they get a chance to see their team play, but now, not only are they watching the game to see their team play but they have a little but riding on it because they have bragging rights based on the fantasy football games they have playing in the background.
(on what he thinks is going through Chris Johnson's mind when he hears the criticism of production)
What's going through his mind is they have no idea what's going on whether it be practice, schemes or all of that because there is a lot that plays into football. I understand that they are dogging him but that's just all talk man. Chris Johnson is bigger than that man, it comes with the territory. I knew before that when people were giving him hell for talking about getting a new deal that he was going to get this backlash once he got it so I'm sure he is accustomed to that.
(on if he expected to be more of the featured back after getting a new deal)
When I came here I told them all I want to do is win. It doesn't matter if all I needed to do was be a role player, if I need to be the feature back, if I need to be a backup, whatever it takes to win I'm willing to do that and that's where I have always been. I think being a team player and being a team is what wins ball games and what wins championships and being an individual doesn't.
(on if losing some tough games is wearing on the team)
We are trying to turn this thing around, we are trying to be that team in the fourth quarter that can finish games and I think our practice shows that. We are keeping high energy and doing all of the things that it takes to get the job done and play for four quarters because in the fourth quarter is where we lose games and that's where we show our youth and we are trying to eliminate that so we can close games out and come out on top victorious.
(on if the Titans are a desperate team)
I think we are both coming in with the same mentality is to win the football game. I don't think that one team is more desperate than the other one. I don't think they go into the game saying they want to lose this one, we want to win this one. That's where we all come in the same, it's our will versus their will and whoever's will breaks is the team that loses that game. The way that we stop them is we put up more points than they do because we know that they are going to score points.
(on how far Cam Newton has exceeded early expectations )
I didn't have any expectations of him at all, I just knew that we might be giving him a chance to develop and he has definitely done that and more. My expectations of him were to come in and help us win football games. I wasn't expecting him to come in and put up earth-shattering numbers or expect him to do this or expect him to do that, I expected him to be the quarterback that he showed us in college.
(on if Cam Newton is better than he thought he could be this early)
You have to understand where I'm coming from. All of the quarterbacks in the National Football League to me are the same, the only difference between the quarterbacks is their decision making. Every quarterback can throw, at any given time every quarterback can run. Heck, Peyton Manning can show you he can run, it just boils down to decision making. With that being said, I have seen Cam (Newton) play in college and I knew that he had the decision making of some of the top quarterbacks in the National Football League. You hear the things that he couldn't do and he came in and proved that he could do them, it's just a matter of time. Time changes everything and production.
(on how often he frequents Nashville and Memphis)
I worked out there (Nashville) before the draft, more Franklin. I come out there, I have family in Nashville who live right off of Second so I come to Nashville a lot. Chris Johnson even came to my camp and I consider him a friend. We have talked and conversed and went out to dinner together, so I'm real familiar with Chris (Johnson). We played in the same conference although we used to kick ECU's butt while I was there, but he probably doesn't want to talk about that.
(on Matt Forte also coming out of Conference USA)
Yeah we have a nice little clan, people are sleeping on Conference USA. Matt Forte, pay the man, I'm sorry I had to say that, Chris Johnson, myself, (LaDainian Tomlinson) was a part of Conference USA at one point although we don't claim him, Mewelde Moore who is lighting it up for the Steelers right now. We try to claim all the guys we can get out there man.
(on if Memphis may get into the Big East)
I don't know, I'm not going to get into that. I think they want our basketball program more than anything. We are setting ourselves up right now, it's a process and a lot of people don't respect the process. We are going through not a rebuilding stage, but a retooling stage.
