On what he thinks S Macho Harris did to earn the starting position and what it will be like for him to be playing with a rookie at safety: "It's a different territory; usually I'm the new guy. It's going to be a little different but I think what Macho showed, he came in, he was very mature and he learned the defense and took the starting job to task. He really wanted it. He was out there making plays, doing what he was suppose to do; being ready to play. And I'm not saying anything about anybody else, but he had the hot hand and he really showed up."
On whether the defense is curious to see how defensive coordinator Sean McDermott will do: "I don't think we're really worried about it. I guess once it happens we'll go from there. I believe everybody has a lot of confidence in Sean and whatever buttons he's pushing we're just going to go with it. At the end of the day, it's not necessarily about the calls, it's how we execute them. So, as long as we're executing the plays how we should, it shouldn't matter what he calls, doesn't matter what happens, we should be fine."
On what McDermott's stamp on the defense is: "The difference will be we'll have a little more fluidity. We'll be changing up things, it won't always be the same, [and] we'll have different stuff every week. And not to say we didn't have that with Jim, but in this league you have to show different looks all the time to be successful and we're going to do that even more then we have in the past."
On why he thinks it took CB Asante Samuel awhile to get into a rhythm last year: "This defense is difficult and sometimes it takes people a little bit to get comfortable. He was coming into a new situation and new players, still learning the defense; he had a whole lot to learn. I think now he's got a year under his belt, now he's more comfortable. I know where he's going to be, he knows where I'm going to be that kind of thing. I think once he turned it up, it was lights out from there."
On Samuel being a leader: "The first thing about Asante that you notice is that he has a different swagger. He doesn't care who we're playing, he doesn't care what happens, he's going to go out there and make plays, that's his thing. He brings excitement, he brings the energy to the secondary and the defense and that's something that is needed. It's one of those things that's either in you or it's not and he has that so I think he brings that to the table for us."
On Samuel having a loose personality: "Sometimes that helps. Sometimes you can get over tight for games and thinking too much and he'll come in and he'll make a joke or something and everybody relaxes a little bit. It definitely helps."
On why he thinks LB Omar Gaither won the starting spot: "I think [LB] Joe [Mays] did a good job, he kind of had an up and down camp. I think Omar's experience helped. He was a little more experienced and he was a little more comfortable knowing the checks and making checks and stuff like that. I think it was good experience for Joe and he's still going to be a great player."
On whether playing with Gaither and Harris will feel new: The Omar thing isn't going to be a big deal. Macho, I think he'll be fine he's just got to grow up quickly. Right off the bat we've got one of the top defenses in the league. [Panthers WR] Steve Smith, [Panthers RB] DeAngelo Williams and all those guys and [Panthers QB Jake] Delhomme. We've got a tough task, but he's got to grow up fast and get ready to play and I think he'll be fine."
On how he feels going up against Carolina's running game: "We've got our work cut out for us. Those guys, they can go. The main thing is we've just got to get a lot of guys to the ball and play fast and that's the key. That's what we've always done around here and as long as we do that we should be fine, so I think we'll be okay."
On how he'll help Harris adjust to the NFL the way former S Brian Dawkins helped him: "I'm doing a lot of the same things. I'm giving him little tips and stuff. Teaching him how to deal with off the field stuff, whatever I can. If I see that he's taking the wrong step, I'll help him out there or if he's having the wrong angle on the blitz. Even if he's doing something right, I'll let him know and that stuff matters. He's receptive to all that and he's doing great with it so far."
On Panthers QB Jake Delhomme: "As far I've known him, I've never really played against him; this might be my first time really playing. He can hurt you. He's got a good arm, great timing, he knows where he's going and he can read defenses great and you have to be on point when you're playing someone like that. He's really smart and you have to be on point with him. I think if we go out there and do what we've been practicing hopefully we can be alright."
