What the Panthers are saying about the Patriots this week
"Granted, they lost some guys, but they're still going to pull it together. I mean, that's the Patriots. They always pull it together somehow."
The Patriots and Panthers face off at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since a memorable clash in Carolina on Monday Night Football in November 2013.
In the build-up to the game, here’s what the Panthers have been saying about the Patriots:
Ron Rivera, Head Coach
On Tom Brady’s distribution:
You see him spreading the ball out a little more – mostly out of necessity. But he still has an array of weapons. He just doesn’t have that one singular guy that he’s had in the past.
On what the Panthers need to do against Brady:
It’s very important to [get pressure]. One thing you can’t allow is for him to get comfortable back there. He’s a tremendous football player who truly understands what they do. He’s got a group of receivers that have the ability to make things happen, which you see if you put on the tape.
On slowing down Rob Gronkowski:
Well, first of all, you have to get in front of him and make him move around you as opposed to you getting out of his way. But a guy like that has got so much ability, so many tools to use that you’ve really got to be technically perfect. And maybe at times you do have to be a little over-zealous to be able to cover a guy like that with his type of ability. He really is one of the elite pass catchers in this league as far as tight ends are concerned.
Kurt Coleman, Safety
On Tom Brady:
There are a lot of great quarterbacks, but when you talk about the best of the best to ever play, I mean Tom Brady is definitely the greatest quarterback in my eyes.
He’s not going to try to do too much. He finds one-on-one situations. He trusts his guys to go up and make plays. He’ll dink and dunk when he doesn’t see anything deep.
Devin Funchess, Wide Receiver
On the Patriots’ roster:
They got a lot of veteran leadership over there. Granted, they lost some guys, but they’re still going to pull it together. I mean, that’s the Patriots. They always pull it together somehow.
Luke Kuechly, Linebacker
On Brady:
Yeah, we’ve heard a little bit about him [laughs]. I don’t know how, he still looks like he can do anything he wants. And everything we’ve watched, it looks easy for him. He sits back there, and puts the ball exactly where it needs to be. There’s a reason he’s won as many Super Bowl as he has. There’s a reason that he’s mentioned as one of the best quarterbacks ever to play. We’ve got a lot of respect for him. We have to make sure we’re ready to play.
On the unpredictability of the Patriots:
These guys are so good because everything is always changing. One week (running back) James White will have eight catches, the next week he gets one catch. They do such a good job of game-planning and making sure they’re not predictable. They create matchups that they like and they attack.
On the last game against the Patriots in 2013 and the no-call against Gronkowski:
A couple years later I can admit that I might have gotten away with one there. It’s too late now. A couple years removed, hopefully there are no hard feelings in Boston.
Captain Munnerlyn, Cornerback
On Brandin Cooks:
He’s a matchup problem. He isn’t the biggest guy in the world, but he’s definitely speed guy that can get in and out of his cuts and get the YAC (yards after catch). We definitely need to be aware of where he’s at. He was in this division before, so I know a couple of guys are familiar with him.
I got this saying, ‘You need to keep your eyes on your luggage.’ You got to keep your eyes on your luggage with this guy. You can’t have dirty eyes because he can run every route on the route tree.
