Comments from Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox following the team's practice.
On injuries: Did not practice - Tyler Brayton (ankle), Quinton Culberson (quad), Thomas Davis (PUP - knee), Aaron Francisco (hamstring), Richard Marshall (knee), Captain Munnerlyn (calf), Jeff Otah (PUP - knee), Hilee Taylor (knee), and C.J. Wilson (head).
On how quarterback Jimmy Clausen has played in the first two preseason games: Very good. I've been pleased with both our quarterbacks, really all our quarterbacks. Some of them have gotten more opportunities than others. A lot of times when you don't have success early on in the passing game, it all goes to the quarterback. But I've been pleased with how they've played. I think they've improved each week and I'm not as concerned about that as maybe some people on the outside.
On rookie safety Jordan Pugh: He's adapted to things pretty quickly. He started last week against the Jets, and I thought he had a good performance. He's a guy that early on showed a pretty good innate ability to learn our systems and be able to do it under pressure. He's a good, young player, a guy that's had a good camp.
On Pugh's leadership potential: We investigate these guys pretty in depth coming in. Some of them we do better on than others. But he's one that has caught on pretty quickly, and I think he'll help us this year.
On offenses not doing as well in the preseason because they are not gameplanning for the defenses: Not really. Every time you go out there it's a learning experience, whether you're a veteran or a young player or new to our system. You're going to see just about anything during a given season, and the more looks and the sooner you see things the better. It may not work out statistically the way you want it to, but those things all come into play, helping you as you work through the preseason.
On defensive tackle Nick Hayden: We've got a lot of new faces there at the defensive tackle spot, and we're trying to sort them out. No different than punt returner. We took a look at four different guys. Sometimes it doesn't help you win games, but it helps you pick your team and right now that's our number-one priority.
On how Hayden has improved since last season: Just playing the game more. Like anything, supposedly the more you do it the better you get, and he works very hard so he's getting better. He was our third tackle a year ago; I thought he played good football for us and I think he's building on that this year.
On the competition at defensive tackle: As far as picking starters and whatnot, we are rotating a lot of guys through there that we haven't seen a lot in live action, and that's all part of the evaluation process.
