Comments from Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox following the team's practice.
On injuries: Did not participate: Dante Rosario - ankle. Limited participation: Steve Smith - knee. Full participation: James Anderson - concussion, Jon Beason - knee, Na'il Diggs - rib, Nick Hayden - toe, Captain Munnerlyn - shoulder and Jonathan Stewart - Achilles.
On if tight end Dante Rosario turned his ankle: Yesterday, yes.
On if Rosario has played well this season: Yeah. It's been dictated to us a little bit as far as how people are playing us. The tight end position now becomes key, and he's stepped up and made some big plays for us.
On the rivalry between Carolina and Tampa Bay: Since the inception of the NFC South, right off the bat there was a lot of rivalries starting, and for some reason we got started right away with them, and it's carried over over the years. If you look top to bottom in our division, even last year with us and Atlanta winning, the team that played on the road lost, except we were the only ones that beat New Orleans at home at their place. It's a pretty top to bottom division that people gear up for.
On if the way the Panthers defeated the Buccaneers last December was as close to a perfect game as it gets: It was a real close game until late. It was 17-17 (in the third quarter). I thought it was a good starting point because it was a division game. At that time we were both tied (for first) in our division, and those are defining games. The game there (at Tampa) wasn't so good; they whipped us pretty good. They are a very capable team, and whoever executes the best Sunday will win.
On if running back Mike Goodson will return kickoffs against Tampa Bay: Good question but we'll wait for game time to decide that.
On what wide receiver Kenneth Moore and Goodson bring as kick returners: Kenny made a big play last week. They are different but both effective, and we're fortunate to have both of them.
