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What Matt Rhule Said After the Panthers' Win Over Detroit

Carolina's head coach was in a pretty good mood following the win

The Carolina Panthers defeated the Detroit Lions on Sunday 20-0 and moved to 4-7 on the season. Carolina head coach Matt Rhule met with the media after the game to talk about the team's win.

Opening Statement

"Obviously, very proud of our guys. I thought they played a good football game today. Overcame two turnovers that obviously would have allowed us to maybe play a little bit better. I thought our defense was the tale of the day – did a fantastic job of getting to the quarterback, not allowing big plays and getting off the field on third down. After our third down woes, I thought the staff went back, the players went back and they had our best week of practice, the best week of preparation and I think it showed up in the game. I thought it was a total team win. With so many of our players down, not able to play, I thought a lot of guys stepped up and we did what it took to win. Teddy [Bridgewater], I thought he was fantastic on the sidelines. We took him out before the game. He looked really good. I think everyone agreed he could play. But in my gut, I just didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do so I made that decision. Teddy wanted to play like the true competitor he is but like the true team player he is, he respected my decision. I made the decision to start PJ [Walker]. Had Will [Grier] available. I think Will’s got an outstanding, outstanding future. But just felt like based off this week’s practice that if Teddy couldn’t go, that I was going to start PJ and see how it went. Those were my decisions whether they worked or not and I think everyone this week did a fantastic job of trying to get Teddy as close as possible to being ready to play and I think besides the job the defensive staff did, I think Jake Peetz, our quarterbacks coach, did a remarkable job coaching the quarterbacks and getting three guys ready to play."

What did the do differently today in scheme?

"I don’t think it was necessarily scheme, I just think we just played better. I think we have been in position to make a lot of plays on third downs and we haven’t quite made them. I think today our guys went in with a real focus. We were able to, even on the last play of the game on defense, there was an unbelievable job by Shaq [Thompson] of diving and tipping the ball away. That’s what we have been saying to our guys, ‘hey, there are going to be opportunities.” How do you get off the field on third down – you make the plays; you get off the field on third down. Whether it was Corn [Elder], whether it was Shaq [Thompson], whether it was Juston Burris – guys made those plays. I thought the defensive line showed up to play and I thought [defensive coordinator] Phil [Snow] had a nice pressure/no pressure all up look, we showed blitz the whole time and then either bailed or came. I think early on we stopped the run. Early on I think we held them to 40 yards rushing. Once we could kind of could move past having the run, the offense got enough of a lead with a 14-point lead that it became a passing game, and we could kind of go back and forth. We called a lot of the same pressures we have called, we just didn’t turn a guy loose. We played a little more disciplined, played with a little more confidence and that credit to me goes to both Phil and his staff but also the players. I thought the players, again, had their best week."

Making plays not only on third down but first and second today

"I thought it was a great effort. We gave up the one dig early on, but I thought they did a good job of keeping plays in front of them. I thought they did a good job of rallying to the ball. I thought we tackled well. Got that early turnover, so a lot of things that were important to us, happened."

What did P.J. Walker do this week during practice for you to decide to start him? How did he perform in the game?

"I thought he practiced well and I thought he played really well today. I thought there were some things in the first half that, a lot of things in our offense receivers have to make decisions, have to make reads and if the receivers are a little bit off, you know Teddy [Bridgewater] sometimes because he has so many reps can adjust. I thought there were a couple chances for big plays where PJ was right, and the receivers was maybe a little off in his decision and it didn’t quite connect. I thought in the second half, I thought the receivers really stepped up. Robby [Anderson] made a huge catch on an over route and I thought everything kind of took off from there. Obviously, PJ can’t have the two goal-to-goal interceptions so those could have cost of the game. Like anything else, those are always combinations of many factors. But I thought when you go 24-for-34 in your first start, you played pretty well. I think the big play to DJ [Moore] early on was something that our team needed. I thought it was a jolt in the arm for us. I think that drive went 95 yards. I think anytime you have a 95-yard drive on your second or third drive as a starter, that gives you a chance to win."

Conflicting reports on Bridgewater’s availability today and the decision not to activate him ultimately

"There are reports all the time and it’s hard for me to comment on all of them because I hear so many of them. I meant what I said all week that I was going to take Teddy all the way up until game time. I was going to take him out there and work him out and I was going to make a decision. He was cleared to go. He was allowed to go. He wanted to go. I just felt like as I watched him move, he moved at like 80-85% and I didn’t feel like it would be, at that position, especially with his history with the left knee, I didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do to ask him to go out there and go against his instincts. But in terms of the reports, there are reports and I can’t comment on it. I know this week I’ve been as straight up. There was no coach speak this week. I know Teddy and he told me at the beginning of the week he wanted to play. He prepared like a monster this week to get ready. We followed it all the way through. Could have maybe activated him and had him sit on the bench as an emergency guy but even then, I just felt like PJ, Will could go win the game for us and I felt like for Teddy, to ask him to not play to his strengths would not be smart. He is going to move in the pocket. You saw PJ today had to move, had to run, had to make some plays outside the pocket and so it just didn’t seem like it was the right thing to do."

Making the decision on which quarterback to play

"We told the quarterbacks all week to just be prepared to play. That’s the life of a backup quarterback. There is no time for disappointment as a backup quarterback. Your number gets called, you have to grab your helmet and go so we have to prepare to be the starter and go out and play. My decision about Teddy [Bridgewater] is just exactly what I said to David [Newton]. He was cleared to play. He wanted to play. People thought maybe he was ready to play and I just felt like he would be at 70-80-85% and knowing the competitor that he is, I didn’t want to put him in harms way. I want to win games but at the same time if a player does everything they can to try and go out there and be healthy, I feel like it is my responsibility to protect them from themselves sometimes. Teddy did everything he could to go out there and be as healthy as he could to play so at the end of the day, I just couldn’t make that call to put him out there. So, I made the decision and was prepared to live with it no matter what happened."

DJ Moore’s and Brian Burns’ performances today

"DJ has been a deep ball threat the last couple of weeks. We were able to hand him the ball one time. Able to get him some intermediate catches. I think that’s just the way the game broke. I’m looking at this and its looking like Robby [Anderson] had seven, DJ had seven, and Curtis [Samuel] had eight. That’s as good at spreading it around as possible. We have three good receivers, and we have other guys we count on as well. The quarterback went to them and those guys made plays. Burns, you know we moved him around. We played him as a linebacker, we played him as a d-end. I think a lot of the blitz packages and the show stuff where we showed blitz and came out, finally got him some more one-on-ones that I thought he won. But at the same time, I thought there was elite coverage down the field. I say that because I know Brian will be the first to tell you that the guys covered really well so he had time to get to the sack. Also, we had a lead, so they had to throw themselves back into the game. Also, we were efficient on first down so all of those things lead to production in the sack game. The biggest thing to me is Brian, as many of our guys are, are growing in terms of understanding not only in what to do but also why we do it and they can adjust. I’m really happy for Brian."

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