Cajun Up w/Jake (Panthers.com)
 

Cajun up w/Jake: New Year's Resolution

December 27, 2006

Panthers.com




On practicing again: It felt good. I did use some gloves. I was pleasantly surprised. I’m not a glove type of guy, but I asked (equipment manager) Jackie (Miles) to find out what a couple of quarterbacks wear around the League. I used a pair today and it helps with gripping.


On why he considered wearing a glove: You don’t see young quarterbacks wearing gloves. You see the older veterans who have been through it. If they’re going to wear them, you look at that and think, “Hmm, this might work."


On if he was able to make all the throws at practice: From what I tried today I was happy with. We’ll see. It’s still day-to-day. I haven’t done that much work with it. So who knows how I’m going to feel tonight or tomorrow? Hopefully, not too much.


On the healing progress in his thumb: It’s getting there. I know I keep saying that, but it’s a slow deal. That’s the most frustrating thing, because you want it to come back more quickly. But it’s coming, slowly but surely.


On if it was a relief to finally be back practicing: Absolutely. Each week has been pretty tough. To get out there and actually do something was fun. I enjoyed it.


On if the win at Atlanta gave the team a new outlook: That’s any time you come off a win. We had lost four in a row. When you play against a division rival and you win like that, it’s nice. But we don’t control our own destiny, and that’s nobody’s fault but our own. We’d love to be able to somehow slide in. We have to worry about what we do, though. We’ll know Saturday night if there is more of a chance, I guess you could say. But we don’t control that.


On what incentive the Saints might have to beat the Panthers: It’s a division game, for one. It’s easy to get up for any game. New Orleans is a team that has no pressure on them this week. Who’s to say they’re going to play (the starters) a whole bunch? Who’s to say they won’t play the whole game? They can’t enhance their seed any more, so we don’t know. But this is a good football team. There’s no doubt. They were good when we played them here. We were able to play one of our better games against them. We’ll need another performance like that.


On if he would be trying to play this week if there wasn’t a chance to make the playoffs: I would. Absolutely. That’s not even a question. Things happen for a reason. That’s how I look at it. Hopefully, this is a blessing in disguise. I don’t know what that blessing could be, but we’ll know later on down the line. You have to learn from everything, and maybe by sitting and watching and taking everything in I have.


On the play of the offensive line against Atlanta: We knew going into the game we were going to try to run the ball. We did that. The coaches did a good job of coming up with a nice game plan. But I’ll be honest with you, they were the same plays we have run ever since I’ve been here, apart from putting DeAngelo (Williams) in the shotgun.


On how Williams looked at quarterback: I’ll challenge him to a throwing contest, but not a running contest. He swears he can throw, though.


On if he’s worried Williams might be after his job: Trust me, if we can run the ball 50-something times the way we did last week and come out with the win, I promise you I’ll be the one with the biggest smile on my face in the locker room after the game.


On how important it is to him to be out there with something on the line: Hopefully, I can get back out there and play well for the team. This season has gone up and down. If I can get out there and do some good things, that would be great.


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