LB Olivier Vernon
October 4, 2018
Q: You had a very good game and you can kind of see what the possibilities were with this defense. How excited are you to be able to put that to use?
A: I’m just excited for when I finally can get on the field and be able to contribute. That’s what I look forward to and everything else we just got to take it day-by-day.
Q: Do you get a different perspective when you’re watching from the sides, seeing the possibilities and potential is really out there?
A: Anybody can watch the game and say you could’ve made that play, but it’s not really what it is. You just see a lot of guys that are trying to make plays and a lot of young guys just out there getting the experience and they’re trying to make plays as well. All you could do is mentally prepare yourself to comeback and be able to contribute.
Q: This defense has seen enough of the zone read so far this year where it’s not something unfamiliar, but how different is it – I know this is potentially your first time on the field, but how different is it with Cam (Newton) running it?
A: He’s a big, physical quarterback. He can do a lot of things. He’s able to make plays with his feet. He’s been known for that so all we can do is do our assignment, play Giant football.
Q: How much did they do that more than most or all other teams, using him as like that runner even in the design stuff?
A: Yeah they’ve been using him like that since he’s been in the league. He’s capable of doing all types of stuff. His biggest thing that he can do is he’s going to make plays with his feet, make things happen out of nothing so that’s just our responsibility is just to contain him and make sure we’re doing what we have to do to stop the run and play the pass.
Q: How much does that change what you want to do as a pass rusher in terms of aggressiveness, in terms of not letting him maybe get outside of the pocket and run like he wants to?
A: You still got to be aggressive. You just got to be disciplined as far as knowing where everybody else is around you. That’s basically what it is when it comes down to it and you can’t really be hesitant when you get out there. You still got to get out there and rush because if you don’t then you still get hurt.
Q: I don’t see film on him as much as you do, but does it happen where a rusher comes in and all of a sudden you’re seeing him run by because he suckered you in?
A: A big part of his game he could do that a lot. He’s been doing that for years, but you just got to be disciplined when you go out there, knowing where your teammates are at to help each other out. That’s when it comes down to rushing as a unit.
Q: Coach said that Cam sometimes likes to challenge the defender even if the defender is in the right place like a read option. Is that something that you’ve seen and does that happen a lot when –
A: He’s capable of doing that because he knows he can make plays with his feet and he’s going to try to put you in that type of position. He’s just a special quarterback that has the capability to do a lot of things. All we can do is focus on playing our assignments and trying to get the job done right.
Q: You see other option-type quarterbacks do that once they see you in position say I’m just going keep the ball?
A: In today’s age, we got a lot of mobile quarterbacks. I don’t think there’s any mobile quarterbacks with Cam’s size and speed to do what he does, so he’s great at what he does.
Q: Did anybody ask you about your optimism to play this week?
A: Yeah just taking it day-by-day. That’s all I can do and look forward to Sunday, but only focused on today, Thursday.
Q: What do you need to show them? Is it cutting? Sprinting? What do you have to prove to them that you’re healthy and prove to yourself really?
A: Prove to myself is the number one priority, but then also showing them that I’m capable of making certain plays that you don’t want to be a liability out there. It’s just basically showing the coaches you’re capable of making the cuts when you have to or inside stunts and stuff like that.
