We had a chance to chat with defensive end Wes Horton ahead of the matchup with Atlanta. Horton, who has a sack and forced fumble this season, is part of a defensive line rotation that hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher and harassed Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston into three turnovers last weekend in Tampa. Check out the full transcript below.

With Atlanta coming up, do you feel as if you’ve developed a rivalry with these guys after seeing them twice a year for the past few years?

Oh, absolutely, since the time I got here, it’s been a big rivalry. I think it’s time for us to reclaim our dominance in the NFC South and it starts with Atlanta. The emphasis is huge this week, we want to get back on track and the focus is where it needs to be in practice, the preparation is where it needs to be, I think the coaching staff is very confident in us and I think as players we’re confident we’re going to get the job done.

When you get guys like Luke [Kuechly] and Kurt [Coleman] back in the huddle, how does the atmosphere change?

I mean, you saw it on tape against Tampa. Seeing those two guys fly around the field, it just makes it that much easier for other guys on the field to rally, get over to the ball; yeah, it gives you a little bit more confidence knowing you have two playmakers like those guys back on the field with us.

Kyle and Mario split a sack on Sunday in Tampa, when you split a sack with somebody, is there any chatter in the huddle or in the meetings?

Yeah, guys definitely talk about it, but at the end of the day, it comes down to what the stat sheet says and there’s not a whole lot you can do.

No appeal process?

I think there is, but with us being brothers, it’s just one of those things: It is what it is, we’re not trying to steal sacks from each other. Whatever goes down on the stat sheets, it is what it is.

What do you think the difference is between the defense this year and the defense last year? Four games without an offensive touchdown is such an achievement.

I just think everyone’s rallying behind Coach Wilks; he sets the tone every day and as players we want to respond to what challenge he’s putting in front of us. And we have the personnel to get the job done so I think we’re a team that’s built to win on defense and we truly believe that. Each and every week we go out there with that mindset that we’re going to get turnovers, we’re going to get three-and-outs and we’re going to score on defense.

With a lot of road trips in October, how does it feel to get back home for a couple of weeks before the bye?

It’ll be nice, it’ll be a good stretch for us to play in front of our crowd, it’s definitely a good advantage for us on third downs, getting the crowd into the game, getting after that quarterback on third down and stuff like that. The bye week will be crucial, going eleven straight weeks, or ten weeks, is tough on your body, so to get that break and to come back with that mindset of ‘one last stretch’ towards the end of the season, that’s going to help us tremendously.

Do you have a preferred bye placement?

I would say smack in the middle of the season, right about right now. Week 8, Week 9, that’s usually a good time. You just go into a Wednesday practice a little bit more sore than you did in Week 2 or Week 3, where you kind of have the adrenaline at the beginning of the season, but we’re all professionals, we all handle it the right way regardless of how sore we are, we’ve got to come in and put the work in.

When you see that bye in Week 11 on the schedule, do you have a goal in your head for your record when you get there?

It’s week-by-week. You’ve just to take each team, whoever the next team in front of you, that’s who you’ve got to take out, you can’t look too far ahead of you, and look at other teams in the division, see how they’re doing, I mean you can take a peek at it, but you’ve got to handle and prepare for what’s right in front of you.

Division is kind of clustered right now, everyone’s in the mix for it.

Yeah, absolutely, but a lot of games left so a lot can happen. We’re not too worried about it, we’re just worried about Atlanta, that’s it.

 

 

 

 

Josh Klein on Twitter
Josh Klein
Editor-In-Chief at The Riot Report
Josh Klein is Editor-In-Chief of The Riot Report. His favorite Panther of all time is Chad Cota and he once AIM chatted with Kevin Greene. Follow Josh on Twitter @joshkleinrules.