We were able to have a quick chat after practice Monday with linebacker David Mayo, who filled in admirably for Luke Kuechly earlier in the season when the Pro Bowler missed just over six quarters with a concussion, but now makes a big impact each week on special teams. The third-year player out of Texas State shared his thoughts on the upcoming New York Jets game, his Blazers fandom, and the confidence in the Panthers locker room heading into their final stretch of games.
So, DM, as you’re known in the locker room, how was the bye week? Did you do anything exciting?
Stayed here in Charlotte, relaxed. I went to the Hornets-Clippers game on Saturday, so that was fun and had a lot of time to chill out and relax.
Are you a Hornets fan?
Not necessarily, I root for them, but I’m a Blazers fan, actually.
How do the Blazers look this season?
Well, I guess I’m not a diehard fan because I haven’t even seen a game yet this season.
Yeah, well, when you’ve seen one Dame Lillard game, you’ve seen them all. What’s the vibe in the locker room, with this team being 7-3 coming off the bye, heading into this last stretch?
I think we’re feeling really good; we had a good weekend to recover and get our minds back ready for this stretch we’re about to go on, and I think everyone is really feeling good about where we’re at. But right now, I think we’re just focused in on the Jets.
What are you seeing from the Jets on tape?
They’ve got some great players and they do some great things, but I’ll know more later in the week as we continue to watch tape, but I know they have some guys that have been playing really well; they’ve got some great athletes on the team.
From a special teams perspective, do you feel like you guys are this close to breaking a big play and how do you get over that hump?
Yeah, I think we definitely are. We are, we’re almost there. It’s one block away here, one block there; we’ve just got to keep working on it, those plays I think will come and we’re going to keep getting better each week and that’s our goal in the special teams room, just keep working and improving every week so that the time the end of the season comes, we’re at our peak.
Is there a difference blocking for Fozzy vs. Curtis vs. whoever is back there returning kicks?
No, it’s the same recipe. All those guys are extremely talented, fast, physical runners; so, for us, our technique stays the same, our scheme is the same, and we treat each week the same regardless of who’s back there.
Who will be back there if Fozzy can’t go? Will it be Christian?
I don’t know what they’re going to do this week, so we’ll see.
Ben Jacobs, Mayo’s neighbor in the locker room, pipes in: Nice try, though! I like that!
Even though Mayo wouldn’t fill us in on who might be returning kicks for the Panthers on Sunday, Ron Rivera said that the team had options if Fozzy Whittaker isn’t able to suit up: Russell Shepard, Christian McCaffrey, Captain Munnerlyn, and Kaelin Clay all were mentioned.
