We had a chance to talk to defensive end Kyle Love in the locker room after the Panthers 20-17 victory over their division rival Atlanta Falcons. While Love may not have had a huge impact on the stat sheet with only one tackle, his ability to eat up space and get push in the running game is a big reason why the defense has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in any game this season. Read the full transcript of the interview below.
Tell me your thoughts on the game today.
It’s a division game, it’s supposed to be a tough game and I think we went out there and answered, everything we need to do. Was it a perfect game? No game is ever perfect, but we’ve got to continue to work and get better every week and move on to the next game.
What was running through your head when you saw Julio open in the endzone on that fourth down play?
You get worried. You’ve got a guy like that, so talented, when he’s open, a guy like that’s going to catch the ball. You know he’s going to catch it, that’s why you’ve got to be on him. You know, when things in our favor, we capitalize on everything we can get and that’s what we’ve got to continue to do.”
Feels like the defensive line is so strong up front getting push, talk about how you’ve been playing as a unit.
“We just feed off each other. We try to support each other and just work off of each other. If a guy makes a mistake, you try to replace him, color and all that good stuff; just keep the rush going. Sometimes it’s not going to be perfect rushes, so we just try to push the pocket and make it hard on the quarterback so he can’t have room to step up and make plays. We did that for the most part tonight.”
Yeah, you definitely had good push on Ryan, with two different backs like Freeman and Coleman, how tough is it to defend?
“It’s hard, cause Freeman, he runs hard. To be able to contain a guy like him, that’s a plus for us. He’s going to get yards, it’s just kind of, like, Marshawn Lynch, you know he’s going to get yards so everybody’s got to be around and rally up and be in their gaps and be disciplined. That’s what we did tonight and we’ve got to continue to do that every week from now on.
It seems like every week there’s a big stop on 3rd-and-1, 4th-and-1, how nice is it to be able to rely on stops in short yardage?
“I mean, it’s good, we want to get the ball back for our offense as much as we can. So those 3rd-and-1 stops, 4th-and-1 stops, that’s big for us. The more that we can put the ball in the offense’s hands, the more it helps us as a team to put them in more scoring positions and all that good stuff. That’s just our plan for every week now.”
Kawann said that turnovers come in pairs or in bunches. Is that how it is? Do the turnovers just start running downhill?
“I think the turnovers and sacks, I feel like that goes to both. You see a guy get an interception, you see a guy get a sack, that makes you want to get an interception, that makes you want to get a sack. Like you said, they come in bunches, and when it does, we’ve got to be ready. We need guys to make plays.”
Ron was throwing a little shade at your sack dance last week.
“Yeah, yeah, he didn’t appreciate the old-school vibe. I had that in my mind, just bringing back some old-school.”
So that was on purpose, not just made up at the time?
“Nah, nah. I’ve got something special for every week. I had something special for today, but I wasn’t able to get there, so I’ll save it for national TV. For the Monday night game.”
How’s it feel getting this win in front of the home crowd?
“Anytime you can get to play in front of the home crowd, it’s big. Especially when you get a win. Road wins, you want to get them because every game counts, especially if it’s a divisional opponent. But next week we’ve got to do the same, come in and get another win.”
