Locker room roundup: Dorsett, Hill and McCourty talk about their eventful outings vs. Carolina

CHARLOTTE — Emptying the notebook with thoughts from Phillip Dorsett on his big night, Jeremy Hill on his injury, and Jason McCourty on his position switch:

--DORSETT had four catches on four targets in the loss, including a timely fourth-down reception.


"My goal every night is, honestly, to go out there, have no (mental errors) and just catching the ball when it comes to me. I feel like that’s a plus."

Good to get some long drives? "I know in the regular season, we’re going to be out there with long drives. That’s what we do. Some teams aren’t going to give you the deep ball, so you’re going to have to dink and dunk down the field. Just building that stamina, being on the field for every play, that’s one thing I try to focus on."

On the fourth-down reception: "You know it’s coming -- you just have to make the play. (Tom Brady) trusted me, and we made the play. I knew it was coming; (the cornerback) was playing off, gave me a hitch, ran the hitch and we converted. It’s a big thing, and I feel like we just have to keep going. I’m growing every day here. I think I can keep going."

Contested catch: "I actually think that was a good ball. It was in front of me … that was a good ball. Something happened on the play that wasn’t supposed to happen and I just kept going. I saw him look at me, he threw and I just tried to make a play on the ball. … The receiver was hot and it messed up my route. It was wacky, but I made the play. I still ran my route, but it was just different. … Just having that confidence, I feel like we can keep going. It was a preseason game, but at the end of the day, we just try to get better every day."

"I’ve always had a lot of confidence in myself."

--HILL suffered an ankle injury late in the game, but was seen jogging on the sideline afterward. Regardless of the fact the New England running game struggled at times Friday, he now appears to be a lock to make the squad.


You OK? "I’m good, I’m fine. I just got rolled up a little bit. That’s just football. I’m just blessed it wasn’t anything serious. I just got rolled up on. Just a little discomfort but I’m fine. I finished the game, so I’m good."

Feel like you're stacking success? "Obviously (Friday), the run game could have been a lot better. We’ve got to keep working -- we’re not where we want to be."

--MCCOURTY, a career cornerback, popped up at safety roughly midway through the game. It could help give him some separation in the race for a roster spot.


"It's definitely a cool opportunity to have a guy like (Devin McCourty), a guy like (Patrick) Chung, Duron (Harmon). who have been doing it for a while in this defense, to be able to ask them questions and different things of that nature. I'm still trying to learn that position (while) still playing corner and doing both of them, and just trying to excel at them for the team."

When did you learn you’d be playing some safety? "We had talked about it in the course of the week."

When was the last time you played it? "Never. I practiced it before in college but I never played it in a game. … It’s totally different angles, more communication, more awareness. Corner is just physical. You’ve just got to guard the man across from you. Safety, you don’t have to as much defending one-on-one, but you have to watch the entire field and make sure guys are getting lined up right. Things of that nature."

Did you know this was possible when you came here? "No. That’s the thing about a plan -- you just have to adjust on the fly and do what’s asked."

Encouraging for you that they’ll try you at different spots? "For me it is. Last year when I got to Cleveland, we had talked about it, but never had the opportunity. So for me it’s exciting to just have that vantage point and see the differences. Just over time, over the years, you pick up a lot of football. So it’s kind of a new challenge for me to see, ‘Can I do this? Can I excel at it?’ It’s been fun for me so far."

New to you -- directing traffic? "Something like that comes natural to me. Even at corner, I try to help as many guys as possible. You’re not directing traffic, but you’re always talking to the safety saying, ‘What do you think we should do here? Should we do this or that?’ You anticipate what the calls are going to be and I’ve always challenged myself to try to learn every position in the secondary. Now having to play it is a different story. (It's) a totally new challenge in itself. … You need reps and experience at it."