Q: Did you like practicing this week more than last week?

DAMON HUARD: “Yeah. You know it’s always better after a win, certainly. Practice has been good, getting ready for the Carolina Panthers, a very good football team, very good on defense, very physical. They’ll present a lot of challenges for us.”

Q: Can you talk about the Carolina defense?

HUARD: “They’re an outstanding defense. Like I said, they’re very big and physical. They’re a zone blitz team, they bring lots of pressure, different looks, different coverages. They have two outstanding corners on the outside, veteran guys. A couple of real fast linebackers, guys that can run and cover the field. And then up front they’re really big and obviously (DE) Julius (Peppers) coming off the end. They present a lot of challenges for us, and it’ll be a great challenge for us this weekend.”

Q: What does consistency mean to you and the offense?

HUARD: “Well, we need to protect the football, be smart with the football. Turnovers are never good in this league, especially on the road. Statistics and percentages will show you that you don’t win many games when you turn it over on the road. Certainly we had the balance last week. When the Chiefs are at their best, that’s what we have. We were able to run the ball and mix it up with play-action pass, keep ourselves in third-and-minimal distance. We usually had success and moved the football. Those are some of the things we need to do to win.”

Q: Does knowing you’re the starter help things level off?

HUARD: “I just take it one week at a time. I just worry about today, tomorrow, Sunday, this game, this week. That’s really all you can do is focus on the Panthers. This is it, we’re right now, right here, today. Just go win a football game.”

Q: If you win, do you think you’ll be the starter after the bye?

HUARD: “I’m not going to worry about could haves, should haves, would haves, what’s going to happen tomorrow. Let’s just focus on this week’s game, this game, the Panthers, and let coach handle those sorts of things. I know that I’m the guy this week and I’m just going to go out there and try to help this team win a football game. We’ll just leave it at that.”

Q: How did T Herb Taylor do last week and what do you expect out of him this week?

HUARD: “Herb did a great job. He played most of the preseason with the starting offensive line. He went in there and we didn’t miss a beat. He did a great job in pass protection and run blocking. He’s a guy in his second year now, and he stepped up. We all have confidence in him and know that he’ll go out there and do a great job for us on Sunday.”

Q: How does a win affect your week off?

HUARD: “It’d be great, no question. Certainly to come back with a big win and back-to-back wins, you know you always feel good about yourself. It’s never fun when you lose. Especially if we lose you dig yourself in a bigger hole than you’re already in. So this game is really, really important to us, there’s no question, and it certainly could help propel the rest of the season.”

Q: Does it seem fair that if you win maybe you should get a shot to keep playing?

HUARD: “Again, it’s a question that involves something in the future that I can’t really answer. I’d love to create controversy and all that stuff. I know that’s fun for you guys, but that’s really not what we’re all about here. We just want to win a football game this weekend and worrying about something else down the road really doesn’t do any good.”