COACH DICK JAURON
PM Practice- 8/14/07
On John McCargo and Melvin Fowler's injuries…
They're both ankles. They're both fine. As you saw, they kind of limped off the field, and we'll check them out further. As of right now, we very optimistic about both of them.
On Langston Walker's injury…
Langston had an elbow- a little elbow tendonitis they're calling it. We decided it was better to give him this afternoon off then move forward. Worried, but not overly worried about all of them. Hopefully they'll heal fast.
On Jason Whittle getting more snaps at the right guard position…
I wouldn't say that [Jason has moved ahead in the competition]. Just rotating guys to get them reps at the positions they play. They are both guards and centers.
On the defense's out-performance of the offense…
You're always concerned. I think fortunately in this position, and I say fortunately because I love this position, you're always worried about something. If the offense looks good, you're worried about the defense. If the defense looks good, you're worried about the offense. We get worried.
On Jabari Greer…
He probably hasn't moved on the charts, but it's very positive. There's no doubt about it. I think we talked about it last night too with Jabari [Greer]. We're happy with everybody else. But whenever a guy makes that many plays, you always take notice of it, and we'll continue on through preseason and see where it goes. We're really happy with him. And we've been happy with him. It's not a new deal. He's been very productive on [special] teams for us, and he's very fast. He's a very fast, quick athlete, and if he keeps making plays- you don't keep playmakers off the field.
On consistency…
I'd say it's true of everybody. Consistency is a huge part of our game. You have to start fast and play well all of the time. We're really happy.
On Marshawn Lynch not getting many snaps at New Orleans…
We expect him to get more reps. Anthony [Thomas] and he were going to share the first quarter. He got about 7 or 8 plays. And when we got to the second quarter, the coaches are always going to say, "Should we leave him in longer?" And I'll say, "No. Let's stay right with our plan." This is our first preseason game. We have a lot of people to see. We feel good about him. He has to get a lot more touches as we move along. But we need a lot of other questions answered too. It's not just Marshawn [Lynch], and we'd all like to see him touch the ball a lot. And I believe we will see him.
On Fred Jackson…
A year ago, we got him from NFL Europe. He came from a long football season, and he was impressive. He was an impressive athlete. We kept him on our practice squad, so we saw him everyday. And everyday, he looked good to us. It wasn't like we didn't talk about it or didn't notice him. We were really happy to have him on the practice squad. In the spring, we talked a lot about him and how we were anxious to get him in the preseason and see really what we could do. So far, I wouldn't say it was a surprise, because I was very optimistic about his skills, and now we'll see if he can continue it.
On Paul Posluszny exceeded expectations in the first preseason game…
I wouldn't say he didn't exceed our expectations in our first exhibition game. He's a real good player and real solid football mentality. He prepares well. It's very important to him, and I expect him to just get better. Is he closer? I don't think John DiGiorgio is going to make it easy for him. John was no slouch out there on Friday night. He made a number of plays himself and has had a really good camp. So, it puts us in a really good position.
On coaching JP Losman…
There's not a lot of forget-about-its until after you've made all the corrections. So, no he's not coddled. So, he gets his wish.
On his concerns about how the team played on Friday…
You'd like to play the perfect game every week. You'd like to shut down everybody, and you'd like to move the ball consistently and score. And that's where we are, so when it doesn't happen, you're not pleased. On the other hand, you like blocking field goals, and you like when the number one offense in the NFL puts up three points. So anytime you can keep them out the endzone and points off the scoreboard, you've got a chance to win. It's a preseason game. It's important to us, and we played hard. We need to get a lot better, and we know that. And they're awfully good.
