Head Coach Chan Gailey PM Practice – Tuesday, August 7, 2012
On the last practice before the first preseason game:Yea, and I thought after practice that mentally, we were sort of into it. I did not think, it is the first time in quite a while that we have not been in pads, and I thought guys thought it was a glorified walk-through. We have to make sure we learn how to practice without pads on, so we have to up the tempo on that a little bit. But we got 15 or 20 plays against Washington looks, but the rest of practice was against each other. But the rest of the practice was against each other.
On practicing without pads:
Yes it was. You could tell a day off. I think the mindset of getting to the game without pads on today. It took a turn and we have to learn to handle that.
On guys going after each other in practice without pads on:
Yes. It happens. Everybody is competitive. This is an edge sport. You have to be a little on edge to play it. It happens from time to time and you just can not let it get out of control.On LB Arthur Moats having the potential to start at OLB:
Arthur has played, it started in OTA's and he has continued on to play very well in training camp. He has done a good job and it is nothing against what Kirk (Morrison) has done. It is just that Arthur has earned the right to get some reps up there. It will be a good battle that I did not perceive happening but it has become a good battle. On LB Bryan Scott:Bryan is a very versatile player. He has played safety, played linebacker and we have him playing linebacker this year. He is an excellent cover guy for a linebacker. He has really come on learning how to play the run at the nickel position in the last year and a half. He is a big player for us and we all know what kind of a great special teams player he is.
On Moats being a versatile player:
Well I think that is part of it. You look at it like it is you moving around the country when you are involved in a different company that moves you around a lot. The disadvantage is you do not ever make any great friends; the advantage is you learn how to handle all different types of situations. Maybe Moats has learned so much football moving all over the place that he really understands the game and how this position fits for him. I think he has taken advantage of playing a lot of different things and knowing the pass rush, knowing drops and knowing all he has had to do. He is using it to his advantage right now.
On RT Erik Pears being injured and how it has affected the RT position:
It is one of those where you hate that it has happened the way it has happened because we have had to move Chris (Hairston) over to get some reps at right. If Erik Pears cannot go, we have to find out who is the best right tackle. We have been trying to play the game back and forth and it is not exactly fair to Chris but he is a good football player and can adapt and we will see how this works out. I think we will get Erik Pears back next week and we can go back to the normal rotation that we have had and we have some time. We do not have to make that decision right now and I have to talk to Joe (D'Alessandris) about how we are going to handle that Thursday night.
On deciding who is best for the RT position:
Well you always want to get it done sooner than later, but you also want to get the best guy. So, that takes some time. If it was all easy and worked on a schedule I would tell you exactly when things were going to happen, but you do not know, so you let it play out. I cannot make that happen right now.
On DL Torell Troup:
Troup did more yesterday than he has done and he is working through it. He is not anywhere near 100 percent. He is working through it and we are going to see what it looks like but I doubt it for Thursday night. I do not think he is going to make it for Thursday night.
On Troup's situation with being injured:
He is in a tough situation because he has not played enough to be an established player so he is still trying to work his way into the depth charts. It is a tough situation for him and for us because we know the potential that is there.
On the quarterbacks:
They have done some good things. We still have some work to do with the second offensive line but I think we have done some good things, better things, some good, but better as a whole at the quarterback position. I like where we are at some other positions with the two's. We just have to keep working with our second offensive line and get them to play well.
On QBs Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen and if they will they get some more reps:
Well they are going to play most of the game Thursday night so, yes, we want to get them a few more reps, especially against some of the looks that they will probably be getting in the ball game.
I think at the end, if we had the opportunity, I would like to give him a two-minute if we can just so he can practice it. This is the first two-minute he has been able to get in practice. I would like to get him a two-minute in the game at the end if I possibly could. That would be the goal.
Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Dave Wannstedt
AM Walk-Thru – Tuesday, August 7, 2012
On if he likes what he is seeing at practice:
We pretty much have all of the install in as far as situations and stuff. The attitude has been good. I think what you are looking for in training camp; a consistent, high intensity, practice after practice after practice… We have kind of set a standard and I think we are starting to see a little bit of leadership in addition to that.
On how he quantifies the transition going from a team that has had a 3-4 defense for several years:
Personnel is the key. As far as on the board, drawing up the X's and O's, it is probably a little bit overrated… The big thing is having the personnel to execute either defense... It will be successful if we can get some of the right people. And that was the whole thought process behind, obviously with Mario and Mark Anderson, adding those guys in because it is a defensive-line friendly scheme. We need Kyle and we need Marcell to make plays just as much as we need Mario.
On DE Mario Williams' transition:
He has been in the 3-4 scheme so as far as schematic it's very smooth, no problem. The great thing about him is, I believe that he is going to be as big of an asset, when we look back on this, versus the run as he is versus the pass. Everybody would like to think, defensive ends, pass rushers, sacks. Well, the other side of the coin is you have to stop the run first. With his physical play, he uses his hands well.
On if there depth at linebacker is due to this switch:
Well we have two starting linebackers right now. In my mind, we have Sheppard and Nick Barnett. At the strong side position we have Arthur Moats and Kirk Morrison are in a battle. To be quite honest with you, Arthur probably gets the nudge a little bit. They are going to split time Thursday in the game.
Beyond that, the rookie Nigel, the kid from Florida State has a lot of ability. Chris White has done a nice job. The one guy who has had a great camp and is a heck of a football player is Bryan Scott… You know (LB) Nick Barnett played the middle in this scheme and (LB Kelvin Sheppard) Shep can play the SAM. They are kind of all interchangeable.
On what LB Arthur Moats has done to be with the first team:
He has made very few mistakes and he is playing fast. He really is. It was a little bit of a disservice to him last year… He got hurt in that Denver game and then he missed the rest of camp… he did not have a real opportunity to go through everything, as did Bryan Scott, different position, but to give him the best chance to be successful.
On being back to calling defenses on game days:
I will be in the Press Box. That is where I was all the years at the University of Miami, Oklahoma State, Dallas - I mean every place… So I am kind of excited about it… It will be good. We have great assistant coaches, so we have a nice little formula set on how we will communicate and get the information back and forth. And it will work smooth. There is no question.
On how eager he is to see this defensive front seven on the field against an opponent:
I am excited. The guy we are going to be trying to tackle, that makes me nervous… They are more two tight ends, two backs, nakeds, boots – all that stuff. We are going to play fast… Our guys will give great effort. We are just going to play our scheme… Our athleticism will be tested. There is no question.
On the youth movement at the CB position:
Aaron (Williams) has had a good camp. Let me start that way. He has been probably a little more up and down at times. Not bad. But we need him to be more consistent. Stephon (Gilmore) has been everything you would ask for in a rookie from day one. He continues to get better. Both those guys are big corners and some of the things we are trying to do schematically on defense, from a corner position, ties in with what we do up front.
On DE Mark Anderson:
Anderson looks good and I will tell you who has had as good a camp as any of them is (DE) Chris Kelsay. Chris Kelsay has had a great camp. And the guys that no one talks about – (DE) Spencer Johnson and (DT) Dwan Edwards – all of a sudden these guys are making plays. All those guys. (DE) Shawne Merriman has had a good camp. So we have some decisions to make in a good way at that defensive line that I think a year ago at this time nobody would ever have suspected. The depth was not a factor and now it is.
DE Mario Williams
PM Session – Tuesday, August 7, 2012
on Washington rookie QB Robert Griffin III's joking comments about not wanting to get hit in the preseason:
We have talked before a little bit this summer. I told him I was coming for him, so he knows I will be looking for him (jokingly). But it is all fun. And it is the preseason so it is actually better for him to get hit earlier than later, you know so it is not a shock. It is just the preseason so I am pretty sure he is going to be running and gunning. He is going to be excited. His team is going to be excited just as we are. I think it will be a good little match-up.
On how excited he is to get a feel for what this defensive line can do in a game setting:
Preseason is one of those things where you go out there, and like I said, you finally get real hits. They do not count as far as going toward the record or stats and things like that. But you get your all moving around, basically. It is kind of like going out there and driving a car and breaking it in. That is kind of what we want to do is to go out there and move around against other people, see what is going on and see how we play off one another.
On this being his first game in Ralph Wilson Stadium:
I am thinking this is the preseason, but this might actually be a lot more exciting as far as it being the first time going out there and seeing the field, being in that environment and just seeing the fans' reaction. So it is almost like me being a rookie all over again and I kind of have to make sure I do not get too excited and too tired.
On if there is more excitement for him to get out there since it has been so long:
It is the fact that I did not get to play for a while and now I get to go out there and see the fans in completely different scenery. And it is a different scenario, back to a 4-3 defensive end. So that is the thing, I have to make sure I do not get too excited and get tired.
On how he would describe his game:
All out. I think not just for myself but for everyone on our d-line, it is just all out. It is just effort and just being aggressive. That sums up about everything that could possibly happen. If we are going all out full speed then good things are going to happen.
On how he knows Griffin III:
We have the same agent, so I met him through that.
On Griffin's abilities:
He is obviously a game-changer. He is somebody that can throw the ball well, and obviously he can run. So whenever you got those two things running against you it is difficult. But we all have to be on our P's and Q's. We all have to focus in and pay attention to what is going on. Up front we have to really get after it but not lose lane integrity. It makes it a little more challenging when you have situations like that. But he is obviously going to be the heart and soul for that team.
RB Fred Jackson
PM Practice – Tuesday, August 7, 2012
On what he is looking forward to in the first preseason game:
Contact. I did not have that contact since the last time I got it, it was in November. So I am looking forward to going out there in that first play and taking some contact and getting back into it.
On if it teaches him anything from there is little contact in training camp these days:
It does. We do not hit a lot during training camp like we used to in the old days. So, to go out there and get the first initial contact and be live and be tackled, and things like that, it is the next step in the process.
On how to fix and control the turnovers from the last couple days of practice:
It is part of the process. We do work. We came out here today and we worked a little bit different than we did yesterday. Tomorrow we will come out and do another walk-through and walk through some more of the Washington stuff and kind of prepare that way. It is just a transition and the coaches are doing a good job of getting us ready.* *
On what is a successful night from the offense considering the amount of reps he will get: Just to know all of our assignments I think. We want to go out and score touchdowns obviously but if we go out there, move the ball well, stay on the field and convert third downs and things like that, it will be very successful for us.
On if it is nerve-wracking to take a first hit after being injured:
Not at all. I am looking forward to it. This is what we do. As a running back you have to like some kind of contact or you are playing the wrong position.
