Opening Statement: “I’ll start with this, congratulations to (Detroit Tigers First Baseman Miguel) Cabrera, 500 (home runs), that’s pretty damn impressive. That’s an understatement. That’s awesome, congratulations. Today’s practice will be – it’s really not a practice, it’s more of a 1-on-1 is what we’re going to do. We’re going to do a walkthrough and then, these guys that did not play in the game or real low-rep guys from the game, we’re going to take them out and do 1-on-1 routes, 1-on-1 protections, things of that nature. It will be clean, crisp, fast. We had a number of guys who took a lot of reps and we have injuries, and so it’s just the smart thing to do. So, that’s what it will look like today.” On CB A.J. Parker’s progression throughout training camp: “Let’s not forget he’s a rookie. He’s a rookie, but he’s somebody that I know we were all pretty excited about in the spring. He was kind of one of these sleeper free-agents that we got. One of the first things we did when they came in was we let all of them run routes, even the defensive guys. He was one of them we put over there, ‘Let’s just let him run slants. Let’s let him run with the receivers,’ and it was on air. He was one of the first ones that showed up like, ‘Wow. He’s just kind of a natural athlete.’ He gets it. He’s played receiver before. We knew he was an athlete and what you see is he’s very aware, he’s very smart, he’s very un-rookielike mentally. He’s on top of it and he’s a player that really – especially after (Saturday) night, to go against the group that he went against and to watch his physicality, he’s not a huge guy, but he mixed it up. He was on it, just mentally where he is supposed to be, when he’s supposed to be there and he’s a trustworthy player right now. That’s what showed up. That’s what excites you.” On the origin of having defensive players go through offensive drills: “That was just something that – (Saints Head Coach) Sean (Payton), we would always do that with young players. This is when we had all of those rookies there. When you’re trying to get a feel of what kind of athletes you have – of course, he’s a defensive back, but maybe you cross-train the kid, or maybe if you get into camp, you realize he’s not going to make it or you don’t think he’s going to make it, but you like the skillset, why not move him to receiver? You’re just kind of looking to see if somebody naturally has another talent, another gift. It’s no different than what we did with Godwin (Igwebuike). Godwin was a safety and (Offensive Coordinator Anthony Lynn) A-Lynn spotted that. We were doing that box drill in the spring, special teams box drill, squeezing down, trying to tackle or two-hand touch because you can’t tackle in the spring, but we let him run the ball. You watch him run the ball and you’re like, ‘Whoa.’ So, we do that and the kid is improving as a halfback and he’s doing some good stuff on special teams.” On what he saw from LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin in Saturday’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers: “He’s a steady player is what he is. He’s going to set the table for us. He’s smart, he had the green dot while he was in there. There were a couple of things that popped up with him, but it did with all of those guys as well. I think we know – he’s another guy that you know exactly what he is. He’s going to give you a good day’s work. He’s a workhorse and he’s a damn good special teams player. That’s what he is, he’s reliable.” On if he will keep three quarterbacks on the active roster for the regular season: “There again, we’re going to have some decisions to make over the next week. I have no problem keeping three, I’d start with that, if there are three that are worthy of keeping. Right now, I would say that (Tim) Boyle and (David) Blough both, the more reps they get, the better they’re going to be for it. If you feel like you have three that you can trust, then it is hard to let go one of those guys, it really is. So, I have no problem keeping three. It has been on my mind, our mind, and we’ll see where this goes.” On what more he needs to see from WR Tom Kennedy for him to make the active roster: “Do you like Tom? Do you like him a lot? I like Tom. We’ll see where this goes. He’s still competing, but I’ll tell you what, what you see is what it is. He just makes plays. I feel like – I’m going to beat this into the ground, but we’re getting to the point now where it’s like, you want to find guys that you trust. Ultimately, we can wrap it into this bow, this package of, ‘He does this well, blah blah blah.’ But ultimately, from where I sit and my coordinators and coaches, you want guys you can trust. We trust Tom Kennedy right now. He’s another guy that does what he’s supposed to do, when he’s supposed to do it. He knows where to go, he can play all three spots, and he makes plays. When we need a play, he makes plays and he has just shown up. Once again, it’s hard to ignore it, it just is.” On if WR Tom Kennedy needs to play special teams to make the active roster: “It would certainly, certainly help and we were actually just talking about him yesterday, ‘Is there another spot that we can get a look at him besides returner or some other things? Let’s see what we can do with him.’ That is where he would be just a tick limited, not for lack of effort or anything in that regard, but, ‘What do we do with him? Where do we put him where he can be an asset for us or at least help us in special teams?’ That’s something were going to hone in on this week.” On if WR Tom Kennedy will play on special teams for Friday’s preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts: “That would be the idea, yes.” On WR Breshad Perriman’s chances of making the final roster: “I think you’re onto something because I think it’s hard to say right now. There just hasn’t been enough out there. He had the hip injury and then he comes back. He was solid the other night for the plays that he had, but yet he had an OPI, which he knows better than. He didn’t need to do that. His speed and the route is enough to where he would win on that. I think he’ll be better coming off of this hip. He kind of got a game under him, but I think that room right now is still up for grabs. I think there is a heavy competition going on in that room right now.” On if there were any players that impressed him who played limited reps in Saturday’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers: “There were a number of guys we certainly want to get more reps like Evan Heim and (Darrin) Paulo on the O-line. We didn’t really get a good chance to – we didn’t get any reps for them last game and it was just kind of the way it worked out in the rotation. Certainly, we want to get a real good look at them this week. We would like to see a little more (Craig) Reynolds and even Reynolds on special teams, the halfback, see where he’s at there. Most of the defensive guys have gotten a ton of reps just because where we have been at injury-wise or the guys that have sat. We have a pretty good feel of those guys for the most part I would say. I think that’s kind of the group there.” On T Penei Sewell’s performance in Saturday’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers: “Good question. I think the more that he gets, the better it is for him. I think that – I bring this up, he got beat a few times, but yet, I’m not discouraged and neither should he be. The important thing is that he learns from that. Every time he gets a fastball from a dang good rusher like Melvin Ingram – when Melvin wants to turn it up, which he did, he can still bring it. He can throw the fastballs. Those are so beneficial for Sewell to see and learn from and adjust. I’m encouraged. There were some things that came up, but he’ll only be better for those. I know you guys probably get tired of me saying it, but it just is. For him and even (Alim) McNeill to get different looks against different players, it’s good for those guys. I think he needs more reps because I know it will benefit him.” On if DE Michael Brockers is progressing and if he will be ready for the Week 1 game against the San Francisco 49ers: “Certainly, that’s the hope. I think we feel like he’ll be ready Week 1. He is still improving, he is. It’s just at a snail’s pace right now. The fear is that if you put him in too early right now, do we take away everything that we’ve gotten, the gains that we have gotten by holding him? I think that’s the tough trick right now. I know this, if you said we had to play right now, he would go play. But yet, if we thought we could get him to that almost 100 percent range by holding him a little bit more, is it worth it? Well, knowing that we have a long season and he’s played a lot of football, I just tend to be a little more conservative with him, that’s all.” |
