(On if going against divisional opponent helps when starting rookie QB Jake Luton for the first time this weekend) “I would say probably but this will be his first time going out there so that’s what’s a little bit different. You just don’t know how they’re looking at it. I mean there’s not a lot of tape on Jake [Luton]. They can maybe try to light him up and get after him and get to him early. They may to try force him to throw the football, see if he can beat them with that. There’s a lot of things that probably going into it but you can go ahead and you can prepare yourself for all these different scenarios, but you’re really not going to know until you get out there on game day as far as [that goes]. You get a couple series in to see basically the attack plan, whether it be Houston or whether Houston’s looking at us that way too. It can tend to limit you a little bit because you don’t want to put too much on someone’s plate early, which goes against my quote earlier in the week. But Jake’s been a guy, I know you guys are going to talk to him today, he doesn’t act like a rookie, meaning he’s not a starry-eyed guy. [He] just kind of came in and went to work, sixth round draft pick, just working hard, and really went about things professionally and because of where we were and training camp, his reps were limited. I wouldn’t say they were over the top, but they were good. He was doing what we asked. Monday [he] came out and he did a good job. The hardest thing I think for all of us, especially that position, is how is that player going to be when really the bullets are flying because it’s a unique position, especially now this year without the preseason games where you can kind of see him in the preseason games where things are going fast and you have a lot of bodies flying around you. Some guys are calm, you’ve seen them in the league, they’ve been successful, they’re calm, they step up, they can deliver the football, they keep their eyes down the field. Some guys get hit and they get rattled, I mean we’ve all seen that. So, that’s really what the unknown is.” (On what makes him confident in QB Jake Luton) “Well I think the one thing is you look early on of picking up the system. Systems now are probably quite different than most college programs on play calls and things of that nature and there’s verbiage, there’s a lot on that plate for those quarterbacks. I guess the first thing I would say I was impressed with, outside of whatever physical ability that we all can see from his college film, is his ability to pick it up, his intellect. That’s the first thing you need. You have to be able to communicate well, go in there, call the play, and then get out there and execute. He’s a big guy, he can move, he can see well, and he has a good arm. I might be like most of you guys, I mean you get a lot of questions, but I feel good about putting him in there. I feel good about his potential. I just don’t know how he’s going to be in a game.” (On if they will try to throw down the field more with QB Jake Luton’s arm strength) “Yeah, I mean we’ve tried to do that with every quarterback that we’ve had or that I’ve had, but he can throw it. I think the way it operates and the way someone goes through progressions or reads or ball location, there’s so much that goes into it. But like I always say, the most important thing at that position is you have to be able to throw the football.” (On the pressure on the receivers when playing a new quarterback) “Well, the one good thing is that throughout all our practices and camp, we have routes versus air, so Jake [Luton]’s throwing to them quite a bit even though he’s not taking the live reps against coverage, things of that nature. I think there’s something there where you want to get used to someone, what they like to do, but more importantly, if the route calls for you to be a certain spot and that quarterback’s throwing it to that spot, then it’s on both players to be able to get to that spot and throw it to that spot. I think somethings when you see deep balls and guys that are running and the touch of the quarterbacks, you have to kind of get a feel for the speed of those guys as they go. So, that’s how I see it. I think normally, unfortunately I’ve been through this quite a bit, what you see is when you have a quarterback coming in, especially a young quarterback, you see everyone else around them try to make sure he’s successful and try to pick up their game a little bit as long as that quarterbacks is doing a good job. I think if they feel like that quarterback’s not doing a good job, then you’re not going to see that. I think we’ve all seen examples of that throughout the years.” (On the difficulty of stopping Texans QB Deshaun Watson) “Let’s think about it, put yourself on the defensive side and you put your hands in the dirt and you’re going to rush the quarterback. You’re giving everything you have to try to get to that quarterback and one little slip, one little ‘can’t protect the gap’, he can extend the play. He’s shown that he’s strong enough to kind of shrug guys off too, spin out of guys and do that, so he has the ability from a quarterback position to not only deliver the ball in the pocket, but to extend plays and get on the perimeter and run. Then I think when you go into the run game aspect of it, he’s a guy that can pull the football and run, so he’s a threat as a runner in a running game system. You’re looking at someone that has a high level of confidence, has a really good arm, can throw it deep, short, has good accuracy, plus he can run, so there’s a lot of things that you have to be able to defend to try to stop him.” (On RB James Robinson’s role in the game with a new rookie QB) “Well you know, as the line goes, James [Robinson] goes, I think it’s one of those things. So, if we’re playing well upfront and we’re able to get some movement, I think that’s fine with any of the backs. I think everyone has to be able to help in some way, some phase, what you do. I think you can’t just rely on one person because if you go in there and you say James is going to carry the load, well it comes out Wednesday and now all of a sudden everything’s to stop him and just force it on one position, the quarterback position or the receivers or the tight ends. So, I think there’s a lot of different things you have to do, but I think, to answer your question correctly, are you prepared to manage it more to kind of get the quarterback back on track, to try to take some pressure off him in certain situations and somethings? I would say yes, you have to be able to do that. How you do it? There’s a lot of different ways, but obviously the easiest way, one that we all think about, is just turn around and hand the ball off.” (On the dynamic of the quarterback room) “I didn’t ask them. I handle it myself, so I talk to all the quarterbacks and I told them what my thought process was, and I just tell them the truth. The one good thing about all three of those guys is there’s probably disappointment, which is understandable, I recognize that, and they recognize that I have to make a decision and they respect that. So, I think we have three guys that are really professional and there’s really no problems in that room. Gardner [Minshew II]’s not practicing, he’s working to get back to being healthy. Mike [Glennon]’s ready to go in case anything happens, and I just told him the same thing I told you guys on Monday why I made the decision with Jake [Luton].” (On getting four consistent quarters of production from WR Laviska Shenault Jr.) “I think a lot of it depends on how the game goes. I mean that’s one of the things. Again, I think he’s getting healthier and stronger as the season goes on. I think he’s someone that is when you get the ball in his hands, we’ve seen him break tackles. He’s a big, strong receiver. He’s got strong hands. I’m happy with him with the way he’s going. We just have to keep doing a good job in keeping him healthy and getting healthier, a lot of times he’s limited during the week. But we’ve got a lot on his plate, there’s a lot of things: he lines up in the backfield, he lines up at receiver in a couple different positions. For a young guy, I think he’s doing a nice job. I think you can see, it’s like everything else, the difficulty of you see talent in some of these young guys and the one thing about young guys is you have to kind of bring them along, you can’t just go from A to Z. So, I think those things are working and these guys are getting better even though the results aren’t what we want.” (On WR Laviska Shenault Jr.’s ability to pick things up quickly) “I think it’s hard because you just think about it from a wide receiver standpoint, you come in and you have all these different formations, all these motions, all the stuff going on before you even snap the football. Then once you snap the football, are you going to have to press coverage? Is it man? Is it zone? You have to stair step. There’s so many different things to do, so there’s a lot on a young guy’s plate coming in and playing wide receiver. I think we just keep pushing him and he has to push himself too. He’s done a good job, but I think like anything, I think he can do a better job and we can do a better job for him. But there’s a lot that goes on in those guys’ plays when they’re playing different positions, especially when you start putting him in the backfield. That’s a whole other skill set, taking a hand off or playing in wildcat, whatever it may be.” |
