HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, JULY 29, 2024
(On the offense’s first week of camp) “We’re only four days in, right? Four days in. Still
installing, still learning, still teaching, progressing okay. Obviously, we’re not a finished
product and we just continue to learn and grow and work in different combinations up front
in the O-line, work in different combinations at receivers and running backs. We’re still in
this developmental phase, developing all our players. As we get going deeper into camp,
we’ll get more specific on lineups and things like that.”
(On if the turnovers are cause for concern) “I mean, look, we’re four days in and they’re
going to happen. Typically, at this time you would say the defense is probably ahead of the
offense. I mean, it’s always been that way. Any turnovers can be cause for concern, but we
continue to coach and teach. But on the other side of it, that’s what you want your defense
to do. So, I’m kind of stuck in the middle.”
(On injury updates) “Jarrian [CB Jarrian Jones] and Tyson [CB Tyson Campbell] should be
out there today. Just ankle. Ankle got rolled up on both guys. Should be fine – probably more
limited today. You’ll see Roy [DT Roy Robertson-Harris] back out there. He’s been cleared.
He’ll be limited though. We’re going to monitor his reps. [S] Josh Proctor and Dewy [S
Andrew Wingard] had an illness last week, so they both missed a couple of days. We’ve had
a little bit of illness going around. I think that’s everybody that we’ve talked about.”
(On WR Gabe Davis’s injury status) “Gabe was limited last week with a knee. He also went
through rookie camps. We got a ton of reps there, so he had an early start. We’re just going
to keep monitoring that and making sure he’s good to go.”
(On how comfortable he feels with the run game in short-yardage situations given changes
to the offensive line) “Yeah, we know we can improve there and get better. I think once we
get the pads on this week and we really start buckling down, I guess, in that part of it, we’ll
see where we are. I like where we’re headed right now, what I’ve seen so far in the first four
days. We’ll have a short-yardage period coming up later this week in pads. You’ll see
exactly what can be. I think that’s the thing you’ve got to realize that right now, being in
shorts, you can’t get a lot done.”
(On if he expects a bigger role for RB Tank Bigsby this year) “Yeah, I think Tank has a bigger
role this year going into year two. It’s something that we’ve been looking at. We definitely
know we’ve got to take a little bit off of Travis [RB Travis Etienne] and keep him healthy for
the entire season. Travis does a great job with that, but yeah, I think Tank’s role can
definitely increase, especially in those short-yardage situations.”
(On what the benefits of offense-on-defense drills are) “Well, you’re right. We’re not game-
planning our defense, and they’re not game-planning the offense. We are installing plays,
they’re installing defenses, and we just go out and execute and want to see what our guys
know and can they play fast. So, a lot of situations are not conducive. A route combination
may not be conducive to the coverage that they’re playing. I mean, we don’t care about
that. Again, we don’t. I want to see what guys know. Are they running the right route? I want
to see if Trevor’s [QB Trevor Lawrence] going through the progression. I want to see, if it’s a
team situation, protection aspects of that. That’s the teaching part of training camp. We’re
not in week five. It’s day five, really, of practice. Again, we’re not scheming, and so it does
make it look awkward that the offense may not be scoring every touchdown every time we
put the ball in the air.”
(On whether the results of the plays are relevant) “I mean, look, you want to score on every
play, and we’re competitive on the field. But if we’re not scheming and game-planning, it’s
hard to just go—a touchdown’s a touchdown. It’s a weird dynamic. It happens every year in
training camp. It’s just the way it is. All 32 teams are going through the same thing. This time
it’s early. Everybody’s putting in their offenses, everybody’s putting in their defenses, and
there comes a time in camp when they know exactly what’s coming, and we know exactly
what defense it’s going to be. But at the same time, we want to see what our guys know.”
(On what he likes about the defense so far) “They’re playing fast. They’re playing with some
speed and obviously, we’ll find out the physicality of it this week when the pads come on.
But just like how they’re lining up, they’ve been more aggressive on the corners with the
alignments and different things. And moving some guys around, it’s not the same guys.
We’re trying to figure out pieces and who can fit where and who can play in different spots.
So, it’s been good.”
(On the process of determining who should call plays and how training camp helps with
that decision) “Well, training camp’s hard too because it’s all scripted. That’s what days off
are for coaches. We script the next three, four, five, six, seven practices. Again, we’re not
scheming, we’re going down the list. I determine what the period is, what we’re going to
work on, and then the coordinators—we, offense, just give the defense down, distance,
personnel, and we go from there.”
(On if there are days a team just doesn’t practice well) “I mean, you’re going to have those
days. It happens, and again, defense is typically ahead of offense, but it’s going to happen.
You just work through it, that’s what today is for. We’re not playing a game for a while. As
coaches, it’s time to make the corrections and then as players, you learn from that, and you
move on and get better today.”
(On if he’s surprised at how quickly the defense is picking up Defensive Coordinator Ryan
Nielsen’s scheme) “I mean, not really. I mean, we’ve got smart guys on defense picking up
everything. Simplicity is nice because they’re doing the same things, both in base and
nickel defense. It’s what walkthroughs are for in the afternoons – to get a lot of repetition
there. But they haven’t put everything in yet either. I mean, we’re not seeing everything.
We’re not seeing a ton of third-down exotic pressures and different things like that. So, the
base stuff has been good.”
(On what he’s seen from WR Brian Thomas Jr.) “He’s been doing a good job. He’s
competing. He’s still learning. He’s still growing, learning the offense, but in a good place.
Takes coaching well, not only from us but from his peers on the field and from Trevor. It’s
just right where he needs to be.”
(On if DT DaVon Hamilton is back to where he was pre-injury) “Yeah, I do. He’s healthy, he’s
strong. He’s doing some really good things out there. He’s coming off the ball. I mean, yeah,
it’s good to see him back to where he was pre-back injury.”
(On how big it was to lose Hamilton last year) “I mean, it was big. He’s a stout player. He’s a
big player in there and that was a piece that was really missed because now you’re having
to do it with maybe two other guys and with him, he can play all three downs for you if you
need to. So that was a big, big loss.”
(On how much he will be tuned into preseason games to understand the new kickoff rules)
“Yeah, we’ll definitely watch it. I don’t know if we’ll gain a lot from it because I don’t think
teams are going to do a lot with it. I think you’re going to see, hopefully, we as coaches that
are watching it, some different types of kickoffs, whether they want to missile a kick down
there, put it on the ground, put it in the corners, down it, or whatever, maybe some of that.
But I don’t think from a scheme standpoint, we’ll see a whole lot, not right now in
preseason anyway.”
(On if he thinks teams will play it safe on special teams in the preseason) “I’m sure they
will. I’m sure they will because it’s all new and you don’t want to, I don’t think, tip your hand
right now, and let teams, especially teams early in the season that we play that can scheme
you up.”
(On whether he will learn more than usual from watching games given the new kickoff
rules) “It is because it’s different for everybody, right? The strategy is different. The
approach is different. Obviously, the alignment is going to be different. People are going to
look up, and if they haven’t been following it, it’s going to be like, ‘Woah, what are we
doing?’ I think each week, as we watch all the games, I think we’ll just continue to learn and
grow, and really, I think it comes down to maybe even the types of players that you use on
your kickoff team, your kickoff return team. Who’s back there returning the kick? All kinds
of things can take place now.”
(On if anyone has caught his eye over the start of camp that’s been a surprise) “Not really. I
think it’s kind of where we picked up from OTAs right now. I think the first four days, too, are
an acclimation phase, and just kind of getting their legs kind of back under them a little bit.
These next three days, and then really four after this next break, are going to be a big test for
this team because the pads are coming on, practices get longer, and I think that’s when
you’re going to start seeing some players maybe start separating themselves.”
(On if they will change up personnel today) “We’ve been doing it the whole time so far. Yes.”
(On if any new players will be rotated in this week that he’s excited to see) “No, I mean,
there’s not one particular player. My message to the staff has been we need to get them all
in there and get them all to play, and even get them in there with the first unit more. See
how they respond with the first unit, playing with Trevor, playing alongside Mitch [OL Mitch
Morse] or Brandon [OL Brandon Scherff] or one of those guys, or even on defense if you’re
in the secondary playing with Tyson, Darby [CB Ronald Darby], just mixing all those guys
up. Not one particular guy, but we’ll find out here in the next seven, eight days kind of where
we’re headed.”
(On how WR Christian Kirk has progressed from injury and how important he is to mentor
the new receivers) “Christian came back healthy. He’s been doing some really good things.
It’s been a good four days for him. Feels good, feels strong, so he’s definitely a piece that
both Brian and Gabe really rely on out there. I think another one, maybe to your point, [WR]
Parker Washington is kind of taking another step. Plus, he’s healthy too, coming off that
injury from college last year and all that, he’s another one. But Christian has done a nice
job.”
(On testing K Cam Little’s kicking range by having him kick long field goals) “No, I mean,
those are things, with two kickers, that we want to put them under some stressful
situations and see what they can do. Cam’s obviously got the leg to do it, but yeah, we’re
going to continue to find ways of putting both guys in more stressful positions in the next
few weeks.”
WR CHRISTIAN KIRK
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
MONDAY, JULY 29, 2024
(On assessing offensive progress through training camp so far) “It’s very early on, like you said.
We’ve had some good days. We’ve had some bad days. But that’s part of training camp. It’s all a
learning experience. I feel like as an offense, we have some young players that are still kind of
getting their feet wet. But they’re doing a good job of playing hard, giving a lot of effort. There’s
a lot of talent. So, I think it’s just finding that happy medium of making mistakes and learning
from them, but also having a sense of urgency of getting better, competing, and taking that next
step as an offense. As vets, it’s just finding an approach and being able to display to them how it
is day-in and day-out in training camp, and just taking everything in stride.”
(On finding a balance between being early in camp but still executing plays) “It definitely is a
little difficult. As competitors, I think there should be a little bit of you that is a little frustrated
and definitely has a little bit of anger, as you want to say, because we’re out there competing.
Yes, it’s our teammates that we’re competing against, but I go out every single day and I want to
win. I want to beat the guy that’s lined up on the other side from me. So, when things aren’t
going our way it definitely gets frustrating at times, but you also have to keep the end goal in
mind and kind of keep that perspective of just being patient and just taking everything in stride.
But like I said, there’s definitely a side of every single guy that wants to go out there and make
every single play, make the big plays. So, like you said, it’s just finding that happy medium day-in
and day-out.”
(On communication between players and coaches throughout camp) “It’s been good. I think a
lot of the stuff that we’ve been talking about is just how we can evolve with what we’re doing as
an offense and things down the road that we’re going to kind of get to. When you want to try
new things based off of what you already have installed, now’s the time to try it. You don’t want
to wait until Week 1 to try something new that you’ve never done. There’s a lot of different
wrinkles that we’re kind of trying out to see what we like, what we don’t like. Sometimes it
works, sometimes it doesn’t. But like I said, now’s the time to do that. So, it’s been good to kind
of communicate with him, really brainstorm. He’s open to just hearing from us and kind of
different things that maybe we want to try or what we’ve seen other teams do. So that’s a little
bit a part of what our discussions have been.”
(On comparing the offensive practice structure from last year to this year) “Yeah, I think right
now the emphasis has been more on the shorter and intermediate passes, especially early on.
We’re really just getting our base, kind of bread-and-butter plays going. Then as camp kind of
goes on and we evolve, the pads come on, the line’s able to protect a little better up front. Due
to the physicality not having pads on, we’ll be able to start trying to push the ball down the
field. Really start to get into our max pro stuff, play-action pass. Like I said, right now it’s just
kind of putting in the foundation and then you kind of accelerate from there. But as receivers,
we’re definitely excited to get to that point where we can start pushing the ball down the field
and that’s been an emphasis from Press [Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor] as well because
we’re going to be a lot more aggressive when it comes to calling those plays this year.”
(On sense of urgency during practice because of how last year ended) “100 percent. I feel like
I’m a little bit more—not on the edge, but I’ve got a little bit more of a bite to me this year just
with my sense of urgency within practice of just not only pushing myself, but everybody else
around me. Basically saying, we can’t wait. We can’t wait for the opportunity to come to us.
We’ve got to go take it. It’s just coming out every single day with the vision of what we have for
ourselves in mind and also what happened to us last year, having that bad taste in our mouth
because what happened last year is unacceptable and it’s not what we want to do here as a
team and as an organization. It’s really just having that chip on our shoulder and just taking that
and using it in our day-to-day practice.”
(On how WR Brian Thomas Jr. and WR Gabe Davis will help him) “Well, I think just their dynamic
ability, especially on the outside, to be able to create plays down the field. They’re bigger
bodies, so even across the middle and intermediate passes. But when it comes to bringing in
different wide receivers, especially for this system, everybody has to play everywhere. I have to
be able to go in the backfield, play outside as well, play inside, and same goes for Brian and
Gabe. They’ll be inside as well. They’re both really smart players and I think that’s the one thing
that kind of sticks out. You can kind of put them everywhere and they’re very diverse. I think our
games complement each other well and we’re just excited to keep developing them and their
relationship with Trevor [QB Trevor Lawrence].”
(On any standout moments from training camp) “Not yet. I wouldn’t say any standout moments.
I’m sure when the pads get on and we’re pushing a two-and-a-half-hour practice and tempers
start flaring a little bit, it’ll get a little bit more interesting. But right now, it’s just really taking
every day and just getting down the fundamentals, the basics and really just laying the
foundation.”
(On bringing Brian Thomas Jr. out of his shell) “Yeah. Yeah, we just fine the crap out of him. We
just give him fines, random fines, and make him pay us some money.”
(On some of the fines Thomas Jr. has received from the veteran wide receivers) “Oh, we have
some funny ones in the room. One of them that always gets guys is if you answer a question
when it’s not asked to you, that’s $100. We usually get guys pretty good with that one. But BT’s
been great. We’re still waiting on our snacks though, so he’s got something coming for him if we
don’t get those snacks by tomorrow. But he’s been a good sport about it. He comes in every day
with just a level mind, level mood and we’re going to crack him soon.”
(On how missing time last season affected him and how he will prioritize his health this season)
“Yeah, I think I’m a little bit more at peace with it because it’s kind of one of those things where
it was almost necessarily out of my control. It was one of those things where it was bound to
happen, so I really take pride in my approach, the way I rehab, the way I prehab, the way I
activate and get ready for practice. It’s about a two-hour routine that I do before I get out every
day, so I’m doing everything, checking all the boxes to make sure that my body’s ready to go. If
something happens, it’s football. My injury was basically just football. And so, as long as my
approach is consistent and it’s the same every day and I feel like I’m putting my best foot
forward, then I have no problem if something happens while I’m out there because I know I did
all I could do. But I definitely want to stay healthy this year. I feel great, I feel strong, I feel fast.
Not in pain anymore. I’m really just excited because my body hasn’t felt this good in a long time,
so I’m just really looking forward to building throughout training camp.”
(On how much more he appreciates each rep when he feels this good) “I appreciate it a lot. I
mean, I just appreciate being out on the field. Year seven, played a lot of football to this point,
and I just feel like I’m cherishing it even more the older I get. Practice is so much fun, and
although I don’t get a lot of reps out there, just trying to maintain and keep myself fresh. Every
single rep that I’m out there, I try to make it my best because I just love the game so much and
every time I get to step out there and play, it’s always a dream come true to be able to do this.”
(On if he feels more in tune with QB Trevor Lawrence in year three) “For sure. Me and him, we
don’t really have to think too much about what we do. If there is a miss, it’s something that isn’t
so drastic to where you have to go back and really have an extensive discussion about it or if
we’re not on the same page, it’s just maybe I’m a tick too short or a tick too deep or maybe he’s
a tick too late. They’re all things we can fix, but I feel like for the most part so far in camp, we’ve
done a really good job of connecting on some things. It’s just pretty seamless where we’ve been
on the same page for a while now. We’re just looking forward to kind of being the tone setters,
and when you need a play, it’s on us to be able to connect and light a spark.”
(On challenges CB Tyson Campbell presents for a receiver) “I think number one, his speed. He’s
really fast and he’s physical as well. He’s got long arms. I just think he’s a really dynamic corner.
His speed really helps him because he can kind of play on your low hip. But it’s not like he’s a
small guy; he’s got long arms, so being able to kind of shed and separate from him at the top is a
little bit more difficult. When you’re going against a guy like him, you have to be really good
with your hands and also be able to extend through the catch, because he’s never really out of
position. That’s the one good thing about him. He deserves every bit of what he got that came
his way, and I’m really excited to watch him keep on developing into the elite corner that I know
he is.”
