Wednesday, July 31, 2019
(Opening Statement) “It’s been a good week and a half so far. When you’re putting in a new offense, what I think you always want to keep striving for is obviously consistency on an every day basis, and that’s at every position, so it’s not like one positions playing bad and one position is playing great. We’re just looking to come out and be consistent every day, get better every day, and pick one thing per day that we need to get personally good at and get better each day.”
(On his impressions of DJ Chark Jr.) “DJ is greatly improved from spring. I think you see confidence level in the offense, in himself at a really high level right now. And so again, that’s what I just talked about was just consistency, and he’s been more consistent then he was in spring. Showed flashes of it in spring and did a good job in spring. I’m not saying DJ did a bad job in spring, but he has been way more consistent day in and day out and play in and play out this training camp so far.”
(On if the top three receivers — DJ Chark Jr., Chris Conley and Dede Westbrook – have separated themselves in camp) “Well I mean those guys are obviously getting the majority of the first team reps right now, but to me it’s always an open competition. And everyone has got to prepare like they’re going to be the opening day starter because it’s a long way to go until we play Kansas City. So, our mindset everyday is to go out and everyone prepare like they’re going to be the starter at their position against Kansas City.”
(On if he sees the work Nick Foles has put into relationships with the offense paying off) “Yeah, absolutely. I think you see these guys following Nick. I think Nick is just a natural leader. Nick cares about people, and outside the building, so he’s going to be the guy that asks you about your kids, asks you about family, ‘How’s your day going?’ and genuinely means it. And I think like (Head) Coach (Doug) Marrone’s been stressing, earning trust and communication with each other. Coaches to players, players to players, players to coaches, I think Nick is really taking that to heart and really trying to be a prime example in that.”
(On his plan with integrating Marqise Lee back into the offense) “I don’t like to comment too much about the medical stuff, so when he gets back out here, depending on when that is and I’m not a doctor, then we’ll have a plan for him, there’s no doubt.”
(On if Terrelle Pryor Sr. has made strides since signing) “Yes, yes.”
(On if Pryor has picked up the offense) “Yeah. I mean, he’s playing a lot faster. So you still felt him a little bit, kind of gliding a little bit at times, this spring because he was a little bit unsure. But he’s been in a lot of this offense, it’s not exactly the same before, so he just needed to dust the rust off a little bit and you’ve seen him these last couple days make a couple plays.”
(On what he’s seen from Leonard Fournette) “I think he’s caught numerous balls each day of practice and that’s a role that that position needs to play, there’s pass plays that are an extension to your run game. If you throw a guy a wide route it’s basically like tossing the football and trying to circle the defense, so that’s going to be, I don’t want to say a huge piece of our offense, but it’s definitely going to be a piece for us. And that’s a credit to Leonard, because we’re trying to find different unique ways to get him the football, and not just handing it to him all the time.”
(On the progress of Josh Oliver) “I think Josh is doing well. It’s a constant battle for Josh to be assignment perfect, and you’re never going to be assignment perfect, but you come out here striving every day to be assignment perfect. So, the game is starting to slow down for him. It still needs to slow down some more and he needs to challenge himself on an everyday basis like he is to come out and get better every day.”
(On if he’s been impressed with Geoff Swain’s catching ability) “Yes, yes. And he flashed that in the OTAs and things like that. I’ve been really impressed with Geoff, I think he’s playing at a really good level right now and we’re really pleased with his progress.”
(On if he felt that his offense has won some practices against the defense) “Yeah, I think we’re holding our own just fine. The first thing I told our players is this offense is going to be built around passion, and energy and swagger, and part of having a swagger to you is you don’t take a back seat to anybody. Now that doesn’t mean we go out and cheap shot are own guys. We play to the whistle, we play clean, we stay up, we protect each other. We’re a team once we leave this field, but there’s a lot of competition in a lot of spots going on right now on both sides of the football. So I think you see guys’ natural instincts come out on the football field when everyone is in competing for jobs.”
(On if he likes the grasp the players have of the offense) “Yes. In terms of getting lined up, in terms of—We had a few snafus today, but in terms of getting lined up, especially the younger guys, they’re starting to pick it up which has been good. Now, it’ll be interesting to see what happens when the lights go on and that’s the true test. Out here, nothing’s easy, and it’s not going to be easy, but I want to see what happens when the lights turn on next Thursday in Baltimore.”
(On what he hopes to gain by practicing with a different opponent like Baltimore) “It’s that time of camp to see another jersey. You’ve been hitting the same guys, and they know your calls a little bit, we know their calls a little bit, their techniques, and it’s time to go up as a team and be in a team atmosphere for the first time where it’s us against somebody else in a positive manner to get great work against the Ravens. So we’re looking forward to that opportunity to go up and practice against them.”
(On what he’s looking for in the situational drills) “Number one in the third down periods, I mean obviously you want— number one, in the pass game everything starts with the protection. So (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Todd) Wash does a great job with those guys over there and has given us some really unique looks this camp so far and challenged our protections, and that’s going to do nothing but help us. So, you can’t get the play started if you don’t set the protection first and get the protection calls right. Then number two, guys going out on third down making plays. I mean, that’s a playmakers down in the two situations you just mentioned in third down and red zone. That’s where guys make their money and that’s where guys separate themselves from other receivers as guys that can make clutch plays on third and 12. Because a lot of times now on third down, especially third and long, the quarterback is going to have to buy himself some time and it’s not going to be pretty all of the time. He’s going to have to throw off-balance at times. He’s got usually four or five guys rushing him, maybe more, and so the ball is not going to be perfect all of the time. So, third down and red zone, where you have to fit the ball into tighter windows, are where guys really, really separate themselves from just the average guys.”
(On his impression of Cedric Ogbuehi) “Again, I talked about consistency, I thought Cedric came out the first week and played really, really well. Again, it’s just consistency with Ced(ric) and I’m pleased with the way he’s playing, I really am. Very pleased with the way he’s playing. But again, just straining on every play, coming out and being mentally perfect on every play and he has the right approach to the game, so he’s working on that. If he didn’t have the right mental approach to football then obviously you’re worried about him or any player, but he loves football. He loves to practice, so he’s been getting better.”
