On WR Tyrell Williams’ game status for Monday night: “I’d say he’s out. Tyrell is out and so is (Kevin) Strong.” On if he thinks WR Trinity Benson’s snap count in Week 1 helped accelerate his comfortability in the offense: “I do. I do and – yeah, we certainly didn’t want him to get that type of load, but it happened with Tyrell (Williams) going down and when you run that many plays, all hands are on deck. I think it was a learning experience for him, but it kind of got him acclimated to our offense and he’s been – I feel like he’s a step ahead of where he was a week ago. You can see it in practice, details, just mentally him getting these plays and the terminology. So, I feel pretty good about him going into this one.” On what WRs Trinity Benson and Quintez Cephus offer that is different than WR Tyrell Williams: “Well look, I think Trinity – Trinity’s got a little bit of juice to him. He can run pretty good, he’s got some twitch, I like his route tree, he’s pretty good with multiple routes. And then Cephus plays a little bit stronger. Now, there are little fundamental things that he’s got to get better at, but I know this, he can play a little bit of bully ball and he can go after the – he can go after it with it being up in the air, which is – he kind of brings that different element to us, which we like. So, I think they’re two totally different types of receivers, but I think you need both type of receivers.” On how CB Ifeatu Melifonwu has looked in practice and if his quiet demeanor carries onto the field: “Well that’s him in general. He’s kind of a low-key guy. He doesn’t say much, but he does handle his business and he’s smart. He’s smart. He understands what we’re trying to get done. So, look, he’s had a good week. I think the big thing for him is, ‘Listen, there may be some things that happen. Just put it behind you, man. Let’s go to the next play.’ That’s what I want him – it’s not about him getting beat. If it happens, it’s about, ‘I want to see the very next play. How does he respond to that or is that going to lead into the next play being a bad one because you’re worried about what happened or you’re losing your confidence? Just go fight. Just go battle. Do what you have been coached to do, how (Defensive Backs/Pass Game Coordinator Aubrey Pleasant) AP coached you.’ This quarterback is a good quarterback, (Packers WR Davante Adams) 17 is a good player. We know they’re going to go after him. Why wouldn’t they? We would. We would do the same thing, but I also know this, I’ve seen (Packers QB) Aaron Rodgers go after veterans cornerbacks. It’s what they do.” On how he weighs the decision to play CB Ifeatu Melifonwu either away from Packers WR Davante Adams or play him on his side: “I think you just – look, there will be a couple of things that we have that we think maximize his abilities, talking about our guy, but to where we give him enough help as well. We don’t just leave him on an island for 50 plays or 30 plays or whatever that is. There will be a fine balance, and I don’t want to give away what we’re trying to do, but we understand, too, that, ‘Hey, this will be his first start and it’s against a more than worthy opponent.’ We think we’re going to give him stuff that he can handle.” On how big of a loss Packers OLB Za’Darius Smith is to Green Bay after being placed on injured/reserve with a back injury: “Look, it certainly, I think hurts him a little bit. He is an outstanding rusher. He’s a good run player as well. So, I think it hurts them. Now that being said, they’ve still got (Packers OLB Rashan Gary) 52 over there, Gary, who I think can rush. They’ve got a couple of guys that I think – now, they’re different than him, but they still have the element of rush and those guys play hard and so yes it hurts, but yet it’s not like these guys that are coming in are five notches below Za’Darius either in my opinion.” On if there is any concern about OLB Trey Flowers and RB D’Andre Swift missing the game with injuries: “No. They’ll be great. They’re trending very much the right way and they had a good week of practice, great week of practice.” |
