(On QB Jake Luton’s performance being able to keep the team in the game until the end) “I think it’s part of it but I think, kind of like yesterday, there’s a lot of other guys that are starting to step up at times, getting a little bit better consistency, getting the game into the fourth quarter. But there’s still plays during the course of the game that we need to do a better job of that obviously will help us at the end and then obviously we want to be able to finish better than we have the last two games. So, there’s a couple things that are starting to increase our ability to win games, but at the same time, it’s not increasing fast enough, but it is starting to get better.”
(On what he likes best out of Luton’s performances in the past two games) “First game, I really didn’t know what I was going to see, I think that’s well documented. The second game, that’s another thing you go through. Having coached in the northeast for quite a long time, I’m talking about in Buffalo and New York and places like that, I’ve seen quarterbacks come in, especially younger quarterbacks, when there are conditions whether it be extremely cold or it be raining. Wind’s always the toughest one in my opinion because you have to kind of transition through a lot of different things on that field. Yesterday we saw a little bit where you try to overthrow the football because of the wind. I think his location wasn’t as good at times, but I really thought for the most part, that’s another tough situation to put someone in to do that. Like I said, I thought he made a couple really nice throws, really on the line, cutting it. I just think he’s a young guy and he’s coming along. I wouldn’t say that it dropped down or anything like that. People can say yes it did because of the statistics. I understand all that, but with the conditions the way they were, I’m happy with the way he’s progressing. He’s doing everything he can so I can’t really ask for more. I think when these opportunities come up [you] see if he can take advantage of it.”
(On WR Keelan Cole Sr.) “I think I can say a lot. I think being here the whole time with him, there were flashes early on. He’s kind of involved some then he’s not then he makes a great catch. I don’t want to say it’s inconsistency because at times we haven’t be able to get him the ball, I’m talking about over the course of the years, but he continues to give great effort all the time. I think this year’s probably the most consistent that he’s played, meaning that even though it might not be through the progression or we might not be able to get to him because of protection, whatever it may be, but when you look on the field, he’s winning a lot. Does that make sense? He’s getting himself open and putting himself in position. Yesterday, there’s two plays. There’s a slant at the end that gets tipped. If that ball doesn’t get tipped, he has the ability to catch it and make a good play. Another time with the progression, he’s coming clean across the middle, we can’t get the ball to him late. But he’s been playing very, very consistent and he’s playing the best he’s played since he’s been here. I know the stats probably back that up, but I think if we’re able to get him the ball a little bit more during the year and things like that, I think it’d be even better. Then, I can’t say enough about the special teams stuff. Every time he’s called on to go in there and do something, he makes something happen, whether it’s a kickoff return, which he’s done before for us in the past, or it’s a punt return like he did yesterday. He’s always up for anything. He always has a good attitude. He likes to play. He likes to be on the field. He likes to practice. He’s really come a long way and I think he’ll continue to get better; I really do. I think he can do a lot of different things, so I think he has value.”
(On P Logan Cooke’s performance yesterday and his development this year) “I think a lot of it goes into a couple things. I think, how we talk about the wind and the factor and the quarterback, a lot of that gets put on the quarterback because he has to throw the ball in that. But I think one of the things that gets overlooked is the kickers when it comes down to the game. Logan [Cooke]’s always been steady for us. He’s always been a good net. He really kicks a bunch of different types of balls. I think you guys are seeing that where he can line it, he’s good at his sky kicks, he has another ball that spins sideways a little bit, so he’s always continuing to work [on it] and he’s also doing a lot of our kickoff duties. I think when you get someone that can do that, that’s a big get and I think he’s only going to get better. He can throw, we’ve seen him throw the football. He’s a good athlete. One of the things that probably gets overlooked the most is how great of a holder he is. I think that’s another job that a lot of people kind of take for granted. You look over the years and having been a holder for multiple kickers still, that’s something that he has to work on and get ready for. I didn’t know how Chase [McLaughlin] was going to do. I think he deserves something for coming in there and really feeling good about, ‘Hey, let’s go kick this 52-yarder, I believe in you’ and then after that you just feel like he’s going to go out there and do anything. But during the week, we were going to go with him as a kicker if we didn’t feel good about him, I’m talking about Logan. I think it gives you an idea of the type of athlete he is. [He] always has a really good demeanor, never really gets rattled, can come back if it’s a poor kick because everyone’s going to have those from time to time. But [he] has really been a solid draft pick, solid guy, guy that we’ve gotten production out of and he had a great year last year in the net. He continues to play well, and I think he’ll be a guy that’s in this league for a very long time.”
(On the progress at the corner position) “I think Sidney Jones, because he wasn’t here [early in the season], I think has really helped us. I think yesterday he had the big touchdown on him, but he’s able to come back and get the interception and he has a bunch of pass breakups, so we’re fortunate honestly. We’re happy that he was able to come in and we were able to get him and him to play football for us. I think CJ [Henderson] has shown, it’s like anything else when you’re young, you’re going to want more. It’s just up and down but he’s going to continue to keep going. With greater consistency, I think there’ll much greater accolades ahead for him and he has the ability to do it, so that’s not an issue. When I look back, the guy that’s probably been a pleasant surprise is [Chris] Claybrooks and his time in there and just the way he competes because we weren’t thinking about him going in there and playing corner for us. He can go in and he has good man to man skills because of his speed. I think Tre Herndon the last couple of games has really picked it up. He’s been active and has done a lot for us there being in the slot, playing nickel for us as we go. So, that’s pretty much the corner position with those guys playing and they get challenged each week. They’re challenged in a couple ways. We try to help them out at times, give them a break and at times we need to rush, so we have to start bringing guys and a lot of times you’re going to put those guys on an island. Sometimes those matchups aren’t great and that’s all around the league, but we’ve faced some really good receivers coming in and we’ve won some and we’ve lost some. It just seems like the ones we’ve lost have been big plays.”
(On DT DaVon Hamilton) “I like him. He’s a hell of a player. First of all, he’s a unique person. I shouldn’t say it like that. He’s a real smart guy. I don’t want to talk bad about d-linemen but being an offensive lineman my whole life, we used to always talk about those guys as not being the brightest, but I don’t want to bring that up. Anyway, D-Ham, he’s real smart. He knows what’s going on now, it’s a lot more. He knows what’s going on around him, he knows blocking schemes, backfield sets, all that stuff. I mean he’s a student of the game. Not only that, he’s a big guy and he’s active. A lot of times you get these big guys and they’re not [active]. They can hold the gap, sit there, if the play comes to them, they can make it, but he can make plays that are moving around him, whether he’s on the run or not. Yesterday he made a couple plays and every game now you’re starting to see him make plays, four or five plays. He got a sack yesterday and got some pressure and you see that’s coming with him. I think a year lifting, a year playing, practicing, and getting his body better for the game, I think you’re going to see a lot of production out of him. I think he’s proven [that]. You know how sometimes you look at guys and you’re like, ‘Wow, he had a great year. I wonder how he’s going [to play next year]?’ I think this player that we’re talking about is going to be consistent as long as he stays healthy, which he’s showing he has been, for a pretty good period of time. [He’s a] good player.”
(On the Pittsburgh Steelers organization and their history of success) “They have a great culture. I was fortunate, I had a cup of coffee there I think in ’91 or ’92. After the World League stint, I went to Pittsburgh, so I had a chance to be in the organization for a little bit. I can’t say enough about it. Coach [Chuck] Noll was the head coach at the time. It’s all football. I mean it’s all football. We have a lot of people [from there] even here. I think [Senior Vice President of Communications] Dan Edwards came from Pittsburgh as the head of our department. I’ve had some guys with me that are kind of like [Manager of Public Relations] Alex [Brooks], like when I was in Buffalo, they all wanted to go to Pittsburgh just from a sense of being in that type of surroundings. I’ll give you a great story. When I was in Buffalo, [it was] the preseason and we went to practice against them for three days. We arrived with the team and I had this security come to me and say, ‘Mr. Rooney wants to meet with you.’ So, at first, I’m like ‘Oh shit, what did I do? Gosh, I’m going to the principal’s office on the first day.’ They bring me up there and this is the senior, the older one who has passed. I get in there and he says, ‘Look, I really appreciate you guys coming. You’re our guest. I want to make sure you heard it directly from me. If you need anything, your team needs anything, you make sure you come to me and you’ll have it.’ I just thought that was such an act of class. It just shows you the organization and I think that around the league there’s a great appreciation for that. I’ve always admired that the Rooney family has always been heavily involved, they’ve done those things. From that standpoint, I have a great deal of respect. But for me, from a playing standpoint, from people that I know that coached there, from players that have played there, I just think it’s one of the things, they’ve done a hell of a job and they’ve been a good football team. You can talk about decades. There’ll be times where they might be a little bit down, but not many.”
(On the injury report) “I think Chris Thompson will go to IR. That’ll come up this week. Laviska [Shenault Jr.], I think we’ll wait and see. I’m not sure, it’s too early. I think [Brandon] Linder will be back. Gardner [Minshew II] will go out and maybe throw a little, but he won’t be ready, so Jake [Luton] will be playing [quarterback]. I think Dakota Allen will be fine. I think Doug Costin will be fine. [Devine] Ozigbo will be out there practicing. Abe [Abry Jones], he’ll be working on the side, I’m not sure. Cam [Robinson] will be fine. I think that’s it, injury wise. Oh and [James] O’Shaughnessy probably won’t be out there until late in the week.”
(On who would be the holder if P Logan Cooke was the kicker) “We’ve got a couple of guys. I think that we’ve had Chris [Conley] there. But we have both of our tight ends [that] are ex-quarterbacks, so we have no problem putting those guys in there to hold. We’ve worked on it, so it’s not a problem. We have snappers, holders. We have to do that. We have to be three deep all the way around. It’s an art, really is. It’s something that I think gets overlooked quite a bit.”
(On if the New England Patriots or the Pittsburgh Steelers should be seen as the model NFL franchise) “You’re talking to someone that was part of one organization and really I don’t know New England’s, except for again I have a lot of people that I know that have worked there and that I’m close to and I have a ton of respect for and competed against them. What’s always amazing to me about Pittsburgh, and it’s showing up again now, is just defensively. You talk about an organization that defensively they’ve been good. It seems like every time we’ve gone up there and we’ve played against them it’s a pain in the butt, and I’m not talking about from here, I’m talking about anywhere I’ve ever been. They just do such a good job. I mean I can tell you stories upon stories of practicing up there and wearing those black, I used to forget what we used to call them, we used to call them like those sacks. It wasn’t even like jersey material, with no numbers on it. I remember going up there and we used to have to run our 40’s in our pads. They wanted to get a true time of someone running. I remember in the locker room everyone’s trying to change into quarterback pads and trying to get as light as possible going in. Burlap sacks, that’s what those jerseys were. I remember when I first got there, I said to myself, ‘I have a chance of making this team because they don’t have any numbers on their jerseys so maybe they’ll confuse me with one of these better players and I have a shot.’ But it was interesting, after a while I think the coaches know your stance and how you play, and they were able to see through that. It’s interesting because back in the day, I was just curious. I was like, ‘Why would they have these [jerseys]’ because back then there wasn’t media like there is now, like how you guys go out there and you’re crossing out who’s out at practice, who’s not at practice. I don’t think that was going on back then. They would say that all the time, they were like, ‘Well we have no numbers on it because Mr. Davis at the Raiders might be spying on them.’ I was like., ‘Oh gosh’ so it was my first time of really [hearing] a lot of conspiracy theories going on. Prior to that, I was at the Raiders and we were out there in training camp and there was a tree out in wherever we were, not Thousand Oaks but I forget where we were. There was a tree and Mr. Davis was worried about someone being able to climb on top of this tree and kind of watch us practice and then the next day we come out and the tree was cut down. So, I think that was going on a lot back in the day. It’s always interesting but I don’t know. I think they’ve always continued to draft well the players that play. They’ve done a nice job. Like I said, I have a ton of respect for the Rooney family, I really do.”
(On QB Gardner Minshew II’s progress) “What we’re going to do is we’ll look at routes on air. He’s feeling a little bit better, not fully 100 percent. We’ll wait for routes on air. During practice he’ll throw, see how he feels for the first time. [We’ll] see how it is after that and then we’ll take it from there, but he won’t be ready.”
