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HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(opening remarks)
It was great to get out here and have pads on for the first time. I think guys felt each other out a little bit early. I think we had some nice hitting and some good work and it was a great start as far as learning their technique with pads on. We are practicing well together. For guys who have never really been around each other, usually it's a little more out of hand. I think that's been good. I think it's because the coaches have stressed us practicing well as a team, and I think so far so good with that. That's usually the biggest problem for us to come out here is learning how to practice together and I think we have done a good job together. It was a good start with pads on. We got a lot of work done today. Some was sloppy, or a little high, or little technique things but the more we do it, I think the better we will get at it.
(on if he is surprised by the on-field play given the events of the summer)
I am. I think it's hopefully because of the approach we have taken as coaches, to really ease them into stuff and not make things very complicated early. It's been real basic the first three days, and I think the players have appreciated that. We have a lot of teaching periods on the field and off the field, so I think that's been helpful. We are realizing that that has been a good approach.
(on DT Jurrell Casey's play so far)
Yeah, he is looking good. (Karl) Klug is looking good. They are doing exactly what we hoped and they have got some great quickness. Like you mentioned, Jurrell's (Casey) a heavy guy so he is going to be hard to move around and that's why we drafted him. We knew he would be active in the middle, not just a big guy. He can pass rush also. He is one of those guys we feel could play on the other side of the ball and make plays in the backfield.
(on if he spends much time with QB Matt Hasselback during practice)
Well I think Dowell Loggains has been in his ear. I think he has kind of been talking to him every time when a play is called, kind of going through and relating it to what he is used to in the past up in Seattle. He will hear a play and he will kind of relate it in his own terms and get a feel for what we are doing. It's like learning a different language for him a little bit, but he is used to doing the same thing for so many years. I have been talking to him obviously. He is excited to be here and he is learning a lot even though he can't practice.
(on QB Jake Locker handling a little pressure today)
Like I said, he is doing a nice job. He is being coached. Chris is on him, putting a lot of pressure on him. With having him call the plays listening through the helmet and calling it on the wrist band, so he has kind of been thrown in there. Practices have been quick. We have been getting through practice I think with a good tempo. He is handling himself well. He doesn't get down when you are on him. When he makes a bad throw, or does something wrong, or misses a check, he handles it real well. That's something we saw in him, and we are seeing it out here already.
(on re-signing DE Jacob Ford)
We are thrilled to get him back. We have two more guys we are hoping to get back. The D-line, as we know, you can't have enough good ones. I think he will come in and compete real well for us. He offers us something on the open side. I have been working against him as a line coach for a lot of years. I know his quickness and what he can do and the problems he can create. So, I think Jerry (Gray) is looking forward to using him in different ways. I know he has got to wait. Now he is here to wait. I am real happy he is here.
(on QB Brett Ratliff playing well so far in camp)
Yeah he is. Like I said, we are really happy with the quarterback group right now. They have a lot in common, they get along real well, and they work well with each other during practice. Off the field, they are meeting quite a bit on their own and not just on meeting times as quarterbacks need to. He fits right into that group and I think they are going to all push each other. They root for each other and I think it's going to be great competition when the preseason starts.
(on the importance of re-signing FB Ahmard Hall and if FB Vonta Leach has anything to do with it)
I don't think so. I think it's a lot like getting (Jacob) Ford done. He is kind of on that same path, we are hoping that here in the next day or two. Ahmard is very familiar with what we are doing. Obviously, he has been a great fit for this team. We like to run the two back offense and he is the guy that's been looking good to us. I'm hoping things get worked out here before Thursday.
(on if they are still going to look at adding another defensive end)
I think we are still looking. The bad thing is there are so many guys available that, so I think Mike (Reinfeldt) and them just kind of just sit back and see who's available. There are a lot of guys getting released and added to rosters, so there is a lot of opportunity to continue to improve your roster. Maybe in past years you had kind of done all of that before. You had done that in May, June and July. Now you have an opportunity to even throughout camp to really keep improving and that's what we are going to continue to do even as a staff here and try to get the right mix of players. If we are not happy with who we have, we feel there are some people out there that who we feel we can continue to try to recruit if need be.
(on what DE Jacob Ford brings and if it's different than other players on the roster)
Jacob, I think it was our familiarity with him. The whole thing with Jacob is just keeping him healthy. He starts to do well, then he has nicks that kind of take him out of the lineup and out of work. He is real quick, moves fast off the ball and beats tackles with a quick move. He brings a different type of guy then Derrick (Morgan) is. He is obviously not the size of him so he brings another problem for a left tackle. A guy like Michael Roos, you would have to play him a lot differently than you would have to play Derrick Morgan
(on LB Akeem Ayers' play so far)
I said earlier, he's going to have a chance to improve dramatically in the run game when you run against (Craig) Stevens every day. We just signed (Daniel) Graham, I mean there's another great blocking tight end. So he's going to get some great work, which you couldn't be coaching and we're thrilled for that. By the time he starts the season against Jacksonville he'll play against two of the best blocking tight ends in football as far as stopping the run, so we're excited for him for that. He's looking good, he's out there, he fits in exactly what we want, great athlete, so I mean he's got a lot to learn and we are happy where he's at this early in camp.
(on free agents waiting to get the call from a team)
It's real hard because you start to feel like you know the season's started and you're not there. And you're wondering what's going on; you start wondering 'well maybe I'm not going to be part of that anymore'. And so I think that's the natural feeling, it's like when you get hurt. When you feel like all of a sudden you went from being a part of something really big and all of a sudden you're not part of it anymore and life goes on without you. So I think that's the part they have to fight that I think, and knowing that hopefully in the next couple of days those guys will all be here with us.
(on WR Kenny Britt's work today outside)
Yeah, I mean that's what I'm saying. It's early and he's pushing and you know, this morning inside the bubble he got a lot of work done and was able to do all those things. Hopefully soon we'll have him full go with everything we're doing.
(on RB Javon Ringer's reps)
Yeah it is. I mean he's a great kid. Like I've said before, he fits into this offense perfectly to what we do. He hits the hole quick and is great at protections. Smart kid, he's been here a while now so obviously we're comfortable with him. He's comfortable with us, so it just gets him some opportunity to play with the first group.
(on any update to RB Chris Johnson's contract situation)
No. Not that I know, no.
(on WR Randy Moss's retirement)
I liked Randy. I mean Randy came in at a time where we thought that Kenny (Britt) had gotten hurt and maybe he could give us that spark. We were kind of starting to struggle and you know we didn't get that done. But for me as a line coach, he actually came in and did a great job blocking. I mean something he was never known to do and had no interest in, he started taking a little more pride in that. We ran the ball and so we had some fun with that, he and I did. I thought he was great here, really great in the building with all the players. He challenged the guys, so he was nothing but an asset I thought when he was on the roster. So, he obviously had a great career and I'm real happy I had a chance to meet him and get to know him by the end of his career.
(on WR O.J. Murdock's surgery today)
Yeah, I mean I think they had that today. I haven't heard the details other than that. He was having the doctors working on him today.
