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HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(opening statement)
Great work out. Great weather. I thought we got good work out of them. We had pads on today, probably ran more reps than we have in a while, as far as a lot of team in a lot of situations. Thought they came back and had a great work out today.
(on whether the team made corrections today from Saturday's game)
The coaches did in the meetings. We have a walk through in the morning practice tomorrow, which will be lighter. We will go through some of those, but I think they've covered them mentally. A lot of the same plays we'll run out here today, so we just cover them that way. It's something, again, that we'll go through tomorrow.
(on whether there were a few guys who stood out after watching film)
No. Like I said, I thought nothing more than what we have said the last couple of days. I think some guys as a group played well. Some guys definitely made some plays. But no, I think the film was pretty much like what we had talked about.
(on whether the fullbacks played in the game enough time to judge their playing ability)
They both got about 10 plays, roughly. I think it was about eight and 11. They both played on special teams. Both of them were pretty solid. They both were good in certain areas. So, I think we'd like to get them in more this week, but it's hard because the two-back offense only get a certain number of reps in per game. So, special teams are going to mean more for those guys as the offense.
(on whether the six-day break between the next two preseason games will limit the team's ability to progress)
I mean you'd like to have an extra day. Today was a normal camp day, a full day. We've been here all day between lifting and meetings and meetings again. We had a good practice out here, a lot of reps. That was good. Tomorrow we're going to do the same thing in the evening. We'll get two practices in tomorrow. So, we'll get a lot of work done tomorrow. Then, we'll have to concentrate on Tampa Bay for two days. Yeah, we lose a day, but we'll catch up on the back-end.
(on whether the starting quarterback for Friday's game has been chosen)
Yeah, we're going to start Jake (Locker) on Friday.
(on why Jake Locker is starting)
He has not had an opportunity to start a game from the beginning. So that is what we will do, we will start the game with him and then Matt Hasselbeck will come in after he is done.
(on the number of reps Jake Locker is going to have)
A little more than last week, they both will. You try to get close to a half. You want to give them enough to get drives going, you hope you're out there longer. You want to get about 20 plays.
(on how different it is for Jake Locker to start vs. playing off the bench)
I think everybody looks at it differently. Some guys perform better starting or coming off the bench. It's a position he has not had a chance to be in yet. We want to put him through that drill. We started Matt (Hasselbeck) last week, so we want to do the opposite this weekend.
(on whether he's nervous about Jake Locker starting his first game)
When you're a young man there are a lot of firsts and this is just another one for him. He will get a chance to stay in there a little bit longer. Last game he got (to play with) the ones for maybe a series; then he got the other guys. You kind of want to see him with the starters for a longer period of time: the tight ends, the receivers and the offensive line. On the road in Tampa is another experience. Last week you couldn't get a better atmosphere during a preseason game in Seattle. In Tampa we are going to get the same thing, so it should be a good task under a lot of duress of being on the road and with a young team that wants to win games.
(on how Jurrell Casey's numbers compare to Colin McCarthy and Karl Klug)
He's contributed just as much as they did, yes. He came on and played well for us. He's a guy that last year stayed on the field a lot because we like him on first, second and third down—kind of like the linebacker. Klug was obviously more of a specialist playing more in passing downs. Those three played an awful lot, and I don't think we ever said one was more important than the other. I think the three of them together are three guys that should be a big part of this defense for a long time.
(on if he'll know everything he needs to know about the quarterback situation after Friday night)
Well it just depends on how it goes. Just like you said, another first, a lot of things with Jake (Locker) going first and Matt (Hasselbeck) going second. How they both handle that situation, how we play as an offense, how we respond to whatever situations we come into, if we finish drives. You're just going to see hopefully a lot of reps just like we've been out here doing.
(on if he could have his quarterback starter after Friday)
I think it's one of those things where you never really know. You never have enough information, and you'd like to get more. As coaches, you want to get as many reps and situations as you possibly can. We always want more, it's just a matter of how much we get the chance to see on Friday night.
(on how long of a leash Beau Brinkley has at long snapper)
I think in the game he was pretty solid in the punts, down the field stuff and covering was good. Like I said, it didn't really affect the kick. That's not why the kick was missed. So it's the first game for him—fine. We understand that. Like I said, nothing was bad in the game at all for him. Just a solid effort, and I assume he'll get better the more he gets the opportunities to snap on punts and field goals.
