Following are excerpts from Mike Munchak's Oct. 2 practice report. The video above contains the full session.
HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(on whether practices change after a quarterback move)
No, we kept it pretty much the same. He (Ryan Fitzpatrick) threw a little bit after practice and during some of the periods when the defense is going, just like Jake (Locker) did to get some work on different routes. There's only so much you can do, and he's been doing a lot of that, just not as much with the first group. It's a change, no doubt. It's an adjustment for everybody. He's been through it before, he's been in the league a long time, so we're hoping he can make this adjustment rather quickly because we need that on Sunday.
(on whether the offense will look different this week)
No, it shouldn't. It's more about how Dowell (Loggains) will call the game by what he does better because every quarterback is going to see things a little bit differently and have comfort in certain routes. There's games these last few weeks where Ryan (Fitzpatrick) didn't maybe like some of the concepts Dowell was doing, but Jake loved it. So, that's the type of thing (you do) as you go through the week. When things are put in and taken out of the game plan it's more of things he likes more so than Jake. That's probably it, and that's common. It's more of a matter of us going out and executing on offense and him and the receivers being on the same page, that type of thing. No doubt, two different quarterbacks can call the same play and see it a little differently. I think the game-within-the game adjustments that they have to get used to a little bit. Hopefully, it won't affect us in the game.
(on the emphasis placed on not turning the ball over)
I think hopefully it'll work together. A lot of it's situations we've put them in. I think Dowell's (Loggains) done a great job in four games when we were on the road. Some people look at it as being conservative, we look at it as being smart. We haven't been calling a pass play in a situation where bad things tend to happen like when we were backed up in that Houston game, we avoided things maybe we could've done. We avoided a bad play and things like that. We'll help him (Ryan Fitzpatrick) with the play calling maybe. He's got to be himself. He's got to be aware of taking care of the football, but you can't be worrying about making a mistake. He just has to play and do his thing. If he throws a bad ball, then someone has to break it up. That's what we have to do.
(on Ryan Fitzpatrick's success against Kansas City and whether there is carryover with the Titans)
I think it's more he knows some of the defensive backs possibly and things like that, but they are a lot different. They're playing different, they've got a nice mixture of guys. It's nice to know some of the players you've gone against because you know how some of the corners play things, how they jump things. That definitely gives guys—especially quarterbacks—an advantage of what they may or may not do versus certain coverages or a certain corner or safety. Other than that, it's a lot different of a football team as far as how they're playing right now, the pressure they get on the quarterback, the sacks they get. They've been in great situations; they've been ahead in all their games, and they've had an advantage that way. That's a big thing we have to keep them out of—we have to keep this game close so we're not in those long-down situations where they've excelled this year.
(on whether Andy Reid is a pioneer as an offensive lineman turned head coach)
Andy (Reid) was always my favorite for that reason. I got to know him through the years because of that, at the combine. I was good friends with his line coach, so we talked quite a bit over the years. I'm real happy for him, what he's accomplished, and how he's with another team and turned them around and got them believing in themselves. I mean, the talent was there, there's no doubt about that. They did a great job getting a great quarterback in there. I think that was the biggest thing they did was get a quarterback in there that does what he wants them to do. The defense was there; they've had five first-rounders on defense. They had six Pro Bowlers last year, I think, on a team that won two games. There's a lot of talent on this football team, and now it's just rising to the top.
(on why there are not many individuals with offensive line background coaching in the NFL) I don't know. That's a good question, and I always wondered that myself. I think Art Shell, me, him (Andy Reid), that's three of us. I think (Joe) Bugel had a short run. I don't know I guess people want to do it the old fashioned way. If you're not a coordinator, you think you can't be a head coach. I guess a handful of us have proved them wrong.
