HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(on whether Kendall Wright is allowed to catch footballs)
I think we are just being careful with him. We just want him running routes. We will do about as much as we can with him until Saturday. Like you saw, that's why he had a red jersey on so guys knew, [and weren't] not thinking and lose track of where he was, and bump into him. He practiced this morning and was able to do everything because we weren't in shoulder pads. In the night practice and tomorrow afternoon, he will only be able to do individual drills and 7-on-7 until Saturday.
(on Kendall Wright's conditioning)
He is okay. Like all these guys, I think you can be at home and think you are in shape until you get here and you find out you're really not. So, that's the reasoning behind the three days. He gets at least three days to get acclimated and do more conditioning than he normally would to do, and when he's not practicing, we will have him doing other things that will speed up his conditioning process.
(on Eugene Amano's condition)
Tricep. Other than that, he got it caught. I think a helmet hit it, not sure. I guess he's just sore where he got hit. We will have to see where he is.
(on Kevin Matthews' getting hurt)
Yesterday, he had some concussion-like symptoms. He wasn't sure. He didn't take any hit that was noticeable or created a problem. It could have been the multiple hits. We thought maybe it was tied in with the weather. So, we are just being careful with him, making sure he is okay before he practices again.
(on Velasco's participation in camp at center)
We are planning on doing a lot at center today and this whole week because of Kevin Matthews not repping today. Unfortunately, with Eugene Amano getting hurt, he got moved up real quick. So, he'll continue to do that and we'll see how everybody is, our health, and we'll go from there.
(on whether he minds that Matt Hasselbeck getting rolled a few times)
I think they're blitzing a lot. Matt rolled up in the line of scrimmage on his own, just kind of gave up on the play, because nobody was there. It was just kind of one of those things. You're going to have times when guys trip and fall. If guys have a red jersey on, other guys aren't supposed to be running into them but sometimes that's going to happen but that's very little.
(on whether he sees "feistiness" building amongst the team)
Yeah and it's going to, once you're competing and when you have good players. As I've been saying since we started OTAs, this is a very competitive group. When you've got the athletes that we have and the speed we have, it's going to speed things up quickly. Especially when they know what they're doing now and have a really good feel for what Jerry Gray wants them to be doing and what the D-line wants them doing. So, you're going to have the game speeding up quite a bit. That's what you're seeing. You're seeing a very fast-paced practice, a fast-paced game with the type of guys we have. They're going to have to continue to work well together as a group. Like you mentioned, on the quarterback, you want to work hard but you have to be good about pulling by him to avoid anyone getting hurt. But we're doing great work and when you do that, you're getting better.
(on if you looking are for the same feistiness from someone like you had in Cortland Finnegan)
I think you let the players be themselves. We have enough good players on this team where that will rise to the top when we get through camp. I am already seeing guys' personalities come out, especially on the defensive side of the ball, we are very young. At the opening of training camp you have guys like Akeem Ayers acting like they have been in the league a long time. They are very confident. Colin McCarthy is very confident in what he is doing out here. He is running it like he has been doing it a long time. That bleeds over into the other guys. You have guys in the secondary that are feeling very confident. So I think you are seeing that and we are only a week into camp. It's fun to watch and I think you will see all of their personalities come out, especially when they have success in what they are doing. They like what they are doing and like the positions they are put into. They are starting to realize the pressure we can create against opposing offenses. It's a good start.
(on the impression about the corners)
I think that helped us in our losses in the offseason is that we had guys that we thought could step up. Alterraun Verner has been here and has been playing well. He just does what he is supposed to do and has been a solid corner so we felt good about him. Jason McCourty is getting better every year and is becoming a leader. Tommie Campbell, we know what we had last year. We are impressed on how fast he has come on and developed. Ryan Mouton, this is the first time he has been able to get out and prove what he can do, he is looking really good. He is a chippy guy, a guy looking to make plays, a physical guy, a guy who can bring a little attitude to the back end too. It is a fun group to watch and they are competitive, attacking and challenging. I am glad to be watching that group get a lot of confidence in a short time.
(on what he wants to get out of the pre-season practice with the Falcons)
I think you have a pre-season game mentality; you're going down there not trying to fool anybody. Our thinking was to get together and be able to compete. Our one's against their one's, our two's against their two's and get a lot more work than you do in a pre-season game where you might only get 10 snaps. We feel like we can go down there and get 30 to 40 snaps against each other. It's not going to be a scrimmage or a game it's going to be more situational things so we can cover a lot of areas. When you can get your guys against a team like them it builds you confidence. You get a chance to do a little traveling and go play against somebody different in a different jersey. This is especially for the younger guys. You get a chance after one week to see where they are. How they are doing and how the stuff goes. To me its basic football, see them play and how they match up with other guys. When I did this as a player I found it very helpful and I always enjoyed it. I thought it was the best part of camp going against the Cowboys in Houston. I think they will enjoy the break from hitting each other.
