Head Coach Mike Smith
Opening Statement:
A: “This has been a great day for us as a coaching staff. For the last 10 weeks or so, we have not had an opportunity to get out there and really coach football. I was excited to see our coaches out there coaching and our players out there playing. It’s been fun to meet some of you guys over the last two months. This is a lot better when you are out there coaching football, I can assure you that. We had one practice today. That’s one down and we have two more to go this week. We are really excited and I know the players had a lot of energy. We want to keep that energy and that’s the type of tempo we are looking for.”
Q: How did the basics in practice work for you today?
A: “The first thing this morning, we wanted to make sure our guys knew where to line up as far as getting into stretch lines and all of that. I thought it was good and the tempo was good when we got into the bulk of practice. I thought there were a couple of times when we jumped offside. For the first day, it was good.”
Q: Were you able to install what you wanted to in practice?
A: “We’ve installed quite a bit and this was the first time they heard it out on the field. I thought Mike Mularkey and the offensive staff did a nice job of giving different formations and different looks. It put some stress on the defense.”
Q: Ultimately, what do you hope to accomplish during these three days of camp?
A: “We want to become familiar with each other and learn how we do business in terms of starting in the morning and how we get there on the field. These guys will have done it for three days and then they will teach our rookie class when they come in two weeks after the draft. We are always in an evaluation process. Not only evaluating the players, but we are also evaluating what we are doing as coaches.”
On players that did not participate in practice today:
A: “We have 67 guys under contract and I believe there were eight players who were held out. Some of the guys who were (post-operation) and had surgeries later in the year were held out. We also were cautious with some of the guys who weren’t cleared for their physicals like Michael Turner and Michael Boley. We anticipate that they will be back sooner than later.”
Q: You were very vocal at practice today. Is that something we will see from you during the season?
A: “I’m a coach and that’s the way I do things. I hope I wasn’t overbearing out there. I want to have an insight to what we are going. We’ve put a plan together and this is the next step in the process. I’m really looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and seeing that we’ve made corrections from what we did wrong today.”
Q: How impressed were you with the physical condition of the players on the first day of camp?
A: “It’s very difficult to judge in that first day. Everyone’s adrenaline is going and they are juiced-up. As we go through the second and third practice, I’ll have a better idea of answer that question on Wednesday.”
Q: Overall, were you pleased with the first day of practice?
A: “Very pleased. Again, this process for us is to help us become familiar with each other from the coaching staff and from the coaches and players. We’re trying to keep that relationship going from the get-go.”
Q: How pleased were you with quarterbacks Chris Redman and Joey Harrington?
A: “I thought they both did a good job. They both had a good presence in the huddle and they had a very good command. There wasn’t any miscommunication coming out of the huddle. In terms of how they operated, we’ll have to wait and watch the tape.”
Q: Does it handicap D.J. Shockley to not participate in minicamp?
A: “We’re eager to see what all of the guys who are hurt can do. D.J. is anxious to get out on the field. He is way ahead of his schedule as far as his rehabilitation is concerned. As soon as the doctors clear him, we’ll get him out there.”
Q: How did the offensive line perform?
A: “I thought they did a nice job. They were in unison and they were moving as a group.”
On moving around a lot during practice:
A: “I’m a very hyper guy when it comes to practice. As a defensive coordinator, I liked to move between groups. I like to get a feel and evaluate every group. I’ll go in, watch the tape and then see how it looks the second time around.”
Q: How did the new players in the secondary do in practice today?
A: “I thought they did a nice job communicating. First and foremost we have to be able to communicate, we have to get in the proper stance out of the huddle and then make the calls. I thought they did a nice job.”
Q: Do you expect safety Lawyer Milloy to make most of the calls in the secondary?
A: “Both of our safeties have to be very communicative. They both have an idea of what we are getting done and communication is very important in being efficient in playing defense.”
Q: Did practice go the way you thought it would have today?
A: “I wish it was a little warmer (laughing). I was anticipating we would be able to get a sweat going, but it was a little colder and windier than I anticipated. This is a practice plan that I am accustomed to and that I’ve used in my last 10 years in the NFL. It’s something that I believe in and I think it’s beneficial for how we move around on the practice field.”
Q: Can this mini camp affect some of your draft evaluations?
A: “I think we are always evaluating. I tell my guys that we want to compete on every play in every game. In terms of making hardball decisions, I don’t know if we can do that in three days. I think we’ll have an idea of how guys learn and what they can retain. We are going to throw a lot at them over these next three days. It’s been very important for us as a coaching staff for us to be able to evaluate these guys.”
Q: What are your top priorities for this mini camp?
A: “Besides establishing relationships and how we do things, we want to be able to give the feel that we’ll be able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. That’s something that we’ve said from the get-go. It’s something that’s difficult to do when you’re not in pads, but it’s something that you can set as a tempo. You can let your guys know that you want them to roll off the ball, knock the line of scrimmage back and fit. Defensively, from day one we said we want to stop the run. Offensively, we said we wanted to control the line of scrimmage. That doesn’t mean we are going to run the football and be a running team. It means we are going to be two-dimensional and be able to take advantage of what the defense is giving us.”
RELATED LINKS:
- VETERAN CAMP: Mini Camp Homepage
- BLOG: Camp thoughts from J. Michael Moore
- NEWS: Koenen, Davis sign tenders
