Opening Statement:
"Good morning, everybody. Looking back on yesterday, it was really cool to have the fans here for that first practice. I heard them, felt their support, for sure. That was a blast. We'll begin padded practices today and you get a certain amount of them through the rest of training camp. Then the same thing in-season, but it's an important process for the line of scrimmages because the techniques are adjusted. Some with pads where without more hands out to here and now you use your shoulder pads. That's the real difference between one to the other. It's not a live tackling or live scrimmage, but the techniques do get adjusted and it's an important part of playing those positions. That begins today. All that said, let's get it rocking with you guys."
On what he's seen from WR Deebo Samuel Sr. so far:
"One of the things I found out about him was like, I knew the competitor and how much fun he is to coach, he really is. That part you feel his energy on the field. We've moved him around into some different locations already. Been back on kickoff return as well. Trying to find and learn him as it goes through this month process. We did it in the OTAs, different locations, different spots, different plays, but that's the secret sauce of it, is for years you've seen him on a deep cross and catch and run because of the speed that he can really go. With returning and that side of things too, there's just more chances to see what he can do. It's off to a good start."
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On the fun parts of coaching Samuel:*
"Just the energy that he brings to meetings and to practice. He's thoughtful, he wants to ask questions. 'What if we did it like this?'. He challenges you in a good way and makes you think so, he's been really, really fun to coach. He just, man, he loves football. You can feel it."
On the focus for the first day of padded practice:
"More of the line of scrimmage work. We're going to do some more red-zone things, but of all the padded practices, you really want to emphasize some things. That could be first and second downs, team run and play pass, team run and so you're just working to get the run game going. That takes a lot of work. It's the combinations, the skill, and like I said, the techniques are adjusted. That's where my eyes are today. We're also back into like kickoff and kickoff returns. Seeing some of these guys in space make these blocks, like I said, with pads on, you can get a little more contact and work it. Those are probably the two things that the team run periods and the kickoff and kickoff return. Those two spots are where my emphasis will look towards today."
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On what he wants to see from the running backs:*
"The real test would come honestly in the preseason games, but it does matter here because the thudding of the contact to go. The way that we practice with pads, talking specifically to a running back or any ball carrier for the contact and the thud to happen, you see them, they see you, we're not looking to hit somebody from the side where they go lateral, so that's where we want to see, can you make people miss in space? Can you lower your shoulder and see that contact and that yards after the contact. Those are some of the things at the running back spot, but it definitely helps on the evaluation piece for the line of scrimmage and the running backs to have padded practices."
On CB Trey Amos:
"The thing I like about Trey's game, and I've seen it with some of the other corners, patience at the line of scrimmage when you're down on the receiver so many times you can get antsy and try to guess what their release is or a particular route. Having patience at that position is critical where you can stay connected and at the line of scrimmage you have to trust the technique. I think like [Defensive Pass Game Coordinator] Jason Simmons and him, you can feel that connection, early practice, post practice, the extra things. I saw it in the spring. I just kind of see this, the ascending techniques as it's going and that's what's fun about camp is it is this player against him, the next one. Different guys are matched up in different ways."
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On the returning guys that have made an impact:*
"The speed I feel from [S] Jeremy Reaves is another step added and that's not so uncommon the season after an injury. You're rehabbing an ACL and anybody who knows Reavo, he was going to go all in for it. But there is for the faster players like that second year after that, it can even take it further. We discussed that and I have certainly felt that. I see it on the defensive snaps because when you're a safety and you're breaking out of the middle of the field, it's an easy evaluation to see how much ground someone's covering. I do feel that from him. I'm excited to see [LB] Jordan Magee. He's somebody on the team side that I really have felt like he's taking steps to take through it. Then new players, how are they fitting into what we do? I'm watching guys like tight ends of [TE Lawrence] Cager and [TE] Tyree [Jackson] and how are they fitting in, what are they doing? It's been a fun process so far."
On if there is one part of the team excelling more than another:
"Not yet. We're still going through the install portion. Last week it was such a redzone emphasis and we actually have a little bit more of that today in our first day in pads. There's not one that I see over another. Sometimes it's within a practice. The defense yesterday won the fourth down competition, the offense came back to win the next piece. Those are the things that I see back and forth and that's kind of what I see as like the double wins – like your best against my best and if your best is always beating my best, that's not as good. We do like to see it back and forth."
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On the unique thing about coaching in the D.C. region:*
"The fan base and the people. That's, that's the fun part about coaching here. I had known from afar how, you know, this fan base, how important it was with the team. Then I really felt it as the season got going and sometimes you can feel isolated because you're home or work, home or work. To feel that connection start to take shape, the fan support of the players and on the field and home field's a real thing, like it is. It may not be in some other sports, but you can create it. To see that begin to take shape, that's pretty exciting."
On what he gains from building relationships with coaches from other sports:
"Whether it's dealing with a player, how to develop a player. It has nothing to do with any scheme or that, but I'm curious to find out is there another way? Is there a different method to go to it? And I love learning, so I enjoy visiting with coaches in other spots and I gain a lot from those moments. And so, whether it's college basketball, pro ball, all of it matters to me. And so, I enjoy spending time with coaches."
On the first day of padded practice:
"For sure, it's the essence of our game. It's physical, it's contact and I'm glad that you brought up from youth football and high school ball and it's also a responsibility to teach it right. How are you tackling, how are you making contact because that's important. This game that we love, you can be tough as hell and you can also do it as best you can to do it safely. And that's the responsibility of the players to one another, their love for one another, but it's also our responsibility. Let's teach it right. We want our team and our identity to be tough as hell, but for us to do that you've gotta take care of one another and do it correctly. But there is a lot of fun that goes into this day. There'll be more energy that you'll hear and then it gets normal again after a few days because we'll do this for over the next six months, quite a few times. But on the first day it is part of the essence of the game."
On DT Daron Payne and on if he looks energized this camp as opposed to the past:
"I can't speak to the past, but man, I have had so much fun coaching Daron this spring and in training camp. He is on it and it's nice to see connection, him and [DT Javon] Kinlaw and [DE Deatrich] Wise and [DE Jacob] Martin and now [LB Von] Miller and others that are new to the team and their fight, their battle, how we're using guys to run. Daron, he is right at the front of it. I like that he doesn't have to say it, he's just doing it and I really respect that."
On WR Terry McLaurin's ankle injury and on a contract update:
"For us, yeah, no change. I can say, when you do the assessment on what begins on PUP, so for he and for [G] Sam [Cosmi], they'll begin the day doing the rehab portion. Some days that'll include running, some days it'll be more of strength and rehab portions. Then in the afternoon it's kind of normal business. They go through meetings, they can watch the walkthrough but can't participate. So, we just have this process that we'll go through with both of them, and we won't miss it. But both of them are real pros and they'll put the work in. So, no timeline on that and I certainly, as we're sitting here today, we're still building on that."
On what Samuel Sr. can bring to the offense:
"There's certain plays, breaking a tackle, getting the extra first down. It's interesting, sometimes there can be a pass or a run for that instance, is it second-and-1 one or is it first down, it's that close. I'm not talking about a third down conversion, but I'm talking about another first down, another first down. And I feel that with him, the finishing of the play, and that's a real trait, whether it's a run play, a pass play, there's a finishing element to his game that I really, really admire."
On T Andrew Wylie and T Josh Conerly Jr. playing with the first team in preseason:
"Yes, and as we're going, we haven't hit with the guys yet, but we do recognize the work that guys need and how we go. There's all sorts of good matchups. The other one that helps is the practices when you go against another team. There's advantages from the coaching side. 'Okay, we like that scheme, Hey, would you blitz more?' And most of the time the coaches, 'Hey, do this, do that.' We work together to help test who we need to test. So, I like that we're adding the practices. It's good for any player, it's especially good for the new player."
On his conversation with CB Fentrell Cypress yesterday after releasing him:
"The first thing's that there's going to be football ahead for him and as part of the games go, and [General Manager] Adam [Peters] visited with him, they had a good conversation about what's next and how do you come back. But I can comment on what I saw and through the OTA's, through the start of it, this is a person that has the ability to play two spots as a DB and anytime you can do that, that adds a lot of value to what you can do. And so sometimes you have to show enough to say, 'Okay, we want to continue that,' and he's that type of player."
On if the wide receiver room is a championship room with McLaurin:
"Yeah, honestly man, we just want to really hit to our standards. We do like this room a lot but as far as where we're headed, we just kind of put it into small spaces and we're putting guys in different spots and seeing what they can do. It's been good to see in this already the four-day blocks, [WR Jaylin] Lane has jumped out to me, okay, you're finding out certain routes by certain players really matter. And so, Zach's [TE Zach Ertz] kind of one of the great examples of that where he's so crafty to get open. These are the routes that him and [QB] Jayden [Daniels] have this connection just like that. That happens in these times, 'Okay, that route, let's feature him again.' 'That route, let's feature him again.' So, the connection between quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends, depths, timing, their speeds, this is where it goes down and out on the field is where that happens. So yeah, we're excited, man, about the group, what they're adding. It's a pretty deep crew, coming back to see in the offseason, [WR] K.J. Osborn and the speed, he needed that time when he got dropped in towards the end of the season and how do we fit him? It feels different going through an entire offseason program with somebody. So, there's a lot of advantages for that."
