Opening Statement:
"Let's get rolling today. So, today will be the end of our block two, and I'll give a little recap. Yesterday, I thought the efforts were strong, but more penalties, more errors than the previous practice. I thought coming off a very good, tough practice Monday I still wanna see the execution still at that high spot. So, especially when they're gassed a bit. So back to padded work today, which will be good to see. And I'm certain the team will nail it today. So, we'll finish with a bunch of red zone again today culminating down like down inside the five-yard line for some plays and some competition back and forth. So ready to get rocking."
*On G Sam Cosmi and T Laremy Tunsil's availability: *"Yeah, both guys will be back today."
On the growth in the offense:
"From a growth standpoint, I would say like the urgency with shifts and the motions in and out of the huddle, like we're using the shot clock so I think in the spring that was taking longer, information, hearing it to go. So now I'm feeling that at the line, being able to attack more quickly. I'm certainly seeing like quarterback-wise, receiver wise, like on the same page, route depths, concepts, different looks. So those are a few things that come to mind."
On starting with twos versus twos before the 11-on-11 drills:
"Sometimes just to change it up, honestly. Yeah, just to have different looks. Sometimes the guys who play with the twos are part of the threes, so I go twos, ones, then threes. Sometimes I just, you know, start with the third group, just I want them to be on call when ready to deliver. And so, it's more just a kind of element of surprise and go deliver when called."
*On the physicality of the offensive line: *"That is the truth on Monday. That's those padded days. It just helps to get there. So, for our first time, usually as a coach, 'Okay, we're too high or not playing underneath our pads.' And I saw some of that for sure, but I also saw a lot of good technique that I'm looking for. And so, a number of these guys have played ball, so it's a matter of how to do it together. I thought the big guys on their first chance, a lot of new faces here of working together, battling for it. I was impressed by that."
On noticing ball placement in the kicking competition:
"I would say it's part of it, but not the top of it. And so, you saw a lot of kickoff yesterday, you'll see some more of that as we get into next week today, we're back into punt. But yes, that's a part of it, but the field goals and the placements, that's top of the pile."
On where the team is overall:
"I like the connectedness of the team. I like seeing how they're working, what they're doing. I didn't place expectations on it, but I would say you have a sense when a team is coming together, like, you can see it, you can feel it. Same thing when they arrived. There's no stat on that, but there's an energy that goes into it. So, the work ethic by coming back and being in excellent condition, that's allowed me to push them a little further than maybe we have in the past. So that's a good byproduct. With two new systems, I've been impressed by the learning, knowing that they're going through it again and again, but the collective football IQ of the team is growing stronger, and I like that."
*On RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt: *"The running style is always something I think that is strong with him. But to see him catch it out of the backfield, he had two yesterday into that spot. And so, to me, those are ones that, 'Okay, that's part of the game that we've been talking about.' And so, to see that part of his game develop, that's a big deal. He's in excellent shape. He's got his stuff. He's always a prove it. I wanna show you. And so, when he's taking his moments, he's taken advantage of him."
On DE Drake Jackson's absence and if he will be at practice today:
"Illness. Not today."
On differentiating outside linebackers and defensive ends in terms of their responsibilities:
"Great question. So, the question was regarding, like, outside backers or defensive end. And in certain packages a defensive end is sometimes you think of their hand in a three-point stance to go, an outside linebacker standing up. So, a lot of times, our outside linebackers play defensive end when we play in the nickel. And so, that's kind of the differentiator. In our base defense, big guys play the defensive end spots. And so, when we play our three down, like, our five down packages, oftentimes you'll see three big guys inside a defensive end, true, like what we call a base end, a nose, and a three technique. A lot of times in our nickel defenses, two defensive ends, two defensive tackles. So, we intermix between them, but that's a great question. And the outside linebackers are more in our base defenses, three linebacker, four linebacker sets, and then the defensive ends are more in our nickel defenses."
*On what made them want to bring WR Dyami Brown back: *"Dyami Brown has been a fantastic addition, honestly, for us. We love the impact that he made during our team here in '24. And so, to have him back, there's just, I don't know if like a renewal is the right word, but just from the beginning of the offseason, time with the coaches here he has made an excellent impact on us. We're working him at X receiver, with [WR] Terry [McLaurin], and we move him around some. Some of the experience that he had in Jacksonville [Jaguars] has some similar concepts, so there's some carryover for him from his time there. But yeah, it's really cool to have him here."
On the increase in execution on the offensive side:
"Yeah, and I definitely wanna see both sides of that, you know? In the competitions, the defense won. Like yesterday, I thought the offense started slowly. We had a two minute at the end of the half competition, then defense won that in all three phases, and then they came back in the third down period, and the offense won that. So, I love the back and forth of that. But each day, we should grow a little stronger, a little more comfortable doing the things again. And so being more in sync. There's nothing like really improving out on the field. There's meetings and video and what we're going to do, but that is the proving grounds. And those two [QB Jayden Daniels and McLaurin] specifically have a really good connection and being able to put Terry in different locations has been big for us."
On what the defense will look like during the next phase of training camp:
"I think what you'll see is it's a little bit of a refinement into the next space. Into our situations, players starting to emerge maybe into some roles and what that could look like over the next couple of blocks. We get into a two-day block and then into our joint practice, into games. As we get into that, into the second week of preseason, that's where I expect some of the roles to emerge. At this point, I wanna put people in different locations. How would that look? And you'll see more of that over the next five or six practices."
On S Jeremy Reaves:
"His communication skills are elite as as a ballplayer, as a teammate, on the field and off. So much of what we're doing kinda goes through our communication hub at linebackers and safety. So, seeing he and [LB] Frankie [Luvu] and others, 'What do we want to get to? What would that look be?' He's an initiator of so many good things about how we talk through. He sets incredible standards for effort and speed. And so, we could use a hell of a lot more of Jeremy Reaves, you know? He's just a remarkable teammate, player. And so, yeah, he's definitely making his presence felt on defense more so than maybe he has in the previous two years."
On Luvu's leadership amongst the defense compared to LB Bobby Wagner's:
"I think when you're in that spot, you're looking for urgency, you know? Like, not a lot of words, but 'Boom, this is what we need to do.' In that short time between the 40 seconds when it ends and when it starts, there's not a lot of time for discussions. So, it's like, directive language of what we want. He's clear, he's sharp, he doesn't mince on the words. So those, to me, are the things in those moments that you want. After a play, a correction, getting guys lined up, having an overall feel of the package. He and the safeties, I thought, are gaining just like, a stronger voice. And I'm looking forward to seeing that continue."
On S Will Harris and S Quan Martin's roles for the season:
"I think it's early, and we've got a lot to prove at that spot. That's a talented position group for us. And so, it may not be just two. How do we feature different guys? And the more depth you have there, obviously then, 'Okay, what does three safeties look like? How could we fit that in?' Different packages. Who's high? Who's low? How can that be interchangeable? Who's got nickel flex? So, we're each day, a little experimenting, a little moving around of the shell game. 'Okay, he's here, he's here.' And it's valuable, because it also increases their knowledge of the system but it'll take a while to sort out."
On Reaves getting more reps:
"He's earned it. So, he's earned the right to have these reps. And he's got very high standards about how he wants to go. So, in that space, he's very much in the mix from a defensive standpoint. As you're starting a new system, kind of everybody's on the same level to say, 'Where's he gonna go?' So, to see him take advantage of that, that's a big deal. He's always had unique leadership communication qualities. So, it's nice to see that, you know, coming out on the defensive side as well."
On the punt returning group:
"I would say [WR] Jaylin's [Lane] first on the punt side is still at the top of that list, but it's nice to see other guys getting into the mix into that spot, especially on the kickoff return side. So, we've got guys with experience. [RB] Rachaad's [White] done it previously. Obviously, in-house candidates who we have, we're working Bill into that spot. I'm kind of excited to see. It's usually a spot where you don't have extras into that way. And so, for us to have multiple people into it, let's let it play out for a while."
