On progress from the beginning of camp to now…
We got nicked up a little bit, but that’s probably in everybody’s camp. From a team standpoint, coming together pretty good. We still have two weeks to go from that standpoint as well, but I’m pretty satisfied. We’re not where we want to be right now, but we’re not where we were when we started so we’re just going to keep our head down and keep grinding.
On how long the starters will play Friday…
They need to play a little while. They need to play a little while to get into some game shape, so they’re going to play a minimum of two quarters at least. Maybe more than that.
On if anyone won’t play Friday…
(Steve) McLendon obviously won’t play.
On if there is anyone else that will not play…
Not at this point.
On if there is a chance Kelvin Beachum will play…
There is a chance.
On if there is a chance Brian Winters will play…
There’s a good chance.
On if Quincy Enunwa and Terrelle Pryor will play Friday…
There’s a chance. We’ll warm them up first.
On the comparison between the end of this year’s camp and the end of last year’s camp…
It’s hard to compare. We worked hard last year as well. We worked hard this year. From a chemistry standpoint, we might be a little more along with guys being here for a second year in a row as opposed to the first. It’s still hard to tell because we have two weeks to go and we’re not a finished product by any means. We’ve grown as a team, but without playing any games it’s yet to see how much.
On if he feels encouraged moving forward after what he’s seen…
I’m encouraged everyday. Moving forward is a work in progress. We don’t start playing real games until September, so right now we’re just trying to fine-tune everything, and pick the right guys for the team, and get the schemes down, and make sure we have the right 53.
On the state of the kicker competition…
Our guy we had in there. [Taylor] Bertolet is doing a good job, obviously, but we want to take a look at two more guys. He’s been the only one kicking so we want to see him compared to somebody else, so we brought a few guys in.
On cutting Cairo Santos…
Well he wouldn’t have been kicking in this game. It would be hard to make the team without seeing anybody kick.
On if Jason Myers will kick Friday…
Well we brought him in, so we have to take a look at him. He’ll get some kicks in.
On his disappointment on things not working with Santos…
You can’t control a person’s health and their destiny and everything else going forward. At some point in time you have to make a decision as a team to move forward, and that’s what we did.
On how comfortable he is with the punt returner position…
(Andre) Roberts is the only one with any experience. I know Lucky (Whitehead) has done it before in his career. It’s unfortunate (Trenton) Cannon got nicked up earlier so he couldn’t get more catches. Hopefully in the next two weeks we’ll get a better evaluation of him, and we’ll be comfortable after the Eagles game. Right now we’re still evaluating.
On if ball security or potential dynamic play is more important…
Ball security is always the most important.
On what he wants to see from Sam Darnold Friday…
Just progress from last week. Each week he’s been progressing obviously, getting his reads right. It’s not that he has to go 20-for-20, or 10-for-10, it’s just a matter of him seeing the defenses and making the right plays.
On if this is the best quarterback group he’s been around…
As far as helping each other, yes. Don’t get me wrong, Bryce (Petty) and (Christian) Hackenberg were outstanding as well, but these guys seem to hit off a little more. On and off the field. I think off the field before, everybody goes their separate ways, understandably so. But these guys kind of understand and help each other a little more than that, so from that standpoint it’s the best I’ve seen.
On how important Friday night is for the tight end and outside linebacker position…
I think the next two games are important . I don’t think it’s just the Giant game, I think the Eagle game as well for outside linebackers and the tight ends. They are all going to have to play and it’s a tight race right now and it’s going to come down to the little things as well. We got to see who steps up and makes plays, who does the things right and who does the little things.
On if he could rotate the outside linebackers more than he’s done in the past…
It’s very possible, yes because some of those guys play special teams so they may need breaks anyway.
On what he’s thought of Frankie Luvu…
He’s young, he’s flashed on us, he’s got to be a little bit more consistent. He’s right there with the rest of them, these next two weeks will be important for him.
On what position has impressed him the most besides the quarterbacks…
I can’t say anybody has impressed me to a group, but the tight ends and the defensive backs have been consistent. Obviously they’ve been the most consistent group with us where we have the most depth at right now. From the depth standpoint, those have been the two groups.
On his process discussing trades with Mike Maccagnan…
They’ll inform me (who is on the trading block and) who we might want, or what position we might go after. We’ll sit and look at it. Obviously, they’ll check the compensation and things like that, and then we’ll decide as a group whether we can move forward or not, whether it’s something we want to do. We’ll talk about it and kind of go from there. Sometimes it’s out of our hands when (other teams) control everything, but if we can get something done that will help our team, we will.
On how important it is for the starters to play well Friday…
We always want them to play well. It’s just important that they get the reps and get used to game time reps. It’s important that they play plays. They need to play a lot of plays. They need to be not in just great positions, they need to be in disadvantaged type of situations. They need to be first-and-15, first-and-20. The defense needs to have some second and third and shorts, how to get out of trouble. The third and longs, and the easy first downs are one thing, but they need to play themselves out of trouble. You develop some more mental toughness that way because they haven’t been out there enough to play themselves in a game where there’s been a consistent flow of ebbs and tides.
On if the starters will play more if the game starts to go badly…
No. They’re going to play a certain amount of plays I have in mind, and they’re going to play, not extra, they’re going to play a while anyway. It doesn’t matter whether it’s good or bad, they’re just going to play. It’s not an extra punishment. If they’re not playing well, it’s not going to be extra punishment to keep them in there.
On if the starters are going to play most of the third quarter…
It depends on how the game goes and how many plays one side or the other gets in the first half. I’ll make that decision at halftime.
On if he has sends certain players out for certain plays or reps rather than quarters…
For certain guys yes. For certain guys, they have a play number, for other guys, I need to see them play a little longer. We split it up with the coaching staff and we keep count. We make sure certain guys have their count and we get them out, and other guys we just need to see play plays by quarter so we can get a look at them.
On how Folorunso Fatukasi has impressed him…
He’s big and strong, obviously. He has position flexibility, that’s important. He can play (defensive) end and he can play nose (tackle) so that’s very important to have. He’s a very bright player. He has some things to work out, as every rookie does, but we like the player.
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