On the status of C Chase Roullier:
“After the conditioning test we decided to further review; give him a couple more days to get acclimated. We may hold him out through the weekend; start him next week. We will see how it goes.”
On Roullier’s injury:
“[We will] just hold him out. This is the first work he has done in a while. We just want to make sure he’s ready to go; work him on the side with the trainers a little bit.”
On QB Josh Woodrum:
“Josh is doing good. I think it’s a great opportunity for him to take advantage of the little bit of reps that he does get. I know it’s hard to get them in there sometimes, but he’s got to be ready to go. He’s going to get some action in the preseason games for sure [to] showcase his skills [and] what he’s all about. I’ve been impressed with him throughout the OTA’s. Like I said some of these guys, they just have to take the reps when they can get them and take advantage of them and then wait in the preseason games and then really showcase what they can do.”
On the benefit of having RB Adrian Peterson as an influence to RB Derrius Guice:
“Anytime you have a future Hall of Famer on the roster and see how they’ve taken care of their bodies over the course of time, like Adrian has, it is a great example for these young backs. We all understand that the running back position and the longevity isn’t very long. Watch Adrian and watch the way he works in the offseason, prepares, keeps his body right, it’s just a great example for not just Derrius, but the whole entire team.”
On meeting with free-agent T Donald Penn:
“I haven’t met with him, no.”
On Penn’s timetable:
“He came in last night, I think. We’ll probably just get a little brief workout just to see where he’s at.”
On potentially signing Penn:
“[We will] talk to him, see where he’s at physically. We’ll have workouts throughout the course of the season with guys and keep them on a ‘hot-list’ just in case something happens.”
On the relationship between T Trent Williams’ holdout and Penn’s arrival:
“It’s not so much because of Trent, with Geron [Christian], we’re keeping [him] out a bit as well, so we’re short tackles now. So, we need another tackle. You know, the young tackles out there, really, there aren’t very many of them out there, so you might have to go the veteran route – talked to a few guys. There’s a few other guys we might talk to here in the future, just for the depth wise. Right now, we’re at 12 offensive linemen that are practicing and that’s way too short right now into training camp.”
On T Geron Christian condition:
“Same thing, after the conditioning test, we just wanted to make sure we held him out just a little bit longer, get him with the strength staff a little bit longer, and get him with the training staff just a little bit longer. No rush, right now. We got to get him in there soon, but we want to make sure he’s physically ready to go. He’s very, very close. I anticipate the weekend he’ll be ready.”
On whether Christian can make a leap in his second year similar to T Morgan Moses:
“Yeah, Morgan [Moses] had a chance to play and practice the entire year. You know, he played behind…he had to make the move from left tackle in college. He played left tackle for three years, had to make the transition to the right side the first year. We had [Tyler] Polumbus that first year. He made that transition, waited his turn, and then took advantage of his time, but he’s able to practice. Geron, now, he got hurt. He got to training camp, and he got a little bit of work early, and then he got hurt, I think it was [against] Tampa Bay. So, missed a considerable amount of time there and then recovered from the injury. We’ll see where he’s at, but we want to make sure that he’s got full strength, mobility, change in direction, and can handle the power once we get the pads on before we get him out there. But, I anticipate him making a jump, confidence level in the system, all that.”
On S Landon Collins:
“Ya know, I don’t know what he brings in the locker room. I’m not back there. I try not to go back there. I think it’s well documented that he’s a good leader – fits right in with the defense. But, on the field, obviously it’s the mentality that he brings. He’s a tough, physical football player. Anytime you can add tough, physical football player to your team, it’s great. He’s been labeled as a box safety, but we put him out at the post yesterday a couple times and he made some great plays – showed great range – yesterday. I don’t think that label is necessarily true. We love him in the box making tackles, but I think he can get out there and cover and make some plays all over the place. I’ve been impressed throughout the OTAs and now, the first day with Landon, not only his play ability, but his leadership ability.
On LB Jon Bostic eventually calling the plays:
“I think that’ll change. That can always change. Shaun Dion [Hamilton] understands that right now, but I think challenging Bostic right now with the microphone and getting used to calling it. He has been in a [similar] system before at Indianapolis [Colts], so he understands it and knows it – very smart, very, very smart football player. He’s done it a little bit longer than Shaun Dion has. Right now, Bostic is a natural fit.”
On differences between both middle linebacker positions:
“Not a lot, alinement, assignment, some of them have to handle the motions and get outside a little bit. Not a whole lot, just alinement and assignment.”
On his assessment of young receivers:
“Very good, I’ve been impressed with the entire time. Obviously, it’s only been one day, but we’ve had a chance to see them throughout the rookie minicamp and the mandatory camp. I’ve been very impressed with not only their play ability, but their mental ability and their toughness. It’s the little things they both do. Especially Terry [McLaurin], Terry is very unselfish. If you watch him at Ohio State, he’s one of the best blockers in college football. He was one special teams, he was one of the best special teams players. We ran a screen the other day; he blocked the corner for about seven seconds. He does things like that, that don’t show up on tape or on a stat sheet, that really excite you and same thing with [Kelvin] Harmon. So, those guys have been very, very good and [I’ve been] very impressed with them.”
On CB Jimmy Moreland playing special teams:
“I think the most important thing for him, when you talk about a guy that size, you have to see his physicality. How he tackles. That’s the biggest thing. If you can’t tackle you can’t play. I don’t have any doubt that he can tackle. We will see. Its different tackling at JMU than it is out here on a Sunday with some of these big backs, tight ends, and receivers. With all these guys, it’s a change of direction, one-on-one drills, seven-on-seven, it’s all great to see them where they are fundamentality, if they are handling their assignments right, and breaking on the football, making plays. But when the real football comes, in the preseason, that’s why we need some of these games to see how they tackle.”
On if there is pressure to prepare QB Dwayne Haskins for Week 1:
“I don’t feel any pressure at all. I feel pressure to play the best guy. That’s all I care about right now. All three of them, all four of them, we mentioned Josh (Woodrum), as well, give us a chance. So, it’s interesting man. It’s actually fun. These guys are competing. They’re doing well mentally and physically. They’re making throws; some of them are making a few mistakes. I think the most important thing, like I mentioned before, is who is the most consistent, the most accurate, and who does the best in the move the ball periods in some of the team settings.
On his anticipation to sign a veteran left tackle:
“I hope so; a lot of it depends on where Geron is at. We have to get him up-to-speed, see where he’s at physically – if we feel like he can handle it. Obviously, Ereck Flowers and some of the young guys on the inside are part of it. You know, with Wes Martin, Zac (Kerin), and some of these other guys, we’re trying to obviously in training camp try to get these guys schooled-up in multiple positions because when you dress seven on game day some guy might have to play tackle, guard, and center. At the end of the day, we would like to have a solid five offensive linemen that we know who are playing where on the first play of the game. Right now, we do not have that at this time, but we’ll get there. I do anticipate bringing a veteran guy in here at some point.
On expectations for WR Trey Quinn:
“I expect him to take advantage of the inside receiver roll, but he can play outside in base (offensive personnel) as well. He’s a very versatile player, but we just have to get him the ball and see how he does. Just like all of these other guys, he’s going to take advantage of the routes when they’re given to him, when the progression takes it to him, he has to make some plays and get some separation [from a defensive backs]. With Jordan (Reed) in here, Chis Thompson, Terry (McLaurin), Paul (Richardson, Jr.), Josh Doctson, and some other guys, we spread the ball around. It’s a progression-based offense – sometimes it is a single-high or two-high safety read – sometimes there are different ways of getting people the ball. But when it’s time to catch the ball, he’s going to make the play and get separation. I think he has shown that ability the time that we’ve had him here.
On QB Dwayne Haskins development:
“He’s doing better. He’s going to have his pick-ups here and there. Case [Keenum] did when he first started here with the system. He had new terminology, new systems – different ways of changing the snap count. The most important thing you got to work on your snap count whether you’re a rookie or a veteran, the snap count is critical. When you got to Philadelphia, you play week one and Brandon Graham [DE Philadelphia Eagles], has your snap count it is not pretty. We got to make sure we change up the snap count, both the silent counts, and be able to change plays and try to get an advantage for the offense. The way you can do that is using the snap count. That is something that is a work in progress. It will be and it always will be.”
On whether the snap count is Haskins biggest hurdle:
“The snap count? No. I sure hope not. (Laughter)”
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