Injury Report: "(RB) Ryan Moats has a little ankle inflammation on the ankle that he had surgery on (in 2007), and we think he's going to be fine. It just flared up on him a little bit, he'll be fine. (DE) Victor (Abiamiri), we still don't have an exact date of return, we're just going to see how this thing heals. I gave you the worst possible scenario, that's still the worst possible scenario. I can't give you what the best one is, so we'll see how that goes but it was a successful surgery. (T) Franklin Dunbar, lower back spasms or inflammation. (CB) Asante (Samuel) is getting better with the hamstring. He's still a little bit away, but he's getting closer here.
"(DE) Bryan Smith has a hamstring strain. He's getting better. He's probably closer than Asante is, it's really day to day. He might be able to do some things this afternoon, but we'll see how his rehab goes here in between practices. (TE) L.J. Smith has a calf strain and we don't know on that one, we'll just have to see. (DT) Kimo (von Oelhoffen) is going to be a couple of days here, so we'll see how he does, and that was with knee inflammation. (TE) Kris Wilson had a little dehydration today and he went in. You notice that the lines are pretty short at the tight end spot and the defensive end spots, so what I did today was took the pads off them and went in shells, and we were able to get some real good work in. It allowed those defensive ends that were here to work their way through the practice and play fast."
Opening Remarks: "All in all it was a good practice; a lot of good teaching. We were able to install the red zone today, and we got some great work on that in the seven-on-seven period. With the veterans off for 30-plus club, they'll be back this afternoon for the 10/10/10."
On how the players keep up the intensity with the pads off: "The guys just do it, they do it. Now, I pulled off a little bit on the defensive linemen. I just wanted recognition up front which we were able to get, but they even worked past that a little bit. I had to keep reminding them on that, but that's alright. I'd rather have it that way, where you have to slow them down and pick them up. And then the rest of the guys, they competed. They got after it on the outside there, so it's good."
On his decision to go without pads today: "It really was numbers; it was numbers today. Between the 30-plus club and the defensive end situation and the tight end situation and (G) Shawn (Andrews) out for personal reasons, I had to pull back on them a little bit. We were still able to get the work in, we just didn't do the live periods that we normally do in pads. But we still got all the work done that we needed to get done."
On when he made the decision: "I made it this morning."
On whether LB/DE Chris Clemons' episode factored into the decision: "No, not necessarily. We were just down in numbers there, and I thought it was the best thing to do. Especially because we had a lot of tight end routes in and those guys, they're running quite a little bit, so we had to switch up a couple of things there. Then if you bang them on top of that and you're going to lose them, then you have two guys."
On what he sees in S Quintin Demps: "I've been happy with Demps. You can see that first of all, he had a lot of interceptions in college and you always want to see if that carries over to the pro game. In these practices here, you see him getting his hands on the ball and making catches. Now, we've got him playing both corner and safety, and he's able to handle that mentally and physically and that makes him a valuable guy as long as he can continue to improve in those areas. Then the rest of the rookies are doing great. I think they've been working their tail off and they're playing very well out here."
On how RB Lorenzo Booker and WR DeSean Jackson are fitting into the scheme so far: "Book is doing very well. He's a real smart guy, and I had mentioned this before that RB Brian Westbrook picked this thing up as fast as any running back that I'd been around in this system, and Booker seems to be doing the same thing. He's a fast learner. And then he knows he's playing with a great player, a couple of great players with (RB Correll) Buck(halter) and Brian, and he's willing to learn from those guys. And if a young guy is willing to learn, normally the veteran player will help them out. If it's a rookie that's stubborn, they kind of shy away from sharing things with him. Listen, he's come out here and he's made plays.
"And DeSean, he's just kind of getting back into the swing of things. You saw a couple of routes today where he had back-to-back double move routes, and he could learn from that, as opposed to fading away from the ball you have to go get the ball. It'll be great film for him to see and he'll learn from it. Yesterday, I thought he had a very very good day. It's important that he keeps backing these things day after day, after day. That's very important in this league; consistency becomes very important in this league."
On what the 30-plus guys do during the morning practice: "They get in and they normally work out a little bit, hit the tubs, get a little extra sleep. They're not just lying around though, that's not what they're doing. These guys are a little older now, so this is helping them. I'll keep it going."
On whether the new 80-man roster rule at training camp influenced his implementation of the 30-plus club: "I don't think so. I don't think that's necessarily the primary thing. This was mainly due to age, not the 80-man roster. The 80-man roster hurts you in areas where the guys get nicked up and you don't have the numbers there. We're normally stockpiled at defensive line and we wouldn't be in this type of situation, but that's what it is right now and you move on with it. If you have to make a little adjustment like we did this morning, it's no big deal. We still got a lot taught and, at the same time, the guys will come out and put the pads back on tomorrow and be ready to go. You even get a little bit more fire out of them than you would have if you banged them today."
On how DE Chris Clemons did today: "You know what, he was out there and I think he did a good job. He looked like he was moving around well. I heard him talking a few times, which is always a good sign because he wasn't talking a lot the other day."
On how he's maintained his enthusiasm for the job over 10 years: (Jokingly) "I change my diet; too much. It's a great job, in a great city. That's how I look at it. People take it, and they say 'hey, you're working in a tough place.' I'm going 'yeah, but you know what, these people care. Everybody cares. They're going to show up for the game, and they're going to cheer.' It's a great city for sports and I realize that. Maybe I didn't the first couple of years, but now that I've been around, and I've looked around, it's a great situation."
On whether maintaining an even-temperament helps with the job: "I guess it does, yeah. I don't think about keeping it even-keel, that's just what you do. When you're a head coach, you're looking at a lot of things. If you're coaching the tight ends, you care about the tight ends, and, if you only have two, it's a crisis. If you're a head coach, you're looking for an answer. That's how you go about things, and if you're wacked-out and going crazy about it, you're probably not going to think of the right answer. At least, not in my case. I function better when I keep it the way I keep it."
On how he can accurately gauge a player's talent in training camp: "It's a crazy sport that way. There are certain guys who show up and they look great and, as you go through camp, they regress. Then, there are other guys who look terrible at the beginning and then they progress. Then you've got those guys who are just consistent. You look at the big picture of things and let them go in and do their thing. Teach them, and see how they handle that, then see if there's improvement day after day. You've got to get through a couple of these preseason games where they have a chance to get their juices really going and see how they do."
On when he'll start thinking about the preseason games: "I know we play a week from - I don't even know what today is - but a week from Friday. I'm not really thinking about Pittsburgh right now. We're still doing our install for training camp and we'll do that right up until the last day here. Then, the day before the game, we'll worry about Pittsburgh."
On how he plans to use WR Hank Baskett in the upcoming season: "Again, you're dealing with a smart guy there. That gives you a little flexibility with what you can do with Hank. He's playing very well right now and he's catching the ball real well. We're seeing him go up and the quarterbacks just put the ball up. He's covered, they put the ball up and he goes and gets the thing. He can about jump out of the house. He's got a great vertical jump and he's utilizing that better. He looks to me stronger than what he's been in the past and he's got that big body to go with it. He's playing very well right now."
On how important DTs Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson are to this team: "They are very important. They're a big part of the middle of your defense. How they play is important. I'm a little hard on those two, but it's for a reason. I expect their play to be top notch. You've got to be strong through the middle of your defense and it starts with those two. Now, I'd like to have four of them by the time we get out of camp, four of them that I feel comfortable that they can play. It's important for (DT Trevor) Laws to be out here practicing and getting better every day."
On how he is hard on Bunkley and Patterson: "I want them to keep their game high; every play. There's no time to relax. I know it's hard in there. You've got people coming from all different directions. You've got a lot of big bodies beating on you. It's important that you are mentally tough and that you utilize your strength throughout the practice. You can't be like a thermometer where you start up here and end down here. You have to maintain that strength throughout a two hour practice, and be fine for a game."
On how DT Dan Klecko has looked in camp: "I think he's done a pretty good job in there. He's kind of caught our eye. He's got such a good feel for the game."
On how DE Jerome McDougle has looked in camp: "You know what, he's stepped up. I know we're just a little bit into this camp, but he's one of the guys that I've been very pleased with. His attitude is very good. Physically, I think he feels good. He looks strong and fast and quick. I think he's playing very good right now. We want him just to maintain that. And, he's going against the ones. It's a good gauge of what he's all about right now and it looks like he's doing okay."
On the Green Bay situation with Brett Favre and how he would handle it: "I think, when you're in the dryer, going around and around, you don't worry about all this stuff. That's not what we worry about out here. I know there are issues, but I'm sure they're saying 'if Brett shows up, Brett shows up.' Maybe (Green Bay general manager) Ted (Thompson) has to deal with it in a different way; or (President and Chief Executive Officer) Mark (Murphy). But, I think (Green Bay head coach) Mike (McCarthy) and the football team, they really don't care; they're doing their thing. That's what it is; they've made that very clear it looks likes. The perception sometimes outside is 'hey, you've got all these things that you're worried about,' but you're really not. You're concentrating on the guys that are here and you've got so many different things to get yourself prepared for at practice that there's no time to worry about the other things."
On his desire to have four defensive tackles on the team and whether he wants a guy who can play both defensive end and defensive tackle: "You'd love to have four defensive tackles, but (DE) Darren Howard can play in there. Depending on when (DE) Victor (Abiamiri) gets back, Victor can play in there. We saw JP (DE Juqua Parker) in there. It just depends on the personnel groups that we use. Just for a base group going up against a base personnel group, or a goal line situation, we'd love to have four guys."
On whether there's any update on RB Brian Westbrook's contract: "No."
