Opening Remarks: "Alright, injuries here. (G/C) Nick Cole did not practice today. Again, we're just monitoring him. He might do a little bit this afternoon in the 10/10/10. (DE) Victor Abiamiri is still on PUP, and you obviously saw where we took (G/T Todd) Herremans and (C Jamaal) Jackson off of PUP, and started them in pads, non-contact, just going through warm-up, group installs, and individual periods. (RB) J.J. Arrington has a foot strain; didn't practice. (S) Quintin Demps didn't practice with a knee bone contusion there. He should be on the mend fairly quick here. Then, (S) Antoine Harris is on IR. He has a Lisfranc sprain of the foot there. (RB) Mike Bell today strained his calf a little bit. He came back, had a few nice reps, then tweaked his calf a little bit, and we'll just see how that goes. I know he wants to be out there, he's a very hard worker. He just can't get frustrated with it. He's got to keep pushing through. All in all, I thought there were some good things in the game. There were plenty of good things we can learn from the game, and get better at. The thing I mentioned after the game, the obvious is you do a better job in the red zone and we gave up a couple of deep balls. We need to do a better job there, a little more discipline there. We've got to do a better job on special teams, so in all phases. We'll keep working on those things, and that's what these preseason games are for. We'll work it out. I thought the effort was good. The enthusiasm, the energy, all of those things I thought were upbeat and positive and like I said, with the ones there were some good things. The one defense didn't get a lot of reps, but they earned that right. They got a quarter to play and they went three-and-out, and that was a good job by them."
On what the plan is for Herremans and Jackson: "We're going to monitor them and just see. With Todd, we're taking it nice and easy here. With Jamaal, it's a little different situation. Jamaal's more recently with surgery, but he's feeling well, he's feeling good, and we'll just see how both of them do day-to-day."
On why Herremans and Jackson were taken off the PUP: "They were feeling good, and they progressed far enough. The doctors gave them a clear and (head athletic trainer) Rick (Burkholder) thought they were ready to start up and again, we're just going to take it easy and gradually work them back in."
On whether being removed from PUP is an indication that Jackson is ahead of schedule: "I would probably say that. We've got to see how this part of it goes, but he's done well to this point. They're all different. A guy that has one of those ACL's is a little different. We'll see how it works."
On whether he's concerned about Jackson's return because of the issues G Stacy Andrews had last year returning from his injury: "You have to monitor them. That's what we did with Stacy. We just kind of monitored him. They're all different. I wish there was a formula to it, but there's not. You just kind of have to see how it works out for the individual."
On whether the process is easier because Jackson is a veteran and does not need as many reps to be ready for the regular season opener: "We'll see. We're one day into it. We're one practice into it, and it was a quarter of the practice, so let's just see how it goes here with the injury department"
On what he thought of G Mike McGlynn's performance as starting center Friday night: "I thought he did a good job. I thought he played very well. He had a couple of snaps where he was covered and there were more when he wasn't, but I thought he played very well in both the run and the pass game. He looked like he had good control of the huddle and the calls up front, and the shotgun snaps were accurate, so I thought all in all it was a good day. Again, he needs to play more, and he's got plenty of room for improvement, but for his first time out, that was a pretty good day."
On who will start at center when Nick Cole returns: "Right now, Nick's the guy, but we just have to see how things work here."
On how much action Herremans needs to see before the regular season: "You'd like to get him in a game somewhere in the preseason. I've just got to see how he progresses, but if he didn't, I still think you're going to be okay with a veteran player. I think he'll tell you the same thing, he'd love to get in a game and get to that speed, and see how he does."
On how encouraging it is to have Herremans and Jackson return to practice: "Yeah, as a coach, you're greedy. You want all of them back. And you don't want the injuries. You want them all there and participating, but I appreciate the effort that they've put in to come back from what they had and I would say all of these guys that are injured. That's a fairly short list for where we're at in camp and after the first preseason game, and guys battling to get themselves back out on the field and doing what they can do. They all can't do everything now, but at least they're trying and they're making an attempt to get out there and work. As a coach, you appreciate that."
On whether it is still a stretch to think Jackson will be ready for the regular season opener: "It's too soon. I can't tell you that. I've got to see how his leg reacted after this practice, then it's going to be the same thing the next day, and we're just doing to take it day by day and see how he does, and make sure you don't over work it. There's a fine line there."
On whether he is confident that Herremans will be ready for the regular season opener: "I think he will be. Unless there's a setback. Yeah, unless there's some form of setback. Again, I've got to see how his foot reacts to the work that he's given here."
On TE Clay Harbor's blocking in the first preseason game: "I thought he did a nice job. His effort's there. He's got to work on some technique things, but he is an aggressive kid and I like that. We just have to refine a little bit of his technique, but (tight ends coach) Tom (Melvin) is working with him on that. The kid will work as hard as you want him to work, he's a tough kid."
On whether he is working TE Cornelius Ingram in slowly because the Jacksonville game was his first game in two years: "His calf's still a little tender. He had that fluid from his knee drained into his calf, he's kind of working through that, he's going to continue to improve, and that fluid will work its way out and the way you work it out is by continuing to work in this case. It's important that he doesn't get frustrated, he just continues to kind of push through, and there were some good things he did in the game. He didn't play a lot, but the things he did, the plays he played, I thought he did very well."
On what some of the things Ingram did well were: "He did a nice job of sustaining his blocks, and that's about half the battle in some of your zone schemes, and you don't get dismissed from the block by the defender. He did some good things there, some of the routes he did, those were good."
On whether he will be reluctant to use QB Michael Vick in the Wildcat formation because he is the primary backup now and does not to lose Vick to injury: "Not at all. I have no problem putting him in there in the Wildcat. You remember last year where I kind of had to juggle things with the three quarterbacks. Really, (QB) Kevin (Kolb) was number two, but I had to keep Vick activated for the Wildcat stuff, so I don't have to worry about that this year."
On if Vick gets hurt, rookie QB Mike Kafka would be the backup: "You're right. I'm not worried about that."
On whether he thought Vick did a good job handling the offense: "I thought he did a good job. There are some things he can get better at, absolutely and he'll be the first one to tell you that turnovers kill you in the National Football League. I mean, you can't do that and he realizes that. But I thought he handled himself well and was able to get out of danger. He got frustrated and mad at himself because he tripped a couple times there, but he'll work through that. His mind, you saw a little bit of it with (WR) Chad (Hall) when he was returning, but his mind was going faster than his feet. But that's just playing, you play through that and then he came back with a nice touchdown run. And you saw the same thing with Chad. Chad worked through it and then he had a couple nice yards after the catch. So, that's how that works."
On the progression of WR Riley Cooper: "He's playing good football right now. It's just a matter of, we're kind of moving him around in different spots and it's important that he learns everything. But, again, he's a very hard worker, big target, catches the football well, aggressive to the ball and can run. He has some things going for him. He just has to keep learning the offense and he's a smart kid and he's a pretty good player."
On whether Harbor has been a surprise: "He's done a nice job. The one thing about Clay is that he plays hard all the time. So, even if he makes a mistake it's going to be 100 miles per hour. It's important that he continues – probably a little bit like what I just said about Riley – that he continues to learn and I'll say it again, he's a very smart kid. Some of the stuff is real new to him and he's working through it and learning."
On whether DE Brandon Graham is learning the defense: "He's a sharp kid and he's high-energy. He did have a couple of nice rushes. There are some things he can take out of this game though that he has to do better. When he sees the film and reviews it he'll see that and be able to work on those things. There are some counters that you shouldn't get run past, although the quarterback did a nice job of stepping up and there are some counters that you can make off of that where you don't end up running past the quarterback."
On whether teams in the league are calling more bubble screens and whether he will use more bubble screens this year: "That's a good question. We kind of went through that phase when (Offensive Coordinator, 1999-2000) Gary Croton was with the Chicago Bears. He kind of brought that into the league and you saw it with him and then a few teams tried it and then they kind of backed off it and then last year you saw quite a bit of it. We ran a few and other teams ran more than even what we did. So, I think in certain situations it can be good for you. Especially if you have nifty little receivers out there that can skedaddle."
On RB Martell Mallett seeing a lot of playing time in the game on Friday night: ""We saw what he did in Canada and he was a heck of a player in Canada. He got caught in a little bit of a numbers game here. We had some people banged up when we released him and we were able to bring him back. He kind of did what we expected him to do. He has a nice feel for the run game and he actually caught the ball very well in the game the other night. So, he's a good player. He also did a very good job on special teams, which if you're going to be a third, fourth (running) back on a team, or for that matter a second back, then you need a spot there on special teams that you can help out."
On whether the long touchdown passes were because of lack of experience or miscommunication: "I would tell you there were three plays that weren't the way neither the players nor the coaches wanted. One was an assignment and the other two we were beat. They did a good job with it and they got us."
On how the team needs to improve in the red zone: "It's a little bit of everything. You get down in there and everything's a little faster and tighter and there are some different things defenses can do. So, when given the opportunity you need to make plays. It doesn't matter what position you're at. If you're on the offensive line, you can't take sacks in the red zone; pressures kill you because they make you rush when you're already in a rushed situation, you can't do that. And then if you're a wide receiver, things are faster and you need to be very aggressive down in there. If you're a quarterback, your accuracy and decision-making, those two things happen in a split second. They're faster than how they happen in the middle of the field. So, there are a lot of things that go into that. I left out the tight ends. Obviously, the tight end, that's a power position in a traffic area and you have to be very physical in there and to the ball. So, everybody has a piece of the pie. The coaches have to make sure that they're dialing up the right plays for the right situation. We all have a part of that and that's where, you saw us working on that today. You have to keep pounding that out and we're fortunate to have a red zone defense that has been very, very good in the National Football League to work against. So, that's a great thing. That will help us down the road here, offensively."
On whether he held back because it's preseason: "For this game, obviously and especially, when you're playing a team in the third week of the season, it was pretty vanilla out there. I think they were vanilla. I think we were vanilla. It was pretty basic football."
On whether they are working out a couple players: "We are, yeah."
On whether Ingram and Harbor will be more productive than other reserve tight ends in the past: "I think they have a chance to be, yeah. We like two tight end sets, whether it's with two backs in the backfield, one receiver, or whether it's two receivers, one back in the backfield. We like those combinations and we've done that in the past quite a little bit and probably got away from it just a bit last year. But these kids here have the ability where you can utilize them."
On whether he has the personnel to use two tight end sets: "I think we're getting there. I think we have the personnel. We just have to keep getting better. We have young guys there that need to continue to improve, but they sure are capable."
