Injury Report: "(TE) Cornelius Ingram did not practice today and he had some swelling in his knee, so we kept him out. He'll have an MRI on his knee later this afternoon. (DE Juqua Parker) didn't practice with the ankle sprain. (DE) Victor Abiamiri didn't practice. (K) David Akers didn't practice, but he should be able to play in the game. (C/G) Nick Cole didn't practice and (CB) David Pender didn't practice.
Opening Remarks: "All-in-all it was a good practice today and we look forward to going to Kansas City. We were able to work on some noise today with the offense. (QB) Kevin (Kolb) hasn't had the opportunity to do that; both of his games last year were home games. So, he probably needed a little bit of work there. It might not be that loud this trip. However, Kansas City is one of the louder places in the league to play. Surely during the year we'll be in some places where this will pay off for us."
On whether the guys who didn't practice will not play in the game on Friday: "Yes. And the ones will go three quarters and the twos will go the fourth quarter."
On Pender's injury: "Pender has an illness."
On whether RB Mike Bell will play: "Bell will play."
On whether he looks forward to seeing Bell play in a game: "I am, yeah. I'm looking forward to seeing both he and (G/T) Todd (Herremans) really have a chance to do their thing."
On whether pumping in crowd noise to practice will help the rookies and young guys in Kansas City: "Well, we don't do it necessarily for the defense as much as for the offense. It's good work for the guys to go through and be able to execute the offense when it's loud."
On why Ingram is getting an MRI now: "He just has some swelling there. It's just precautionary measures."
On Ingram having swelling in the calf: "Yeah. The fluid from the knee has drained down to the calf. And normally with those you just work it and it works its way out. It's bothering him, so we're going to get it checked out."
On whether Herremans will start Friday: "Todd will start."
On whether Herremans will play as much as the other starters: "We'll see. I don't know yet. I just have to keep my eye on him."
On whether G Max Jean-Gilles will be playing both LG and RG: "That's what we've done in the past with him. So, when Todd was healthy, he just played both sides. So, he can go in either spot. We're going to give the ones an opportunity to be in there, but at the same time we might get Max more at either guard. Somewhere he has to get in for Todd, I'm sure. "
On whether he will use this game as an opportunity to play the rookies more with the ones: "Well, there are going to be some rookies that start. (DE) Brandon (Graham) will start, as will (S) Nate (Allen). (DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim) will be in there in nickel situations. Then, we'll get into our rotations where the guys, in particular the defensive line, that first group that had the whole duration of the time and the one's that have been out there, we'll get into more of a game situation where we rotate those guys."
On whether there was any motivation for promoting Graham to the starting lineup: "Well, he was playing well. We just thought it was time to do that. I will tell you this, (Parker), I think has had an outstanding camp too. So, this is a good situation and we're going to use (Parker) in a lot of plays out there."
On the importance of finishing drives in the upcoming game: "I think it's important. I would tell you that when you get into the red zone, you want to score. We try to do that in the preseason with a limited package, but at the same time you if execute, you score. I've mentioned this before, so I'll mention it again here, we did get it in the end zone this last time, and then we had the penalty, so we have to clean that up, and make sure we take care of business there. I think our guys have the confidence that'll it'll get done, whether it is now or during the season."
On whether Jean-Gilles will now compete for the right guard spot with G Stacy Andrews, since Herremans is now playing at left guard: "Not necessarily. I've mentioned this before, as long as (Andrews) continues to improve, he'll be that guy, and he's been doing that every day."
On what he likes about Bell: "He's obviously a good runner. (He's a) very powerful, strong, physical runner. He's got good feet and vision, and catches the ball well, so those are the things that fit into this offense well, and in this day and age in the National Football League you need two or three of those guys, running backs I'm saying, as you work through the year."
On his impressions of C Jamaal Jackson after seeing him participate in some practices: "I like what I see. He's moving around well. Strong for what we've asked him to do. We're just taking it nice and slow, but the things we've asked him to do, I think he's looked very well."
On how much of the decision making of putting Graham with the first team defense has to do with a vision towards the future: "Listen, all of those guys are going to play. We need all of them. I'm not going to sit here and slight (Parker), because he's had a very good camp, but Graham's playing well so we're giving him the opportunity to step in and play, and start and then (Parker) will spot him there."
On whether he plans on using WR DeSean Jackson as a punt returner and CB Ellis Hobbs as a kick returner this game: "I'm working through that now."
On how important the third preseason game is for players on the roster bubble: "They're not going to get as many reps of what they have in the past. The fourth quarter will be theirs, and we'll use it as part of the evaluation. The problem is it's just a short period of time. Next week they'll get plenty of time to play."
On whether the fourth preseason game is more important for those players on the bubble: "You can't go into the game thinking like that. You go in, because those guys might have to play in this game, so every rep that they get they've got to be ready to go. You saw how our practice was set up, it's a good question, because the way we set the practices up the ones get the majority of the reps, and they're going to play the majority of the time. The thing I've told the young guys and the guys that aren't with that first group that you've got to stay focused in on the game plan. You don't know if somebody goes down and you're in the game, and then when it gets to the fourth quarter you want to be productive and win the game. You've got to be able to limit your mistakes and play good football when you get out there."
On whether CB Macho Harris will see more playing this game because he has not played as much as his teammates: "Yeah, Macho will have a chance to play in this game."
On whether the players are making roster decisions difficult on him by playing well: "They've worked very hard. I think there's great competition as some of those spots there and that's what (GM) Howie (Roseman) and I try to do, is bring people in here that can compete, and Howie's always talking about you bring in guys that are starters. Now, they may not be a starter this year, maybe next year, or the following year after that, but you don't bring in guys that are backup players, you try to strive to bring in guys that have the opportunity to play. With that philosophy, it creates great competition and makes our job hard in a few days here."
On whether he feels comfortable with the tight end position: "I would say that I wish Cornelius could be out there and doing his thing, and his leg wasn't bothering him. I would tell you on the other hand that it's given (TE Clay) Harbor an opportunity to be out there and get a lot of reps and that that second tight end plays approximately twenty five percent of the plays max in our offense. What he's doing with the increase play time, is he's getting better. Every day he takes another step forward. He's made some nice plays in practice. Now, we've got to get him the ball in the game and see how he does there."
On CB Dimitri Patterson having a role in the upcoming game: "Dimitri will have a chance. He'll be in the game somewhere here at some point, yeah. Just to add on to what (defensive coordinator) Sean (McDermott) said, he has done a nice job, he's worked very hard, and he worked very hard in the offseason. Not only in the weight room and out on the field, but also in the classroom."
