Opening Remarks: "Right in the middle of mini-camp, a lot of learning. As far as some of the veterans that I think have done well, really, through yesterday, (FB) Leonard Weaver came in tip-top shape, he looks great, got a couple of things to clean up. (WR) Jeremy Maclin looks just great, he's got a year under his belt—doing a fine job. I thought (QB) Kevin Kolb had an excellent day yesterday. He's got to clean up some stuff from yesterday, and then he had a couple today. Now, as of today, some of the new players, the rookies, especially, I thought yesterday, let me go back to yesterday, very few mistakes, they did a heck of a job yesterday, then of course, another installation today, it started to spin on them, just a little bit, and we made just an awful lot of mistakes today. Some of the new players, (WR) Riley Cooper, he's very big, he's got excellent hands, very strong it looks like. And then there are several other free agent receivers who are big and look like they really have a chance to develop themselves into players. Let's open it up to questions."
On Riley Cooper: "We'll see. There's a long way to go. It's been three practices so far. Typically he was running with the third group, and then we got him a couple of snaps there with the second group. However, I think he really has an opportunity. He's got a high level of skill and ability."
On the possibility of Cooper being a red zone target: "He showed (the ability to be a red zone target) at Florida. A big body with real good hands should be pretty good down in the (red zone)."
On transitioning to a new quarterback: "I've done it before, from (49ers QB) Steve (Young) to (49ers QB) Jeff (Garcia). It's business as usual, you emphasize certain things with different quarterbacks. They are all different quarterbacks, both on and off the field. As a coach, you're a teacher, so you teach it and correct it, re-teach it, re-correct it, and on and on. So, it's really business as usual from that standpoint."
On whether he is more of a teacher to Kolb since he is less experienced than QB Donovan McNabb: "I have not even thought about that really, because you just constantly teach during game week. You teach it and prepare it, and you do it the same way every day."
On whether he thinks Kolb is where he should be at this point: "Yeah, I think he's progressed pretty well."
On whether the offense will be different with Kolb as quarterback: "We will be different. Donovan was such a great player, and he has many, many strengths, however they're different from Kevin's. I think Kevin has many strengths. So they are quite different. And that goes for every position. You lean toward a player's strengths, and really every team works different because we've got so many players that are going in and out of, really, every NFL team. So every year you're building that team and you may look just a little bit different because the strengths of the players that you have in any particular year."
On how the quarterbacks are different: "I thought Donovan, there's no question, he had one of the stronger arms, maybe of all time. He could make the brilliant play. Kolb is very, very consistent. He handles two or three different play selections very well. Typically, very accurate. He is athletic, but he doesn't have the athleticism that Donovan has. So, very different in that way."
On the center position: "Well, we've got three men working there, really four. So there's great competition there. That's an important position on any team and we've got to solidify that. I'm including (G/C) Nick (Cole) in there; he's taken a snap or two. So, great competition, and that will be an ongoing situation with that competition, because I do believe that we have three or maybe even four players that have an opportunity there."
On whether C A.Q. Shipley has an opportunity at that position: "Absolutely. He's not as tall as some, but he's got size. You should see his biceps, he's been doing some curls. His arms are big. I would be excited to see him in fall camp, I really do think that he's got an opportunity to make this football team and help us, so we'll see on that in training camp. Right now, he's going through a learning process."
On the competition at center: "Well, I think Nick's a heck of a football player, and he is very versatile. However, there is great competition there, and this is early, so we'll let them all battle it out and then see what happens and then see when (C) Jamaal (Jackson) is available at some later date. That is the one point, right here, right now, that we would like to solidify at some point. I think (C Mike) McGlynn's got a great opportunity here."
On RB LeSean McCoy's progress: "That is a man I should have mentioned earlier. It's just 180 degrees different. He's very, very good and in shape. He's got a year under his belt. He's teaching the younger guys. Last year, (RB) Brian (Westbrook) was teaching him, really, on a minute-by-minute basis. So, now he's teaching the younger guys. I think he feels pretty comfortable, pretty confident right now within this offense, and all of the things he's learned over the past year."
On his expectations for G Max Jean-Gilles if he loses weight and whether it was a good decision to get the lap-band surgery: "I don't know much about the lap-band deal, but I do think that he is trying to be as diligent (as possible) and give himself every chance possible to be the best player that he can be, and he chose to do this, so I think it's a good thing. There's no question about that. I think he's got an opportunity and a chance to be a heck of a football player. And that is one of several important things to accomplish, getting that weight down just a bit, to become the great player that he wants to be."
On Kolb's leadership: "I think he's got all of those leadership qualities. He handles things pretty naturally. I think the players rally around him a little bit, because of his personality. I think that's a real positive that Kevin has."
On how McCoy and Westbrook compare: "Well, Westbrook was a fine, fine player. He was one of the dynamic players in this league for many years. They are in the same mold, but quite different. Brian was a little shorter, but a little bigger than people thought. Brian was a little bit stronger than people thought, and as we know, he was quite elusive. LeSean was a little bit bigger than people think and this guy's really elusive, really natural athleticism, so again, we'll try to play to his strengths."
On whether the rest of the offense must alleviate some of the pressure that Kolb will be facing: "Well, as you know, in this league, there is immense pressure on the quarterback. This is a league that has changed just a little bit in the past 10 or 12 years I think. Quarterbacks score points through the passing game. Many teams are like that. This system has always down that. If the quarterback plays really well, you'll win most of those games. If he plays medium to poor, then typically your defense has to play great to win that game. So there is great responsibility on (Kolb); I think Kevin will handle that beautifully, and he has a great opportunity to do that. Now to get to your point, I think I know what you're asking. The rest of the football team is so important to a quarterback performing at a high level. There's just no question about that. I think the defense is the most important thing. Then the special teams may be the second most important thing. And the players around him on offense would be the next thing. All of those are so important to help a quarterback play at a high level. We understand that, and the rest of the players understand that."
