Opening Remarks:"What we do in this rookie camp is gave them an awful lot of material and they get sort of a leg up because the first, let's say two or three days of the regular camp coming up is some of the same material. Let's open it up for questions."
On QB Kevin Kolb's performance in the first few days of camp:"It's been outstanding up to date. The best qualities that Kevin has- there's many of them- but some of the better ones are his quick decision making, and his accuracy, and his timing. He also has a good amount of skill and ability and I think he has some guts. Some guts and some gut instincts as well."
On what stood out about Kolb in college on film:"There were several things. The first thing you saw on film was that he made plays; he was a playmaker. His numbers were very good and he was sort of dynamic within what (Houston) did. Then we went down to work him out and you could see almost immediately that his skill and ability were high."
On whether Kolb had any breakthrough moments in the last three years: "He got into some regular season games and played very well for the most part. There were two or three critical errors that he made and then he learned from those. I can remember there was a play backed up and it was a blitz where he just did the wrong thing early in his career. It was about a year later in a regular season game, we put him in the same spot, similar play, and he did the perfect thing and we gained, I don't know, 16-18 yards if I remember correctly on the play. So, he learns quick, he learns from his mistakes."
On whether the mistake was before he started the two games last year: "He made the mistake before and then he got into those two games last year. I believe it was the second game, same exact scenario and he did the exact right thing and we gained 16-18 yards. So, he learns from his mistakes very quickly."
On whether the mistake was the interception against the Baltimore Ravens: "No. It was a preseason game early in his career, backed up, and then he came back and did the right thing. So, he learns very quickly."
On whether Kolb's skill set allows the offense to open up the playbook: "We have a lot in our playbook, as you know, literally thousands of plays. So, within what we do, certainly leans to his strengths and he has many strengths."
On what he is trying to accomplish with Kolb early in training camp: "I've told him that I want a high completion percentage and I want him to stay away from the interceptions and then everything else will tend to take care of itself and understanding that he needs to do the right thing."
On QB Mike Kafka grasping the system quickly: "Within that realm, I think he's a quick bee. When I think back, maybe the best rookie that way that I've ever had in 15, 16, 17 years, something like that. He's really sharp, now he's sharp book-wise too, but he's also very intelligent athletically in a football sense and so he's really picked it up very quickly. As you know, he's had just terrific mini camps. He started hot and he's stayed hot. He had a very good practice today and he took all the reps today. Now, I will say this though, he has a long way to go. There are so many things that he hasn't seen quite yet, so we'll see how he progresses here."
On whether he is bracing himself for an inexperienced quarterback with maybe a few more turnovers in the beginning: "I wouldn't say that because every quarterback is a little bit different. Some anticipate very well, while early in their career that could lead to a few more turnovers. I'm not sure Kevin is that way and then he's built up some time in the league, so he's seen a lot, maybe he hasn't had quite the experience. But I think he'll be just fine with that mentality there. I do think that, getting back to your original question that we may go through some ups and downs a little bit more with him, especially early. I think you can sort of anticipate that, but he's a quick learner so he'll learn from his mistakes and he'll move on quickly."
On whether the West Coast offense fits Kolb's strengths as a quarterback and whether that translates into passing the ball more: "Every game is its own entity. Our players have the mentality that whatever it takes to win that next game, we're going to do. It could be more passing that particular game. It could be more running that particular game. We could put men in different spots, so I wouldn't say that. I would just say whatever it takes to win the next game and put him in position to have success."
On TE Cornelius Ingram and TE Clay Harbor: "They're working very hard. They're both quite talented. They're in that learning curve right now. They've got a lot to learn and I would expect one or both to help us very quickly. Now, they have a long way to go and we have a long camp here, so this camp will be very important for them."
On Ingram coming back from a second knee injury: "He looks fine. Like you said, he has not been on the football field very much in the past few years, so we'll see how he progresses. He's doing terrific up to date."
On Kolb's experience as a starter: "First of all, he has some experience, some league game experience and then he's had the whole offseason and he'll end up having the whole training camp and preseason games as a starter, which is a little bit different. So, yea he's going to be ready to go."
On whether RB Martell Mallet and RB Charles Scott have an opportunity to make the team: "They've got a great opportunity. Everyone in camp has a great opportunity. What they need to do is don't be counting numbers, don't worry about anybody else. Just do your job at the highest level possible and at the highest level of consistency possible and then good things tend to happen. So, that's where most of the fellows are right now mentally."
On Charles Scott being a big, physical running back:"He's a big, physical guy. He had a heck of a career in college and I'm excited to see him in the preseason games. Now, he has a long way to go to earn the right to play in those preseason games, but I'm sure he'll do that and then I'll be excited to see him in the preseason games."
On Martell Mallet being a more of a third-down running back: "Well, not necessarily now. He had a terrific first year, rookie of the year in Canada. He can do a lot of things. He can run the football. He can catch the football. He can run routes at a high level for a running back."
On whether there is a concern about the lack of experience at the running back position: "Well, that halfback spot, as you know is critical in our offense. I do think (RB) LeSean (McCoy) has proven himself to some extent. He carried the load quite a little bit last year. That experience that he built up as a rookie will pay off this year. Many times you'll make a pretty good jump between your rookie and your second year. Sometimes it's between your second and third year, but I would expect him to make a pretty good jump this year. That great experience that he got is going to pay off."
On whether McCoy has something to prove to coach Mornhinweg: "No, we're just going to get after it. (Running backs coach) Ted (Williams) has done a tremendous job, as you know, getting him ready last year. Ted does a great job at getting these guys prepared. Now, it's preparation for each and every game and each and every practice for LeSean."
On whether Ingram has the experience of a second year pro: "That's what these young men want to accomplish. They want to become experts at their position and they're right in the middle of that at this point, and so is Cornelious. So, yes I would expect them to be an expert. Now, sometimes it takes time. Some guys can become an expert in a year or two, sometimes it takes three or four years and so, he's right in the middle of that. He's going to be learning an awful lot during training camp and then late in training camp we'll see where he's at and in what ways can he help us."
On whether there is any pressure on Kolb to limit interceptions: "They're quarterbacks. They have pressure every day and that's just part of the job. You want to throw touchdowns, you don't want to have interceptions and you want to have a high completion percentage."
On whether WR Chad Hall will get any repetitions at running back: "I think he's doing an excellent job right now. Early in OTA's he went through that learning curve and he's a pretty sharp guy, so he's done a heck of a job learning it. He's playing pretty much all positions. He's playing outside and inside and in the mini camps we've even had him in at the halfback spot some. We will do that, starting very quickly at the halfback spot as well. He's really catching the ball well and he's very quick. It looks like he'll be a consistent player."
On whether he would like WR Desean Jackson to play strictly wide receiver: "No. He can be used to return those punts. He's dynamite. Why wouldn't you?"
On whether Jackson will return punts: "We'll see how it falls, but he's one of the very best at doing that. So, you utilize his strengths and that's certainly one of his strengths."
On whether Chad Hall has a learning curve after being out of football for two years: "The two year thing, you just work, work, work, work, work. We went through that with (QB) Michael Vick last year, so you just keep working, keep working. Maybe some pre-practice, some post-practice stuff, those types of things."
