Buffalo Bills Media Session After Tuesday OTA’s

Buffalo Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan
Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Opening Statement:

Alright ready to roll, missed you guys. Once a week–this is my favorite time of the week. You know what in a way though it is, because I think for me I get to, my message is simple for this football team, I am excited about this team. I think we are a zillion miles ahead of where we were last year and that goes without saying, especially in the communication part on defense. The way that we are disguising coverages, all that type of stuff. Okay I admit I should have done it last year whatever, but here this year I am extremely confident we will be a lot better than we were last year defensively. And I think offensively, all the shifts, motions, all those things that are offense is, we are doing at a high level. We have got all of it down. The mental part of the game, a lot of that is down. So I think we are going to have a heck of a football team, I am excited about I and that is pretty much my message. It is my message to our team, it is my message to our fans and to you guys as well. With that I will open it up for questions.

Q: We can’t ignore a bad week last week with Shaq, Sammy, and Archer?
A: Let’s take a look at each one of those things that you mention a bad week for us. See I thought we had a really good week. Our guys, the preparation, all those types of things, we have had an unbelievable week. We haven’t had a good offseason with the conditioning and all that we have had a great one. I think that is something to look at. I get it, when it looks like it hit people across the face that hey here is an injury to Sammy Watkins. We knew about it, he is not going to miss anytime. By the time the regular season comes around Sammy Watkins is not going to miss anytime. Now do we have a timetable to when he comes back specifically? You know no we aren’t going to give you that. I can tell you this he is going to be ready to go in the regular season there is no doubt. So he is going to be fine. Shaq Lawson when we drafted him, hey it is no surprise Shaq was, we knew this was a possibility. But I think when we came together we are like what is the best thing for this young man and what is the best thing for our team. Well the best thing for our team is to get this kid at 100-percent and ready to roll for us, and that is exactly what we did. He is going to make a 100-percent recovery from this injury and at some point he will be playing and he will be rolling and every single Bills fan out there in my opinion will be happy we drafted him. So that is really what I can tell you.

The other kid [Dri Archer] I can’t tell you anything about him because I haven’t talked to him, haven’t done anything. You are better off talking about Jim Braxton or somebody like that who was a great fullback here many years ago. He has chosen I guess not to be on this football team, I don’t know I haven’t talked to him. I don’t think he has talked to his agent or anything else. To put him in there that is probably all we need to say about him. But other than that we got those issues and okay.

Q: Stephon Gilmore that doesn’t help either?
A: Well I wish Stephon [Gilmore] was here but these are voluntary workouts. That is why I am saying when you see all the guys that are here, everyone one of these young men have volunteered to be here and that is encouraging to me. The attendance rate, I don’t know how our attendance compared to other teams, but I bet it is pretty strong compared to other teams. I am sure we are not the only one with someone choosing not to be here. But like I say the guys here are working, do I wish everybody was here working, absolutely. I am not saying I don’t wish Sammy Watkins wasn’t running routes right now, of course I do. But that is not the case, but he is going to be ready for the regular season.

Q: What about training camp for Sammy?
A: Well I don’t, we are not going to put a blank statement he is going to be ready August 1^st or whatever. I don’t want to do that because things happen. I will say this we are confident he is doing a great job and he is going to be back healthy. We know by the time the season rolls around he is going to be completely healthy.

Q: Kevon Seymour was out there taking Gilmore reps, what have you seen from him?
A: Well he has already elevated, kind of like what we saw immediately with Ronald Darby. How we knew [Ronald] Darby was really going to be, had the chance to be special. I am not going to put him in that class yet, but we are close. And so we bumped him up to the first team today, and he has done a great job. I never saw this young man on tape or anything. Our scouts did a great job of seeing him. Then Tim McDonald and Dennis Thurman saw him at his pro day and they were raving about him as well. So it was more of a collaborative effort with Tim McDonald, Dennis Thurman, and our scouts. They found this guy and they did a great job. I had nothing to do with one. This kid looks like the real and deal and we will see. Like I said we threw him out there already with the ones and when Steph [Stephon Gilmore] comes back obviously he will be behind him. He certainly looks the part right now.

Q: What can you tell us about Shaq Lawson and his medical report the night of the draft, when he can’t get through rookie camp?
A: No he was going through drills before, but this is one when he did have this thing. It was like let’s get him at 100-percent. That is when we made, it was a collective thing. We had Shaq [Lawson], his agents, our doctors, everybody. Guys he can play right now, if we never had the surgery he could play right now. But what we are trying to get is Shaq Lawson at 100-percent. That is why we decided to have the surgery when we did. And we wanted, we could have waited during the season and then at some point if he had to go with the surgery he would have been lost for the rest of the year. This way, we get him and we know at some point we are going to have him. And not just have him out there playing, but at 100-percent. So we are like let’s get it done know, we are 100-percent in agreement with this and that is what we did. We took this guy not to play the first, you know come in here and play the first five games of the season or the first four games of the season. We took the guy to be a great player for a long time, and that is what we think we have when we drafted this young man.

Q: Granted this are voluntary, but what kind of attendance do you expect from Marcell Dareus?
A: Again this are voluntary, he has been here. I don’t know, I would say at least 90-percent of these workouts, he has been here for. Things come up for different personal reasons with every player or whatever. Sometimes guys can’t be here and we understand that. But he has been fixture here at all these meetings and things like that.

Q: Going back to Shaq, why wasn’t that the message the team gave at the draft?
A: What I am saying is, what I think the message is about, when I said the five weeks of the season. Look could he have played the five weeks, he absolutely could have played. But I think when we looked at the big picture of the thing. When we got him in here, could he have been affective, he was pretty affective playing. But we want him at 100-percent. I think that was why we did what we did. Could we have played him? We were. From day one he was out there running with the ones. But when we had this thing, you know what let’s get it done right, where this guy is at 100-percent. Where we see the real Shaq Lawson not a guy, throw a number out 80-percent or whatever. Let’s get him at 100-percent and see what we have.

Q: You couldn’t come to that conclusion till he got on the field?
A: Well we took him, we took him number one to be an impact player. In our opinion this young man is going to be an impact player that is why we selected him when we did. Did we know the medical history? Guys I can tell you this I have been around a lot of different teams and we do as thorough of job in our scouting, in our medical, in all those types of things, our coaches, all that, as anywhere I have been. So you know was there a possibility he could have started and not missed any time. There was that possibility and we could have done that. But I guess what we are saying, when he was here and he did have a little thing with the shoulder. He could still be out here today, he could have been out here. But the best thing for him, and the best thing for us we think is to get him at 100%. You know what was that number, I don’t know, but I think when we got him here I think we are all in agreeance this is the best thing for us. And again whether is what noted, we thought from day one we put him out there with the first team just like we did [Reggie] Ragland. And these other two draft picks that we have too. With [Adolphus] Washington, [Kevon] Seymour. Guys we feel great about our draft, but again this isn’t a devastating thing. I think if we see the big picture this is not a devastating injury at all. We just think it is what it is. He is not going to be available for how many games, we can’t even tell you that. But we know at some point he will be 100-percent healthy and combine it with the really good players we have, that is going to be good for us.

Q: How valuable is the time he is losing by not being able to be at training camp?
A: Obviously you wish he was out there, there is no question about that. You wish he was able to practice and everything else. I am not going to sit here and tell you that he wouldn’t benefit from that, because of course he would. He is still going to be able to do all the classroom things, he is going to be doing all those things around his coaches and he just can’t do is physically yet. He can’t take on people or anything else. I believe, and this is a challenge to the young man as well to make sure you are ready to go from a mental standpoint and conditioning and everything else, that you can affect. That is what he has to sign up for.

Q: What are you looking for from this wide receivers group you have?
A: Yeah it is so early to tell, one thing I think I know that they share in common is their work ethic. I think you see a lot of these guys are working extremely hard. So that is a real positive. They all have some backgrounds already that have played in the league some. Albeit some have bounced around or whatever but there is some talent there. It will be interesting to see how training camp goes on and we get into games who stands out. Certainly all these guys are capable, they have done it in this league, but you know to rank them and all that. I guess that will work out.

Q: An update on Seantrel Henderson?
A: Yeah I have no update for you guys on that. So that is a medical thing. I really have no update. I haven’t seen Seantrel [Henderson] in quite a while.

Q: Where does Charles Clay stand with his medical issues?
A: He is doing well. I know he was held out a little bit today and things. He has really been working hard and doing a job for us.

Q: Is it his knee again?
A: To be honest, I don’t want to speculate because it could be something else and I’ll be wrong on it. But it is not a serious setback.

Q: Doug Whaley said on the radio this morning he thinks Cyrus Kouandjio needs to step up at take the starting job, what do you think?
A: Well sometimes I think when you take a guy in the second round that is certainly the anticipation of it. Sometimes it takes guys a little longer. I remember we took a young man by the name of Dwan Edwards in the second round when I was coaching with the Baltimore Ravens, I believe he was a second round pick and then he didn’t start right away and everyone was labeling him bust. Well like 12 years later he is still playing, sometimes I think with lineman in particular sometimes it takes a while. I thought he did a nice job for us last year when he was in there. And actually when we played some at tight end and things. But [Jordan] Mills has done a good job and I think he has earned the right to be out there with the first group.

Q: When was the last time you spoke with Seantrel Henderson?
A: You know what I can’t recall the time, but it was, I mean it goes back to the last day of the season or whatever. I can’t really recall talking to him. I think he has been in since then but I haven’t talked to him personally.

Q: What it the expectation with John Miller in year two?
A: Well I thought John [Miller] played really well, he was fighting injury I think he play kind of went off a little bit when he has the ankle and all that. But he was fighting through it. But I think he is going to be an outstanding player for us. So I think he will just take off from where he left off. We knew then from a mental standpoint, physical standpoint, that we really thought we hit on him when he came in here. And that is still the case.

Q: Without Shaq is it fair to think Manny Lawson’s role will increase and how nice is it to have veteran like him?
A: Well Manny [Lawson], I think when we went in there, Manny was always going to have a big role for us. Albeit as a super sub, a fifth man if you will, or a sixth man excuse me, you know me I don’t know basketball. What is that sixth man in basketball, thank you, you see that, thanks Scott [Berchtold]. But you know just to be, he can back up all four spots. Right outside, left outside, you know inside backers, you can put him anywhere. And that is really the way he can work because he is such a smart player. But today absolutely we put him in there with that first group in that outside linebacker spot.

Q: You mentioned you could be more unpredictable with Shaq at that position?
A: Well no, I think with Manny [Lawson] it is the same way. You can do a lot of things with Manny also in there. But I think all of them, we are going to play our defense and it is going to be, I think it is going to be, I would think a lot more, a lot harder to distinguish what we are in than what it was previously. I think last year this, we kind of had a little deer on the lawn look. We weren’t really disguising things the way we are doing right now. Now I think it is set up, the way our personnel is set up we think you are going to have some issues with it, trying to figure it out. And certainly when we put the defense in, in Baltimore that was the way we designed it.

Q: You mentioned communication was better already on the defensive side of the ball, can you give us an example of why you think it is better?
A: Yeah I just think it is in the classroom, and listening in the classroom and how it is being taught, the back and forth from players to coach and all that. I think it is a great understanding, we have some great teachers, and I think the good thing is you talk to any player and ask about it. You know I think they will tell you this ‘All-In’ thing isn’t just a slogan. I mean it is all and not necessarily saying it wasn’t last year but it is going to be emphasized that is why we do things. We need to communicate this way and our guys are doing it.

Q: Undrafted guys like Eric Striker, why did you guys bring him and think you can do something with him?
A: Well I think first off you look at him and he is a just a good football player. Whatever his role, does he make your team on special teams, does he back up and insider linebacker, outside linebacker, I don’t know, let’s see what we have. In this game, outside linebacker you need such length in a defensive like we play a true 3-4. He doesn’t have quite the ideal length so we kind of put him inside right now and it is not really what he has done but he looks pretty good. The thing I have been impressed with most he will make a mistake which is common right now for rookies, there is a lot of mistakes being made. But it seems like the next time he sees that look he learns from it. So it is not like he making the same mistakes over and over. So I think he is a quick learner that way and we will see. Will he find himself on this team because he is a good special teams player and just a good football player? I guess we will find out. But obviously he is a young man with great character, he loves to play the game and I think those are some qualities that are special from him.

Q: What do you expect from Goodwin and do you have a sense of what he is going to be doing?
A: Well my understanding is he has the number one jump in the world I think at this point. So that is one way to represent Buffalo, our community and our football team. But you know what this is a once in a lifetime shot for a young man to get an opportunity to represent our country in the Olympics, I am certainly not going to take that opportunity away from him. When he comes back with us we know that he is training specifically for the long jump and things and that is fine. But we will be excited to get him back here and on this thing and work on his football skills. I think for the young man yeah we are paying the bill and all that we get it, but you know what this is a great opportunity for him to represent our country and we are excited to see him go.

Q: When do you expect him to be back?
A: I guess, when is the Olympics over? When is the event over, you know what I mean?

Q: August 17th or something like that.
A: Well then I expect it right around then.

Q: Rex, Robert Blanton, you could really hear his voice, moving people around. He was very audible out there, taking charge. Is that something you knew he’d be able to do right away in this defense and can you kind of comment on his development there?
A: Well you don’t really know until you get him out there but it’s something we kind of suspected. I really liked him when he came out of college, he played corner, safety, so he kind of fit that new breed if you will at safety that they’re playing in this league. A guy that has the ability to play man-coverage and all that but man, he’s been sharp, there is no question about that. When he came in for a visit we kind of thought he definitely had that to him but yeah, he’s been great. I tell you, there’s been two other guys I’ve been really impressed with and these two guys are in before coaches, after, it is crazy, and that’s (Jonathan) Meeks and Duke Williams. I think both those two guys, they come in together, they live with Dan Lynn (defensive assistant D’Anton Lynn), they live with Ed Reed, I mean they’re here all the darn time and you can see it in their play as well. So again, that’s why I’m saying, right now, we’re a much deeper football team at safety then we are at corner and I think when you look at it, we are loaded at safety right now and all these guys are getting a great feel for what they’re doing, the communication part. I love having Aaron Williams out there and Corey Graham again so again, a lot of positives.

Q: Rex, this morning, Doug Whaley said he thinks humans probably shouldn’t be playing football. That’s kind of a jarring statement…
A: Well I can say this, I love the game, I think it’s the greatest sport. I know it’s the greatest sport, it’s the greatest game and we all know how I feel about it. When your son is out there playing in college and all that, okay. When your son’s out there practicing, although I think he might have led the team in catches this spring, I’m not sure for a holder, for the best holder in the country, that’s not bad, maybe that roll increases.

Q: Rex, I had…
A: We’re not taking him. Is that your question?

Q: No. Were you or your staff, we received a new media policy today from Scott (Berchtold) from the Bills organization. Did you guys have concern as a staff about how practices were being reported and did that contribute to how the policy came to be?
A: No. Our media policy is obviously not something that I’m involved in, mine is just with our day-to-day football operations, so I’m just pointing to Scott. That’s Scott’s.

Q: Rex, was T.J. Barnes mixing in on the offensive line? Where’d you get that idea from?
A: Well, when I saw him. You’ve seen some conversions like that. Obviously in Buffalo you guys had it with the kid that’s playing in Philly now, (Jason) Peters played tight end then you guys went to d-line and you just knew he was such a great athlete. This guy is such a big man, he’s smart, a graduate of Georgia Tech so I was like, you know, let’s give him a shot there. We can always move him back but let’s give him a shot at o-line and see how he does. Obviously right now he looks a little lost to say the least but I’m confident. I think he’s got the mental makeup for it, I think he’s smart, I think he’s got a great teacher, he’s got two great coaches over there that are working with him on a daily basis, he’s got a great room offensive line guys with Cordy Glenn, learning from a Cordy Glenn or a Richie Incognito and Eric Wood. These guys are going to try to take him under their wing as well and so we’ll see how he develops.

Buffalo Bills OL Cordy Glenn
Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Q: Cordy, basically what is your reaction to having this contract? You’re basically one of the highest paid tackles in NFL history, has it all kind of sunk in?
A: Oh yeah, man. I’m happy to have a nice contract or whatnot. I’m still here working, still here trying to get better, still have things to prove individually and as a team.

Q: Were you confident it was going to get worked out?
A: It seemed that it got done pretty quick to me. I was confident that we would be able to work something together between the two people.

Q: As far as just the line itself, it’s settled obviously on your left side but there’s competition on the right side. Just give me your big picture view of the line and having the competition on the right side.
A: I mean, as a line, we all play together. When we’re out there, it’s not really about, ‘Oh, this guy is going against this guy.’ We’re all just working to get better and whoever wins, wins. Doesn’t matter.

Q: What is the significance of having you, Richie (Incognito) and Eric (Wood) back together at least on that left-center line?
A: I think it’s key. I mean we had quite a bit of success last year so having us all back and meshing like we did last year is going to be good for us and just also having (Aaron) Kromer and Pat (Meyer) back. I mean, everybody back really.

Q: Also, like you said, Greg Roman, you have Tyrod, I think it’s the first time in your career you’ve had the same offensive coordinator and quarterback to start a season two straight years. How big is that?
A: I mean it’s real key. Just having somebody you had last year so you’re not going through a brand new install and it’s a foreign language. We all know what to expect this year.

Q: How about the whole process, from the franchise tag to negotiation, what was your view of the whole thing from the beginning to signing your name on the long term deal?
A: I mean it was cool to me. It was a great moment for me because I was being appreciated, being able to be franchised and putting in work so that was good being able to move from franchise to contract. I mean it’s always good to just have long-term stability, so that’s something that I wanted.

Q: If you understood that as part of the whole process, signed it pretty quick, I mean that was, ‘boom.’ And so it sounded like you were very confident that this thing was going to come to fruition pretty quickly.
A: Yeah that and just getting it out of the way. I want to be here so just get it out of the way so I can just focus on football and I have football in my contract to worry about everything.

Q: Did you ever reflect on how people said, ‘This guy can’t be a tackle,’ coming into the league, and now here you are?
A: I felt like I did earlier in my career but I mean now I’m just coming to work every day and just trying to get better and trying to get better at my craft.

Q: To be able to do what you’ve done, you had the kidney situation, do you reflect ever how tough of a road it’s been for you to get to this point?
A: Yeah, I mean there was a lot of tough obstacles of course, you know what I’m saying? Having the kidney removed right before camp and really not having a chance to get in shape. I mean that was challenging but the big thing for me is always trying to move forward and not trying to stay in the past.

Buffalo Bills LB Jerry Hughes
Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Q: What are your first impressions of the newcomers and how this defense might look going into the season and how it might be different going into next season?
A: Different more so in we’re going into more of a 3-4 look so we’re really diving in deep into that 3-4 scheme and getting more involved in that, understanding the communications between one another, which is great to see, everybody buy all-in to the system. I mean, we’re here from 7-5. Guys are putting in the work to really understand the playbook in depth so we can come out on the field on Sunday and just play fast.

Q: Jerry, coming off the wrist, obviously you’re out there doing everything, so are you pretty much good to go at this point?
A: Yeah, pretty much good to go. Took care of an incident that happened way back in Week 2, got that taken care of in the offseason. I’m 100 percent now.

Q: How much did it affect you last year? I mean you played with it obviously but how much do you think it affected your play in terms of effectiveness?
A: Big time. I mean it was a chipped bone in my left wrist so anytime you have something like that it slows you down. I just tried to really fight through it and go out there and play with my guys, I always want to be on the field with my teammates, so just kind of really just took it week-by-week, always getting the proper treatments I needed and just played football, really.

Q: Safe to say you were taking guys on with one and a half arms, maybe?
A: I mean, I’m not going to make any excuses when I’m out there on the field. I’m healthy, I’m good to go, but I’m just happy to be 100 percent now.

Q: Jerry, a couple of weeks ago Rex alluded to you being a guy who can move around a little bit more this year maybe than you did last year. Are you looking forward to having those opportunities and how does that affect your game at all?
A: Yeah, I mean it’s just going to be a lot more fun at the outside linebacker position now, I would say. I mean, I’m really just not that traditional down-in. I’ll be standing up more so just understanding the depths and volumes that it goes into playing a linebacker, I mean it opens up the game for you a lot. You can have a lot more fun I’ll say when you’re out in coverage, when you’re out coming off the edge, really just playing with that look to kind of just mess with offensive’s heads.

Q: What’s your level of disappointment after hearing Shaq’s (Lawson) going to be out for maybe a month into the season?
A: I mean, we were all kind of pretty shocked by that. You never want to see a teammate go down or anything like that so we wish him well, we want him to come back full speed but at the same time we know, next man up. That’s how we’re going to take that whole approach. We know Shaq’s going to do everything in his power to come back healthy and play ball for us.

Q: So, last year there was a lot of talk about guys not being happy that they weren’t attacking as much. Are you okay going backwards, forwards, sideline-to-sideline, all these different things you’ll be doing this year?
A: Yeah, I mean whatever the coach needs me to do, we’re going to do it. That’s why we bought into the system, we’re all for it, because we understand the complexity that a Rex Ryan defense can have. I mean, I grew up, we watched him in playoff games, AFC Championship games, things of that nature so we know the schematical things that he can put out there that can really mess with a quarterback’s mind. So we’re all into the system because we want to be the best that we can.

Q: Everybody’s talked about the miscommunication and ‘this’ and ‘that’ and not being on the same page from last year. Do you feel that this group is now on that same page with Rex and what he wants from this defense and vice-versa?
A: Yeah, by leaps and bounds we’ve improved solely just because last year was a new defense, a new scheme, so any time you have all that going in, you really have to understand that’s a lot of verbiage that we kind of have to relay between amongst all 11 players. Now being in our second year in the system, actually having the same defensive coordinator, same head coach back, really helped us out a lot tremendously. Just all of the spring workouts that we’ve been doing, everybody’s been here full attendance putting in their two-cents for all of our individual meetings that we’ve had. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been really good for us to have it.

Q: Jerry, how fast do you think Shaq can be ready to go once he’s healthy? Will there be a lot of learning that will need to be done?
A: Yeah, I didn’t go to school for medicine so I have no idea…

Q: Not medically. In the defense.
A: I mean, we keep him pressed on the playbook as he’s getting, I guess, healthy right now you could say. I mean, he’s going to be ready to go when he gets healthy first and I’m sure he’s doing everything in his power to do that.

Q: Jerry, what are your impressions of Rob Ryan and what he brings to the defensive side of the ball?
A: Another great defensive mind. He’s in our room always adding to our room where we can understand coverage better, understand what the offensive coordinators are thinking. I mean he’s been around football for so long so any time you have somebody with that amount of knowledge who’s just willing to put in all the extra work, all the extra time that he’s been doing, it’s great for us because we have a lot of young linebackers who really need to gain a lot of field experience very fast.

Q: Ed Reed, I know he’s working mostly with the DBs, but what does he bring to the locker room? Obviously he’s a guy that’s pretty relatable for you guys.
A: We all grew up watching him, we’re all big fans, so just for him to be around us, to kind of put that game-field knowledge, someone who’s been out there on the field playing it at 100 miles per hour, someone who understands the defense because he kind of grew up in it, so he’s definitely adding that element where he’s becoming really relatable to us. You know, breaking it down into terms we understand so we can use it on the game field and just play a whole lot faster.

Buffalo Bills QB Tyrod Taylor
Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Q: Just give us a progress report. I know it’s early, but give us your feelings on how it looks.
A: It’s good to have the guys out there competing against the defense, our defense was giving us different a bunch of different looks, but the main thing is that we’re going out there and competing. Guys are making plays on the ball. It’s good to have everybody out there.

Q: What is your level of disappointment knowing that Sammy (Watkins) isn’t going to be out there for until possibly until not during training camp?
A: Not necessarily disappointed right now, kind of moved past that. The main thing is that Sammy gets healthy. We know that he wants to be out here and he’s going to get out as soon as he can. The main thing is we just talked through a bunch of things that happened last year. Once it’s his time to come back in training camp, then we get on the same page as far as getting our chemistry back.

Q: How much does it help that you at least know what he’s capable of, establishing the relationship last year that might help you? And I guess, how much do you lose not getting these three months?
A: Definitely means a lot knowing what he can do, the type of player that he is. Like I said, the main thing for him is that he just gets healthy and once he gets back out there, we’ll make up the time as far as getting on the same page, spending extra time together. And even then, we’re talking through things just not being able to get on the field is something that we can’t do right now but we’ll be able to work around that when the time comes.

Q: Is there a positive to take knowing that other guys get more reps because Sammy is out? Maybe get some reps with other guys?
A: Definitely. The way the rotation’s going with the receivers definitely allows us to build chemistry, allows me to build chemistry, with whichever receiver that we have. They’re splitting reps, (Robert) Woods is getting a lot of reps too. He’s the only number one guy we have right now, it’s a full-on competition with everyone else. It’s good to get those reps with other guys. It’s also good for those guys to put film on tape and show the coaches and show other players what they can do.

Q: It looked like you looked for Jarrett (Boykin) a few times today. Knowing that comfort level that you have with him, does it help you that you’ve played with him before?
A: We played together a number of years ago but definitely. It’s good to have Jarrett in the locker room and like you said, it was a guy that I played with in college, I threw to him a bunch of times. I wouldn’t say it’s any favoritism or anything, I know his body language, I played with him for four years, but like I said, it’s been a number of years since we played together. It’s good to have him back, I know what type of receiver he is. Excited what he can do for us.

Q: Hey Tyrod, a lot of teams in this league have their established No. 1 and 2 receivers, maybe even a third guy. You guys are very wide open right now. Obviously Sammy’s out, just the depth chart is really wide open. Is that kind of an unusual situation for a quarterback, because you got a lot of work to do with a lot of different guys?
A: It allows you, like you said, to work with a bunch of different guys. We have Woods returning, receiver from last year, he’s one in his position on the depth chart, Sammy’s out right now, but as far as that, like you said, the rest of the guys, (Greg) Salas and (Leonard) Hankerson spent the last two weeks with us last year but other than that, everyone else is fresh legs. Dez (Dezmin Lewis) spent last year for the most part on the practice squad, he’s looking very well. Picked up Greg Little, Jarrett Boykin in the offseason and a couple rookies. Guys are just competing. I love going out there and getting a chance to work with different guys. We have a lot of talent at the receiver position and it’s my job to get them the ball and that’s what we’re working hard each and every day to do.

Q: What about Dez, what have you seen from him from last year to this year as far as how much he’s grown?
A: Just playing with more confidence. We knew he was definitely an athletic guy, tall receiver, big body. But he’s playing more confident and you can see it just in the way he’s going out there and competing on a day-to-day. He’s looking forward to the opportunity that he has as well as we’re looking forward for him step up.

Q: Tyrod, what’s the biggest difference for you as you go through this process as having had a full year of starting basically under your belt?
A: Definitely knowing the offense, being able to put guys in the right place when things aren’t right. Being able to get the offense out of certain looks versus certain coverages and certain fronts or certain pressures that we get but also just getting more reps I think is the main thing. Being able to know that you’re going to get a certain amount of reps going into practice and learning from those reps.

 

 

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