Buffalo Bills Camp Media Session Day Three

Buffalo Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan

Sunday, August 2^nd, 2015

Opening Comments:

Alright I think it’s appropriate to start with Ronda Rousey – might be the baddest person on the planet. The problem was, so you know a bunch of us wanted to go watch the fight, thought the fight was going to be at like 10 o clock… fight didn’t happen till like 1:30. But then 30 seconds later it was over at 1:30:30. But yeah pretty impressive. It reminds of like the Mike Tyson when Mike, he’d enter the ring and you knew you were going to get crushed… But yeah that was fun. But that’s what you do in camp ya know? You do one of those type of things, get the chance to go out with the coaches and things. So I took that opportunity, but I did expect to be home a lot earlier.

With that being said, I thought practice today was good. First day of pads is always fun. You finally…It looks like football, finally, it really does – it looks like football. Today we installed a lot of 46 stuff, you know that type of defense, and when you do that a lot of mistakes usually happen on offense – and that happened a little bit today, but overall I was pleased. I pleased with the effort, I liked the way we carried our pads for the first time and some of these guys, John (Miller)…Ya know we looked at Miller, we talked about him, how John would probably be out a couple days or whatever – he just stepped right in. Was only supposed to do individual, go through it a bit. So he’s ready to go in team, so that’s good to see. You want those guards and your offensive lineman to be tough and so he pushed through, looked good. John Conner tweaked a hamstring, so that’s probably about a week, he’ll probably be a week. And I know that really disappoints him because he loves the hitting part of it, he’s not so much on the non-pad days running routes and all that. This is his baby and so he’s really disappointed, I’m sure. And then (Marcus) Thigpen had a little thing, shouldn’t be that big of deal, little tightness he should be fine probably by tomorrow. Other than that we’ve made it through pretty good.

Q: Any updates on Manny Lawson, Clay Burton, and Dan Carpenter?

A: No they’re just pushing through things and hopefully…We’re making sure that they’re ready to come back. We don’t want it to be a reoccurring thing. Carpenter was making sure that he showed me that he’s got the blood on the back of the hamstring. I’m like ‘Dude, what do you get out of kicking the football? Like I don’t think you’re going to, you’re trying to get out of anything. But it was good to see. But no, it was…But nobody does, I mean everybody knows that you have to be out there to see what you got and things, and nobody is more disappointed than they are.

Q: When you’re dialing up the pressure as much as you were today, are you more focused on how the pressure is executed or how the offense reacts to it?

A: The thing that I like to see is that I want to challenge our rules. So that we’re not game planning against ourselves or anything else. But I mean I want to challenge to them. So when the offense makes a little adjustment I have to adjust back with them to make our guys…Hey this is how it goes. You’re trained in things and stuff, but sometimes I want to do it to make sure I still got it. But no, it’s more I really want to see, obviously it’s what we do defensively but I want to see our offense and rule out things. We’ll challenge them and I think there was a little of that today.

Q: What was your philosophy behind getting Jerome Felton, and then John Conner?

A: I think first off when we got Felton, Jerome was…I thought he was probably, he’s right up there with the best fullbacks in the game. So it was an opportunity for us to get a player that we will use, a fullback positon, and one of the top guys if not the top in this league. So it was great opportunity for us to get him. John, we weren’t planning on bringing John Conner in. However when he was still out there, it’s like I know he’s a good football player and we want (good football players). At the end of the day were not worried necessarily about hey we’re bringing in one fullback, going to bring this or this. We want the best 53, and I think John will challenge for a position on this team and that’s why we brought him in.

Q: How has LeSean McCoy’s adjustment been to running behind a fullback?

A: Well yeah you’re exactly right, he didn’t, but you go back to his college days and he had a fullback in front of him. LeSean’s the type of guy it doesn’t matter. He can have a fullback in front of him, you cannot. He can run zone, he can run gap schemes, inside, outside – He’s a…He made some cuts today it’s like ‘Wow!’ One of the first plays we did we got him one on one in the corner, I’m like ‘Mmm that’s not good for the defense.’ But it’s good for us. I can’t wait to watch him – I know every time I see him the way he runs, you know it scares you to death. Cause he’s got that ball swinging, but for some reason he takes care of it. But that’s always a concern you know what I mean? But it’s amazing how he’ll protect that ball when it comes in to when he’s getting hit because he’s not a fumbler. But Anthony Lynn today, like he always does – first day of padded practice he gets up, he shows the entire offense how to carry the football. He’ll go over tapes, how many fumbles there were…There was over 550 fumbles last year. Where if you go back 10 years ago, there was like 200. But it just shows that there’s an emphasis by the league and how to play on defense, how you attack the football on defense. And then maybe it hasn’t been a point of emphasis, but for us it certainly is a point of emphasis and Anthony does a great job of that.

Q: Is a team incomplete without a fullback?

A: Well especially for what we do offensively you can certainly get by, ya know they have these hybrids or whatever. But man I like that smash mouth guy, in a short yardage situation, a guy you can give a fullback. Let him carry it, or he leads and I still thinks it’s still a part of football. A guy that can…you want to be a physical football team, I like having that fullback.

Q: Speaking of physical, there was pads on today during the 1-on-1’s, what was your sense on how those went?

A: Well Vic, that’s the ADHD in me, but I watched a lot of stock block, so I watched the wide outs vs. the corners, I’ve never seen it before, but Sammy Watkins took somebody off his feet in a stock block drill so this just in, Sammy can do everything. Alright, so, I mean I’ve never seen it, I mean he literally lifted the guy up off his feet and was driven back like 10 yards. I’ve never seen it in all the years coaching so that was impressive. But it’s physical. When you get into that, those guys go at it and it’s important, the defense has to set an edge, and they have to get off blocks, and our wide outs especially with the talent that we have in the backfield, you have to have that stick in stay, so you have to attack it, and you have to stick. When that guy moves you got to be in position where you can drive him where he wants to go and not let him get off and so that was competitive. I know I talked to Terry (Pegula) and he was down there watching the 1-on-1’s and he was impressed with John Miller especially today. So, that’s always good to see. You know, I watch him, here who he’s going against every day; Kyle Williams, Marcell Dareus, oh and by the way, Mario Williams when we reduce down to that 46. So a game is going to be like a picnic to him unless we’re playing Houston and you got J.J. Watt or someone, but other than that I don’t know how much better it’s going to get then what we through at him every day.

Q: Are you going to stay in pads tomorrow night?

A: Yes, oh yeah, absolutely. Yup, fans will be out here, hopefully the weather holds off, but if it doesn’t we’re on the turf. You know, shoot, you guys will be alright!

Q: Last couple of days it’s been Manny Lawson standing up with Jerry Hughes down like a DT next to Marcell (Dareus), is this the 46 look?

A: Yeah the 46 we’ll reduce one of those big ends down, and one of them will play outside back or one of them will reduce down as a tackle, so that’s what we’ve been doing, we’re flexible, it’s not that, you know I think people anticipated us you know, playing this guy at sam, or whatever, we’re going to put our best guy out there but one of them is an in, one of them is an outside back and you’ve got to figure out what one of them is, you know, who’s who. So It kind of works into our favor. Manny Lawson has the same skillset, so I kind of like what we’re doing.

Q: How hard is it to evaluate these young offensive lineman when they do have to go against your first team D?

A: But that’s what you’re going to be facing in the league. That’s what you’re going to face if you’re going to the Pro Bowl, so I guess that’s what we’re evaluating. But you know what, that’s it, it’s a great challenge and if you can man up on those guys and do your job then you’re way ahead of the game.

Q: What did you think of Cyrus Kouandjio today?

A:  I like the way he’s playing, I really do. And I’ve been impressed with him, and I’ve also been impressed with Seantrel Henderson. Really impressed with him. I mean obviously he’s a big guy, gets a lot of movement in the running game, so we’ve got two good options right there. And that’s what you want. You know we picked up this other tackle, and Scott (Berchtold) was saying, “Well, they might want to talk to you about him”, well, I don’t know anything about him, but he’s big! I’m not expecting an Anthony Munoz but we’ll see. He does have some size and things so we’ll see how it goes.

Q: How do you think your D-line stacks up compared to the rest of the NFL?

A: I mean it’s hard to imagine anybody would have better, a better group of lineman that were going to face, you mentioned Ndamukong Suh, you’ve got the two good one’s there too in Miami, and then the Jets are loaded, so it’s pretty good. New England always has competitive guys, well coached guys, but we’ll see, but you know, the other two are better.

Q: Are the starting jobs on the o-line still up for grabs?

A: I don’t anticipate Eric Wood being replaced anytime soon, but yeah you’re trying to make sure you’ve got the best guys. I’ve been really happy with (Cyril) Richardson. He’s back, you know one thing for sure, Richie (Incognito), Riche’s a starter. I mean he looks as good as about any of them. Cordy (Glenn) looks really good, so we’re set there. Those three are set, but then obviously you’ve got Miller, he’s being pushed by Richardson, and like I said, he looks absolutely terrific so that’s a great thing to have.

Q: When it comes to Richie, are you impressed by how he’s still in shape after being out of football for so long?

A: Yeah I’ve been blown away by it. When we were doing our conditioning tests, he was 20-30 yards ahead of everybody else. So he is in great shape, and you know, he is so hungry, he’s great in the meetings. Coachable, he’s everything we’d thought he would be. But he’s even further along than I thought he’d be as far as coming back in shape and it’s like he never missed any time.

Q: What does that say about someone who went through some troubles and reestablished himself?

A: I think it just talks about giving people second chances. And maybe third chances, or whatever. But at the end of the day, when you get it, it’s worth it. And I think when you look at Richie he’s been absolutely tremendous here.

Q: After McCoy, it seems like the rest of the running backs jobs are up for grabs

A: I think it is going to be great competition. Obviously you have Fred Jackson, who we all know what Freddy brings, he is a tremendous player. Yes I recognize the age and all that but he is just a veteran and you know what you are going to get. And he is in good shape and things. And obviously really the all of them, to Bryce Brown to you name it. The young kid [Karlos] Williams and then we got the big horse (Boobie Dixon). So it is like you know we got a pretty good situation. Could they all make the team, yeah they could, like I said they could all make it.

Q: You said you hold Richie [Incognito] and Seantrel [Henderson] accountable, what do you guys do differently than other NFL camps?

A: I am not really worried about others. This is how we run it. This is what I think the camp should look like. But accountability is a huge thing for us. The guys we treat them like professionals and they handle their business that way. And I think that is all you can ask. I want them to have fun though. I know how fortunate I am to be on this field every day because if not I would probably be in the stands watching. I know I am lucky to be here and they are too. It is not just a job, yes there is a ton of work to do, but it is not just a job it is much more than that. This has got to be fun, and you got to enjoy every minute of this. Because you can’t play this game forever and you can’t coach it forever. I know I am enjoying it.

Q: How much can Corey Graham learn from Aaron Williams with the position switch given Williams made that switch a few years ago?

Q: I think those guys have a great relationship. Yeah, Aaron did come from corner then to safety all that I think, that is unique that way. You got Duke Williams in there and some other guys. This is a unit, its not just here is a guy a starter whatever, this a unit back there. And that is kind of… it is almost a theme for our team. So it starts with that unit pride, the defensive pride. Then it is the entire football team. Same thing on offense. There is a lot of pride at receiver, then there is a lot of pride on the offense, a lot of pride on this team. That is the way this thing takes. That is how we kind of approach things.

Q: Aaron Williams no off season work outs at all but has stepped in?

A: He might not be a 100-percent right there now, but he is close. So I have been impressed with him there is no doubt. That communication is so critical at that safety spot because basically you run that back end. And there is a lot of talents there, but we are fortunate we got some smart guys back there and we got some great teachers with Tim McDonald, Donnie Henderson, Dennis Thurman. Those guys do a tremendous job.

Q: Cassel got first team reps three days in a row. Can you explain that?

A: We put him there. That is what we want to do. We want the young guys to be with his experience that he is always rotating with them, with that group. Tyrod [Taylor] is going to get his equal turns at the one spot and so is EJ [Manuel]. So we are putting them there, but then when we go to him running some other ones they go down with the threes because they are younger and they are going to be with some of these younger guys. We think that is the best way to develop these quarterbacks.

DT Marcell Dareus
Sunday, August 2, 2015

Q: First day back in pads, how are you feeling out there?
A: I am feeling pretty good. I hit with the fellas. Keeping it simple.

Q: How does your role change in the defensive scheme this year?
A:  Giving a lot of effort. Kyle Williams is helping me out, and Mario [Williams] is helping me out. Coach [Karl] Dunbar is a real good dude. He is teaching us a lot.

Q: Is this when football begins, is this when the season really starts when the pads come on?
A: Of course. It sets the tone for the team. We move towards the goal, and we get the bumps and bruises to get used to them.

Q: How excited where you to get back out there?
A: I am ready to have a little fun. You know the offseason a lot of people blowing your phone up and you can get aggravated with it. Now is the time you can just relax. Being around guys you just truly love being around. We can hit each other and no one gets mad.

Q: How much confidence did last year give you?
A: I feel the same every year. It is not really confidence, it is just a love of what I do. When you love what you do it is just natural confidence I guess.

Q: How much fun is it to be out there with that group of guys?
A: It is playing backyard football. Whoever got the ball we are going to attack. It is just having fun.

G Richie Incognito
Sunday, August 2, 2015

Q: First day in pads, how did it go?
A: It was great to be in pads. Getting out there flying around. The defense is good, they are talented. But to get out there thumping again, that was a lot of fun. Out there with your buddies, beating people up that’s what I like to do.

Q: What is the significance to you of Rex telling us that is your starting job?
A: Right. There is a lot of significance in that. It was a long road back. There was darker times. It was something at times I didn’t think was going to happen. I have been blessed with an opportunity. The Pegula’s, Rex (Ryan) and Doug Whaley have kind of given me a clean slate. Taken me at face value, let me come in here and be myself, work  hard. I got my teammates to thank. They let me into their locker room and they welcomed me with open arms. Obviously I have been here before and I know some guys. I think they got to know me, who I am, what I am about.  And now that we are grinding and going it is a day by day process. Now I am just trying to earn everyone’s respect and make guys around me better.

Q: Maybe prove something to yourself?
A: No doubt.  Every single day. You know I came out here today and I was hyped up we put pads on for the first time and I wasn’t in pads for a long time. Last time I was in pads was Thursday night playing down in Miami and you know it left a bad taste in my mouth to kind of leave the game like that.  A lot of time away, a lot of time to think. And today I definitely woke up with that in the back of my head.

Q: Have you been impressed with John Miller on the other side of the ball and what he has been able to do?
A:  No question. John is a stud. John can definitely play at this level. You know he came in and was like a sponge, he picked up on things really fast. And to pick up on things like that fast as far as scheme wise and actually be able to go out there and do it as a rookie that is really impressive there. He is able to go out there and do what we talked about in meetings, play and get people locked up.

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