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HEAD COACH JON GRUDEN
(On how the offense looked during practice)
“I don’t know; I’ve got to look at the film. Obviously, we didn’t have many assignment errors. I thought for the most part there was some solid execution. And until we see the film and look at guys individually, it’s hard to say. But I thought there were some good things in the passing segment, pretty good things in the running segment. And I can say the same thing for the defense, at times.”
(On if the running game looked good)
“Well, we should be pretty good. We’ve been practicing this for three or four months. The right guard and the right tackle are getting more and more comfortable and are powerful people. Arron Sears is a very physical player, and we’re better. I think we’re a little bit better. But today’s just the beginning of training camp; we’ve got an awful long way to go.”
(On the intensity)
“It was very good. I was pleased with it. The first day of pads is sometimes a transition not only from the standpoint that they haven’t worn them since the end of last season, but you have new players coming from other places that practiced differently – in shorts. To make sure that everybody is on the same page from an etiquette standpoint, we had a little meeting last night. I thought our guys responded pretty well. There’s still plenty to clean up, but it was a physical practice, and I thought we ended with what looks like a pretty conditioned football team.”
(On Shelton Quarles attending practice)
“I talked to Shelton last week or two weeks ago and invited him to training camp. There’s one guy who does like football, and it’s good to see him. That’s about all I have on that front.”
(On the advantage of having this group of quarterbacks)
“We want to try and get some guys with good experiences. But to have four guys who understand the offense makes things a lot easier. You don’t waste as many snaps, and you expect a lot more from that position when you have experience. Youth is really not an excuse anymore. We’ve got guys who have started. We’ve got guys who have been around the system. We expect guys to make plays.”
(On Gaines Adams possibly receiving a rude awakening today)
“I don’t know; he made some plays out there. I think Cadillac juked him back up inside, but he did turn the play back in like he is supposed to. This is his first day in pads, and it’s the beginning of his career. I hate to keep talking about him every day, making predictions. He’ll be ok. I think he’ll be just fine.”
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(On WR David Boston looking pretty good in camp)
“Pretty good? He did look pretty good. He was a superstar in this league when healthy. I’m not going to say he’s back yet, but if today and yesterday and the day before and the last three months are any indication, he’s closing in on coming back and making a name for himself again.”
(On Chris Simms’ health)
“He’s healthy. He wouldn’t be out here playing if he wasn’t healthy. He’s got to pick up his play. That’s the big thing. I’m not going to address the health thing anymore. He’s had a serious injury. He’s had other injuries that are well-documented. But he’s healthy; he wouldn’t be practicing if he wasn’t.”
(On if RB Cadillac Williams is better now than he was when he entered the league)
“That’s a tough question there. I don’t know. He was pretty good coming into the NFL two years ago. As I’ve said always, I’m a big fan of his. I think he’s one heck of a football player. He’s tough as nails. He’s durable. He’s a guy who loves it. He’s a great competitor, and he’s a guy we need obviously to ignite us offensively. He needs to be a centerpiece here and a guy we lean on.”
(On his impressions of Sabby Piscitelli)
“He’s got a lot of range. He’s got speed. Right now, he’s in the process of putting a lot together mentally. We’re playing some different coverages and we’re doing some things on defense we haven’t done in the past. And it’s taxing to all our players but particularly a young safety who’s responsible for a lot of calls and checks and things of that nature. That’s one of the reasons why we have a lot of shifts and things of that nature in our offense at this point – to try and help our young defenders get ready to play.”
(On the first day in pads being the first day that a coach can truly see things)
“These guys wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t played the game in pads before. There are not a lot of novices coming into the league. I wasn’t really worried about Kevin Carter taking on the tight end, if you know what I mean. We didn’t draft Gaines Adams number four overall if we didn’t think he’d stick his face in there and play the run. So that’s not really a concern. Although to be a physical football team, you have to be one. You’ve got to go out there and actually be one. You can’t talk about that. We do have some young guys who are going to play physical, and we’ve added some veterans who are going to pick up that aspect also.”
(On G Davin Joseph)
“There might not be many guards in football who are going to be as physical as him. That’s one thing he’s going to be. He’s going to be a physical guy for us at right guard. Last year was a huge transition for him. He played left tackle at Oklahoma. He came in here and played right guard and had an injury and missed four games. And I don’t care who you talk to, that’s tough sledding in this league. He’s a leader on the football team. He’s as strong a man as we have, and he’s in great shape. And he is very athletic for a man of his size. I’ve got a real high standard for him to live up to. He should be a great player if we don’t screw it up.”
(On if he’s willing to bring more quarterbacks in to camp)
“We’re trying to get a stable of quarterbacks that can help us dominate. We’re very fortunate to get Jeff Garcia in free agency, and we like the fact that we have three young guys with experience, but we’re always looking at that position. I don’t know anybody in the league that isn’t. That’s the hand that feeds you, and you’ve got to have a quarterback – we’ve had three or four years in a row where we’ve played three quarterbacks a year – so I can say from firsthand experience, you’d better have a backup. It’s not only a backup who knows your offense, but a guy who can go in there and help you get to the playoffs and win a championship.”
(On if the team has had any follow-ups with free agent QB Daunte Culpepper)
“I have no comment on that right now other than we’ll continue to look into every man who is available’s situation, and if we feel the opportunity strikes, we’ll react accordingly.”
(On how it feels to have a healthy Brian Kelly)
“He looks good, and I’ll tell you who else looks really good – Phillip Buchanon. He wasn’t here last year either until late in the year. So to have those three guys working in concert together is exciting. We all know Barber is a feature player for us, certainly in the nickel defense where he comes inside. The opportunity to have Brian Kelly back is going to without a doubt help our football team, and Phillip Buchanon is going to make our team much better also, I believe.”
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DE/DT KEVIN CARTER
(On being able to stay healthy)
“I’m blessed. I’m blessed, I’m thankful. I live a moderate life off the field; I think that definitely helps as well. I have a six-year old son, my son, Zion, is my focus. He and my wife, Shima, and my extended family are what I involve my time and efforts into when I’m not playing football, so I think that definitely helps. Training, trying to take care of my body, prepare and go out there everyday and really train hard, hit hard, run, play and you have to go out there and give a lot of effort, but you have to do it the right way and take care of yourself.”
(On his familiarity at left defensive tackle)
“I’ve played tackle before. I played primarily tackle in my last two years in Tennessee in a scheme very similar to this one. I was in a 3-4 the last two years two-gapping and I’m 300 pounds so I can play inside or out, so like I said, the versatility is not whether I can do it. It’s how we best want to use the personnel that we have.”
(On the 3-4 defense)
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can do a bunch of different things. We’ve got a very unique combination of old and young guys, but guys like myself and DE Greg Spires have played in 3-4 before, you have guys who are versatile players like DT Chris Hovan, who is not just a nose guard. He’s a guy who can play the three-technique and get up field, who has a quick get off and can rush the passer. You’ve got DT Ellis Wyms, who is a versatile guy. The quality of our depth up front is good and it’s really exciting and that’s a good problem to have when you have a lot of guys who are all big, all strong, and all fast who can do a lot of different things. It opens up and gives you different options.”
(On DE Gaines Adams)
“Gaines is very athletically talented, I think everyone knows that. The only thing he has to work on is just technique. He’s just raw, he’s just a little bit raw right now, but he’s got talent and depending how much he wants to work on his craft, you know, will dictate the kind of progress he makes as a player.”
RB CADILLAC WILLIAMS
(On his general health)
“I’m good. Actually, I’m 110 percent. I’m fine. It is football, so you are definitely going to get banged up. You are definitely going to be sore. But at the same time, it’s a physical sport and you just have to keep playing through it.”
(On the difference in the offensive line this season)
“It’s the first day in pads, it’s hard to tell. I think the addition of Luke [Petitgout], and moving AD [Anthony Davis) inside, it’s going to be good for us. Plus, with all of the competition we have going on, it isn’t going to do anything but make everybody better. With the addition of Jeff [Garcia], I think we will have a really productive year.”
(On if the success of the quarterback affects his position)
“I think it’s going to be big. Jeff is a proven guy. He has won a lot of ball games in this league and he has played a lot of ball games in this league. With a guy of his caliber who can run around, make plays, and distribute the ball to everybody, it’s going to play a big role.”
(On getting more consistent yardage early in the game and establishing rhythm)
“If you look back last year, a lot of times, second half, third quarter, we were down by two or three touchdowns. So sometimes our playcaller felt like, to get back in the game, he’s going to have to pass, pass, pass. So a lot of times, I actually didn’t get that opportunity. I think if we just come out as a team, that will help us, the defense, the offense, us staying in ball games and keeping ball games close. I definitely will see those kind of carries.”
(On rooming with Michael Clayton)
“Yes, I am still rooming with [Michael] Clayton. He has gotten better. He’s a married guy now, so his bad habits, he still has a few of them. But he’s a lot better.”
(On the shotgun bolstering the running game)
“I actually think that could be a plus. Like you say, I don’t know if we are going to run, pass. With a guy like Jeff [Garcia], who’s got wheels, we could also throw in a little trap offense. With us being in the shotgun, with us running the football out of the shotgun, it is actually going to open up lanes for me.”
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