Head Coach Ben McAdoo
August 17, 2017
Q: Did Eli Apple get a rest day or is he hurt?
A: He felt his ankle a little bit, so we were precautionary with it.
Q: Did he feel it during practice?
A: No.
Q: What happened with Dwayne Harris?
A: Yeah, we held him out today. He had some soreness in his upper body.
Q: How is Mark Herzlich progressing?
A: He’s progressing. He is not where we want him to be yet to put him back on the field, but he is working through it.
Q: Is he running and doing stuff on the side or is he not there yet?
A: They are handling everything with Mark in the training room.
Q: Are you looking at Brandon Marshall in the punt return rotation?
A: The more guys that you have that can field the ball, the better.
Q: How is J.T. Thomas progressing?
A: He is working through it. Going through individuals, and eventually we will build him up to 7- on-7’s, some special teams work, and then team reps. But right now we are starting slow with him.
Q: Where is Michael Hunter at? Has he just built upon what he did in the spring?
A: Yeah, he had a nice day today. He made a nice play on the ball, couple flashes on the ball from press coverage on a go route, which is tough to do and encouraging to see. He is a young player that is making gains.
Q: Have you seen progress or are there still things you are looking to see improved from specifically [Ereck] Flowers or even the whole group?
A: Ereck, I thought, was a bright spot in the game versus the first opponent we played. I think he got his hands inside, had a couple nice strikes and punches. I thought he was bending pretty well and I look forward to him taking a jump this week.
Q: Do you see anything different from the group? Hanging out together.
A: I see a group that is growing together.
Q: With a short turnaround between games 2 and 3, does that change the way you are going to play the first-team guys?
A: Three games in 11 days will be a factor, yes.
Q: Do you have to make any adjustments to practice in that regard?
A: We take every day on a case-by-case, but we plan for every practice in advance, but we have to be able to adjust and improvise with the ebbs and flow of practice and the injury report.
Q: Would you still like to get Eli in games 2 and 3?
A: Yes, that’s the plan.
Q: When you call Flowers a bright spot, is that based on your film review?
A: That’s the way he played in the game, yes.
Q: Do you factor game play more important than practice play?
A: When you practice, you go out and you practice, you make mistakes and you fix the mistakes. That’s part of practice. That’s why we practice. to go out and play aggressive. We make mistakes in practice and then the way to get better is to fix those mistakes and not repeat mistakes. So, mistakes happen in practice, it is a part of it, but the games reps are really valuable.
Q: Are you increasing the workload on [Davis] Webb?
A: We are giving him some more team snaps. Today was a little bit of a change of pace. We are learning to practice on how to prepare for an opponent. So we had some ups and downs today. We were a little slow with our tempo, but that will get better as we move forward. But Davis is going to get an opportunity to take some more snaps in that environment, yes.
Q: It has been assumed the Geno (Smith) and Josh (Johnson) are battling for the No. 2 job. Is there any chance that Webb can jump in front of Smith and Johnson?
A: I think we all have to be careful making assumptions. Josh and Geno are competing right now for the number two spot, and if that doesn’t look the way we want it to look, Davis will get a crack.
Q: Are you starting to think you are going to give Davis a chance to compete for that job?
A: We’ve only played one preseason game. There is a lot of football left to play.
Q: There is not a lot of time left though.
A: Yeah, just 75% of the preseason.
Quote:
it was an awful plan...
Wow. I'm not even sure what to day about this one.
You can say it's a moronic post, because no matter how you slice it you need 3-4 QBs around for camp and the preseason.
And Johnson has been around the team for quite a while now and Geno was brought in specifically to win this job. So to question that neither can "handle this type of job" on August 18th is actually moronic...
I tend often to side with Jimmy Googs' skepticism, just my nature until the benefit of the doubt is won, but he's just plain wrong here. Mac is being flat out practical here: what he is saying, and what a lot of us saw vs. Steelers, is that there two veteran guys are not exactly playing lights out, so coaches are adjusting the plan, pending next performances.
My point is that should never have been the thinking from the beginning, and it was. Johnson just looks like a trainwreck and you really have to question the point of him being in our camp at all, especially since he has done nothing for years. And I have always said the more reps/snaps for Webb the better...even if he doesn't win the backup job b/c it will make him that much more acclimated next summer.
It was a bad plan, that now needs re-thinking...
Jimmy, I did grasp your point, but I think because of the above, few would have taken the position that he should have started off on an equal footing with JJ and Smith. It may turn out your opinion proves out, though still very early, but that does not equate in my mind that it was a "bad plan"
If you mean me, I understand the concept. I may not agree it with it 100% but it clearly has merits. Unfortunately it is not fool-proof in developing QBs which take on many paths, and we STILL need a decent backup this year.
I agree it has less to do with Webb rising and the others "falling:. However, they are still in the same predicament nevertheless so their hand is being forced by their own earlier judgments...
Jimmy, I did grasp your point, but I think because of the above, few would have taken the position that he should have started off on an equal footing with JJ and Smith. It may turn out your opinion proves out, though still very early, but that does not equate in my mind that it was a "bad plan"
Thats fair. Maybe bad was harsh choice of words on my point, and I get to play armchair headcoach with hindsight. But thats why I like coming onto BBI to some degree :-)
Quote:
If there is a change it has little to do with Webb, and everything to do with the other guys. In other words, their hand being forced.
I agree it has less to do with Webb rising and the others "falling:. However, they are still in the same predicament nevertheless so their hand is being forced by their own earlier judgments...
Fair enough. But I don't necessarily see that as an indication the plan was awful. To say the plan was awful because plan A did not work out suggests unrealistic expectations. You are far from dealing with certainties here, and salary cap constrains everything. Letting Webb focus on development may well remain the best course for him and I've no reason to doubt their judgement there.
;-)
;-)