Monday Media Transcript: Head Coach Pat Shurmur

Head Coach Pat Shurmur
8-27-18
 
Opening: I think we tried to take advantage of the heat and the pads and did a little bit of extra conditioning – pursuit drill and then kind of a tempo no-huddle drill for the offense just to take advantage of this heat. When you don’t have the padded practices and the heat goes away, we’re done with it so we took advantage of it today. I thought the guys responded and we got a lot done.
 
Q: Today the last padded practice before the regular season?
A: We’re going to be in shells tomorrow so we’ll practice in pads next week prior to Jacksonville. Today is Thursday, right? In our world. So tomorrow will be a Friday practice and then Saturday and so on.
 
Q: Saquon (Barkley) had a wheel route today similar to the play he got hurt on. Does he look good as new to you?
A: Yeah he had a good day. He’s been practicing. Practiced well yesterday and today. He looked good.
 
Q: Is he limited at all or are you letting him go full practice at this point?
A: You can reveal to the world that he’s out here practicing full. Let’s reveal it. I know there’s – sometimes when you’re up here and you hear the questions, I see it differently because I’m on the behind-the-scenes day-to-day, but he’s doing very well.
 
Q: We assume, we just wanted you to confirm.
A: Yeah, confirmed.
 
Q: Olivier Vernon update?
A: Ankle like we talked about yesterday and so he’s day-to-day.
 
Q: Did he have his MRI yet?
A: He was checked out. The MRI didn’t show any breaks so he’s just day-to-day with that ankle. He got checked out pretty thoroughly.
 
Q: Is that the same ankle he sprained last year?
A: You know, I don’t know that. That’s a good question so we’ll see.
 
Q: Saw Romeo (Okwara) getting some reps today with the ones. What have you seen from him in camp?
A: He’s done a good job. He’s actually – he’s caught our eye again. I tend to watch edge players so Romeo and obviously what Lorenzo’s (Carter) been doing. They can crank up the pass rush and I think he did a good job today based on what I saw.
 
Q: Was today a step forward for (Connor) Barwin? Seemed like he did individuals and do you like where he’s at?
A: He was out there today. Probably did the most in practice he’s done in a while and so we’ll just see how the knee responded when we go in here this afternoon.
 
Q: When it comes to making decisions on roster spots, do you have a preference if it’s a young guy and an old guy, all things are equal, do you lean towards the veteran or the young guy?
A: I think those are individual cases so the comparisons on who’s the better guy for what reasons. Sometimes youth plays a factor, sometimes experience plays a factor. It might depend on the guy and the position so there’s really no harden fast rule on that.
 
Q: You’ve talked about team chemistry in this camp. Are there things that you look for to gauge how the team is doing?
A: Yeah, I guess when we have done this long enough where we sort of remember when teams were close and it built the chemistry and then we’ve all coached in years where it was ehh. I think I’m just looking for those indicators and I see a group of guys that really believes in themselves, they believe in each other. I like the path we’re on, we still got a long way to go, but I like the direction that our team is heading.
 
Q: Is there a team that you’ve been apart of that set the bar?
A: No, I’ve been fortunate to be on a lot of really, really good teams. I wouldn’t single one out.
 
Q: How about the floor?
A: And I’ve been on a few that were sort of (inaudible) that way so I won’t single them out either.
 
Q: How do you evaluate Eli Apple’s preseason so far?
A: I think he’s done a good job. I think he’s out there, he’s competing. I think he’s playing against some pretty good wide outs in practice. I like what he’s done in games and I watch for the connection game day and I think he’s showing that in the last three games.
 
Q: I’m sorry, connection on game day meaning?
A: Connection in the game, in the flow, knowing what’s going on, covering your guy, competing if you get beat, come back keep competing. Kind of that in-game connection, I think I’ve seen really good stuff.
 
Q: A year ago when we were talking about this team, everybody would sit there and say they have a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Do you like the fact that there is no pressure is in here this year?
A: I just told the team today, and I’ll say this, I’m not into predictions. I’m not into – I told the team today really don’t worry about Jacksonville, let’s just make the rest of today as good as it can be and then we’ll see where we go with it. I remember the feeling we had last year, Sam Bradford gets hurt, Teddy’s (Bridgewater) not in there, we start Case Keenum and everybody was – and the message was hey let’s have a really good practice and get ready to play the next opponent and then let’s just be better than them on that Sunday and see where it all falls. I’m not smart enough to predict, but I’m smart enough to stay in the moment and try to make it as good as it can be.
 
Q: I don’t think we asked you about Sterling Shepard and his game the other night.
A: Yeah he had some production and again, a gritty guy we can play him in the slot, we can play him outside. He gets involved in the run blocking patterns. I really like what I’ve seen from him.
 
Q: When a guy has a game like that, you know, seven catches a couple in traffic, do you kind of check the boxes like oh, he’s ready?
A: I don’t know if I check the box, but it’s good to see that he can take on a load and produce. Again, we’ve been very pleased from what we’ve seen from him and he’s a guy that’s going to help us win games.
 
Q: So just for the record, (Saquon) Barkley and (Odell) Beckham may or may not play on Thursday?
A: For the record (laughs).