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Skins Quotes 10/21/19: Bill Callahan

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October 21, 2019
Interim Head Coach Bill Callahan

On injury updates for RB Adrian Peterson, S Montae Nicholson, RB Chris Thompson and QB Case Keenum:
“[QB Case Keenum] came out alright and the other players you mentioned are all being evaluated, so I'll have a little more information later this afternoon. Probably tomorrow I'll have quite a bit more information as we decide where we're going with personnel.”

On handling his first short week as the new head coach:
“Like I mentioned yesterday after the game, we've moved on pretty quickly, pretty rapidly into the Vikings preparation. We gave a preview of that in the team meeting -- all the unit position meetings are all oriented toward Minnesota. As for tomorrow, we'll be in for a normal day, normal practice. We won't be in pads, but we will have helmets, cleats, we will move. We want to generate a little bit more activity on the field. Then, on Wednesday, we'll do the same, probably less movement because we're getting closer to the game day. We backed up the flight. We're going to be leaving out of here a little bit later on Wednesday and getting to Minneapolis early evening.”

On how much the familiarity with Vikings QB Kirk Cousins helps with preparation:
“He's in a different system now, so that all changes and I'm sure his progressions, his reads, what they're asking him to do, that's all changed. There are some similarities because the plays are pretty much by in large in the drop-back game are similar across the league. How they feature those from a formational aspect, they're always different. We've got a lot of respect for [Vikings QB] Kirk [Cousins] and we anticipated that he'll be at his best. He's been pretty good the last few games out. We're looking forward to the challenge to say the least.”

On why he has ‘lengthen' practices and made them more ‘aggressive':
“Well, we're not going to be in pads tomorrow. We're not situated to have contact tomorrow. So we're going to be smart with our football team this week. I don't know if I've misrepresented that to you. I'm just saying tomorrow we're going to be out in hats and cleats.”

On the practices being ‘longer':
“Practices really aren't longer at all. Pretty much the same time allotment. I don't want to misrepresent that. But the practices are pretty close to a time-element structure. We just want to be smart in terms of what we're doing on the field. We still want to get quality work. It's not always about quantity, but I think we're moving pretty efficiently from period to period and the focus has shifted, not necessarily making contact points or increasing the contact points across the body of practice but I think we're really trying to be smart, efficient and try to utilize those reps for situational purposes. As I've explained before, I think the practices have been more focused on situational, more competitive, but that doesn't take away from the health of the team nor does it increase the reps of the teams. So I think we've been really smart with that, our staff has been really good. Players know how to work against each other and I think whenever you're competing on the practice field, you're always going to evaluate the health of your team, but you still have to practice. And you still need those fundamental techniques so it's really important that players take care of themselves and they've got to learn how to practice against each other full speed, but they protect themselves. And they've got to protect themselves from each so staying off the ground, avoiding all those pile ups or collisions. We're still practicing aggressively, but we're not trying to bang anybody or hurt anybody during the body of the practice.”

On if he thinks players didn't know how to practice against each other before he became interim head coach:
“I can't say that. No, I wouldn't say that at all.”

On how Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has changed since his time in Washington:
“I haven't seen enough tape, to be quite honest with you. I'm focusing on our offensive side looking at their defense and I hope to take a deep dive into that this evening and early tomorrow morning.”

On QB Case Keenum's play against San Francisco:
“Like I mentioned last night, it was a different game. Our focus and our attention going into the game was to run the football. I think we achieved that goal, we had over 100 yards rushing. I thought [QB] Case [Keenum] managed the run game aspect of it really, really well. Opportunistically, we wanted to do better in the passing game when those opportunities presented themselves. I'm sure – just like any game – Case or whatever quarterback was in there would love to have a couple plays back. I don't think that's any different than what transpired yesterday.”

On whether you can gain takeaways in a game played in such poor weather:
“I think that's a great point in the sense that these games come up from time to time, especially when you're living in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast, and you're NFC East football and its outdoors. It's going to happen and so the preparations for these types of games are really important – ball-handling, ball security. Those are all points that we've talked to the team about – how you manage your footwear, how many cleats to take out there, where to dig in at, looking at the field before the game, we surveyed it. Then, when you go out – and let's say the rain is a little bit more intense – you're always working to stay dry and keeping your hands dry and things of that nature, but your sleeves, your arms, the other different parts of your body need to be dried off and dry as well because everything is susceptible for the ball to slide out. Whether it's on a punt – I thought [P] Tress [Way] did a great job securing a couple high snaps for us and [LS] Nick [Sundberg], in those conditions snapping the ball with a wet heavy ball, trying to put it on target and also settling back to block, that's a challenge in itself. The receivers obviously on the perimeter – I think both sides had difficulty at times managing the tough catch. They did make the plays though that we didn't. Just across the spectrum, whether you're a defensive back – you know, Landon [Collins] missed a tip, I think [CB Quinton Dunbar] missed a tipped ball when he broke down on a slant play, almost had a pick late in the game – you see all those types of things happen. If you just really watch and focus on the ball, you'll see opportunities where we could have made better plays and, of course, I thought there were a lot of instances where our players did protect the ball and they did a really good job not only putting one hand, but securing it with two and locking it up as they were going to the ground. All those little things that sometimes we don't see during the course of the game really come out on film the day after when you watch it. You can see the little things that the players are doing to make sure that the ball is secured and it's tight.”

On how to justify losing a game in such harsh conditions:
“Well, I was really proud of our players and I mentioned that last night. I was proud of their effort on all three units. I thought we played defense really well. We shut out and just limited their offense to three field goals. That's a great effort in a lot of respects. As you really delve into it, you can see three interior linemen producing 23 tackle points. I mean, when ever do you see your top three [defensive tackles] leading the team in tackles? That's rare, but that was one of those types of games that was going to be a game of warfare in the trenches and survival of the fittest inside. I thought [DT Matt] Ioannidis, [DT] Daron Payne and [DT] Jonathan Allen all played well, played hard, and then [LB Jon] Bostic played well on that pup on the second level, so there were a lot of great takeaways from the game. When you go back and you study it as a team, it's tough because the margin of error is so minute in the National Football League, you have only so many plays that you need to capitalize on and we just didn't do that yesterday. If we could've capitalized on a few more plays, I think we would've been in a better situation.”

On coaching RB Adrian Peterson and his fumble in the game:
“I've been close to [RB] Adrian [Peterson] since he's been here and when we formatted and installed the running game he's always a central point of focus. I know him from way back, even way back when I was at Nebraska and he was playing at Oklahoma. He's somebody I've always really respected and, of course, throughout the history of his career he's always been impressive. Those things happen, I'm sure he'd love to have that play back and it happens every now and then. Nobody is more of a pro than Adrian is when it comes to accountability. He's honest, he's forthright and I think he's going to let you know that he feels horrible about the play that occurred, but he's done so many other positive things. You go back to last year gaining over 1,000 yards with a line that was just shattered, beat up – that speaks volumes of his grit, and his determination and his overall ability.”

On QB Alex Smith's recovery and how he elevates the other quarterbacks:
"Well, [QB] Alex [Smith] is a really impressive person and player, but he has a unique intellect that sees the game a lot differently than a lot of other people. He can give us as a staff insight as to what's transpiring with a player or a concept, a scheme, a defense, and that's the experience of his career, obviously. He's working diligently on the road to rehab trying to get himself back to 100 percent, and I've never seen anything like it, I really haven't. I've never seen anything like the effort he's pouring into his rehab. It's so impressive, and for him to be going out there in the stages he's gone through, he's got the ultimate respect from all of us. I think as a competitor wanting to get back out on the field again and wanting to play again, after what he's gone through, the trauma he's gone through that just speak volumes for his passion and for his will. I've never seen a player with that type of will. He wills himself to do things. It's a great example for players, people in general, to emulate and to follow. So, I've got more respect for Alex than you can even imagine."

On if RB Derrius Guice is running full speed:
"I think he's getting closer. I think he's getting closer. Just got to check with [Head Athletic Trainer] Larry [Hess] and see when we're going to release him back into the program, hopefully, sooner than later. His progress is day-to-day, I know that he's getting stronger and he's getting healthier. So, hopefully, that can manifest itself into an earlier release."

On how close CB Josh Norman was to playing and if the weather was a factor in him not playing:
"No, he was backed down for medical purposes. So, hopefully, we can get him back this week."

On RB Wendell Smallwood's performance in Week 7:
"We thought [RB Wendell] Smallwood played really well. He had a perimeter run that broke out on the right side for a pretty good gain, and he was really functional in the passing game in terms of protection-pick up, knew where to be, his check-downs were in order. I think going forward, he definitely has a role for us, and we're excited about his future. He's a guy that comes to work every day, he's in early, practices hard, dependable guy, he's a vet our young guys can look up to. He's got all those traits that you look for. He's dependable, he's there every day. That's the best thing."

On when Smith started to throw again:
"He's been throwing for some time now, but I think it's been a progression that he's built up. He hasn't just come out there and started throwing 50-yard bombs, but it's been over time, it's been some time now."




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