August 14, 2012
Redskins Park
On wide receiver Leonard Hankerson’s status:
“He just got a little heat illness and got an IV, so he’ll be fine.”
On if wide receiver Joshua Morgan was dehydrated and if Morgan and Hankerson received IV treatments:
“Yeah, Josh is a little dehydrated. [He] got an IV as well. At least I think Josh is getting the IV. I know Hank had already gotten like three liters. [He] got a lot.”
On the final practice of training camp:
“It was a good day. We went through a lot of situations today. We had a much better practice than yesterday. Players were really into it, and it was a good last day of camp.”
On practicing in the afternoon during training camp:
“It’s really worked out pretty good, except the first day when I think it was about 104-105 [degrees]. That was the only day that it seemed like it was extremely hot. For some reason, today seemed a little hotter than most days. I’m not sure what it was – the humidity or maybe a little bit of a lack of wind. It did seem a little hotter, but the guys worked through it. I thought we had a good day.”
On if he is surprised to see heat-related illnesses on the final day of training camp:
“No, not after you see them practice. It’s like a game situation. You take somebody going through 75-80 plays, that’s why you do have camp – to put them through these situations, so they’re ready for a game.”
On nose tackle Chris Neild’s status:
“He has an ACL [injury]. Unfortunately, he’s gone for the season. I believe the meniscus was fine. It’s strictly an ACL. It takes about six months recovery time.”
On Neild’s injury:
“It’s always disappointing when there’s a season-ending injury for any player on your football team. You hate it for them. You hate it for the team, but you know these things are going to occur. You’re hoping that they don’t happen too often, especially to the guys that were on your football team the year before. Chris is a fighter, and it’s just a temporary setback for him.”
On tackle Trent Williams returning to practice today:
“He worked hard and went through the drills. [He] had a few snaps with the team. I thought he worked very hard to try to work through it. He’s a little bit sore from the continued practice. Hopefully, there’s no setback tomorrow.”
On if the coaches are being extra cautious playing guard Chris Chester:
“Not really. You can see guys that go through drill work and show some quickness and speed, but when you’re placing them against somebody who is 300 pounds, you don’t know if they have the strength for that. Chris tried to make it through and you could see he just quite couldn’t do it but tried to work through it. It was a good sign that he tried but we don’t want to overdo it where we really set him back.”
On running backs Tim Hightower, Evan Royster and Roy Helu, Jr.:
“With Tim, we’re hoping that he keeps on getting better where he’s able to go full-speed so we can see him in a game situation. Helu has got a little tendinitis in practice today. Royster has been able to go. The best players are going to play and who they are right now I’m not really sure. It’s a very competitive situation and hopefully in the next three games I will have a better indication of who should be the guy.”
On if Hightower is still on target to play in the third or fourth game:
“I’m not sure about the third game or the fourth game, but we are going to make a decision based on what is best for him. We don’t want to throw him up here too quick, but I’ve seen some good strides out of him over the last two or three days. Maybe by Friday he can start taking some reps with the team and we’ll get a little bit better indication of exactly where he’s at.”
On the strides that Hightower has made in his recovery:
“You see that his quickness has vastly improved from three weeks ago. Now, we have to put him team situations to see how he reacts. There’s a big difference from when he first started.”
On wide receiver Pierre Garçon throwing ball to the crowd after being bumped by safety Madieu Williams:
“We kind of let those guys throw the balls to the fans. But that was a little different throw, wasn’t it? I was kind of pleased with him to be honest with you. He kept his place. Sometimes we ask guys to come off and sometimes guys will get a little extra hit in there and he wasn’t really expecting it but he kept his place, I thought. He threw the ball in the stands and a fan got a souvenir and he kept his cool. There was no penalty, so it wasn’t all that bad.”
On the state of the offensive line:
“First of all, I can’t tell you exactly where we are regarding the offensive line until they heal up. We have a few guys banged up, but except for Jammal [Brown] who hasn’t practiced, I think we know where Kory Lichtensteiger is. He will be back. His rehab has been going good and he has made some progress. Hopefully in a week or so he can start practicing. I think Trent [Williams] just has a bone bruise. Maurice Hurt injured a tendon behind his knee, but this is what camp is all about. A number of guys get banged up, but you are hoping you don’t lose guys for the season like we did with Chris [Neild].”
On tight end Niles Paul converting from wide receiver to tight end:
“What you try to do is give them some playing experience because they are not used to playing at the inside position, even if you are a wide receiver in the slot. When you actually line up in the three-point stance and they ask you to block against the 260-pound linebackers, it is a little bit different. I think Niles has done a good job adjusting and he will become comfortable with catching the ball with the more playing time he gets and he can relax a bit where the game slows down for him. However, I think he has done a good job and the playing time in the next three games will help him out.”
On the age difference between him and the current players:
“I think you have to be yourself. Players either respect you or they don’t. What you try to do is do the best job you can to get them ready to play football and let everything else take care of itself.”
Redskins Park
Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan
On wide receiver Leonard Hankerson’s status:
“He just got a little heat illness and got an IV, so he’ll be fine.”
On if wide receiver Joshua Morgan was dehydrated and if Morgan and Hankerson received IV treatments:
“Yeah, Josh is a little dehydrated. [He] got an IV as well. At least I think Josh is getting the IV. I know Hank had already gotten like three liters. [He] got a lot.”
On the final practice of training camp:
“It was a good day. We went through a lot of situations today. We had a much better practice than yesterday. Players were really into it, and it was a good last day of camp.”
On practicing in the afternoon during training camp:
“It’s really worked out pretty good, except the first day when I think it was about 104-105 [degrees]. That was the only day that it seemed like it was extremely hot. For some reason, today seemed a little hotter than most days. I’m not sure what it was – the humidity or maybe a little bit of a lack of wind. It did seem a little hotter, but the guys worked through it. I thought we had a good day.”
On if he is surprised to see heat-related illnesses on the final day of training camp:
“No, not after you see them practice. It’s like a game situation. You take somebody going through 75-80 plays, that’s why you do have camp – to put them through these situations, so they’re ready for a game.”
On nose tackle Chris Neild’s status:
“He has an ACL [injury]. Unfortunately, he’s gone for the season. I believe the meniscus was fine. It’s strictly an ACL. It takes about six months recovery time.”
On Neild’s injury:
“It’s always disappointing when there’s a season-ending injury for any player on your football team. You hate it for them. You hate it for the team, but you know these things are going to occur. You’re hoping that they don’t happen too often, especially to the guys that were on your football team the year before. Chris is a fighter, and it’s just a temporary setback for him.”
On tackle Trent Williams returning to practice today:
“He worked hard and went through the drills. [He] had a few snaps with the team. I thought he worked very hard to try to work through it. He’s a little bit sore from the continued practice. Hopefully, there’s no setback tomorrow.”
On if the coaches are being extra cautious playing guard Chris Chester:
“Not really. You can see guys that go through drill work and show some quickness and speed, but when you’re placing them against somebody who is 300 pounds, you don’t know if they have the strength for that. Chris tried to make it through and you could see he just quite couldn’t do it but tried to work through it. It was a good sign that he tried but we don’t want to overdo it where we really set him back.”
On running backs Tim Hightower, Evan Royster and Roy Helu, Jr.:
“With Tim, we’re hoping that he keeps on getting better where he’s able to go full-speed so we can see him in a game situation. Helu has got a little tendinitis in practice today. Royster has been able to go. The best players are going to play and who they are right now I’m not really sure. It’s a very competitive situation and hopefully in the next three games I will have a better indication of who should be the guy.”
On if Hightower is still on target to play in the third or fourth game:
“I’m not sure about the third game or the fourth game, but we are going to make a decision based on what is best for him. We don’t want to throw him up here too quick, but I’ve seen some good strides out of him over the last two or three days. Maybe by Friday he can start taking some reps with the team and we’ll get a little bit better indication of exactly where he’s at.”
On the strides that Hightower has made in his recovery:
“You see that his quickness has vastly improved from three weeks ago. Now, we have to put him team situations to see how he reacts. There’s a big difference from when he first started.”
On wide receiver Pierre Garçon throwing ball to the crowd after being bumped by safety Madieu Williams:
“We kind of let those guys throw the balls to the fans. But that was a little different throw, wasn’t it? I was kind of pleased with him to be honest with you. He kept his place. Sometimes we ask guys to come off and sometimes guys will get a little extra hit in there and he wasn’t really expecting it but he kept his place, I thought. He threw the ball in the stands and a fan got a souvenir and he kept his cool. There was no penalty, so it wasn’t all that bad.”
On the state of the offensive line:
“First of all, I can’t tell you exactly where we are regarding the offensive line until they heal up. We have a few guys banged up, but except for Jammal [Brown] who hasn’t practiced, I think we know where Kory Lichtensteiger is. He will be back. His rehab has been going good and he has made some progress. Hopefully in a week or so he can start practicing. I think Trent [Williams] just has a bone bruise. Maurice Hurt injured a tendon behind his knee, but this is what camp is all about. A number of guys get banged up, but you are hoping you don’t lose guys for the season like we did with Chris [Neild].”
On tight end Niles Paul converting from wide receiver to tight end:
“What you try to do is give them some playing experience because they are not used to playing at the inside position, even if you are a wide receiver in the slot. When you actually line up in the three-point stance and they ask you to block against the 260-pound linebackers, it is a little bit different. I think Niles has done a good job adjusting and he will become comfortable with catching the ball with the more playing time he gets and he can relax a bit where the game slows down for him. However, I think he has done a good job and the playing time in the next three games will help him out.”
On the age difference between him and the current players:
“I think you have to be yourself. Players either respect you or they don’t. What you try to do is do the best job you can to get them ready to play football and let everything else take care of itself.”