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August 18, 2020
On what he saw from today’s practice:
“I was really pleased with what we saw initially. One of the things we want to do was make sure we were practicing with tempo. Up-tempo is really important as far as I’m concerned because again we want to learn to play fast, and that was one of the things we got out of today. I was pleased with some of the little things that we did, which was really good to see, but disappointed in some of the things we didn’t do. We had some alignment mistakes that you really shouldn’t have, mostly from our young guys, so they’re going to spend a little more time in their books. I think trying to get them to understand situational football, knowing that on third-down situations understand what the distance is because it makes a difference. It makes a difference how you play your coverage. It makes a difference on the types of routes you’re going to run. Guys have to be aware of situational football. It’s really important so it’s one of the things we were stressing out there. That was basically my message, making sure [players] know their assignments, know [their] job then go out and do it. Everybody else is depending on you. This is the ultimate team game and we can’t have one guy not doing his job.”
On how they are easing QB Alex Smith back into practice:
“Exactly what we did today. We’re very comfortable with his movement skills right now. We’re trying to slowly introduce him back into football in terms of being out there with other players. For the last few months, all he’s really done has been working out on his own, throwing to trainers and staff. Now he’s actually integrated where he’s working with other players. Today we introduced him back into 7-on-7. The best part about that, he didn’t have a pass rush to worry about, guys around his feet right now. We’re going to gradually reintroduce him.”
On S Landon Collins:
“He’s one of the guys that can step to the forefront and really help to solidify that forefront and the team. He’s a guy that can circle the troops. When you watch him play and watch the way he makes impacts on the football field, he’s a guy that’s earning that opportunity to do it. He was very active last year and did a lot of good things for this team. We’re expecting the same thing going forward. But we’re also expecting the leadership role from him. He’s been very good about it. You see him working with the young guys on the sideline. You see him buying in, trying to get a good feel and understanding for how we’re trying to do things. As long as he continues to grow, he’s going to be a guy that can truly help us.”
On getting closer to the team’s goal in padded practice:
“Every time we get an opportunity to watch our guys on the field compete, I think it helps us. It helps clears up some things. There are a couple positions that we looked at that we’ll probably talk about later, saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got a couple guys here that have shown us something so let’s keep an eye on it.’ Or, ‘We might be player-deficient here so we’ve got to take a look at that.’ We’ll have conversations at the end of the week and get a chance to see where we are.”
On what he looks for in players with padded practices:
“How they handle the contact. How a guy might look good earlier because we weren’t in pads, so his movement is a little more fluid. He’s a little more explosive. Now you put the pads on and it changes, the fluidity isn’t there. The bulkiness of moving in the pads shows. You look for that in wide receivers, you look for that in defensive backs. You look for power; what kind of power a guy has when you look at the front. How are these guys blocking? How are these guys getting to gaps as defensive linemen? Pad changes the performance of a lot of guys, and some guys it either gets better than what you were seeing or it either gets worse than what you saw.”
On what he saw from Smith in the 7-on-7 drill:
“The thing that you’ve got to see to tell you he’s ready for the next one is foot movement. How is he going through his progression? Is he going through his progression with really fast feet and making the good movement decisions? Those are the things that you want to see so you can say, ‘He’s going through the progressions in a very quick fashion, so if it’s not there, he’s got to go here and get rid of the ball or do something.’ We’ve got to make sure his decision making is still there and his movement is still there before we can progress to the next phase.”
On what Smith did well:
“I saw the good movement when we were looking initially. We watched him go through it. His very first pass, he completed the pass on the swing to his left. What happened was he took his look through the middle of the defense to the side then went all the way to the slot. You see that he’s still in tune with that. He’s an old, wily veteran. He went right through his progression.”
On S Troy Apke:
“The biggest thing about Troy right now is he’s got a really good, athletic skillset. He’s got good range, good quickness. One thing he has to work on, obviously, is his angles. He’s got to improve those things. He’s a sharp, smart player. Really today was part of his rotation. I know yesterday I saw that you had talked about who we started out with on this offensive line, well today we had a different group. You’re going to see that, just so everybody knows. You’re going to see different combinations of guys. Very few positions are set in our mind as of now. We’ve got 12 workouts with these guys, had an opportunity to watch these guys, and there’s a couple spots where we feel very, very comfortable, so we’re not going to rotate through that. But other ones we’re still trying to find the right combination. So tomorrow you might see a different group of players on the left side of our offensive line. You might see a different combination of safeties in the secondary. You’re definitely going to see a different combination group of linebackers, that’s for sure. We’re going to continue to try to experiment. We’ve got a little bit of time, so we can go through a few more practices where we try to figure out who exactly is our best combination of players on the field at a time.”
On what makes a strong tandem of safeties:
“First of all, like any relationship, if you have the type of relationship where things can go unsaid yet you know what that other person is going to do, that’ll come in time. That’s probably the best thing you love to have, but that’ll come in time. But the communication aspect of it is very important. Making sure everybody knows where each other is supposed to be as well as the guys around them. I think the thing they’ve got to be able to do too is be almost interchangeable. So let’s say the strong safety is supposed to be down but there’s a shift in the motion and the other safety realizes that he’s not going to be in position, he can change and be in position and go down and play that spot. So, those are the types of things you’re looking for. You’re looking for great communication, a great combination of leadership between the two of them, and guys that understand and get it that they’re working with the rest of the defensive unit.
On LB Reuben Foster and if he watches players with injuries more carefully:
“You do. I’m going to be honest with you, you do. I’ve watched RB Bryce Love a little more today and again, Alex. Those are three guys that are on your mind just because they’re coming back from big time leg situations. It’s kind of fun to watch them out there and have some success. It was kind of, I got on Reuben a little bit. He put himself in great position and he kind of forgot his technique and the ball was thrown in his direction. One of those little things that if he continues with his technique, he’s got himself to make a play. It’s fun to watch him because it’s fun to watch him succeed and get more confident in his leg. There’s a satisfaction to that as well.”
On concern over accuracy with his quarterbacks:
“That’s secondary right now because young quarterbacks, what you’re going to find is their brains, their minds, they’re going to see things before their body is in position to do it. With guys like Alex, if you watch Alex and how mechanically fluid he is, here and here, as he’s turning everything is moving together. His eyes, his shoulders, his hips, his feet are all moving together. But when you watch young quarterbacks, and I learned this in Carolina with [former Carolina offensive coordinator] Rob Chudzinski as we were talking about the development of Cam Newton. Watch how certain parts of his body aren’t in sync. His eyes might be over here, but his shoulders are still over here. He’s got to whip around to throw the ball, his tendency is to be late. Sometimes he gets ahead where his shoulders are already turned, his eyes are over here and he throws the ball way ahead. That’s what you’re trying to find with young quarterbacks. Is their body keeping up with their eyes. Is their decision making being in position to throw the ball properly. You’ll hear us talk about mechanics, you’ll hear us talking about footwork. Those are things that we’re looking for. As long as he’s making good reads, as long as he’s making good decisions, you’ll feel like your guys are progressing because you’re watching tape and you’re watching him throw it where you want him to throw it to that receiver, but he didn’t lay it out where it needed to be thrown. That’s what we’re looking for from our young quarterbacks.”
On some bad habits he has seen from them players and how he is trying to improve on those:
“They all have bad habits. They’ve been away from football for a long time and we didn’t have OTAs or minicamp, so we figured there would be a lot of bad habits we’ve got to get corrected. It’s not necessarily residual from last year, it’s just guys tend to fall back to what’s easiest to do right now. We’ve got to make sure that guys are understanding that this is how we do things. One of the things we asked players to do is to make sure they understand that, ‘Hey, we want you to do this a specific way. We’re teaching you a specific technique.’ If we do it the way that we’re talking about, and hey, glory goes to the players. If we don’t have success, it’s my responsibility because again, we have to put players in the best position to have success. And we may not be doing that, so we may have to reevaluate ourselves as well. We’re trying to get them to understand right now, this is how we do things and this is how we want it done.”
On a having a physical and aggressive practice:
“It was good. It was exciting. That’s always the hard part because you want to be smart, you want to practice the right way, you want to get something out of it but you also want to take care of your teammates. You try to avoid as many of the big time collisions as you can. Sometimes it’s just players getting juiced up. That is exciting. I do get excited about it. I had [DT] Jonathan Allen come up to me after a couple periods and say, ‘How much do you miss it? I know you wish you could still do it.’ He’s right. I do wish I could still do it. But unfortunately I can’t and I’m doing the next best thing, and that’s coaching.”
On the defensive line:
“The best thing that I saw was that these guys are starting to understand it and get used to it. Coming from a different style than what we’re playing now – we’ve gone from a 3-4 base to a 4-3 base. It’s a little bit different, a little bit different technique. Some of the guys are a little stubborn and reluctant, they’re using their old techniques. We’re trying to get them to understand that these techniques that we’re showing them will work best with this type of defense. When they have success, you can see the lightbulbs starting to go on. When you don’t see the success, you start to see the frustration. Some of these guys are wearing the frustration on their sleeves, which is great. But also you want to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to move on. Learn from it and go onto the next play. That’s one thing I saw from the D-Line. As far as the offensive line, you can see the nuances they’re starting to learn. There are some techniques they’ve got to improve on. One thing that our guys have felt really good about was what [former offensive line coach Bill] Callahan had done and the stamp he put on a lot of these young players. You see that good work ethic. [Offensive line coach John] Matsko has picked up on it and he’s trying to install his way of doing it for this offensive line plan. That’s been a big plus. I’ve been very happy with that. As far as the individuals that looked good out there, I was very pleased with [DE] Montez [Sweat] and [DE] Chase [Young]. I think we’ve got a good group of young, young guys. It’s exciting to watch them. [DE] Ryan Kerrigan is really starting to show a feel for putting his hand in the ground every play. That’s been neat. The four tackles have been all exciting as far as defensive tackles. That’s been a really cool thing. I think the left side of the line battle is shaping up nicely as far as our left guard and left tackle combinations. We’ll continue to monitor that and watch because we’ve got some guys who I think have a chance to help us.”
On QB Dwayne Haskins working with the 1’s:
“One of the things that we’re going to try to do and continue to talk about is put us in the best position in terms of working guys with different groups of players. We’ll continue to do that. I don’t know if you noticed, even though Dwayne was with the first line, he wasn’t always with the first group of receivers or running backs or tight ends. We’re constantly rolling those groups of guys in and out. We’re trying to find the best combination. Probably the only wide receiver that’s been mostly with Dwayne has been [WR] Terry [McLaurin]. You do see those two guys typically in together at the same time. But mostly, you do see those guys in different groups.”
On how Haskins practiced:
“I thought Dwayne did some really good things. I thought he made some really good decisions. Again, he’s a guy who – we look at this offense and with these quarterbacks, with all of these quarterbacks, we’re going to talk about decision making more than we’re going to be talking about anything else. I think that’s really important. I think that’s really, really important.”
On DE Ryan Anderson and T Saahdiq Charles not being out at practice:
“I’m going to be very blunt about the injury situation just so you understand. I don’t have to give you an injury report before it’s time. You guys do get injury reports. I’m going to be very basic because I’m not the doctor. All I can really tell you and I’ll basically regurgitate what it says – I just want to be fair with the players. Again, the less our opponents know about our guys the best it is for our guys, period, to be safe with them. The only thing I will tell you is Ryan did work off to the side. We’re monitoring that situation. It’s a minor thing right now. It’s one of those things where we just have to see where it goes. Saahdiq had a minor injury as well. We’ve got to kind of work through that with him as well. Hopefully they’ll both be out there within the next day or two. We’ll see what happens. But just so you guys know, I’m going to be very vague with that stuff. I do have to say, I hope everybody saw the announcement we made yesterday about Jason Wright joining us as our president. It’s a very exciting time for us. I think that some of the things Mr. [Dan] Snyder has done for us the last couple of weeks has been very positive for our franchise going forward. I’m really excited about it. I had the opportunity to know who Jason is as a player. Now more importantly, I’ve gotten to know him as a man. I didn’t realize after we had made the announcement – I got text messages from several people and I didn’t realize how many people we had in common threads and people that we knew. It’s been really neat. It’s been a thing that I think is great because we’re going to be working together as we try to get everything going in the right direction as far as the Washington Football Team is concerned. Just real pleased with the things that have happened and I appreciate Mr. Snyder doing those things for us.”
On playing with a new culture within the organization:
“[It’s] just a fresh start. It’s a weird type of football, but at the same time it’s football. I’m glad to be back on the field with these guys, to be playing football and to be doing what I do and do what I love. The atmosphere is pretty good, so I love how it’s going so far.”
On his impressions of Head Coach Ron Rivera:
“Great guy. Great coach. A person that’s going to ask a lot of us players and want a lot. He’s expecting a lot and wants us to be the best players we can be and that’s what he’s harping on. He’s pushing us to the limit, so that’s a good thing for us.”
On the intensity between this training camp and past camps:
“I think the intensity is a higher level than previous camps since last year. I would say the only difference is trying to make sure with the COVID stuff, just trying to keep our distance and trying not to pass anything if anyone of us having something to pass along. Other than that, I think the competition out there is upbeat, up-tempo. They’re putting us in situations where we have to be on point with it. So, from that standpoint, I think it’s going good.”
On trying to ease himself in to avoid injury:
“Honestly, I take care of my body so I’m not really concerned about soft tissue issues or getting hurt out there. If you concern yourself with being hurt, you’re probably going to wind up getting hurt. So, I go out there and play ball. From that, I worked my tail off in the offseason, especially the extra months we had to work. So, I don’t have to worry about concerns about any tightness, any muscles or any bones getting broken. I’m out there playing ball. And then from that standpoint getting ready to go into the season, I’m just preparing myself for practices and stuff like that. I just know the game. I play within our team rules, within our defensive rules and the new system and just go from there. They let me kind of work different things. We talk about different things and different issues and what we can and cannot do within the defense and just go from there.”
On keeping old team gear:
“I keep that. That’s like what you pass down. It’s like I used to play for the Redskins and now I play for the Washington Football Team and then I’m going to play for a different name in the future. I keep it to pass it down. That’s like stuff you just hold onto forever because you can always say, ‘I played for this team.’ It’s always something that’s close to me because I was a Redskins fan.”
On playing under the new name:
“It’s kind of cool to get to change the name, I guess. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it’s cool. Just a new era, I’d say.”
On what LB Reuben Foster adds to the defense:
“Intensity. A tone-setter. Quickness and explosiveness through linebacker protocols and knowing what he’s supposed to be doing on the field. Just making sure if someone’s going to set the tone, he’s going to set it.”
On S Troy Apke:
“He’s doing a great job. He’s understanding what he’s supposed to be looking at. We’re talking all the time on the back end, making sure what he sees. He’s picking my brain on my knowledge about how to play different things and playing within the defensive calls and how we’ve got to see things and see different adjustments. Just being on the same page. My biggest thing to harp on with any safety that’s next to me, and as of right now that’s him, is communication. Communication is key between both of us because if we’re on the same page it makes everything go smooth. It makes everything easy. Our corners understand we’re on the same page, our nickels and our linebackers on the same page because we know the rotation, we know where we’re supposed to be at. It makes everything easy when somebody back there is able to talk to me and is a consistent role.”
On working with CB Ronald Darby:
“I never knew him personally [in the past], I watched his game. I think he is an excellent corner, especially playing in Buffalo, playing with the Eagles. He’s doing a great job. He’s put on the island all the time. And like I say, when you get on the island, you win some and you lose some. But he knows how to turn the page and continue playing and doing his job. He’s gone through a lot of injuries, but I think he’s back healthy. He’s doing a superb job out here on the field and doing what he’s supposed to do and making plays on the ball. That’s what we brought him in for.”
On what DB Jimmy Moreland has improved on:
“Instinct-wise, player recognition. Formation recognition, stuff like that. He’s absorbing it to where he can see stuff happening before it happens. Once you feel like you’ve got a step on an offense, knowing where the ball might be going, it puts you a couple steps ahead to make a play.”
On COVID protocols and not seeing old team gear in the facility:
“I’m more used to not seeing Redskins gear because we’ve kind of harped on it. It’s kind of a big thing in our society and our world, so I’m kind of used to that part by now. But the COVID part, yeah we have to take the test but I’m kind of tired taking the test at the same time, going in there and getting something stuck in my nose and then going to practice after you had that jammed in your nose a couple times. So, yeah I’m kind of tired of that part. But I know it’s for health reasons, I know it’s for keeping everybody safe so we have to do it. If we want a season, this is something we have to do. I love football, so I’ll do what I have to do to play it.”
On what he’s looking for in the defense this year:
“I think what I’m looking for next is just making sure we’ve got a sound team, a sound rotation if somebody goes down. If somebody goes down, the next person up knows what he’s doing. I think this is a rotation how they’re putting different guys, different linebackers, different corners, different nickels, different defensive linemen, everybody that’s in there is different. Just making sure that if somebody goes down we have somebody that can step up and that can do the job. I think that’s the biggest part because if you have a great rotation and key guys that’s going to step in and make plays, I think you’re going to be on a good roll.”
On an increased intensity in practice:
“I think because I know they’ve looked at a lot of tape from last year you can see that we have stepped a lot of times, one side of the ball would be up and one side would be kind of lagging. If you’re hitting on all cylinders we’re hitting on all cylinders, but we’re trying to keep that consistent. So, we’re continuing to keep that consistent on everyday battles. Jogging to the ball, jogging on and off the field, running to the ball, trying to make a play on the ball, receivers trying to make a play on the ball, DBs trying to make a play on the ball. Gap assignments, offensive linemen making sure they make their reads and their pulls and their gaps and cutting off what they need to cut off. From that standpoint there, definitely critiquing everything and putting us at the right position. Knowing what we need to look at because on critical downs, you have to be able to react to everything. Remember what you’re taught, reaction is everything.”
On seeing QB Alex Smith return to the field:
“It was a dream come true. I watched him over at the Chiefs and then watched him a little when he was playing in [Washington] before he got hurt. It’s a dream come true. That’s a crazy injury to go through. I was cheering him on because at the end of the day he’s a great guy. He’s a great person. Big loving heart and deserving. I asked him, ‘Just tell me how it feels to put that jersey back on.’ He said, ‘It just feels amazing to get to do what you love.’”
On creating comradery in the backfield with a rotation:
“I play next to Apke. I’ve been playing next to Apke, [FS] Sean Davis and Deshazor Everett throughout the camp. So, I think like I said today you saw me with Apke today. So just being on the same page. Like I said, my biggest thing is communication. I move around a lot. I decide what side I play on the side of the ball. So, just being on the same page as the guy next to me is the biggest key and knowing what you’ve got to do. Because you could give me a key, you could give me a little nugget to tell me I need to run a little bit wider because he feels like a run is coming my way or a pass might be coming my way or I might be giving up my leverage. It’s the same thing what I give those guys. Just being on the same page with everything and knowing the knowledge of the game. I think a lot of them didn’t get a lot of playing time, and just knowing what they can and cannot do during this training camp is teaching them a lot.”
On if he has a particular compatibility with any safeties:
“It’s different for each guy, but we all communicate. To pick one right now—it’s like, what, day three, day four of practicing? I’m just going through rotations seeing who I can really communicate more with and be on the same page with.”
On QB Alex Smith’s comeback:
“It’s definitely an amazing comeback for Alex. A lot of people probably thought he wouldn’t come back from that injury. But, he’s been working hard. You can see him every day. He’s here longer than most guys that are actually active here on the roster. That was last year. He’s in the building longer than those guys just working, recovering to get back to himself. It’s great to see that happen for him in such a fast period of time. I’m praying for him and I’m just hoping he continues to grow and be successful in the future.”
On the intensity of today’s padded practice:
“I felt like the energy was good today. I felt like as an offense we came out today flying around, making a little more plays than we did yesterday. I kind of thought the defense got the best of us yesterday. But today we put the pads on. It seemed like it was an energy boost for us on offense. I feel like we were rolling pretty good.”
On if Smith is throwing differently:
“I actually haven’t caught a pass from Alex yet. I watched him throw. He definitely seems like himself. Balls are coming out early, on time, before guys are even playing at the top of their routes. It looks very smooth. It seems like he’s letting the ball quickly, like he wants to let the ball go fast. It seems like he’s doing pretty well. I haven’t caught a pass from him yet, though it seems like he still has the same heat on there.”
On the work QB Dwayne Haskins Jr. put in during the offseason:
“You can see a lot of growth in Dwayne. Just energy out there, leadership. Once he throws a shallow route, somebody makes a play, gets a first down, he comes up and congratulates you every time. He’s settling into his role very well.”
On the amount of playmakers on offense:
“I definitely think there’s enough room. RBs J.D. [McKissic] and [Antonio] Gibson and those guys are going to come out the backfield and make plays. They’ll line up in the slot, get some screens, run a couple routes and things like that. It’s definitely going to give defenses a lot of different looks. Speed here, me and WR Terry [McLaurin] lined up on the same sides here, but we still have J.D. or Antonio on the other side in the slot, so we’re giving the defense a lot of looks. They have to play the whole field. They have to play us honest. Last year I felt it was a little cover two to Terry and somebody else make a play. I don’t think they’ll be able to do that to us this year.”
On a battle at slot receiver:
“I definitely believe that it’s my job to lose. But I still approach it every day like it’s not my job. We’re still competing. WR Trey [Quinn] and I are still going at it for the spot. We haven’t made any cuts, no roster changes or anything like that. I’m running with the ones right now but so does Trey. So does WR [Darvin Kidsy Jr.] So, I’m working hard and I’m trying to take the spot. But we’ll see.”
On what he wants to improve on from year one to year two:
“Just bettering myself outside. I didn’t line up outside as an outside receiver a lot. In this offense, they do have me lining up outside a lot. So just taking that and defeating press. It’s new to me playing outside receiver in the NFL. I played it all the time in college, but it’s different. I’ll be going against better guys, better talent in the league now. So, I just want to work on being a great outside receiver just like a great slot.”
On how much more comfortable he is playing with Haskins Jr.:
“I feel like he’s really comfortable. I’m really comfortable with Dwayne. I feel like he’s looking for me when he wants to come to me and when he doesn’t. Just thinks like that, hot routes, I’m looking because I know he wants to give me the ball right now. Things like that that we’ve talked about. I feel like that’s growing and that’s helping our offense move along faster. We’re going to be more productive just based off of our chemistry.”
On if he approaches practice differently with pads:
“No. Not at all. You’re just carrying a little more weight, so you just have to condition your body. You still have to go as hard as you would without the pads on with the pads on. You still have to train your body the same way just so you get in shape and you get in condition to carry your pads. It’s extra weight you’re carrying. I don’t usually run around with maybe five to 10 extra pounds of weight on me every day. That’s probably the only change. I don’t approach it any different way. I still burst, I still go hard the same way. It’s just conditioning and getting myself in better shape.”
On if he was excited to practice with pads:
“I was definitely excited. I definitely was excited today. I feel like offense was maybe more excited than the defense today. I feel like we kind of got after them a little bit. I was definitely excited to get the pads on. You get that feel of football again. You get a little more contact, you get a little more physical. But you’ve got to have that in your practice reps to imitate the game reps.”
On his offseason workouts with Haskins Jr. and the other receivers:
“I feel like it was just growing from what we built and what we established last year as a young group. We all came in together so we’re all kind of close-knit. Me, Terry, WR Kelvin [Harmon], we just helped each other as we went. We had questions and things we asked each other. We asked [former wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard] of course last year, we asked Ike, but on the field sometimes when we’re in motion and the play’s being called, we can only depend on each other and whoever’s out there on the field with us. I feel like we just kind of grew on that and we’re headed in the right direction. It was a lot of fun, a lot of laughing, a lot of joking but we were serious. We were out there putting in work. It was business.”
On if they lived together in the offseason:
“No. We were out here. We were in Virginia. When Dwayne and Terry went to California I couldn’t make it. I was in Dallas training. But Terry and I want to say Dwayne, they had a house out there that they stayed at. Everybody was there, everybody was together. That’s fun, too.”
On what he worked on the most in the offseason:
“My catching and my route running, top of my routes. Just getting in and out of routes faster. Not taking as many steps to come out of my route. Things like that. Top of the routes, catching, maintaining my speed, maintaining my pad level, maintaining everything, make everything look the same.”
On what he worked on to adjust to playing outside:
“I’ve worked on my releases as well. That’s probably the main difference. There’s not as much space in the slot. There’s a thinner window to get around the defender outside. You can’t be pushed out of bounds; you can’t be pushed way into the defense outside. That’s pretty much what I focused on with that.”
On what he likes about how offensive coordinator Scott Turner has used him in this offense:
“I like the posts, I like the deep route. I can go check the deep ball as well. I have the speed to do it as well. I also love the reverses and little hand offs as well because that’s my game. Give me the ball in space and let me make a play. He has me doing everything. I love how he’s using me. I just have to continue to better myself and better my shape and take advantage of my opportunity.”
On the difference in the defensive backs between last year to now:
“Today was our first day really going against each other, so I feel like it’s really too early to say. But those guys, they’re playing with good tempo. They’re playing fast. CB Kendall Fuller, he’s smart. It’s an IQ battle with him. You have to know what you’re doing and use your technique. CB [Ronald] Darby, he relies on his speed. They’re both great defenders. But it’s a little bit too early to pick them apart and dissect their game. I couldn’t really tell you the difference between them. But [former cornerback Quinton Dunbar] on the other hand, last year he reads routes and he reads concepts. So that’s the only difference I can say. ‘Dunny’ knew all of our routes and our concepts last year and these guys kind of don’t, but they haven’t been in our system for years also. We’ll see.”
Head Coach Ron Rivera
On what he saw from today’s practice:
“I was really pleased with what we saw initially. One of the things we want to do was make sure we were practicing with tempo. Up-tempo is really important as far as I’m concerned because again we want to learn to play fast, and that was one of the things we got out of today. I was pleased with some of the little things that we did, which was really good to see, but disappointed in some of the things we didn’t do. We had some alignment mistakes that you really shouldn’t have, mostly from our young guys, so they’re going to spend a little more time in their books. I think trying to get them to understand situational football, knowing that on third-down situations understand what the distance is because it makes a difference. It makes a difference how you play your coverage. It makes a difference on the types of routes you’re going to run. Guys have to be aware of situational football. It’s really important so it’s one of the things we were stressing out there. That was basically my message, making sure [players] know their assignments, know [their] job then go out and do it. Everybody else is depending on you. This is the ultimate team game and we can’t have one guy not doing his job.”
On how they are easing QB Alex Smith back into practice:
“Exactly what we did today. We’re very comfortable with his movement skills right now. We’re trying to slowly introduce him back into football in terms of being out there with other players. For the last few months, all he’s really done has been working out on his own, throwing to trainers and staff. Now he’s actually integrated where he’s working with other players. Today we introduced him back into 7-on-7. The best part about that, he didn’t have a pass rush to worry about, guys around his feet right now. We’re going to gradually reintroduce him.”
On S Landon Collins:
“He’s one of the guys that can step to the forefront and really help to solidify that forefront and the team. He’s a guy that can circle the troops. When you watch him play and watch the way he makes impacts on the football field, he’s a guy that’s earning that opportunity to do it. He was very active last year and did a lot of good things for this team. We’re expecting the same thing going forward. But we’re also expecting the leadership role from him. He’s been very good about it. You see him working with the young guys on the sideline. You see him buying in, trying to get a good feel and understanding for how we’re trying to do things. As long as he continues to grow, he’s going to be a guy that can truly help us.”
On getting closer to the team’s goal in padded practice:
“Every time we get an opportunity to watch our guys on the field compete, I think it helps us. It helps clears up some things. There are a couple positions that we looked at that we’ll probably talk about later, saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got a couple guys here that have shown us something so let’s keep an eye on it.’ Or, ‘We might be player-deficient here so we’ve got to take a look at that.’ We’ll have conversations at the end of the week and get a chance to see where we are.”
On what he looks for in players with padded practices:
“How they handle the contact. How a guy might look good earlier because we weren’t in pads, so his movement is a little more fluid. He’s a little more explosive. Now you put the pads on and it changes, the fluidity isn’t there. The bulkiness of moving in the pads shows. You look for that in wide receivers, you look for that in defensive backs. You look for power; what kind of power a guy has when you look at the front. How are these guys blocking? How are these guys getting to gaps as defensive linemen? Pad changes the performance of a lot of guys, and some guys it either gets better than what you were seeing or it either gets worse than what you saw.”
On what he saw from Smith in the 7-on-7 drill:
“The thing that you’ve got to see to tell you he’s ready for the next one is foot movement. How is he going through his progression? Is he going through his progression with really fast feet and making the good movement decisions? Those are the things that you want to see so you can say, ‘He’s going through the progressions in a very quick fashion, so if it’s not there, he’s got to go here and get rid of the ball or do something.’ We’ve got to make sure his decision making is still there and his movement is still there before we can progress to the next phase.”
On what Smith did well:
“I saw the good movement when we were looking initially. We watched him go through it. His very first pass, he completed the pass on the swing to his left. What happened was he took his look through the middle of the defense to the side then went all the way to the slot. You see that he’s still in tune with that. He’s an old, wily veteran. He went right through his progression.”
On S Troy Apke:
“The biggest thing about Troy right now is he’s got a really good, athletic skillset. He’s got good range, good quickness. One thing he has to work on, obviously, is his angles. He’s got to improve those things. He’s a sharp, smart player. Really today was part of his rotation. I know yesterday I saw that you had talked about who we started out with on this offensive line, well today we had a different group. You’re going to see that, just so everybody knows. You’re going to see different combinations of guys. Very few positions are set in our mind as of now. We’ve got 12 workouts with these guys, had an opportunity to watch these guys, and there’s a couple spots where we feel very, very comfortable, so we’re not going to rotate through that. But other ones we’re still trying to find the right combination. So tomorrow you might see a different group of players on the left side of our offensive line. You might see a different combination of safeties in the secondary. You’re definitely going to see a different combination group of linebackers, that’s for sure. We’re going to continue to try to experiment. We’ve got a little bit of time, so we can go through a few more practices where we try to figure out who exactly is our best combination of players on the field at a time.”
On what makes a strong tandem of safeties:
“First of all, like any relationship, if you have the type of relationship where things can go unsaid yet you know what that other person is going to do, that’ll come in time. That’s probably the best thing you love to have, but that’ll come in time. But the communication aspect of it is very important. Making sure everybody knows where each other is supposed to be as well as the guys around them. I think the thing they’ve got to be able to do too is be almost interchangeable. So let’s say the strong safety is supposed to be down but there’s a shift in the motion and the other safety realizes that he’s not going to be in position, he can change and be in position and go down and play that spot. So, those are the types of things you’re looking for. You’re looking for great communication, a great combination of leadership between the two of them, and guys that understand and get it that they’re working with the rest of the defensive unit.
On LB Reuben Foster and if he watches players with injuries more carefully:
“You do. I’m going to be honest with you, you do. I’ve watched RB Bryce Love a little more today and again, Alex. Those are three guys that are on your mind just because they’re coming back from big time leg situations. It’s kind of fun to watch them out there and have some success. It was kind of, I got on Reuben a little bit. He put himself in great position and he kind of forgot his technique and the ball was thrown in his direction. One of those little things that if he continues with his technique, he’s got himself to make a play. It’s fun to watch him because it’s fun to watch him succeed and get more confident in his leg. There’s a satisfaction to that as well.”
On concern over accuracy with his quarterbacks:
“That’s secondary right now because young quarterbacks, what you’re going to find is their brains, their minds, they’re going to see things before their body is in position to do it. With guys like Alex, if you watch Alex and how mechanically fluid he is, here and here, as he’s turning everything is moving together. His eyes, his shoulders, his hips, his feet are all moving together. But when you watch young quarterbacks, and I learned this in Carolina with [former Carolina offensive coordinator] Rob Chudzinski as we were talking about the development of Cam Newton. Watch how certain parts of his body aren’t in sync. His eyes might be over here, but his shoulders are still over here. He’s got to whip around to throw the ball, his tendency is to be late. Sometimes he gets ahead where his shoulders are already turned, his eyes are over here and he throws the ball way ahead. That’s what you’re trying to find with young quarterbacks. Is their body keeping up with their eyes. Is their decision making being in position to throw the ball properly. You’ll hear us talk about mechanics, you’ll hear us talking about footwork. Those are things that we’re looking for. As long as he’s making good reads, as long as he’s making good decisions, you’ll feel like your guys are progressing because you’re watching tape and you’re watching him throw it where you want him to throw it to that receiver, but he didn’t lay it out where it needed to be thrown. That’s what we’re looking for from our young quarterbacks.”
On some bad habits he has seen from them players and how he is trying to improve on those:
“They all have bad habits. They’ve been away from football for a long time and we didn’t have OTAs or minicamp, so we figured there would be a lot of bad habits we’ve got to get corrected. It’s not necessarily residual from last year, it’s just guys tend to fall back to what’s easiest to do right now. We’ve got to make sure that guys are understanding that this is how we do things. One of the things we asked players to do is to make sure they understand that, ‘Hey, we want you to do this a specific way. We’re teaching you a specific technique.’ If we do it the way that we’re talking about, and hey, glory goes to the players. If we don’t have success, it’s my responsibility because again, we have to put players in the best position to have success. And we may not be doing that, so we may have to reevaluate ourselves as well. We’re trying to get them to understand right now, this is how we do things and this is how we want it done.”
On a having a physical and aggressive practice:
“It was good. It was exciting. That’s always the hard part because you want to be smart, you want to practice the right way, you want to get something out of it but you also want to take care of your teammates. You try to avoid as many of the big time collisions as you can. Sometimes it’s just players getting juiced up. That is exciting. I do get excited about it. I had [DT] Jonathan Allen come up to me after a couple periods and say, ‘How much do you miss it? I know you wish you could still do it.’ He’s right. I do wish I could still do it. But unfortunately I can’t and I’m doing the next best thing, and that’s coaching.”
On the defensive line:
“The best thing that I saw was that these guys are starting to understand it and get used to it. Coming from a different style than what we’re playing now – we’ve gone from a 3-4 base to a 4-3 base. It’s a little bit different, a little bit different technique. Some of the guys are a little stubborn and reluctant, they’re using their old techniques. We’re trying to get them to understand that these techniques that we’re showing them will work best with this type of defense. When they have success, you can see the lightbulbs starting to go on. When you don’t see the success, you start to see the frustration. Some of these guys are wearing the frustration on their sleeves, which is great. But also you want to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to move on. Learn from it and go onto the next play. That’s one thing I saw from the D-Line. As far as the offensive line, you can see the nuances they’re starting to learn. There are some techniques they’ve got to improve on. One thing that our guys have felt really good about was what [former offensive line coach Bill] Callahan had done and the stamp he put on a lot of these young players. You see that good work ethic. [Offensive line coach John] Matsko has picked up on it and he’s trying to install his way of doing it for this offensive line plan. That’s been a big plus. I’ve been very happy with that. As far as the individuals that looked good out there, I was very pleased with [DE] Montez [Sweat] and [DE] Chase [Young]. I think we’ve got a good group of young, young guys. It’s exciting to watch them. [DE] Ryan Kerrigan is really starting to show a feel for putting his hand in the ground every play. That’s been neat. The four tackles have been all exciting as far as defensive tackles. That’s been a really cool thing. I think the left side of the line battle is shaping up nicely as far as our left guard and left tackle combinations. We’ll continue to monitor that and watch because we’ve got some guys who I think have a chance to help us.”
On QB Dwayne Haskins working with the 1’s:
“One of the things that we’re going to try to do and continue to talk about is put us in the best position in terms of working guys with different groups of players. We’ll continue to do that. I don’t know if you noticed, even though Dwayne was with the first line, he wasn’t always with the first group of receivers or running backs or tight ends. We’re constantly rolling those groups of guys in and out. We’re trying to find the best combination. Probably the only wide receiver that’s been mostly with Dwayne has been [WR] Terry [McLaurin]. You do see those two guys typically in together at the same time. But mostly, you do see those guys in different groups.”
On how Haskins practiced:
“I thought Dwayne did some really good things. I thought he made some really good decisions. Again, he’s a guy who – we look at this offense and with these quarterbacks, with all of these quarterbacks, we’re going to talk about decision making more than we’re going to be talking about anything else. I think that’s really important. I think that’s really, really important.”
On DE Ryan Anderson and T Saahdiq Charles not being out at practice:
“I’m going to be very blunt about the injury situation just so you understand. I don’t have to give you an injury report before it’s time. You guys do get injury reports. I’m going to be very basic because I’m not the doctor. All I can really tell you and I’ll basically regurgitate what it says – I just want to be fair with the players. Again, the less our opponents know about our guys the best it is for our guys, period, to be safe with them. The only thing I will tell you is Ryan did work off to the side. We’re monitoring that situation. It’s a minor thing right now. It’s one of those things where we just have to see where it goes. Saahdiq had a minor injury as well. We’ve got to kind of work through that with him as well. Hopefully they’ll both be out there within the next day or two. We’ll see what happens. But just so you guys know, I’m going to be very vague with that stuff. I do have to say, I hope everybody saw the announcement we made yesterday about Jason Wright joining us as our president. It’s a very exciting time for us. I think that some of the things Mr. [Dan] Snyder has done for us the last couple of weeks has been very positive for our franchise going forward. I’m really excited about it. I had the opportunity to know who Jason is as a player. Now more importantly, I’ve gotten to know him as a man. I didn’t realize after we had made the announcement – I got text messages from several people and I didn’t realize how many people we had in common threads and people that we knew. It’s been really neat. It’s been a thing that I think is great because we’re going to be working together as we try to get everything going in the right direction as far as the Washington Football Team is concerned. Just real pleased with the things that have happened and I appreciate Mr. Snyder doing those things for us.”
S Landon Collins
On playing with a new culture within the organization:
“[It’s] just a fresh start. It’s a weird type of football, but at the same time it’s football. I’m glad to be back on the field with these guys, to be playing football and to be doing what I do and do what I love. The atmosphere is pretty good, so I love how it’s going so far.”
On his impressions of Head Coach Ron Rivera:
“Great guy. Great coach. A person that’s going to ask a lot of us players and want a lot. He’s expecting a lot and wants us to be the best players we can be and that’s what he’s harping on. He’s pushing us to the limit, so that’s a good thing for us.”
On the intensity between this training camp and past camps:
“I think the intensity is a higher level than previous camps since last year. I would say the only difference is trying to make sure with the COVID stuff, just trying to keep our distance and trying not to pass anything if anyone of us having something to pass along. Other than that, I think the competition out there is upbeat, up-tempo. They’re putting us in situations where we have to be on point with it. So, from that standpoint, I think it’s going good.”
On trying to ease himself in to avoid injury:
“Honestly, I take care of my body so I’m not really concerned about soft tissue issues or getting hurt out there. If you concern yourself with being hurt, you’re probably going to wind up getting hurt. So, I go out there and play ball. From that, I worked my tail off in the offseason, especially the extra months we had to work. So, I don’t have to worry about concerns about any tightness, any muscles or any bones getting broken. I’m out there playing ball. And then from that standpoint getting ready to go into the season, I’m just preparing myself for practices and stuff like that. I just know the game. I play within our team rules, within our defensive rules and the new system and just go from there. They let me kind of work different things. We talk about different things and different issues and what we can and cannot do within the defense and just go from there.”
On keeping old team gear:
“I keep that. That’s like what you pass down. It’s like I used to play for the Redskins and now I play for the Washington Football Team and then I’m going to play for a different name in the future. I keep it to pass it down. That’s like stuff you just hold onto forever because you can always say, ‘I played for this team.’ It’s always something that’s close to me because I was a Redskins fan.”
On playing under the new name:
“It’s kind of cool to get to change the name, I guess. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it’s cool. Just a new era, I’d say.”
On what LB Reuben Foster adds to the defense:
“Intensity. A tone-setter. Quickness and explosiveness through linebacker protocols and knowing what he’s supposed to be doing on the field. Just making sure if someone’s going to set the tone, he’s going to set it.”
On S Troy Apke:
“He’s doing a great job. He’s understanding what he’s supposed to be looking at. We’re talking all the time on the back end, making sure what he sees. He’s picking my brain on my knowledge about how to play different things and playing within the defensive calls and how we’ve got to see things and see different adjustments. Just being on the same page. My biggest thing to harp on with any safety that’s next to me, and as of right now that’s him, is communication. Communication is key between both of us because if we’re on the same page it makes everything go smooth. It makes everything easy. Our corners understand we’re on the same page, our nickels and our linebackers on the same page because we know the rotation, we know where we’re supposed to be at. It makes everything easy when somebody back there is able to talk to me and is a consistent role.”
On working with CB Ronald Darby:
“I never knew him personally [in the past], I watched his game. I think he is an excellent corner, especially playing in Buffalo, playing with the Eagles. He’s doing a great job. He’s put on the island all the time. And like I say, when you get on the island, you win some and you lose some. But he knows how to turn the page and continue playing and doing his job. He’s gone through a lot of injuries, but I think he’s back healthy. He’s doing a superb job out here on the field and doing what he’s supposed to do and making plays on the ball. That’s what we brought him in for.”
On what DB Jimmy Moreland has improved on:
“Instinct-wise, player recognition. Formation recognition, stuff like that. He’s absorbing it to where he can see stuff happening before it happens. Once you feel like you’ve got a step on an offense, knowing where the ball might be going, it puts you a couple steps ahead to make a play.”
On COVID protocols and not seeing old team gear in the facility:
“I’m more used to not seeing Redskins gear because we’ve kind of harped on it. It’s kind of a big thing in our society and our world, so I’m kind of used to that part by now. But the COVID part, yeah we have to take the test but I’m kind of tired taking the test at the same time, going in there and getting something stuck in my nose and then going to practice after you had that jammed in your nose a couple times. So, yeah I’m kind of tired of that part. But I know it’s for health reasons, I know it’s for keeping everybody safe so we have to do it. If we want a season, this is something we have to do. I love football, so I’ll do what I have to do to play it.”
On what he’s looking for in the defense this year:
“I think what I’m looking for next is just making sure we’ve got a sound team, a sound rotation if somebody goes down. If somebody goes down, the next person up knows what he’s doing. I think this is a rotation how they’re putting different guys, different linebackers, different corners, different nickels, different defensive linemen, everybody that’s in there is different. Just making sure that if somebody goes down we have somebody that can step up and that can do the job. I think that’s the biggest part because if you have a great rotation and key guys that’s going to step in and make plays, I think you’re going to be on a good roll.”
On an increased intensity in practice:
“I think because I know they’ve looked at a lot of tape from last year you can see that we have stepped a lot of times, one side of the ball would be up and one side would be kind of lagging. If you’re hitting on all cylinders we’re hitting on all cylinders, but we’re trying to keep that consistent. So, we’re continuing to keep that consistent on everyday battles. Jogging to the ball, jogging on and off the field, running to the ball, trying to make a play on the ball, receivers trying to make a play on the ball, DBs trying to make a play on the ball. Gap assignments, offensive linemen making sure they make their reads and their pulls and their gaps and cutting off what they need to cut off. From that standpoint there, definitely critiquing everything and putting us at the right position. Knowing what we need to look at because on critical downs, you have to be able to react to everything. Remember what you’re taught, reaction is everything.”
On seeing QB Alex Smith return to the field:
“It was a dream come true. I watched him over at the Chiefs and then watched him a little when he was playing in [Washington] before he got hurt. It’s a dream come true. That’s a crazy injury to go through. I was cheering him on because at the end of the day he’s a great guy. He’s a great person. Big loving heart and deserving. I asked him, ‘Just tell me how it feels to put that jersey back on.’ He said, ‘It just feels amazing to get to do what you love.’”
On creating comradery in the backfield with a rotation:
“I play next to Apke. I’ve been playing next to Apke, [FS] Sean Davis and Deshazor Everett throughout the camp. So, I think like I said today you saw me with Apke today. So just being on the same page. Like I said, my biggest thing is communication. I move around a lot. I decide what side I play on the side of the ball. So, just being on the same page as the guy next to me is the biggest key and knowing what you’ve got to do. Because you could give me a key, you could give me a little nugget to tell me I need to run a little bit wider because he feels like a run is coming my way or a pass might be coming my way or I might be giving up my leverage. It’s the same thing what I give those guys. Just being on the same page with everything and knowing the knowledge of the game. I think a lot of them didn’t get a lot of playing time, and just knowing what they can and cannot do during this training camp is teaching them a lot.”
On if he has a particular compatibility with any safeties:
“It’s different for each guy, but we all communicate. To pick one right now—it’s like, what, day three, day four of practicing? I’m just going through rotations seeing who I can really communicate more with and be on the same page with.”
WR Steven Sims Jr.
On QB Alex Smith’s comeback:
“It’s definitely an amazing comeback for Alex. A lot of people probably thought he wouldn’t come back from that injury. But, he’s been working hard. You can see him every day. He’s here longer than most guys that are actually active here on the roster. That was last year. He’s in the building longer than those guys just working, recovering to get back to himself. It’s great to see that happen for him in such a fast period of time. I’m praying for him and I’m just hoping he continues to grow and be successful in the future.”
On the intensity of today’s padded practice:
“I felt like the energy was good today. I felt like as an offense we came out today flying around, making a little more plays than we did yesterday. I kind of thought the defense got the best of us yesterday. But today we put the pads on. It seemed like it was an energy boost for us on offense. I feel like we were rolling pretty good.”
On if Smith is throwing differently:
“I actually haven’t caught a pass from Alex yet. I watched him throw. He definitely seems like himself. Balls are coming out early, on time, before guys are even playing at the top of their routes. It looks very smooth. It seems like he’s letting the ball quickly, like he wants to let the ball go fast. It seems like he’s doing pretty well. I haven’t caught a pass from him yet, though it seems like he still has the same heat on there.”
On the work QB Dwayne Haskins Jr. put in during the offseason:
“You can see a lot of growth in Dwayne. Just energy out there, leadership. Once he throws a shallow route, somebody makes a play, gets a first down, he comes up and congratulates you every time. He’s settling into his role very well.”
On the amount of playmakers on offense:
“I definitely think there’s enough room. RBs J.D. [McKissic] and [Antonio] Gibson and those guys are going to come out the backfield and make plays. They’ll line up in the slot, get some screens, run a couple routes and things like that. It’s definitely going to give defenses a lot of different looks. Speed here, me and WR Terry [McLaurin] lined up on the same sides here, but we still have J.D. or Antonio on the other side in the slot, so we’re giving the defense a lot of looks. They have to play the whole field. They have to play us honest. Last year I felt it was a little cover two to Terry and somebody else make a play. I don’t think they’ll be able to do that to us this year.”
On a battle at slot receiver:
“I definitely believe that it’s my job to lose. But I still approach it every day like it’s not my job. We’re still competing. WR Trey [Quinn] and I are still going at it for the spot. We haven’t made any cuts, no roster changes or anything like that. I’m running with the ones right now but so does Trey. So does WR [Darvin Kidsy Jr.] So, I’m working hard and I’m trying to take the spot. But we’ll see.”
On what he wants to improve on from year one to year two:
“Just bettering myself outside. I didn’t line up outside as an outside receiver a lot. In this offense, they do have me lining up outside a lot. So just taking that and defeating press. It’s new to me playing outside receiver in the NFL. I played it all the time in college, but it’s different. I’ll be going against better guys, better talent in the league now. So, I just want to work on being a great outside receiver just like a great slot.”
On how much more comfortable he is playing with Haskins Jr.:
“I feel like he’s really comfortable. I’m really comfortable with Dwayne. I feel like he’s looking for me when he wants to come to me and when he doesn’t. Just thinks like that, hot routes, I’m looking because I know he wants to give me the ball right now. Things like that that we’ve talked about. I feel like that’s growing and that’s helping our offense move along faster. We’re going to be more productive just based off of our chemistry.”
On if he approaches practice differently with pads:
“No. Not at all. You’re just carrying a little more weight, so you just have to condition your body. You still have to go as hard as you would without the pads on with the pads on. You still have to train your body the same way just so you get in shape and you get in condition to carry your pads. It’s extra weight you’re carrying. I don’t usually run around with maybe five to 10 extra pounds of weight on me every day. That’s probably the only change. I don’t approach it any different way. I still burst, I still go hard the same way. It’s just conditioning and getting myself in better shape.”
On if he was excited to practice with pads:
“I was definitely excited. I definitely was excited today. I feel like offense was maybe more excited than the defense today. I feel like we kind of got after them a little bit. I was definitely excited to get the pads on. You get that feel of football again. You get a little more contact, you get a little more physical. But you’ve got to have that in your practice reps to imitate the game reps.”
On his offseason workouts with Haskins Jr. and the other receivers:
“I feel like it was just growing from what we built and what we established last year as a young group. We all came in together so we’re all kind of close-knit. Me, Terry, WR Kelvin [Harmon], we just helped each other as we went. We had questions and things we asked each other. We asked [former wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard] of course last year, we asked Ike, but on the field sometimes when we’re in motion and the play’s being called, we can only depend on each other and whoever’s out there on the field with us. I feel like we just kind of grew on that and we’re headed in the right direction. It was a lot of fun, a lot of laughing, a lot of joking but we were serious. We were out there putting in work. It was business.”
On if they lived together in the offseason:
“No. We were out here. We were in Virginia. When Dwayne and Terry went to California I couldn’t make it. I was in Dallas training. But Terry and I want to say Dwayne, they had a house out there that they stayed at. Everybody was there, everybody was together. That’s fun, too.”
On what he worked on the most in the offseason:
“My catching and my route running, top of my routes. Just getting in and out of routes faster. Not taking as many steps to come out of my route. Things like that. Top of the routes, catching, maintaining my speed, maintaining my pad level, maintaining everything, make everything look the same.”
On what he worked on to adjust to playing outside:
“I’ve worked on my releases as well. That’s probably the main difference. There’s not as much space in the slot. There’s a thinner window to get around the defender outside. You can’t be pushed out of bounds; you can’t be pushed way into the defense outside. That’s pretty much what I focused on with that.”
On what he likes about how offensive coordinator Scott Turner has used him in this offense:
“I like the posts, I like the deep route. I can go check the deep ball as well. I have the speed to do it as well. I also love the reverses and little hand offs as well because that’s my game. Give me the ball in space and let me make a play. He has me doing everything. I love how he’s using me. I just have to continue to better myself and better my shape and take advantage of my opportunity.”
On the difference in the defensive backs between last year to now:
“Today was our first day really going against each other, so I feel like it’s really too early to say. But those guys, they’re playing with good tempo. They’re playing fast. CB Kendall Fuller, he’s smart. It’s an IQ battle with him. You have to know what you’re doing and use your technique. CB [Ronald] Darby, he relies on his speed. They’re both great defenders. But it’s a little bit too early to pick them apart and dissect their game. I couldn’t really tell you the difference between them. But [former cornerback Quinton Dunbar] on the other hand, last year he reads routes and he reads concepts. So that’s the only difference I can say. ‘Dunny’ knew all of our routes and our concepts last year and these guys kind of don’t, but they haven’t been in our system for years also. We’ll see.”
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