 Derek, Mike basically already said you won't play in the pre-season so what will your routine be leading up to Thursday night and during the game? Yeah, I'll be the same thing. I'll come out here and practice and then when they travel come get some work and watch some film and then watch them play. You're working with behind you as a whole with the back? Yeah, it's been fun. It's been fun getting out there for the first part of it and then getting back to my normal routine. Just being back with everybody and I feel like our group is solid. I feel like the rookies can hold their own. They come out here to practice hard, they run hard and then in the film room they pay attention to take notes so they've been doing a great job. You're getting a lot of groove that you feel you need to be in. Yeah, I feel good. Like I said, just starting to get back and get out there and get some reps, working with Coach Dews and being with the younger backs on trails and Jordan and Tori. This has been fun getting some work in and just being back out here. It's the best time of the year. The program that you're on, so to speak, is that something that you and the training staff and the coaching staff has come up with or is that something they gave you? Because it seems like it's different, not as much team period. That's Berber's plan. You ask Berber and he comes to me with it and I just go out there and do what I need to do. At this point, do you start thinking regular season yet, knowing that you're not going to be playing in the pre-season? What motivates you through this part of camp then? I've been doing this for about two or three years now, so it's the same thing. Nothing really has changed. I just take it day by day and continue to focus on getting better. I mean, that's the mindset of getting better. I'm not trying to get too far ahead of myself, focus on week one, but just be present in the moment. Do the young guys come to you on the roster there and ask you questions? Do you kind of step in when you feel like they need a pointer here and there? What's communication like usually? In our room, are you saying? Right. Yeah, yeah. Anytime they have questions, they ask. Just go to see them work and see them evolve each and every day and see that they can hold their own. They run hard, they practice hard, and they're smart guys. So just seeing them work every day and improve every day, and that's a cool thing. I'm just here to help whenever they need me. As much change about what you guys are doing out of the backfield, is it really kind of re-establishing what you do and re-fortify? I'm sure you know nothing's going to change. Nothing's going to change as far as how we want to play in our style of football. What do you anticipate seeing you guys are thudding out here? I was talking with Hassan last week just about the first full contact where someone actually tackles them and he's able to push them. What do you expect from him, the first time, first game, first time out from him? Oh, I told him they're going to make some big plays. You see them out here running, make some big runs, they run hard, run behind their pads, they finish runs. So I'm excited to watch them play every day. We watch them on film and see how better they're getting each and every day with their runs and pass detection and catching balls out of the backfield. So I'm excited to see them get out there and make some plays. With new people on the offensive line at certain spots, will next week's practices against Tampa Bay, when you watch film, will that give you more of an idea of what that will look like compared to the line that you're used to running behind last year? I hadn't even thought ahead about Tampa. That's like next week. But those guys, you know, they do their job. We've got good leaders in that room and Keith does a great job with them. So I don't try to get too far ahead, far as thinking that way. But just, you know, like the guys that we have who's in front right now and they're working every day to get better. You keep an eye on what those guys do and practice the guys that are competing for those spots because that's the five that are going to be blocking for you. They're usually too far for me to see. And I'm down here working on our drills. But no, I don't really try to get too caught up in that. And I know those guys are ready to work and doing whatever they can to earn a job or in the spot. Is there an extra value to the camaraderie that can come and how much pressure do you take on bringing that cheerleader aspect to a preseason game? Well, I really don't think it's any pressure. You know, we're all out here together. You know, and it's he competing on working every day. So, you know, it's kind of like a family. You root for one another. You want to see each other do good. And then, you know, you try to make each other better. So I think that's the fun part of it. You know, just rooting for a teammate, wanting them to see them make a play. And you wanting to see the hard work pay off. So, you know, I think being hit right over the head, you know, just, you know, cheering your teammates on is nothing better than that. At this point in your career, do you still want to beat that volume or are you good handing off a few? I think whatever it takes to win, my mindset has always been the same. So if that type of game is going to be that type of game, go from there. Right. How different does this camp feel compared to the last two years? You know, does it feel like the NFL is making back to Norma after dealing with all the pandemic issues, early morning testing, et cetera? Yeah, no doubt. Obviously, if the protocol is gone and then, you know, being able to have some fans out here at training camp is a lot of fun. You know, it feels back to what used to be normal, you know, being able to be around each other in the locker room and not have all the protocols. And then, you know, feeling the energy from the fans and support from the fans out here at training camp, it feels really good. Make it easier this time of year? No doubt. You know, when you're able to come out here and you got a little bit of support from the fans and, you know, it's not just the same mundane thing every day. It definitely gives you some energy and, you know, it's a lot like playing in front of your home fans at the stadium. You know, you want to go out there, you want to do well, you feel the energy and support from the stadium and the people supporting you. You guys didn't like about what you've done so far, maybe one of some areas is still being cleaned up. Yeah, we're doing a lot of good things. I'm really happy with the progress that we've made throughout this training camp. Yeah, guys that are stepping up for us, guys that opportunity to make plays and have been able to make them the progression of the offense, where, you know, now we're getting into that kind of second layer of offense where we're not just calling a play and running. We're getting up there, we're making checks, changing some routes, and guys are sticking with me. We're able to make those adjustments, whether it's moving a formation or just changing the route. Our guys are operating. So to be able to do that where we're at right now and continue to build on that is going to be huge for our success this year. So proud of our guys, even some of the young guys who are getting on board with that right now, and just got to keep the foot on the gas. You know, we've done a lot of good things, but there's still a lot of things that we need to clean up and be more efficient at. So proud of our guys where we're at right now, but got to keep the foot on the gas. Last week you got on Kyle Phillips a little bit, some community confusion on a route. And then you went back to him later, it looked like the same type of concept. When you have a rookie be able to pick that up and immediately turn around. How much does that do for the confidence that you're working to establish with them? Oh, it's huge. You know, when you see a guy bounce back after a misstep, be able to handle that and move on and then make the play for you. It's huge. You know, he made another play for me in this two minute today. You know, very good to get us the Phantom holding call, but he was able to make a play, tight coverage, you know, rip the ball in there. He was able to go up and make a big play for me. So, you know, the more a guy makes plays like that and is able to, you know, make contested catches and get himself open. And if he's not a clean win, I'm able to throw it to him in a spot where he goes and makes the play. It builds a lot of confidence from my seat and being able to throw him the ball. I mean, it happens periodically, you know, you know, situation dependent, but yeah, it happens. It's part of it, you know, where I'm going to try to push our guys and demand excellence from our guys, right? Everything is not going to be perfect, but when it's something that we've gone over multiple times and we kind of expect guys to know, then I'm going to try to hold people accountable, you know, obviously starting with myself and trying to hold myself the most accountable out of anybody out there. But from my seat, it's my job to hold our offensive guys accountable and push them day in and day out so that we can be the most effective as we can possibly be on Sundays. As far as Cal goes, what have you learned about his attitude, his work ethic, maybe even what he plays from being around in the past couple of months? Yeah, he's a shifty guy, you know, I think that's what stands out immediately is his shiftiness. He's able to use his quickness, his lateral quickness and change of direction to get himself open in a lot of different situations, a lot of different routes. He has a good understanding of finding the open areas and this has a knack for getting open, you know, at the end of the day. That's what you love to see from a receiver is one way or another, you know, whether it's a big strong physical guy or him as a little bit smaller quicker guy, you know, using your skill set to find ways to get open. And, you know, he's shown to do that so far, like I said, just got to keep progressing and keep making plays. Brian, he says out here where you've been pretty accurate with the football and, you know, been able to get it into some tight windows. How much of that is just your comfort level and how much of that is guys doing the right things on the on their end to get in the right spot for you to throw it? It takes both, right? You know, I think when I have the confidence that a guy is going to go make a play for me in tight coverage, it allows me to rip it in there and trust that they're going to make a play. You know, if you don't quite have that trust, then maybe you don't make the throw or don't trust the throw as much so you're not going to end up being as accurate. So at the end of the day, when guys are making plays for me in tight coverage on the field, it gives me a lot of trust to rip it in their direction. And they've shown to make plays. So I'm excited to see, you know, where we can take this thing. You're taking a lot of shots downfield and it's pretty accurate there. Is that something by design or is it just kind of like where your reads are taking you? It seems like you're doing it more than before. Yeah, you know, I think it's all kind of play dependent and what we have going, I think coverage dependent, right? You might call a bunch of shots and not get the right coverage to hit it, unfortunately, and have had some opportunities to make plays downfield and guys are making plays. You know, Racy's made several plays for me down the field. He's big, he's strong, he's physical and he's getting open. So a guy like that getting open down the field gives you a lot of confidence, like I said, just to keep throwing the ball and hopefully we can keep making plays down there. Can you mention, Racy, is there something different this year because it seems like he's having more impact on practice? Yeah, I don't know exactly what it is, but I think he's playing with a lot of confidence. He's big, he's strong, he's physical. He's been here for a couple of years now, so he knows what to do and knows what we expect of him and he's making the plays. At the end of the day, you got to go out there, you got to line up, beat the guy across from you and make the play and he's doing that. Have you ever heard you talk about guys making plays specifically for you? I heard it in the series XM interview you did over the weekend. Is there more of an ownership of the offense for you personally with this group this year? I don't know, I take ownership every year, but I keep saying the same thing. It just gives me a lot of confidence when guys aren't making plays. I think early on you're kind of giving guys an opportunity, right? They haven't had the opportunity to make a play, especially some of the young guys. You give them an opportunity and they make the play, then you give them another opportunity and then you kind of build that confidence. Even if you don't make every one, you get that confidence that they're going to make more than they don't. At the end of the day, that's what it comes down to. Like I said, beating the guy across from you and if QB gives you a chance making a play on the ball from our seats as quarterbacks, if a guy has shown to do that, it's our job to get him a ball in a spot where they can go get it. If a guy doesn't do that, say you give him opportunities and he doesn't make plays for you. As a quarterback, do you feel the authority to almost go away from that guy as opposed to a guy like Racy who you keep going to or Kyle who you've been going to more? Yeah, no doubt. I mean, I think that's pretty universal, right? Whether it's basketball or football, you know, if somebody has a hot hand and is continuing to make plays for me, then you're going to try to find a way to get that person the ball. You know, if it's basketball, someone's shooting and they're on fire, you're going to try to keep feeding that person, keep getting them shot. So yeah, I think that's definitely a factor. It's important, but at the end of the day, you know, I believe our guys that, you know, we're in competitive drills out here, full pads, you know, playing the game. We're not playing full tackle, but there's collisions, there's contact. And if you can show me that you can make it out here on the practice field consistently, I have a lot of confidence that they'll be able to make it in the game. Presumably, you'll get a few less live reps over the next handful of days as you go around the first three seasons of the day after recovery day and all that. What do you, what does the offense need to do in this time when you may not get as much of that? Yeah, I think we're going to be working some situational reps in the next couple of days. So I may not be as intense physically, but mentally we have to be on top of it. It's things that come up, you know, once a season, twice a season, maybe. And when they do, you got to be able to be effective. So it's going to be important for us to be able to lock in and take advantage of the opportunity to rep these things. That way, if they do come up in the season, we can nail. How do they seem less consistent? You know, Nick's consistent. You know, I think you look at from day one, a guy coming in and being the same guy each and every day. And I think obviously his role has grown over his time here. I think his confidence is up and he's playing some really good football. I have a lot of confidence in him right now, but he's a guy who's smart. He knows every position we can put him at X, F, Z, you know, play special teams. Really just a utility player for us and allows us a lot of flexibility and on offense to change the personels, move him in and out. He has size, he has length, he has strength. He's tough. So he has everything we're looking for in a football player and his ability to move from position to position creates a lot of opportunities for us. Ryan, you've been a lot different about this one for you personally. Anything that stood out? You're playing how you approach it, anything? I don't know. You know, I try to approach every day with an intention and a purpose to get as much as I can out of the day. You know, whether it's leading the guys, pushing the guys, pushing myself, trying to get something out of each and every day. I don't take for granted the opportunity to come out here and work and to get better and push the guys around me. And it's a lot of fun for me to have these conversations with our guys and then have it show up in a team rep or a 7 on 7 rep and we make the play. You know, that gives me a lot of energy, a lot of juice, just knowing that, hey, I see something on tape. I go to a guy, I have the conversation. Next time it comes up in a practice rep, we're able to hit it. Just seeing that happen several times over the course of this camp so far gives me a lot of confidence of the ability to be able to take that throughout the season, seeing something on tape and be able to translate it to a game rep and make it a play. Are you pushing these guys harder? Yeah, I think so, probably so. You know, I think I'm trying to push these guys each and every day. Like I said, don't want to take any day for granted out here, but I'm going to try to push them and get the best out of them as well as myself. You know, I'm pushing myself trying to get the best out of myself. So if we can all do that, if everyone who steps foot on that field can push themselves and the leaders can push the guys around us to get the best out of everybody, we're going to be a really good football team. You know, I think it'd be awesome for us to, you know, I think race's ability to stretch the field and then, you know, adding the other things that he can do underneath for us. Just size, strength. He's catching the ball really well and that confidence to go make the play when the ball's in the air is everything. So adding another weapon for us, you know, that maybe hadn't been accounted for beforehand is exciting for me and exciting for this offense that we have another playmaker we use. Thank you. Hey, Teresa. Good morning, Mike. Well, 10 practices in the camp. Does it feel like the NFL maybe is back to normal, you know, after two years of the pandemic and all the protocols, et cetera? Does it, does it, and how nice is it to be at this point and being able to focus mostly on football? Well, I mean, I think we're always concerned about everybody's safety's ours and the health of our families. And I think that hopefully we're past that. You know, we wish we would have more room for fans, you know, with some of the construction that we have going on. It's, it's been hard. So we're trying to get as many people out of that we can and, you know, and hopefully we can get some of them out when we practice against Tampa Bay and Arizona. What goes into Mike, I guess, decision on maybe who needs work in preseason games, who maybe you hold back and when do you finally make decisions on some guys? I mean, those are probably determined already. I think you just try to evaluate what's been going on at practice. You know, who's had some of the situations, who's had, you know, first, second down, third work, third down, you know, two minute who feels I feel like has, you know, gotten a lot of work in. And there'll be some guys that that don't play in the game. And hopefully there'll be a lot of guys that need that opportunity to kind of help themselves, help define roles and, you know, show us that they're ready to help us out. What was Dylan's ratings improved over the last 10 days in his training camp? Well, he's competing. You know, he's competing and he understands that he's in there with Nick and we're trying to give both those guys an opportunity to establish the role that we talked about and then, you know, help to develop our team and build our team and, you know, I see him, you know, doing a better job at the top of the pocket or some of these guys, you know, kind of counter back in and he's really focused on that. I think that his knowledge in our system is really expanded and, you know, need to continue to build and develop and be a good opportunity to continue to work. You know, we've got a game against the different opponents, so that's always a challenge up front. You've been going against the same guy for quite a while. Ryan talked about trusting the guys, trusting what he sees in practice more than maybe what he sees in a preseason game from guys Thursday night. How much of it is you want to see the practice field carry over to the game? Would love to, you know what I mean? We'd love to go out there and see the technique and the fundamentals and see who's ready to play in a live situation, you know. Hopefully guys get tired and can fight through it and hopefully there's mistakes that they make that they can fight through and just kind of see who can play within a flow of the game. And, you know, just start to be instinctive when plays start to repeat, which I'm sure they will. I'm sure they'll have the same, you know, limited menu. Maybe they won't, I don't know, but I'm guessing some players will repeat who can take the information from the beginning of the game. Maybe even when they weren't in to go in there and use that information to help them and, you know, who can go and play special teams and then go and play offense or defense. Ryan, as you were getting into the second layer of the offense, where has that gotten cleaner from your standpoint? Well, I think with some guys it's gotten cleaner. I think with other guys, you know, as the installation has started to mount, you know, there's been a little bit of, you know, a slowdown. So, you know, that's where we as coaches have to be able to recognize that and make sure that we're just not glossing over things that we're slowing down again and saying, hey, these are whatever mistakes that came up. And, you know, that's why we coach and practice and find ways to walk through. So, you know, with some guys being able to pick it up, you see them, you know, again, they're not spending as much energy, you know, focusing on what to do and the anxiety level in between snaps. That they're, you know, using all that information and then using all that energy for when the balls, you know, snapped. And so, you know, we have to be able to get, there's a lot of stuff that we still are going to put in that we're going to use in the season. You know, tomorrow will be critical day for us with the situations. Mike, through 10 days, what have you seen from Malik maybe in terms of the demeanor of handling the ups and downs of being a quarterback? Well, the ups and downs, I think that's great. I think his, you know, his ability to move on to the next play to be able to process things quickly and understand when it was a mistake and, you know, being able to be coached has been great. You know, we just have to continue again, you know, as we move forward here and some of the stuff that we're doing to be able to handle the operation, making sure that it's clean. We, you know, we did some of the stuff on the ball today. How important that process is for the quarterback. And, you know, I'm sure there'll be plenty of things for us to coach him up on, but his ability to recover from maybe, you know, a snap that he wasn't, you know, at his best. I think he's done a really nice job. How much do you evaluate the guys harder this year? And he said that he was. Have you noticed Ryan pushing? You know, I think his leadership is, you know, something that's been good. I think that that's probably intentional. You know, I think he knows when to push guys and when to pull them along. And sometimes, you know, how you have to approach certain guys to get the best out of them. And, you know, if I'm a receiver, that's the most important relationship that we'll have on our football team is the one with the quarterback and the receiver. Because, you know, that is the guy throwing the ball. So wherever he needs him or wants him on a particular route or versus particular coverage, that's where I would be if I wanted to try to get the ball. How much impact does, how much impact does will special teams have Thursday night when you go to good or bad, when you go to evaluate the guys that are trying to make this roster? Special teams is a large part of the game. They set the table for what we're trying to do and offense and defense. And also, you know, we'd like to have some guys that can send messages, you know, with physicality, with speed, you know, with toughness. And although it's an opportunity to change momentum, create momentum, cover and kickoffs, you know, trying to create with a kickoff return or a punt return. So I'm excited to see us, you know, go out there and play and see guys that can return kicks and who can cover kicks. And that'll be a large part of the evaluation. Was that intentional on Ryan pushing the guys more this year? Was that something that you had discussed with him wanting to see him do or something that he told you? I think that's all of us. I think that's between me, Ryan, the offensive staff, Todd, you know, just taking ownership of this thing and making sure that, you know, they give the quarterback an opportunity to correct him or tell him what he wants to tell him. You know, Rob can fill in whatever blanks or, you know, Todd can fill whatever blanks in with, you know, with Ryan. Is there something that is said for the phrase gamer? Can you see something from guys in game action that you maybe can't out here? I mean, we think practice is important. You know, I think the ability to come out here and focus and perform in the way that we want to practice, I think, is critical and important. I'm not going to say that, you know, we want a whole lot of gamers. You know, we want guys that are prepared and ready to go and that can execute. And maybe some guys, you know, level of play will increase. There'll be a better tackler because we, you know, we don't tackle much or you say, well, I didn't really see that from him in practice. But I don't know about gamer. Kyle Phillips, what are some of the things you're seeing that has, you know, warranted him getting significant snaps, especially as a rookie? When he gets open, catches the ball, he knows where to go. Looks like the quarterback trusts him, whether it's man. I think he does a good job of recognizing whether it's man or zone and how he wants to run his route and be indecisive. Of the receiving is determined by Ryan's level of trust or his relationship with those guys. Is that something that you heavily factor in when determining who's earning those first team reps out there with them? I think it's just about production, about who we feel like is improving and who's earned them. I would say that those probably would parallel each other. Did you envision Tim Kelly working with the tight ends so much when you hired him or is that something that kind of has evolved? I mean, I think that that's where, you know, I asked him to kind of concentrate during practice, you know. I mean, Tim can be valuable out there helping tight ends, helping young guys, helping the position. Same thing it is every day. Come in with an intent to learn and focus on the things we talked about that are important with training camp and be attentive in meetings and execute whatever it is that we ask them to. That's all we ask every day. How appreciative to be back on the field in an actual game setting for the first time in a while. As a coach and someone who's invested so much in him, how proud are you of the fact that he is out there and what he's done? Yeah, each and every day. I mean, I think that there's been, you know, I mean, you can't play corner in this league without having somebody complete a pass on you. That's not going to be possible, but it just keeps showing up to work, keeps practicing, keeps working the technique and shows up in the meetings ready to learn, ready to fix any mistakes that showed up. So, you know, excited to watch him, you know, go out and play and wherever else is out there.