 in a similar system out in LA. And so I think he's going to acclimate pretty quickly when he's back out there and ready to go. And we'll just keep working with him in meeting rooms and getting as much done as we can with him until he's rib-roaring. I think there's a bad feeling moving all around. Where do you think he's best suited? Where would you like to see him repeating to try to go out the field? Yeah, Coach Fribill sets a great culture around here of expecting versatility and dependability. So wherever we need to plug somebody in, we expect them to be ready to go and be prepared. And I think Dylan's working very hard as a young player to show that and to model that. You know, I think that as we sort through the rest of camp, all that will play itself out. Guys will have opportunities at different spots. And I know Dylan's a hard worker that's going to take advantage of those chances. Place before, but it's been a while. So how much do you look forward to this first preseason game? Yeah, you know, I look forward to any chance of competing, whether it's out here calling plays in the nonscripted periods, you know, or certainly these preseason games. It's a great opportunity for me to improve and for me to knock, you know, some rust off, you know, or to get into some situations that you really can't set up in practice. They just come about in game time. So I always look forward to opportunities to improve. And I know that I can and will and have multiple areas that I'll be able to hone that in. What's the key to that process being smooth during the game? Yeah, communication. I think that's the case across the board, right? Whether it's the players communicating to the guys next to one another, me communicating with the staff, getting directed from the head coach. You know, I think those are all things that are hard to manufacture out here. You know, we don't have headsets on. There's nobody up in the booth. You know, so working through those dynamics, I think will be important for us in this preseason. And certainly something I'm excited to get into a group with. Where will you be, up or down? You know, that'll be discussed with Coach Vrable, but you'll have to find out Friday. Thanks, Todd, that you'll look for in a first preseason game. And do you have any idea at this point, just how much of the starters will go? Yeah, I think I mentioned last time, you know, that'll be all up to powers above me on the food chain, you know, in terms of who goes and who doesn't in playing time. I'm just excited whatever 11 or out there to go play fast, play aggressive, play competitive, be smart and detailed in what they do and play with great effort. And if we see that, we'll have an opportunity to take a step forward as an offense. As a guy who came in here with a great blocking reputation, but he's been making some nice catches out there. You seen some things in that department that impressed you about Tommy? Yeah, Tommy's growing every day. You know, I had a chance to spend a lot of time with Tommy last year as a tight end coach. And certainly as we got him as a rookie in all the extra meeting time we had, I know how dedicated he is. I know how serious he is about the opportunity to be a pro football player. And so we expect Tommy to continue to make strides in every area of his game. There may have been a couple of flashes of him catching balls, but he's improving in a lot of areas. Is Eric Frazier as offensive skill assistant different than wide receiver assistant? Yeah, I think each staff that's kind of a fluid position, right, and what responsibilities you give to that person. Eric's a very dependable and reliable guy that wears a lot of hats. And some days it may be more involved with the receiver room, and some days you may be working a little bit closer with me. But I think that it's probably a fitting title as he's a skill assistant. He's able to help out where he's needed and does a great job with everything we ask him to do. Something that you are happy to give him? Sure, he might be preparing cut-ups for situational football, looking at different two-minute drives, breaking down certain defensive tendencies. And it can be helping with the rotation, with the wide receivers. It's a wide variety of responsibilities. But anything we ask him to do, man, he jumps into it and really sinks his teeth into it, and we're lucky to have him. Who are some of the play callers in your time developing your football acumen? Who are some of the play callers that have been influential? Yeah, I've been really fortunate to be around some great offensive minds. My career started working with Scott Linehan in Minnesota. And Scott really is the guy I credit with teaching me how to develop quarterbacks and how to coach quarterbacks. He was so great with Dante Call Pepper. And then when I went with him to St. Louis and he was the head coach, I popped over to the defense the side of the ball, but I got to watch him kind of manage an offense through some ebbs and flows. I was on the other side of the ball working with Coach Hazlett, but it was a great opportunity for me to see maybe how you navigate a different roster than we had in Minnesota. Then we draft Matthew Stafford in Detroit, and I watched him groom a guy from a baby up to a 5,000-yard passer. And that was very beneficial for me, just watching that kind of growth by Matthew and how Scott handled that. Took input from the quarterback, so Scott is a huge, huge influence on me. I think that as I've had other stops along the way working with Nathaniel Hackett and Buffalo and some of his exposure to the true old-school West Coast offense and some of the past schemes, that was educational for me and a great experience. And then every stop along the way, certainly my time with Arthur was awesome to watch. Arthur and I worked hand in hand on a lot of things. I was fortunate enough that he included me in a lot of the process. And so I got to kind of see how his mind worked and how he stayed patient and things like that. So a lot of guys that I owe a lot to along the way probably don't have time to tell you all their names. I've been in there years at Julio. I've been in my times with play calls to be a bit lengthy. I've heard some of yours to be lengthy also. Is that something that you've ever... Who told you mine are lengthy? I was kidding. I'm just listening. But no, is that something that you ever wonder, like, can that be a little bit of a hindrance to some of the players trying to pick up that play call and know their assignment? You know, there's that fine balance, right? Because sometimes they get lengthy because you're tagging every single player with what their job is, right? And then sometimes you focus on just trying to be efficient and getting in and out of the huddle so that the quarterback can see the defense and have more time at the line of scrimmage. So you try to balance that, you know? And I think, you know, as you get into game plans, sometimes they can tend to get a little bit more wordy because you don't want memorization during the game week. But, you know, that's all part of the process. How's it going up on that? A lot of guys only have to really get their piece of something in any sense, though? Yeah, I think it's a play-by-play basis, you know? But yeah, the longer the play call, it's probably one trigger word they're listening for. How's Matt Barkley done in the time he's been in here? What do you want to see from a guy who comes in at the quarterback position two weeks into camp? Yeah, Matt's a pro, you know? And he's been around a lot of different systems. So he's able to, you know, kind of adjust and do some same-as-type concepts. And I think that helps him grow a little bit quicker into a bigger chunk of the playbook here. You know, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, you know, we're looking for backup quarterbacks that'll take care of the football, that'll make good decisions, go to the right spots and be able to run the offense. And thus far, I like what I've seen out of them and I'm excited to see him, you know, get a little bit more exposure and a little bit bigger chunk of the playbook. What's Logan to do those things? Oh, just, no, just in his process, you know, just in his day-to-day process, not feeling like he's got to, you know, get on to the next task or things like that. Arthur's an extremely patient guy. Do you believe that Logan can do all those things? You said that you want the backup quarterback to do. How sure am I that Logan can do those things? Yeah, Logan's doing a great job. You know, he's doing a lot of things that we're asking him to do on a consistent level and the things that we need him to improve on, he's working hard to improve. So I'm pleased with where Logan is and, you know, he's shown great dedication to this organization and this system over the last few years and we're excited to watch that battle continue to play out. You're a joy, Todd. I guess maybe having a bigger voice now, you know, in meeting rooms on the practice field, obviously just dealing with the tight ends the last couple of years. What's that been like and how do you kind of pick your spots on when to get a message to guys? Yeah, you know, you don't want to water it down, right? And so I can't go in there or fire on brimstone every meeting. You know, I hope that people would say that I'm a leader and that I am consistent and I definitely enjoy helping guys get from where they're at to a better version of themselves as a player and hopefully as young men. And so, you know, that definitely is a part of this job that I relish and get excited about. Scott, did you allow yourself to look at Derrick from the 30,000 foot view as opposed to the game by game, play by play view and what do you think of him and like in the context of the league right now? Yeah, you know, I certainly won't get into comparisons but we're very fortunate to have him. I get to see and have gotten to see Derrick over the last couple of years and how hard he works and how much this game means to him. His competitive spirit and his drive and so the great players that I've been fortunate enough to be around, he has that trait where it kind of transcends the fantasy football stats and the measurables. You know, he's a really important piece to this team and very, very fortunate to be calling plays with him on the roster. Yeah, he's going to keep carving out a role for himself and that's no different than any other back in our running back room. You know, right now training camp is a time where people earn their roles and define their roles and we're asking Darrington to do a lot right now and to carry a heavy workload but that's a great opportunity for him and I think that he's done a nice job with some of the new little wrinkles we've added and new jobs we've asked him to do and we expect him to keep his nose to the ground so he won't keep working. He's more than a third down back. Excuse me? He's more than a third down back. Well, yeah, I think backs have to be in this league. You know, I think if you're going to, if you're going to garner time on the 48 on game day, you're going to have to be versatile and you're going to have to be, you know, available in a lot of different roles. What's the challenge? Do you think you need to accomplish in camp with how patchwork the offensive line has had to be with all the injuries? You know, we don't look at those injuries as setbacks. We look at them as opportunities and that's not just offensive line, that's anywhere else and so it kind of gives us a chance to streamline things and look at how we would handle things during the season if someone were nicked up, you know, and all comes down to communication. If you can learn to talk to the guy next year and you can work together in combinations and in protections and things like that, we'll be better off for it by the time we get out of camp and we may take a couple of lumps along the way but we'll work through it and stay consistent. You've mentioned you need to take care of the football and have sections notable again today. At what point do they cross the line of teachable moments, getting used to new guys around you and become cause for concern in the preseason? Yeah, they've come in different situations, you know, and some of them are flat out unacceptable. You know, we got to take care of the ball down in the red zone. When we're down there, we can't try to force it into tight windows when the throw isn't there. And then some of them were working two minute drills at the end of the game and you know, we're down on the clock and we got to give somebody an opportunity to go make a play but they're on a case by case basis and I think that as long as the head coach, the offensive coordinator, the quarterback coach and the quarterbacks are all in lockstep on what's acceptable and what's not in terms of putting the ball in harm's way, we'll be okay by the end of it. You know, Ryan's a guy that certainly is history of taking care of the football and logan and matter the same way. So I'm not concerned about it as long as it doesn't become a repeated issue. Thanks guys. Appreciate it. Very quiet question to ask you. It does it in a nice way. Who? Down. His bullshitting ability is amazing. How we doing? How we doing? All right, KB. How encouraged are you by how frequently you guys are getting your hands on the football in practice? I mean, it feels good. I mean, obviously it's just practice. You know, we got to make them count in the games but I'm really impressed with, you know, the defense. The communications been there. The competitive going back and forth, like I said, but I've been impressed. I've been impressed with defense. At the point now where you guys are really looking forward I don't know how much you can play but looking forward to playing against another team and kind of counting the days to the pre-season opener. Absolutely. You know, we didn't have a pre-season last year. So it was going to be fun just to kind of get a dress for her so to get out there in front of the fans. Being in live action, it's going to be pretty fun. Got some old faces down there in Atlanta with Dean Pease and Arthur, so it's going to be good to see those guys as well but I'm more excited to see some of the younger guys. See that some of the younger guys go out there and play their first snaps in the NFL. Guys like Brady Brees and those guys he had an interception today. So I'm really excited to see those guys play. How badly do you need the Tampa Bay? How badly do you guys need the? How badly do you guys need the Tampa Bay practices against obviously one of the better offenses in the league? They just won the Super Bowl in order to know that the transformation is for real. I don't think there's anything about knowing anything is real or not. We'll know that when week one starts. But to have that practice against Tom Brady, obviously the Super Bowl champion should definitely think it's going to be a pretty good measuring stick to see where we are. It's still going to be time to improve even after we play those guys in the pre-season. So we're a long way from week one but at the end of the day, I always enjoy practicing against other teams in previous years. Carolina, the Patriots as well. It's always fun going against those guys because the practices, they're really like the games. I mean, obviously the pre-season game is coming, but we treat those practices like it's game there. So it'll be a good measuring stick for us. Getting back to this game that you have coming up on Friday, what do you tell? You're excited for the younger guys. What do you tell them? Especially as DB, you can't be patient. You can't know what you tell these guys. I tell them to go out there and just play as hard as they can. Obviously in the pre-season, as both teams, we're not going to be showing too much. Not going to run a lot of defenses out there. So it should be easy as far as communication while I was going out there and having fun and playing ball. Don't get too caught up on, man, I'm in the NFL stadium. Man, those guys I played with are mad. You're out there for a reason. And if coaches or if the NFL didn't feel like you didn't belong, you wouldn't be out here. So God didn't play fun. I mean, have fun, play fast, and just go out there and compete as hard as you can. What's your intention to Nico Aukter's career before he got here and how much do you think he's going to help the defense? Yeah, I mean, he was in the end, always being disruptive, always in the backfield making plays. Obviously, watching a guy like him, a guy that has so much left. I was joking with him in the locker room not too long ago. I mean, the guy's hands are huge. So he's just a big guy. Things are going to be really disruptive up front with Jeff and those guys. So excited to see him come out here and make some plays for us. So those two guys together, what's the record for everybody else? I mean, it starts up front in the trenches. Any time you can have some disruption on first and second down, especially in a run game, it forces the offense to change up what they're trying to do. Because obviously they're trying to get four or five yards on first down to keep those guys on track. So if you got those big guys down, there's disrupting stuff up front on first and second down. We can really run our third down packages. And we can suddenly have a lot of fun. I mean, guys like him, Jeffery's had a lot of tip passes. I'm pretty sure we'll get the same thing with Danico. So like I said, man, it starts up front. Any time you get those guys dominating up front, it just goes into the back end. And we start having a lot of fun. Start getting some turnovers and things like that. Changes in the secondary. How much does it help in the transition process at the two inside linebackers in Jay, honor, and Shaw, are both back and kind of come steady on that? It's the communication deal with all the different stuff that we run as a defense. We're a multiple defense. Having that continuity with the linebackers helps out a lot, especially for some of the young guys. And we're just trying to see things the same way. Like you said, with a lot of new faces in the DB room, we've been talking about all the off-season communication. But honestly, I've been impressed. The defense has been communicating a lot real well. And I think this first preseason game will be a really good measure stick to see how it is in live action. Where are you going, Jeffery? Obviously, you've got a lot of attention up front. And you just alluded to that. But what have you seen out at Tier, Tars, that your guy may be the guy to fill in for a big one? Just what have you kind of seen from him? I mean, I've seen a guy who's put a lot of work in this off-season. Definitely doesn't look how he looked last year. I mean, obviously, he's not a rookie no more. But he's definitely been disruptive up early in training. He's just been disruptive throughout. And excited for him to see what he has to do, what he's going to do this year. He still has a lot of improvement to make. But to end the day, that's a guy who I've been on, even since last year, just trying to make sure that he's going to keep it going. Because I mean, with having guys like Danico and Jeff, I always tell him, like, you know, obviously follow the leaders and things like that. But you know, set your own path. Go out there and really try to push those guys to go harder than, you know, because at the end day, when you have guys from the top to the bottom, they're all strong. That's a dominant group. So just been on him every single day to make sure that he's continuing to do what he's doing just being consistent. What kind of veteran who's not really fighting for a roster spot necessarily get out of the preseason? Getting better. I don't think just because you're not, nobody really knows that they're fighting for a roster spot anyway. Nothing is promised in this league. You can't take that mentality going to any preseason game as if, like, I'm solidified. Even though that might be the case, there's always things to improve on. That's what I work on every single day. And I talk about it every offseason. I'm trying to improve every part of my game. And as always, plays, even in practice, where I feel like I meet with my coaches and be like, I could have done this better. I could have been a step here, step here. And that's always my mentality. It doesn't matter if it's preseason, offseason, whatever. I'm always trying to improve and get better. Is there anything you didn't get last year because of no preseason that you're looking forward to having this year? Just dress rehearsal. Me personally, there's more contact going out there, making a couple tackles. Obviously, we didn't have in the preseason. But that's the type of stuff that you want to get early. Get them hits out the way. Get some contact out there to feel the speed of a live game. So when the regular season starts, you're ready to go. What have you seen from Chris Jackson in the slot? I mean, like I said, I think he's one of those guys where, I mean, he's been out there getting a lot of reps. Obviously, being a rookie last year, I mean, he didn't have no preseason games. He's starting out there in Denver, made a few mistakes. But I mean, his improvement has been really well. Obviously, he can still get better. Him being a rookie, he's having tough work in that slot. I mean, I think slot corner is one of the hard positions to play in the league right now with all the different communications, blitzes, and different things like that. The things he's been able to communicate, the things he'd be able to learn just in a short time, I've been really impressed by that. So I just want to get a change. So you pull Farley aside a couple of times and practices. What are some of the things you're going over with him and where can he really start to make the money? Yeah, I mean, I think he has a lot of athletic ability, even for him coming from, you know, been rehabbing and stuff like that. Watching him being out in the field, he has a lot of athletic ability, has a lot of confidence. Just a couple of times, just in practice, whereas though I think that, you know, if he makes a mistake, kind of gets down on himself. And honestly, I don't think that's a bad thing. I think he just cares a lot. He really does not want to let anybody down. He wouldn't let the coaches down. He doesn't want to let the players down. And that's just me coming to the sideline saying, hey, you know, watch your body language and things like that because I know, I know you don't want to make a mistake, but this is the NFL. This is what happens. You're going to make a mistake, but it's all about rebounding, being a life of a DB, life of a corner. You got to live life on the edge, man. You know, at the end there, you can't be scared to make a mistake. You can't be scared to get beat. You have to go out there and line it back up and go make a play. So those are the small things I'm talking to him on the sideline. No problem. Appreciate it. What's up? Really? That's interesting. Oh, it's interesting. It's not for me. So we'll kind of keep this tight. And I got to get that from you, so far away. Shane, how encouraged are you by the regularity of which you guys are getting their hands on the football right now? Yeah, I think it's something we've been emphasizing to continue that turnover trend. I mean, it's a technique. Like, there's things that go into it. I think practicing it and seeing it carry over just like anything else has been encouraging. It's just got to continue. Like, we can't lose sight of it. We got to be able to carry it through all the way through up until that first game. And then, obviously, once the season.