 Yeah I was too. When you talk on field is it partly to get under a guy's skin, get him off his game or is it just the way you're built? It's a little bit of everything. It is the way I'm built, but some is to get guys off their game and then it's also to bring others up. When you see a little lack of physical and practice and stuff like that, I'm the type of guy to get them up. What about guys maybe the most? Is it on a tenth day of camp or is it maybe in a fourth quarter of the game? When do you think it's most effective? I think it's the first from the first snap. If I see something that I think the other guy doesn't see, then I'm going to talk to him and tell him, okay this is what I see and this is what I will use as far as a move or whatever the case may be. Yeah, that's it. What do you guys have been chatting most about out there? Just him as a rush. He's a speed rusher, a dip guy. He dips the corner a lot. So I know if we're too high in speed rushers, then nine times out of ten a quarterback will be able to step up. So just talk about, okay if he's going to go high, then maybe I can come low. Just to create almost like a flush almost or something like that or depending on the play whatever play it is. If I have to drop, what kind of drop is this? What's the best way you see me dropping? Because he's been dropping all his career so he knows a lot about the dropping and everything like that. You lost your running mate, it's a little bit out there today. How tough is it to kind of keep emotions in check I guess when you're going up against guys, banging up against them every day in the heat of the battle? Is that it again? I said you lost your running mate. Jeopardy I guess a little bit. Yeah. How tough is it to kind of keep your emotions in check and I know how much of Ray will stress that? We got to, it's next man up always but then also just continue, I got to be more energetic. I got to add some more, since Jeff wasn't out there I got to be more energetic, more vocal. Just stepping up because he wasn't there. So it's always the next guy up because during the season, God forbid I might get hurt so we have to play those things and it was good to kind of get that practice in today. That's just me. That's just me. I think it's an Atlanta thing, Atlanta Georgia thing because I don't know any quiet person from Atlanta. I think that's just in our nature and that's what we were born to do. Raves and change. Talking to several of the players just the last couple days at the end, so many of them have brought you up for your ability on the field and also being a vocal leader. Do you have an idea of the impact you've made here? Yeah, I mean this year I kind of, well it was last year, last year I kind of stepped into a role of being a leader. Years before that I wasn't ready to be a leader. A lot of guys gravitate towards me. That's always been me throughout life. A lot of guys gravitate towards me but I feel like I'm ready and mature enough to step into that leader role and I have stepped into it. What's the first player you're playing? Yeah. Chicken homie? No, Chicken homie was a double team with Chick and I forgot the other tight end that was in but it was a double team there. The second guy peeled off. I mean it wasn't my play to make but if all would be great I got to make those plays. He's getting better. Every day he's working on it. He knows there's something in his game that he needs to work on. He can come out every day whether it's early in practice or after practice working the footsteps to control the blocker or sustain that blocker. Definitely, I feel like I'm taking the most of my opportunity since I've been here. Just learning to play book, learning from Jeff, learning from Danico, learning from Harold. This is a lot of great guys here that you can learn from. Even Kevin Byrd from dropping, learning how many yards I need to drop, where to drop, where's my leverage and everything. So I feel like I'm taking a huge jump in the opportunity that I'm having. What do you think people will see from you this season compared to the previous years? I think I'm more just a pass versus because previously I only played third down. And then the time that I was coming in, playing first and second down, I mean I played good. I think people around the league know what I can do. It's just now having the opportunity to go out, start and be able to play 800 snaps a year. I just kept my head down and just keep working. I mean I'm a fighter. That's just naturally me. And when I see talent all across the field, all across the NFL and I know and believe that I'm a part of those talented guys. And I can match up well with those talented guys. So it's the fighter in me and I'm not going to stop until I retire. Craig and Shane both talk about not coaching the result. But as results oriented business, you obviously determined to get results by getting to the quarterback. How do you not think about the result? How do you kind of square that? Every day. Take it day by day. Every day I pick something in my game, whether it's a pass, whether it's steps, whether it's something to work on every day. Every day and at the end of the year, that's where you'll find out the results. But every day is a working day. Do you relish the result when you get it? Yeah, of course you enjoy it. But for me it's the process because in my whole career it's always been about the process. Like it was a process to get here. It was a process to get on third down. It was a process to get in the NFL. I just felt like early on in my career I didn't respect the process. I just went off talent, no work. And now that I know you have to put in the work to get the results, it's the process. You got to trust the process. What is that thing about the morning? It's shock you. I really got it from Trent Williams out in San Fran. He used to do it and he used to tell me that it just wake your body up. It's shock the neurologic system or whatever system that is. It shocks it and it wakes you up and it gets you ready for practice. So I've been doing that every day since I've been in San Fran and up to this point. You talked about the Braves emphasizes setting the edge. How much has that been part of your workload being a guy you can set the edge? I can set the edge. It's nothing to set the edge. It's just what my role was. My role was a third down pass. I come in sometimes first and second down to set the edge. But setting the edge, I've always been able to set the edge. It's just now I'm able to showcase that more often now rather than just being on third down and going to get the quarterback. Did you practice deep? Deep natured body? Dominated the offensive body? I say it was balanced. I say it was balanced. The offense got out there a little bit early on. Energy was down. Energy was a little lack of basical. But we picked it back up. But I feel like it was a little balanced practice today. Talk to me about nutrition, physical. I remember watching you back in San Francisco. I remember the bottom of your stomach was rolling over your head. Now we're going to have two years from now. You look kind of chiseled out. Talk to me. How did you take care of your body? What was your process like? The process just, it was off season. Off season work. I train with Mark Hart, engineering greatness. It's Instagram. And we train hard. It's one of the hardest trainers I've ever been with. And we always running. We run heels. We do a lot of running. And I think that's why my body is the way it is now. I used to be fat. When I was just saying friend, I was 280. I was fat. Thank y'all. I feel like he's going pretty good. Taking it day by day each day. Coming out here. Putting it on the field and then coming back and getting the corrections and the details underway. And just making sure I ain't making the same mistakes when I come out tomorrow. Just paying out tremendously. I'm able to stay out on the field more. Do a lot of things that I wasn't able to do. And have fun. Honestly, not think about breathing. You've got to catch many balls from Glevis. Say it again. Have you got to catch many passes from Glevis and what's your impression of him? I've caught a couple from him. But I mean, he's a great quarterback. Just got to keep getting better and better like everybody else. And you know, time will tell. And just let God take his course on it. It's alive. It seems like to earn Ryan's trust. But it seems like you're well on your way. Can you talk about that? How that relationship's grown? It just goes back to being here in the off season. Being with Ryan. Throwing with him every day. And it just makes him, you know, trust me more and more when he knows that he can throw the ball anywhere around me. And I'll go up and make the catch. Does it get to the point where it's really non-verbal communication between the two of you? It's like he can just kind of give you the nod or whatever and you know where to be? I mean, he knows that, you know, I know where I need to be. And he expects me to be there. And I know I need to be there. So he's going to put the ball there and, you know, I'll be there to make the catch. A lot of times you guys, your confidence, you draw that few of the work that you put in. For you, like this year, you seem more confident. Is that really one of the key sources? What you did, preparing for the season? Yeah. I mean, the off season, you know, it's good to go out and, you know, go take a vacation or whatever. But, you know, sometimes being a first year guy that second year, I mean, I feel like that I needed to stay here and work on, you know, the things that I need to work on, get in shape, get closer with the quarterbacks, coaches and, you know, it pays off when you do that and, you know, it shows out on the field. What does call a day like today help maybe both sides of the football? It helps it out a lot. Just because, you know, it gets you ready for games. You know, you go out there and you attack it like it's a game. You're not reading off a script. You know, your coach is not out there telling you, hey, you're next. This or that. Play. And it just gives you confidence to go out there. Hear the call from Ryan Malik, Will, and just go execute it. Talking to a number of your fellow wide receivers, they talk about DeAndre's presence here bringing out the best in you guys, but certainly you weren't giving your best before he got here. So is it just that a guy like him brings out another year or is it bringing out the best maybe off of the practice field in the world? I mean, I would say, I mean, just as a man, I mean, I wouldn't want nobody doing better than me. So I mean, him being, you know, the type of receiver that he is, and just being behind him just makes you want to work more, being able to achieve the things he's achieved, and it just makes you go out and grind. Is there a thing or two that you can think of, I don't want to get away with, but maybe that you learn from him? From him? Yeah, a lot of things. Just going out and having fun is the main thing. That's all he tells me, tells everybody in the room, just go have fun. Move on from the next play and, you know, just be sound on the football field. Don't think too much and just play football because it's not, don't overthink it. I would say don't overthink because it's just football at the end of the day and just go play football. The coaches talk a lot about not worrying about the results, not being focused on the results. Is that a difficult thing to do because it's a results-based business and ultimately at the end of the game, you want to have the catches, the touchdowns that contribute to the win? I mean, just being a receiver, you always will want the ball. But it just comes from, you know, just having a positive mindset, not being selfish. I don't really care about the results. I just want to win. That means give Derek the ball 150 times and we win the game. I'm fine with it. I just like winning and I think my fellow teammates like winning also. What's the difference in your mindset when you're thinking about process as opposed to getting the ball, I guess? What do you mean? When they're talking about not thinking about the result, what are you thinking about instead of personally? Going to win. I don't really think about the results. I'll just go out there and move on to the next play. What's Mary's life like when you're in training camp? It's real good. I would say it's been the same since last year. She knows that I've got to come to work, take care of the things so she'll be able to have whatever she wants and live a happy life. She understands that. She supports me, helps me study. That's the main thing when you have somebody that can help you study or help you be better at your job. It plays a big role. You're not in the hotel? No, 100%. Say it again. When did you get married? June 24th. Yes, sir. I don't know what she looks like. That played a big role. I couldn't help that one. We honestly don't really think about it. We just care about what's inside our house here. We take care of our business and he knows that. That's why he goes out here every day and puts his best foot forward and comes out and practices his hardest. What are your expectations for yourself? Not numbers wise, but what do you know how to yourself? Man, just to inspire people. Just show them that you can overcome anything and just have fun with anything that you do. Just have fun with it. Don't stress. Always keep God first. I usually tell the guys that go out there and just have fun. Don't overthink anything. Bring your best every day because you never know if you'll be here tomorrow. You never know if you're going to be here when you get back in the locker room. You always make sure you go out and put your best foot forward and have fun with it. Thank you. Looks like Will was getting a little bit of a chance to run a little bit with the Tuesdays today. Is that part of the plan to start rotating a teeny bit? Absolutely. Just giving those guys opportunities and they've done that. I think we just have to continue to get both Malik and Will throws behind different lines and working with different backs and receivers and all that. I felt like there were some good things out there and there were some things that we just have to get cleaned up. But I thought it was competitive and got some things done. How much do you benefit from these call of days like today on both sides of the ball? We're hoping that the players benefit from it and we can teach from it and we can learn from it that these are going to be the things that come up in the game. Whether that's a penalty or a fumble or a sudden change, a third down conversion, a fourth down and then breaking the huddle and going fast and snapping the ball and all these things that are going to come up in the game plan throughout the week. There were things on the offense that held and the things that the defense had held. That's what's going to happen in the game. We think that there is a strong tendency for them to be in a certain coverage on a certain down and distance and maybe that changes or just being able to adjust as the game goes on. We'll seem to find a nice rhythm in that. That's a new exposure for him practice-wise in the call of day as opposed to... I do think that his demeanor has been pretty good as far as maybe some negative plays or things that have come up. I've seen him be able to process and just kind of transition to the next play and get into listening to Tim and what Tim has going on. I think that that has been pretty good. We'll just need to continue that and make sure that you're not too high and not too low. I would agree that he was able to transition and get the call and get in and out of the huddle. That's certainly a great start. What do you see now as he responded to coaching at the end of the day when he goes on the film with everybody and then comes out the next day and how does that process work? I think that they all have done that. That's what we ask him all to do. We've been able to create a schedule here with Training Camp that they have a large block of meetings and then go out and walk through the corrections from the day and then walk through what the installation is going to be for the next day. Whether that's Will or Ryan or Malik or any of the quarterbacks or hopefully any of our players that are able to take those corrections and then apply them to the next day. There's a touch down that I think either Malik or Ryan through or Will through yesterday safety kind of stayed on the front line down in the red zone and in our meeting and talking to the safeties and saying, hey, we're going to have to be able to get back and be able to help that corner on the back line because it was wide open yesterday. So today, same situation. Not sure who the safety was, but he drove back and you saw Malik think that he had the same throw or whatever throw that whoever threw the touchdown yesterday. So they're making corrections and they're trying to adjust on their end as well. So make sure that we're just reading it out. So those are going to be good teaching moments here today. How good was it to see Tajik Spears really stick his face in there and get a good block on Amani Hooker's blitz to allow the play to go off as planned as opposed to a sack? Yeah, man. That's what running backs have to do. They're going in and they got to be able to protect and when we release them get open, catch the ball and they also have to not be able to fumble too. So we'll talk about that. Certainly disappeared. He was wide open, I think. I don't know. I didn't get to that play yet in the film, but you know, Roby was really progressing well in training camp last year and you know, brought him back. I think he's being able to play faster and know what's going on and understand route detail versus certain coverages. And it seems like he's able to play close to his time speed, which is what we're trying to get from everybody. Hold on guys. He had a follow up here. Did you see a difference this year maybe in the B that like a year after that, you know, the injury? Yeah, man. I think that, you know, it looks like he's feeling good and he's running well and he's moving good. And again, there's less indecisiveness from him and in his routes. How did you feel the offensive line handled the defensive lines pressure early today? I thought that we've had some better pockets with pads on. I thought that it looked like a, you know, shit through a brass horn the first couple of days and I think it's been better with pads on. I think that these guys have been able to try to, again, try to build some depth in the middle or the quarterback and step up and try to get some width to the edge rushers. Not that it was perfect, but I would say that it's improved from my vantage point. And again, I try to stand back there and that's the one thing that I can kind of feel like I'm like maybe I wouldn't want to be a quarterback on this play or hey, there's some comfort level and, you know, so again, they're working together. They're seeing the games. They're seeing building profiles on rushers. This guy likes to rush this way. This guy, you know, likes to do certain moves. So that's all part of the progression, I think. When there's a lot of turnover, do you expect that or leave? I would say that that's probably going to be the way that it is, you know, I don't know what everybody else is doing, but just my experience early on in camp, just because they haven't had that work in the offseason. You know, we don't have spring practice. We don't have padded spring practices. We don't rush live in the offseason. So we're trying to develop players to probably do one of the toughest skills that we would ask any player out there on the field to do at any position is past protect an elite athlete without the reps of an offseason other than punching a bag or a stationary target. And then all of a sudden it's like, oh, that's a little quicker than what we practiced in April and May. So we'll just keep progressing and trying to get those guys to work together as a unit. How's Chig coming along as a blocker? Well, I mean, I think the biggest thing for Chig is going to continue to be his hand placement. You know, I don't think we're going to make him any bigger. He's not going to be a 260-pound player, but you know, I think we have to just continue to focus on his hands and making sure that they're inside, that they're strong and they're powerful. You know, first play today just, you know, not going to be able to sustain against Arden or any player with your hands outside. You just don't have enough power. He's willing. I just think that the technique has to improve. You're talking about the Derrick run on the outside? The first one. Has Humber given you what you expected from a veteran coming in? Yeah, yeah. I mean, again, he showed up here 30 minutes later. He was practicing and was able to function. I think he's gotten better each and every day. So I enjoy his attitude. I enjoy his willingness to hop in there and his professionalism. You talked about cheek size. You've got a group of tight ends who've got some size to them. I imagine there's design behind that for you guys. Well, again, we're just looking for functionality and the guys that can have the ability to try to sustain at the line of scrimmage, whether that's in the pass game or the run game. You know, you've got to find ways to neutralize some of these defensive ends and these edge players in our league. They're elite players for a reason. They're long. They're explosive. They're instinctive. And so hopefully we can find some guys at the end of the line of scrimmage that can help block those guys or at least stalemate them in a run game and when we play pass it that we can hold up. One time, one play where you call the horse collar and make a toning right after it. One spesh. How what's the balance of what the guys play hard, you know, make a play but also not control the line? Yeah, I mean we want them to go to the line. We want them to look over it, take a peek and stop. I mean, you have to be able to play this game with speed and with violence but also be able to understand when you could get a defenseless, you know, player penalty in the back end of the defense when you could get a blindside block as an offensive lineman or in that case, you know, a horse collar and, you know, again, the horse collar is one thing. It's taunting in the point in the finger that, you know, is just going to end up being a penalty. It's right in front of everybody. When you first start talking to new guys here about not focusing on results, is that difficult to break through with some who are thinking, well, I got here because of my results. I want to make touchdown catches. I want to get sacks. Is there an early disconnect for some guy? I don't think that there is. I mean, this is a result in production business and when I coach sometimes, maybe I've misled you a little bit. And it's like, you know, we want to be able to go and make plays and understand where they need to be with regards to the team as well. You know, there's a play that's relying on everybody's job and everybody's responsibility. And if you stray too far from that, you know, then I think that that's a problem. But, you know, having your own little flavor or your own little flair is different than just kind of going rogue and doing your own thing when the quarterback expects you to be somewhere else or the defense expects you to contain on a certain blitz. Like, we're sending four guys from one side. Like, we're going to need you on this one. This is a non-negotiable. Like, you're going to have to contain. So, you know, I think we try to do a good job of walking and having that balance of, you know, being a football player and making plays and helping the team, but also not being a detriment. Coach, is there anything from when you became the head coach here to now that you kind of look back and change maybe a little, or do you feel like you've been steady-eddy on the way that you do things from camp or that stuff? I think we're always trying to change things and change things daily. Like, we have a schedule for Thursday and based on what the health of the team is or what we need on that particular day, that may change. I think I've tried to always stay flexible and be able to adjust and adapt to things that come up. I think that the overriding themes are similar, but we've changed practice schedules and the way we do things each and every year. Like, obviously, you've got two young quarterbacks that you want to get as many reps as possible, but you also have the new offense with a lot of new pieces in terms of starters. So balancing in practice, getting as many reps to those guys to prepare for this season and not focus on the future? None of us are focused on the future outside of today and what we're going to do. So we've tried to just balance the reps out, and the guys right now that are working with the ones probably have more reps. And then I would say that the next two groups are probably somewhat balanced. Tried to do that today, tried to plan out what I thought the reps were going to be, Kayla, and they maybe were a little more or less. You have to have a plan, and then if it doesn't work, be willing to adjust it. So we tried to, when we say develop them, and we were talking about develop them for this year and how they can help us this year, not the future. Right away in the kicker competition, is it maybe more valuable to see what they can do in the preseason game situations where they may have to make a 50 yarder late in a game to put you ahead rather than what goes on out here? Well, I think that would always override it, but we could only manufacture so many of those things and I'll try to do my best to manufacture those. We're also going to try to run plays that help us score touchdowns. But ideally, yes, I would hope that any game experience that we could use to evaluate everybody would be beneficial. How many of those we're going to get? I think remains to be seen. I think Alize is going to be willing to take as many reps as he needs to take to try to earn a role in this team. And if he tells me, Coach, I need a rest, then we'll give him a rest, but I don't anticipate that being the case. That player you were talking about was shooting to his hands. Did he hold on that play? No, I felt like just on the first glance, I felt like he let go when Arden broke the framework of his body and tried to give him a shove is what we coached to do. I think, again, I looked at it with a critical eye and I didn't see restriction at the point of attack. But again, I'm not an official. I just try to look and see what they call. I felt like he did let go and he did try to give him a shove and then we'll see if that guy in that case, Arden, can tackle Derek. So I think it could have been better. I thought that it was smart not to grab him and tug him, and it was smart to give him a shove at the end like we teach. So started off not so well and probably could have finished OK. How much of these practices do you get through before you come back out to talk to us? How much of the practice? Well, I mean, when we have guests here, I try to sign autographs and so maybe I get through, I don't know, some of the open field tackling or 15, 20 plays. But I try to sign autographs and then go in there and then when Robbie texts, I come running. Tim, on the competition on the offensive line, now that you've got the pads on, how much of a difference does that make in trying to gauge what guys' strengths and weaknesses are? Yeah, I think it makes a tremendous difference. Obviously, when you put the pads on, you get to feel and you get to see how physical these guys can be. You get to see, you get a clearer picture of them being able to work in combination with one another in both the run game and the pass game. So up front, for those guys putting the pads on, it's really the true litmus test form for where they've been in terms of the past and now the strides that they made throughout the offseason and yesterday, they really had their first chance of being able to go out there and show it and they did a good job yesterday. How happy were you when you heard of John here who was coming here and what was the process like and trying to, what has it been like trying to get him up to speed with what he was doing here? Yeah, I mean, he's done a great job. He's come in, you know, learning the formations, learning how we do things, learning some of the different concepts, you know, that he may not have had while we were together in Houston, but he's done a great job in the meetings, taking notes, doing everything that he needs to do to make sure that he's learning the offense as a whole in its entirety and really not just memorizing his particular job on that one particular play. So he's done a great job of coming in here and getting caught up to speed and Rob's done a great job getting him ready to go. What skill set does he make? Yeah, I think, you know, he's a guy who's played at a very high level for consistently, you know, since he's been in the league. He's got a great catch radius. He's a very physical player. He's durable, you know, up until whatever happened, you know, last year, you know, when we were in Houston, I think he played in every game except for one, and that's because we held him out. He's tough, you know, he's a warrior when it comes to, you know, going out there on Sunday. So I think it's good for everyone to kind of see how he goes and how he plays the game, and it's been good so far, yeah. How's Levis's consistency been day-to-day and how do you see him tracking? Yeah, they've all three of those guys have put together a good camp so far. I know it's early, you know, it's yesterday being the first day in pads and, you know, going into practice six, I think. But he's done a good job taking the strides and being more comfortable playing quarterback four. So, but again, it's not just Will. It's all three of those guys have come in this camp and have really done a good job, you know, being consistent and really taking charge and leading that huddle. How exciting is it for you? It's kind of elevating the rest of the guys in that pursuit. Yeah, you know, it gets those guys, you know, playing at a higher level. Obviously with him out here, you see some of the catches that he's made already and one-on-ones in the back shoulders and things along those lines, and then you look over and you see trailing run-and-by guys and you see there's a sense of competition in that room in terms of wanting to make sure they're not there and winning consistently. And really, that's what we need them to do. That's their job, right, is to be able to go out there, get open, win versus man-to-man coverage and catch a football. And so, when you have a guy that, again, that's done at a high level, everyone wants to be able to play up to that standard. Back to Levis. How exciting is it for you when you start to see the light come on for him because yesterday he was making the throws before the receivers came out of their breaks and it was hitting them right in stride. Yeah, I mean, yesterday was good. But again, it's one day. And we want to continue to see him do that again today. Same deal with Malik, same deal with Ryan. So anytime you're out there and you see your guys make strides in areas that you've asked them to make improvement in, it's encouraging. Now, the big thing for him and for everybody is to make sure that we're taking another step forward today. On those second-year skill guys, how much more comfortable do they look just at not being their rookie year and kind of understanding the pace that you guys go through practice and things like that? Yeah, I mean, there's a... I know we've talked about this before and really at every position, there's a learning curve coming from college and playing in the NFL from what it takes, what it means to be in shape to be able to make it through an NFL practice from what it means to actually learn the playbook and know what your job is and things along those lines. So all those guys from Malik to Kyle to Traylin to Chig, they've all done a good job. Obviously, learning the lessons from last year and coming out and performing pretty well for us so far. What are the things that Malik gets for you? Yeah, there are definitely times where you see more anticipatory throws. He's not waiting for somebody to be open, which in this day, when you're doing that, a lot of times, I don't care how strong your arm is, you're going to be late. So again, that was an area that we asked him to improve on and throughout the first six or however many practices we've had, he's done a good job of coming out and making those strides. Can we talk about the sticks of the fact that Derek Canary has been a footballer? Yeah, it'd be foolish of me to not play to our strengths, and obviously having Derek here. We've got to make sure that we're putting him in the best spot to be able to continue to have the high level of success that he's had throughout his career. So that's something that we're working on as a staff, and that's something that we're not going to forget, is understanding who we are and kind of what the backbone is of our identity. We're still in the days where 30 carry weeks for him are going to happen. I mean, if it means that's what we need to do to win the game. That's going to be the biggest thing for us on offense is making sure that we're doing whatever it takes to be able to go and win that game based upon the vision of Coach Vrable and making sure that we're doing whatever we have to do to win. And Mike has talked about the emphasis of playing faster and moving in a little quicker pace. How does that impact the offensive line in that setup? Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of things that it does. Obviously, I mean, it forces them to, they've got to make sure that they're in shape and have a high level of conditioning. But when you're able to do some things, whether it's changing tempos or get in and out of the huddle faster, whatever it may be, that could cause a certain level of discomfort on the other side of the ball. And so when they're not sitting there getting screwed in, it could cause some consternation up front for the defense alignment, which in turn would make their offensive line job easier. So there's a lot of things that go into it. But again, I can't stress enough, those guys have done a good job of, again, learning what the expectation is, learning the new concepts, the new schemes. And again, the big thing for them is to come out and have another good day with the pads on today. What you're seeing from your guys up front so far, what's most important for you? Yeah, you know, being consistent. Obviously, being able to protect the quarterback and make sure that we're doing a good job getting movement in the run game. So, you know, those things will never change when we're looking at our offense alignment and kind of what we ask for them and what we expect for them. And obviously that goes along with playing hard and being able to set the tone and bring the energy and bring the physicality that we're going to need. So about some of the situational stuff, what a high percentage of plays happen in the red zone but on third down stuff, how much do you emphasize that to the guys, the specifics of that? Yeah, I mean each play is its own situation. And so it's really important for our guys to be able to understand like hey, it might have been first and 10 or second and five but now it's third and one and what does that mean and how does that change things? And the deeper that we get in the camp, the more situations we're going to be exposed to and the more they're going to have to be able to adjust on the fly. So whether that means hey, we're going from a two-minute situation to a four-minute situation or we were backed up and we had a shot, now we're in the red area, like it changes like that. We need to make sure that they understand what it means when we're in those situations and what to expect not only from us in terms of the play calls but what to expect from the defense. What's the biggest challenge in regards to safety and continuity when that happens? Yeah, it's not just a work that they're doing on the field. You know what I mean? It's a unique room and it's like that in every building. You've got a lot of guys coming from different backgrounds but really they all have the same goal and that's to protect the guy who has the football. And so Haas, Sully, Jonesy, they do a great job cultivating that culture in there and you can see the continuity carry over from what's been developed in the meeting room to when they get out on the grass. So that's something that they're going to continue to work on and again, they've had one day in pads and they get another shot today to be able to build on it. Do you have an ideal number in mind of how many guys you want or is it just keep the guys who are in it? Yeah, I mean keep the guys who are in it. You know, that's the biggest thing. There's going to be competition everywhere at every position and so our guys are aware of that and we're honest with them and we tell them the truth and the guys that earn those spots are going to be the ones that are here. What do you kind of experiment with them and see how much you can handle? Yeah, he's done a good job just learning his role and understanding what he needs to do and that's what we're going to ask for him. You know, as he continues to master those things we'll continue to put more stuff on him and so far Taj has done a really good job. Thank you guys. Sean Murphy Bonning kind of acclimated himself as the newcomer and the secondary with the other guys. How's he blending in? Yeah, I think it's been good. I do. I think he's come in here ready to work. He's gotten to know the guys, kind of how we operate. I think all those guys right now are in the process of building relationships. You know, developing trust among each other. I think he communicates. He's got a good personality about him. I think the guys relate to him really well. So it's been good. Obviously a guy who's been a leg done in a little while, he kind of knows what it looks like. But up to this point everything's been good. Yeah, really good. Would it know that he had missed time for an ACL? And for me, really, I kind of expected that with him. Just without how he works, how he trains, how he pushes himself in the off season. I knew he was doing that with rehab. Haven't missed a beat. See all the things I saw from him prior to the injury. So really optimistic about where he's at right now and where he's going to go. Have you noticed anything different mentally and physically or even that he's been working since? Have you noticed that? I think he came back ready to go. I think this is probably the best shape he's been here. Been in since he's been here. Looks stronger. Looks more physical. Looks in condition. I think the addition of Hopkins is huge for him too. Just the competition aspect of it. Again, it's always been for Christian. And we tell him this is the consistency. Playing and play out. And to have that competition playing and play out here in practice, it requires a high level of focus to be able to go out and execute and do what we're asking him to do and ultimately end up winning your 1-1 versus a guy like that. So hopefully that continues with him. He's off to a great start right now. It's a big year for him. He knows that. We know that. So hopefully it continues. As Gibbons and Rice kind of go back and forth in that spot next to his ease, what will determine who maybe gets more snaps there? Yeah, I think as that thing plays out, it's going to come down to production. A lot of it's production-based. It's a production business who's producing, who's the best in that role with all the intangible aspects as well. The communication, the alignments, all that type of stuff that comes into play at that position. It's a leadership position on that side of the ball, on our side of the ball. Just being able to communicate, understanding our scheme, the techniques, all those things we're asking him to do, and ultimately that stuff is what we believe is going to lead to that production. So we'll see as it plays out. Yeah, I've been pleased with it. I really have coming in. I think that third force safety spot was one of those things that we were unsure of. I think at this point, I just done a good job. He's handled it. I think Mike Brown's done a really good job. I think he's progressing, improving. You see improvement day in and day out with him. I think Chey Carter's done a really good job, and then those rookies flash at times. So I've been pleased with that corner. I'd set it in the spring as a competitive position. From front to back, there's competition. It'll be interesting as we get into these games and these guys have to go out there and do it. How some of these rookies stack up against some of these guys that have been here, like Trey Avery, Chris Jackson, some of them. We'll see. I think that's going to be a process here over the next month. Is it increasingly more safety than corner? Yeah, I mean, he's a nickel, right? He's a nickel only force at the corner position. So I think that's something as we kind of go through this fall and we kind of see where Rodge is at, how Rodge is handling things as we go. Ultimately, our jobs would get the best 11 on the field. So we've got to kind of evaluate that throughout these next few weeks. See where we're at. They're going to get reps. Rodge is going to get reps outside. Elijah's been getting reps inside at Nickelsum. He's getting plenty of reps at safety because that's kind of the new thing for him. So in terms of his development, I think that's important. So we'll kind of see where it plays out. Personality seems to be on all the time. Yeah, I mean, it's fun to coach guys like that. Guys with energy, guys that bring other guys with them. I've said it before, like the great ones want to be coached. The guys with great energy, great enthusiasm, like those are the guys that you feel like you can go to and coach at all times, right? The ones that are standoffish, quiet to themselves, mopey at times. Those are the ones that are a little bit harder to coach, right? So we embrace that. We encourage that as much as we can. And when he's in the meeting room, you see the energy, you see all that stuff. It doesn't go away, right? But there is a level of focus and intention with what we're trying to get accomplished when we're in the meeting room as well. At least for the defensive line this year? Absolutely. I think a strip sack is better in sack always. 24 of the top 26 fumblers in the NFL are quarterbacks. We've got to find ways to affect the game. And the front has a way they can do it. The back end has a way they can do it. And up front it is putting pressure on them and seeing if we can get the ball off them, right? And back end plays a role, too. They've got to give them to hold it. They've got to be in tight coverage, all the things that come into play. But those are opportunities we can't miss. We've missed too many over the years where we've had opportunities to attack the football instead of just going for the sack at times. And we've got to make sure we're making an emphasis that the ball is the issue. The sacks will come, and we need to make sure we're attacking the football. So are some of the young people on the line that it's kind of, how much of a difference to show what they're about with the pads? Yeah, it's a great opportunity for those guys. I think Peevee has taken advantage of it. His development through the spring, coming in this first week of camp has been tremendous. Something's got to continue. Like, we need him to be a good player, to develop into a good player for us. I think the drop in weight has been incredibly important for him and his production, his ability to move. Naikwan, I think, getting healthy, right, was a big focus for him and getting back to what he was as a rookie, right? Like, he was a productive player for us as a rookie, getting back to that. And what we had that year and continue to progress there. And then we got Shelvin off the Bengals' P-Squad and it's the day-to-day, come to work. If you're out here, you can improve. And he's got some ability. So getting that out of him each day, we'll see with these rookies as we go, right? We'll see with these rookies as we go, just where they're at. Like, we had one day in pads and hopefully today is better than it was yesterday. The whole unit feeling really good about itself for playing really well against familiar people on your practice field. Or do you want them at this stage feeling really good about themselves? I mean, we are, as coaches, we never really coach results, right? Like, we coach the actions. We coach all the things that go into, like, the results are going to happen because we're doing the right things to get there, right? So, I mean, it's a fine line between confidence versus arrogance. I would agree with that. But at the same time, we're all here doing things the right way, executing with proper technique and fundamentals and finding success that way. Like, I'm all for it. I'm going to be the first one to celebrate it, right? I ain't going to celebrate if it's a bad throw, a tip pass, whatever might come of that. Like, that is what it is, you know what I'm saying? So, yes, it's a fine line. I think we got to be able to build that confidence, but we can't always rely on just us having success as an indication of how good we are. No doubt. I think we, when we go back in that meeting room, Paul, on every single play, every single player is getting coached. Does that make sense? So, like, as good as a play was, like, there's a lot to coach from and on every single play, practice, game, everything that comes into play. So, I feel like they need to be able to have that enthusiasm and gain that confidence. But at the same time, I don't want them to feel, by taking shortcuts or not playing with the technique, that crap's going to be able to sustain throughout the season. I want to chain back to Harold for a second. What's maybe like the ripple effect of his impact on the defense, maybe something you guys didn't have last year because his presence wasn't there, but what does he give you guys that maybe, you know, isn't so obvious to us, but it kind of impacts everyone around you? Yeah, well, the first thing that probably is obvious to you guys is the speed, right? The speed element, he plays the game at a high level. I think that's the speed off the edge is only going to benefit those guys inside, the guy on the other side. I think one thing that's always been huge for me with him is he has been a huge effort production player. Like he plays harder than really anybody on our team. Him and Jeff are like the standard for what it takes for a front guy in terms of effort. So a lot of his productions, effort-based, been huge for us in the years, saved us a lot through the years. And then I think just his, obviously his versatility, right? Like we can ask him to do a lot of things just based on his skill set. And he's smart enough. He's got a great football IQ where he can handle all those things. The other day, how much does that help the guys in the middle if they're able to be impacted? Yeah, I think it's huge. Like you face these offenses and they're going to find ways to double certain guys or find ways to chip or whatever that might be. And again, the more guys in protection, the less guys are getting out, should ultimately help our coverage do some things with that. But just the rush, focus in general, you get the speed off the edge. You get the guys working together, running different games, different stunts in there. I think it's got a huge impact. Like they're not going to be able, as we keep progressing, they're not going to be able to say, hey, we got this one handled. Let's focus on these three. Let's focus on these two, right? Like they got to be able to account for everybody. All right, I'll go to Sam. Yeah, it's been really good. Now, obviously in the off-season, we did a really good job competing against one another. We gave them a few things each to work on during that five weeks off. And we think they've kind of picked up and actually even gotten any better since they've gotten here. So we'll let this competition roll out as long as it needs to. But we're excited about both of them. Who are you guys looking at for a quick return? Yeah, I mean, we're trying a bunch of different guys right now. This is obviously a big period for us as far as putting on pads. It kind of looks good in shorts running around, doing their thing, catching balls. But kickoff returner, we'll put Tajé back there, Hassan, Julius Chestnut. It'll be a bunch of guys that'll get that opportunity. And then punt returner, obviously Kyle Phillips, Mason Kinsey. We got some guys back there that we feel pretty good about. And it was good to have both those guys with Mason and Kyle going back there and competing against each other. So we'll see how it all plans out during training camp. No, he's actually done a really good job. It was big in the summer just to get away from things. And I know one of his big things was he was going to go out there and catch punts all the time out in the summer. So he's came back with a good level of confidence. And we'll continue to put more pressure on him during practice and then give him opportunities in the preseason to see what he can do. Yeah, because a lot of people just say, well, he made dismounted kicks and he should win the job. We're looking at a bunch of different things. Leg strength, we're looking at how accurate the ball is, how straight it is. Because when you hit a straight ball, depending on wind and things like that, we want a guy who can hit a straight ball so the wind doesn't play too much of a factor in it. So there are different levels than other just making, hey, I made 90% to 88%. So we look at all those different things. Tom Quinn's done a great job with those guys right now and he'll continue to evaluate those guys as long as myself. You set a bunch of records and stuff. What has he evolved, how has he evolved taking that jump heading into year two? Yeah, I mean there's things that he can always improve on and one of the things that we were talking with him was his hang time. It's not always hitting the ball 70, 75 yards, which looks pretty by the way, but we also need some hang time. So he's really tried to focus in on that and depending on where we're at on the field, it could be a ball that goes 70 yards, but he's got to know the situation that we're in where we could want a ball that's 50 yards with over five second hang time. So he's really honed in on that and he'll continue to improve because the best part about Ryan is he's never satisfied. Whether it's his holding, whether it's his punting and he'll continue to work on that and I'm excited for him this year. Yeah, I mean, again, it's big right now with the pads on because this is where it's going to separate some guys. Not just in the shorts where they're running around, especially at the gunner position where everyone can run as fast as they possibly can and make plays, but now since we've got pads on, they're going to go against two guys and it's going to be a physical battle between those guys and guys who have never done it before in college now get an opportunity to do it in a professional game. So this is a big week for evaluations with those guys with pads on. We're looking for physicality. Those guys who can take two guys on at a time with their hands, with different techniques and fundamentals. So we'll continue to put them in those positions this week and next week before our first preseason game. How difficult is it to coach upon issues, catching the ball, worry about like receiving a football when they're not getting hit, when there's not guys coming at them at real speed? Yeah, we try to simulate as much game experience as we possibly can. Obviously, we can't just have a guy go down there and run and try to hit them during practice because we don't want guys to get hurt before they can showcase their skills and games, but we're going to try to put them in the most difficult situation whether we're having three or four guys around them, whether we end up putting our hands, doing a bunch of different things on them before they can catch the ball. There's different situations and things that we can do to help those guys out. Is there any kind of a deadline for the two young kickers to say like, okay, this isn't going to work. We need to go find them. Yeah, I don't think there's a deadline at all. We'll continue to have them compete each and every day. And once one of them maybe goes ahead of the other one, then we'll decide on that. But there's no timeline right now with that. Is there anything old Wolf when he got here about what you like about him and how deep you've done in that regard? Yeah, obviously we like Trey's leg strength coming out of Texas Tech. And we're really trying to continue to work with him on angles. I know one of the biggest things was his backswing. We're also working on Ryan Stonehouse holding the ball a little bit different from what Caleb can do because we can manipulate his ball strike a little bit of kicking a straighter ball with even the hold. So we worked with him, Trey, on that and we've also worked with Stoney because, you know, kickers, there's different ways they like things and we just continue to work with Trey on trying to kick a straighter ball and the holding parts part of that too. How do you for Jen and he's got a giant leg. Let's see if we can make it more accurate or how does that work? Yeah, I mean that's one of the biggest things that we look for is leg strength. And then what we can do is make minor adjustments on accuracy, you know, especially younger guys that are coming in through college. They might not be as accurate obviously as the professional game is. So we'll look at leg strength and then we'll try to tweak them as much as we possibly can but not going away from what got them here. You know, we don't want to tweak too much where they don't have any confidence in their leg swing. So we'll try to do some little adjustments with them and try to figure out, you know, what works for them to be more accurate. Is there any way besides just seeing it in the game and having to see it for yourself that you can know whether a guy's got the make up to nail a 55 yard or 10 of the game to win one? Yeah, really no. Because you just got to get them out there and see what they can do. Now you can talk to them, you know, try to get in what's in their mind when they think about kicking a, you know, a big time 55 yard field goal at the end of the game to win a game. If you're trying to kick it, you know, you really don't know. You'll sit in meetings for time to time and what do you tell maybe the guys coming in and officers that know Tim from his days here? What do you tell them about the impact he makes? Yeah, Tim's in a bunch of meetings that he can make. But yeah, we go over with those young players the importance of Tim Shaw for this organization and what he's meant to us. But, you know, the one big thing that I tell our players is Tim Shaw one year went to the Chicago Bears and played in 15 games and he had 30 tackles, which is unheard of right now. So that gives Tim a lot of credibility and little street cred that the younger players realize, you know, 30 tackles and a season on special teams was pretty important. And he just gave Monty Rice a big dissertation about his punt sets and how he punches. So he means a lot. And he's, you know, it's another eye out there, a guy who's done it for a very long time at a very high level. So we're so glad that Tim's around and is able to, you know, really communicate with the players and let them know what he sees. Yeah, thank you.