Q: Are you getting any of your injured guys
back today?
A: Osi is going to take individual, and we’ll
see; we’ll go from there.
A: Short is going to run on the side. He has
always run on the side. I think he can do individual, but we are
kind of waiting for him to be able to really hit that other gear
to do it. But he is really – he is getting better; he has
advanced. And he runs on the side more because there is actually
more that the trainers can do with him than even if he is in an
individual drill where he is just taking the reps. So he is
advancing.
Q: Is it good news about Osi?
A: It is. It is good news. It is good. I’m
not promising anything. I’m just saying he is going to do his
individual work and then we will see how reacts to that. And then
we will see how he is the next day.
Q: How is Cofield today?
A: Cofield is not going to practice.
Re: more on Osi
A: Osi is going to take individual and then we
will see where he is the next day. There is nothing more I can
say until I see him practice. What am I going to tell you? I
can’t tell you any more than that.
Q: I’m just trying to ask you how far…..
A: I know what you are asking but I don’t have
the answer to that until I see the guy practice. I appreciate the
concern and I know where you are going and I feel the same way.
But I don’t have the answer for you, other than what I just told
you. I told you everything I know.
Q: Is Strahan getting closer?
A: He is feeling better and he is moving
along. We’re not putting him in individual yet.
Q: Any roster moves today?
A: (shakes head in the negative)
Q: Tennessee – obviously they have a new
quarterback. Are they getting better?
A: Oh yes. They are definitely improving. Of
course, the one that holds you back is the game in Jacksonville
that was very one-sided. But they are an improving football
team. And the thing that they are doing is when you study them
and look at them, they are scoring all kind of different ways. Of
course they have the field goal, they have the run, they have the
pass. But they have scored with fumble recoveries. They have
scored with punt returns. They have had two punts returns of late
for touchdowns, one against Houston and one last week – a
90-yarder against Philadelphia with five missed tackles. So what
they are really doing is they are able to score in a lot of
different ways and so it isn’t just simply their offense trying to
score.
A: They are. They utilize his talent in terms
of his ability to get to the corner, to be the run-pass threat
where he will pull the ball down. They do run an option play much
as Michael Vick ran in our preparation for that game. He throws
from the pocket, he throws play action. He will throw on the move
with his bootleg actions. He is a big, strong, powerful athlete
that has a very good arm. He is learning as he goes, as all young
quarterbacks must do. But obviously their decision to play him
was one in which they were prepared for that. And that is why I
think it is important to recognize the way in which other areas
are contributing.
Q: Are there similarities to the kind of
things Garrard of Jacksonville did this past game to what Young is
capable of doing?
A: Oh yeah, definitely. You have contain
issues, no question. And that is part of his style as well.
Q: If Cofield can’t go, is Seawright the
guy?
A: Well, we had seven defensive linemen active
and we can maneuver around in there a little bit more now. I
would hope Cofield would practice tomorrow. I have every reason
to think he will. It may be limited, but he will. So we’ll wait
and see. But yes, Jonas will get the majority of the work today.
Q: How is Jonas doing?
A: Jonas had some good snaps the other night
against a team that had a big, good run blocking offensive line.
He did a good job; he hung in there.
Q: Jonas told us in training camp that he
had some character issues that were holding him back. Has he
improved there?
A: Well, you just want him to grow as an
individual and as a young man. I think he is doing that. He has
made good progress along those lines.
Q: You mentioned yesterday that part of
your challenge this week is to find ways to help Eli play better.
Is it possible to do much in a short week?
A: You can do some things to maneuver because
of the variety of menu that you have had over the course of the
season. We are putting all of our focus on getting Eli back on,
what we call ‘on track’ or back on pace. And to be honest with
you, we are very, very hard on him from the media standpoint and
this may be a good solid learning and growing experience for him.
But he had some outstanding balls on the money in that second half
the other night that very, very easily are converted to touchdowns
to put our team on track. Look at the number of dropped balls the
other night. It is not just Eli. When you talk about nine
dropped balls in a football game, you are not talking about a very
good performance. So I think it takes a lot of people getting
their game back to where it should be. And certainly the
quarterback position is one of them, but it is not him alone. And
I would say that in order for us to see progress at that spot we
are going to have to see progress in a lot of different ways. We
are going to have to run the ball better, we are going to have to
catch the ball better. We are going to advance the ball after the
catch. We are not going to be a constant turnover every time a
guy gets his hands on the ball and the ball goes on the ground.
That can’t be the case, either. Those things are things which do
not help anyone, obviously. Because if you are in a position
where you are protected well, and I told you yesterday that I
thought the protection was pretty good. And we did have some time
even for some deep balls. And I think we have got to have
production when we do have those kinds of opportunities. So it
not just one spot. As always, it is a majority of people who have
to play the game at a better level.
RE: Tim Carter’s fourth quarter fumble at
Jacksonville and whether or not his play has taken a step back
A: I don’t think he expected someone coming
from that side of him. But nevertheless it happened and he wasn’t
in a good position for ball security. I don’t know about a step
back but he certainly has to prove that he can catch the ball and
put it away and cover it up. You had an 80-yarder for a touchdown
that was dropped. You had a ball to Carter that was fumbled. You
had a ball at the end where Plaxico, at least, is illegal contact,
which is a non-call. There were some chances. Not saying we
would have had two chances to be down there, because we were eight
points down. But there was a good solid one and then prior to
that was a chance for a big play. So there is no excuse for
anything. That is over and done with. I’m moving on. But the
reason that I’m mentioning that stuff to you is that while we’re
all so concerned about how Eli plays, I think everybody around him
has to play better, too.
A: We’ll see how he practices. He has come
along. The normal circumstance has been that you have a couple of
days (or practice) and then maybe there is a little discomfort and
you have to kind of watch it. But he pushed his way through one
of those sessions last week, which is encouraging. So we’ll see.
Q: Is Moss up to speed with the offense?
A: He is in all of the meetings and he has
been on the practice field. He hasn’t done a lot with the
offense. He has done more with the scout team.
Q: Have you ever played on the road on a
Monday night and then had to turn around and go on the road again
in a short week?
A: Never. I don’t have any memory of that.
And I think it is really rare in the National Football League that
a team travels Monday night and then travels the next weekend.
But that’s the schedule.
Q: I’m certain you take that as a
compliment to your coaching staff by the league office, that you
can handle those circumstances.
A: I see you do that with tongue-in-cheek, as
usual. But thanks for the humor, I appreciate it.