Coach Dick Jauron
PM Practice – August 6, 2008
On Hardy back in action:
It was good to have him back, we worked him in slowly the last couple of practices doing individuals and today we let him go. I would venture to guess that it would be a little sore and we will see how he tolerated it this practice. It was really good to get him back.
On Hardy and other injured players not playing on Saturday:
I would say that Donte (Whitner) and Josh (Reed) are a long shot. Hopefully James (Hardy) depending on how he came out of this practice and see what happens in the next couple of days, but I would be very doubtful about Donte and Josh.
On your primary goals for Saturday's game:
Well first of all it's a scrimmage, a full contact scrimmage in every area. The kicking game, offensively and defensively so we will get to see them scrimmage, we use it as such. We have a long preseason and we have time to get our guys ready and we try to use it all, so that is one thing and then we will get to see guys under the big lights. We will get to see guys we haven't seen at this level, in an NFL exhibition game, which is different than a regular season game, but it's probably as fast as any game they will ever play so we get to see the young guys in that situation.
On injuries of Baker and Mayle:
With Matt (Baker) we think it is a groin and we are just going to have to wait, he did a little today in our earlier walk-thru and obviously hardly did anything in this practice. Scott (Mayle) is a hamstring and Bud wouldn't project passed today so there is a little optimism there, but you know how hamstrings are for anybody particularly for those skill people.
On backing off Lee and Terrence:
I am just backing them off a little bit.
On quarterback rotation for Saturday's game:
We will sit down and talk when we get closer to that.
On Donte's injury:
I can't really talk about the technical terms, but Bud doesn't seem overly concerned he thinks it will come around pretty quickly and doesn't think it will be a problem, so we will see.
On Ko (Simpson) adapting to being back on the field:
He has done well, he has come back and worked hard. He had that minor setback which scared him a little bit and we go into an exhibition game which is full contact so we will learn a lot more. Everybody that goes through it is a little bit cautious as they work their way back in.
On what Derek Schouman has done so far:
He is a very smart player in terms of learning this game. He is a very aware player on the field, he plays in all areas of our offense, tight end position, fullback, and special teams. We believe he is just a solid football player, a guy you can depend on.
On assessing the tight end competition so far:
We will know a little bit more after this game, I really like those guys and I am confident in them, but they have to produce, we have to see it on the field. We will learn a good deal more on Saturday and then we will go from there.
On Marcus Buggs catching your eye at all:
When we scrimmaged the young guys he made a couple of tackles, he is very aggressive, he is aggressive in our special teams drills on a daily basis. He is obviously not a tall linebacker or a giant linebacker, he is very quick has a low center of gravity so he is hard to knock of his feet. He has a lot of things going for him and he will get a chance to perform on special teams during the game on Saturday. It is a very competitive position and we will see where it goes for him, we try to explain to him they are not only competing for jobs on this team but for jobs in the league. If they show up anywhere on the field and by that I mean defensively or on special teams there are thirty-one other teams that will take notice. You go down and make a play on a kickoff they will all take notice so it's a real opportunity.
On J.P's throwing:
He has seemed to be throwing the ball well, but the thumb is sore and will probably remain sore for awhile longer. He gets treatment on it every day, but it is slightly sore so it has its effects.* *
