HEAD COACH CHAN GAILEY PM Session – Saturday, July 28, 2012
On an update of WR David Nelson:They said it is like a bruise. They do not think it is any kind of ligament or anything like that so we will see what the determination is tomorrow.
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On if he saw what happened:I did not. I was looking at the other side of the ball so I did not see.* *
On what he thought of the first day in shoulder pads:
I thought the defense dominated the practice. We have a lot of work to do on offense to be at their level of play right now. It is a little bit different than it has been and it is good for our football team. They have some good players (on that side of the ball). They work hard, they play hard, they are good leaders; it is a solid group up there.
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On RT Erik Pears:
He aggravated that groin. They do not think it is much. But they are being precautionary and we will see how soon we can get him back, hopefully tomorrow night. If not, hopefully Monday or Sunday.
On DT Kellen Heard:
Kellen's (Heard) ankle bothered all offseason. They are going to run some more tests. They do not know exactly what is wrong with that.
On how rookie CB Stephon Gilmore has looked thus far:
The thing about Stephon (Gilmore) is I found is he is very consistent. There is no up and down in the guy. What you see every day is what you get every day. And that has been a pleasant surprise. A lot of times rookies sometimes something bad happens to them and they go into a tank. He is pretty strong in that area.
On if Gilmore carries that behavior into the meeting room:
To be honest with you I have not been to one meeting with him so I do not know.
On how Gilmore always seems to have that emotionless "poker face":
Yea, right. He just comes to work every day, which is good.
On whether he could see Gilmore going to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick for insight on how to cover certain routes:
He will probably ask a receiver. I do not know if he would go to Fitz (Ryan Fitzpatrick). But I think he would probably go to a receiver and say, "What are you trying to do? What do you see?" He will probably do that. Right now he is just probably trying to find his way around. I do not know if he would do that now. But probably a year from now he would.
On if seeking out that kind of advice is unusual for a rookie CB to be doing:
It depends on personalities. Some do some do not.
On how LB Arthur Moats is responding to his role:
Well we finally settled him into one role as an outside backer for us. I think he has handled that very well. He has gotten a lot better in the OTAs and the mini-camp. It made so much of a difference for him to have that. It is unbelievable. I feel good about where he is right now after three days of practice. He has been very impressive thus far.
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On how LB Kelvin Sheppard is developing:
I think very well. We put a lot on that guy to get everything lined up with new calls and a new system. But he is strong enough to handle it and it looks like he has done a good job thus far.
On middle linebacker being a good fit for Sheppard's abilities:
Yea. He can stand in there at MIK and go sideline-to-sideline and make plays. He has just got to get a feel for everybody now.
On why DE Shawne Merriman did not practice this afternoon:
He could not go. He rolled an ankle yesterday late. He taped it up and finished but we held him out today. He went through the walk-throughs this morning so it is not like it is a hobbling thing.
We are going to make sure he is ready to go before we bring him back.
On the way the defensive line dominated today:
Yea well that is where probably most of our depth is, is in the defensive line. I would expect that to happen here for a while until we can get this offensive line geared up to the speed of the game. It goes up from shorts to pads it goes to a speed. Then you go to preseason games and it goes to another speed. So we are going to have to get geared up to meet the challenges offensively.
On how much of a full off-season as the starter has helped QB Ryan Fitzpatrick:
Confidence is an amazing thing for any player, but especially at quarterback. He has a lot a lot of confidence. But I do not care who you are, when you get patted on the back and you get some experience being in that spot it helps you. And I am excited about the year he has a chance to have.
On summing up Fitzpatrick's mental ability and his ability to draw people in:
I think he has a great feel for people. You can be hard-headed and not try to reach out and see what other people like or care about. He seems to have a way to be able to relate to a lot of different people, a lot of different backgrounds, a lot of different personalities. And that is not an easy thing to do. It is not an easy character trait to have. I do not have it. So he is amazing in that respect.
On that quality of Fitzpatrick helping to win over his teammates:
Yea. You cannot help but respect the guy for the way he plays and for who he is as a person.
