(Were you happy with the way the offense played today inside the red zone?)
I thought the whole practice was sharp. We can start with the defense. I thought they did a great job of practicing in pads. You could have those close collisions. I thought they played smart and were extremely sharp. I thought the offense was very sharp, particularly in the red zone. I was very pleased with three series (in the red zone).
(Is Donald Driver clear to practice?)
He's clear. He has no limitations. We're just being cautious with his shoulder.
(How do Johnny Jolly and Ryan Pickett look?)
They passed their test yesterday. They're all set and ready to go. It's much needed.
(Why did you practice with crowd noise?)
It's just a game-situation emphasis. These are the things that you practice in the last week of training camp or early in the season. We have a number of games on the road this year in loud stadiums, especially in back-to-back situations. Six of our eight away games are back-to-back games. We're at Denver and then turn right around and go to Kansas City. We're in the dome in Detroit and then we have to go to Dallas. We're just making sure that our silent count is getting more reps than they did last year and adjusting as early as possible.
(Have you had any heat-related problems?)
We have our share. We're just being smart. It's hot today. Guys have been doing a good job of getting fluids. We have a couple guys that have had some heat-related issues in the first couple practices. They're starting to recover. It's something that we're aware of and we're just trying to be smart with our practices.
(Was crowd noise an issue last year?)
No, it's just an emphasis. When you deal with crowd noise, that's situation football. Everybody does it. It's just a matter of when you do it. I'm just being very aggressive in trying to create that game environment as much as we can and as early as we can. We have Pittsburgh in the preseason. That will be an excellent venue to have crowd noise. We were good on the road last year. We want to be better.
(Are you pleased with Robert Ferguson?)
I think Robert has had a very good camp. We're being cautious with his foot. He's on a one-a-day schedule. He's had an excellent start. He had a big catch yesterday in the red zone. We're very happy with him.
(Will practicing tonight on a normal field affect what you do?)
Not really. When you go the 100-yard field environment like (at City Stadium) you just have to be smart with your individual drills. Our team drills won't be affected. Our group activities and game situations won't be affected. We're just being smart with our individual drills because we don't have the extra 20 or 30 yards for the linemen to work on. I've gone over there a couple times to see it this week and I think it's going to be an excellent practice tonight.
{sportsad300}(How much does it help that the linebackers unit is intact?)
You can see the continuity and comfort on the defense as a whole this early in camp. I was speaking to Al Harris before practice about it. The communication is much better. The continuity starts with Nick (Collins) calling (the play) in the huddle. He's very verbal with the offensive personnel coming in. You can see that guys are flying around and making plays. That's what that defense is all about.
(What do you think of DeShawn Wynn coming back to practice after leaving?)
DeShawn is fighting like crazy to get back on the field. I thought he did some nice things today. He's a talented young man. He has exceptional foot quickness for his size. We've talked about it. He has a stomach virus. He's just fighting through it.
(What do you think of Aaron Rouse so far?)
He looks comfortable out there. He has a good understanding of the scheme, especially as a rookie. I'm excited to see him play the special teams segment in the preseason. He looks very natural and comfortable there. With his body type he is a mismatch for us, whether it be on defense or special teams. I think he's off to a good start.
(What do you think of Frank Walker?)
We brought him in as a free agent. We expect him to compete for that nickel position. The competition is going to be hot and heavy. He's off to a solid start. I saw Frank get comfortable in the OTAs. He finished strong and he's off to a solid start.
(How is Patrick Dendy playing?)
Patrick has a ton of experience. He played very good football for us. He was a marked man when he went in as a young guy. I thought he held up very well. His experience will pay off this season. He did a great job in the weight room. He added some strength. We like Patrick Dendy.
(How is Ingle Martin's decision- making?)
I thought Ingle had a good series segment. On the one touchdown I gave him a minus decision but we'll talk about that later I guess. He's done very good with his opportunities. He just has to stay away from the blow up plays that a lot of quarterbacks go through. When it's ugly, throwing it away is okay. Ingle has done a great job with his decisions.
(Paul Thompson seems to be a big strong kid?)
Paul is big, strong and athletic, a young man out of Oklahoma. That was his first opportunity to have a group of plays and he did a nice job of leaving the offense down the field.
(Is it odd having the offense play this well this early in training camp?)
You're asking an offensive guy. I'd like to think that we always play well. It comes and goes. There are so many other factors involved. We're mixing a lot of different personnel. I don't get caught up in that as much as everyone else. The beauty about football is that you can be down here watching a practice and think it's not that good. When you watch the tape then it's not as bad as you thought. We feel pretty good about the offense right now and when we watch the film there will be four or five things that you wish didn't happen. That's why you have training camp and we have to work to clean those things up.
(Was it the film work that helped the offense become more efficient in the red zone today?)
I think it's a part of progressing. We went through four practices of installing and today they were reviewing. They were able to catch their breathe last night. We spent a bunch of time reviewing the goal line and the red zone, cleaning up the run blocking and protection unit. I think that's normal. I'm not woe-is-me about the red zone. We'll be fine.
(Do you rely on Harris and Charles Woodson to be coaches on the field?)
I think it's very important for your veteran players to step up and play well. A part of being a big-time player is all the little things. The communication in the locker room, in the class room and out in the practice environment is what we promote. That's how we're structured from a philosophical standpoint. That's what we ask our players to do.
