(Are you going to wait until after the bye with Montgomery?)
Well, he's ahead of schedule, so we're hopeful he may be able to practice this upcoming week, Washington week. The initial plan was to wait through the bye, but he's doing very well. We'll talk about Mike on Monday.
(How is Jackson progressing? Was there an improvement from yesterday?)
Well they actually tested him today. They went through the rehab test today, and frankly I haven't received the results yet. They wanted to push him through and see where he was. I'll know more when I get back inside.
(What's your gut feeling on him Sunday?)
I'd say questionable.
(How did Al Harris do these last two days?)
Better. He's better this week than he was at this time last week. Actually he's got two good days under his belt, so I think he'll be fine.
(Do you give him better than a good shot to play?)
I think he has a good shot.
(Is Blackmon headed for IR?)
I wouldn't say that. We're going to rehab him here for two, three weeks, and then we're going to re-test him and see where Will is. Pat wants to, just like I said, rehab him and test him after two, possibly three weeks, and see where he is.
(Was this not as severe as last time?)
I didn't ask that question. But that was the plan when I met with him this morning. He felt we would have more information if we waited two more weeks to see. Have you ever talked to Pat McKenzie? It's a very long description, and I sometimes sit there and act like I know what he's talking about. But we're going to give it two weeks and see how it progresses. The biggest thing is to get the swelling out, see where Will is with the pain tolerance. Him having the opportunity to go through this in the past, we're hopeful maybe this is something he can deal with and play. Two weeks will give us more information.
(What's your theory with Hester? Do you concede too much by just kicking the ball out of bounds?)
It's an option, but the bottom line is one of our critical factors in winning, the way we view the game, is field position. That's something you have to factor into your game plan. That's just the way I view that.
(With Blackmon, did Dr. McKenzie indicate the old foot injury made it more susceptible?)
They're surprised that he re-injured the same foot. This is not common, as far as the type of injury Will has and for it to occur. There is a case with a defensive lineman here in the past, and he kind of uses it as a basis for the plan how he wants to go forward, and he was able to play throughout the season after a period of time. I can't recall the gentleman's name. I wasn't here then, I think it was in the early '90s. He had it in college, played a year, and then had it again I think it was his rookie season here and then was able to make it through the season.
(With the NFL's new guidelines on concussions, does Cole have to continue passing tests until gametime?)
Well, they test him every day. They have the screen they initially do with every player when he comes in here. He was clear yesterday. Afterwards, he had some sensitivity to light in the morning, that's why we held him in yesterday's practice. But he was clear again this morning and wanted to go and practice, and every indication is he's fine.
(Are Walker and Williams neck-and-neck for that dime job?)
I would think so. We have a meeting at 1 o'clock, that's when we'll go through our actives and inactives, and we'll talk about those two and see how Bob feels.
(Are you comfortable with using the dime?)
Sure. I think both of those guys have shown through preseason and training camp. I think Frank is a good player, particularly on the slot. And Tramon is a young man, a lot like a lot of our players, he just continues to get better with every opportunity. Tramon had an opportunity there against Philadelphia, and would like the opportunity to improve on that.
(When you have a major injury like you had on Wednesday, why not announce it that day?)
Frankly, Pat McKenzie didn't really finish his diagnosis until Thursday morning. So it wasn't something we felt we needed to run out and do Wednesday night. I did not actually talk to Pat until Thursday. That's why we didn't see the need to release it.
{sportsad300}(Given the play of Lee and Franks, are you surprised with what you've gotten out of them?)
I'm not surprised, because I think if you look back to last year, David Martin contributed particularly early in the season, so that really probably factored into Bubba and Donald, particularly with the number of reps that they had. They didn't have the opportunities they've been given this year. Bubba Franks has been a productive player in the past, and Donald Lee had a very productive second half of the season the year before, in 2005. So I'm not surprised. I think they're guys that have been given opportunities. I think we're doing a good job putting them in positions to make plays tailored to the things they do well in the passing game. But they're also a year better in the protection things that we've asked of them. That was all brand new to them last year, just the tight end responsibilities in protections, check-downs and things like that. I think they're just a lot more comfortable.
(How do you feel Kabeer has performed these first four weeks, and are you surprised at his production with fewer snaps?)
I think Kabeer is doing what we're asking him to do and we've really highlighted that particular responsibility. I'm talking about pass rush. His primary responsibility is to rush the passer, and he led the team in pressures last year, so it's no surprise that he's off to the type of start that he has going this year. Less snaps probably helps him, and he can focus on that. And frankly, the opportunities he had on first and second down run defense he graded out very high. I think he definitely benefits from the depth that we have on the defensive line and rolling a bigger guy out there on first and second down.
(For players with a high salary, is there any pressure to play them more snaps to get your money's worth, or is it more important to use them in the right way?)
I was going to tell a funny story, but I'm not in the mood for it today...
When we do depth charts and game-planning, I don't look at their salaries. I have a depth chart probably just like you guys have a depth chart, and we talk about first down, second down, and we put the best players in there. Really, those are discussions in my opinion, in the way we operate, for the offseason. Once you commit to a player, it's the job of the coaching staff to put them in position to be successful, and that's it. I don't ever think that, my goodness, we've got to play this guy because of where his salary is. He should be playing if he has a high salary, that's why he has a high salary, so it really should take care of itself.
