(Did practice get any better after we left?)
The practice started not very good, it got better in the middle, and it didn't finish very good for the offense. I thought the special teams work and the defensive work was very good today. I was just a little unhappy with some of the things that went on offensively, but we corrected it on the field and we'll correct it again tomorrow. We're prepared. We've had a good overall week of practice, better than our preparation last week from my viewpoint, but we need to learn to finish a practice week.
(Were you encouraged with Grant's practice?)
Yes I was. He was a full participant at practice today. He looked good. Really the question for Ryan will be tomorrow, same thing we went through last week. How does the hamstring feel in the morning? They worked it. They pushed him as far as he probably could go today, and we'll see how he is tomorrow.
(Will that be the trend here for the first few weeks, to judge him as the week progresses?)
I hope not. I hope we're able to get past this part, but we're dealing with a muscle, muscle strain, so the big test will be, well, tomorrow will be the first test and the big test is the game. No different than last week. How does he come out of the game? Has he taken a step backwards or is he moving forward? Those are all the things that are common in these type of injuries. We'll just keep treating him. He wants to go, but we're also conscious that it's a long year. There's a lot of football left in front of us.
(Did he take a step back as a result of last week's game?)
You sound like the questions I was asking in the medical meeting this morning. I think we're slightly ahead of last week.
(Did you like the way you handled him, with about a dozen carries and not having him open it up?)
That was the target. We said 10 to 15 carries was what we were looking for. The amount of work was right on time, and we'll probably look for the same amount this week based on how he feels tomorrow.
(Is that a harder position to be effective when your practice reps are limited, as opposed to say cornerback, where Charles seems to be able to handle it?)
Every position has the fundamentals, the techniques, and then you have the other side of it, the scheme and the opponent recognition conceptually. I think when you look at Charles Woodson, his experience level is a lot higher than Ryan Grant's. I think the experience level is a key factor in making a decision. Like Charles' case, I want to give Charles Woodson all the way up til noon on Sunday to see if he can play. He's earned that trust and confidence in our medical staff and with myself, because he's shown that he can handle that. Ryan's case is a different type of injury, there's different factors involved.
(What toe has Woodson broken? I take it it's not his big toe.)
He has a broken toe. I don't know why we have to do this every time.
(What has he done this week?)
Rehab mainly. He's just trying to get the swelling out of there. He's spent a lot of extra time, they have a routine with a lot more extra film, and he's spent a lot of one-on-one with Lionel Washington. It's just a concern because you're playing on field turf. The surface is, you'd like to be on grass. But we've got another 48 hours to give him a chance to get it ready.
(Could he screw it up a lot worse?)
That's part of the decision. Pat McKenzie feels there's a very small chance. When you're dealing with bones, you're obviously trying to stay away from situations that put you into a surgery mode, and Pat's confident that Charles' percentage is low in that area.
(If not Charles, would it be Tramon?)
Correct. Will Blackmon has had a great week of practice too, so we feel very confident with both of those guys.
