Q: What was going on with (Aaron) Ross coming in and out?
A: "Just working in and out. He has a little sprained ankle."
Q: Corey Webster's hip still bothering him?
A: "No, it's more of his shoulder. He got it caught up in a one on one drill, but it's just precaution."
Q: Now that (Michael) Boley is on the field, what are you seeing from him?
A: "He is trying to learn the defense, he is trying to get involved more having missed some time. You can see his coverage skills when he works that way. That's not the only reason he is here. He is here to be a linebacker and a physical linebacker, who does have the asset of great speed. We are looking forward to seeing him get further involved and of course eventually camp."
Q: Do you have a sense of how big an adjustment this is for him?
A: "I don't think its going to be all that big. It is new terminology and to that extent, but he will make the analogies fast enough.
Q: Tom, you lean on your veterans when the rookie class comes in, there is a lot of stuff they need to get through, to indoctrinate them the right way?
A: "We are throwing more at them this year than we have ever done. They are basically here, whether we work on the field or not, most of the day. Their combined with their community service with their learning aspect of player programs, player development. They have had multiple lectures this spring, taking full advantage of the time they are with us. They will go to the symposium. They will have their required player development programs throughout the fall. We have a lot of stuff that we try to get to them in addition to the football part of this. They are the first group in the weight room every morning by 6:30. They have their breakfast after that, while the other groups alternate meetings and lifting. The entire class is involved with yoga twice a week. There is a lot of things that they are doing. It is all good stuff for them. They have to stay focused obviously and realize how important this is to them. I think they do, I sense a real part of that. The thing that is obviously there, it is always there, it is a part of football and is the most frustrating thing, is that you have three or four of them, day in and day out, they can't work. It is so difficult to try to understand how that hurts a guy and sets him back. When they are here for a reason and they can't participate in that reason, there is some frustration involved. But they try to do the best they can with it."
Q: Do you find that some of the guys are surprised with all this other stuff they have to go through?
A: "I don't know if they are surprised. They are pretty much inundated with it. I think they understand that this is a whole part of orientation and its going to be right up until they leave here. Hopefully they have a sense of their responsibilities as a player in this league. A lot of that is geared to that. What is their responsibility? What are the lessons learned from people in the past that they can understand and not fall into the same problems? That, plus the football, keeps those guys pretty busy."
Q: The league has mandated a lot of this stuff?
A: "There is a lot of it that is mandated, and the symposium is all geared to that, as well. We try to get a jump on some of it."
Q: Have you been pleased with the OTAs in general?
A: "In general I have. There are always parts of it that I am not as pleased with. I think for the most part the guys have really taken the objective of the day and done a good job with it. In this situation we are throwing the ball a lot, and that is what this is for. To get the receivers, the tight ends, the runners, the quarterbacks and some of the younger members of the secondary involved, as well. We are throwing a lot of that stuff at them. We are moving into areas that are important for us improvement wise down here in the red and the green, third down on defense, those types of things."
Q: What are you looking for next week in those three days (full-squad minicamp)?
A: "It is a continuation of where we are. Trying to take those areas we need the most work, and having already introduced it, now come back to these people for a second time and let's see how the young guys respond with that information in front of them. It will be a culmination of what we have done this spring. It will be under a magnified glass because the practices are rapid fire and the camp is over before it even starts. Hopefully, it is going to give everyone an opportunity. Our veteran players know what our goals and objectives are. Our young guys are trying to learn what they can expect situationally and what they have to learn. Hopefully it will be an opportunity for all of them to come together, with the realization before they leave of my speaking with them about this is a little bit of a longer summer for them, there is more to be responsible for in terms of strength and conditioning in order to maintain that, what they can look forward to when they come to camp, what the meaning of this first Monday night game is to us, and how it has created some accelerated situations in between some of those preseason games. A lot of our work has to be accomplished prior to that first preseason game. A lot of it has to do with our ability to stay on the field. These soft tissues things, which are so difficult for guys to overcome. You have one or two of those, and you have young people who are going to be way behind."
Q: You spent a lot of last years minicamp talking to us about guys who were not participating due to contract reasons. It doesn't appear that you have any of that this year. Does that make things a lot better for you?
A: "It means that these sessions right after practice are going to go a lot quicker. I won't have to answer all of those questions. All we are trying to do is be the best we can be. This is what it is all about, unfortunately, the other part of it, is part of it, as well. If this is a year in which we are not going to have any of that, then terrific."
Q: Does the attendance at these workouts help you start at a more advanced place with the mini-camp?
A: "The minicamp is planned on having everybody here. The OTAs are planned on having everybody here. This year we have."
