Q: Did you change goal line to a walk through?
A: I didn't change it, I planned it that way. It was going to be thud. We had our one goal line go, and there were about five situations that you hope are going to be created in those preseason games.
Q: Was it because of the heat?
A: No, it was scheduled that way. It's very difficult, just to give you some background on that. If you don't tell them it's full speed, it's very difficult. Somebody is going faster than someone else, someone gets whacked. So, if you're going to go full speed then you can go together. If not, you're better off making sure that they know what they're doing.
Q: Does Corey Webster have an injury?
A: Corey just had a little glut that's been bothering him. I guess he must have got it this afternoon.
Q: How has Ramses Barden come into his own this camp?
A: He's had a couple good days in a row. The whole consistency thing was the challenge, but last night and this afternoon's practice were good. Let's hope he keeps it up.
Q: What do you think of the passing game's timing?
A: Getting better. The last two days have been pretty good. Last night and today were pretty good.
Q: Hakeem seems to be moving pretty well:
A: He is.
Q: How about Dodge? How is he doing?
A: He is very talented and very strong legged. Bascially what it is right now is a 65-yarder and a 40-yarder. The 40-yarder doesn't have much hang time. His goal will be consistency.
Q: How is it having Jeff Feagles around to work with him?
A: Feagles is the ideal guy to work with him. If you're going to come into this league as a rookie not knowing anything, it's like a dream come true to come in and work with a guy who has played in more games than anybody in the history of the game and at that position.
Q: Dodge said you have been more patient with him than maybe he would've thought coming in:
A: I've always had great patience.
Q: Well, I guess you didn't tell him that. What does it take to work with a rookie like him?
A: Time. Time. Time. Time and time spent. Working with coaches, and real work. We talked about Feagles and talked about working with him on a daily basis. It's not only what you see, it's also in the classroom. Take him to the meeting rooms and work with him in there.
Q: It's an unusual situation because you don't always have a Feagles out here:
A: We found that, in our immediate experience, that last year's examples, having Keenan (McCardell) in here with the young receivers. This year, having (Brent) Boyer and (Marlon) McCree around, and having Jessie (Armstead) around. These former pros and the experiences that they've had and their ability to share their knowledge is very helpful.
Q: How has Keith Bulluck been coming back with the knee?
A: It seems to be going well. We're not rushing him. We're going to bring him along slow. His learning has been good and he's actually put himself into a controlled environment when he goes out there. I can tell that he's very mindful of putting himself in the right positions and he is gaining confidence all the time.
Q: Phillips was basically two plays a drill again?
A: Yes.
Q: Any judgment off of that?
A: He came right from yesterday and had no issues from the day before, no.
Q: We're used to seeing him go across the field after balls, and there was one there that he would've normally gotten to. Was he taking it easy? If not, do you expect him to get there?
A: He's trying to get a sense of what he can and can't do. It's about where he is and how is he going to be able to concentrate on the football part of it and forget about everything else. I think that is where he is, and that is where we want him right now.
Q: How tough is it to practice when you don't have any tight ends basically?
A: Very difficult. I thought that Bear Pascoe and Herb Taylor did an outstanding job with allowing our team to practice today, are you kidding me? Basically, those adjustments are from this morning. When I picked up the medical today, four tight ends were out. The most frustrating thing, no matter what anyone ever tells you, is that all the planning, all of what goes into your practices, and all you expect to do, and then you hear this part of it. I give credit to both sides. The defense was made aware of what the offense was practicing with, and the offensive team was made aware of how there would be some added circumstances in our practice. For example, we would have to take, a big Detroit team for example, a big offensive lineman through the same thing with our short yardage stuff. I didn't do much with the goal line because there weren't any tight ends to do it with. We would have been using all of our linemen. We applied ourselves, and we made the adjustment. The only time that I thought there was a glitch in our practice was when Cordle went down and made us make an adjustment, and Landolt had to go to center, and so on. The distribution of where our people were lining up wasn't so smooth so it gave us a glitch there for a minute or two. Quickly, the guys made the adjustment and we were able to go forward.
Q: What's the matter with Scott Chandler?
A: Chandler has a hip flexor.
Q: Do you know the timetable for any of those tight ends?
A: No. I want to have something to evaluate them.
Q: How about Rich Seubert?
A: He'll get along. He'll be shortly.
Q: For the Jets game?
A: I don't know about that, but he'll practice pretty soon.
Q: A couple of the guys were talking about Phillip Dillard and how he doesn't seem like a rookie. Do you think that is a consistent evaluation?
A: I see that. He's combative, he's competitive.
Q: In a good way?
A: Yeah, in a good way.
Q: Brandon and Ahmad have both taken responsibility for last season. When you talk to them, do you see a new kind of maturity or anything like that?A: I think that's something that started in the offseason. I do see some of that.
Q: Are you happy with Linval Joseph's play?
A: Linval has played well. For a young guy, he's played well. He manages his weight and it's a factor.
Q: And the defensive line overall has seen improvements?
A: There are a lot of people being utilized in a lot of situations. They seem to be doing well.
