Q: Coach, what were your impressions of [Dominic] Randolph?
A: Well he picked it up pretty quick; we had him in the spring for a while, so I think he's got back to where he understands the cadence. We gave him a few things to do as far as trying to relate to the cards as we presented the Steelers and our numbering systems so that we could kind of relate to that, so he did okay today.
Q: He was with you for a couple days there in May and now he's back so that's got to be a little bit of a head start for him?
A: That's what I just said, thank you very much.
Q: What were the results of the tests on [Jim] Sorgi's shoulder?
A: He's got some damage to his shoulder and we'll see.
Q: Did they give you a time frame?
A: No. Evidently they did announce a time frame, but I don't know, you can read about that, I guess someone's already stated that. I don't know exactly how long it will be, I know that there is damage to the shoulder.
Q: How comfortable are you with your backup situation in general?
A: We were comfortable -- obviously in the off-season – enough. We had Rhett [Bomar] and we had Jim [Sorgi] and we were fine, Jim has been a backup in this league for a lot of years so I didn't have an issue with it. Now depending on how serious this shoulder injury, we'll have to do some thinking about that.
Q: Did they tell you if this injury has anything to do with the injury that occurred during the last season?
A: No it's not the same.
Q: [Kenny] Phillips and [Keith] Bulluck playing Saturday?
A: They're going to play a little bit, yeah.
Q: What do you think of Rhett Bomar?
A: I'll tell you what, it's really interesting to watch someone get all the snaps, and the concentration and all the coaching, all of that. He definitely has done some good things and he's been poised over the ball better than he was yesterday. I think he's made good progress. He's getting all the work; he's gotten a tremendous amount of work.
Q: Will any of this limit your offense for Saturday's game?
A: No, not really. He's had a couple of days. We'll try to stay with the majority of what we had planned going in, but I don't think we'll do much of a reduction.
Q: What did you need to see from Kenny Phillips to know he's ready?
A: The normal progress, just the fact that he was out there working and he hadn't suffered any setbacks, his leg was stronger and he wanted to keep doing more and the doctors agreed.
Q: Have you thought about Victor Cruz getting first team reps?
A: He'll play, he'll have his opportunities. We might have an opportunity to use him as a returner as well.
Q: [Matt] Dodge was out there with a few end over end kicks. Is that something new?
A: Yeah, that's the aussie kick for down inside the ten. He's working on that and he seems to have pretty good control of the ball with that.
Q: More so than the natural way?
A: That's debatable, he powered some of these balls today and they didn't come down where we wanted them to come down and the other day he did the same kind of thing when he was kicking the ball into the corner, he had some long ones, he did have a couple that would've been down around the ten. He's done this in the past so we're going to see where it goes.
Q: What's the theory behind that? Why would he have more control that way more than the other?
A: It seems to be the going thing in the colleges, whether they're teaching it or not, he seems to be doing that. It gives you the idea that the ball does not spin end over end when it hits and therefore it has a better chance to remain in the field of play or even take a truer bounce for the guys trying to be behind it.
Q: Have you put any thought into how many snaps [Dominic] Randolph might get on Saturday?
A: We'll see. We'll get him some.
Q: Is Antrel Rolle a legitimate possibility?
A: You never say never.
Q: How's Chris Snee?
A: He's doing better, he's doing better.
Q: How about Barden?
A: Might be a while.
Q: What's a while?
A: Good question.
Q: Could you assess your training camp?
A: It's been great camp from the standpoint of days without rain and the weather initially was rather cool. We did have some warm days, but the facilities, the field and the temperature and all that stuff has been outstanding. We have made good progress defensively, not as good on offense for a lot of reasons but we have to catch up a bit on the offensive side of the ball. The camp has been good, we've enjoyed our stay.
Q: Michael Johnson any closer?
A: He's getting closer but it's not going to be this (weekend).
Q: Can the offense advance without Eli this weekend?
A: It can but you're going to have to have your quarterback back in there to bring it all together. There's been so many times where the tight ends aren't available, other times the receivers aren't available, other times the linemen have not been available. To get people together, playing together, is what you're trying to do with your camp. You'll make adjustments; you'll do whatever you have to do but the continuity of all these people having the chance to work together just doesn't seem to work out the way you like it and the days are flying by, let's face it.
Q: Are you calm at this point or is the anxiety turning on?
A: I'm not at that point; talk with me at the end of next week.
Q: What kind of progress has [Rhett] Bomar made in comparison with last year?
A: He's made a lot more progress from this spring on, because we used him in a lot of spots last year. Last year we had him playing safety and he played wide receiver some, but a typical practice squad guy has to volunteer to do anything. If you're short at a position then that guy plays it, even though he was in the classroom and learning he didn't have any pressure on him to perform, because he was on the practice squad. As soon as the season was over that was a different story and he's been better that way.
Q: Regarding details of Jim Sorgi's shoulder:
A: I wouldn't give you the medical term, I'd leave something out. His shoulder hurts.
Q: Is there going to be a point where you're going to have to look for another guy?
A: We'll see. I'll have to listen to what Dr. Warren tells us and how really serious this thing is. We really haven't talked to him, he was in surgery, I haven't talked to him and we're waiting to hear about that. He needs rest and he needs rehab, and how long it's going to be I don't know.
Q: Coach what did you like about the defense so far?
A: I think we've been able to practice together, practice plays and work on different combinations. A lot of guys have played so that's what I mean by the progress part of it.
Q: Are they where you thought they'd be at this point?
A: I think so. Yeah.
Q: Do you guys think you'll be back here in Albany come next year?
A: I wouldn't talk about that, that's not for me.
