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Q: Coach, do you have a decent idea of where everybody stands right note, kind of a week through camp?**
A: Uh, yeah. Everybody came in very good shape, very good condition. Most everybody has made a real commitment, as far as having their weight where they need to be. Other than Chris, he's going to be a little bit, everything is right where we need to be right now.
Q: Having guys like Osi, and JPP and Justin together, how formidable is that group when they're on the field?
A: They're a formidable group. They've all come in a good frame of mind, and I'm very pleased with where they are right now.
Q: What do you expect to see from Marvin, and what are you seeing out of Marvin?
A: A lot of quickness and explosiveness. Off to a good start, very good condition. You know, the thing with Marvin, he hasn't played in a couple of years. It's a good thing, pulling back a little bit sometimes. It's better to have to tell him, 'whoa, then go.' He's got to slow down a little bit, concentrate on technique a little bit more, but he's off to a good start in camp. Preseason will tell us, give us a picture of where he is.
Q: Did he lose any polish, from what you remember seeing from him at North Carolina?
A: You know, as far as from a quickness standpoint, I don't think so. He's very sudden, coming off the ball. He shows some strength and power. When we get into live, bullets start being fired, it's really going to be the test of where he is right now. In all of our drills, everything we're doing out there, our team situations are… It's not live, but it's as close as you can get to being live. I'm pleased with where he is.
Q: What's been the benefit of having Shaun Rogers around for Linval and for Marvin?
A: With Chris being out, Shaun has come in here and made a strong commitment with his conditioning part of it. I really think Shaun's going to be a guy who can really help us on Sundays. He's been very good in the meeting rooms, in a great frame of mind. He's helping the young guys, and he's off to a good start.
Q: Austin looks bigger than I remembered. It's been a while obviously, since he's seen the field. Do you have any issues with his weight, conditioning, or anything like that?
A: No. His weight is about roughly where it was, when we left from OTAs. I'm very pleased with his mental approach right now. I told him that he's going to need to be patient with everything. Coming off that long a layoff, and not getting much time last year, before he got the injury, so I'm really pleased with where he is mentally, right now.
Q: JPP made a comment the other day, about how he's 50 percent of his potential.
A: I saw that. I really do believe there are parts of JPP's game that have a lot of room for improvement. I don't know how you put a number on… Fifty percent, or what percentage, but he can make a lot of improvement in areas. One of them is his endurance. That's going to be a thing that he's got to work on. Last year, early in the season, of course a lot of it was because of injuries with Tuck and Osi. It wasn't until late in the season, before we got everybody healthy and everybody out there. So JPP filled a void for us there. He was taking 60-70 reps, and it was hot. Opened up with Washington, it was hot. Then we come back and go to Philadelphia, and we got banged up a little bit. He had to stay out there, and his conditioning, his endurance, understanding the game. It's just a matter of time. He's improving in that area.He's in a good frame of mind. We're going to move him around a little bit, like we've always done. He's got to learn, I've got to remember to be patient with him, as far as some of the things that I put on him.
Q: Has there been a part, where you can almost point to Tuck and point to Osi and say, 'Just watch them?
A: Oh yeah. No doubt. There's a lot of that, within that room. We've got good leaders in there. Tuck and Osi played at a high level for us, for a long time. He doesn't have to travel far to find somebody to learn from.
Q: A couple of the offensive linemen have said one of the differences that they noticed in Jason, was that last year, he tried to beat them on athleticism and mobility. Now they see him kind of countering moves, something he might not have done before. Is that what you mean by 'learning the position?'
A: Yeah. He's come in this season and we've talked about things that we work on specifically. In the past, it was just about raw talent. He just went out there and reacted to what he got. There are things that he's working on, and at times, he gets stuck in the middle of a move that doesn't work, and it doesn't look as pretty. He's being patient with it, and he's made every effort that he's always done, since the first day he's come in. He makes every effort to do what you ask of him. He's a very easy guy to coach, and a lot of fun to a coach, and a lot of fun to be around.
Q: Coach, with Osi, can you tell that he's happy, healthy? Is there a difference?
A: Well, one is the health standpoint. He's not slowing down from health issues. He's always been outstanding in the meeting room. Whether he had issues outside of the meeting room, he's never carried them into the meeting room. He's off to a very good start. I like where Osi is right now, and he adds to our group.
Q: Do you think this can be a better defensive line this year?
A: Yeah. There are a lot of areas we talked about in the whole offseason. I've got all of the good plays on cutups, and the bad ones, too. If we can clean up some of the things we need to focus on, I think we can make improvements, inside and outside.
