Fourth OTA. The fields are beautiful. It's a nice, warm day. We need some heat and we got it. I'm not sure it was what they predicted, but it was nice to be out here, nice to have it not raining. We all know it went from 43 to 90 or whatever it was, which is normal for us. We're glad to be out here working and we're throwing a lot at these young guys and these young guys are doing okay with it, but as the clock runs down it gets close. It's difficult to comprehend everything, but so far so good.

Q: Are any of the young receivers taking advantage of the fact that Nicks and Cruz aren't here?
A: I would think they're trying like heck.

Q: Any of them stand out to you?
A: On occasion. Collins has made a couple of plays over the last couple of days.

Q: Do you think Diehl is going to be more motivated now considering he missed half of the year last year?
A: He's motivated all of the time. There's never been a problem with that at all. He's the most positive, optimistic guy… a full team player, anxious to overcome his nicks and get back on the field.

Q: Have you had any contact with Nicks?
A: I have not. No.

Q: Has anyone else in the organization spoken to him?
A: I can't speak for anybody else. As far as I know, no one has.

Q: Are you disappointed he hasn't been out here?
A: Certainly I am.
Q: Do you have any clarity on why he isn't here?

A: None. Now at one point Hakeem told me that he was going to be here and then he was not here. Now the strictest interpretation, as everybody knows, is it's a voluntary program.

Q: How do you balance that as a head coach?
A: How do I balance it? Not very well. It would be great to have all of our guys working and feeling good about the progress we're making and that type of thing. That's just from a coach's perspective. You deal with some of this pretty much on a yearly basis and it's a product of our system and that's the way it is. I can complain all I want, but nevertheless, it is our system.

Q: Is it an unusual thing for a player to not let you know they're here? Or do players come to you and say they're not going to be here?
A: Most of the time if a guy is in the program and he's going to miss, they'll be sure to tell you.

Q: You brought in Kyle Bosworth and Chase Clement. What did you see from them?
A: We worked them out and we felt like they made a nice fit with Bosworth being a linebacker, special teamer and Clement being a guy that we could use not only as a tight end, but as a move fullback type guy. So multiple position guys plus special teams.

Q: Have Eli and Louis Murphy developed a connection?
A: They've made quite a few plays. They really have. When the receivers are on the same page and he's very confident that they're going to maneuver according to the way they're supposed to and he's been very, very sharp and he and Murphy have made some plays.

Q: Has Murphy shown you he's a good student in terms of picking up the offense?
A: Yeah. He's done a good job of that.

Q: How has Barden looked since he's been back?
A: He's gotten into it little by little and made some catches today.

Q: What have you seen from the receivers that are here?
A: It's coming. It's relatively early on and under the circumstances that we're working with, it's coming along. It's going to take time. We have four quarterbacks working and they're working with different exchanges of people and so it will take a little time.

Q: Do you like what you see from Bear Pascoe lining up at fullback?
A: We're very confident that Bear, no matter what role we place him in, he does an outstanding job. We're very sorry about Henry's (Hynoski) injury. Henry's a very optimistic young man. A day after he had the surgery he had three rehabs, so he's ready to go. He's trying to get ready to go and Bear has had opportunities to play in that spot, the B-Tight End and the Y-Tight End and he's always done a nice job. He's a guy that will learn it and he'll be very much into what's happening.

Q: Because you have Bear in that spot, does that lessen the need to go outside and bring in a veteran fullback?
A: If there's a qualified guy, we would consider it. We do have training camp coming up. We know exactly how many we want at each position. We may or may not be there in some spots.

Q: A year ago David Wilson was fast and young. What's the difference one year later?
A: He's fast, he's still young and he knows a little bit more about what he's doing. He's excited about his opportunities.

Q: Does Diehl have something to prove?
A: I hope so. Sure. It's a great motivator. Everybody has something to prove.

Q: Has Rueben Randle made the progression you wanted to see?
A: He's moving in that direction. He certainly has had many, many opportunities and if there's a guy that really has a chance to step his game up and really show what he can do it's happening right now for Rueben.

Q: With JPP and Tuck note here today, were you able to get a good look at the other defensive ends?
A: That's the idea. There are some flashes. Some good things are happening. You're restricted in that it can't be contact. It can't be the full contact, so the guys are doing pretty much the best they can with that. (Damontre Moore) has shown some good ability to get off on the snap.
Q: Tracy?
A: Tracy, Moore and a couple of these guys.

Q: Are some of the younger guys trying to walk a fine line with performing as hard as they can without contact?
A: It's very hard to do. It's not easy. Nobody said it was.
Q: Were you aware that JPP and Tuck weren't going to be here today?

A: I was aware of both circumstances there.

Q: So it's just a one-time deal?
A: Yes. I expect them both tomorrow, if that's what you mean.

Q: Charles James made a good play.
A: He did. A nice interception.

Q: Is he one of those guys who's flashing potential?
A: If you make a play like that, you're going to get everybody's attention and that helps.