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Opening statement
“Just to start out with the medical report, Kellen Davis and Phil Taylor were both out today. They had a chance to work on the side and they are both day to day. They shouldn’t be too much longer. David Nelson worked back in today and got some individual work. We will evaluate him and continue to evaluate him. Hopefully we’ll get to upgrade him as we are going. Oniel Cousins rolled his ankle in practice and we will evaluate that afterward and we will see where we are at with him for tomorrow going forward.” On Taylor’s injury: “I’m expecting him back in the next few days. He feels good and he worked hard on the side with the trainers. All reports I’ve gotten are pretty positive.”
On Nelson’s size: “He’s a big guy. He has big hands. He’s been productive. He’s played and he has experience. We’ll just have to get him out there. He hasn’t been in the system, so obviously he’s just been learning through meetings. Just getting out there and going through the route tree was a good starting point today.” On a lot of interceptions and play calls: “Whatever it is we won’t put them in tomorrow. The past two days have been large installs for us. We were working a lot of third-down situations. This was a third-and-long day. We’ll just have to look at the tape and make the corrections off of it and move on.” On the defense having a good day and the offense having a bad day: “I think the secondary made some really nice plays. They really broke well on the ball on a couple of them. Again, we will just have to look at the tape and see where we go from there on both sides of the ball.” On Johnson Bademosi breaking up plays: “I think he’s making progress on a day-to-day basis. It’s a matter of getting comfortable in the new position. It’s something that he’s never played before. I think he’s progressing. Everybody is going to have ups and downs and everybody is going to have good days and bad days, and good plays and bad plays. The key is learning, progressing and going in the right direction.” On Tashaun Gipson: “I’ve been pleased with Tashaun. He’s showing a lot from a coverage standpoint. The last couple of days just watching him, obviously we put the pads on tomorrow, so we will get a chance to see all the guys pop. From a tackling standpoint that’s where we will get to see some of the physical things and we will get a little bit more of a chance to evaluate some guys.” On what he specifically likes about Tashaun: “He’s a solid player. He is smart. He works at it. He understands football. He has a good football sense. He’s showing some good coverage skills out here.” On how much hitting fans can expect to see Saturday: “We’re going to hit. We won’t be tackling to the ground. That doesn’t mean that nobody will be on the ground, but we are not tackling to the ground. We’ll hit. We’ll block. We’ll thud up and wrap up. It’ll be good work for us. It’s about time to get the pads.” On wanting to see one position group more than another: “The guys up front. They have been trying to block each other and trying to get off blocks. We are being careful and we are working together to protect each other. That’s the key to what you want to do when you don’t have the pads on. Now that we have the pads on we still want to protect each other and be smart, but you can cut it loose and you can see the physicality. The finish is what you really get a chance to see.” On how often the team will practice in pads: “We will judge it going forward, but two days at least for sure, but we will judge it and go from there.” On overview of Brandon Weeden: “I think he has made progress. There are some good plays and some bad plays. I want to see the progress he makes when he makes mistakes and learning and growing.” On what to expect from Greg Little: “I have been really pleased with Greg all along. He’s made really big strides in the spring. He still has a long way to go and a lot to learn about football, playing receiver and the details of the position. That is the biggest thing I stress with all the guys; these guys have potential, but it’s about knowledge, it’s about detail and it’s about drive. Those are the things, to reach your potential, you have to focus on. So, that’s what we’ve been talking a lot about.” On whether he is worrying about the quarterbacks with the numerous interceptions today: “Not necessarily. It’s always something you have to go up and look at the tape. Sometimes the routes are off. Sometimes the protection is off. It can be a lot of different things, as well as just the quarterback is throwing interceptions. That’s why you always want to look at it, get in the meeting rooms, make the corrections and move forward.” On what he likes about Buster Skrine and Chris Owens: “A couple nice plays by both of them today. They are really competitive guys. Those guys are guys that take a lot of pride in what they are doing and focus on the things you are coaching them to do.” On Joe Haden’s development: “Joe has really stepped up as a leader, has stepped up as a professional. Joe wants to focus on improving and being more consistent and I see that in his approach. I think he has done a great job in that way and I’m expecting him to keep getting better and better.” On Joe Haden’s progress so far: “He’s been real active out there. Again, looking back yesterday compared to today, I noticed he was really focusing on some of the things that the coaches have been talking to him about and working on those things and improving in that way.” On Joe Haden’s potential: “I just talked about potential. He has potential and that means he has ability. If he continues to develop and work on his knowledge, details and drive, then I think he has the ability to fill that potential.”
On having a background on any of the players before he came, mostly Joe Haden: “I took the approach, from early on, that everybody has a fresh start. Regardless of what was said of him, I was not going to listen to any of that. I wanted, for us and our staff, to make our own conclusions on evaluating guys. Joe is a guy that I do feel is critical to be a leader and show the maturity level that you would expect out of a guy that is coming into the time of his career that he is at.” On where Joe Haden ranks compared to other cornerbacks he has been around: “It’s hard to rank so early for me. I really need to see. I think Joe’s best days are ahead of him if he continues to work.” On the biggest improvement of the first two days of training camp: “Overall, just guys understanding what we want. How we are practicing, their expectations; there’s not any surprises in terms of that. I think they’ve improved of knowing the systems and understanding more of the details of the systems. We still have plenty of work to do.” On following Mike Tomlin’s lead and getting a Twitter account: “I’m not a real technology guy. I wouldn’t even know how to get started on that. I have a hard enough time with my cell phone.”
