August 1, 2009 Redskins ParkREDSKINS WIDE RECEIVER DEVIN THOMAS
On the first practice of wearing full pads:
"You've got to get used to wearing the shoulder pads and everything. As a receiver, I don't wear too many pads any way. But it's a hot day, so you definitely have to work harder."
On matching up against the defensive backs in full pads:
"There's definitely going to be some contact during the first practice that we're wearing pads and the defense is always going to get excited about that. So when you're coming across the middle in full pads, you've got to expect to get hit."
On whether or not he is happy with today's performance:
"Yeah, I'm pretty satisfied with my performance today. We're going to watch film later, and I'm pretty sure I did mess up on one route today, but I'm going to just keep working hard so that I can minimize some of those mistakes."
On how he has improved as a route runner:
"I've worked a lot on balancing my speed, coming in and out of my breaks, and learning to come off the line without taking too many cross steps. All in all, to just be fluid with my routes."
On the first play of team drills when he collided with Fred Smoot and LaRon Landry:
"Yeah, that's just football. We've got some good DBs, so you've always got to expect for them to be right on you as soon as you get the ball. I knew it was coming, so I just wanted to make sure that I caught the ball."
On realizing the importance of making adjustments such as minimizing cross steps:
"That's always something as a receiver that you've got to keep working on. As you become more mature as a receiver, you do little things better than you have done in the past. Coming out of college, I was pretty raw with certain things, but I used last year and the offseason to critique how I run my routes."
On trying to win a starting WR position:
"[Coach Zorn] put that up in the air and so I'm going to keep working hard and do what I can do to win that No. 2 spot."
On if he struggled with professionalism last season:
"Oh, definitely. You come into a new situation, or a new job, as a young man and you have to get a feel for it. Last year, all of the coaching staff was new so everyone had to learn about each other. Now, we're a lot more familiar with each other and we all have a good relationship."
On his relationship with Antwaan Randle El:
"Right now, as receivers, we are all looking forward to just be out there making plays. Antwaan is a great mentor; he wants to win and we all want to win. So anything that I can do in order to help us win, he wants that to happen."
On whether or not he paid attention to offseason news about Jason Campbell:
"Oh yeah, you can't ignore that. He's a strong guy and he's a strong character. With a guy like that, I wanted to be hip to hip with him during the offseason. I was going through my struggles in my first season, so I thought it was a great time for us to come together and fight for the same cause and try to prove what we're worth."
On how he and Malcolm Kelly have helped each other in order to better their chances of winning the No. 2 WR position:
"I come out here and make plays, and [Malcolm] Kelly comes out here and makes plays and I think that's how we better each other because if I see him make a great catch, I feel like I've got to go make a great play too. That's the way to go about it, just to compete."
On noticing a difference in himself between this year and last year:
"Oh definitely. I'm way more comfortable, calmer, and relaxed out there. And when you do that, you scare DBs because being full speed, but relaxed at the same time is not easy to defend."
