On Sean Taylor (S, #21):
"It's been resolved publicly in the court. I think it's up to the league now so we are just going to wait for what they are going to do in that situation."
On signing Rocky McIntosh (LB, #52):
"I think we are very close to a contract with Rocky. I don't think there is anything yet that we can announce, I want to be careful about that. Eric (Schaffer, Director of Football Administration) is working around the clock on that. I don't know if he will be on the field, it will probably be close if I had to guess. I just know that we are really close."
On injured players:
"I think we are in really good shape. We had great work with the injured guys. Casey (Rabach, OL, #61) probably was one we were really concerned about. Randy Thomas (OG, #77) has been absolutely outstanding and has been here every single day and working hard. Casey has too, I think he is a little bit further behind, but certainly these guys are ok to take off and go. Mark Brunell (QB, #8) with his finger, he's feeling good about that and ready to go there."
On roster spots open to competition:
"Hopefully all of them. You'd like to say everything is open competition. The difference up here in pro sports is that a lot of the guys you are counting on are going to turn around and realize that they are the guy. They aren't going to feel threatened in a lot of cases, but you would hope. We have good depth, we try to be smart. There will be a lot of competitions. I think we have some established guys, but I think we have some guys who are going to make a run at it. Obviously some positions are closer than others, but I don't like to mention where we feel better about some spot over another."
On feeling more comfortable with the team this year:
"Starting camp we are more settled. The problem up here is that anything can turn the tables on you. I feel much more comfortable then I did the first year. We can build a lot on that. Last year was a tough year. In the middle of the year we were in real trouble and then we turned it around and won six games at the end. We saw leadership with the team. You have a real good feeling about what kind of individuals you have on the team. We are going to lean on them. The coaching staff is going to help them be the best they can be, but certainly for us, sink or swim with your players. I feel good about this group and we love working with them. The off-season is the single best indicator of anything we will do."
On comparing past training camps to current:
"I would say it's probably very different. I think the main difference is now we are allowed to do a lot more before training camp. We have OTA's. I think it's better from a standpoint over a long period of time, because you have more time to work with them over the off-season. The competition starts there. It's different because you do so much before you get here. Now it will be much shorter. We will have the shortest camp of anyone in the league. I tell the guys if you do a great job in our off-season program then I'll have you come as latest as I can. In one week we scrimmage and then we start playing games. It competitively starts in the off-season we're at the point where we think we know what they can do without pads on, and now I think you add the pads and start competing against people at the other teams level in pre-season. The competition is still intense. In the old days there were a lot more guys, they tried to make it, you only had six weeks to figure it out. I think the way it is now is better because you spend more time with the guys, there's more time in the meeting room and the guys can show what they can do mentally."
On the upcoming 2006 season:
"When you come back like this you kind of watch everyone else did in your division. You realize the tough schedules. You always have concerns and certainly I know our players feel the same way. We're in an extremely tough division, everybody is extremely smart, have very good football teams and have done a heck of a job. That's a real concern for us. Philly I've mentioned several times. They will just come roaring after the disappointment they had last year. Our schedule is certainly a concern for us. I always look at it that way. We're very concerned about that, obviously we open on Monday Night and then have a short work week when we go to Dallas."
On the offseason:
"We worked extremely hard in the off-season my philosophy is that if you're standing still not doing something then you are falling behind in the NFL. We tried to work hard, we tried to do smart things the only way that will be returned is with some of the games we win."
On the additions to the coaching staff:
"I am excited about having Jerry (Gray, secondary/cornerbacks coach) here, I think he is a tremendous asset, having been a coordinator in the league adding him to our defensive staff is great. I think having Al and Bob (Saunders) with the offense is something that we thought really helped our program. We are excited about that from a coaching staff standpoint."
On the addition of several new players:
"We actually added eight players through free agency. We feel that everyone in this league has their own way of doing it. For us, we want to be aggressive in free agency, anyway we can get a football player. We made a trade for Brandon (Lloyd, WR, #85) obviously in there and we have our six draft choices in there. You work as hard as you can to try and do smart things in the off-season, trying to prepare for the year, we have tried to do that. The thing I take the most confidence from is our players, because in the end we win with our players it will be up to them how we do this year."
On the leadership on the team:
"We have real leadership on this team, I think the fact that we made 98 percent of our voluntary work outs says a lot about our football team and the preparation they have made. We have players that were here every single day when the complex was open during the break. I have a lot of confidence in these players and love working with this group. I think we have an outstanding group of players and know that our responsibility in the end is trying to win games. That is how you are initially judged up here, that's the good thing about what we do. It doesn't matter what you think is smart, or what you think is the best way of doing something, it's about winning football games. Certainly we know that's what our job is. Our fan base is the greatest franchise in the world, we know our fans deserve a winner and we'll work hard at that. I'm kind of anxious to get on the way and meet with the team tonight. We will have our first practice tomorrow afternoon."
