On how the defense is faring throughout the offseason work:
"Our leadership is really good. Our d-line has done a tremendous job of placing the expectations on the rest of our football team on the defensive side of the ball. Marcus Washington (LB, #53) is having an outstanding camp. Shawn Springs (CB, #24) is doing a great job of adapting to Jerry Gray (Secondary/Cornerbacks Coach). I can feel Jerry Gray's impact immediately on the defensive side of the ball at the cornerback position. We have had a very good camp. Our safeties have been very active. I think Adam (Archuleta) (S, #40) has slowed his heart beat down a little bit now. The volume of defense that we play as compared to what he has played before in the past is a lot. All of the sudden now for him to slow his heart beat down and get in the flow of things, he has been doing a lot better here these last several days."
On the wide receivers:
"The best thing that we can have going right now defensively is covering these thoroughbreds that we have on the offensive side of the ball at the wide receiver position.
We can't make a mistake half speed. We can't make a mistake at half speed and catch up again because these guys are blowing your doors off with their speed and playmaking ability."
On the mini-camp so far:
"It has been a good camp to date. We have one more practice and one of the things that Coach Gibbs stresses is that the most successful spring is when we come out of this thing with nobody injured. We have done a great job. John Hastings (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach) and his crew have done a tremendous job on our off-season program in making our team more fit. I think you can see that now with the recovery of our guys from surgeries and even from minor pulls and strains that happened early in the OTA's. We are right back on track, ready to go and getting ready for the push into training camp."
On Andre Carter (DL, #99):
"Andre had a lot of footwork issues to clear up when he first got here. There is no better guy than Greg Blache (Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach) and Kirk Olivadotti (Defensive Line/Special Teams Coach) to be working with him there. Really the last six practices we have seen Andre Carter's athletic ability show up. He has tremendous hand and foot speed. He is really a freak when you take a look at what he measures at in the BodPod with his lean muscle mass and his percent body fat for a huge man like him. He is rare, genetically. Now we have to clean up his technique and Greg Blache and Kirk have done a very good job with that. I am anxious to see him with the pads on because he has been a fit out here for our defense the last week to 10 days of practices."
On what he looks for from his defensive line:
"We look for how stout we are up front in playing the run. We look at how we are able to hold up and bounce back the next day. There are a lot of guys in the National Football League that can't make it because they can't stay healthy. Those guys in the trenches are rare guys that can stay healthy day in and day out."
On if during mini-camp it is more about technique or conditioning:
"It is everything. It is mental, conditioning and technique. Guys can't just show up at training camp and expect to make a football team. A young guy does not have a chance to make a football team anymore unless he has tremendous participation in spring practices and getting the scheme and technique down. It is a battle. I don't care what training camp you are in, physically it is a battle. They are going to have to make sure that they come out of here with a tremendous mental approach to what we are doing offensively, defensively and with special teams. Then physically they can get through the tough part in training camp."
On the depth of the safeties:
"Our safeties, if you have noticed in the past since I have been here, we have kept five safeties and four corners. Then we always try to keep two corners around on the practice squad. We always try to keep 11 or 12 DB's around here. The safety position when it plays in our defense has to be a blitzer, a cover guy and a tremendous contributor on special teams. When you get that kind of a safety the special teams increase too. Everyone has to play in all the packages because we play eight or nine packages on defense every week. Then they are playing in two to four special teams packages with Danny (Smith) (Special Teams Coach). It helps in the overall depth and we needed to improve in that area. We still need to continue to improve."
On Reed Doughty (S, #23):
"When he first got here his head was swimming. He is a guy that over analyzes everything. He is very bright. He is extremely prideful. He can't stand making a mistake. He has been an over achiever his whole life. The thing he is going to have to do in training camp, because he has really impressed us, is slow his heart beat down. He wants it so bad that sometimes he gets that paralysis of over analyzing things. I will tell you this in the last seven to 10 days he has made some great strides. Once the pads go on, I see him as a guy that will be better than he is without pads."
On Warrick Holdman (LB, #57):
"Warrick right now is having a great camp. He has done a great job with the strength and conditioning program. This is the first year he has had a chance to have a full off-season with us. His suddenness without the pads on is excellent. We have a tremendously competitive group of guys right there with Warrick, Roger McIntosh (LB, #52), Chris Clemons (LB, #58) and we have even given Robert McCune (LB, #59) some time out there. Right now Warrick has done the best job coming out of this camp with Roger and Chris breathing right down his neck."
On Roger "Rocky" McIntosh (LB, #52):
"Last week the light went on for Rocky McIntosh. He was really having some great practices. He made about three or four things last week that were the best of any linebacker since I have been here on some plays in the OTAs last week. Hopefully the game is slowing down for him right now."
On Anthony Montgomery (DT, #94) and Kedric Golston (DT, #64):
"Both of them have a lot of the same things. They're athletic and stout. They will make a push to make this team. The battle [at backup defensive tackle] is one that needs to be watched. There'll be guys in that group not make it this year that were good enough to make it last year. Golston has a lot of sheer power. Montgomery has great hand placement and might have a little more pass rush in him. But that's in shorts. You don't know until you see them go in live competition with the pads on.
On Kenny Wright (CB, #25):
"He's a veteran who understands the basic nuances of playing coverage and playing defense in the NFL. He does have a smile on his face because of the versatility of what we do here. He loves the impact that Jerry Gray is making with those guys. He's going to be a tremendous addition. We expect our third and fourth cornerbacks to be dominant in special teams. Ade Jimoh was that last year. Kenny Wright has to step up and do that, too. I'm not to sure he has done that in his pro career. That'll be a big part of who we keep around here. Those third, fourth and fifth corners-how are they doing for Danny Smith on special teams? We'll find a place for them to play on defense if they make a contribution on special teams."
