On the first day of training camp producing two injuries:
"They were both non-contact injuries. They are hard to predict, but you have to deal with it. There is nothing that we can discuss to say 'What if.' Alex Buzbee was setting for a punt block and as he was back pedaling and he planted, his Achilles ruptured on his right leg. Fred Smoot got a sprained ankle. I love sprained ankles now because we know it is a few-day recover. With Phillip gone and now Buzbee gone, there is a hole there. Phillip has created a hole there. Demetric Evans has to fill in. We are really glad we have Erasmus James. Fortunately we have very mature coaches with experience. With Greg Blache, we have already had several discussions on how to make this work. As we go we have the next practice and need to deal with it."
On the status of Erasmus James:
"We think Erasmus is going to be able to practice with reps in our team drills in August. As he works in and we build him up, he might not be ready to even get into the game until the last couple of preseason games. That is if his knee responds well and his shoulder responds well."
On the role of Demetric Evans:
"He just needs to fill a void and he will. He is a good player. The other guys will move in and move up. He has been playing behind Phillip Daniels, so I haven't really been able to hone in on him. He has some size to him and he is going to have to be a good run stopper. He is going to have to continue to learn to pass rush and give us some stability there. I expect to slot him in and go. It is what we have to do."
On how Phillip Daniels is doing:
"The hard part is he was so ready. He did everything that he could possibly do to not only have a great training camp, but an excellent football season. Now he has a new challenge before him and of course we have a new challenge before us. He deeply cares about the players on this team and knows that it is a big void. He knows that he was a key leader on this team. He is going to be around and he is going to try to do what he can to continue to be a part of it even though he doesn't get to play on the field. I think he has to work through a lot of the emotional issues. He senses a real loss for him, for us, and even his family. It is a hard thing to deal with."
On if the team will look elsewhere to fill the void caused by the injuries:
"I don't know if we will call teams or teams will approach us now because everybody will know. This will happen in the next few days if it does. If it doesn't then we will stick with what we have."
On cornerback Carlos Rogers's role in practice coming back from injury:
"We expected him to be upbeat. We are going try to hold him back because we want to make sure when he does have to really push off and actually play in a reaction and a response that he can do it all. Right now we are trying to be very careful with what he does and how much he does."
On the offense in practice:
"I think everybody knew where they were supposed to be. The first day everybody is just trying to get back in the groove. Jason (Campbell) threw the ball really well at times and then he threw just a couple balls in the vicinity that were not very accurate. The receivers are working on just getting their feet under them. It is going to take several practices to really get up to a great speed, but I was very pleased with how we started."
On Justin Tryon exciting the crowd:
"I think that is great and he earned it. He earned the right. He made a couple of plays. The play before he whooped it up, he picked us off and then he knocked the ball down so he was feeling real good about himself. He is ready to play and got the crowd excited. There is a long way to go."
On if the heat kept him from having a longer practice:
"This practice just didn't have one added element. When we start going pads we add another 15-minute period."
On if he has sat down with cornerback Shawn Springs:
"We haven't had a sit down. We just talked out at practice. He's doing well. He is in great shape. We beat him today, which I was excited about. He came out ready, he really did."
On how important wide receiver Santana Moss is to the team:
"He is very important. I think that what he did today as far as thinking through some routes and adjustments, he did a really nice job of being ready to catch the ball. He was thinking out there on how he wanted to beat a defender and as he gets more comfortable he is just going to do it. He is just going to work through it. I am very excited about what he is doing."
