Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera addressed the media after practice on Aug. 30. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
On if he will discuss injuries:
"Nope. Guys, we're going to start waiting for when I have to give reports and stuff like that."
On how TE Logan Thomas and CB Kendall Fuller looked at practice today:
"Look good. They really did. You know, a few days off has done both those guys wonders."
On how QB Sam Howell's skillset compliments Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy's offense:
"Well, I think the biggest thing more so than anything else is really just his whole football acumen, you know? Everything from how good a student he is to a guy that can take what's being called and translate it in his mind as to how to execute. His skillset, I think is very conducive to a lot of the stuff that we want to do because of his arm talent and then his athletic ability, I think helps and adds on to some of the things that Eric wants done. I think Eric's done a terrific job with, again, not just Sam, but with the other two quarterbacks [QB Jacoby Brissett and QB Jake Fromm] because I really do think it's a good room and I'm very happy with those guys. And, you know, being able to have that kind of room, especially for Sam, is a good thing in terms of his learning and growth."
On if there will be further roster movement:
"I think for the most part, you know, we went and ahead and explored every avenue and we're very comfortable with where we are right now. I think a lot of things that we have, are guys that we anticipated having."
On what was seen in LB Jabril Cox:
"Well, we remember the young man coming out at LSU. He's a physical specimen, a young man that can run and can make an impact. And again, it's one of those things that he'll have to learn, he'll have to grow, but he's got the skillset that you're looking for as far as that position is concerned. As I said, he's a guy that we really did like coming out of the draft that year."
On Howell as a person:
"I'll tell you, he's, believe it or not, he has got a sense of humor. I mean, he's so stoic and so even, but he's got a good sense of humor, he really does. He can laugh at himself as well."
On Thomas' greatest offensive impact:
"I think his overall knowledge of the game. He helps others as well as the guys around him. But he also has this ability to understand what's happening as the game's happening. You know, this is a guy who's a former quarterback, so he sits there and he looks at the coverages and he knows instantly, you know what I'm saying? It's from his training that a lot of the things he does will translate into making the right decisions in terms of route running and how to present him himself open to the quarterback."
On Thomas' strength at the catch point:
"I think it's his frame. I think it's an innate ability. I think part of it has to be having been a quarterback, understanding, you know, what it's like to get it and how to protect the football. So, when people are around him, you can see that he uses his body very well. It reminds me a lot of [Former NFL TE] Greg Olsen, who was a guy that could use his body to keep that distance between the ball and the defender."
On if he has noticed Howell adjusting to teammates strengths:
"I think you see it mostly when you look at the receivers, where he throws the ball, how he throws the ball to certain guys. You see some of them, he'll throw a little bit more of a teardrop as opposed to putting the ball a little bit on the line. He understands and he's getting that kind of rapport with his guys."
On if there is a specific player or route that stands out:
"No need to tell anybody."
On what he wants to see Cox improve upon:
"Well, obviously first is learning the x's and o's of what we're doing, how we do it. I mean, he's got the skillset and he can be a high impact guy because of his abilities, his athleticism. The big part will be grasping what we do and then us finding the best way to use him and play him."
On if Bieniemy's scheme is helpful for a young quarterback:
"There was actually a very good example in practice today. They were talking about a specific play and the linebacker came up and right off the bat, EB was telling them, 'Hey, look, when you got this, you should be thinking this,' and then you could see Sam go, 'okay, I got, I got it.' So yeah, you can see that they've built that kind of rapport already. It's just getting stronger and stronger with every day and every practice. That's one of the really cool things that when you watch EB, you know that he knows he's working with a young quarterback when he's talking to Sam, but then you watch him and see how he handles Jacoby and it's a completely different thing. It's true for the way he deals with all the other players around him. He understands who's young, who's old. He understands who he can take jabs at. He understands who he can have a little bit of fun with. That's really kind of a cool thing to watch and see as these guys build the kind of rapport that you need when you're the primary play caller."
On if there is a competitive advantage for the Arizona Cardinals not naming a starter:
"Yeah, well I mean, the thing about it for us more than anything else is they're relatively new in terms of what they do offensively, schematically. In his eyes, both quarterbacks have a different skillset, which we see and so because of it, yeah, you're going to have to do certain things and say, 'okay, if this guy's in, we'll do this, this guy's in, we may do that.' You do have some sort of an advantage when you create that kind of mystery."
On if it surprised him that the Cardinals released QB Colt McCoy:
"Not necessarily, because for the most part with what they do offensively you could see their young quarterback was doing. There was a lot of similarities there. Just go back and look at the Cleveland tape. Their offensive coordinator [Drew Petzing] comes from Cleveland. So, a lot of the stuff that they do you see that Cleveland was doing as well as far as their run game, as far as some of their route concepts that they use. Just how they use it and how they use it for each quarterback is a new thing for us. It was going to be like that anyways. It didn't matter who the quarterback was going to be because you're never really sure what they're going to do until it starts."
On what he sees Cox's role becoming:
"We're going to see. We got to see how he fits and how he looks for us. There's some things that his skillset says he'll be able to do so we're going to see."
