On what he was able to do well:
“He’s an excellent pass rusher. Besides playing the run well, he’s a smart
football player and a good pass rusher. I know that our organization tried
everything to get it done; we just didn’t get it done. Like I said before, we
have to move on, but we will miss him.”
On who will replace him in the starting lineup:
“I think it is still an interesting battle. [DT] Sam [Rayburn] has been out, you
have [DT Darwin] Walker and then you have [DT] Hollis [Thomas] who is really
playing well. Hollis has had a great preseason, so he’s in the mix. Of course
you have Rayburn coming back a little bit. We all know that Walker is there and
of course [DT] Mike Patterson. So there are still some decisions to be made, who
is going to start and how the rotations are going to go.”
On whether he wants anther pass rusher in there:
“Sure, when you get into nickel situations, 3rd and 2nd and long you are going
to think about the best pass rusher in there.”
On whether Mike Patterson looks like he has exceptional pass rushing
ability:
“Well, I think like any rookie he is still learning. I think [defensive line
coach] Tom [Brasher] is doing a good job with him. It’s going to take a little
while. He’s probably a better run player than a pass rusher right now. But he
does give great penetration and great effort. It will come, but it’s not there
right now.”
On whether Patterson is going to play a lot on Thursday night:
“Not a lot. I don’t know how much he will play. I am not sure about that. I
would say you are going to see him, we will just see how much though.”
On whether he is surprised with the great camp DT Hollis Thomas is having
after he was unhappy with his contract situation:
“Yeah, I think knowing Hollis as a person, I knew once we started he was going
to give a great effort. He is healthy right now. I didn’t worry about that once
we started, because he is such a good competitor and he gives a great effort all
the time. So I didn’t worry about that.”
On how his weight is:
“Good. Up.”
On what he meant when he told his players he wanted them to be nastier and
meaner:
“I made a statement. I don’t know how it got out. I thought we were a very
aggressive team last year and I wanted to see us be more physical with wide
receivers and getting more stripped balls, turnovers and being a little nastier
that way as far as ripping the ball out. Not being a dirty football team, just
being a little tougher on certain phases of the game. That’s really what I
meant.”
On if this is the best defense since he has been here:
“It’s preseason. I wish I could say that. I think we are on a nice course right
now as far as having a good preseason, but it is only preseason. I think this is
one of those things that you evaluate at midseason and see how we are doing.
There are certain things we need to get better at, but I am pleased with certain
aspects of the game too. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I do like the
attitude of the team. We will just see if this is going to be one of the better
defenses.”
On whether there is a chance that S Sean Considine will play tomorrow
night:
“I doubt it very much. You will have to talk to [head athletic trainer] Rick
[Burkholder]. I doubt it right now.”
On whether LB Martin Patterson has continued having a great camp:
“Yeah, he has not slowed off. The thing about the young man, like I said before,
he is not making a lot of mental mistakes, which is good for a rookie. He’s a
very coachable young man. He’s becoming a pro and really working at his job. I
think he likes to play and has a lot of enthusiasm. We have not been
disappointed. I think the biggest surprise, we knew that he was a good football
player, is how he is handling everything mentally. That has been the biggest
surprise.”
On whether Martin Patterson’s bad timing at the scouting combine is
obvious to him:
“Well, no, because he is not time great in the 40. His first step, first two
steps, five yard and ten yard are good times. He has great quickness. His
strength is his great balance, quickness and that he has good long arms. He
makes use of those. He uses good pad level because of his balance. He has good
quickness and knows how to play the game.”
On whether the secondary allows him to do things this year that he
couldn’t do last year:
“Yeah, I think the only thing that we have a lot more confidence in this year is
going in more man coverage. I think we have a couple of good corners; even [CB]
Rod Hood is the same way and [CB] Dexter [Wynn]. I think that we can play a
little more man coverage. I think we will still always add to our packages, as
far as our pressure situations, blitzes and so forth, but the thing that I have
seen is these guys over last year is that they can match up against the [WR
Oakland Raiders] Randy Moss’ and stuff like that, which I worried about going
into last year. But I see these guys and know that they will challenge any
receiver.”
On whether CBs Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard as well as SS Michael Lewis
are as good as the coaches thought they would be:
“I think they are still young guys. We are happy with them and they had a good
year last year. I think they are still learning on the run. It’s only their
second year starting in the league. They should still get better. Are we happy
with them? Yeah. Are we satisfied? Probably not. I think they can get better.”
On whether there is anything to get out of Thursday night’s game against
the Jets:
“Hey, we are going to play a game. It’s going to be fun. It’s competition and I
am looking forward to it. Young guys are going to have a chance to make this
team. Guys are going to be flying around. This is fun. I love football games”
On what he wants to see Michael Lewis improve on this season:
“I think Mike is a guy who will tell you, he is a very physical safety, but he
has to improve a little bit on his coverage. He knows that. He works like crazy
on it. [secondary and safeties coach] Sean McDermott works with him a lot with
his ball skills, making interceptions. If anything, it’s his pass coverage. It
has come along, but his strength is at the line of scrimmage blitzing and being
a very physical guy. We would like to see him improve on his pass coverage.”
On how much picking up [DE] Juqua Thomas helps:
“That was huge. That was big. It is too bad that [DE] Trent Cole was not around
because of the injury and that, but Juqua Thomas has come in and done a nice
job. He is going to play a lot Thursday night along with Trent Cole and we will
see how those young puppies do. It’s a great opportunity for both of those guys.