(Are there any veterans you're going to hold out on Thursday?)
I will hold out Al and Charles Woodson, and I may hold out Marquand Manuel. Everyone else is an injury situation.
(Why Manuel?)
Because I want to look at the younger guys. I know where we are with M&M. We have a lot of questions that need to be answered in Thursday night's ballgame.
(Does that mean Manuel's roster spot is safe?)
We're looking at all of our options. He's a veteran player. I haven't done a good enough job of getting the younger guys reps, particularly in the first half. I want to see Culver play early. I want to see Charlie Peprah play early. That's what we're trying to accomplish. I'm trying to be up front and honest. We're just trying to get as much information as we can about our young players.
(Will Rouse be able to go?)
Rouse will be out of the game because of his hamstring.
(How do you feel about your fullback situation?)
The availability hasn't been what you'd like it to be. Korey Hall has established himself as the starter at that position. I'm hoping Brandon will be physically able to go through this game. We'll see where he is. I thought he did a lot of good things last year but because of his injuries he hasn't returned to that form. That's where we are.
(What about White?)
We've given him some reps this week. He may get some fullback work in the second half.
(Miree will work ahead of him?)
Korey will start and Brandon will go after the second or third series. Brandon will go into the second half and then I'll see where I'm at with Corey.
(Is Holiday a possible emergency quarterback?)
It's an option that we have to be prepared for as we move towards our 53.
(On Blackmon's thumb, is that a hard cast?)
It's diagnosed as a Bennett fracture. Some people mistake it for a sprain. It's something that he's going to be able to play with. It's more of a protective device. Carl Hairston was telling me that he played a whole year with it. That's what he's been diagnosed with.
(Who will handle returns then?)
He'll still return. He'll take the first punt return of the game on Thursday and then we'll look at some other guys after that.
(How long will he have the cast? What's the diagnosis)
Don't have one for time. It's more for protective measures.
(Have you put him through any catching drills to test ball security?)
He's not concerned about it. He was surprised by the diagnosis. So was I, when you hear the word fracture. He was told not to be concerned about it. I was told not to be concerned about it. He's caught the ball. It's pretty thin. I have no reason to be concerned until they tell me further.
(Has Wynn shown he was paying attention while he was out?)
I would say that, yes. He's mentally sharp. He does a good job, especially as a young player, with blitz pick-up. So he has an understanding of our protections. When you take it from the classroom to practice is one thing. I'd like to see him in a game environment. He's a talented runner with quick feet. I'm anxious to see him play a lot on Thursday.
(Does he have to do something spectacular on Thursday or just show he gets it?)
He needs to come out in a big way and earn a spot on this football team. We're going to give him every opportunity to do that.
(Have you decided on how many series Favre will play?)
We're looking somewhere between two and three. Probably closer to two.
(Will that be helpful with the chemistry with Jennings and Jones?)
It's more of an offensive unit. As far as the number of reps, we played them in one series in this game last year. I just feel as an offense that we could play a little more. I'm happy where the defense is at this point. I'd like to see a little more of the offense. Without getting into specifics there are a few things that I need to see. That's what I'm going to try to get done on the first two series.
{sportsad300}(Which position is the most muddled going into this last game?)
You can go through the roster. There are questions at the offensive line. The tight end group, there's a question there. The receiver group, there are a couple guys there I want to look at. Fullback, running back, you could go through the roster. Two quarterbacks, three quarterbacks, what are you going to do there? Defensive line, we have so much depth there. How many guys can we keep? The corner group, those are all very healthy problems, corner, safety and even the linebackers too. There is a guy at every position that needs to step up in a big way.
(Is Coston your sixth lineman?)
If we played a game today I'd be comfortable with Juice as a starter even in that sixth slot. I'm very pleased with the way he's matured and come around. In fairness to him, the criticism he gets all the time is his footwork. When you're playing five different positions, that's a little difficult to establish. That's not fair to that guy in the swing position. He's done a lot of good things throughout camp and I'm happy with the progress that he's made.
(As other teams make cuts, how involved are you in looking at those names?)
It's something I did all morning, so I'd say I'm involved. It's an ongoing process. You're always tracking certain players. We sit and talk about our depth chart for an hour or two. It's an ongoing process.
(How quickly will you make the final roster decisions?)
I would say we'll do some Friday but most of them Saturday. The way I've always done it is to take the morning and watch the film. We'll have a collective meeting then Ted and I will talk about it some more. Whatever comes out Friday, we'll see. It depends on how the conversations go. This game will be a big part of it. We'll see what happens. As far as how long it takes, I don't have an answer for you.
(Does Bigby just have to hold serve on Thursday night to keep his starting job?)
Atari needs to show that he can be consistent. That's really the biggest thing I'm looking for. That's why I'm going to play him through the second quarter because I want to see him play. His impact plays, he's shown that ability and it's exciting. But we need it every down in and out, the communication, that's what I'll be watching from him on Thursday night.
(How do you view Thompson's interceptions the last couple days in practice?)
I don't look at it as a positive. I've never encouraged the quarterback to throw an interception whether it's on the opponent or game plan stuff. That's something that he needs to improve on.
