(That was the shortest practice of camp; was that by design?)
Excellent observation. I think that was the quickest practice that I have seen in quite some time and I think it's a tribute to the players coming out here with the urgency, doing things right. We didn't have many repeats. We were 23 minutes ahead of schedule. I don't recall ever going that fast, so I was very pleased with the practice this morning.
(Are you pleased with the shape that Ryan Grant came in at?)
Yeah, Ryan looks good. He got a little more work yesterday than we anticipated with Brandon Jackson going out of practice. He is off to a good start. He was here throughout the whole offseason, so he is really up to date with everything we have done and adjusted for this season. He looks in great shape, got fresh legs as his teammates would refer to.
(Do you feel a sense of relief from the players that the Brett Favre situation has been somewhat resolved?)
Oh, absolutely. We talked about it last night. The players want resolution, they want what everybody wants. To come out here every day and talk about somebody that is not here and then shows up, it's gone on too long, and understandably so. They want to play football. They want to be recognized for playing football and focus on that.
(You said yesterday that you didn't need to pipe in any crowd noise. What was different today?)
That's what was on the schedule, so we were working no-huddle and it was quality work.
(What difference will it make to have the Favre situation resolved?)
I think it is human nature. It's about having a direction and a plan and everybody working toward that plan and trying not to be distracted. This job is hard enough. I think sometimes it goes unnoticed the stress, the anxiety an NFL player goes through training camp. This is a very difficult time for every member of the 80-man roster, and that's what they need to focus on. Any time you spend an extra half-hour doing this or doing that, that's taking you away from what you are supposed to be focusing on. It really taps into your energy base, and that's something we've recognized and something we've talked about as a team. They just want to get back to focusing on football.
(What did you talk about last night?)
I just gave an update, exactly what was going on, and just felt like what they needed to know. I didn't think it was necessary to try to keep them up to date because the situation did take a number of twists and turns, and I wasn't going to do that to the team. I don't want them riding that rollercoaster, because like we've already talked about, they need to focus on football.
(Can you talk about the backup quarterbacks, Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn, and how they have handled the situation and progressed?)
I think they have to focus because they have no choice. It's brand new for them. It's their first training camp. They haven't really commented on anything outside of football. They are focusing on making progress. Playing quarterback is very difficult, as we all know, and they have done a nice job of continuing to improve. I think Matt, particularly, has taken a couple of big jumps here the last two days..
{sportsad300}(When will Scott Wells be back?)
He is day-to-day, so I'm not sure.
(How is Josh Sitton handling his time with the first unit?)
Good. Josh has taken full advantage of his opportunity. That's why we're going to give him an opportunity to compete and win the right guard position, and really kind of take Daryn (Colledge) and Allen (Barbre) and Jason (Spitz) and really kind of work a three- or four-man rotation in the left guard and center position.
(Is that something you thought about before camp started or something that came up the last couple of days?)
You always see things you are excited about in shorts and helmets, but I've never made a decision based on the spring of a player winning a position. That's a very easy trap to fall into, especially in the skill positions. The padded practices are the biggest indicator of where you think your football team is, and that's the biggest thing we put into the evaluation when we go through position battles.
(How nice is it to be talking about football again?)
Keep it up. You're doing a great job.
(Did you talk to Brett again last night?)
I stated I would talk to Brett Favre again, and Brett and I did speak last night.
(Have there been any players in particular that have shown leadership during this time?)
I think the players as a whole have done a very good job. I think the veterans have done a nice job, because really, a number of our players are so young. This is all new to them. This is not normal, as we've told them. They are really focusing on football, but I think the veterans as a whole have done a very good job of managing the locker room. But they are like everybody else and you have personal relationships and you have a number of things that go on in the locker room. I don't want to be redundant; they want the thing resolved.
(What did you and Brett talk about last night?)
It was just very general. Just how he was doing, where he was with the process, things like that.
(What is his official status today?)
He is excused. He has been excused from practice today, and that's where it's at.
