(What happened with T.J. Lang?)
T.J. Lang, he torqued his rib area. It's listed as an oblique injury. I think he'll be OK to go in the game, but they just felt it was important to rest him today.
(Who do you plan on starting at tackles?)
We'll see how T.J. is, and obviously Chad Clifton I think is ready to go. The plan was to go through Wednesday and Thursday, see how he felt today. He feels good today. So those are options there, and also with Mark Tauscher and Allen Barbre. The combination of all four is something we're looking at.
(Who played left tackle the latter part of practice?)
Allen Barbre took a lot of reps today at left tackle.
(Did you back Clifton down by design?)
Did we back him down? Well, this is his normal work week. Based on coming off of the four surgeries off the season and then also having the ankle sprain, Dr. McKenzie felt that it would be best to get him back on a normal week's workload and see if he can handle it. I thought he practiced very well Wednesday and Thursday, and he felt good today.
(But you think he's OK?)
I would think so. Now, how long, durability, those are the things you look at. Chad's situation is different than Mark Tauscher's, but you have to be smart on how you use these individuals. Just to throw them in there and think they're going to play 80 plays, or 70 plays, I don't know if that's the right thing to do this week.
(Are you thinking you'll possibly rotate or alternate series?)
It's all part of the conversation. We go through this every week where we go up top and have our game-management meeting, and we'll go through the board and outline the 53 to the 45 and we'll talk in more specifics, watch the film in the morning with the staff. That's the same process we go through every week. I'm not sitting here trying to hide anything. It's just getting all the information and making a sound decision.
(Do you and Dr. McKenzie think Tauscher is OK at this point to play a full game?)
I don't think I probably want to talk about that right here. I think it's realistic to watch Mark, Nick Barnett or whoever the individual is coming off of a knee surgery, that you haven't participated in live action in a year. There's a protocol that obviously varies with the individual, the position, and we're going to trust the medical staff, and frankly the input of the athlete to make a sound decision.
(Did Driver come through OK?)
Donald had a good practice today. I just spoke to him before we came up top. He feels good.
(Did you have Aaron move around much in practice?)
Yeah, he took all his normal reps. He did everything. He did the play-action, did the movements, the drop back. He took a full day's work.
(Any concerns at all about his mobility?)
No. He's hurting, but I don't have any concerns.
(When did Jake Allen get injured?)
Jake tweaked his quad in practice, and just being smart with him today. He went through the jog-through. They just wanted to put him in treatment, or rehab.
(On Thursday?)
Yes, I think so.
(Will you re-think some of those long field goal situations with the opportunities Mason has missed?)
I understand what the statistics are. I understand the history and everything. But I think you have to coach the game. You have to coach the situation. If I recall, it was the 31- or 32-yard line. Based on the pre-game work that specific day, we felt anything from the 38 in was the range. We were six yards in the range from that standpoint. The way the game was going, the importance of momentum, I felt to get that to a three-point game was the risk or the goal that we were trying to achieve. So I don't have an issue with attempting a 51. He has plenty of leg. He just didn't get a good kick on it.
(You'd like to see him making those, right?)
Yeah, I expect him to make a 51-yard field goal, and Mason expects to make it. And if I was in that situation again with all the factors leading up to that decision, I would have kicked it again.
(Where's Martin at after his concussion?)
He practiced today, feels much better. There's a medical protocol that you go through with every player that's in that particular medical situation, and we're always going to play the high side of safety. Dr. John Gray, he goes through the test on a one-, two-, three-day basis, and there's targets that you're looking to hit. If there's any gray area, we err on the side of caution. But he did practice today and he looked his normal self out there today.
(Is Giordano up to speed at both safety spots?)
He's been working, he's been working all week.
(Are you leaning toward A.J. for the full-time role at linebacker?)
A.J. is ready to go. Took a bunch of reps this week in sub. A.J is a pro's pro. He's always prepared and he's ready to go. We're very confident that whatever we do with A.J. or really that whole inside linebacker group. I think it's a very good group.
(How has Kapinos responded in practice this week?)
He's had a very good week of practice. I think he's really progressed a lot in his development, as far as training camp and to this point in the season. We just have to transfer it to the game day. Hopefully he doesn't need to punt, but he's doing a lot of good things in the practice environment.
