(How much did you get out of Woodson today?)
He practiced. He went through the whole practice. He's sore, but we'll see how he does in post-practice treatment. But he did practice today.
(If he does play, would you be more inclined to leave him at corner and not mess with him at punt return?)
That's something we'll talk about Sunday. We'll go through pre-game, see how he feels. But I think anytime you can put the ball in Charles Woodson's hands, it benefits your football team. So we'll talk about that more. That will be a game-day decision.
(After seeing him out there today, do you expect him to go Sunday?)
I'm hopeful, yes.
(How would you say his movement was?)
OK. Just OK. I think he was feeling his way around. He took all the snaps, though.
(What's the final diagnosis with Ferguson's injury?)
We're actually waiting on a second opinion, a doctor out of Charlotte. It doesn't look good, so we'll see what he has to say.
(Is it that Lisfranc injury?)
Correct, the foot sprain.
(How did Ahman progress during the week?)
Good. He took all his reps today. He looks good. I think he's cutting it loose. You can see the burst is there. I'm almost 100 percent he'll go on Sunday.
(How limited will he be with carries?)
It will be more of a conditioning factor. We're going to give him as much as he can handle on first and second down.
(What did you do this week to prevent the heat from being a problem?)
The biggest thing about playing in the heat ... frankly, it's a lot easier to go from cold weather to warm weather than to go from warm weather to cold. I'm sure at some point in everybody's life, they've been in hot weather. We practiced in 111 degree heat index this summer in training camp, so we've experienced that level of heat. It's a simple equation. You have to put the water in your body, put more in than comes out. Obviously we've emphasized hydration all week, we've had the fruit tables out around the meeting rooms, and that will continue to be the focus as we go down there.
(Did you think about going down there early at all just to acclimate to it?)
I don't think so. We're coming from the middle part of the country. The trip's not as long as, say, if you're coming from the West Coast. I think you can make too big a deal of it also.
(Have you decided who will kick return?)
Yes, we're looking at Morency will be the kick returner. Also Noah Herron will be back there.
(Does it feel like it's been a long time since you've played, and are you anxious and do you sense the players are anxious to play a game?)
I think they're definitely anxious to play games. I know they're not looking forward to practicing anymore on the Miami Dolphins. I think we all have a time clock as far as preparation that goes on in each player and coach's mind. We're very routine oriented, and we've spent a lot of extra time. We spent two full practice days, potentially three, if you look at some of the practices we had earlier in the week, we hit on Miami a little bit. From that factor, we're ready to get down there and get after the Dolphins. And also, it will be 14 days since we've played, so I think everybody is anxious to play.
(What's your comfort level with putting Blackmon out there?)
He's talented. He made a big play down the boundary today that you like to see. I have not talked to him today to see exactly where he is. He looks like he's moving well. He's a big corner that has excellent range. So we're just excited to have him back out there.
(If Woodson plays, is Dendy still your nickel?)
Yes.
(Will Blackmon have a chance to be the dime?)
Blackmon has a chance to be up. We'll take this all the way to game day as far as the combination of who exactly is going to be the extra guys there in the secondary.
(Given your situation at receiver, are you more inclined to go with Blackmon at punt returner and not risk Jennings?)
I don't view it that way. I know that would potentially be an option. Same deal, if you have a chance to put the ball in Greg Jennings' hands, if he's the punt returner, I'm fine with that. We're playing to win the game, I'm not playing scared. Injuries are part of the football game, and you don't like to see them happen to anybody, so we're not going to play with that mindset.
