(How's Finley doing?)
Jermichael Finley is doing a lot better. He's moving around fine. He's in all the meetings and so forth. He's definitely improving.
(What's the plan with him this weekend?)
Work him out Sunday. If he can clear one of the tests tomorrow he'll be a pre-game workout candidate. If he doesn't come out of his rehab tomorrow, the session they put him through, then obviously he'll be down.
(So you haven't closed the door on him?)
Not at all. He's making a lot of progress.
(If you do play him, are you worried about re-injury and possible long-term effects?)
We would never put someone in that position. That's the way we operate. They have to first be cleared by Dr. McKenzie, so he has the final say on that. A player would have to overcome some type of situation like that, but I'm not going to put Jermichael in a situation where we feel he can further hurt himself.
(What are you thinking on the offensive line?)
Well, I have some options. Chad Clifton practiced today, just from what I observed without watching the film. Mark Tauscher had a full week. Scott Wells had two back-to-back good days. We have our meeting here shortly and we watch the film in the morning as a staff, so we'll just take in all the information and probably make a decision tomorrow night, let the players know tomorrow night or let them know in the morning on Sunday.
(Is it your inclination to pick five to stick with the whole game and not rotate guys in?)
Like to, yeah. Anytime you march out five offensive linemen, really any position, you'd like for them to finish the game. That's the goal. I'm not looking to platoon players. But there's different things that can happen during the course of a game, so we're going to do everything we can to win the football game. That doesn't change at any position.
(Is it fair to say you're thinking about starting Tauscher, or is that not accurate?)
We'll answer those questions on Sunday. I'm not going to get into the starting lineup, because I don't have all the information for you. I'll meet with Joe Philbin today at 1 o'clock, like I always do. We'll talk about the offensive board. We'll watch the film in the morning with the staff, like we always do, 7 a.m., and Joe, James Campen, Jerry Fontenot and I will sit down and then we'll decide what we're going to do.
(Based on how the week went, is Mark starter-ready?)
You'd have to ask Mark that. I know he feels good. You have to remember he hasn't played in a full football game in a long time. There's a reason why we've taken the path that we have with Mark. We're going to make sure he's put in a situation to be successful too. Allen Barbre is the starting right tackle, and I've said this from the day Mark Tauscher came back. It's Allen's responsibility to keep that job, and that part hasn't changed. It's great to have Mark Tauscher back, but they're really two totally different situations. We have to make sure Mark's ready to play, and Allen Barbre needs to continue to improve and keep his job.
(How different does Dom approach this game knowing Bigby is back there?)
I would say the volume of what we're doing is probably average in this game. You have a tendency in situations where you have injuries, you may scale back. With Atari and Nick and the communication improvement that we do have back there now, we're not going to carry twice as much defense in. That's not going to win the football game. Our execution of our defensive calls is going to win this football game. Winning the one-on-ones against their pass protection unit and hitting the quarterback is going to win this football game. It's not about rushing four or rushing five. It's about individuals being put in position to win the one-on-one to get to the quarterback. That's really how we look at it.
(Do you foresee Aaron having any limitations with that foot?)
No I do not. I thought he had a good solid day of practice. I thought he threw the ball extremely well. I thought he was very sharp today.
(Do you think Green is ready to go?)
Ahman, yeah, I think so. I think he'll have a chance to contribute. He looks good. You do worry, he hasn't been in live action this year. That's a concern, no question about it. But we have history with Ahman, and there's history between Ahman and his position coach Edgar Bennett, so we're going to rely on that to make some decisions.
(Would you use Ahman to cover a kick?)
Potentially. We're trying to work him. You always try to work in all 53 players, and it's having that flexibility. We're like any team that's going through right now, you have players that get hurt, and you cannot have enough combinations on special teams. Yeah, we're trying to incorporate Ahman as much as we can.
(Do you think he can help you as a returner?)
He could possibly help us as a returner. He hasn't done it in a long time, but he definitely has that ability.
(Do you think he's going to be up this week?)
I think he has a very good chance of being up, yes. Very good chance.
