HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on second-year players, RB-Donald Brown, WR-Austin Collie and DB-Jerraud Powers still having a hunger to get better and a 'fear of making the team')
"I think it's a healthy atmosphere around here. We never become complacent. I think it's because of the fact that a great majority of our guys have that attitude. We still have a lot of work to do, we have not arrived, and we understand how hard work plays into good, solid, consistent play. Those guys you mentioned, they have this attitude that they are perfectionists, and I don't think they will ever feel like they have it down. They are going to sense that they understand what the concepts are and how we play from a schematic standpoint, but just in terms of their own personal drive and determination, I don't think you'll ever see that end."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on second-year players, RB-Donald Brown, WR-Austin Collie and DB-Jerraud Powers being perfectionists)
"There are a lot of similarities between those three. They are wise beyond their years. They are very settled. Powers, you would think he is 35 years old just in terms of his mannerisms, certainly not from a physical standpoint. But they are all very settled. I think they are extremely mature."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on what is next now that OTAs are over)
"It continues. It's one of the things that I think is a misconception; that once OTAs end that work is stopped. But we continue to work all the way up until training camp. They'll lift, they'll run, they'll still be working at their routes and coverage techniques, etc., and just try to find a way to get better."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on his plans during summer)
"I'm going to spend some time with my grandkids. That is the first stop that I am going to make. I'm looking forward to that. One is three and one is nine months, and they are two boys and they are a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to it."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on what the team got done during OTAs)
"I think we got a lot accomplished. First of all, from an introductory standpoint, in terms of schematically things that we changed that are new, we were able to get familiar with those things. I think we improved in terms of overall execution. I think our team has a real strong work ethic. This is an eager and hungry group. I think overall that we improved almost in every single phase, not to the point where we'd say we'd be able to play tomorrow, but I felt good about what we got accomplished."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on QB-Tom Brandstater)
"We have not had a great opportunity to look at him other than seeing him on film in previous years, but we're certainly happy to have him. He is a guy that has strength and size and is smart, so we threw him into some drill work and watched him from a mechanics standpoint. He looks like he has some potential. We're excited to take a real good look at him in the fall."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on QB-Tom Brandstater learning the offense before training camp)
"I think that's something that is important. He'll be in that playbook. Matter of fact, when he first arrived, I stuck my head in one of the quarterback meeting rooms and he was in there with (QB-Curtis) Painter and actually going over all the details, trying to learn as much as he could. That's the great thing about our guys, they share information, they work with one another and try to bring the new guys up to speed. That's certainly what will be going on with him in the next few weeks."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on QB-Curtis Painter)
"I think anytime they get into their second year or get a chance to immerse themselves within the concepts of our system, you can see some improvement. I can see that he is a little bit more comfortable in execution, in terms of his play calls and checks and things of that nature. He has a little bit better grasp in terms of his read progressions, and he is becoming a bit more accurate. All of those things, I think you've seen him improve upon. It's not a real easy offense to grasp and manage, but I think he is improving day after day."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if he was worried about QB-Curtis Painter's psyche after last season)
"No. He's a very resilient guy, and the other thing is that he knew it wasn't necessarily aimed at him. It was more aimed at me than him. That was something I made certain he understood. It should have no effect on him in that regard."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the signing of QB-Tom Brandstater not being an indication that the team is unhappy with QB-Curtis Painter)
"I think you have to make certain that you look to improve anytime you can and throw some guys into the mix and see how they function, see if we can make ourselves a little bit better anyway we can possibly do it."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on why the team doesn't sign a veteran free agent quarterback to backup QB-Peyton Manning)
"I'm not certain you can pigeonhole us that way because we've had guys in both categories. It just depends on the year and who is available and what we're looking for. We haven't done it just with young guys. The last five years that's the way it's been, but we had QB-Cory Sauter here, who was a guy that had been around the block a little bit. We had QB-Brock Huard, who had been in the league and played in Seattle. You can't just say that's the way we do it. It just so happens that's the cycle at this point."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on rookies getting acclimated)
"I think they've done well. I know it's moving fast for them right now, which you expect and anticipate, but I think the coaches have done a great job with spending a little extra time with them and making certain they understand what is required of them. They have to learn so much, from how we do things in the training room, to the weight room, just in terms of what they have to do from the league's standpoint, but also the organization's standpoint. They have a lot to learn. I think they are doing quite well. They have a long ways to go, but I do feel good about what they've accomplished so far."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if any players will be held out of practice once training camp starts)
"Every year you have some, and we're going to have some. There is no question about that. But we make that decision later on. If we feel there is a guy that only needs to practice once a day, then he'll practice once a day. There will be some of those things that will occur, but we're not certain who that will be at this time."
