(Opening Comments) * *
"After having taken a look at the film, we certainly feel that we did indeed make some improvement. Often times you'll look at the film and feel differently. I think, overall, we saw some progress, which is certainly encouraging for us. I think we played with a little bit more energy in an up-tempo game, which we're accustomed to and just in terms of execution, we executed better overall. I think our guys did a great job in terms of practice and preparation for that game, and we're hoping we're going to get that same kind of effort in the next week coming up because it's a big week, an important week for us in preparation for Detroit, because now we get an opportunity to go through the exact same routine we'd do in an ordinary game week. So, this is a very important week for us."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on WR-Austin Collie's acclimation)
"He is really doing a great job. He's got an attitude, where he's like a gym rat. He's in early and he stays late. He has a bit of a perfectionist attitude about all of his work and preparation. He just keeps growing as time goes on. I think at some point in time when he gets a real good sense of everything that we're doing, he's going to be quite an effective player."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the importance of WR-Austin Collie showing that he can be counted on to get the crucial first downs on third-down plays)
"He's a guy who we certainly feel can play multiple positions for us, which is important within our scheme, because we're a multiple-formation team. He has certainly shown the ability to be a clutch player, catch the ball in tough situations and then can run with after the catch. He also has a real fine understanding of where he is supposed to be. I think that's the really important thing, particularly when you're working on your timing with the quarterback. He's certainly moving along nicely."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if what TE-Jacob Tamme did last night is what the team expected of him when they drafted him out of college)
"That's exactly right. You kind of saw what he was able to do. When he was in college, he was a guy that certainly got the ball quite a bit and ran well with it afterwards. We had a glimpse of what he's capable of doing. He's a guy that's a threat down the field and also very, very good at intermediate pass cuts as well. He's a big body. He can play in the slot, sometimes can lean on the defenders and breakaway from them. He does a nice job."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on TE-Jacob Tamme's speed)
"His speed is deceptive, because of the fact that he's kind of a long-strider. But he can get down the field and runs routes well. If he gets the right matchups he can obviously give you some problems."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if the evaluation process is tougher in the preseason)
"It always is. I think that's one of the reasons why you may see that some teams during the course of the preseason may not win very many games and end up having a great year, or some teams that win a lot of games during the preseason and struggle during the year. Primarily because of the fact that there are certain situations that occur against teams, due to injuries and things of that nature, that will sort of give you false impressions. So, you have to be very, very careful with your assessments as you move along."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on being happy with the performance but not exactly satisfied)
"I'm not certain a coach ever feels completely satisfied, not in our business. When you go get satisfied you're going to have some problems, and they will show up quickly. Obviously, we had far too many penalties. That was a thing that jumped out at us. There were situations where we certainly could have given them a few more problems but without giving them some encouragement by offsides penalties and things of that nature, which we typically don't do, where we have to do make certain that we begin to reduce those in that area. There were also some missed opportunities just in terms of recoveries. I think we knocked four balls loose or had four fumbles and we only had two of them. We certainly would like to get four-for-four in that category, because those things make a huge difference. We also fumbled the ball. We put the ball on the ground three times. Those things are all negatives, but I think those are things that we can improve upon, and we have to improve upon if we're going to develop into an outstanding team."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on DT-Antonio Johnson)
"Antonio has been pretty steady since he came back from his injury. Obviously, he gives us a lot of bulk in that area, but he's a guy that plays with a lot of effort. He can hit and shed. He can take care of his gap, but because of his size and girth you oftentimes you may underestimate how much ground he can cover, but he can cover ground and not only that, he can get some push in the middle in his pass rush. We like what he is doing. We need him to continue to improve, and I think he's the kind of guy that that's important to him. So, I think you'll see that happen throughout the preseason."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on OG-Ryan Lilja saying that he just needed to get out and play football)
"You can certainly see on film that he is really coming along. He played well last night. He did a nice job, was very active. I know he's probably going to feel good about his performance. I haven't had the chance to talk with him yet, but he played well."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on any updates from injuries that occurred last night)
"(I'm) not completely sure as of yet, because of the fact that we'll get a final report here (soon). Obviously, a couple of guys didn't return. ( Chad) Simpson, we'll have a good look at his shoulder and see what the problem is, could be a contusion, not certain if it's much worse than that. We haven't had a declaration on how much time he'll be out. Mike Hart is another one who didn't return to the game. He'll be looked at closely today. It was an ankle. This afternoon we'll have a little better feel. Marlin Jackson had a little bit of soreness, so we just thought it would be safe to let him rest it (knee) and see if he could get it back to his normal pace. He practiced all week, so he's fine there. We just didn't feel good with where he was just before the start of the game after warm-ups. He was the other one that was out, but we anticipate that he'll be back Monday when we start practice here again shortly. Then there is a possibility it could be a few more, because you know how it is the day after a game, all of a sudden a guy wakes up and he has got a few more bangs and bruises and bumps that he didn't anticipate. We'll certainly get a chance to look at those later on this afternoon."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if DE-Raheem Brock has had surgery on his wrist)
"Yes, he had it. Everything went fine."
* *
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on if DB-T.J. Rushing caught his eye last night)
"He did. He did some nice things. The punt return was an obvious one, but he also played a little bit in the secondary as well and did a nice job. He played a little safety, which was kind of unusual for him. We had worked him there a little bit just in case of an emergency and the emergency did indeed arise, but T.J., he's done a nice job."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on QB-Curtis Painter and DB-Jerraud Powers both progressing well)
"A very good assessment, I think, in both cases. Curtis has been very steady. He has a lot of poise and he's learning well and doesn't get rattled very often. Certainly, we can all pick up a few flaws here, and there are things maybe he didn't do well, but he did a lot of things right. It seems every week he gets a little more comfortable. He's throwing the ball a little better. He's operating the offense a little bit better, and we like what we see so far. He's got a ways to go, but he's making progress. Powers is a guy that shows up quite often around the ball. He has good quickness. He can accelerate to the ball. He's a very crafty player. He's smart. He's mature beyond his years, and we anticipate that he also is going to be a guy that can do something for us down the road."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on QB-Curtis Painter having a good arm)
"Most of the people, I think, from a football side recognize that ability. That was one of the things that most people when they talked about him said 'Hey, this guy can spin it.' And he certainly does that and does it very well. His accuracy is something that continues to need work and that really is the big difference, I think, from being a very good quarterback to moving you into another category is your accuracy. That's what the passing game is. It's timing and it's accuracy. There are a lot of guys that have big, strong arms that can't put it where they want to. He, obviously, has the ability to get it there and also put it where he wants to. But he just has to continue to keep improving on that accuracy."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on when he expects QB-Jim Sorgi to return)
"He's been slowly doing a few things. He's been throwing the ball a little bit, hasn't gotten to the point yet where he's doing a lot of running yet, but I would expect that they will ramp up his activity this week. We'll see him in the next week-an-a-half or so, possibly. That's a possibility. They are going to ramp up his activity this week."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on when he expects DB-Bob Sanders to comeback)
"Not real certain. He's making good progress. We are hoping for the best, but not real certain yet."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on how OT-Charlie Johnson looked last night at left tackle.)
"Charlie played pretty well. He did a nice job. I think that whole front line, our first group of offensive linemen, Charlie, (Ryan) Lilja, (Jeff) Saturday, (Mike) Pollak and (Ryan) Diem all did a very nice job. They controlled the line of scrimmage. They did a great job in terms of pass protection. We might have had a glitch or two, but overall it was a real positive outing."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on having more time to get ready for next Saturday's preseason game against Detroit after only having five days to get ready for last night's preseason game against Philadelphia)
"The short week, first of all, was great because of the fact that we're going to have to do that over the course of the season. That's going to happen. So, that was nice that we had a chance to go through it knowing we had an objective, had to get it done in less time and we were able to get that accomplished. Now, we have a little bit longer period of time and that also takes focus and concentration. It's not a time were we say 'Hey, we can kind of lay back,' even though we are going to take a couple of days break in between, but we still have to concentrate on football. We'll practice tomorrow. We have two tomorrow and then we'll meet on Sunday, give them Monday off and then come back and go to work on Tuesday, just like it was a Wednesday of (a regular season) game week. So, this is going to be a great time. Coaches are going to get an opportunity to prepare and look at film. Obviously, our team will get an opportunity to prepare and look at film. We really have two games to look at on Detroit. So, we'll take a real good, solid look and see what they are doing and see if we can narrow in on them and create a game plan. The focus over the long period of time now is something we are really going to try and harp on and give them a message of what we are going to try and get accomplished over that time period and follow through on it."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on special teams play through the first two preseason games)
"I think, much like a number of areas, we're improving. We're getting a little bit better. We didn't do a great job in terms of kick coverage, in terms of kickoff, last night. Towards the end we did a little bit better job. Second half kickoff was good. I think we got them on the 17-yard line. That worked out, kind of, like we wanted to, what we talked about getting done and accomplished. But there other times they brought it out a little too far for us. That is something we have to continue to work on. We did a little bit better job in terms of our punt return. We came a little bit more of a threat in that situation. I think one thing we are all really pleased about, I'm not saying he's arrived or ready for the Hall of Fame yet, but (Pat) McAfee is punting the ball consistently and that's one of the things, I think, to kind of measure him and see how he is coming along. Each and every week is another challenge for him. But he has measured up every week, and he's done a good job."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on K-Shane Andrus)
"That was the next thing I was going to mention is that Shane has been kicking the ball well. He's dependable, which we knew even last year when he was with us. He's a guy that can step in there and do a fine job. You get him in his range, and he's going to put it through the uprights. He's been nice and consistent. Also, he doesn't say a word. All he does is exactly what you ask him to do. His kickoffs were pretty decent as well. Certainly, not all where we want them or as deep as we'd like, but he got some back there deep and gave us an opportunity to cover."
