HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (General Comments) * *
"We got our team down to 53 over the weekend. It was a long process. We have a good quality group of guys with some depth at each position. I feel strongly about the guys we have. The makeup of our team is what we are looking for. We are excited about getting started. We are using today as an introductory sort of workout. We'll work for about an hour or so. We'll start our hard week preparation beginning on Wednesday."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On improving the special teams through the cuts)
"That is something we always try and balance and take a look at that scenario we certainly needed to improve upon. It's also an area we considered with a number of decisions we made to try and strengthen and bolster the area with guys from different positions. I think we did that."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On signing DB-Aaron Francisco)
"We released Jordan Senn and added Aaron Francisco from Arizona. He played at BYU and has been with Arizona the last three years."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On getting DB-Aaron Francisco ready)
"We will try to get him acclimated as quickly as we possibly can. Hopefully, we can put him into action on Sunday, particularly in the area of special teams."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On any other rosters changes before Sunday)
"You never say never. We feel we are where we would like to be at this point in time."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On DB-Bob Sanders coming off of the Physically Under to Perform list)
"The biggest thing on that is we felt he would be inside that five- or six-week window. He's making good progress. He's coming along. Whenever he's ready, we'll put him out there. He's doing well at this juncture. How soon that is, I'm not certain."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On LB-Cody Glenn coming to the team)
"We had an opportunity to look at him a couple years ago when he was coming out of Nebraska. He's a good-sized guy at 240 pounds. He can pack a punch. He has good speed. He is a versatile player as well and is a guy who can play some special teams. He gives us a little bulk with a little punching power and some speed as well. He was a running back, and just before his senior year he was moved. He seems to have adjusted and adapted. He's doing quite well at the position."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On LB-Cody Glenn's incident at Nebraska)
"We looked into it. I know he has answered about it a million times about that situation. We feel it was taken care of to satisfaction. We move on."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On having a third quarterback and two kickers)
"In terms of Curtis (Painter), he proved he belongs. He performed very well. He did a great job. That's more of the reason than anything else. He handled some very difficult situations with a lot of poise. He was also effective. We want to take a bit of the work load off of Adam (Vinatieri) in terms of kicking off. That's our reasoning behind Shane (Andrus) being here as the second place kicker."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On K-Adam Vinatieri's health and playing in the pre-season)
"He seemed to have come through it well. He is still in the process of getting stronger and better."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On what he sees in OT-Charlie Johnson and him playing left tackle)
"He is very steady. Charlie handled his responsibilities extremely well. He's a guy that is very athletic. He certainly understands our offense extremely well having been in it a few years now. He is very versatile. He was able to nail down that position in terms of the run and pass game and did it quite effectively. We've had a lot of faith in him, and he has shown he can do it on a consistent basis. He's done so at a number of different positions. I've felt quite comfortable with him for quite some time. I'm not certain if there was any one mark where I could indicate when that turning point was. We always felt good about him."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On DT-Ed Johnson practicing)
"He cannot practice this week. My understanding is he will not be around the building."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On not having same players on defense during the pre-season)
"That is something we always have to work our way through. We will have to focus in on getting a good, sound, cohesive group together. I think we will be fine. One of the things we talked about on and off during the course of the pre-season is to make certain they understand the performance is what counts. Oftentimes, that performance may come with a little different group that you are playing with. Still, your performance is extremely important. We just have to put it all together. Some of the pieces weren't there early on. They will be in place come Sunday. We anticipate and expect them to perform well."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On any concerns with pass protection)
"We have always been strong in that area. I don't anticipate any change."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On the return game)
"T.J. Rushing will handle our punt duties. Chad Simpson will handle our kickoff returns."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On the health of DB-Kelvin Hayden, OG-Ryan Lilja and LB-Clint Session)
"All of those guys will practice on Wednesday."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On if he has any concerns about the health of those players and his team)
"I'm not sure if there will ever be a day I'm not standing here concerned about something."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On if TE-Tom Santi will be ready)
"He will be a couple of weeks. It depends on how he heals."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On DT-Raheem Brock's health)
"He will practice on Wednesday."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On the release of DB-Matt Giordano)
"He's been a good, sound warrior for us. He played extremely well over the years. He has been good on our special teams. In comparison to some other individuals, we just felt we had to let him go. He is certainly a guy we depended on for a number of years."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On letting high draft picks go)
"It's one of those things in which you just look at the facts. You have to be brutally honest with yourself and make a determination based on fact and fact alone. If you add emotion into it then things become a bit more difficult. When you look at the facts, sometimes it clears things up for you. Any guy that has been around here and serviced us well is difficult to let go."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On RB-Donald Brown)
"He has impressed us. He has gone at this thing like a true professional. For a young guy, he's very mature beyond his years. He has real good focus. He has good concentration and is a determined individual with a real fine grasp of our offense. We feel he is going to be able to help us."
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HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On Jacksonville)
"I've looked at quite a bit of film on them. They are just like they always are. They are a good, tough, hard-nosed football team. They have good balance all the way across the board. They have an effective offense, a good, tough, hard-nosed defense and a solid kicking game. I don't think any of that has changed. Obviously, they feel good about where they are. It's going to be a real rough battle for us. We are going to have to get ready. There aren't too many teams that will run the ball better than Jacksonville. They are a hard-nosed team that certainly comes off the ball. They are very effective, and they have a good quarterback. They are a team that will put you to the test defensively. They are a very good team against the run and very effective against the pass game. Their cover guys do a great job in the secondary. They have a good core of linebackers that can rush the passer."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On Jaguars WR-Torry Holt)
"His past record speaks for itself. He's one of the premier receivers in the league. He's a guy that understands space awareness and finds a way to get open. He has made a lot of big catches as well. We will have to do our job in terms of pass coverage. It is pass rush and the ability to cover your area of responsibility. Those two things will have to work in conjunction for us to make sure we handle their passing game."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On focusing in on the future)
"What lies ahead for us is what counts. We don't look too far ahead. It's not real tough for me because I have a real narrow focus. I force myself to look ahead in order for planning and that type of thing. Once that's done, I keep my sights set on the task at hand. That's on a daily basis. Once you get ahead of yourself, sometimes it can affect your preparation. I believe that. I try to steer clear of that. Our focus is on Jacksonville and getting our team as well prepared as we possibly can. What we did in the past really can't help us."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On opening up at home)
It's a great opportunity for us. It's certainly an exciting time. It's the first game of the year. We have great fans. We are at home. We look forward to it."
