Head Coach Mike Smith, July 31
Q: How did you think practice went today?
A: “I thought it went pretty well. This was a tough day for our guys because they had a padded practice yesterday and their rest period was the least amount they were going to have between padded practices. I thought that they worked well. They were a little quiet to start with, but they got louder as the day went on.”
Q: How has the first week of training camp gone? Are you pleased?
A: “I am very pleased. One thing I am really pleased about is that we have not had a whole lot of injuries. We have been able to avoid them and I think that is very important.”
Q: How are these guys handling this competition with everything up for grabs?
A: “It’s a pretty competitive situation and competition is what drives all of us. The guys have done a good job of competing. The thing that I like the most is the camaraderie that we have when the guys come off the field. We know for the most part that they are all competing for job, but when they get off the field they are able to laugh and talk about it. They have done a nice job.”
Q: What are the logistics of the busy weekend ahead?
A: “It’s going to be a very busy weekend for our guys. We have the scrimmage on Friday night over at Mill Creek High School. Our offense will be competing against our defense. We have a scoring system that is in place that will determine who is the king for that night. We are trying to get between 60 and 85 snaps. We will have to be fluid in how we do that since we will be working series and not just plays. On Saturday morning, we have the mock game over at the Georgia Dome. This mock game is for our staff and for the team to go through a dry run of what is going to happen in Jacksonville. We are actually going to split the team in half, do warm-ups, have the national anthem and player introductions. The coaches will go up to their boxes in the Dome and we will actually communicate like we would on game day. We will be taking Polaroids and taking a look at them to study. It is really almost totally for the staff. The players will have a high tempo walk-through. We will have them in different situations such as the two-minute, four-minute and quick change.”
Q: How do you think the offense performed in practice today?
A: “I thought the offense did some nice things today. There were some nice concepts and I know they will have the defensive coaches spending some time this afternoon evaluating.”
Q: Have there been any surprises at camp so far?
A: “Actually, the weather today was a huge surprise. I was anticipating the heat and I was glad the guys got to catch a break. I thought it might be a little bit hotter up here in this 1,000 feet elevation which is different from what I am use to.”
Q: What are your thoughts about (D.J.) Shockley?
A: “I thought D.J. threw the ball very well. I thought he had some good passes today, one in the team situation and one in the seven-on-seven situations that was very good. D.J., unfortunately, wasn’t able to go through the OTAs like the other quarterbacks so it was good to see him out there doing well.”
Q: What is it going to be like for you to go back to Jacksonville for your first pre-season game?
A: “I am going to be able to see some old friends and some people, but I am mainly focused on going down there and trying to play well and compete.”
Q: As the team tries to find a new identity, how important are guys like Keith Brooking going to be when talking about team captains and leadership?
A: “I think they are going to be huge. I think we need to identify a number of guys on our football team. Hopefully, one in each room. What I mean is I want someone from each position to be a leader and be able to disseminate the message that the coaching staff is trying to get across."
RELATED LINKS:
- COVERAGE: Click here for complete coverage from 2008 Russell Falcons Training Camp
- NOTEBOOK: Officials coaching Falcons through rule changes
- TRANSCRIPT: Head Coach Mike Smith
- FALCONCAST: Running Back Thomas Brown
- VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Martrez Milner | Brent Grimes | Ovie Mughelli | D.J. Shockley
- BIRDSEED: J. Mike reviews and comments on Falcons news
- J. MIKE'S BLOG: The Law's in Town
- FALCON AL'S BLOG: Video Board Shoot
