Head Coach Mike Smith, Aug. 7 (Morning)
Q: Have you settled on your depth chart?
A: “We’re going to announce this afternoon who we are going to start at the quarterback position. I know that’s on everyone’s mind. We’re going to get a good evaluation of this morning’s practice and make a determination from there.”
Q: Who do you like?
A: “I like all of them. They’ve all worked hard through training camp and it really doesn’t matter who is going to start because there is a process we’re going through and they’re all going to get an opportunity to play.”
Q: What are you looking for in a starter?
A: “The first thing is execution. We want to be able to execute on offense. The second thing is how they handle different situations, how poised they are in the huddle and handling live rushes for the first time. Those are the things that we will be evaluating Saturday night.”
Q: Do you want to see some things out of your draft picks very early like No. 22 Chevis Jackson?
A: “There’s a good chance that Chevis is going to get a lot of playing time at multiple positions. When you put a rookie in that situation it’s going to be a tall order, but Chevis is up to the task.”
Q: Are other rookies going to play more than normal?
A: “Yes. We’ve got 11 rookies that we feel very strongly about. Unfortunately, one of them has already been put on injured reserve. All of them are going to get extensive action. It’s going to be an evaluation process for us as a staff. We want to see what these young guys can do.”
Q: Is this (preseason game) a test for you as well?
A: “Most definitely for myself and for our coaching staff. It will be the first time our staff has actually worked together in a game. We’ve got to make sure that we evaluate what we do in terms of how we operate on gameday.”
Q: Will it be exciting for you Saturday night to walk on the field as a head coach of another team?
A: “It’s exciting to go out and be a football coach, but it is going to be exciting for me. I can tell you this is the thing that we work for as coaches. All of the hard work in the preseason and in practice accumulates to going out and playing games. That’s what we’re ultimately going to be judged on.”
Q: Can you talk about the potential starting offensive line?
A: “We’re going to determine exactly the five guys that are going to be starting this afternoon. We’ve got some guys that have been tweaked and are not necessarily ready to go. All of those decisions will play into it. I think over the next 24 hours, we’ll have a better feel for who is going to be ready to contribute.”
Q: What are you looking for from the interior of the offensive line?
A: “The thing that we’re looking for not just with our offensive line but our football team is execution. We want to go out and execute the offense, defense and special teams. So we’re really out to evaluate our football players as well as the coaching staff.”
Head Coach Mike Smith, Aug. 7 (Afternoon)
Q: In regards to the starting quarterback for Saturday.
A: “We’re going to start Chris Redman on Saturday night. All of the quarterbacks will get an opportunity to play in the game. As we go through the preseason, we will start a different quarterback in different games. That’s the plan right now. We’re going to make sure that all of our guys have an opportunity to play with the first unit. As we said, it’s an open competition for those guys.”
Q: How many series will Redman play on Saturday?
A: “It depends on how long those series are. We’re really looking at numbers of plays. We know how many plays we are going to get in a football game. We’re going to get somewhere between 60 and 65 snaps in a game. It will be more on a snap count then a series count. The rotation will go through the next preseason games for sure. If something were to change in terms of our status and there was some clarity in the direction we wanted to go, then we would go ahead and make that decision.”
Q: Who will be the second quarterback?
A: “I don’t really want to say that at this point and time because of our opponents. All they know is Chris will be starting. Then they really won’t know how the rest of the rotation will go for the game.”
Q: Do you think the starting job of quarterback is going to foster healthy competition?
A: “Most definitely. That’s the thing from the beginning that our guys have bought into and understood. This sport is a game and it’s about competition. We go out and we’re judged by how we perform in games. This is the first opportunity for these guys to go out and play in a football game.”
Q: Have you made decisions on other starters?
A: “Well yes. There are a couple of guys in terms of the offensive line that we’re really going to have to wait and see how they are. They will be game time decisions. There are a couple of guys that are a little bit banged up. We have set our starting 22. Harvey Dahl will start and again just like the quarterback situation. I don’t think you should read anything into that.”
Q: Will Laurent Robinson play?
A: “He will be a game time decision. This is the first action that Laurent has had in quite some time. We’re just going to have to wait to see how he responds to running around.”
Q: Will Grady (Jackson) or (Montavious) Stanley be starting?
A: “It will depend on the offensive personnel that they run out there. If it’s a run formation then Grady will run out there.”
Q: Do you expect Matt (Ryan) to play a lot or a little?
A: “You will see that the guys are going to be able to play about the same number of snaps in this first game. We really want to try to get it as even as possible. We’re on a snap count, but we’re not going to pull a guy out in the middle of his series.”
Q: Will Chris Houston sit this game out?
A: “Chris is another guy that is out here trying to get back. He’s made a lot of progress from his shoulder but again we’ve got to make decisions based on what is going to happen in September. It will be a game time decision as well. We’re not going to put a guy out there if he’s not 100 percent.”
RELATED LINKS:
- COVERAGE: Click here for complete coverage of 2008 Russell Falcons Training Camp
- NOTEBOOK: Redman to start preseason opener
- TRANSCRIPT: Head Coach Mike Smith
- RELEASE: Datish returns, Lovell waived
- RELEASE: Preseason single-game tickets on sale Friday
- VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Chris Redman | D.J. Shockley | Matt Ryan
- AFTERNOON VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Chris Redman
- ROOKIE DIARY: Part Two of Chevis Jackson's Rookie Diary
- BIRDSEED: J. Mike reviews and comments on Falcons news
- J. MIKE'S BLOG: Afternoon Announcement? | Redman to Start
- TWIG'S BLOG: Our New Camera!
- FALCON AL'S BLOG: Chevis Jackson Rookie Diary
