Coogs
08-05-2007, 08:06 PM
Q&A with HERM EDWARDS - 8/4
Aug 05, 2007, 1:32:32 PM
Chiefs/Vikings, River Falls, WI
Q: End a little early for you?
HERM EDWARDS: “I wonder why. Visiting with [Vikings head coach] Brad [Childress] when they got here we anticipated cutting back. It was tough on both teams. We got back last night at midnight and then regrouped today. They did the same today. Everyone was short today. Probably wasn’t as crisp today as it was last night. We got something out of it.”
Q: Were you the one that called [the practice] off?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, because you know what’s going to happen. One thing leads to another and it doesn’t make any sense. You don’t get any work done. You’re always nervous because you don’t want anything to escalate. It’s no one’s fault. It’s football. A practice is one thing but you get on a bus and go over and they do the same the next day and get back at night. It’s a hardship.”
Q: Why do you think they were more aggressive tonight than they were yesterday?
EDWARDS: “The mood changed. They were aggressive and we were. That’s football but no one got injured. We were both a bit nervous about the conditions [rain] of the field, slipping and sliding. We got some work done.”
Q: What were you able to get out of it?
EDWARDS: “Look at the young guys. This is for the young guys. We know who the veteran guys are and you know how they’re going to anticipate it. The young guys performed last night and had to turn around and do it again tonight. Some of them did fairly well. When you look at it that’s what you have to grade. You evaluate players.”
Q: Did Tamba Hali get hurt?
EDWARDS: “No, we just kept him out and kept a couple of other guys out.”
Q: Can you gauge how far you’ve come since the beginning of training camp?
EDWARDS: “It really goes back to last year at about this time when we had the same deal against Minnesota. We’ve improved on both sides of the ball. If you look at us last year at this point in time we’ve improved. Now we’ve got to keep building.
“Last year I was a new coach with new guys on the staff. Players were trying to figure out what I’m going to do; I’m trying to figure out this football team. We’re constantly making changes but I think they understand what it’s going to take to be a part of this football team. That’s good. You look at the film and grade it for what it’s worth. I hope some guys got better [after these two workouts against the Vikings] and maybe some guys took a step back. We start again Monday and then all of a sudden we’re going to play a pre-season game Saturday in Cleveland which will be another big test for us.”
Q: Is there a positive to having the day off tomorrow?
EDWARDS: “Oh yeah, they need it. This is a tough haul. Bus rides, trains, planes and automobiles and all that stuff. They need a day off. They haven’t had a whole day off yet. They’ve had shortened practices but not a whole day. You’ve got to have a day of rest; it’ll be good for everybody, the staff, too.”
Q: Was the defense last night as good as it looked?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, they were pretty good. The thing I was concerned with the most was the run game – the nine-on-seven – and I thought we did a pretty good job. I don’t know what happened here today. But that’s the first thing you look at when you put pads on. How do we measure up against those guys in the run and how do we run the ball?
“For the most part, I think we were physical and they’re a physical football team on defense – especially against the run last year. We did some pretty good things.”
Q: Is that meaningful?
EDWARDS: “Well, it’s another step. All of a sudden we’ve got some new players on our defense. We’ve got two new linebackers, got a couple of new defensive tackles that are playing for us. Got some young safeties who are playing a lot. We’re trying to build something.
“I thought that offensively our offensive line did a great job pass protecting – that first group. It’s going to be interesting now to see who comes out of that second group. That’s kind of important to me. The backup tackles and guards are not a veteran group but the first offensive line is. We’ll see.”
Q: Are they better than you anticipated?
EDWARDS: “They’ve come along which is good. They’ve come a little ways. That’s important because we’re counting on them and they may have to step in and play if someone gets hurt. When we came to camp that was one of the deals we were looking at. Everybody was worrying about our offensive line but I’m not even worried about the starters. I think it’s a solid group of football players. It’s the other guys if we get a couple of guys nicked. Are they going to step up.”
Q: Was Napoleon Harris OK?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, he’s fine. He was excused; he’s healthy and had a family deal that we talked about in the spring.
Q: Did you and Brad talk about a contingency plan if something were to happen like this?
EDWARDS: “Nah, you just get a feel. I’ve been around a long time and you can keep breaking it up, breaking it up but you don’t get anything out of it. You’ve got to blow the whistle after every play. I’m tired; I don’t feel like doing all that.”
Q: Do you get mad at your players for that?
EDWARDS: “It is what it is. It’s football.”
Q: Would you get mad at a player for throwing a punch at a face mask?
EDWARDS: “The problem is tonight there was about five guys who [would have] got ejected. That’s what great about the season when it happens: you don’t have to worry about stopping it because they’re thrown out of the game.”
Q: Your thoughts on the running backs tonight?
EDWARDS: “Kolby [Smith] the more you watch him…he’s got some power, he’s got some vision. O’Keith does a pretty good job too. Michael Bennett has had a pretty good training camp. He needed to have a good training camp. Last year he was a little bit nicked and was behind. Those guys have taken advantage of their opportunity. We came into camp thinking we had to give these guys a lot of reps to see who they were.
Q: How much more do you think you would have gone tonight if you hadn’t stopped it?
EDWARDS: “We might have had the rookie scrimmage but the problem with us is we were down defensive linemen. You don’t want to put these guys in harm’s way. On paper it always looks good: we’re going to do this. You have all these delusions but we’re not the players. I’ve done what they’re doing and I understand it. It’s not worth going 20 more plays and getting four or five guys injured. You don’t have enough players anymore. The safety of the player is the important thing.”
Q: Did you get out of these [workouts] what you wanted?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, both teams did a good job last night and went back and forth today. We didn’t have to hit each other another day in practice. Both teams are tired and we’ll see how the pre-season goes.”
Q: Do you like this?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, I do. This is an easy trip. Back in New York we had to wake up at 4:15 in the morning and go up to Albany. Put the pillows on the bus, go there, practice, have lunch, go back to the gym and go to sleep on the floor and then come out and practice again. But I like traveling and putting them in that situation. That’s why we went to Mankato first. Football is about inconvenience and the guys who can adapt to it are generally the guys who will be good football players for us.”
Aug 05, 2007, 1:32:32 PM
Chiefs/Vikings, River Falls, WI
Q: End a little early for you?
HERM EDWARDS: “I wonder why. Visiting with [Vikings head coach] Brad [Childress] when they got here we anticipated cutting back. It was tough on both teams. We got back last night at midnight and then regrouped today. They did the same today. Everyone was short today. Probably wasn’t as crisp today as it was last night. We got something out of it.”
Q: Were you the one that called [the practice] off?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, because you know what’s going to happen. One thing leads to another and it doesn’t make any sense. You don’t get any work done. You’re always nervous because you don’t want anything to escalate. It’s no one’s fault. It’s football. A practice is one thing but you get on a bus and go over and they do the same the next day and get back at night. It’s a hardship.”
Q: Why do you think they were more aggressive tonight than they were yesterday?
EDWARDS: “The mood changed. They were aggressive and we were. That’s football but no one got injured. We were both a bit nervous about the conditions [rain] of the field, slipping and sliding. We got some work done.”
Q: What were you able to get out of it?
EDWARDS: “Look at the young guys. This is for the young guys. We know who the veteran guys are and you know how they’re going to anticipate it. The young guys performed last night and had to turn around and do it again tonight. Some of them did fairly well. When you look at it that’s what you have to grade. You evaluate players.”
Q: Did Tamba Hali get hurt?
EDWARDS: “No, we just kept him out and kept a couple of other guys out.”
Q: Can you gauge how far you’ve come since the beginning of training camp?
EDWARDS: “It really goes back to last year at about this time when we had the same deal against Minnesota. We’ve improved on both sides of the ball. If you look at us last year at this point in time we’ve improved. Now we’ve got to keep building.
“Last year I was a new coach with new guys on the staff. Players were trying to figure out what I’m going to do; I’m trying to figure out this football team. We’re constantly making changes but I think they understand what it’s going to take to be a part of this football team. That’s good. You look at the film and grade it for what it’s worth. I hope some guys got better [after these two workouts against the Vikings] and maybe some guys took a step back. We start again Monday and then all of a sudden we’re going to play a pre-season game Saturday in Cleveland which will be another big test for us.”
Q: Is there a positive to having the day off tomorrow?
EDWARDS: “Oh yeah, they need it. This is a tough haul. Bus rides, trains, planes and automobiles and all that stuff. They need a day off. They haven’t had a whole day off yet. They’ve had shortened practices but not a whole day. You’ve got to have a day of rest; it’ll be good for everybody, the staff, too.”
Q: Was the defense last night as good as it looked?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, they were pretty good. The thing I was concerned with the most was the run game – the nine-on-seven – and I thought we did a pretty good job. I don’t know what happened here today. But that’s the first thing you look at when you put pads on. How do we measure up against those guys in the run and how do we run the ball?
“For the most part, I think we were physical and they’re a physical football team on defense – especially against the run last year. We did some pretty good things.”
Q: Is that meaningful?
EDWARDS: “Well, it’s another step. All of a sudden we’ve got some new players on our defense. We’ve got two new linebackers, got a couple of new defensive tackles that are playing for us. Got some young safeties who are playing a lot. We’re trying to build something.
“I thought that offensively our offensive line did a great job pass protecting – that first group. It’s going to be interesting now to see who comes out of that second group. That’s kind of important to me. The backup tackles and guards are not a veteran group but the first offensive line is. We’ll see.”
Q: Are they better than you anticipated?
EDWARDS: “They’ve come along which is good. They’ve come a little ways. That’s important because we’re counting on them and they may have to step in and play if someone gets hurt. When we came to camp that was one of the deals we were looking at. Everybody was worrying about our offensive line but I’m not even worried about the starters. I think it’s a solid group of football players. It’s the other guys if we get a couple of guys nicked. Are they going to step up.”
Q: Was Napoleon Harris OK?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, he’s fine. He was excused; he’s healthy and had a family deal that we talked about in the spring.
Q: Did you and Brad talk about a contingency plan if something were to happen like this?
EDWARDS: “Nah, you just get a feel. I’ve been around a long time and you can keep breaking it up, breaking it up but you don’t get anything out of it. You’ve got to blow the whistle after every play. I’m tired; I don’t feel like doing all that.”
Q: Do you get mad at your players for that?
EDWARDS: “It is what it is. It’s football.”
Q: Would you get mad at a player for throwing a punch at a face mask?
EDWARDS: “The problem is tonight there was about five guys who [would have] got ejected. That’s what great about the season when it happens: you don’t have to worry about stopping it because they’re thrown out of the game.”
Q: Your thoughts on the running backs tonight?
EDWARDS: “Kolby [Smith] the more you watch him…he’s got some power, he’s got some vision. O’Keith does a pretty good job too. Michael Bennett has had a pretty good training camp. He needed to have a good training camp. Last year he was a little bit nicked and was behind. Those guys have taken advantage of their opportunity. We came into camp thinking we had to give these guys a lot of reps to see who they were.
Q: How much more do you think you would have gone tonight if you hadn’t stopped it?
EDWARDS: “We might have had the rookie scrimmage but the problem with us is we were down defensive linemen. You don’t want to put these guys in harm’s way. On paper it always looks good: we’re going to do this. You have all these delusions but we’re not the players. I’ve done what they’re doing and I understand it. It’s not worth going 20 more plays and getting four or five guys injured. You don’t have enough players anymore. The safety of the player is the important thing.”
Q: Did you get out of these [workouts] what you wanted?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, both teams did a good job last night and went back and forth today. We didn’t have to hit each other another day in practice. Both teams are tired and we’ll see how the pre-season goes.”
Q: Do you like this?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, I do. This is an easy trip. Back in New York we had to wake up at 4:15 in the morning and go up to Albany. Put the pillows on the bus, go there, practice, have lunch, go back to the gym and go to sleep on the floor and then come out and practice again. But I like traveling and putting them in that situation. That’s why we went to Mankato first. Football is about inconvenience and the guys who can adapt to it are generally the guys who will be good football players for us.”