ChiefRon
05-27-2008, 05:57 PM
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/05/27/qa_with_herm_edwards__527/
Q: How was the start of the second week of OTA’s?
HERM EDWARDS: “It was good to get outside. I like the attitude. We’re pretty athletic as you watch us on the field. We’re really athletic and the young guys show us that. I like their attitude and how they’re approaching practice. They’re doing a good job in the class room. That’s half of it right there.”
Q: What about the adjustment for you?
EDWARDS: “It’s similar. Systems are systems. To be quite honest, it’s similar to the system we ran in Tampa. I understand it. It’s good for the players. It’s something new. Obviously, with Gunther [Cunningham] going over and coaching the linebackers too that’s added a new dimension. I think all the players are in the mode to learn what we’re going to do on offense and defense. That’s been good.”
Q: Will Tony [Gonzalez] be gone all week?
EDWARDS: “I don’t know. Maybe. He’s supposed to have a little girl today, but I don’t know. We haven’t heard anything today. That’s obviously more important than this. He’ll be back for mini-camp.”
Q: Can you talk about Larry Johnson’s progress?
EDWARDS: “You guys saw him practicing today. He’s fine. He’s in pretty good condition. He’s finishing his runs. He’s excited about the offense and what we’re going to ask him to do in it. But he’s ready to play. Nothing wrong with him.”
Q: Any rust giving the players four days off?
EDWARDS: “I thought there was going to be but they got into it pretty good. We talked about it in the classroom this morning that we needed to come out and not waste a day. There are only three days this week. They came out and did a good job – very focused right from the beginning. That helps you when you’ve got a bunch of a young guys because they understand the importance of trying to learn what we’re trying to do. They come to practice with that kind of attitude, really honing in on what the coaches are teaching them in the room and then on the field. The coaches have also done a good job of bringing energy.”
Q: [Offensive coordinator] Chan Gailey says there is no name for his offense. But as you look at it what would it be the closest to?
EDWARDS: “Power running game and a play-action offense. He’s right. It’s the Chiefs offense. There’s no name. I love Chan because he says, ‘I’m not a genius. Don’t label me a genius. I never wanted to be a genius. I’m just a football coach.’ I think the players like that. He’s simple but he understands what needs to be done. He’s very organized, very detailed. It’s an efficient offense where players can play right now. Young guys can get on the field. That was important.”
Q: So you’re confident that everything Larry Johnson can do before he got hurt he can do now?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, he’s running fine. Now he hasn’t been tackled yet. You guys looked at him. When he got hurt he didn’t even get tackled really. He just twisted his foot. He’s worked hard over the off-season and is in good shape.”
Q: Leadership-wise, he used to be one of the young guys. Now he’s one of the older guys. Is he going to be one of your leaders off the field?
EDWARDS: “Well, that’s on him. He’s maturing and he knew he missed a lot of time last year when he got hurt. He feels like he wants to come back and is prepared to come back.
“Any time an injury likes that happens you take a look at where you’re at. Nothing is guaranteed and you can get hurt. He missed half the season. He’s using that as a way of getting motivated. Larry’s a very competitive guy. He wants to be the best running back in the league.”
Q: Can you update us on Jarrad Page’s injury status?
EDWARDS: “We’re bringing him along. He’s doing drills, but he can’t do anything with the helmet on yet. He’s coming along. He had the shoulder surgery. He’ll be back – all those injured guys will – for training camp.”
Q: You’ve been around Larry now for a couple of years. Is he more ready to be a leader now?
EDWARDS: “You’d have to ask him that. I don’t want to put words in his mouth. The way he can lead now is by the way he practices. He’s doing a good job of that. He’s taking [Jamaal] Charles and putting his locker next to his. He wanted that. He wanted Charles to be next to him. That’s a good thing. I think he’s taking it step by step and preparing himself to have a good season. He wants to show him what it’s like to be in the National Football League.
“Jamaal’s going to play. He’s going to be part of our backfield. We’re going to try and give him the ball too. He’s a very explosive player and can make big plays.”
Q: You’ve lost some veterans and you’ve talked about how important they are on a team.
EDWARDS: “There will be some young guys, too. All of a sudden you’re not talking about a guy with seven or eight years of experience. We don’t have that many on this team any more. It’ll be a guy with four years of experience and that’s ok. I think you lead by example, how you prepare yourself, how you come to work and your attitude. I think your attitude plays a big part in what we’re trying to accomplish. Right now we’ve got a good attitude. We have a good way about ourselves as a football team right now.”
Q: Is Brodie Croyle one of those quiet type leaders?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, he has that ability in the huddle. I think players like him, like his command in the huddle. He’s got a lot of talent.”
Q: How can you tell anything about a team when they really haven’t done anything yet?
EDWARDS: “You get a feel about it when you’re around athletics. You know the guys that step forward and the guys that just do what they do. There are players that other players follow. They just follow them. You’ve got enough of those guys here.”
Q: Once the games start do you look for Larry to carry the ball 40 times?
EDWARDS: “No. He won’t carry it 40.”
Q: But guys coming off injuries have a mental hurdle to overcome sometimes.
EDWARDS: “Larry and I have a pretty good rapport. He trusts me and he knows he’s going to get the ball and is a focal point of our offense. We’re going to dress three running backs.”
Q: How was the start of the second week of OTA’s?
HERM EDWARDS: “It was good to get outside. I like the attitude. We’re pretty athletic as you watch us on the field. We’re really athletic and the young guys show us that. I like their attitude and how they’re approaching practice. They’re doing a good job in the class room. That’s half of it right there.”
Q: What about the adjustment for you?
EDWARDS: “It’s similar. Systems are systems. To be quite honest, it’s similar to the system we ran in Tampa. I understand it. It’s good for the players. It’s something new. Obviously, with Gunther [Cunningham] going over and coaching the linebackers too that’s added a new dimension. I think all the players are in the mode to learn what we’re going to do on offense and defense. That’s been good.”
Q: Will Tony [Gonzalez] be gone all week?
EDWARDS: “I don’t know. Maybe. He’s supposed to have a little girl today, but I don’t know. We haven’t heard anything today. That’s obviously more important than this. He’ll be back for mini-camp.”
Q: Can you talk about Larry Johnson’s progress?
EDWARDS: “You guys saw him practicing today. He’s fine. He’s in pretty good condition. He’s finishing his runs. He’s excited about the offense and what we’re going to ask him to do in it. But he’s ready to play. Nothing wrong with him.”
Q: Any rust giving the players four days off?
EDWARDS: “I thought there was going to be but they got into it pretty good. We talked about it in the classroom this morning that we needed to come out and not waste a day. There are only three days this week. They came out and did a good job – very focused right from the beginning. That helps you when you’ve got a bunch of a young guys because they understand the importance of trying to learn what we’re trying to do. They come to practice with that kind of attitude, really honing in on what the coaches are teaching them in the room and then on the field. The coaches have also done a good job of bringing energy.”
Q: [Offensive coordinator] Chan Gailey says there is no name for his offense. But as you look at it what would it be the closest to?
EDWARDS: “Power running game and a play-action offense. He’s right. It’s the Chiefs offense. There’s no name. I love Chan because he says, ‘I’m not a genius. Don’t label me a genius. I never wanted to be a genius. I’m just a football coach.’ I think the players like that. He’s simple but he understands what needs to be done. He’s very organized, very detailed. It’s an efficient offense where players can play right now. Young guys can get on the field. That was important.”
Q: So you’re confident that everything Larry Johnson can do before he got hurt he can do now?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, he’s running fine. Now he hasn’t been tackled yet. You guys looked at him. When he got hurt he didn’t even get tackled really. He just twisted his foot. He’s worked hard over the off-season and is in good shape.”
Q: Leadership-wise, he used to be one of the young guys. Now he’s one of the older guys. Is he going to be one of your leaders off the field?
EDWARDS: “Well, that’s on him. He’s maturing and he knew he missed a lot of time last year when he got hurt. He feels like he wants to come back and is prepared to come back.
“Any time an injury likes that happens you take a look at where you’re at. Nothing is guaranteed and you can get hurt. He missed half the season. He’s using that as a way of getting motivated. Larry’s a very competitive guy. He wants to be the best running back in the league.”
Q: Can you update us on Jarrad Page’s injury status?
EDWARDS: “We’re bringing him along. He’s doing drills, but he can’t do anything with the helmet on yet. He’s coming along. He had the shoulder surgery. He’ll be back – all those injured guys will – for training camp.”
Q: You’ve been around Larry now for a couple of years. Is he more ready to be a leader now?
EDWARDS: “You’d have to ask him that. I don’t want to put words in his mouth. The way he can lead now is by the way he practices. He’s doing a good job of that. He’s taking [Jamaal] Charles and putting his locker next to his. He wanted that. He wanted Charles to be next to him. That’s a good thing. I think he’s taking it step by step and preparing himself to have a good season. He wants to show him what it’s like to be in the National Football League.
“Jamaal’s going to play. He’s going to be part of our backfield. We’re going to try and give him the ball too. He’s a very explosive player and can make big plays.”
Q: You’ve lost some veterans and you’ve talked about how important they are on a team.
EDWARDS: “There will be some young guys, too. All of a sudden you’re not talking about a guy with seven or eight years of experience. We don’t have that many on this team any more. It’ll be a guy with four years of experience and that’s ok. I think you lead by example, how you prepare yourself, how you come to work and your attitude. I think your attitude plays a big part in what we’re trying to accomplish. Right now we’ve got a good attitude. We have a good way about ourselves as a football team right now.”
Q: Is Brodie Croyle one of those quiet type leaders?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, he has that ability in the huddle. I think players like him, like his command in the huddle. He’s got a lot of talent.”
Q: How can you tell anything about a team when they really haven’t done anything yet?
EDWARDS: “You get a feel about it when you’re around athletics. You know the guys that step forward and the guys that just do what they do. There are players that other players follow. They just follow them. You’ve got enough of those guys here.”
Q: Once the games start do you look for Larry to carry the ball 40 times?
EDWARDS: “No. He won’t carry it 40.”
Q: But guys coming off injuries have a mental hurdle to overcome sometimes.
EDWARDS: “Larry and I have a pretty good rapport. He trusts me and he knows he’s going to get the ball and is a focal point of our offense. We’re going to dress three running backs.”