Tribal Warfare
10-23-2008, 09:55 PM
Q&A with HERM EDWARDS - 10/23 (http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/10/23/qa_with_herm_edwards__1023/)
Oct 23, 2008, 2:50:35 PM
Highlights
Q: I know it’s been a while, but does it still feel weird looking at some of your former players in New York on film?
HERM EDWARDS: “Some of them. There are still some guys left that we drafted. They’re a good football team. They went out in the free agent market and acquired a lot of veteran guys. Obviously, the quarterback helps them.”
Q: Speaking of quarterback, Tyler Thigpen is a guy who runs real well but you said before that you don’t want him taking a lot of hits. Does that cut down on how often he runs?
EDWARDS: “Well, I just think he has to be selective when he runs. When he does run he needs to get down before he gets hit. He needs to learn how to slide.
“You don’t want him running a lot because if he’s down then we get to number four (quarterback) and then we’re getting close to five. I had five (quarterbacks) one year (in New York). It’s hard enough. He has to protect himself and we have to do a good job protecting him.”
Q: So you’ve been trying to work a little more on his passing and cutting back on the running?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, but his instincts are to run and most young quarterbacks when they get in the league and they don’t see a guy open and they feel the clock ticking in their heads they take off and run. Most young guys do that and he’s a young quarterback and that’s his instincts. But you can’t run a whole lot in this league because eventually they catch up to you.”
Q: But is it fair to say that some of the bootlegs and draws you put in when Brodie was the quarterback all spring and summer he can run too?
EDWARDS: “He can run them. He has mobility in the pocket and you don’t want to keep him in one place, especially against these guys who are a good defense. We’ve got to move him around in the pocket.”
Q: You said five quarterbacks. Do you mean in New York?
EDWARDS: “Yeah. (He played five, started three quarterbacks in his last year with the Jets.)
Q: Is Donnie Edwards going to be ready for Sunday?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, he’s going to be available. He practiced. He’ll play.”
Q: How much can he do?
EDWARDS: “We’ll get him in there. We’ll rotate him and see where he’s at.”
Q: What about Dustin Colquitt?
EDWARDS: “He’s still questionable. He’s the only guy.”
Q: How long before you have to make a decision there? Can you take it all the way up to game time?
EDWARDS: “Oh yeah. We’ll just see where he’s at.
Q: How much more prepared is Tyler this Sunday than the game he played against the Falcons?
EDWARDS: “A lot more. Plus, he’s played a game now that gives him a little bit of…and, you know, he ended the game pretty good. The second half he played pretty good. Now, he hasn’t played a whole lot since then. But he’s practiced the whole week with the first group which is good. He’s taken the majority of reps.”
Q: Obviously, Brodie Croyle is disappointed. What can you get out of him being around as far as meetings and so?
EDWARDS: “He was here today. He came out. He’s got to get treatment before he gets going. He’ll be around here awhile until the swelling (in the knee) goes down.”
Q: You’ve got to feel for him.
EDWARDS: “Big time. Big time. Yeah, you feel for a guy like that and I think all the players do too. He’s such a unique individual and we wanted the guy to be successful and he was playing decently in the game. He was nine for 10. He’s got a lot of talent but he’s got a long road to hoe and the conversation I had with him (I reminded him) he’s young. He is still a young player and he can overcome this. Hopefully, he’ll get back.”
Q: Do you hope that Tyler is the quarterback for the remainder of the year?
EDWARDS: “That would be great. If he could do that – and it’s obviously an evaluation process – but if he goes in and plays well and we win some games it would be great. It would be good for us, good for him, good for everybody. That’s what we hope to happen but you have to understand where he’s at in his career. He’s like a rookie quarterback – a kid that came out of Coastal Carolina a year ago who didn’t play a lot. This is his second start. (Jets) have a number four and we have a number four. It’s just two different number fours. You never know.”
Q: Have you talked to him about going against a Hall of Fame quarterback in Brett Favre? Everybody’s probably going to make the contrast.
EDWARDS: “No, not yet. I’ll leave him alone. I’ll get him. We’ll have a nice little talk. He’ll be fine, he really will. I mean, the good thing is he’s started a game now. I think that will be out of his psyche. Now, he’s going to go play against (Favre). I’m going to tell him, ‘you don’t have to be Brett Favre, ‘cause there is only one them. Don’t try to be like that guy. Do what you do.’ If he does that he’ll be fine.”
Q: Do you just want him to cut down on his mistakes? Is that what you expect?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, the key to that position is don’t lose the game by making errors like fumbling the ball and throwing interceptions. You don’t have to make all the throws; you don’t have to try and win the game. Let the people around you help you do that. You don’t have to do it by yourself and that’s what all young guys want to do. They think, ‘I have to make a play.’ That’s where the patience comes in at quarterback. There will be some throws that he can make and that he has to make. There will be some that will be a little risky and you don’t need to take a lot of risks right now. We’re not that good for us to take risks at this point.
“We need to make some first downs. We need to score some touchdowns in the first quarter. We’ve scored six points in the first quarter. That’s not very good. So, we need to move the ball down the field and try to score in the first quarter so we can feel like we’re in the football game and not look at the second quarter and be down. We don’t want to play like that.”
Q: Is there one thing the defense can do that will lift the defensive team?
EDWARDS: “More consistency, I think, we’re just not very consistent. That’s the problem. We’re not very consistent against the run. If we can just do that, that helps you. You don’t want those big explosion plays. That’s the whole key. If we can just avoid some of that we can gain some confidence. We do it in spurts but it seems like something always happens.”
Q: Do you still have to guard against the same thing happening to your two young running backs as you said you needed to be vigilant with the your young quarterback? They don’t need to score every time they get the ball.
EDWARDS: “Yeah, they need to hold onto the ball first and then take what you get. These guys are hard to run on. Four yards is a good run. That’s good. Don’t try to get a home run every time. Try to stay away from negative yards and negative plays. You don’t want to be in second-and-12 all of sudden because you’re trying to make a big play. That’s bad and it puts you (in a long third) and there you go again, three downs and you’re out.”
Q: How is Rudy Niswanger and what are you getting out of him? How has he held up?
EDWARDS: “He’s done pretty good against some pretty good guys. He’s going to have a load this week against Jenkins. He’s a pretty good player. Wow.
“But he’s done a good job for starting seven games. That’s not a lot but that’s a lot for us right now. He’s getting better. He’s smart but he’s learning to play the position and he doesn’t have any experience. That’s what all these young guys deal with. When these young guys are playing they’re playing generally against a guy who’s probably started 70 or 80 games. This guy has started seven. There’s a difference between the mentality of a guy who’s started 70 games and the guy who has started seven. There are a lot of positions on our team where the guy across has played a lot of football. This team hasn’t played a lot of football together. That’s a little bit of it too. Everyone is trying to find their way and that’s a little of the process of rebuilding. You go through that you hope it starts meshing together.”
Q: Larry Johnson de-activated against this week? Is he at the facility?
EDWARDS: “Yes. No, he had some personal matters he had to handle, so he’s not here today.”
Oct 23, 2008, 2:50:35 PM
Highlights
Q: I know it’s been a while, but does it still feel weird looking at some of your former players in New York on film?
HERM EDWARDS: “Some of them. There are still some guys left that we drafted. They’re a good football team. They went out in the free agent market and acquired a lot of veteran guys. Obviously, the quarterback helps them.”
Q: Speaking of quarterback, Tyler Thigpen is a guy who runs real well but you said before that you don’t want him taking a lot of hits. Does that cut down on how often he runs?
EDWARDS: “Well, I just think he has to be selective when he runs. When he does run he needs to get down before he gets hit. He needs to learn how to slide.
“You don’t want him running a lot because if he’s down then we get to number four (quarterback) and then we’re getting close to five. I had five (quarterbacks) one year (in New York). It’s hard enough. He has to protect himself and we have to do a good job protecting him.”
Q: So you’ve been trying to work a little more on his passing and cutting back on the running?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, but his instincts are to run and most young quarterbacks when they get in the league and they don’t see a guy open and they feel the clock ticking in their heads they take off and run. Most young guys do that and he’s a young quarterback and that’s his instincts. But you can’t run a whole lot in this league because eventually they catch up to you.”
Q: But is it fair to say that some of the bootlegs and draws you put in when Brodie was the quarterback all spring and summer he can run too?
EDWARDS: “He can run them. He has mobility in the pocket and you don’t want to keep him in one place, especially against these guys who are a good defense. We’ve got to move him around in the pocket.”
Q: You said five quarterbacks. Do you mean in New York?
EDWARDS: “Yeah. (He played five, started three quarterbacks in his last year with the Jets.)
Q: Is Donnie Edwards going to be ready for Sunday?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, he’s going to be available. He practiced. He’ll play.”
Q: How much can he do?
EDWARDS: “We’ll get him in there. We’ll rotate him and see where he’s at.”
Q: What about Dustin Colquitt?
EDWARDS: “He’s still questionable. He’s the only guy.”
Q: How long before you have to make a decision there? Can you take it all the way up to game time?
EDWARDS: “Oh yeah. We’ll just see where he’s at.
Q: How much more prepared is Tyler this Sunday than the game he played against the Falcons?
EDWARDS: “A lot more. Plus, he’s played a game now that gives him a little bit of…and, you know, he ended the game pretty good. The second half he played pretty good. Now, he hasn’t played a whole lot since then. But he’s practiced the whole week with the first group which is good. He’s taken the majority of reps.”
Q: Obviously, Brodie Croyle is disappointed. What can you get out of him being around as far as meetings and so?
EDWARDS: “He was here today. He came out. He’s got to get treatment before he gets going. He’ll be around here awhile until the swelling (in the knee) goes down.”
Q: You’ve got to feel for him.
EDWARDS: “Big time. Big time. Yeah, you feel for a guy like that and I think all the players do too. He’s such a unique individual and we wanted the guy to be successful and he was playing decently in the game. He was nine for 10. He’s got a lot of talent but he’s got a long road to hoe and the conversation I had with him (I reminded him) he’s young. He is still a young player and he can overcome this. Hopefully, he’ll get back.”
Q: Do you hope that Tyler is the quarterback for the remainder of the year?
EDWARDS: “That would be great. If he could do that – and it’s obviously an evaluation process – but if he goes in and plays well and we win some games it would be great. It would be good for us, good for him, good for everybody. That’s what we hope to happen but you have to understand where he’s at in his career. He’s like a rookie quarterback – a kid that came out of Coastal Carolina a year ago who didn’t play a lot. This is his second start. (Jets) have a number four and we have a number four. It’s just two different number fours. You never know.”
Q: Have you talked to him about going against a Hall of Fame quarterback in Brett Favre? Everybody’s probably going to make the contrast.
EDWARDS: “No, not yet. I’ll leave him alone. I’ll get him. We’ll have a nice little talk. He’ll be fine, he really will. I mean, the good thing is he’s started a game now. I think that will be out of his psyche. Now, he’s going to go play against (Favre). I’m going to tell him, ‘you don’t have to be Brett Favre, ‘cause there is only one them. Don’t try to be like that guy. Do what you do.’ If he does that he’ll be fine.”
Q: Do you just want him to cut down on his mistakes? Is that what you expect?
EDWARDS: “Yeah, the key to that position is don’t lose the game by making errors like fumbling the ball and throwing interceptions. You don’t have to make all the throws; you don’t have to try and win the game. Let the people around you help you do that. You don’t have to do it by yourself and that’s what all young guys want to do. They think, ‘I have to make a play.’ That’s where the patience comes in at quarterback. There will be some throws that he can make and that he has to make. There will be some that will be a little risky and you don’t need to take a lot of risks right now. We’re not that good for us to take risks at this point.
“We need to make some first downs. We need to score some touchdowns in the first quarter. We’ve scored six points in the first quarter. That’s not very good. So, we need to move the ball down the field and try to score in the first quarter so we can feel like we’re in the football game and not look at the second quarter and be down. We don’t want to play like that.”
Q: Is there one thing the defense can do that will lift the defensive team?
EDWARDS: “More consistency, I think, we’re just not very consistent. That’s the problem. We’re not very consistent against the run. If we can just do that, that helps you. You don’t want those big explosion plays. That’s the whole key. If we can just avoid some of that we can gain some confidence. We do it in spurts but it seems like something always happens.”
Q: Do you still have to guard against the same thing happening to your two young running backs as you said you needed to be vigilant with the your young quarterback? They don’t need to score every time they get the ball.
EDWARDS: “Yeah, they need to hold onto the ball first and then take what you get. These guys are hard to run on. Four yards is a good run. That’s good. Don’t try to get a home run every time. Try to stay away from negative yards and negative plays. You don’t want to be in second-and-12 all of sudden because you’re trying to make a big play. That’s bad and it puts you (in a long third) and there you go again, three downs and you’re out.”
Q: How is Rudy Niswanger and what are you getting out of him? How has he held up?
EDWARDS: “He’s done pretty good against some pretty good guys. He’s going to have a load this week against Jenkins. He’s a pretty good player. Wow.
“But he’s done a good job for starting seven games. That’s not a lot but that’s a lot for us right now. He’s getting better. He’s smart but he’s learning to play the position and he doesn’t have any experience. That’s what all these young guys deal with. When these young guys are playing they’re playing generally against a guy who’s probably started 70 or 80 games. This guy has started seven. There’s a difference between the mentality of a guy who’s started 70 games and the guy who has started seven. There are a lot of positions on our team where the guy across has played a lot of football. This team hasn’t played a lot of football together. That’s a little bit of it too. Everyone is trying to find their way and that’s a little of the process of rebuilding. You go through that you hope it starts meshing together.”
Q: Larry Johnson de-activated against this week? Is he at the facility?
EDWARDS: “Yes. No, he had some personal matters he had to handle, so he’s not here today.”