http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2009/08...dd_haley__827/
TODD HALEY: “Afternoon everybody - a Thursday that was like a Friday in our language. That was a little better Friday practice for us, I felt. The tempo was better, execution was better. That’s closer to what we want it to be at the end of the week before a game.”
Q: What have your thoughts been on the nose tackle situation? How are these guys adjusting?
HALEY: “Still searching, still searching. That’s why we were rotating last game and we’ll probably be in a similar mode this week in trying to get one or a couple of those guys to step up and show they want the job.”
Q: What’s been the difficulty in these guys making the adjustment?
HALEY: “That’s a man’s position now, especially as much of the ¾ (defense) that we’re playing. When you’re the nose and you’re in there a lot of that is just ‘want-to.’ You’re fighting, scratching, clawing and it’s not for everyone. I think all three of the guys have the ability to do it, it’s just a matter of getting it done on a consistent basis.”
Q: What’s Tank (Tyler) shown you for better or worse during this pre-season?
HALEY: “I think that it’s been a little up and down. I’m waiting to see Tank kind of…the thing I remember about Tank when he was coming out (of college) was just the nastiness that he played with. I mean he was a bad dude and you didn’t want to mess around with him. So, I’m waiting to see a little more of that.”
Q: So, he’s a little more subdued than you’d like to see of him?
HALEY: “Seems like a nice guy.”
Q: Do you have the sense that anxiety is a little higher right now before the first cut?
HALEY: “Without a doubt. I told the guys yesterday that this is the toughest week in football. Number one, you’re going into week four of hitting each other twice a day most days, it’s hot, you’re getting tired of seeing the same guys, there is anxiety over jobs. But I’m looking for guys with staying power, guys who can sustain, and that’s why I think that camp has to be a tough camp to find out who those individuals are. We’re starting to find out.”
Q: How is it for you on the coaching end and having the deadline for first cuts come up?
HALEY: “You spend a lot of down time looking at the depth chart and just sorting through those numbers. That will be a big job for all of us here in the next couple of weeks. It’s tough but it’s tough for everyone; every team has the same problems. I don’t think there’s any team that wishes they had less spots, who wishes the number were 48 or 45. You generally have to let go of a few guys you don’t want to.”
Q: Have you come up with the plan on how you’re going to utilize Saturday night? Are starters going to come out and if they execute quickly in the second half will you pull them?
HALEY: “We haven’t officially talked about it but I would say at least a series into the third quarter. I don’t know how much more than that. Now, some guys will have to but I don’t know how much as a whole past that.”
Q: Have you decided yet who the second quarterback will be?
HALEY: “No, we’ll do that this afternoon.”
Q: Any chance that the quarterback will come in and maybe play a little more with the first team offense?
HALEY: “Again, we haven’t talked about it as a staff, so we’ve got to talk that out and get it right.”
Q: Is this the toughest week of the season for you as coaches?
HALEY: “I don’t know. I enjoy it; I enjoy every day. So, I can’t speak for the rest of the coaches. The players are the ones doing the hitting. As coaches, you know you’ve got to grind regardless and there is no light at the end of the tunnel for us until the season is over. You kind of understand that’s the just way it is and go about your business accordingly, after you let your wife and family know.”
Q: You talked about how special teams will be a little different this year and you might see more wide receivers out there. Does that mean you might look at a roster and figure out a number? Do you have a number in mind?
HALEY: “I think there is a general number but that’s one of those positions. Some teams have four and two practice squad guys. Some teams have six. At Arizona we had six. It all depends where they’re contributing and how many plays we expect to get out of them. The kickoff return stuff could factor into that.”
Q: What about your team? What number do you have here?
HALEY: “I have an idea, but we’ll have to see how it all plays out.”
Q: Is the fact there hasn’t been much asked about the defensive backs good news? You happy with what you have right now?
HALEY: “I think it’s an area on the team where we have very good competition across the board. It’s not say I’m content with where at, but I think there is good competition and I think we’ve got some players in that area who look like they’ve improved consistently throughout the off-season, in OTA’s and into training camp.
“Again, not to say I’m content, I think there is excellent competition at the corners, at the safeties, the nickel back. It’s a good situation right now.”
Q: You mentioned guys who have improved. Is Brandon Flowers one of those guys?
HALEY: “Yeah, I think Brandon has done a good job of each day coming to work and being the same type of guy. So, I’m encouraged with where Brandon is at right now. But he’s a guy that we’ve got to push all the time because he’s a guy who potentially could be a very good player.”
Q: Has Mike Brown pushed Bernard Pollard as much as you have thought?
HALEY: “Like I said, the defensive backfield as a whole, I think, there’s excellent competition. I don’t think there’s anybody who feels real comfortable. Mike’s one of the reasons for that but I think that’s the way it is across the board there. Those guys know there is somebody right behind them that could be playing just as well as them. That’s how you get your team good.”