Opneing Statement –“We look forward to getting the 2007 season started. Everybody’s excited- players, coaches, and you folks [the media].
We have 39 players who will start off these first three days [of training camp]. We have rookies and a couple of selected vets. All the quarterbacks are here. The injured players are doing well. [TE] L.J. Smith is the only one of great concern once the veteran players get in. We’ll just take it nice and slow with him and see how he does, how he progresses. We’ll probably keep him out of contact for the first few days, but he is progressing very well and he has been working out. [QB] Donovan [McNabb] is the other one, and it’s good we got him back in to the last minicamp, and he’s just progressed from there. He feels good and he’ll be ready to roll tomorrow.
I’d like to thank the Lehigh [University] people for the great job they’ve done. These fields look phenomenal, and, as always, the dorms are as good as dorms can be, and the food is top-notch here. So, they really do a good job here. This is our 12th year here- my ninth- and I have nothing but good things to say about the people here.
As far as my family goes, I’m not going to answer any questions on that. Even if I could, I can’t do that, and I’ll maintain that throughout the season. I’d appreciate it if you [the media] held up your end and don’t go there.”
On how he monitor’s QB Donovan McNabb’s progression:
“We’ll keep a close eye on him and just see how he does. He’ll probably start out with a brace on his knee for precautionary measures. It is his right leg, his plant leg, so we’ll see how he does with it these first three days. I’m going to take it slow with him. It’s good that [QB Kevin] Kolb got signed and will be in and get some reps- quite a few reps- as we go into these three days here.”
On whether he anticipates McNabb will be ready to play in the preseason opener at Baltimore:
“We’ll see on that. I’m not in any hurry to push him into the first preseason game. I’m going to just monitor it as we go.”
On whether McNabb wore a brace on his knee during the June minicamp:
“No.”
On what the brace will do for McNabb:
“I think it’s just more of a security blanket for him. It gives him a little bit more stability on that knee. I think once the season kicks off, he’ll probably get rid of that and move on, but we’re going to use every precautionary measure that we can as we start.”
On who decides whether McNabb will wear a brace:
“Both he and [head athletic trainer] Rick [Burkholder], Dr. Andrews, and our doctors have all communicated it and feel comfortable with him doing it.”
On his feeling about getting all the players signed and into camp on time:
“It’s great. [Vice president of football administration] Howie Roseman has done a nice job signing the players. [Team president] Joe [Banner] has given him a lot of responsibility with that and Howie is developing into one of the best in the National Football League at what he’s doing here. He’s got a great teacher with Joe. Howie got them all signed and did a heck of a job on it.”
On whether Roseman handled the negotiations between the team and rookie QB Kevin Kolb:
“He was, yes.”
On TE L.J. Smith’s injury:
“He’s actually a little bit ahead. He’s feeling good and he’s worked like crazy. He was up in Philadelphia that whole time working with [Head Athletic Trainer] Rick [Burkholder] and he feels good.”
On how soon he expects Smith to be ready for contact:
“For the first three days, at least, I’m not going to do it. It might be a week. We’re just going to see how he progresses there. He wasn’t able to participate in the minicamps, so I don’t just want to throw him in there cold and have him do that.”
On how this year feels compared to others:
“Expectations are high. I know it’s that way amongst the fans, but even more so with this football team—the coaches and players—and that’s good. That’s a good thing. They worked their tail off in the minicamps. They worked hard in the offseason. We’ve had as many players as we ever have this offseason working, and they’re ready to go. Also add in there [FS] Brian Dawkins. Brian missed minicamps. His family situation is stabilized, his kids are growing a little bit faster and he’s doing very well. He’ll be here and ready to go. He looks great.”
On whether he plans on doing anything differently with QB A.J. Feeley because of McNabb’s injury:
“Well, A.J. will get a lot of reps in this camp, but no, I’m not coming into it thinking that Donovan is going to get hurt this season. That’s not what I’m looking at; I’m looking at Donovan having a great season. Like I said before, he was on an MVP pace last year. I expect him to pick that up and go right through the season that way and stay healthy the whole season.”
On the competition on defense:
“There’s great competition on that defensive line. There are some great football players there. We’ll see how it all works out. The linebacker position, I feel better about, and I think we have a lot of competition there. In the secondary, we have to find a fourth safety out of the three young guys and I feel very comfortable with the two starters and [S] Quintin [Mikell].”
On WR/KR Jeremy Bloom’s status as a wide receiver:
“I thought he did a nice job as a receiver. He’ll have an opportunity there to see how he does in these practices when it’s live. He did a nice job of getting himself stronger in the areas he needed to get himself stronger, in the offseason. We’ll see how he holds up in this camp here.”
On whether there is a player he hopes to step up behind Bloom as a returner:
“We’ll see how it works out. I always know in my back pocket that I’ve got [CB] Lito [Sheppard] and [RB] Brian [Westbrook] if I need them. We’ll see how Jeremy does. We’re expecting him to do a nice job there.”
On DE Jevon Kearse’s weight:
“He has put some weight on. I think we’ll see him back to what he was when he started last year. [It’s kind of like] what I said about Donovan last year. For a short period of time he was in there, he was off to having a heck of a season. We hope he picks up from there and goes on. Again, he’s another one we’ll keep an eye on and make sure that he’s doing well.”
On whether he plans on having the same amount of hitting as usual:
“I told the players before they left to make sure they come back ready to go. It’s going to be a tough two weeks up here. They understand that and that’s what they want and it will pay off for them once the season starts.”
On what is accomplished this weekend for the young players:
“What it does is gives them an opportunity to get the first three days of camp. In other words, the same three installations they have in these three days here, they’ll have once the veterans come in. For the young guys, that’s a good thing. It will allow them to settle down for those first three days of hitting, when their eyes are a little bit wider and their hearts beating a bit faster.”
On what he tells the rookies in dealing with the scrutiny of the fans:
“Just do your thing. The fans are great out here, and they’re going to be out here. But, there’s going to be a lot more at Lincoln Financial Field, so this is just an introduction to what you see on Sundays.”
On what he hopes to see from QB Kevin Kolb:
“I just want to him to come out and be consistent, and relaxed, and continue to become familiar with the offense and the different defenses and blitzes and fire zones he’s going to see.”
On whether Kolb’s situation is different from Donovan McNabb’s situation when he first came in because Kolb doesn’t have to be as rushed:
“I’m not going to say he doesn’t have to feel the urgency to be ready, nor would we coach any different than that. But, it is a different situation. Donovan McNabb is a starting quarterback and one of the best in the business at what he does, and he’s been counted on to play this whole season. And, that’s a different situation than when Donovan [McNabb] came in. They knew somewhere in that first year Donovan [McNabb] would have the opportunity to be a starter. So, from that standpoint, yes, it’s different.”
On what he is looking to see from Donovan McNabb at camp, to reassure himself that he is 100%:
“I just want him to- you said the word ‘reassure’-make sure that he’s very sure of his leg by the time we get to the first regular season game and that he feels comfortable mentally and physically. From what I’ve seen he’s well on his way.”
On what he expects from RB Tony Hunt this year:
“As long as he does well out here, he’ll have opportunities. I can’t tell you how many plays, but he’ll have opportunities. But, he has to come out here and have a good camp and show us that he can play at this level.”
