Q: What happened on Thursday that caused Shawn Andrews to have to go to the hospital?
A: He had texted Ronnie late at night saying he was having a lot of pain and so when he came in Thursday morning nothing had changed. So they wanted to make sure what they were doing - sent him to the hospital. They thought they needed to keep him there to treat him. So he has been there and he continues to be there.
Q: What is the update on his condition?
A: He is still in the hospital - I have no idea what the update is.
Q: Do you list him as out?
A: No, listed as doubtful.
Q: Is this the same stuff that has been happening?
A: Yes.
Q: Anything structural?
A: He experienced so much discomfort that he was having trouble sleeping. That affected him. So they tried to relieve the tension.
Q: What is the latest on David Diehl?
A: He is running and working and making good progress. And hopefully we will have something to report next week.
Q: Shawn had an epidural before the last game. Does that have anything to do with this latest thing?
A: No, none.
Q: Aaron Ross wasn't out there today also. What is his status?
A: He was sick.
Q: Flu like symptoms?
A: Yeah, it was abdominal, I believe.
Q: If Will Beatty is at left tackle, who takes over that lineman/tight end spot?
A: Either Mitch Petrus or Jamon Meredith have done that.
Q: How has Michael Clayton come along since he got here?
A: He has done a good job because he is a veteran in terms of learning fast, knowing what to do. He has practiced well. He has run into some difficulties as we experienced for example, the adjustment part of it. But overall he has done a good job.
Q: Jon Gruden - the volume of his offensive playbook has always been legendary. Do you take that into account and how maybe that would make life a little bit easier for him here?
A: That fact and the fact that he has been in the league in for six years. Other than the fact that it is foreign language, he has experienced it. He has adjusted well. He seems to be real excited about having the opportunity.
Q: How about Devin Thomas?
A: He got here late mid-week and he has helped us out as best as he can. So we will bring him along gradually.
Q: In the last few weeks what have you seen from Travis Beckum?
A: He has improved steadily. There is a certain aspect of what you try to do with Travis. And when you call upon him he normally does a good job of that.
Q: Have you been able to ask more of him, though?
A: Yeah, we have asked more.
Q: In Devin Thomas' case he is experienced as a return guy. Is that a spot that you are looking at for him?
A: Possibly, yeah.
Q: Has Eli done much extra work with the new receivers?
A: It is interesting that Michael Clayton and Eli were roommates prior to the draft for about a month as they worked out. So they know each other pretty well. He hasn't done a whole lot extra out here. If you were to go inside right now, you would see him in the meeting room with the receivers. That is what he does every Friday afternoon. They look at tape together. He selects what he wants them to see and then goes over it with them and what his expectations is.
Q: So the extra has been more mental than on the field?
A: Yes.
Q: What have you seen out of Mario Manningham this week that makes you feel that he is ready to be the number one?
A: I told him earlier in the week, "You had better get going; you had better make some plays for us." He has had a good week of practice.
Q: How so?
A: He has caught the ball, he has given what we expect out of him which is a deep ball, the go-route, the deep flags. He has done a good job with the sudden aspects of the routes.
Q: Have you sensed any change in either Ahmad Bradshaw or Brandon Jacobs since making the switch Wednesday?
A: Change?
Q: In attitude, in hunger?
A: Hunger. I have nothing to say.
Q: Brandon Jacobs said repeatedly on Wednesday that this is only a temporary situation. Why do you think he is saying that?
A: He is a very good teammate. And it may very well be that way. There is nothing written in stone. It is a new week. And we will see how this goes. One of the things that was really interesting to me is - I got home last night and saw a little bit of the end of the Cowboy game. And so this morning we talked about that in my meeting - how one play - one play - and the responsibility that the - and it is not just the ball carriers - it is the receivers, it is the tight ends, it is the defensive backs after interceptions, linebackers, anybody. Because in this day and age a lot of people don't go for the tackle - they go for the strip. And as you saw last night, a receiver switching the ball in his arms and didn't really see someone coming in. So we talked about that again. And hopefully that part of it will start to sink in.
Q: Were you able to take that conversation and implement it on the field - just in terms of drills, strip drills, stuff like that?
A: We have done a couple of drills this week with that in mind. And I would like to do some more. Actually we can be a little bit more creative with that based on some of the things that you are seeing around the league.
Q: Is Will Beatty fully healthy now?
A: He has had a couple of weeks work. And he had nothing for a long time. So he has been pretty well with that. What you are really after is him to get his quickness and his timing, if you will, get that down. That is what is missing is when a guy hasn't competed and everyone else is so far advanced into the year. And he comes back and he finds himself just a tick late, or whatever. The first week he was a little bit late. He was a little bit better last week. And hopefully a lot better this week.
Q: I don't know if you have asked this, but is there any extra emotion facing the Jaguars since you basically helped create that franchise?
A: No. No, not at all. It is a very important football game; the most important game of the year for us. It is the next game. That is just basically the only way I look at it.
Q: Defensive side of the ball - you are facing a mobile quarterback for the second straight week in David Garrard. How do think maybe just having faced Michael Vick helps in terms of preparation?
A: Well, it does help. A lot of the things that you talk about in terms of the contain aspect will apply; different athlete, different style athlete, creates different problems. But nevertheless, we have worked on the mobile quarterback for a couple of weeks now and hopefully that will help us.
Q: The responsibility will fall largely on Jonathan Goff's shoulders in terms of covering Maurice Jones-Drew. What makes him equipped to do that?
A: I start out with the run game first. We all know about the screens and that type of thing. And a lot of it depends on the coverage that you are in. But this guy is an outstanding ball carrier. And of course, that is their number one deal, is to run the ball and to set up the play actions and the nakeds and all of that stuff off of that. So it will be an 11-man chore.