I thought I was having my meeting inside but I turned around and they were standing there. So I had my meeting right there.
Q: How productive was that meeting?
A: Well, it was very good. Any time we have one it is good; it is productive.
Q: You had (Adam) Koets out there at center. With Shaun (O'Hara) out, do you prefer him in there or moving Rich over like you did in the preseason?
A: We have to be ready with everybody; we have to be ready with both guys.
Q: Did Rich takes snaps today?
A: Yes.
Q: Was there something at practice today that made you want to talk to all your captains?
A: No, this was all set up. It was set up prior to. And as I said, I thought we were going to go inside but I guess it is too nice a day.
Q: Without going into details - whatever you are comfortable with - with can you give us an idea of the tenor or your discussion with them?
A: I thought we had a good practice today. I thought the energy was good. I thought guys worked hard. We have talked an awful lot about execution at the championship level - which we weren't getting. And that was one thought. But the rest of it is between us.
Q: In general those meetings were weekly, daily?
A: Not daily - usually it is weekly.
Q: Did you think there was any chance for Shaun O'Hara to practice today?
A: No. He did not get cleared to go.
Q: Any sense about tomorrow?
A: We are going to go day by day.
Q: Could O'Hara do what Ahmad Bradshaw did last year - go play and not practice that much?
A: It's tough. It's hard. There are people that have done it. Plaxico (Burress) did it that year. And Bradshaw did it. But there is always something missing from your game when that happens. You need the work.
Q: Does it make it more difficult to do that, given that he is the center and making all of the calls?
A: The quarterback identifies a lot of the calls and he echoes them up front. But he is in the center of it, obviously. And he is the guy. So that is a pivotal position and you need to see it with regard to the speed aspect - not just in meetings.
Q: A year ago during the draft there were several wideouts still available to you. Why was it Hakeem (Nicks) that you liked? Why did he stand out?
A: He was ranked the highest when we got to our pick.
Q: Why?
A: Ability, hands, power, size, experience. He had been a kickoff returner as well. He was an outstanding college player. And we thought he fit our offense very well.
Q: Did maturity matter a lot? Did you feel like this was a kid who wouldn't have off field problems?
A: I just felt he was -- his attitude was terrific. He was a worker. He did it most of the time with a smile on his face. We thought he fit well.
Q: (Adam) Koets has been around here for awhile. He has played a bunch of different positions. But he hasn't played much at all.
A: He played a lot in preseason - a lot.
Q: Do you have the sense that in a regular season game he could step in at center and play at a high level?
A: Well he certainly has had the work. He has been developed by us and by our coaches and our program. We have extended to him - in confidence - that he has been in a position to do this in the preseason when we were kind of in and out with a lot of guys. So we have confidence, no doubt, in Adam.
Q: Justin (Tuck) has been described - I guess by some former teammates - as a bit reluctant to take a very vocal leadership role. Do you get that sense?
A: No.
Q: Do you think he will be the type of leader that you want him to be?
A: Justin has - whatever the word is - developed, matured into that type of role. He has definitely come to that spot.
Q: Is that a recent thing? Does he have to work at it?
A: I think it has evolved - for sure.
Q: It is hard to follow up - (Michael) Strahan was the guy and Antonio (Pierce) - he does not have that kind of personality. So it is a little bit difficult for him?
A: Yeah, but he is very smart. He is very sincere. He is intuitive - he has a good sense about things. He is not afraid to voice his opinion. Those are all very, very strong points. Plus he is well liked.
Q: Obviously you rely on those guys to send your message to the rest of the team. Have you asked them to increase their leadership or do anything different this week?
A: No, my message - I speak directly to the team and I speak to these guys in terms of - normally I'm just giving them advance information as to what I'm going to do and what the next issue might be and how I'm going to approach it. It could be bye week - it could be a lot of things. I want them to know in advance because then they can do a good job of circulating the information.
Q: The familiarity aspect that you have in your center - that if it is Adam, he has to get a comfort level with Eli. Even if he did play in the preseason they probably didn't play that much together.
A: No, they did - they played a lot, oh yeah. If you look back, Adam probably took 50 snaps a game. He and (Will) Beatty - as I mentioned - those two guys played a ton in preseason.
Q: While Eli was in there?
A: While Eli was in there, yeah. But Shaun didn't play much.
Q: Jeff Fisher - he has been there so long - they have good teams - they have had not as good teams - but have they always been tough to beat?
A: Yes, they have been physical, tough teams.
Q: Why were the Steelers so effective against Chris Johnson? Can you do the same? Can Antrel (Rolle) do what Polamalu did?
A: The Steeler defense - it was a physical game - both sides. But there was a long run in the game which was called back. And then there were a lot of real physical plays from scrimmage following that. I think the defenses kind of negated each other right away. The offenses would make a mistake - turn the ball over - whatever. So the defenses kind of dictated the game.
Q: How much will Keith's (Bulluck) familiarity with that team help?
A: I don't know. He may have spoken once or twice with the guys. But Keith is studying his defense - our defense - in preparation for their offense.