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Head Coach Mike Martz
Friday, August 27, 2004
(On having practice outdoors)
“It was a change of pace. It was good to get them outdoors and move around a little bit. That’s what these fields are for. We haven’t been on them for about four months, or whatever it has been.”
(On how the offensive line is progressing)
“Good. I’m very pleased with the progress of G (Scott) Tercero and G Chris Dishman. We know our center and right guard are stellar performers. T Grant Williams is now on the mend, and he was really having a terrific camp. Those guys are solid and I’m very pleased with that. We are a little thin right now, particularly in experience. We’ll be fine.”
(On T Grant Williams’ injury)
“He has so much scar tissue from the surgery that every now and again he tweeks it. When that happens, from the way they explained it to me, sometimes it scares you. His biggest (problem) is not so much the pain, but keeping (his ankle) strong. I think he feels much better now than he did a week ago.”
(On how G Tom Nütten has been playing)
“Tommy had a nice practice yesterday and I think he’s coming back into it really well. I think a little faster than he anticipated. His stuff is coming back to him pretty good, He needs to play here. We’ll get him in there and let him play.”
(On G Adam Timmerman)
“He has had such a great camp, we are going to try to back off of him as much as we can, within reason. He still needs to get some reps in. I think (he will be ready to play) on Friday night.”
(On DT Damione Lewis and DT Ryan Pickett)
“They have had a real solid camp, particularly D-Lew (Damione Lewis) at times up there in Macomb, has really flashed on us. Hopefully that will emerge in the season.”
(On the battle for the starting right defensive end)
“It is very competitive. I think Bryce Fisher, right now, would be considered the starter. But when you look at the other two guys, and I would include (Anthony) Hargrove in there too, as he grows and matures with this defense and at his position I think he will be someone to contend. And of course Erik (Flowers) can go from side to side, and Tyoka (Jackson) can move back inside. The way we play our defensive ends, and the inside guys, we roll those guys. (Defensive line coach) Bill (Kollar) keeps those guys as fresh as he can. So they all play. It’s not like one guy is going to play 80 percent of the snaps. We don’t do that.”
(On what he wants to see out of the team on a short week)
“The biggest thing is, I want the ones to be sharp. Obviously, that is not what we did on Monday night. We did do that in the opener. I felt real good about our first group in there. And continue to take a look at some of these guys in the second half because we are going to have to make some hard decisions. When the first group is in there I just want them to compete, be sharp, and perform well.”
(On if the team prepared for Washington, or if the team is just focused on running its own system)
“We need to look at the structures. We don’t pay a whole lot of attention to personnel. We make sure guys know what they are doing. And then we just concern ourselves with our performance. That’s what we try to tell everybody from the first day they walk through that door. It’s more about us than who we are playing, whether it’s preseason or regular season.”
(On if the team is physically ready to play)
“I think so. It’s a tough run for them. It’ll be tough for them. But we really haven’t done anything either. The first game (the starters) played one series. So really, they need to work.”
(On coaching against Redskins’ head coach Joe Gibbs)
“I’m still in awe. The fact that he is back in the National Football League, just tickles me. It’s just great for professional sports in general. He’s the standard for all of us.”
(On playing CBs DeJuan Groce and Kevin Garrett)
“CB Travis Fisher was having such a terrific camp, but as always, these guys are here because we think these guys can play and play at a high level. It’s just when is your opportunity going to come up. We’ve tried to get them ready for that opportunity, because you don’t know when it’s going to happen. It could happen in the preseason, it might happen in the middle of the year, who knows. But you just need to make sure you’re ready. I trust them.”
(On QB Chris Chandler)
“I’m kind of amazed with Chris, to be honest with you. To come in and pick up the volume of information that he’s had to absorb, and to perform as well as he performed. We have not held anything back from him at all. Out at practice, to be this far along, he still makes mistakes, but each day he gets better and better with this stuff. He’s so doggone smart. I’m impressed with his ability to move around and throw the ball so accurately. I’m very please with him. His arm hasn’t diminished from 10 years ago. It’s a little off now because of the soreness, but he’s pretty much over that.”
(If being in the league so long makes Chandler’s understanding of the offense easier or tougher on him)
“Harder. It’s a different approach. It’s not just X’s and O’s. It’s a different mentality. We don’t want him to be tentative and just take the check down. If he can make a tight throw, I want him to turn it loose. So I want him to be aggressive, which is what these quarterbacks are anyway, but you don’t want to stifle that. And I think that’s an adjustment for him.”
(On if RB Marshall Faulk is where he was expected to be physically)
“I think he is pretty much where he planned, and where we talked about being. He hasn’t had any setbacks, and that’s a real positive. But he’s working at a pace that’s pretty good.”
(On what drives Faulk)
“He’s such a fierce competitor. There are a lot of guys that you need to push to get going, even really talented guys that play at a high level. Sometimes you have to goose them a little to get going. Guys like (Faulk) WR Isaac Bruce, S Aeneas Williams, these guys are not just rare athletes, but rare competitors. And (Faulk) is certainly at the top in that respect. You just know (he wants to win).”
