Head Coach Mike Martz
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
(On where he still sees the need for improvement)
“We can get better everywhere. I think If you’re satisfied with where we are at in any position, then you’re in trouble.”
(On if it’s a relief to only have one more preseason game before the regular season starts)
“I guess you can say that, but I look at it more as an opportunity to get better. We’re not as good as we need to be in the opener. This week and this game gives us a chance to continue to get better and tune up, and that’s how we look at it. We’re not just trying to get through this thing, I think if you do that then you have problems. We’re going to take a good look at as many players as we can in this game, and put them in difficult situations, and see who can make a play for us, and they may not or they may. There’s some guys that we just don’t have enough information on to know whether or not they belong on this roster, so this game will be heavily scrutinized. We will make an effort on both sides of the ball, and special teams, to get guys in position where they have to be counted on to make a play, and we’ll see what happens.
(On if you can get enough information about a player off of only a few plays)
“Absolutely. You can have a rookie free agent in for five or six plays, whether it’s on special teams or either side of the ball, and you can get a pretty good idea, especially if he’s involved in the play. That’s what happened to Kevin Garrett last year, Kevin was really struggling, he got on special teams, and he turned into a different person. That got everybody’s attention, and then we got going with Kevin, he got going, and it makes a big difference. These preseason games are very important to evaluate these guys, and for particularly the first group, to come together.
(On if T Orlando Pace would be able to play in the Oakland game if he showed up tomorrow)
“I think that would be pretty hard to do. We would be irresponsible putting him in a football game. He has no practice time, and he’s certainly not in any kind of hitting shape.”
(On the last roster cut)
“Jeremy Phillips I think we we’re able to injury settle today. He had a neck problem, and that was just non-stop.”
(On how RB Steven Jackson handled the amount of work he received)
“No question about it. You look at Steven in that game when he got tired, mentally. We did that to him on purpose. And now you get a guy that is used to carrying the load when he is exhausted. You see he made one or two mental errors and got really tired. I talked to him today and it was a good learning experience for him. That’s when you have to reach down and find something that you didn’t know was there.”
(On how much RB Lamar Gordon will play on Thursday)
“I don’t know. There is a chance he can play. I want him to take as many reps as he can. I’d like him to play and I think he wants to play. He needs to be confident with that ankle, and changing direction. If he is confident in it, and feels strong, we’ll get him in there as much as we can. Here is a guy that we questioned his toughness, but nobody knew, for the past four years, he had this bone in his joint floating around. Obviously, he’s a pretty tough guy.”
(On if he has kept contact with Raiders head Coach Norv Turner)
“I just talked to him the other day. He’s a very good friend. He taught me so much, whether he knows it or not. His approach to the game, his aggressive style, and all of those things (he taught me). The two years that I spent with him were very rewarding in that aspect.”
(On if WR Shaun McDonald will be the punt returner on opening day)
“We’re going to run a bunch of guys through. I’m happy with where he is right now. In terms of a punt returner, I have no worries about him.”
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
(On where he still sees the need for improvement)
“We can get better everywhere. I think If you’re satisfied with where we are at in any position, then you’re in trouble.”
(On if it’s a relief to only have one more preseason game before the regular season starts)
“I guess you can say that, but I look at it more as an opportunity to get better. We’re not as good as we need to be in the opener. This week and this game gives us a chance to continue to get better and tune up, and that’s how we look at it. We’re not just trying to get through this thing, I think if you do that then you have problems. We’re going to take a good look at as many players as we can in this game, and put them in difficult situations, and see who can make a play for us, and they may not or they may. There’s some guys that we just don’t have enough information on to know whether or not they belong on this roster, so this game will be heavily scrutinized. We will make an effort on both sides of the ball, and special teams, to get guys in position where they have to be counted on to make a play, and we’ll see what happens.
(On if you can get enough information about a player off of only a few plays)
“Absolutely. You can have a rookie free agent in for five or six plays, whether it’s on special teams or either side of the ball, and you can get a pretty good idea, especially if he’s involved in the play. That’s what happened to Kevin Garrett last year, Kevin was really struggling, he got on special teams, and he turned into a different person. That got everybody’s attention, and then we got going with Kevin, he got going, and it makes a big difference. These preseason games are very important to evaluate these guys, and for particularly the first group, to come together.
(On if T Orlando Pace would be able to play in the Oakland game if he showed up tomorrow)
“I think that would be pretty hard to do. We would be irresponsible putting him in a football game. He has no practice time, and he’s certainly not in any kind of hitting shape.”
(On the last roster cut)
“Jeremy Phillips I think we we’re able to injury settle today. He had a neck problem, and that was just non-stop.”
(On how RB Steven Jackson handled the amount of work he received)
“No question about it. You look at Steven in that game when he got tired, mentally. We did that to him on purpose. And now you get a guy that is used to carrying the load when he is exhausted. You see he made one or two mental errors and got really tired. I talked to him today and it was a good learning experience for him. That’s when you have to reach down and find something that you didn’t know was there.”
(On how much RB Lamar Gordon will play on Thursday)
“I don’t know. There is a chance he can play. I want him to take as many reps as he can. I’d like him to play and I think he wants to play. He needs to be confident with that ankle, and changing direction. If he is confident in it, and feels strong, we’ll get him in there as much as we can. Here is a guy that we questioned his toughness, but nobody knew, for the past four years, he had this bone in his joint floating around. Obviously, he’s a pretty tough guy.”
(On if he has kept contact with Raiders head Coach Norv Turner)
“I just talked to him the other day. He’s a very good friend. He taught me so much, whether he knows it or not. His approach to the game, his aggressive style, and all of those things (he taught me). The two years that I spent with him were very rewarding in that aspect.”
(On if WR Shaun McDonald will be the punt returner on opening day)
“We’re going to run a bunch of guys through. I’m happy with where he is right now. In terms of a punt returner, I have no worries about him.”