**
Opening Statement: **"Injury report today: Chimdi Chekwa was full; Taiwan Jones didn't practice; Maurice Jones-Drew didn't practice; Kaluka [Maiava] was limited; Matt McCants did not practice; Nick Roach was limited in practice today."
Q: What was Matt McCants' injury?
Coach Allen:"A knee."
Q: Status or update on Maurice Jones-Drew?
Coach Allen:"He didn't practice today."
Q: Did he have surgery?
Coach Allen:"He didn't practice today."
Q: Is his hand broken?
Coach Allen:"He didn't practice today." (laughing)
Q: Are you comfortable with Latavius Murray playing?
Coach Allen:"Yeah, I am. I thought he had a good preseason and I felt all along that we had a pretty good backfield, so I feel good about him if he's called on."
Q: Who would get more carries?
Coach Allen:"Well, we'd use all those guys."
Q: Would Marcel Reece go ahead of Latavius Murray?
Coach Allen:"We'll play that out as the game goes on."
Q: Is the fact that Latavius Murray didn't get any snaps on offense last week a matter of not having a lot of plays?
Coach Allen:"That's part of it. We're going to utilize guys that we think can help us go out there and win the football game. All these guys are preparing to play and they'll go in and execute when they're called upon."
Q: Does Maurice Jones-Drew have to practice tomorrow to be able to play?
Coach Allen:"We'll see how he's doing tomorrow."
Q: Was there a play he got hurt on or is it a buildup of plays?
Coach Allen:"Yeah, there was a play."
Q: Were you happy with the way your offensive line run-blocked in the game against the Jets' front seven?
Coach Allen:"Overall, yeah. I wasn't happy with the end result, but I thought overall, I think if we would have been able to continue to run the ball, I think we would have had some success doing that. We got away from it a little bit and I still feel confident that we're going to be able to run the football and run the football effectively."
Q: You've worked with Shane Lechler before. Can you talk about the kind of impact a guy like that can make on field position?
Coach Allen:"I think he's another one of those Hall of Fame caliber punters. He's done it for a long time, at an extremely high level. He's a pro in what he does and really he's a weapon for them. I think the key is hopefully, to be able to hold them back where he doesn't get in those down and punt type situations because we understand that this game, a lot of it is about field position."
Q: How much involvement do you have in the quarterback meetings?
Coach Allen:"No, I hired good coaches on offense and I think 'Ollie' [Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson] and 'Flip' [quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo] do a great job of working with those guys and so. I communicate with Derek [Carr], but as far as schematically what we're doing, I try to let those guys handle that."
Q: You don't go in the meeting room at all?
Coach Allen:"No, I don't spend a lot of time in the quarterback meetings."
Q: If Chimdi Chekwa is able to play, does he enter right back in as that No. 3 corner?
Coach Allen:"Obviously we'll see how Chimdi functions tomorrow in practice, but that's where he was before the injury and we feel confident about putting him in a game."
**
Q: What has Antonio Smith brought to the locker room?**
Coach Allen:"Some fun. He's a great character, he's a hell of a guy and he competes and he works. Works in practice, he competes on the field. He's been a real welcomed addition to the football team, in the locker room and on the field."
Q: How do you think he's doing after being 3-4 and being a defensive tackle inside now?
Coach Allen:"Not a whole lot of difference. I mean, when you watch what he was doing in Houston last year, they were doing a lot of reduced front, under front, where he played a lot of three technique, so there's really not a big transition to what he's doing."
Q: Do you have to approach things a little different with having a rookie quarterback?
Coach Allen:"I don't think Derek [Carr] is what I would call kind of your typical, rookie quarterback. I think his development, his maturity, his intelligence level, kind of leads us to be able to just function the offense just like normal. So I don't think we've had to pull back the reins or anything like that with Derek as the quarterback and he needs guys to be able to step up around him and make some plays."
Q: Does Matt remain a strong, positive influence in the locker room?
Coach Allen:"Matt has been outstanding. I'm assuming you're talking about Matt Schaub. He's been outstanding. He's a true professional and he's been in this league a long time, he understands how things operate. He's been great in the locker room, he's been great with Derek [Carr]. I've got nothing but good things to say about Matt Schaub."
Q: Is there still a little bit of competition at that spot?
Coach Allen:"Derek [Carr]'s the starting quarterback and we're going to try to do everything we can to give him an opportunity to have success."
Q: Are you going to New England on Friday or Thursday next week?
Coach Allen:"Friday."
