Coach Cable: Okay, first day with pads and some good contact, really liked the effort, no question about that. I think we were prepared to go today, far from perfect or far from where it needs to be in terms of execution, in terms of both sides of the ball but great work. Competition still remains high in terms of how they are challenging each other so very pleased with all that you know its day one of it, it's a good start but we have lots of work to do.
Q: Pretty much under control it seemed in terms of guys not getting chippy and not a lot of scuffling after all the eight practices. Is that what you want to see, aggressiveness with the right amount of professionalism or do you want them to get after it?
Coach Cable: You know I think that's going to come, I think when they get a little hotter, a little tired, a little more ornery, you know that's football it'll happen, not really worried about that too much. I do think they respect each other and do try to take care of each other but you know that stuff will probably come.
Q: It seems like Darren McFadden and Michael Bush are both competing on a very high level right now, is it likely you'll do running back by committee the entire season?
Coach Cable: You know, I think you hit it right on the head. I think they are both doing very well right now in terms of raising each other's level of play and if we continue to get that out of them, why wouldn't we.
Q: Regarding that group, are you excited about their ability to catch the ball out of the backfield?
Coach Cable: Sure I am, and you know Darren (McFadden), we've used him that way in terms of lining him up out there but I think it's kind of unknown about Michael Bush, he's really good at catching the football as well.
Q: When you see the running backs in a setting like this, is it hard for someone on the outside to get a bead, or draw a conclusion as to how one guy is really doing because they go, and then sometimes like Mike Mitchell made a real nice hit at the line of scrimmage but then he has to back off and they keep going, is that something you keep score of up there and in your film?
Coach Cable: Absolutely, yeah, you have to I think, you've got to see what happens in and through the line of scrimmage to see how realistic it is. Yeah, they are going to come out and run because we are trying to incorporate that in our runners to finish runs and all that, but the real issue is what did it look like at that point, that moment when someone had a shot to take was it going to be clean and be a two-yard gain or was it really going to be a four- or five-yard gain.
Q: Talk about Mike Mitchell what do you expect out of him this year?
Coach Cable: Well we hope to get him to a point where he can go in and make plays and be successful and I think that's the goal of his coaches and I know if you talk to mike that's important to him. You know coming off his rookie year not pleased with it so you know he has a lot to prove and I think he will.
Q: Coach what do you think about the offensive line today specifically Robert Gallery?
Coach Cable: Well, I think it's good you know he and Cooper [Carlisle] have got their hands full in there with Tommy [Kelly] and Richard [Seymour] every snap and I think it's really a good matchup for our team because they are making each other better. Robert is a really fine, fine player. I think he's proven that certainly, last year the injuries, he didn't get the opportunity for him to show it but they go in there and it's kind of like iron sharpens iron, you know they just work and they grind and they grind and they win some and they lose some and that's good football that's how you do it.
Q: How much do you think Mario Henderson missed Robert Gallery when he was out last year?
Coach Cable: I think that's a fair statement, you know I think every position has someone who is the glue to it especially on the offensive line. You've got that many people who need to be on the same page down after down after down and I think when you take arguably your best player out of that mix I think it does affect the people around him.
Q: Do you expect Louis Murphy to be back out there tomorrow, I see he was running and catching some passes?
Coach Cable: On that note, he did some work just to see where he's at but he's got to finish the protocol and well do that tonight as well as tomorrow but again he's improving and that's why he was allowed to come out and do a little bit, same with Chaz [Schilens], he probably did a little more than we thought he would but it's a good thing because he felt good and again we want to kind of ease him back in to this the right way
Q: Do you go pads either of the two sessions tomorrow or you just using the 3:30 days for the pads and interchange them?
Coach Cable: No, we're going to be very smart, we'll have pads a little bit here tomorrow and then have one that probably doesn't have any pads in it, so well just mix that up and we'll kind of go in and look at where we are at our health is good, knock on wood, and kind of just stay the course.
Q: Was there a different kind of excitement today amongst the guys knowing they were going to be in pads today?
Coach Cable: Yeah but you know the thing I most liked about all of it we were real purposeful today very purpose drive and that's who we are trying to become.
