Coach Cable: Let's just do a quick injury update. Guys who did not practice this morning and didn't look like they'll practice this afternoon are, again, Nick Miller, Chaz Schilens, and Bruce Gradkowski. But the three additions to that would be Louis Murphy- kind of tweaked an ankle yesterday, you probably saw it, and it got sore this morning. It's not serious, just don't want to take any chances.
Q: Schilens, did he have a surgery, a second one on his foot or ankle… Did he have one post-season?
Coach Cable: There was some follow-up work done. And this is just, you know, really taking care of it so that everything's fine. He's doing great, probably could have gone, but chose not to do it, and I think this team will need that guy.
Q: Some of the offensive players were talking about the amount of plays they're running in the practice sessions. You're trying to increase the tempo and get more of them in. How many more plays would you say are being run this year, compared with last year during the same time?
Coach Cable: I think that it's very similar in that way. We haven't changed the number of plays we're running, it's just trying to get it done more efficient now. Again, one of the issues we'll talk about I'm sure, but we've got too many balls on the ground. It's six - not a lot you would say, but it's way too many and certainly not nearly as many as we had last year at the same time. So we're getting through those scripts, we're getting the volume of work that we set out to do done. But we've got to clean some things up, certainly.
Q: How significant is this weekend in determining who may be your starting quarterback?
Coach Cable: None whatsoever. Zero, zip.
Q: Tom, how do you compare this off-season to the previous off-seasons when you were here?
Coach Cable: I think this is what you would call a very business-like off-season. There was a plan in the very beginning of January and it was just executed, and that's what we've kind of been doing the whole time, even through the draft, you know. I think putting our hands on what we thought the needs of this team were. If you look at what we've done in free agency, we went out and specifically did some things.
Q: Why did it take this long to get to that point where you've addressed it in that manner?
Coach Cable: Well, I don't know. I can only speak to what we're doing right now. I mean, you think about it, really I've been involved in it for a couple years now and I think that we've been working towards that. And I think that's part of the whole thing. If you remember from the beginning, I said it will be a process to turn it around. I just think we're just working that process right now. I don't think it's anything magical or anything different or anything like that. It's just, some of those things are starting to work for us and come together.
Q: I've heard too, that Mr. Davis is more open to ideas or suggestions from others. Have you found that to be true?
Coach Cable: I think he has been good to work with. I think when I first got this job, one of the things I asked him to do is teach me that part of it and I think that he's doing that and I think that we're connecting that way and it's a good thing.
Q: What do you mean when you say, "that part of it?"
Coach Cable: Just the business side of it. Free agency, putting a team together from that part through the draft. The field stuff, the coaching, all that is easy for me. That's what I've always done. But there's another whole side of this that I think is just as important and I think that's where, as an organization, we're able to do it together.
Q: Where are you at in terms of a checklist for the things that back a couple months ago that you wanted to get accomplished? What haven't you gotten accomplished up until now that you want to get done by the time you get to Napa?
Coach Cable: I really think the last big piece, and that is we've got to know what we're doing and believe in each other and what we're doing. You know, it's like the players on the team, I'm very excited about where we are with our talent and what we've added to our football team. You know, after three practices, you can just kind of see some young guys fitting in. They're a little lost, but they're not too far off. I see us having improved our team, I see us having improved the football IQ of our team, the football character of our team, and now it's a matter of getting it taught so that at the end of OTA we can all walk away saying, "You know what? We're ready to go to camp. We've prepared ourselves to now go compete for that job."
Q: At the quarterback position specifically, how does adding players with the experience that you have, ultimately do you expect to improve that position?
Coach Cable: Competition. You know, the bottom line is one of the things I think is going on with this football team, just in three practices, is that when it's time to go get a job when we get to Napa, you can really see. I mean, look at our linebacker group and our D-line group and our offensive line and the quarterback spot that you're asking specifically about, the safety position. You look at those and you say "wow, what an upgrade," in that we have not just one or two good players, there's a third there too. And so you better be right every day in order to get a job. I think, you know, that's the essence of getting good or turning it around, is that the competition will be extremely high.
Q: What have you learned about Jason Campbell in your brief time working with him?
Coach Cable: Very smart. Seems to be very poised. He's the one guy out there that this is all relatively new, but he seems to handle it. Very, very poised guy. Doesn't seem to really let anything bother him. If he makes a mistake, he's quick to want to know how he can fix it and move to the next play. So I think there's a lot of maturity there.
Q: We asked a couple of the younger guys a little while ago, how often in college could you get away with the fact that you were playing lesser competition or that you were just better than the other guy? And they said, all of the time. How hard is that for guys to get here and go, oh boy, this guy's as good as I am or even better? And they have to face that.
Coach Cable: You know, one of the first things we talked to them about was that very point, is that you've had it lucky. And you've certainly earned the fact that you're here, and you've worked hard and all that, but every day it becomes a real grind. It becomes a job and a real issue to succeed. And there aren't any easy days here. And so that was one of the very first talks, because they all go through that, for sure.
Q: Rolando McClain - as advertised?
Coach Cable: You know, so far, but we haven't done anything. The thing, and I mentioned this yesterday and it showed up again today, his ability to jump right in and take control is obvious.
