The Silver and Black have wrapped up their first week of camp practices and Antonio Pierce is liking what he's seeing from his squad early on. The head coach met with the media on Friday morning to discuss everything from the quarterback battle to how the rookies are settling in.
Read through for some of the top quotes from Pierce's presser on Friday morning.
On the quarterback competition:
"What I see is two guys competing. I told them it's time to make that leap. Stop with the baby steps, somebody grab the bull by the horns and be the guy, and they're trying to do that. The competition is high. ... I think the key part about it is regardless of who's in, the offense is trying to be as efficient and as effective as possible. So, you've got the offensive line in there with those guys and you're trying to build that continuity with our wide receivers, and I think both quarterbacks are doing it."
On the first two practices of camp:
"I think it's been really two good practices. I think our guys have done a good job in the playbook. I told them the mental part is on them, they need to learn the playbook, they did that over the break, and they've done a good job preparing."
On what has surprised him so far in camp:
"I knew we'd be competitive. I knew the competition would go back and forth, but to watch our offense – for example, when they made some plays in the redzone, to see the O-line react the way they acted, to see our entire offense go in there and celebrate a touchdown together. I thought we would build to that slowly. But right away, they picked up to where we were last year and that's been really good to see, just those guys and that continuity coming together and enjoying playing ball for one another and enjoying the success of somebody else. Because it's training camp, right? They're fighting. It's dog eat dog, right? I'm trying to get your spot; you're trying to get my spot. But every once in a while, man, it's good to share that moment together."
On LB Tommy Eichenberg:
"Tommy's a silent killer, man. Tommy has slowly, each and every day, gotten better and better, and I'm going back to OTAs and minicamp. He's come right into training camp and picked right up. He's put himself in a position to be a backup or a guy to get some playing time for us."
On RB Dylan Laube:
"That dude is special. I like him. He just walks around with kind of that Long Island smile and talk, and he's gritty. He's a gritty running back. One thing about it, he surprises you with his speed. Really good with the ball after catch, even when he's running football. He's going to be a difficult matchup I will say, because it's already showing up in practice. It'll be better when we get the pads on and get more team competition. But I think he gives you a value of a third-down back and some special teams value as well."
View the best photos from Friday's 2024 Training Camp practice.