Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (8.21.24)
Opening statement:
“Good work day for us. As you saw, we were on cards a lot in this practice, which means we’re, you know, going up against a different scheme and the guys did a nice job with that, by and large. So continuing to get better, and then we’ll get another work day in here tomorrow before getting on the airplane. With that, I’ll take any questions.”
Kevin, Jameis (Winston) took all of the first team reps against the scout team. Do you plan to start him against Seattle?
“Yeah, I’m not going to get into the Seattle plans just yet. Deshaun (Watson) was a little sore. I decided to just hold back a little bit with him, but not overly concerned.”
When you say sore, is that arm soreness or…?
“Yeah, I’d say general arm soreness. But again, he practiced, I held him back. He could have gone, he’s feeling fine.”
What happened to Pierre Strong?
“Rib injury, but I don’t have an update just yet.”
Kevin, have you heard from Seattle and what their plans are for Saturday?
“I’ve exchanged some texts with those guys. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Coach Macdonald just yet, but we kind of texted what the general plan is.”
Kevin, how nervous a week is this in general for coaches and GM’s starting with practices and going through the games with, you know, possible mishaps?
“Yeah, I mean, it’s part of the game, Tony (Grossi). I mean, I get what you’re saying, but that’s been football since the dawn of this game. It’s a physical sport, there’s gonna be times where guys get nicked up, unfortunately, and a lot of our guys are playing through things. That’s the truth. This is a warrior’s game and these guys are battling through it. But, yeah, unfortunately, injuries are part of our game.”
Did Deshaun, was he sore before practice or did it happen during practice?
“Yeah, before.”
Is that the first time in this camp?
“No, he’s been – I mean, you’re a quarterback, you’re throwing a lot, so you get sore.”
You’re not ruling him out?
“No.”
Shelby Harris, what do you expect from him in the second year of this Jim Schwartz defense?
“Yeah, I thought Shelby obviously was a late addition to the team last year, but then played really well in his opportunities for us. We think really highly of him, he fits our scheme. Veteran guy, so he’s a good presence in the locker room for us. So I think he’ll be one year better just with more opportunities under his belt.”
What do you think another year can do for Jerome Ford, building this offense?
“Yeah, you know, I’m excited for Jerome. Obviously, going into year three, if you remember year two, he did not have a preseason, was injured for the entire preseason. So now he’s healthy, feeling good, I think he’s a young player that continues to get better.”
How about Pierre? How has Pierre looked for you in this camp so far?
“Good. And again, that injury, I just don’t have an update on that yet, but yeah, Pierre’s done a nice job. Again Mary Kay (Cabot), some of our guys, you remember back that they were late additions last year and didn’t go through a whole offseason, whole camp with us. So Pierre’s done a really nice job in special teams. Really nice job in the run game, pass protection, the pass game. Obviously he’s always been good in that area. So excited for Pierre.”
Kevin, we’ve heard Jacques (Cesaire) talk about it, Shelby talked about it today; that there’s maybe still another level there with Myles (Garrett). Is it scary to think about what that could look like?
“Not scary for me. I honestly think the great ones challenge themselves to get better, in every sport. I think you see there’s such great examples across sport of dominant players finding another gear, maybe breaking that world record in track, if you will. But I think Myles is in that category of ‘never satisfied’. He obviously has done some amazing things as a player to date. I think he can certainly do more individually and I know more importantly to him, he wants to do more as a team.”
Is tomorrow’s work more than a walk-through?
“Yes. A normal Friday practice for us.”
With Jerome, what do you think, I guess, he was able to take away from being forced into that feature back role last year and then it’s carried into the last, however many games.
“Yeah, I thought he had some really good moments for us. Again, a young player that I think will continue to get better. We threw him out there on third-downs last season as a third-down running back and he wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t miss a beat. He got – physically was good, mentally was good. And that was again without a preseason, which I remember that being a big question mark for us going into the season. Could a young player handle that role? And he did. So, excited for all the things that come with being a veteran player and getting more turns.”
He talked today about doing a better job, kind of knowing where his blocking is going to be. Did you see that as an issue? Do you see him getting better?
“I just think running backs don’t come into this league as good pass protectors. It just never happens. You don’t see the amount of looks that are seen at this level. So, there’s just so much mentally that has to be done to understand where your blocking assignments are. Even for a running back, knowing when you’re free to get out, and what I mean by that is, you may be in protection, and I have my responsibility, he doesn’t blitz, I can get out. The great ones, the really good ones I’ve been around, it looks like it’s a free release protection. It looks like he’s not even in protection, but his eyes are so good that he gets out the route right away. Those are the type of things I think you see young players getting better at as they get older.”
Will you and AB (Andrew Berry) make cuts before Tuesday?
“I’ll have to check with the boss. I don’t know.”
On Myles, in those big moments, what’s the one you’ve rewound the most? Jumping over the guy in Indy?
“(That) was good. Yeah, I mean, there’s so many. Obviously, Indy, he darn near won the game for us, which is pretty hard to do as a defensive player, but he did. Yeah, there’s a ton. I’m excited to see what he’s got in store this season.”
Would you have a tendency to err on the side of caution with Deshaun having general soreness and also left tackle issues heading into this game?
“Yeah, we’ll see, Mary Kay (Cabot). I think for us, we want to just get through today, get to tomorrow, see where we are, make decisions on the game when we think it’s appropriate. Don’t feel like we have to rush into anything.”
Will he throw tomorrow?
“We’ll see.”
To go back to Jerome, do you think maybe thinking back to his first year that it almost helped him, that here wasn’t really too much time for him to think, like, he just kind of got thrown into the fire. Can that be beneficial for guys sometimes?
“It can. You know, we always talk about as young players, there’s no such thing as a redshirt year. Think about the Dawand Jones. Dawand didn’t get redshirted, Jerome didn’t get redshirted. Our young players have to – if you’re on this roster and you’re dressed on game day, you have to be ready to go in one play or 50 plays, whatever it is. So, I do think those guys understand that mentality is necessary when playing this game and then obviously just working so hard prior to those opportunities, make sure that you’re ready for it.
Is Ronnie Hickman close to return?
“He’s close, yes.”
Is Denzel (Ward) still in the protocol?
“Yes.”
Is it safe to say it’s a concussion?
“Yes.”
Jerry (Jeudy) yesterday talked about just his work with Deshaun, even though he hasn’t been on the field throughout camp. It’s kind of been in and out just because the injury stuff. But what have you noticed about, like, his process? Because every time he’s out there it seems like they have a really good connection even though they haven’t gotten all the reps.
“Yeah, they haven’t gotten a ton of game reps, but those guys are two pros. They do a great job of talking about routes and concepts and Deshaun sharing with Jerry what he sees, Jerry sharing what he sees. I think that’s two pros working together. And they’ve gotten, they have gotten a lot of good work together. And I know it’s easy to say, ‘Well, Jerry was out in the spring.’ But these guys are pros. They’ve gotten a lot of good work.”
With Denzel suffering his fifth concussion since 2018, what is the organization’s approach or feeling or thoughts on it?
“Yeah, I think we have a great medical team. We have resources here when guys are in that protocol and I’m confident in that.”
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