Head Coach Todd Monken (6.11.26)
Now that minicamp is over, how would you assess the whole offseason?
“Whole off season was outstanding because really, for the most part, our team was here for the other nine weeks. So, guys did a great job. It’s been a really productive offseason.”
When you started minicamp, or when you started the spring, you got to this point – what was maybe the biggest thing you wanted to kind of know about your team or understand about your team before they got through some here. And did you feel like you got that answer?
“I mean, do you like football? They like practicing. They like football. Makes it fun. I didn’t have to play that last song. I really didn’t. Just gave me three more minutes with them. It’s been a cool 10 weeks.”
Was there a point playing music throughout the whole practice today – that was a little different.
“We could play music maybe just a little louder today. The breaks, I turn it up. So, we did that for rookie minicamp and the voluntary minicamp. We had breaks on the last day, so we just played it. That was just louder. We’ve added it in practice. You guys happen to be right by the speakers, so it just felt like it was louder.”
Todd, yesterday (Spencer) Fano was with the second team, and I thought that was a change that had already been made. So, what was the point of him being primarily second team yesterday?
“Well, trying to get Dawand (Jones) some work with the ones and the twos. We want to see where he’s at and move Fano as much as we could with the ones and twos. It was planned over the three days that they were both going to work with the ones and the twos.”
Todd, just to put a bow on this, since we didn’t get to talk to you yesterday, now that minicamp is officially over – last time we talked to you, you said chances are you will not have your quarterback.
“Yeah, I don’t see that.”
So, you’re just going to go into the summer break status quo and come back and pick it back up?
“We’ll start off all camp just like we’ve been doing. We’ll alternate those guys.”
Will you have a one, two, three by having the pads on, which gets you into the second week of training camp?
“That’d be great. I don’t know if I will, but I’d love to. I’d love to have it now. We just don’t.”
Speaking of Dawand (Jones), how have you seen him throughout the rehab process? And it looks like he lost a lot of weight from last year. Just what have you seen out of him in these 10 weeks?
“Well, I wasn’t around him last year, so I don’t know if he was a little chubby then. I don’t know that. I mean, again, if a guy’s been injured and out, it’s easy to put on weight, right? It just is you’re not as active. He’s been great. Looks really good running around. Obviously, has grasped what we’re trying to do. So, it’s been fun having him out there working.”
Todd (Monken), what has stood out to you about Shedeur’s (Sanders) body of work? I know we’ve talked about the progress that he’s made, but as you put a cap on the offseason workout program, can you kind of encapsulate the growth that you’ve see from him?
“Well, I just think he’s doing a better job…I think he’s being more decisive. Now, it’s easy to say we’re not in pads. It just feels like he’s making quicker decisions. The ball’s coming out of his hands, which he’s gonna have to do. Not that he doesn’t have playmaking ability, because he does, but his ability to process quicker and get the ball out of his hands and eliminate lost yardage plays is going to be huge for us to be able to stack plays and score, which is ultimately the number one thing here.”
But is that the point of waiting for pads to determine your one, two, three?
“100%. It’s hard to really say. It’s hard to say and I mean, whether it would have been a little legit pressure. Wouldn’t have been. Would he have had all that time? I don’t know. There’s still a lot to see – quarterbacks and the O-line, especially once we put the pads on.”
It looked like he had the first-team O-line do a little lap around the practice field.
“He did? Well, they might have. You got to ask George (Warhop), he’s standing right back there. Yeah, I didn’t know they took a lap.”
Since you wanted your quarterback by now, is there any negative heading into training camp, at least at the beginning, that you don’t have that?
“I don’t see it that way. It would be if I didn’t think either one of them were capable of starting. It would feel different if I didn’t feel like their progression hadn’t gotten to this point where I think they both can start and play winning football. I’m convinced of it. And I’d say it if I didn’t. I mean, I can’t decide now because I think both have earned the opportunity to continue to compete once we put the pads on.”
Todd (Monken), Deshaun (Watson) was saying yesterday – he was talking about the difference in system and he said there’s a lot more responsibility on the quarterback in this – you know, kind of paraphrasing a little bit, but the responsibility placed on the quarterback, play in and play out, what they’re asked to do is different. You would think that would be the case in any system. But can you maybe dissect a little bit of what he’s talking about in terms of what you ask your quarterbacks to do that might be different?
“Oh, I don’t know that. I mean, what you ask your quarterback to do is a byproduct of what they’re capable of doing and how much ownership they want in QB control. Some guys want that and some guys don’t. Some guys don’t want that smoke, because when they take that control, they change a play or they change the protection, it falls on them. Now, they’re the ones that have to explain why they did what they did. Not everybody wants that. Our guys want that, which is cool because, again, not everybody wants that. Not everybody wants to be that diligent and work at it to where when the moment comes up, they’re capable at the line of scrimmage, of getting this into a premium play. And all of our guys are capable of that, which makes it fun.”
You mentioned some of the things you would like to see from Shedeur (Sanders) moving forward. How about Deshaun (Watson)? Are there things that you would still like to see from him as you move through camp?
“Sure. No, I think again, you’d have to ask Deshaun (Watson) this. I think he’s excited to play again and to play at a high level. You know, he puts a lot of pressure on himself. So, when he’s not right or he makes a mistake, he’s great at owning it. But it’s okay, we’re human. We’re going to make mistakes. You’re not going to play flawless. It’s okay. Just go to the next play. Go to the next play. And I think the things you don’t see out here, you do a little bit, I think he plays with his feet. So that’s going to be a huge weapon for him. It has been in his career and as long as he’s healthy it will continue to be a weapon for him.”
Todd (Monken), not so much today, but the practices I’ve seen, you’re very hands-on with receivers. Does that go back to that’s the way you broke into the NFL coaching ranks, or is it because of your system that puts a lot more responsibility on receivers?
“That’s where my eyes go. Even though I played quarterback and I’ve been with both, I think at times it can be an under-coached position and so I want to make sure it’s right. I have a lot of faith in CJ (Christian Jones) that has nothing to do with CJ and Woz (John Wozniak). I just – that’s where my eyes go and I also have a lot of faith in Mike Bajakian and Matt Baker with the quarterbacks. So, it’s just making sure that the receivers understand how important it is in terms of route running, detail and spacing when we get zoned. And if you want to be good at throwing the football, you got to be able to protect and you got to have guys – I mean, obviously we have to have weapons on the perimeter which we’ve addressed both of those here in the offseason.”
When you’re making your quarterback decision, how much do you weigh face of the franchise, being able to stand up – does that come into play?
“I don’t care. Whoever gives us the best chance to score, and I won’t know that till we play. We don’t know this now in shorts and we may not know it until we play in the preseason games. And even then, there’s no guarantee of who you’re playing against. The matchups are not always equal. You can decide you’re playing they’re ones and they’re not. So ultimately, we take all the information in the offseason and then training camp and then the preseason game of practice and then let it rip.”
Todd (Monken), you mentioned feeling like you had four of the five starting O-linemen settled. We saw some different iterations of what that could look like this week. How much clarity do you think you sort of have going into the break on what that fifth one’s going to look like?
“We have some. I mean, you’re banking on the free agents you signed to still play at that high level that they played at. You’re counting on Spencer (Fano) to play at a high level of why we drafted him that early, but you still haven’t put the pads on yet. I couldn’t really tell you how it’s going to shake out other than you only know what you’ve seen in the past. And then they got to prove it. I mean, ultimately, you are what you put on tape. So, when we get to fall, we’ll see it with the O-line. You are what you put on tape.”
Todd (Monken), we asked you so much about the offense, but what do you make of what Rudy’s (Mike Rutenberg) done with the defense? What are you looking forward to seeing carry over into training camp?
“It’s been fun to watch. First of all, I think he’s having a blast. You know, now it won’t be so much fun in the fall. You know, it’s a lot harder when you’re calling a defense and you’re up against teams and you got to make plays. But, you know, his energy pops. I think the guys feed off that. Again, I think he’s done a great job and collectively with the staff that was here, not only taking what they’ve done in the past, but implementing some new thoughts coverage-wise that he wanted to put in.”
Jerry Jeudy didn’t do anything in team today – does that give veteran days off during camp?
“No, his hamstring…I usually don’t comment about injuries, but you dragged me into this Tony (Grossi). His hamstring grabbed him a little bit and he didn’t want to go into the offseason with a hamstring injury.”
Will there be veteran days off during camp?
“No, they don’t get veteran days off. We might monitor the reps, but they’re going to be dressed. That’s what you do as a team. Everybody’s dressed. Again, we might monitor the reps or medically. I don’t do that, medical decides. Besides that, there are no vet days off.”
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