Head Coach Todd Monken (8.8.26)
Will Shedeur (Sanders) take all of the first team reps today even though, again, once the install is over?
“Might end up with a seven-on-seven, might end up where Deshaun (Watson) gets one of those, that’s what we’ve been doing, but Shedeur will take the majority of the one reps today.”
Todd, not just for the quarterbacks, but every position, how do you balance the micro analysis evaluation with the bigger picture? How does that balance in terms of not putting too much on one specific practice or one specific period, but kind of looking more over a period of time.
“You’re exactly right, it’s not really one play or one practice. It’s the totality of the days, today being day 10. And what you really want to see is improvement. If our players aren’t improving, then who are we as coaches, really? We’re in the development business. So, if we don’t see development, well then, why aren’t we? From a coaching standpoint, from a system standpoint, from a player standpoint, what are they doing on their end to allow themselves to maximize their measurable skill set. So, we’re not done evaluating anywhere, and it’s a day-to-day process.”
There have been 17 interceptions through nine practices. Is that more on the defense or the quarterbacks?
“It’s everybody. It’s offense, quarterbacks, defense, system — it’s all of us. When you turn the ball over, it’s all of us. When the defense gives up an explosive play, it’s all of them. When we have lost yards on plays, it’s all of us. All stats are team stats. So, we’ve got to do a better job of scheming it, executing, protecting and throwing it. It’s really not one player, per se. Are we excited about the turnovers? Of course not. But that’s all you do, you keep practicing and fight to correct it.”
More specifically to that, was the quarterbacks airing it out for some plays down field, was that by design, and specifically, what can you learn from a day like that?
“One was a fantastic play by D-Mac (Donovan McMillon). We’ve got to look out for the safety a little better, but we had him open – the interception by Dillon (Gabriel). The one by Sheuder, it was just trying to fit it into a tight window down the field. The other one, we got a little push into Deshaun’s face and we overthrew it. Every one of them is going to have a story. The bottom line is that you don’t like any of them, but it’s part of the process, part of going through practicing.”
How do you teach, in practice, about risk management for quarterbacks? Practice is the time to see what works, but you never want to see an interception.
“Eventually you start to drill that down a little bit. You want the guys to be aggressive, be quarterback-controlled, take shots down the field. Ultimately, as we get closer to games, they know. They understand in terms of what it does to your team when you turn the ball over, in terms of the number one stat in winning and losing. They understand that.”
I saw Parker Brailsford’s working out with a wrist brace on, is it a wrist injury for him and when do you expect him back?
“I’m not really going to comment on injuries. You guys can keep trying, which I appreciate. As soon as he gets cleared, we’ll have him back at practice.”
Will Teven Jenkins be back full in practice today?
“I’m hopeful. He was back yesterday, and we’re hopeful to have him for a little bit more today.”
Just thinking about the injuries that you guys have had these first two weeks, has that hindered your ability to two-spot maybe as much as you would have after those first handful days of practice, and how has that impacted you overall?
“You’d like to be able to get as many reps as you can, but your numbers dictate that. Andrew’s (Berry) done a good job of bringing other guys in so we can practice. At the end of the day, we got a good amount of two spot work early. I don’t know moving forward if we’ll end up that way. Maybe a little passing just to get some more reps throwing it. But for the most part, I think we’re done with that.”
After 10 practices, will the coaches reassess where you’re at?
“100%. We went through the first week, we’re now done with installs, and we’ve had a chance to assess. We already talked about it last night, and tomorrow. Now we’re into game week, the closest thing we’ll have to a game, the (Chicago) Bears. I’ll start to put the pieces where we think, again at that time, after another week we’ll reassess come Monday. You’ll see that on Monday.”
Have you decided yet, in your own mind at least, who will start at quarterback in Chicago? And if you have decided, are you willing to share that?
“That’s something we’ll talk about tomorrow. Tonight, tomorrow, and then Monday we’ll start to really focus in on who’s going to start and how we’re going to play our guys, and where we’re at quarterback is a piece of that.”
How has Shedeur improved on his pre- and post-snap reads since training camp began?
“Tremendously. He’s improving his operation, his pre-snap, post-snap, his eyes and his feet working in conjunction, being able to check the ball down and get it out of his hands. He’s such a playmaker. That’s hard for him, for a guy that’s always looking to make plays and is super competitive. That is a win. Trying to get super competitive quarterbacks to understand that throwing the ball away and eliminating a loss-yardage play is a win. That’s something over time that he’ll continue to build on.”
How are you, in the name of figuring out who starts next week, what’s maybe the most important thing? What are you looking for?
“It’s a collective body of work over the last 10 weeks. Actually, the first game, it’ll be who we think to start off will give us the best chance to function and score the most points. Even in a preseason game, the win or loss won’t matter, but how we play is going to matter to me. How we function offensively, it’ll be the same way with Rudy (Mike Rutenberg) on defense or Byron (Storer) on special teams. Whoever we put out there, we want the product to look like we want it to look like, so ultimately, that’ll be the start of it.”
How much weight are you going to put into the preseason game versus what you’ve seen in training camp in terms of naming your starters?
“It’s the next step. You have to put some amount on it. It’s the closest thing to where the quarterbacks understand they can get hit. No matter how much you’re in practice and you feel the rush, they’re not getting hit. It’ll change in a hurry. No matter who’s out in front of you and when you’re trying to stack plays, it’s easier to really evaluate by drive, not per play, since you just move to the next play. You’re moving the football, how are we converting? You understand the issues with loss-yardage plays and turnovers. So, the closest thing you’re going to have is the preseason games.”
Other than quarterback position, which position group merits the most conversation with the coaches?
“I don’t know if there’s any one in particular. I think offensive line is part of it because I think where you’re looking at where you had draft picks. You brought these guys in, where do they fit, where do the receivers we drafted fit, where do the O-linemen fit? I know we’ve been nicked up a little bit. Where does E-Man (Emmanuel McNeil-Warren) fit on defense, where are we going to use him? Where does Carsen (Ryan) on offense fit? Along with who’s really popped so far in practice, give them an opportunity to see if that carries over to games.”
Have you thought about cross training more guys?
“You have no choice but to cross-train. It’s hard because you’re trying, with all of your players, evaluate what they bring to the table from a physical standpoint, and when you move them short-term, especially heading into games, now you’re talking about the mental process are they able to play fast? So, there’s a balance between cross training your guys and still allowing them to play fast and showcase what they can do.”
When you talk about deciding who’s going to start at quarterback versus the Bears, is that still with it in mind that the other guy is going to start against the (Buffalo) Bills?
“That’s still in mind. We’re still on that track of liking to have one start one game and then the other. But everything we do is subject to change, with every position on the field. We’ll see how it goes today. We’ll see how it goes Monday, we’ll see how it goes Tuesday, and then we’ll put our best foot forward next Saturday.”
What did you see or what did Deshaun show you in closing out that two-minute drill, with that nice pass to Isaiah (Bond)?
“He did a nice job before the last play, escaping. He could’ve been sacked, but he escaped and made a throw to Tylan (Wallace) and kept the drive alive. Then at the end, on the last play, he did a great job of escaping. Those plays from the 25, are usually going to have to result in scrambles. When they put everybody back, there’s not a route concept for everybody back. It’s going to get in the end zone. He did a great job of positioning his feet and giving us a chance. His athleticism showed up there.”
We talked about hitting, and when the pads come on, you’re being able to evaluate that tension a lot more. What have both sides of the ball shown you through the first month of practice, and what are you looking to see today with the pads back on that you haven’t maybe seen yet?
“I don’t know if there’ll be anything we haven’t seen yet. It’s about how we build off Thursday’s day in pads and then yesterday. The majority of what we’re doing today is carryover. So, how do we carry over the teaching and the learning. The majority of our players have not achieved everything they want to achieve in their careers, and everybody has a goal, whether it’s to be a Pro Bowler, be a gold jacket, or to be a starter, be a rotational player, make the team, or be a practice squad player. Everybody’s competing.”
You look at today, it’s supposed to be a little hot, a little humid, a long practice, what are you looking for from the players to see that they’re ready for Saturday and all that can come with it?
“Competitive stamina. At some point, when the guys come back, there is no build up period. When they come back in the spring, the first two weeks is phase one. You don’t even get them, they work out. You come back here, you’re counting on the guys being ready to go, because you can’t waste practice days. We’re 10 in, this should be like them coming back and they’re with us. You want to start to see competitive stamina. Can we have drives where guys have to play on the field for a long period of time? That’s what we’re looking for today, that competitive stamina.”
We talked to Mason (Graham) today. He had half a sack last year and he was in the backfield. How do you balance creating pressure like he did kind with sack boundaries?
“There’s a lot that goes into that. He was a rookie, he was very disruptive. What is really amazing, and this isn’t a knock on – this is just a general statement, not last year’s team. Your sack totals are going to climb the better you play on offense, the more points you score, and the more you’re winning. Your sack totals are going to go down when the other team’s in four-minute. There’s no other way around it, that’s the way it goes. It’s hard for interior players to get sacks, it just is, and when the other team’s in control of the game. That’s what’s so amazing when guys do sack totals when you’re not in that position. That’s just where you’re at, or how many opportunities you get in two-minute. I anticipate that number to go way up. From what I’ve seen, I anticipate it to go way up”
You’ve had a number of guys out with injuries, but that also has opens the door for opportunities. Have you seem some guys catch your eye that have taken advantage of that?
“Sure. Some of the guys up front that have had a chance to get in there. Before Parker (Brailsford) got nicked up a little bit, he was in there. Obviously, when you’re talking about KT (Leveston) at right guard getting in there with Teven being nicked up a little bit. The offensive line, that’s one. But when you start talking about defensively, some of the inside guys, I mean, Adin (Huntington) is a heck of an interior player, plays outside and inside, he only knows one speed. With some of those guys banged up inside, you really see him pop.”
It looked like earlier in that first session of team drills, Deshaun was kind of mushed in with Quinshon (Judkins) to move over. What kind of went on there?
“That’s pretty funny, wasn’t it? You ought to see the quarterback camera of that. Them just arguing. They’re staring at each other, one is saying one thing, the other saying the other. It’s like, ‘I really don’t give a s***, fix it.’ We don’t have to stand here and argue. How do we fix it? There were certain ways we could have fixed that. Looking back now, it was funny. It wasn’t funny at the time, and it wouldn’t be funny in a game. But it was funny at the time because one heard one thing, one heard another. Ok, teaching moment. How do we fix it, because it was really easily fixable based on what formation we were in, what plays we run out of that, what he thought he heard. All of things come into play, how do our players fix it?”
Does the tie go to a quarterback in a disagreement like that?
“I would say so. The quarterback makes the final decision. Hopefully he’s the guy that’s in charge and understands he’s an extension of us. Not always the case, but in most cases he would know. But he’s a prideful guy, so when he’s being told he’s moving he’ll say, ‘No, that’s not what he heard.’ In his mind you’ve got to say it more clearly. It was really cool. It’s a lot more fun now than it was at the time, but I do get it, and I love the way they handled it. I really did. They handled it great, they understand, and we’re just fighting through that. How do we fix things of what we thought we heard and what we really need to understand what we need to get done.”
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