Pass game coordinator/DBs coach Jeff Howard (8.11.21)

On the first unofficial depth chart listing CB Greedy Williams over CB Greg Newsome II as the starting CB opposite of CB Denzel Ward and if it is games or practice that will play an impact in that competition:

“It is something that I am excited about this year is having a competitive room with those corners. Like you were talking about, is it games or is it practice? It is all of the above. Every day, we want to come in and we want to put our best foot forward. We are going to compete in these preseason games and these training camp practices, and we are going to sort it out at the end of it and we are going to see who ends up coming out the best. Talking about the room in general, competition is a big part of what we talk about every day. We want to be fierce competitors, and every opportunity we have to compete, we want to do that. Those guys buy into that. It is something that we are going to do together so we are not pitting guys against one another. We are going to compete at the highest level because ultimately, we want to have one of the best secondaries in the NFL.”

On Newsome and Williams:

“They are both playing outside for us and then Greg is also taking some reps in the slot. They are both long. They both have good speed. They are able to press. They both have some good zone reactions. They are comfortable when the ball is in the air. There are some similarities, but there are also some differences. Greedy has a little bit more experience, but what I would say about Greg is I have been extremely impressed day to day on how he takes coaching and his ability to take information in from the meeting room and be able to take it out to the field. He is a very consistent learner. I think he is wise beyond his years. He asks great questions. Really thoughtful on his craft on what he should be looking at, his alignments and all of that stuff. That really stands out with Greg. Same thing with Greedy. He is fully involved with the process and getting better every day.”

On if it is difficult to envision what the Ss will look like with Ss Ronnie Harrison Jr. and Grant Delpit out with injuries:

“With that group, ultimately, we want to have guys out on the field and we want to practice. (Head) Coach (Kevin) Stefanski has sent a clear message to our team that if we are able to practice, we value practice here because it makes us who we are. Now, ultimately, if you are unable to practice, we are not going to ask you to be out on the field if you can’t be there. We want those guys to be there, and since they are not, we are trying to make the most of those situations. What that looks like is in meetings, they are involved with every meeting, and then during walkthroughs, we are trying to get them as many reps as possible so that they can see as much as we can close to those game-like situations. Walkthroughs, meetings, quizzes afterwards and spending extra time on that information so that really when their bodies are able that they can come out and play. We also realize that there is a process to that. Those practice reps are important. Just going through the process with them trying to make the most of it for what it is.”

On how Delpit was coming along following a season-ending injury before sustaining a hamstring injury during training camp:

“He has not really had a whole lot of snaps for us, but he was around at minicamp and he has been around. Unfortunately, I think he has had like nine team reps up to this point so it has been very few and far between for Grant.”

On if Delpit has a chance to contribute early in the season despite the injury in training camp:

“I am trying to keep [away from] projections. We are not really focused on that. Kind of focused on the day to day. We will see what he is when he gets back. Ultimately, we talk about in our room that who we are as football players is what we put on tape. We are going to make assessments off of that, not any sort of projections.”