Head Coach Robert Saleh, 7.27
[Please click photo for link to video]
Zack Rosenblatt, The Athletic: Anything you can update us on with Garrett (Wilson)?
Garrett went in, we’re just checking out his ankle. All indications are that he’ll be okay. We’re just going through procedure.
Antwan Staley, New York Daily News: What about Corey Davis?
Corey woke up this morning not feeling well, he’s got a viral illness that he is dealing with, so he’ll be back, hopefully soon.
Al Iannazzone, Newsday: (follow-up) When you say checked out, is he getting an MRI?
Whatever the procedure is, I’m not sure where they’re at right now, the doctors are just looking at him, but it’s not something I don’t think we’re concerned about.
Rich Cimini, ESPN.com: Could you, obviously, it sounds like Dalvin Cook is coming for a visit this weekend. What would that entail and what sort of things do you hope to get out of it?
Like I said, we’ll never say no to a great player, if it’s an opportunity to present yourself in the right way, so I’m excited about him and his visit. It’s really just been able to have a conversation, get hands on him. I know he’s got some things that medically that would have to check out and all that stuff, but again, excited about his visit and a chance to sit down and talk with him.
Mark Cannizzaro, NY Post: What could he bring? He’s obviously been a highly productive guy. How would he fit here, with all the young guys here?
He’s dynamic. He’s a dynamic ball carrier. He’s been a dynamic ball carrier for a long time. He’s great in the pass game, so it’s just a matter of, like I said, all the details of that, I’m not going get too detailed, but you can’t say no to good football player, they usually find a way.
Mark Cannizzaro, NY Post: As an element to this being a win-now team with Aaron (Rodgers) here, how does that play into bringing a guy like that here, when you do have a lot of young guys here who I know you like?
I feel like it started in free agency. Obviously, Aaron’s presence and I think Aaron, he made a heck of a statement. I have talked to you guys about how selfless and how thoughtful he is, with his statement and what he’s done with the organization in terms of giving us this opportunity to be able to go at least try to pursue a guy like Dalvin. It’s been going on since free agency where it just feels like guys want to be here. There’s a lot of excitement in the locker room, so hopefully that momentum continues.
Al Iannazzone, Newsday: Is that an indication that maybe Breece (Hall) is not going to be ready?
No, no. Breece looks fantastic, to the point where we’ve got to slow him down. He’s freakish, he’s in great shape. He looks much more fit than he did a year ago, just adding muscle and all that stuff, and still weighing 225 and hitting, like I said, that 23 on the GPS. He’s, knock on wood, he’s trending in the right direction.
Antwan Staley, New York Daily News: We spoke to Michael Carter the other day and he kind of expressed his unhappiness when you brought in James Robinson last year. Are you worried in any kind of way about how a potential signing like Dalvin would affect the running back room?
No, it’s fair. I’m always worried about those guys, but at the same time, it’s part of the maturation of a professional athlete. There’s a couple things you can’t worry about who’s in the room, you just have to worry about who you are. I think that’s the maturation that takes place. When you get caught up on all the things you’ve got no control over, you think you’re bringing in a guy like James, who’s a great young man, has had a lot of success in this League, you’re trying to add depth and make sure that the rotation stays the same. Another kid might be thinking, well shoot, they don’t like me. Well, it’s not necessarily the case. It takes maturation to get to the point where it doesn’t matter whether who they bring in, I’m just going to focus on my job, do the best I can, and kick that door down and make sure that I leave no doubt that I should be playing, but it goes back to what I said, I feel like I’ve said it a million times here. When you focus on things you have no control over, you take away from the things you have control over and if you take away from the things you have control over, bad stuff happens.
Mark Cannizzaro, NY Post: You have probably been made aware what Sean Peyton said today, I am assuming. Just kind of curious, what’s your reaction to that? On (Nathaniel) Hackett and you guys kind of drawing attention and what not. Just as a follow up to that, do you feel because of all this stuff and Aaron here and Hard Knocks and what not, you have become a little bit more of a lightning rod here and that’s something you have to deal with?
Well, I’m not going to acknowledge Sean on that. He’s been in the League a while, he can say whatever the hell he wants, but as far as what we have going on here. I can live by the saying ‘if you ain’t got no haters, you ain’t poppin, so hate away.’ Obviously, we’re doing something right if you got to talk about us when we don’t play until Week Four, and I’m good with it. The guys in our locker room, they’ve earned everything that’s coming to them and really excited about what’s going on. I think Hackett’s doing a phenomenal job here. The coaching staff is doing a phenomenal job and we’re focused on us. I get it, there’s a lot of external noise. There’s a lot of people who are hating on us. There’s a lot of people looking for us to fail. There’s a lot of crows pecking at our neck, but all you can do is spread your wings, keep flying high until those crows fall off and suffocate from the inability to breathe. It’s a whole other analogy I’ll get into later, but we’re really, really, really excited about the group we have, the coaching that’s going on, but I’m going to keep our focus on us and making sure that we’re prepared every single day to do the best we can and learn from our past and grow with every moment that we have.
Rich Cimini, ESPN.com: Robert, what was your initial reaction when you found out how much money Aaron was leaving on the table, and could you talk about the tangible and intangible benefits when a guy does something like that?
We kind of knew during the process just in conversation with Aaron and I know it took a while, just when something like that’s happening you just want to make sure every “t” is crossed and your “i’s” are dotted and all that stuff. To be honest with you, it’s why I keep getting up here when people ask me what’s my first thought of Aaron and I say thoughtful and how deliberate he is and just who he is as a person. I think it says a lot when the best player on your football team and a Hall of Famer is willing to sacrifice something because he wants to win, which is ultimately what we’re all here to do. Yes, money and all that stuff, fame, all that good stuff, but at the end of the day, we’re all happy when we win. For him to look at this organization from the outside looking in and feel like we’re doing a lot of things the right way and we brought in the right people, we brought in the right coaching staff, we brought in the right management, and we have people surrounded for him to take a shot on us, I think it speaks volumes and we’re grateful for that. I think it says a lot.
Tom Rock, Newsday: Did you have to sell him on that, not directly, but over the last few months, do you feel like that?
No, this was Aaron. Aaron wanted to do this.
Mark Cannizzaro, NY Post: One more on Dalvin (Cook), Aaron has obviously seen a lot of him, not from the defensive side of the ball. Have you spoken to him about Cook at all and has he had any input even if just gaps?
Yeah, I’m always going to lean on him. On the field issues, off the field issues, personnel. Told you, he’s as close to a coach as you can get as a player and he’s been in this League just as long as I have, so of course, he’s going to have some thoughts and it’d behoove us not to seek his input when the opportunity presents itself.
Brian Costello, New York Post: A player like Dalvin or Odell (Beckham Jr.) who you guys looked at in the Spring, how do you guard against sort of playing fantasy football and seeing the name and saying, okay, yeah, definitely versus making sure it fits what you’re building overall here?
You’re 100% on it, Coz, because you want to make sure it fits. You’re not trying to build a team of names. You want to make sure that it fits and I feel like that’s what we’ve been able to do a really good job of. Not trying to build a dream team, but making sure that everything fits for a reason. There’s a purpose for what we’re doing. And being very cognizant of not getting caught up in fan noise and pulling in names just to pull in names. A lot of discussions have been had. A lot of film has been watched on Dalvin and if it fits, it’s because we know it’ll fit. It’s not just to make a move to win the offseason.
Otis Livingston, WCBS: The roster is filled with talent, in the Offense and Defense Rookie of the Year returning, you have Rodgers, possibly Dalvin Cook, and Quinnen Williams. Every move that gets made, the expectation and the pressure increases. Is that what you’re looking forward to? Being able to settle this team, put them out there on Monday Night against the Bills and see where you stand?
No, you know what, expectations, they’re always, you love it, it’s better than the other side, where everyone’s expecting you to be junk, right? You never shy away from expectations. As far as and I’ve kind of addressed, as far as pressure, the expectation is to win, always, always, always, doesn’t matter, but the pressure to win lies in how you operate day to day. That’s the pressure. How much pressure are you applying on yourself day to day, regardless of what the expectations are and that’s the focus. That’s what we’re trying to keep our focus on. How we operate the second we wake up to the second we put our head down on the pillow. If you’re making it all about winning, I got to win, I got to win, I got to win. You don’t have control because I’ve said it before you can have the best day of your life and the man in front of you or the person in front of you might still beat you and that’s okay, that’s okay because that happens but as long as you know and you can look at that person in the mirror say you know what I give everything I got, then you can live with the result, win, lose or draw. The pressure for us isn’t necessarily going 17 – 0. That’s the expectation, the pressure for us is to wake up every morning and kick-ass and see where it takes us.
Eric Allen, New York Jets: What’s the next step for Quincy Williams and what do you guys like about (Jason) Brownlee and what have you thought about him so far?
He’s doing a great job. We were actually, full disclaimer, not to get in Joe D’s business, but we were trying to draft him on day three. Opportunity just didn’t present, but he was in every discussion on all those day three picks and just lost out by one guy at each spot, but when we were able to get him as a free agent, we’re really excited about it and he’s proven it. He’s showing the ability to win on some of those go balls. Big boy routes, if you will, but he’s still got a long way to go with regards to developing his intermediate game and all that and then obviously, the physicality in the run game and the things that we’re going to ask him to do in that regard, but really like where he’s going. We’re only a couple days in the pads. We’ve still got a lot of games to play. He still has a lot to prove, but he’s trending in that right direction.
Eric Allen, New York Jets: What about Quincy Williams, you see him flying all over the place?
Quincy, he always flies around. I’m excited for him because I feel like he’s kind of taken a step in terms of, these past couple years with relying so much on C.J. (Mosley) to get lined up, to get the call, and now you just hear his voice kind of coming out. As I’ve always said, the volume of your voice projects in confidence. The louder you are, the more confident you are, and he’s getting louder and louder and not necessarily separating from C.J., but communicating with C.J. and they’re talking together. I think what it’s creating is a pretty damn good linebacker and I still think he just going to get better, but Quincy, I love the fact that he’s here.
Jared Schwartz, New York Post: You spoke highly of Tony Adams yesterday, what has impressed you most about him on the field so far?
His mental makeup. He checks all the boxes physically, he’s got red line, the red line speed, he’s physical in the box. He’s got great instincts in the run game. He’s got great fuel in the passing, he checks all that stuff. There’s a lot of people in this League who check those boxes, but there’s only a few that check his mental makeup and everything about him. He’s excited about everything. You see him in a special teams drill, he’s talking crap, you see him in individual, he’s talking, he just loves being out there. He loves ball. He loves the process. He loves everything, so as long as he keeps that drive and that love for football and that childlike love and enthusiasm, I think he will be all right.