RECAP: Wade Phillips press conference 10/25/07 by Grizz
by Dave Halprin (Grizz) Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 03:13:06 PM EDT
Wade: We held out Flozell Adams, Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton from practice. Had a good practice today. We practiced some of the younger guys, especially at WR since we had two out. I told them this is a well-deserved break, take some time off and then come back and be ready for the Eagles.
Why did you hold those guys out, rest or injury?
Kind of both. Owens has a little problem with the ankle, Crayton a hamstring, it’s not serious, Flozell, he’s got a little something but nothing serious. They could have practiced, we just wanted to give them a little more time. Anybody who was hurting...or over 30. (laughter) (What about holding Romo out?) No, Romo’s all right, he wanted to practice but we limited his role in the number of reps and what he did.
Was holding Flo out related to what happened at the end of the game?
A little bit, he’s all right though, no problems.
Anthony Henry?
Don’t know, he’s progressing well, we have another week and a half to see. Like for him to practice before he plays but I don’t know if he can do that.
Is it a problem holding a roster spot for Terry Glenn?
You have seven inactives each week, the only thing your missing is in practice. We want him back and he’s trying to get back, holding his spot is not a problem, we just lose one practice player.
Tank Johnson?
Got more work today, he’s progressing. He’s very quick for his size, exceptional quickness on the field. I think he’ll be fine football-wise, once he plays in a couple of weeks, it will be his first game in a while. We had pads on in practice today especially in the run practice. He needs to get used to the timing and getting the pads on, he’ll be ready.
6-1 beyond what you expected?
Coaches are real optimistic. The players have done a good job of coming together and making plays. That’s what you don’t know going into the season, we knew we had some athletic players, but whether they come together as a team and make plays, you don’t know that.
Learned anything knew about Tony Romo since training camp?
From the first I could see he’s a hard worker, he made plays in practice and a lot of guys can’t carry that over to games but he‘s been doing that. He makes plays, its one thing to play QB and be a leader, but to make plays that most QB’s can’t make, that’s what I didn’t know.
Anybody exceeded your expectations on the playing field?
I think our captains have played well, those four guys have played well and are good leaders. Our resident superstar has played well, I guess I’ll call him by name, Terrell. Guys have made plays for us.
Unknowns who have played well?
I don’t know about unknowns, but our offensive line has played well. Gurode and Davis are really powerful players that have dominated inside and worn guys down at the end. Our whole line has played well, but those two especially.
Any plans to use draftees like Marten, Free or Stanback more in this season?
Well, Spencer has started for us, we are now letting Spencer play both sides since Ellis is back. He did a good job of it in practice this week. The other draft choices, we’re pleased, they are all progressing, I think it’s a good group. They will show up in the future, maybe not the immediate future, but they will contribute down the road.
Bradie James?
James has played outstanding. He’s a leader, he’s smart, we are using him more and more. He can make adjustments and call audibles in the game, some guys can do that and you have to call everything for them. We are trying to utilize him more in that way, he can put us in the right defense. Him losing weight and becoming quicker is showing up, he’s a good athlete, it didn’t show up as much last year. (What about Akin Ayodele in the middle with him?) Bradie has been the dominant player, but we knew that Akin is a consistent player, we saw both were last year, but Bradie has stepped it up more. (Pass coverage?) We use him some, of course first down is nowadays 50/50 pass and run, but we’ll feel comfortable with him in pass coverage. We put him on certain TE’s one-on-one this year and he was fine, I was worried about that coming in to the season.
Players looking at the Eagles yet?
We started on them, defensively we ran all their plays today, looked at their blitzes on offense. We started on that.
(Disclaimer: These press conference recaps are just paraphrases of what Wade Phillips says and aren’t vetted for total accuracy on quotes. I shorten and condense things he says but try to get across the intended meaning. Occasionally, what I post loses the context of something Wade said and may appear counter-intuitive. If you have questions about something from the press conference, feel free to ask in the comments.)
Wade: We held out Flozell Adams, Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton from practice. Had a good practice today. We practiced some of the younger guys, especially at WR since we had two out. I told them this is a well-deserved break, take some time off and then come back and be ready for the Eagles.
Why did you hold those guys out, rest or injury?
Kind of both. Owens has a little problem with the ankle, Crayton a hamstring, it’s not serious, Flozell, he’s got a little something but nothing serious. They could have practiced, we just wanted to give them a little more time. Anybody who was hurting...or over 30. (laughter) (What about holding Romo out?) No, Romo’s all right, he wanted to practice but we limited his role in the number of reps and what he did.
Was holding Flo out related to what happened at the end of the game?
A little bit, he’s all right though, no problems.
Anthony Henry?
Don’t know, he’s progressing well, we have another week and a half to see. Like for him to practice before he plays but I don’t know if he can do that.
Is it a problem holding a roster spot for Terry Glenn?
You have seven inactives each week, the only thing your missing is in practice. We want him back and he’s trying to get back, holding his spot is not a problem, we just lose one practice player.
Tank Johnson?
Got more work today, he’s progressing. He’s very quick for his size, exceptional quickness on the field. I think he’ll be fine football-wise, once he plays in a couple of weeks, it will be his first game in a while. We had pads on in practice today especially in the run practice. He needs to get used to the timing and getting the pads on, he’ll be ready.
6-1 beyond what you expected?
Coaches are real optimistic. The players have done a good job of coming together and making plays. That’s what you don’t know going into the season, we knew we had some athletic players, but whether they come together as a team and make plays, you don’t know that.
Learned anything knew about Tony Romo since training camp?
From the first I could see he’s a hard worker, he made plays in practice and a lot of guys can’t carry that over to games but he‘s been doing that. He makes plays, its one thing to play QB and be a leader, but to make plays that most QB’s can’t make, that’s what I didn’t know.
Anybody exceeded your expectations on the playing field?
I think our captains have played well, those four guys have played well and are good leaders. Our resident superstar has played well, I guess I’ll call him by name, Terrell. Guys have made plays for us.
Unknowns who have played well?
I don’t know about unknowns, but our offensive line has played well. Gurode and Davis are really powerful players that have dominated inside and worn guys down at the end. Our whole line has played well, but those two especially.
Any plans to use draftees like Marten, Free or Stanback more in this season?
Well, Spencer has started for us, we are now letting Spencer play both sides since Ellis is back. He did a good job of it in practice this week. The other draft choices, we’re pleased, they are all progressing, I think it’s a good group. They will show up in the future, maybe not the immediate future, but they will contribute down the road.
Bradie James?
James has played outstanding. He’s a leader, he’s smart, we are using him more and more. He can make adjustments and call audibles in the game, some guys can do that and you have to call everything for them. We are trying to utilize him more in that way, he can put us in the right defense. Him losing weight and becoming quicker is showing up, he’s a good athlete, it didn’t show up as much last year. (What about Akin Ayodele in the middle with him?) Bradie has been the dominant player, but we knew that Akin is a consistent player, we saw both were last year, but Bradie has stepped it up more. (Pass coverage?) We use him some, of course first down is nowadays 50/50 pass and run, but we’ll feel comfortable with him in pass coverage. We put him on certain TE’s one-on-one this year and he was fine, I was worried about that coming in to the season.
Players looking at the Eagles yet?
We started on them, defensively we ran all their plays today, looked at their blitzes on offense. We started on that.
(Disclaimer: These press conference recaps are just paraphrases of what Wade Phillips says and aren’t vetted for total accuracy on quotes. I shorten and condense things he says but try to get across the intended meaning. Occasionally, what I post loses the context of something Wade said and may appear counter-intuitive. If you have questions about something from the press conference, feel free to ask in the comments.)
posted by The Gryphon at 7:08 PM
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