Training Camp: Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson
July 26, 2006
On that it looked like things picked up today at practice: "Yeah, a little competition, these last few days you are going to win some you lose some. Yesterday I thought we did a pretty good job defensively, today I think the offense did a pretty good job. It kind of goes back and forth, but they are competing hard. You see some good things; you see some things you got to correct. But, at least we got the pads on, ready to go."
On the dynamics people should expect to see this year from the defense with all of the new depth: "You are going to see a lot of guys going around. You are going to see [DE Darren] Howard playing inside sometimes like a nickel. You are going to see [LB] Chris Gocong in there sometimes. We are still in the process of working something in that, but it's still. We got some versatility anyway with some of our guys; a guy like Howard and a guy like Chris Gocong. So we are going to try to take advantage of that."
On whether DE Jevon Kearse may play standing up a little bit more: "A good chance, it's a possibility."
On what he has seen from DE Jerome McDougle so far: "McDougle is pushing [LB/DE] Trent Cole a lot in the nickel situation. No question about it, he's having a good camp. We probably got the best competition in camp we've ever had, as far as our defense, especially our [defensive] ends. I mean, we got good competition. McDougle is ready to play and Trent Cole and we are introducing Howard now and [DE Juqua Thomas] J.T. and we are going to put Chris Gocong in there. So we've got some good depth at end and good competition, pushing each other. That's what you want."
On whether he likes what he's seen from McDougle so far: "Yeah, he's doing a good job."
On where S Sean Considine is in his development since he is now in his second year: "Much better, of course, coming off that injury. We always knew he was an intelligent football player. You are going to see him a lot in nickel situations also. He's letting us do some things with [FS] Brian Dawkins sometimes, playing in a different position, a nickel sometimes. So you are going to see him on the field quite a bit as long as he's healthy."
On whether LB Shawn Barber left practice today just because of a cramp: "Yeah, just a cramp. He'll be alright. He will be out there this afternoon, we'll see him."
On how he thinks Barber has been running: "He's got a nose for the football, that's the biggest thing Shawn has. He understands things and he sees things. We just kind of put in our nickel or dime situation, so he got that cramp, we will see how it goes right now, but that's where we really look forward to him helping us quite a bit in the right linebacker in that situation. We will kind of wait and see, but so far, he's got a good feel for the game."
On whether he's told Barber that even though he's not a starter right now, it may be a possibility in the future: "He knows a little bit of his role situation. One of the reasons we brought him in was because of the nickel situation, we really did. We wanted to rest [LB Jeremiah] Trotter a little bit in the nickel situation, third down, just like we did [former eagles LB] Ike Reese a couple years ago. That's one of the reasons we brought Barber in. But we also knew that he could compete at that WILL linebacker. I think he knows his part, he knows he's going to be one of the guys that are going to compete for WILL, but also he knows his role as a middle linebacker in a nickel situation. He understands."
On who has benefited most in getting extra reps since DT Brodrick Bunkley isn't here: "Probably [DT LaJuan] Ramsey, the kid from Southern Cal, is probably the guy that we are looking at quite a bit. He's going to get a lot of opportunities and we like him so far. So we will see how it goes in the preseason."
On his early outlook on LB Matt McCoy: "I think it's too early to tell, like yesterday I thought he had a great day. I didn't think he had a really good day today, he was just okay. I think with Matt, it's got to be that consistency and show us that he is going to be a play maker at WILL linebacker. No matter how good to me or sometimes on the field, or sound, it's still about making plays. We are looking for linebackers that make plays. It's going to come to the point where its here, listen, lets see you make some plays."
On whether McCoy looks small: "He is small. I can't make him look bigger, he is small."
On whether he has thought about working LB Mark Simoneau back at outside linebacker: "Yeah, that's always a possibility. But Mark's got a role situation too, as far as in certain packages. Mark is one of our most versatile linebackers and he could go inside as a MIKE of course, but also outside in WILL backer and SAM backer. But, we will see. We are going to see how Matt does. We are going to give him an opportunity and I think he's got to produce."
On how disappointed he is that Bunkley is not at camp right now: "Disappointed, of course, no question about it. I mean, he needs to be here. It's as simple as that, he needs to be here."
On whether any of the rookies have surprised him with leadership ability: "[LB] Omar Gaither, probably one of the better rookies we've had as far as leadership and understanding a situation and talking out there. He's doing an excellent job."
On how he thinks S J.R. Reed looks: "Good, he had a good day today. I think, about J.R., he just needs contact, he just needs to let it fly and you saw a little bit of that today. Everyday, I think, will build confidence getting over that injury."
On how he thinks CB Lito Sheppard looked: "Well, he didn't practice today, so he didn't look very good (jokingly). He's looking good, he's working hard, he helped out in minicamp when he came back. But, the first day he looked awfully good."
On McDougle being 10 pounds lighter and whether that will make a difference: "He looks quicker, he just looks stronger, he looks more solid. The biggest thing, he looks a lot quicker. A lot of our guys came back in good shape, lost some weight, and they just look quicker, [DT Keyonta] Marshall, the same way, Gocong, and McDougle, the same thing."
On the secondary, as a whole, struggling last year and how confident he is that they will bounce back: "They are confident and I'm confident. I think when we talked about this before, there were two things; we didn't have enough rush and we had some big plays against us and lots of big penalty plays. But, that's a good secondary. It will go hand in hand; I'm very confident in them."
July 26, 2006
On that it looked like things picked up today at practice: "Yeah, a little competition, these last few days you are going to win some you lose some. Yesterday I thought we did a pretty good job defensively, today I think the offense did a pretty good job. It kind of goes back and forth, but they are competing hard. You see some good things; you see some things you got to correct. But, at least we got the pads on, ready to go."
On the dynamics people should expect to see this year from the defense with all of the new depth: "You are going to see a lot of guys going around. You are going to see [DE Darren] Howard playing inside sometimes like a nickel. You are going to see [LB] Chris Gocong in there sometimes. We are still in the process of working something in that, but it's still. We got some versatility anyway with some of our guys; a guy like Howard and a guy like Chris Gocong. So we are going to try to take advantage of that."
On whether DE Jevon Kearse may play standing up a little bit more: "A good chance, it's a possibility."
On what he has seen from DE Jerome McDougle so far: "McDougle is pushing [LB/DE] Trent Cole a lot in the nickel situation. No question about it, he's having a good camp. We probably got the best competition in camp we've ever had, as far as our defense, especially our [defensive] ends. I mean, we got good competition. McDougle is ready to play and Trent Cole and we are introducing Howard now and [DE Juqua Thomas] J.T. and we are going to put Chris Gocong in there. So we've got some good depth at end and good competition, pushing each other. That's what you want."
On whether he likes what he's seen from McDougle so far: "Yeah, he's doing a good job."
On where S Sean Considine is in his development since he is now in his second year: "Much better, of course, coming off that injury. We always knew he was an intelligent football player. You are going to see him a lot in nickel situations also. He's letting us do some things with [FS] Brian Dawkins sometimes, playing in a different position, a nickel sometimes. So you are going to see him on the field quite a bit as long as he's healthy."
On whether LB Shawn Barber left practice today just because of a cramp: "Yeah, just a cramp. He'll be alright. He will be out there this afternoon, we'll see him."
On how he thinks Barber has been running: "He's got a nose for the football, that's the biggest thing Shawn has. He understands things and he sees things. We just kind of put in our nickel or dime situation, so he got that cramp, we will see how it goes right now, but that's where we really look forward to him helping us quite a bit in the right linebacker in that situation. We will kind of wait and see, but so far, he's got a good feel for the game."
On whether he's told Barber that even though he's not a starter right now, it may be a possibility in the future: "He knows a little bit of his role situation. One of the reasons we brought him in was because of the nickel situation, we really did. We wanted to rest [LB Jeremiah] Trotter a little bit in the nickel situation, third down, just like we did [former eagles LB] Ike Reese a couple years ago. That's one of the reasons we brought Barber in. But we also knew that he could compete at that WILL linebacker. I think he knows his part, he knows he's going to be one of the guys that are going to compete for WILL, but also he knows his role as a middle linebacker in a nickel situation. He understands."
On who has benefited most in getting extra reps since DT Brodrick Bunkley isn't here: "Probably [DT LaJuan] Ramsey, the kid from Southern Cal, is probably the guy that we are looking at quite a bit. He's going to get a lot of opportunities and we like him so far. So we will see how it goes in the preseason."
On his early outlook on LB Matt McCoy: "I think it's too early to tell, like yesterday I thought he had a great day. I didn't think he had a really good day today, he was just okay. I think with Matt, it's got to be that consistency and show us that he is going to be a play maker at WILL linebacker. No matter how good to me or sometimes on the field, or sound, it's still about making plays. We are looking for linebackers that make plays. It's going to come to the point where its here, listen, lets see you make some plays."
On whether McCoy looks small: "He is small. I can't make him look bigger, he is small."
On whether he has thought about working LB Mark Simoneau back at outside linebacker: "Yeah, that's always a possibility. But Mark's got a role situation too, as far as in certain packages. Mark is one of our most versatile linebackers and he could go inside as a MIKE of course, but also outside in WILL backer and SAM backer. But, we will see. We are going to see how Matt does. We are going to give him an opportunity and I think he's got to produce."
On how disappointed he is that Bunkley is not at camp right now: "Disappointed, of course, no question about it. I mean, he needs to be here. It's as simple as that, he needs to be here."
On whether any of the rookies have surprised him with leadership ability: "[LB] Omar Gaither, probably one of the better rookies we've had as far as leadership and understanding a situation and talking out there. He's doing an excellent job."
On how he thinks S J.R. Reed looks: "Good, he had a good day today. I think, about J.R., he just needs contact, he just needs to let it fly and you saw a little bit of that today. Everyday, I think, will build confidence getting over that injury."
On how he thinks CB Lito Sheppard looked: "Well, he didn't practice today, so he didn't look very good (jokingly). He's looking good, he's working hard, he helped out in minicamp when he came back. But, the first day he looked awfully good."
On McDougle being 10 pounds lighter and whether that will make a difference: "He looks quicker, he just looks stronger, he looks more solid. The biggest thing, he looks a lot quicker. A lot of our guys came back in good shape, lost some weight, and they just look quicker, [DT Keyonta] Marshall, the same way, Gocong, and McDougle, the same thing."
On the secondary, as a whole, struggling last year and how confident he is that they will bounce back: "They are confident and I'm confident. I think when we talked about this before, there were two things; we didn't have enough rush and we had some big plays against us and lots of big penalty plays. But, that's a good secondary. It will go hand in hand; I'm very confident in them."
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