And some of us listen. Highlights from yesterday's session with the media. I tried to highlight what Herm was actually saying and avoiding the fluff.
On how Brodie Croyle looks:
“Yeah, he’s just rusty. That’s what’s good about the bye week, we’ll have another day tomorrow and next week we’ll have three more practices. That’ll be good for him. He looks strong, his arm looks strong."
On the bye week with so many young guys:
I know it helps us a lot because there’s so many young guys. If you think it about it, they’ve played nine games already, that’s almost a college season.
On DaJuan Morgan's strengths:
“He’s a pretty good tackler, he’s very sudden when he reads it. I think he’s playing a little cautious right now, because he’s not confident. That comes with playing. You have to play these kids."
On Jamaal Charles not breaking a big one yet:
“He hasn’t been in the game a whole lot. He hasn’t touched the ball a whole lot. It has to do with a lot of things. Plays, lots of three-and-outs for us, too many three-and-outs. He’s dropped a couple balls when it could have been a big play, so that’s part of it too. I think he’s becoming more comfortable in what we want him to do.”
On 35 year old Muhsin Muhammad zipping past the defense:
“He took a bad angle. The guy caught it, cut across the grain and they made a big score. It’s part of the learning process too.”
On Tamba Hali and the rest of the pass rush:
“He helps you, no doubt. That and the inside guys making sure the pocket’s pushed. Our line has not been good at times on pass rush. You always have to keep the pocket tight, you can’t let the pocket open up. When you’re a tackle, the basic rule is you never want to rush outside the hashes because it expands the pocket too much. You want the pocket to close so the quarterback can’t step up. When you get your tackles outside the hashes, the quarterback can step up because he feels no pressure in the middle of the pocket. So we have to get that adjusted and try to do a better job about that too.”
Maybe Jamaal Charles could be utilized more to avoid three and outs? And the guy is a track star, fast is fast regardless of the level of competition. I'm just very anxious to see him in the game more and more. You've got a weapon, now let's see what he's made of.