Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 7/30/19: Colts, Andrew Luck taking extreme precaution with lingering calf strain

Episode Date: July 31, 2019

On today's episode, all of the takeaways from Day 5 of Colts training camp are noted along with exclusive audio from Frank Reich, Justin Houston, Adam Vinatieri, and Andrew Luck.Luck missed his second of five practices so far with his calf issue, so is it time to worry? No, I wouldn't because Luck is finally controlling his own rehab compared to the past. He also said he could play on Sunday, if needed.Three defensive backs had strong days: Pierre Desir, Kenny Moore, and Marvel Tell III. Tell's work as a gunner could mean Chris Milton could now be on the outside looking in for the 53-man roster, because the rookie shined on special teams.Denico Autry continued to look dominant, including an incredible rep against Quenton Nelson where he made him look silly. Autry has been theist defender across all days of camp thus far.Who will win the WR5 spot? Zach Pascal had a horrible day, while Chester Rogers had a big bounce-back day. Will Pascal, Rogers, or someone else take the crown for WR5 before camp concludes?Finally, 30-plus minutes of audio featuring Reich, Houston, Vinatieri, and Luck to close out today's show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into Locked on Colts, partly Locked on Podcast Network. Today's author is Evan Sutter. I'm here today to wrap up day five of Colts Training Camp, which I was credentialed for. Be on the lookout not only for some audio, but also some written content around Forbes Sports over the next few days. We're going to dive into some quick topics. So before we go into the audio from today, the last 30 to 40 minutes will feature head coach Frank Reich, Justin Houston, Adam Vinatieri, and Andrew Luck. We might as well start off with some three or four topics that I took away from today's practice. First off is actually Andrew Luck himself.

He spoke to the media afterwards today. He said it's not really a setback with his calf. He set out today completely his second in five days, but he just doesn't think he's at the place right now where he doesn't want to hamper himself and he doesn't want to have any setbacks. And I think it's a smart play for him. He's kind of taken it super precautious. He even mentioned that the 2016-17 shoulder issues he's had kind of lays in the back of his head right now as far as

really changing how he's mentally and physically rehabbing his injuries and it's probably what's gonna happen moving forward with Andrew Luck whenever he's injured he's gonna take the super precautious approach he's gonna be third in a couple weeks anyways so don't be shocked if we don't see Andrew Luck much at all if any in preseason but I think he should be he said even Kevin Bowen of 10-7 to the fan asked Andrew Luck during our all, if any in preseason, but I think he should be. He said even Kevin Bone of 1070 Fan asked Andrew Luck during our media scrum if he'd be fine for the season opener. He said 100% he'd be fine for the season opener, so

don't worry about Andrew Luck there. I just think this is hypothetical on my end. I believe he has a grade 3 calf strain, which if you look it up, grade 3 calf strains usually take about 3 months to recover fully, so we're around 3 months right now for Andrew Luck. Grade 1 is about a couple weeks. Grade two is a couple months,

or excuse me, a couple weeks after that. So around six to eight weeks. And you add in a grade three, which is a complete tear of the calf muscle, which will take about three months or so to heal. So that's not what Andrew Luck said. I'm just hypothetically guessing that is a grade three calf strain

because it's like the most realistic thing if it indeed is a calf strain. Andrew Luck also did mention that he has some pain in his ankle. And he also mentioned during practice when he was last out there on Sunday that when he was really opening up and throwing around and moving his legs a little bit, that's where he felt the pain. And it's really just a precautious approach with the Colts that they're doing with not only Andrew Luck. They're letting him control his own rehab, which I think is a super smart thing to do. And I don't know if that's ever happened before to Andrew Luck. I think under the old regime,

it was rushing him back and they need him immediately. I think the old approach was bad. A new approach with Chris Ballard and Frank Reich, though, it's the players. It's Andrew Luck's decision. And so far, that's how Frank Reich really echoed that sentiment, which we'll hear later on today, that it's all on Andrew Luck. It's how he feels and he'll progress as it is. They're going to reevaluate him on Friday. He will not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. So their off day is on Friday. So do not see Andrew Luck out there the rest of the week.

But I will not be shocked when you see him out there maybe next week. But we'll obviously continue to follow along with the Andrew Luck situation here. But you'll hear a lot from Frank Reich and Andrew Luck here in the next couple minutes about the calf injury itself. A lot of talk about that today. But I want to just get my quick thoughts in there. Really not much to add on Andrew Luck because it seems like a lot of overreactions are happening around not only NFL but Colts fans themselves. I'm really trusting the process here.

I think a lot of Colts fans should too because Andrew Luck showed last year he was completely fine. The chemistry with the other wide receivers was completely fine even though they missed a lot of the offseason action. Paris Campbell, Devin Funches in the new additions, I really wouldn't worry about them that much because Andrew Luck said when he was asked about how he's going to get chemistry with the guys out there, he said during walkthroughs he's still going through with the team, but he told the wide receivers that this is his practice, so this is kind of more full go. It's not really an actual walkthrough. So that's where they're getting their chemistry at. And I think for that, like I mentioned,

it's a smart play to really just let Andrew Luck do his thing. He's proven already he's an NDB candidate, a top five quarterback when he's fully healthy. So really just let Andrew Luck do his thing, and I think he'll be A-OK once September 9th comes around against the Los Angeles Chargers. But again, you'll hear a lot about Andrew Luck and his calf later on today's episode. But let's dive into some more lot about Andrew Luck and his calf later on today's episode. But let's dive into some more quick bullet point thoughts

that I took away from today's practice, which was the defensive backs really had a great day. And I want to highlight two really quickly, Pierre Desir and Kenny Moore. Pierre Desir had a really good day. He had multiple sequences where he did it really well against Chester Rogers. He also forced a fumble against Naheem Hines.

A lot of great separation action from Pierre Desir in 11-11 settings and also 7-on-7 settings, which is a great sign to see for Pierre Desir, who has signed a two-year extension with the Colts this past offseason. He's not 30 yet. He's still well in his prime, I believe, and he looked like a legit number one, number two, strong number two corner in the Colts' season.

Obviously, he's the number one cornerback, but Pierre Desir, I think, is really buying in and really honing his craft right now, which is great to see when you see other young defensive backs learning from a guy like Pierre Desir. But he had a great day as well. Kenny Moore had a really good day too. I think it was his best day so far in camp.

Did a lot of stuff. He was very versatile. He really blanketed T.Y. Hilton a lot when he was in the slot. And he really held his own, too. Really, outside of Kenny Moore, when T.Y. Hilton was lined up in the slot, he was torturing everyone else except Kenny Moore. He had a really good day against T.Y. and also some other players. A press coverage sequence against Steve Ishmael in 7-on-7,

he just locked him up, put the clamps on him. And that was really surprising to see from Kenny Moore. I mean, not really surprising, so to say, but it's just a great sign for Kenny Moore because you see just how much he's improved every single year. He just got his new extension as well. But I think Kenny Moore is a guy who I'm really excited to see what he can do this year. I think he has Pro Bowl potential not only this year but down the line

because you just see the talent for him as a top nickel quarterback in the NFL. I think he could really be a flamethrower and a defensive backs alongside Pierre Desir. But another quick guy I want to hit on as well before we go into our audio from today, Marvell Tell III. Some quick notes on him. He didn't really do much as far as defensive back work. I know he had some sequences against some third team guys, but for him to make the team, he really has to be a good special teams player.

And that's what he was doing today. He was actually, for the first time that I've seen, as a gunner, and he did really well as a gunner. I think he was the best gunner on the team today, which maybe the days are limited for a guy like Chris Millen, if Marvell Tell can prove his worth there, because Tell, who's 6'3", 200 pounds, very lanky, you can tell when he's lined up in a defensive back stance, he looks like a Richard Sherman type of guy, very long, super lanky, the type of defensive back that Chris Bauer really covets and loves. But Marvell Tell is not going to make this roster unless he can play special teams.

And he's proven, at least today, that he can really do that well. And he might be the best gunner on this team if he can really excel in that role and buy into that role. And that wouldn't shock me at all. Because when we watched special teams today, actually actually Marvell Tell consistently was the first one down there to get the punt return whether it's Chester Rogers, Zach Paschal, or Naheem Hines he was consistently down there and really making an impact right away and that shouldn't go unnoticed because Marvell Tell like I mentioned could take Chris Millen's spot he could also be right away one of the best special teams guys I think also EJ Speed is another one to watch for special teams

moving forward he had some good sequences on that but Marvell Tell I think special teams guys. I think also EJ Speed is another one to watch for special teams moving forward. He had some good sequences on that. But Marvell Tell, I think special teams-wise, was the big winner today because he's proving right now as a fifth-round pick that he has to stick to play special teams, and that's exactly what he's doing. But another point I wanted to hit on really quickly with our listeners here on Locked on Colts is Danico Autry. He is the breakout candidate for the Colts this year.

I know he had a big year last year as a Pro Bowl alternate, but he dominated Quentin Nelson today. There's a couple sequences where he really put the work on Quentin Nelson with a bull rush spin combination. He also did really well against Mark Lewinsky. He looks like an actual dominant force out there. I think he's been the best defender so far in camp, if we add in all five days. And that's a great sign because if you put Justin Houston on the perimeter next to him,

Danico Autry on the inside, good luck to the left side of the offensive line that's facing him because those guys are like the Bash brothers. I think they're going to have a really great year. Really, Autry is going to have a lot of separation now and a lot more open space because instead of a guy like Kamoko Ture out there, I mean, Kamoko Ture is obviously going to rotate in there, but Justin Houston, a legitimate veteran, you'll hear about later on today when he spoke to the media. But Justin Houston is going to open up so much for D'Neal Gautry. I think D'Neal Gautry is going to open up so much for Justin Houston. Those guys are going to really work really well together.

And Gautry had so many good sequences today in the one-on-one segments against offensive linemen. Like I mentioned, Quentin Nelson, he gave him the work a couple times. When a rookie all-pro offensive lineman like Quentin Nelson gets to work from Danico Autry, not only today, but on multiple days now, I think that kind of should open up some eyes about why Danico Autry could be the breakout Colts candidate. He could be a guy who maybe has eight to ten sacks or more this year because he's going to have open space.

He's going to have one-on-one blocks in a lot of situations because Justin Houston can be next to him. He's going to be the one who is garnering most of those double team actions. So expecting a lot of big things from D'Nico Autry this year. He's a big winner from today as well. And also I wanted to close as well on one more thing, and that is the YRC battle right now. I think Chester Rogers is moving ahead of Zach Paschal in my opinion.

I think today Paschal had a really bad day, guys. He had four or five drops, not only in 11-on-11 settings, 7-on-7 settings, but also in punt return. And Chester Rodgers, on the other hand, Pierre Desir had a really great play on Chester Rodgers where it was near the end of practice in the red zone situations, and he really forced the ball out of his hand there. But outside of that, Chester Rodgers had a really good day too.

And I think it's going to be interesting to see what happens there because I think the first four wire seers are solidified. T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funches, Paris Campbell, Deion Kane. Who's going to be the fifth though? Is it going to be Chester Rogers? Is it going to be Zach Paschal? Is it going to be Dory's Fountain? Steve Ishmael?

Ashton Doolin? Or are they going to keep six? I personally think they're going to go five right now just without the roster balances shaking out. But I'm curious to hear listeners what that what you guys have to say because right now I would really lean toward Chester Rars and this might be a daily thing where I flip back and forth but those two guys are very close in my mind Paschal had a really horrible day and Chester Rars had a really good day so maybe this is the type of day where Chester

Rars creates some separation or maybe leapfrogs in front of Zach Paschal who I originally thought would be the leader in the clubhouse for that fifth wide receiver spot. So definitely follow along with that. I think those two are really fighting one-on-one against each other right now for that final wide receiver spot. Dory Spallon is on the outside looking in. Ashton Doolin, like I mentioned a couple of seconds ago, he had a really good day too. I think he's a guy who right now, I would love to see on the practice squad. He is a freakish athlete, 6'4". He was burning guys today a couple

times in just some one-on-one settings. I really want to see the potential of Ashton Dooling maybe on the practice squad and see what happens from there because he's a guy who, if he bowled him correctly, could be a number four wide receiver down the line. But focus more on Chester Rodgers and Zach Paschal because really those two guys are now really neck and neck as far as the fifth wide receiver spot. I would lean Chester Rodgers at this moment, but Zach Paschal, as Chris Bauer mentioned on day one of training camp, I think he has a soft spot in Chris Bauer's heart. He's a guy who can do a lot of things. He does a dirty work. He doesn't really complain about anything. So if Paschal can cure the drops from today, I think that's going to be really interesting to

watch because Chester Rodgers had a really great day. And if Chester Rodgers can also prove he can return punts and Paris Campbell can't, Naeem Hines can't, then I think Rodgers is going to make the roster anyways just as a punt returner. But again, I want to hear the listeners' thoughts. Comment on Reddit. Comment on Stampy Blue wherever you're listening to this. Comment on Apple Podcast. Who do you think is leaning right now toward the fifth-wire series boss?

Chester Rodgers? Is it Zach Paschal or is it someone else? So let me know on that. But I want to let you guys listen now to the rest of today's podcast, which is going to feature all of our interviews. Frank Reich, the head coach, Justin Houston, Adam Vinatieri, and the franchise quarterback himself, Mr. Andrew Luck. Obviously, you saw Andrew was not out here today. You know, we went according to plan, felt good about him going for the first four days and progressing up and then just getting feedback from Andrew, just not ready to take the next step and just thought the best thing to do

is be conservative, go back and regroup and let's get this thing right. We still got plenty of time to go and listen, we're dealing here with the guy who knows how to deal with this stuff. And I trust Andrew implicitly and want to listen to him and the feedback. He knows what he feels. So I think we're doing the right thing there. You probably will not see him the next three days or the next two days. And we'll get our day off and we'll reassess where we go from next week.

You know, I'll let him answer that. I don't know if it's a setback. I don't know if I would categorize it as that. We'll see how he would categorize it. I just think it was, we come out here for four days. I was optimistic that we could get through these four days and just keep going, but you feel what you feel and we got to respect that. And it's still early on. There's so much that can get done. There's so much that is being done in a lot of ways that I think is getting him ready for the season.

And Frank, is it more than just a calf? I think you may have mentioned on NFL Network mentioned lower legs. So is it beyond just a calf injury that he's dealing with? I mean, right now, the primary thing we're dealing with is the calf and the feelings there. I'll let him elaborate on that, you know, going into the specific details if he wants to elaborate. But we typically don't elaborate on every detail of every injury for any player, you know, not just Andrew. You mentioned during a little point in the OTAs that if you played Sunday, he'd be out there.

So has something happened between then and now? You know, again, if this Sunday was a big game, do I think he'd play? Yeah, I probably think he'd play. But again, only he can answer that. I mean, you gotta trust the players, you gotta trust the players. And that's what we're doing in this case, and with all of our players. We've asked you to, without beating it up, build them now for the most part, not being part of two weeks of teamwork and all that.

Doesn't it hold back the offense when your guy's not running the offense? We love all of our players to practice, but what we just find over the years is that we can't let anything hold the offense back. Nothing. Andrew knows this. Sure, he's a great player, but this is a team game. And Jacoby's having a great camp so far. He's taking advantage of the reps he's getting. And in that way, it's really good for our team.

And so we're full speed ahead. Frank, you said that it was a game week and there was a Sunday game that Andrew would play. Was that a little premature? Or was that before there was something else happening earlier, more like a setback we've seen at camp? Yeah, no, again, I didn't talk to him in detail this morning. We talked last night about the plan for this week. I listened to, you know, he laid it out exactly how he was feeling,

what was good, what wasn't so good. And just talking it through with everybody, just felt like this is the best plan to take this three days. Because you know when you give him three days to kind of get his body right, you know he's going to get every ounce out of that that he can. So could he play this Sunday? Yeah, I'm optimistically saying yeah. If you talk to him, he might say, oh, I'm not sure. It'll probably be a game-time decision, but you can ask him that.

Is it important for him to get preseason reps or for even guys like Devin or Paris to have game reps with him? Every rep is important. Honestly, he wasn't going to play. If he would have came in here 100% healthy, I'd already determined he wasn't playing in the Buffalo game anyway. That was predetermined three months ago. And wouldn't play in the last preseason game. So the plan in a perfect world would have been he played a little bit in game two

and a little bit in game three and not a whole lot. So we feel like we get game speed reps out here. Preseason is good. It's fine. We want to get them out there a little bit, but it's not absolutely necessary. Is game two still possible preseason? Too early to say. I don't even want to push it, to be honest. Even if he came back and said, I'm going to be, well, let's not even think about that. Let's just get this thing right. Take it day to day. I just think it's important for his mentality and psyche that he just feels ready to go. And we need a good full week of practice, full speed,

where he feels confident, that's what we're looking for. Is this all precautionary or is he in pain? No, he has some pain, he definitely has some pain, that's really the feedback. So, and when you start talking about pain, it's a continuum, right? I mean, it's 0 to 10, where do you feel? And whatever the player feels, you have to respect that, especially a guy that's been around. This isn't a guy who's in his first rodeo. So we know he's tough. We know he can play with pain. But we've got to be smart right here. I don't want to break down any of your left questions,

but why have tight ends always been featured in your offenses? What is the battle? Just good matchups. You know, when you get athletic, explosive tight ends like Eric Ebron, when you get really smart tight ends like Jack Doyle, you know, and long tight ends like Mo Alley-Cox, they're good matchups on safeties and on linebackers. You're getting coverage on linebackers and safeties,

and there's good linebackers and safeties out there, but we just feel that's our advantage. Furthermore, you're typically working inside. The ball's in the air, travels less time in the air. The less time in the air, the better for the offense. You know, the less margin of error. So I think those are some of the key reasons. Does that go back to Buffalo when you had, was it McKellar? I mean, does that go back that far back? Yeah, there's no doubt as far as how I think about it. Yeah, as far as how I think about it, there's no doubt. Seeing, you know, and even back then we had Pete Metzlar's inside like a Jack Doyle.

You know, knew how to use Pete Metzlar's, knew how to use a guy, you know, Keith McKellar was like an Ebron. You know, you go to, and then you go down the road. When I was here the first time as the quarterback coach, and, you know, you had Dallas Clark, you Clark, and then in San Diego with Antonio Gates and in Philadelphia with Earth. So we love our tight ends here, and we're gonna continue to feature them. We've talked a little bit since camp started about some of the research and

science you guys have looked at in terms of easing in and engaging players readiness and that kind of thing. Was that something that's a more recent effort for you, or was that something that you've been kind of attuned with for a longer period of time? I feel like I've been pretty attuned in with that. You know, I think Chris and I talk about this a lot. You know, I'm open to the sports science stuff. I'm old school in some ways, but I like the sports science stuff. And it's just a question of how to use it. And so we got a really good team of people.

And then just the way Chris and I mesh on it and talk through it, I just think it's good to use the information, but you still got to synthesize it and still come down and make judgments at the end of the day that you think are best. How different is it? I mean, you talked about, you know, your Buffalo Dice, for example. Do you ever think about how much it's contrasted from where it was? Yeah, I mean, we had talked about none of this stuff. I mean, none of this sports science stuff. The only sports science stuff, let me go back on that.

We had Rusty Jones. Right. So as far as being advanced in our training, a lot of the things that we're doing now that all the teams are doing, I hate to say it like this, but Rusty invented that stuff, or at least he was one of the guys that invented it back 30 years ago. But as far as all the other data that we get, this is all new in the last 10, 15 years.

Frank, did Jabal have his knee scoped? Was there any update there? No update. Yeah, no update at this point. Al-Qadi Mohammed, who looks like he's been taking the starting reps for him. What type of player is he? I know he started games for you last year. What does he bring in place of Jabal?

He has a lot of talent, A, you're not here. B, he is what you call an effort player, which every player should be that way. But he's like a 10 out of 10 when it comes to effort. You know he's going to finish every play. And so that attitude is contagious. And so that's where he's made his plays, that combination of talent and effort. Frank, last question here. Frank, it felt like there were a lot of flags out there today.

It did feel like that, didn't it? And, you know, I meant to say that to the team today. Yeah, it did feel like that, didn't it? And I meant to say that to the team today. In fact, I wrote it down and I glossed over it. But we'll talk about that one this afternoon with them. That's why we have the officials out here. When we get a pre-snap penalty, I wanna mark it off, a delay game, and I want us to feel the pain of it. And of course, we do tell the officials to call it a little bit tighter,

like the pass interference stuff, because we want our guys to kind of get used to it. So we need to clean that up. We've talked about that as a team, that we've got to become a less penalized team, more disciplined in that way, so that's certainly a goal. We could just get a pulse of the first week of practice now that you guys have had a few days of fast. I think it's been going good. I think it's a lot of young guys, they're hungry, they want it. They're full of energy.

So anytime you get a good group of guys that's full of energy and just constantly working, constantly competing, it makes the whole team better. So we got everybody working on both sides of the ball. We're just trying to get better every day. Can you evaluate the front seven right now for us, where you guys are at, where you guys want to be? We still got a lot to improve on, but I think we're in a good place, especially just as a whole. We communicate and we know how each – learning how each other plays.

So I'm trying to get a feel for the linebacker. They're trying to get a feel for me. So we're just trying to fill out one another right now. This is time to do it. So I think every day we've gotten better, and we're understanding each other. In terms of getting a feel, is that just kind of like knowing how they're going to fill stuff behind you and that kind of thing? Yes, and just knowing my responsibility.

I've always been on the outside, so I was just, as a 3-4 linebacker, you just set the edge the whole time. But this defense, with my hand down, you'all play a little running game a little different. So I'm learning as well as they're learning. So it's good for both of us. Some of you guys were mentioning back in the summer that you already kind of started helping with the pass rush and stuff like that.

Is that kind of something you've always done? Because you always had younger guys in Kansas City. Yeah, it's any time I can help somebody. They help me just as much as I can help them. So we just talk and communicate. And for the questions, they just want to get better. So they're just asking me. You know, this is year nine for me, so I've got some experience in wrestling.

So they just want to learn and get better. And they can still help you even though you've got so much more experience? I was told you can learn something from a two-year-old baby. So always be humble and listen. You never know what you can learn. Just always listen. Are you able to play a little more aggressive against the run in this game versus just purely setting the edge, or is that what you're referring to?

Yes, I can just – it's not really more so reading in this game, it's more so attacking. I just got to get used to attacking and not trying to read. What are your thoughts on going up against Anthony Costanzo for the first five or six games? I love going against Costanzo. He helped me get better. I think he's one of the best left tackles in the game.

So any day I can compete against him, compete against one of the best tackles in the game, it's gonna better me. I love going against him every day. What makes him want to be a weekend? I think his smartness, his talents, first of all, and his experience. So he's very experienced. He's been in the league for a while. And his technique is amazing to me.

So I love the way he works his hands. It's constantly got me working because he never do the same thing over and over. So it makes it hard for me to try to figure out what he's doing. I can never figure him out. So it's just constantly got me working and thinking at all times. Do you feel like you get off the ball faster than you do points games? Cuz you look pretty fast off the ball. Maybe you feel like it's the same, I don't know.

I don't know. We'll see. Yeah, it's tough to say. I feel like I got off good in a two-point series, but only time will tell. Justin, you said you can still learn from even a two-year-old. Can you learn from Robert Mathis, or what have you learned? You've known him, but what the hands on? Yeah, I don't want to tell my secrets because I don't want y'all to put it out there, but I'm definitely learning from Robert. He's a great guy.

He's one of the best that ever played his game. So I'm all ears when he's talking. I'm just feeding and taking it all in. He's cleaning up the little things I don't want y'all to put it out there, but I'm definitely learning from Robert. He's a great guy. He's one of the best that ever played his game. So I'm all ears when he's talking. I'm just feeding and taking it all in. He's cleaning up the little things I don't know. So like I say, anytime I can get better and help me improve, I'm all ears. So you can still get better? I'm always. As long as I'm playing this game, you can always get better.

Did you do that pass rush summit? Have you done that pass rush summit that Vaughn does in the summer? No, I haven't had the time. Usually, so my grandma birthday beat around the time he's doing it. So I haven't got a chance to do it. So maybe one of these years, I'll make it out there. Justin, what do you think, besides Costanzo, of first impressions of the entire offensive line? I mean, it's different when you put the pads on.

So what have you thought of those guys? It's hard to say, cuz you go against these guys every day. So they know your weakness, you learn their weakness. So it's hard to say cuz you're gonna get to see guys every day. So you know, they know your weakness, you learn their weakness. So it's tough to say and it's early to say. But from my point of view, I think they're a great group of guys and I think they're very talented. I think they got a chance to do something special this year. But like I said, it's too early to say, so time will tell.

Given adjustment to practice with Matt Ibraklus, a lot of guys say that his standards pretty high. To me, that's where the ship is. No matter where you come from. So I think we had a while I was in Kansas City, we practiced that hustling to the ball. The maybe they may take it up a little notch, but it's the same. You wanna be great, you gotta work.

And that's, I love that, cuz he don't care who you are, he gonna push you. There's no guy better than the next guy, he don't care who he is he gonna push you there's no no God better than the next guy don't care who he is you got that coach having all you want you coming to work you on his side of the ball he's gonna call you out if you lacking so just be prepared to work and I love that because he's gonna bring the best out you. Justin what are you guys missing with Jabal out right now? His experience though his talent Jabal is a great you just can't replace a guy like Jabal he's awesome to me I can't replace a guy like Jabal. He's awesome to me.

I was watching the film, the way he played the run, the way he set that edge. He played with so much power and force. It's hard to replace a guy like that, but he'll be back soon. It's not like, we still got plenty of time for him to just get healthy. So I just want him to take his time, get healthy,

and be ready to go. What do you think? Did you guys know each other during the draft process? Not really. We knew of each other, but we really didn't know each other during the draft process? Not really. We knew of each other. We really didn't know each other like that. Thanks, guys. Thank you.

First NFL training camp, yeah. It's just the same as the first one in New England back when you were just trying to do a job. Yeah, pretty much the same. One a day instead of two a day every day. And kick every other day rather than twice a day every day. So a little different. Yeah, obviously camps over the last couple of CBAs,

it's a little bit more player-friendly. And I guess when you get my age, they take it easy on me or easier on me at least. So we've got a certain amount of kicks that we try to get in every other day or whatever and make sure we're ready to go. How do you feel physically? Yeah, we put a lot of time in this offseason. I tried to do as much as I could this offseason to get, you know, stronger and healthier and all that kind of stuff

and lose a little weight and just to be ready to go. And I think it's – I feel good. I feel good. What do you see? Anything? You tell me. Week two. I'm just kidding. I'm not going to tell you how you feel.

Adam, you've been at this for a while. And just talking to Frank about this, just, you know, all the sports science they're applying now, you know, in terms of how they sort of ease you guys into camp in like three days and a day off coming up this week, right? That kind of thing. And he's talked a lot about all the research they've done and then contrasting that from like when he was playing back in the day

or even when you came in the league, perhaps. I mean, how much difference is there in just awareness and acknowledgement of those matters today? 100%. Yeah, no, I think, and don't quote me on this, but I believe my rookie year. I'm going to quote you. Well, my rookie year in 96, whatever, I want to say we probably went 10 or 12 or 15 days straight at

double days before we had a day off. You know, I think we went straight until we had a game and then we had a day off after that. And it was a lot more padded practices and there was a lot more this or that. So I know Rusty and our staff has paid attention to, we wear the little GPS monitors and heart rate monitors to make sure that guys are maxing out and doing a certain level. And then when you get to a certain red line level, they either try to count your reps or back you down a little bit. So soft tissue injuries and stuff like that are notorious across the league. There's a lot of, it's cuz you're working a lot harder and

a lot more hours and your recovery is not as much. So they paid a lot more attention this year to that, and they're trying to make sure that we get the right amount of reps to get healthy, strong, fast, all this stuff, but not overdoing it and trying to minimize risks of injuries and stuff like that. So, yeah, it's definitely different this year. And, I mean, the nutritionists are doing lots of stuff and they're monitoring your urine to how much, whatever.

So whatever, I mean, all that stuff goes into it to make sure you're staying hydrated and staying fueled up and ready to go and just to try to minimize risk of injury. And then on a related note, I know like quarterbacks, for example, they chart numbers of throws and all that sort of things. You apply a lot of those things I imagine to a number of cases. How meticulous are you with that stuff? We chart all of our kicks and know how many reps we're doing,

how many warm up reps to how many live reps and that kind of stuff. So we try to stay in a certain range. There may be days that we're working on last second field goal, we'll hurry up and run out there onto the field and do some of that. Or it might be a windy day, so we're trying to get a little bit more work on both sides to do that kind of thing. So, but it all tries to stay within a certain number and a certain, someday maybe one day we're over that limit,

next day we'll back it down a little bit. So, it's important, like I said, to get ready to go, but it's also important to stay fresh and feel healthy. Adam, you've been around, you know, one or two head coach GM combinations. You were in the previous one. What is it about Frank and Chris that you've noticed on why this has worked? I think they complement each other very, very well. They have the same philosophy and they have the same beliefs.

Obviously, I think Chris has done a fantastic job with personnel, very well they have the same philosophy and they have the same beliefs um obviously i i think i think chris has done a fantastic job with personnel bringing in young guys that that are that that fit the mold of what he's trying to build here you know some good hard-working guys that are that are unselfish that want to work hard and want to do a bunch of stuff and then and then and i really think that that frank's um coaching mindset and the way he does things is very, he pushes at the right time. And you feel like he's a friend, but he gets all the respect that he deserves. You don't have to beat guys down to make people understand. And so I think honestly, those two guys work very,

very well together with the same philosophies, and it's great. And when you deal with Chris, I mean, when it comes to contracts and stuff, is it an easy transition and stuff, trying to kind of communicate the work on what he believes is fair for the team and also the player? Yeah, I don't want to speak for everybody else and their contracts. I don't know. I'm not in there, that stuff. But for him and I, it's been easy.

I think we both wanted the same thing. I wanted to come back he wanted me back and so it was a it was an easy situation they're very understanding and and very good with the fact that I'm a little older so I get a little bit of physical free I don't know I think I may be the only one that didn't have to run the conditioning test but uh yeah but i think i would have passed it anyway but they didn't make me do it at my age so but but no i mean it was it was a i really respect and and admire what he's doing here discount on it yeah yeah i don't want to say senior discount kicker is i mean obviously a pretty limited position in the nfl there's only 32 of you guys when you have a young kicker come in like Cole, is there anything that you do with your experience to try and help him

along the way? Any tips you give? Yeah, well, I try to be as open as I can. You know, if he's got questions to ask, I try to answer them and try to help him out. And then there's other times where, you know, it's a windy day or something or, you know, he's asked me about, what do you do when you're kicking in the snow? You know, little things like that where he played in Texas, maybe he didn't play in the snow a lot, you know, he's asked me about, what do you do when you're kicking in the snow? You know, little things like that where he played in Texas, maybe he didn't play in the snow a lot, you know. And I'm a little older. I've had a couple experiences.

So, I mean, just like our special teams coach has said, just follow Adam around and pay attention to what he does, how he prepares to get ready for practice, what he does in the off day to get ready to go. You know, when you're 22 years old, your body feels a little bit better than when you're older. So maybe the extra stuff that I do, he maybe doesn't have to do that yet. But as far as the communication stuff, it's been good. He's a great, he's a really good young kicker. And if I can, I guess I can give him a couple nuggets of wisdom that I've learned over the

years, it helps him out maybe. I don't know. Thanks, Adam. You're back. You kicked in the snow? Once or twice that I've learned over the years. It helps him out maybe. I don't know. Thanks, Adam. You kicked in the snow once ago. You didn't get the memo, did you? Well, we came looking for you. I hear you. Go ahead.

Is it safe to assume that you had a setback or just not where you want to be to miss this week? Yeah, you could say setback. I'd like to view it not where you want to be to miss this week? Yeah, you could say setback. I'd like to view it not where I want to be. I did not improve feeling-wise, pain-wise. And this is something that I vowed to myself after going through 2016, 2017, that I would be, one, honest with myself

about how I felt pain-wise with things. Two, honest to the people, the parties involved, Chris, Frank, our medical staff, teammates, whomever. And then make sure that I took the time, that we took the time to make good decisions about going forward. I know I did not improve with the past three practices, that sort of last tranche of practices. And I think that hey, we got to go back, go back to some some some more simpler things with less variables, if you will. And yeah, I do know I'm doing what's best for me. And it's a weird, you know, what's best for me, what's best for the team. You's a part of me that's guilty for not being at practice. That's the part that loves the team aspect,

but I also know it's a detriment to me, and at the end of the day, a detriment to the team if I dodo bird a situation. Andrew, there's a fair amount of confusion, I think, because obviously this conversation started in May, and we were told very, very clearly that it was very very minor Yeah, and you know we're two months two and a half months into this can you talk about the nature of the injury at all at least yeah, no I I I Did a disservice to myself by saying I'd be ready

I think there's another thing I tried to learn with with an injury as you can't you know things Bodies don't care about a date on a calendar or something. And I certainly wish I was out here, but the nature of it is a calf strain. And I say lower leg because I feel pain in my ankle area and calf strain. And I guess I'll get a little specific. I've had images and x-rays and everything, and my Achilles is not at extra risk. There is no tear or swelling in there or anything that's indicated. But so it's a calf strain and we're on our feet a lot and I know

to be the best quarterback I want to be to help this team, like I want to help them, I can't be, I'm not looking for average and if I'm going out here with pain, I'll be average. I will feel like an average quarterback and I'll be an average quarterback. That's not good enough for me. That's not good enough for this club. Without getting too detailed into the discussions you've had with your trainers, is the belief that if you back off that you can resolve this? Or is this something you think you'll have to do?

No, absolutely, resolve. And that's why I'm doing this. This is not, we need to maintain this, it's gonna be around. That's not my mindset. This is, I am working on resolving this issue. That is priority one. You know, there are still ways to get better as a quarterback with meetings. Right now, walkthroughs are my practices. I mean, I talked to Funch and Ebron this morning to say, hey guys, just so you know, I'm not going to be out there, but I might be a little more intense at a walkthrough today because that is my practice. That is how I get better.

We were all working on resolving this so it's not a lingering issue. I would, I would, I would, I could not live with myself if we got to the season or a point in the season and said, hey, I could have done this to take care of this issue, but I didn't because of X, Y, Z, whatever that is. I'm not going to allow that to happen it's it's something again 2016 and you know I saw some emotional scars from that and that lives with me still but I'm trying to use it in a positive way certainly for myself weeks before this started and then maybe what the three days you know what I mean or however long you're out. Can you say that again? Is there a concern that you weren't able to clean it up before camp started? I know because I would I get frustrated I'm frustrated to a certain

degree I was especially the last day of that last tranche I did not feel I felt worse so but I but I had I had made I've made progress ever since I've started working on this issue. But the progress wasn't enough. I sort of looked at it that, hey, I've gotten to step four or five. I'm just throwing out arbitrary numbers. But to be out here moving around practice, that's step eight, nine. I've got to go build that five, six, seven, eight. And that's where my mind is at. And if I can stack those steps together in a more controlled environment

with working on some more – going back and working on some more specific things to let me come out here and play freely and play quarterback. And this goes back to fall of 17, doesn't it? The way you think about this stuff. Yes, absolutely. You have to sort of – Absolutely. And it's hard. Yeah, it's You have to sort of... Absolutely. And it's hard.

Yeah, it's... It could be a difficult thing. You feel like there are a lot of stakeholders, you know, when you're the quarterback of an NFL team. And I struggle with that. But I also know I... When Chris Ballard and Frank Wright and great teammates and great medical staff

and health and within this building, outside of this building, my wife, family, you know, it helps. I don't feel quite alone like I did, you know, at times in 2016-17. Did you make a move in practice where you're like, you know what, this just doesn't... No, yeah, there were a couple things. I guess I'll get specific with you. Just opening up a little bit. It's like, ooh, I feel like something's going to yank. Something's going to pull. Trying to change direction aggressively and that's something that You need to do to play football, you know, and I just and I'm not there yet And that's sort of a step when I might say step six seven eight. That's what that's where my focus is is right now

Yeah, we, when anything happens, you know, you have the process of getting opinions and formulating a sort of plan. So, yeah, absolutely. I talked to our team doctors and other doctors and go through the whole gamut of everything that you can do and decided, no, there's nothing surgical to do to a strain of a muscle. And it's just a stubborn one, I guess. So with what you're doing right now, you feel like week one is still very much...

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. But that's only a consequence. Being ready is just a consequence of doing the right things today, this afternoon, tomorrow morning. When the situation changes changes it's organic It involves and I should be going forward and why I'm not out here today practicing was because I felt like I was going backwards And I guess that's the simple story at the end of the day If you can't resolve it to you know to an ideal place. You're going with a hypothetical here? Extremely hypothetical. I'm not going to answer a hypothetical.

Let me ask it this way. If you were, could you play on this as you are right now? It's not the smart thing to do maybe, but. I've played in football games with way more pain. So if you had a game this Sunday, you'd be playing as what coach? Hypothetical, so I'm not going to sit here and answer that, but I'll say that, again, I have played in games with way more pain, just like everybody in the NFL has.

I don't think I'm special in that regard by any means. Well, given your past, do you think there'll be a mental aspect, too, that you have to get through, a mental wall you have to get through? Absolutely, and I think that's part of what I am working on. I know, big for me, again, a lot of what I've tried to learn in 2016, 17, and applying it now is if I'm going to bed at night believing that I've sold myself short during the day, that I haven't gotten the most, that I've forced myself to do something either I'm not ready for or that I have pain, then that's not a good thing. And I felt that a little bit. I felt like I was selling myself short. And so it's the mental aspect.

Part of that mental struggle is making sure being on the same page with the head coach, the GM, medical staff, teammates. So I know that's always a big step for me. That's something that I think guys in this building, and not just with me, but everybody does a very good job of. Andrew, you're going through the walkthroughs. Yeah. Are you getting your throwing in?

Yeah, I am. That's not impeding your throw? No, no, no. I'm getting throwing in from a stationary, you know, sort of position. But the aggressive movements that it might look small, but moving in the pocket is an aggressive movement. I'm staying away from it because that's a little bit too big of a step for me right now. And on a positive note, I feel really good for her.

Maybe someone can write that? Do you have a plan to give her a couple days and then reassess before the next batch of practices? Yeah. Every day, in a sense, is a test, is a reassessment. I believe very much in the training that I do and the help that I've received, starting with my shoulder when I had to miss the 2017 season. I believe in that process. I believe in the people.

I believe in myself in that process. That's sort of, I guess, the magic, if you will. So every day is a test reassessment. Every day we say, hey, did we improve, did we not? If I'm not making progress, then you have to change things. That's what I learned. I mean, that's the goal. Being ready for game one, being ready for a preseason game, being my best. It's just a consequence of doing the right things and seeing results. If we're not seeing results, hey, where are we wrong? What's happening? Is it the training?

Is it the lifting? Are we doing too much? Is it rest? Is it food? Is it, you know, whatever? Is it the bed? You know, you go through everything. And you're wearing preseason game reps on the priority list for you.

Yeah, a ways away. I guess a ways down. Yeah, that right now. It's getting healthy. That's priority one. Pretending to improve on being a better quarterback, which you can do, it's a little more challenging, meetings and walkthroughs. But again, walkthroughs aren't my practice right now.

And you can still do a lot, a lot of work in this league with walkthroughs.