(On how he thinks the team responded to five days of practices in pads) "I think it was fine. I was not really looking for anything out of it. I was just looking to get a lot of good workdays back in a row and get that physical [time] where your body is saying, 'I really don't want to go', and your mind has to take over. That was what I was looking for, but I never asked any of the players that. This is kind of like the next phase of it. The challenge is that we will keep practicing like it is training camp, but we have a game coming up, so we really won't do a lot in preparation of the game until actually probably the day before the game. For us, this will be just like training camp, and we will pretty much be in that type of mentality probably until the third preseason game. Maybe we will practice a day or two days more than we normally would. Other than that, we only really do it the day before the game."

(On how DJ Chark Jr. has impressed him) "He has made plays. I think that he still has a ways to go from what we are looking for from him. I think he has done a pretty good job on special teams and he has made some plays. I think that it will be interesting to see if those same types of plays carry over to a game atmosphere. I think you have to see him out there, but I still think we can get a lot more out of him. I really do. We sat down and spoke to him about a couple of things that we are looking for, so hopefully we will be able to see it this week."

(On if it is good that it seems from a media perspective that the wide receiver group has been unpredictable in terms of who stands out) "I don't care about your perspective. (laughter)I think that is good now, but you really like to see it separate. You really like to see it separate and if it doesn't separate, then you hope that the level of play is at a high level that is consistent where now you have to make a tough decision. I think that when it goes up and down it is tough. That is what I have always tried to tell the team that we are looking for – consistency. Consistency in performance. If we can get that out of players, then at least know we have."

(On if he is trying to figure out what linebacker positions certain players should play) "Yes. I would say yes. I think that you are correct on that. I think you feel comfortable with the two, [Myles Jack and Telvin Smith Sr.]. I think Blair [Brown] has played really well behind the ball. We know that. Then I think that we are still trying to look at things and see where guys fit and see how they play and perform before we … I think it is a lot of things. I think it is early on. We still have a lot of practices left and we still have a long way to go as a team, but I think that when you make decisions too early and cement those decisions, you are in trouble. I am the one in the meetings that says, 'Hey listen, it will play out. We will see how it goes. We have a long time ahead of ourselves. This will play out.' You give people ample opportunity, but I would say that you are correct in that we are looking at those backup positions and the SAM position and seeing what the best situation is for us."

(On what Leon Jacobs has done to be working with the starters right now) "His body type fits it well. He has shown some flashes. He still has a long way to go and all the rest of them [do]. I think that Telvin [Smith Sr.] can get better and Myles [Jack] can get better. They will do that during camp. They are at a level that we feel good about. I think everybody else has to compete and go out there and show it."

(On if there is something that makes Blair Brown fit better in the middle) "It is probably size."

(On what he saw from Logan Cooke on Friday night) "We are excited, but it goes back to the same thing. He really did have an excellent night. He has really had a pretty good week. It was good to see him go out there and do that on the field. Hopefully, he can continue, and we need him to continue to do well. It was good to see him out there. I normally don't like to talk about rookie specialists. I don't want to jinx them, that's why."

(On his impressions of the offensive line) "I thought the first [string] line played well against a very good defensive front. I think I left the scrimmage thinking to myself, 'Listen, it was obviously competitive, but if you need to know anything, it was kind of clean.' It looked pretty clean, the protection and the blocking."

(On what improvement he saw from Monday through Friday of last week) "There were a lot of things. I think that you go out there every day and there are a lot of things that you can improve on. If you are not [improving], then you are in trouble at this time of year. At least for me, I do not think that we are anywhere near ready to play a game yet. I am talking about a regular season game. So if we are not making improvements on a daily basis, then it is going to hold us back in being the type of the team that we want to be. There are a lot of things. We make mistakes, and we have to use those mistakes as learning opportunities. I think that you saw one the other night. Someone mentioned DJ [Chark Jr.], someone mentioned Logan [Cooke]. Logan has a great kick and the ball bounces up. [James] O'Shaughnessy goes down there and tips it back, makes sure it doesn't go in the end zone and DJ [Chark Jr.] comes and slides and he is in the end zone with his knee and touches the ball. I think that it is still things like that. You can take that and say, 'OK, listen, here is what we are trying to do. This is how we would like to do it.' You take those moments and you are teaching it. I think that is where we are right now. I do think sometimes you are going in there and there is a little bit of an improvement. Then, you may have a practice where you take a little bit of a dip and then improvement, dip, improvement … What you don't want to see is a great practice and then a poor practice. You don't want to see that type of inconsistency. At the end of the day when you look at all the practices backed up and if you put it on a graph, you would see the incline going up gradually. The dots may move a little bit up and down, but they are never going to be like [back and forth]. That is one of the things that we try to keep on our minds as we go to keep pushing them."

(On what sets Myles Jack apart and if he thinks Jack is just scratching the surface of his potential) "I do. I really think that he is a heck of a player. I think he has a good command. He runs well. He is a physical player. I think he has improved from where he was at this time last year. I felt that he played very well last year, but I really think we can get more out of him. I think that he expects more out of himself. He has worked extremely hard. He's been here pretty much the whole year. I have seen him. He was here in the offseason and working hard. I think he looks good. I think he is ready to have a good year. I think these next couple of weeks he has to keep working, making sure he is ready to go. We haven't tackled yet, but he has shown that he is able to do that. I think he is a heck of a football player. We just have to keep him going in that direction and keep him out here. Then, obviously like everybody else, we just have to keep him healthy."

(On DE Yannick Ngakoue constantly working to improve) "Yes, I talked about him … I forget who it was. Somebody was asking me what motivates him. I am like, 'Listen, he plays with a chip on his shoulder. He walks in this building with something to prove all of the time.' I think that I have a great deal of respect for him because he is someone that always from a technical standpoint … As far as his physical condition, he is in outstanding shape. He works at it. The technical part of it, I remember when he was out at the Pro Bowl, I went out there and I see him all over to the side with Von Miller and a couple of the other pass rushers. They are talking and I said, 'Hey, how is it going?' [He said], 'It is going good. I am learning this and learning that.' I said, 'Hey, this is great for you. Get as much information as you possibly can. But don't give up any of your stuff.' That is the way the NFL is. You are always trying to do that. You are in the information-gathering business, not the information-giving. I think that is the type of guy he is. Whatever he had last year wasn't good enough for him. He is going to want more, and he is going to work on things to better his craft. He is an exciting guy. He makes us a better football team. Not only by his play, but he helps our offensive guys obviously get better, and he is having a good camp."

(On how Marqise Lee is performing) "He just got back on the field, really."

(On what he saw from Marqise Lee on Friday night) "I saw a player that just got back from injuries. I think it was kind of hard because if I am here saying, 'I want to see consistency throughout,' and then all of a sudden he comes back out there and he made a couple of good plays which was good to see. It is good that someone can come back and make some plays. Now, you are looking for it to be on a consistent basis. I think that sometimes a lot of guys come back and they don't make plays and it takes a while. He made a couple and now we are expecting him to make more today, more the next day and keep progressing in that way."

(On if he learns about the team in terms of how they approach practice after a day off) "We talked about it as a staff last night. In my opinion, we really have not practiced as well coming from a day off. I think that is one of our goals today – to try and have a better practice and try to set that mode. I don't want to say it is normal because I'm sure there are a lot of teams that can do it, but for our team, we have to do a better job of that."

(On if there is any concern that guys are giving too much effort during training camp) "The only thing I get concerned about is if it is not what we want. If we have THUD and someone is trying to tackle someone or someone falls down on the ground, obviously they do not want to do that or maybe there is a type of contact that you do not really want to have because it is a tag-off period. I think those are the things that I would be concerned about as people taking it too [far]. I would be concerned about safety issues, not how hard they are going. That is the point. We want them to go harder than they have ever gone before so this way, I know people say this all the time, what we are trying to do is make the games a lot easier than the practice. That is really where our goal is."