stevewin

Thanks for the updates. Curious - how is the fan access like there, are you able to get close to the action? Have you been to SJF - curious how it compared.

I heard that Sir Purr and Billy Buffalo had an illicit affair which resulted in a rare Panthallo breed bastard. They shunned and rejected the obnoxious bastard, but not before they named it Train Horn.

1. This year I realized that Sutherland is a little quicker - one thing is that it turns onto the street midway through downtown - while the Mendon bus has to go the full length and has more delay b/c of that 2. Last Wed someone had the bright idea of bringing like 40 small kids from a YMCA camp and sticking them right behind me. I thought they were going to explode. Forgot how annoying groups of little kids can be (see 4). After 20 mins the counselors finally realized the futility of having them there and thankfully they left. I think even Britt and Grandma Allen were annoyed. 3. I still like to go and see things/players up close. It helps that I've scored passes to the Entitled Area the last couple years. Can def say after going to SJF for 2 days then to the stadium practice (the last couple years) - the stadium practice is much more of a snoozefest. I do wish there was closer access at SJF - last year spoke to a guy who works every camp and he basically said McD really is focused on the actual football part of camp, and fan experience is really not high on his list of concerns (to put it mildly) 4. Truer words were never spoken

The situations I was referring to weren't what you are describing - free shots from Offside etc. They were dead plays where they whistled the play dead for sacks etc. - or plays that were completely blown up. There were a lot of those plays/whistles (the defense being dominant), and from being there and seeing Josh multiple times just throw up brutal passes in those situations, it really didn't come off at all as a positive play

I mentioned on the board from the two practices I went to at SJF last week - there were multiple times where the play was whistled dead or completely blown up and Allen just threw the ball up like "screw it". The interceptions in that scenario were bogus - but still I didn't feel like that was a great habit to get into honestly. I also went Friday - my impression with Josh from viewing those three practices was there was good and bad - but also that he didn't look particularly sharp overall - inconsistent to be sure. I'm not worried yet - it's still early and there is time for things to come together. I'm most interested to see how things go in the preseason against other defenses - in situations where real drives are trying to be put together. I agree it is ridiculous to keep stats in the practice situations. It is interesting to go live and compare to what other people report. There were some things even Astro reported (opinion wise) that I didn't necessarily see for the practices I went to. But that is why even for real games, which everyone sees the same broadcast, there still are disagreements between people on how different players performed.

He had shoes - just no socks. I'm not sure what type of shoes though - presumably high quality - but this is a man who sleeps on a mattress on the floor with no furniture after all...

I was at last two days at camp and yesterday noticed him in 1-1 drills. Had one of the most impressive reps that I saw running step/step down the field with receiver and breaking up the ball. Don't remember there being anything on his leg/ankle. Seemed to be running at full speed far as I could tell - as someone mentioned he was also in on some 11-11 as he had an int on tipped ball. Side note - I happened to see him on Wed cross the street after practice from the locker rooms to the dorms - no socks and nothing on his ankles, walking normally no trace of any limp etc (thighs like tree trunks BTW)

Re: the 5 TD in red zone discussion - I will say that I don't think anyone who was there today came away thinking Josh or the offense did well in that portion of practice (or even overall), regardless of there being 5 TDs in that portion of practice. Some pretty brutal plays and throws - no real rhythm or consistency. Definitely think it's fair to say Josh and the offense were really not "on" today. Bottom line though think it can really be attributed primarily to the D playing so well vs Josh/offense being terrible. The D really is playing at a high level as a unit (at least in the last couple days I saw) - tough, fast, loose, and confident. I'm looking forward to seeing the offense go against another team.

Random notes from camp today - Snuck into the VIP area with our passes from yesterday Was nice to see the familiar faces of our old friends Britt, Grandma Allen, and the rest of the Allen clan. At least four bold young men on separate occasions summoned the courage to ask Britt for a selfie with them - that wasn't happening yesterday. She nicely obliged, but can see how that would get old very fast. I was thinking I'm not sure she'll be hanging out with the common people next year - My man Towbridge showed up again with a one-hand grab during 1-1s, and overall still looking pretty nimble on pass routes. Sweeney had a real nice (highly) contested grab that he won with pure will - to me Sweeney looks like he belongs (almost surprisingly so), and to me showed actual skill to run and catch the ball. Milano had a great defensive rep stayed step for step down the field and broke up a nice pass - was an impressive bit of running/coverage. Singletary still is not slow - dude can make moves and catch the ball - Noticed today Leslie Frazier really works in the background - in contrast to Daboll and even most of the position coaches. It took me a long while to even find him out on the field at one point. Thought it was interesting in one red zone session McD was actually in the EZ behind the D coaching them the duration of the drill with Leslie nowhere to be found. During 11-11 Frazier (after I finally spotted him) would stand on the sideline and call in plays with a walkie-talkie - assume he was communicating with Edmunds or whoever else was in at MLB at the time. One of the assistants - think it was the safety coach - was they guy who was getting guys on and off - Shady had some burst today and was light on his feet - like $55K lighter <rimshot> - Finally got the view I was waiting for all camp - Beasley and Singletary side by side. It looked to be a draw height-wise - potentially Simgletary by a single hair. Singletary looks to have like 30 lbs on him though. When you just focus and look at Beasley when he is just standing around next to group of guys sometimes he honestly looks like a little kid out there - Poyer really throws his body around - like all the time. I was cringing sometimes like dude just take it easy and don't hurt yourself - Trent Murphy and Lee Smith with no pads: they look like much skinnier versions of Tormond Giantsbane - and just as ancient - Worst wardrobe choice goes to SillsV. A lot of players were wearing shorts that had a wide red stripe on the lower back of each leg. This dude for some reason cut off an amount of the lower front part of the shorts equal to the width of the stripe in the back to create some kind of ridiculous short-short front with big red stripe skirt in back - I guess to show off his skinny legs. If there was any question before it's been cemented now - definitely not making the 53. It's possible those shorts exempt him from the PS as well - In two days watching live action Andre Roberts is now one of my favorite players. I really hope he ultimately makes his way into the regular WR rotation come opening day - My son drew from his pee wee football experience and alertly observed that Christian Wade had his hands the wrong way when he took a handoff near the goal line - think he subsequently corrected it - Tried to watch Oliver a bit more - a few plays he burst in seemingly untouched. So explosive. Was very disruptive at times - Especially at end of 11-11, similar to yesterday, defense just was dominant. It wasn't just that - just in their body language on the field and sideline - you could tell they knew they were dominant. Seemed so confident as a unit. Have to believe some of the offensive struggles are due to the defense playing so damn good. Looking forward to see how the offense looks against other team's D in the coming weeks - Related to that, in last two days there were a number of plays that were being blown up or blown dead, and to me it seems there were times where Josh just threw it up at the end as if to say - well play is screwed so I'll just launch it - but not sure that is necessarily the best practice habit to get into to prepare for live action - Got pics of my son and Dad with Edmunds and Shady down in the Entitled Children area - both super nice - Josh went over to the far corner of the EZ for NFL network interview. We saw the long line of people that had gathered along that fence - then saw the people along the bleachers waiting for him - and knew if he ever did get back over by the tunnel it would take forever. On the the way to the car I said to my son - you can see it's true, once you get big there are so many more distractions to deal with with media and fans all wanting a piece of you. Then on the way home I heard someone actually asked about it in his PC. He gave the "PC" answer - but man just being there and seeing what he has to go through after a full practice - and no doubt he feels obligated as the face of the franchise - it's definitely got to wear on you if it isn't managed with care

I never said he was normal

Yep thats him

Some random non-Grandma-Allen related observations from camp today - Andre Roberts is the real deal. Looks different than anyone else (in a good way) when he returns and gets upfield. He is also a seriously legit WR. Had some nice catches and just looked so natural running routes, catching, and running after - New bulletin - Singletary is not slow Looks awesome catching passes as well - think he will be a real surprise to the rest of the NFL this year. It's amazing though to see him in the huddle - the top of his helmet might not make it to the top of Josh's shoulder pads - Towbridge looked impressive to me today - had a few catches in space and looked natural doing it (despite his huge frame) - Barkley is a legit QB - not just a legit backup QB, but legit QB. He had full command and was making very nice passes. Also - he walked by with his pads off - he is a surprisingly stout man - like buffet-stout - Knox and Croom walked past side by side with no pads on - was surprised how built Know was - was wider than Croom in shoulders and back - Not sure what reports were for interceptions - but at least two times the ball was "intercepted" the whistle blew and the play was dead and Josh just threw it up. One int was a battle between DB and Sills that Sills lost. Going to go out on a limb that Sills doesn't make the 53 - The defense totally stuffed the O in the last part of 11-11 - like 3-4 series in a row went 3 and out - Kudos to Josh for signing so much after (with his family (who just got in last night) waiting for him) - always trying to keep a smile and stay upbeat - and best part was the way he worked to engage so many little kids with a high five and "How ya doin!" instead of just scribbling his sig. And he was able to walk that line and blow you off nicely and politely - as he had to keep moving

OK last one ? Pat Kirwin and Jim Miller (from TC) Note: there is no link available to the interview - High intensity practice - It definitely was. It definitely ratchets up the first day in pads - I knew it, some guys were already getting antsy with each other and the first day in pads and one guy gets what the other thinks is a little cheap shot and he's waiting on him. We had a small little one today, but you know, it's ball - Offseason - so many new guys - It starts with everyone facing the music, and our offense was not good enough last year. It started upfront, we couldn't get the run game going. The pass protection was not what we see it should be. So we started there - let's fix our front, let's bring in some competition in the running game, and get some wideouts - let's get some weapons for Josh. We added a TE too in Tyler Kroft - he broke his foot in OTAs but he's rehabbing and working hard, He's progressing and is super positive so that's another piece we don't have right now that we'll be excited to get back. Continuity - building that cohesion - that's probably the biggest thing you want to get as quick as you can. It's not an ideal thing to have so many linemen as we have we want to get that 5 figured out - who it's going to be, and start gelling when we get in the preseason action - Leaders who believe in message and head coach to bring team together - Yeah - we look for guys who are pros on and off the field, and maybe sometimes we drop down on talent - not to say these guys - sometimes the guy who isn't the all-star or pro-bowler but gives you everything he's got, is a great teammate - we believe in the 11 as one. We'll sacrifice some "star power" so to speak to have everyone working together. It's taking time, it's year three and we like where we're at, and we're trending, but we got a lot of work to do because of some of the new parts we have. - Josh - (him leading the team in rushing) Caught a lot of people by surprise. This time a year ago it was "well is he accurate enough" and all the things - can he play NFL QB - and I think people, if you only watched him throw the ball, if you didn't watch him at Wyoming - he was their leading rusher in a decent amount of games. He made plays with his feet - he tested very well against all the QBs. I think he and Lamar Jackson were the highest two testers across the board but it got overlooked - people were so focused on the "accuracy" and breaking that down. It's one of those things - we do still want him to use his legs, I don;t want him to be the leading rusher though - I agree with you there. But a lot of times defenses manned up and brought heat and if he makes a guy miss, especially if they're playing man, he's taking off - He's super talented and can take over games - He's a super athlete. The thing we did want to see - he had the elbow injury - and that we saw was he was not taking as many hits, he was getting down - he was getting OOB. you do want the threat of the run, it's just that when the run's over - get down or get OOB and don't take that hit. The one thing we still stressed towards the end of the year when he was getting out of the pocket trying to make a play sometimes he was holding it so long that he allowed a defender - even after he got rid of it, to still take a shot. Those add up over time. I think if we can get him to stop those and take the check downs - he's an aggressive kid, and he thinks he can make every throw 25 yds down the field in a tight window when sometimes take that little dump pass and let someone else make the play for you - Mitch Morse - When I was in Carolina we had Ryan Kahlil - he set the table for Cam and set the front, and such a great communicator with the OL. We had some injuries but when Ryan was out there even if we had other linemen go down, it was like the unit kept rolling. That piece up the middle is so important. So when Mitch was avail, obvi a large part of what KC had going the last couple years - we love who he is, the communication that he has. Him and the other guys - the Spains, Felicianos - what we brought in were guys we did research on , felt were team guys - maybe not the most talented or highest paid but were going to buy in. Maybe started some, didn't start all the time, competitive guys looking for their chance and oppty. It's been a good battle. The think we know now is we have a lot more depth. That's something we were lacking the most and when we got some injuries we suffered because of it - Other than RG it looks like you are pretty well set - is that fair to say - You know we're trying - time is not our friend here as far as the OLine is concerned - so we're trying to mix those guys in. I'd say we have 6-7 guys who are really fighting right now in that top group. But games will matter - we could have someone when we get in the preseason games is not gelling for some reason - there's some other guys right behind who have played, We've got more experience. We just want to be solid up front. We don't have to be elite - we're just trying to make it gel. - With so many diff guys with diff experience/opinions - OL coach has to have a strong backbone - this is how we're doing it period. Looks like he has that - an approach to not do a lot of things at first - get good as you go - Bobby's been a great addition. When we were looking for this job, we made a lot of calls to other staffs - to players that have played under him - and his name kept coming up - hey this is a guy you should at least interview. He's been great - he brought Terry Heffernan in <Proceeds to praise Ryan Wendell up and down - at length>. - Love Cody Ford - the compete/finish - He's a competitor. He was the nastiest guy I saw last year in college. If the whistle hadn't blown, he's looking for work. - For such a big guy you never see that. <chime in> Oh now they'll be more fights in camp now that I hear that part <laughter> - Let me say the first day we had a brawl he was the first guy over there - <laughter> Finishers always start brawls! - Receivers - not biggest group but offer everything - Andre (Roberts) is a big time pro - he had a pro bowl year as a returner. He single-handedly beat us last year. He's been a great addition, a great leader in the room. John Brown - w tried to get him a year ago, we lost out - he was looking for an established QB. Going into this year he was very interested in us - knew this was year two. He's been a great leader. He's not just a vertical speed receiver - he can do a lot of the vertical routes, which gives him an advantage because they're not just always sitting on the nine ball. Beasley - had a hernia in the offseason - just now building up timing with Josh. Has been a great addition - he's so savvy. Was a good fit as he learned what his role would be in this offense. Been a great guy and been a great leader for some of our younger guys. Robert Foster back, Zay Jones year three - and some other guys Ray-Ray and McKittrick are all battling for some spots. We feel there will be better depth there - will be an interesting battle if these guys stay healthy - Going to be tough to get to 25 offensive players - I hope it is tough. It is going to be tough. I hope we're healthy. I looked at it in June as OK if we keep 5 receivers, 4 TEs, etc. where are we going to cut a spot - and I love linemen - I don't want to be short there. Once you get into late Sept the talent level really starts to drop off if you need a replacement. You can find one earlier in the year, but you start getting into late Sept early Oct you're crossing your fingers - OLinemen 6,7,8 are guys who played in this league - Yeah - and that's the goal. You cross your fingers everyday and these guys are out here just going at it - it's a collision sport and things happen. It's been a fun camp do far we love coming up here. We're going down to Carolina in a couple weeks to practice against Carolina so that will heat it up for us a little bit - Depth in secondary. Levi Wallave, Gains, Johnson - Kevin Johnson 1st round pick. You understand why he got picked where he did. The durability has been the issue. He's beefed up and come in with a refreshed attitude. Sometimes a fresh start works out for a guy - again he'll have to prove that he can stay healthy. You see his twitch. He's one of the most twitched-up corners I've been around. He's got very good ball skills. Several picks. EJ Gaines - we had EJ two years ago. We were 8-3 when he started for us. He had some injury issues with us - left to go to Cleveland and I think thought man I fit this defense well. Levi Wallace was an undrafted young man - came in and kept his mouth shut - late in the year we started him the last seven games. It wasn't too big for him. We brought in competition for him - to this point he has held his own. It will be a tough battle thru this preseason to see who will start opposite Tre. - Oliver - Ed's been good. He's a rookie - a lot of this is learning trial by fire. He's playing totally different than how he was playing in Houston - we have him mainly in the 3-trch. The main thin is in pass rush he's got the get-off , he's got to work on his moves. He's seeing linemen he hasn't seen before - and some of the stuff they do [Ed. note: ie., cheat?] I kind of view him like Tremaine last year. Tremaine was a young player, learned a lot trial by fire - had to run the whole defense. ed is the same way - he's going to makes some plays just off his athletic ability, and he's going to make mistakes, but we're willing to live with those. He's been a hard worker - tough kid, super explosive, he wants to be great - he believes every snap the guy across from him can't block him. That's the belief you want to have. He's a good kid. He doesn't say much, he's quiet, but when the ball is snapped he's ready to roll

Went to camp today with my Dad and my son. Was able to score some VIP tix, and sat in the VIP section of the bleachers to the far left. Last year we went, and we got a picture of my Dad and my son with Josh (see avatar). This year we printed the picture 8x10, and figured if we would be able to get in a position where Josh could see my son and my Dad holding the picture - he'd come right over and sign it and recreate the pose from last year for another picture. We could do it every year! When we sat down - my son said to me "That's Josh's girlfriend" - and sure enough a couple rows down she was sitting there. Upon further inspection it turned out Josh's Dad and Mom were in front of her - and also (as we would learn later) were his sister and Grandma Allen. We started joking that my son should go over and ask his girlfriend to sign the back of the picture - heck his parents too - then when we got Josh to sign it, we could show him his family signed it too. After a while of this, my son actually decided to do it just for fun. He approached Britt first, and she was initially a bit taken aback by this kid holding an 8x10 of him and Josh and an old man - but almost immediately Josh's father turned to him and my son explained he thought it would be fun if they signed the back of the picture - and Dad was all in. He passed it to Josh's Mom, sister, and Grandma Allen to sign as well. My son had some small talk with the family while the pic was getting passed around - they were all extremely kind and nice. After practice ended we set up by the VIP fence (with the entitled children) waiting for Josh to come over - my son and Dad standing together holding the picture which was sure to draw him straight over. Eventually he came over to the section of fence by us, but it was apparent 1) he was only signing for kids (and girls with prom signs - more on that later) and 2) the whole "hey look I have a picture of you that we took last year" wasn't quite as compelling to him as it was to us. There were a few times as we moved along the fence he for sure saw it - but he was focused on getting to kids and moving along, which honestly he had to do - don't fault him at all. So here's a pic of Josh and his family after practice - below it are the autographs of each person in that pic - minus the big guy in the blue shirt. At one point as we moved around we were near the girl with the Prom? sign. If you look close you can see the 8x10 being held up in the background Kudos to Josh - he started signing at the far left VIP area, went all the way over to the beginning at far right - signed all along the bleachers, then the other side by the tunnel, then both sides after going through the tunnel (where the Prom girl was) - then into the other VIP area past that. Was being super nice and friendly the whole time. Also kudos to his family for being so nice and playing along with my son. There was another kid who had a Josh it's my birthday sign which earned him a high five and an autograph. I'm going tomorrow and my birthday is Fri - thinking of making a "It's my Birthday - Prom?" sign - that would be sure to get him to sign then ?

Pat Kirwin and Jim Miller (from TC) Note: There is no link available for the interview - How are things settling for you - You just go out there and compete every day. I got the guys in front of me, Star and big Jordan and Jerry and Trent - guys just coach me up every day and get me ready to go out there and play and help the team. I just sit back and take it all in - Kyle Williams - Yeah - it was crazy. When the guys seen him in the room it was kinda like your older brother - when your older brother comes home from school - it's like rah-rah-rah. It was a little different for me I was like Oh it;s Kyle Williams. That's my boy, that's my brother - everything he says I take to heart - What's been most important to show what you can do - It's just been stacking good days on top of good days. I had a couple good days in a row, and having and off day and then having to come back and stack more good days. I feel I didn't take a big enough step today, but that's just been my goal to stack good days and keep making a constant improvement. every day I go out there it's just one thing to get better at - Do you miss the humidity of Houston - Yes I do, no lie. Houston's very hot, but it's the type of hot you don't have to get warmed up for - you just go outside and you're already sweating and you're ready to go - Who's taking care of the horses - My Pop - back in Louisiana. He's supposed to be coming out here in a couple weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't right behind him, if they end up at my crib <laughs> - Battles with veteran OLmen - To put it in simplist terms - those guys know how to cheat. It is what it is - they got vet tricks, they been in the league for a long time - Does it frustrate you - You just got to look at it like oh - you just got to learn how to cheat too. It's just battles, it's competition. I've gotten a whole lot better, I've come a long way since I first came here. Just learning - I tell you those Olinemen cheat - they hold you, they take holding to a whole different level - they take holding and it's like they majored in it or something. It's a different type of game - Because their feet are good - so they can stay with it. A college guy gets his arm out and you can see it, not these guys - And there guys are a lot bigger and heavier. For me it's just being on my Ps and Qs and knowing what's coming - Do you get frustrated with them - I get more frustrated with myself. I know I'm the only one beating myself so I got to play up - How are you breaking down their hands - It's hard because they'll flash them then take them back, so t's just little stuff like that that come with it. They did it some in college but here it's every play they come with little ways to get you so you got to be on Ps and Qs - How's install been going - Install's not too tough, just execution. Like I said go out every day and pick something to get better at. Whether it be watching the ball, hands - just pick one thing - getting with the older guys, have them helping you in the meeting rooms, break down what you did wrong, how you can get better - any little thing. I'm like a sponge and I'm trying to soak it up - Best moment at camp so far - that you said that's how you do it and it gets done - It comes in flashes - but you have to do it every time - Give me moment though where you flashed and said I don't need anybody to tell me that was good - You want to think like that but you can't. You have to be open to corrections at all times - even when you think you might have just made the best play of your entire life - there's still probably something you could have done better - Been hard on you in film room - No No, it's just about getting better - Got spirited today - I don't know what the problem was today - everybody want to fight. this was my first practice where it was feisty like that - everybody seemed like they wanted to buck with each other and I'm like - how about we just play ball -

Pat Kirwin and Jim Miller (from TC) Note: There is no available link to the interview - We had a ball this AM watching your group go at it - It was a good practice - intense, spirited. Kind of what you expect this time of camp - early in the 2nd week here. I thought we did some good things - it was good to get some rain too, have our guys feel the elements a little bit - just in terms of the weather we get in Buffalo from time to time - and execute at a high level - Where are you in your messaging to your team compared to previous years. do you feel like you have to go back to page 1 , or do you feel like most of the ears have heard it and your moving on to the next thing - I believe on really doubling down on the message. It starts with a vision of where we want to go and then the plan of how we are trying to get there. I don't think you can hear that message enough - so in this case, fundamental football wins - and we have to continue to stress fundamentals. Not beating ourselves, situational football, over and over and over again - For new veterans before you signed them did you spell out what this is all about, what is a Buffalo Bill, what your going to do here, not do here - For the most part. FA is kind of a different animal these days where it's almost a race to get the guys that you want. With that said there certainly was conversation with each and every one of them early in the process, this is what we're all about, this is what it means to be a Buffalo Bill, this is what this football team means to this city and the people of Buffalo. - Incremental improvement looking to see in QB - That's the key, the incremental piece of it. I think a lot of times people want to put the responsibility for wins and losses squarely on the shoulders of the QB, and in this case a young QB. We have to develop as a football team around our young QB for him to continue to develop and have the success he needs to have - You changed to drastically different defensive scheme - how do you make that change - It's what we believe in number 1, you have a vision for what you want it to look like and fit the pieces to what you've got in terms of you fit the scheme to match the personnel you have. As you look at what we were able to do early on, with the tools and the weapons that we had - it was different. It was a 3-4 multiple defense, it did some different things, pressured quite a bit. At the end of the day I believe that players like to play in a system where they can play fast and play with a lot of freedom - within the system of course. I think you find over the course of the years players like to play in this system - Murphy and Kevin Johnson healthy - We added some quality football players this offseason. Health and availability is important. We've got to do the best we can do to keep players available. That will be key in the success our football team has this season - 2018 guys - if you study the NFL, maybe the same in college, what jumps out to us is when some guys have success their first season they don't always have success their second year. Or vice versa - if they don't experience the success they wanted to the first year a lot of times those guys go back and reset and work their tails off then all of a sudden they have a better sophomore season. That was part of our message - hey if you think you've arrived, you haven't. If you are worrying whether you can play in this league you can, just go home and work hard. There's story after story of guys who do that in the their 2nd season. So the guys who did play and have some success - it's important they go back and double down on their hard work in the offseason, and that's what we've seen. - How do you manage so many new guys - It's tough - the challenge of bringing a team, a cohesive unit, together. And in this case the OL together. People overlook continuity quite a bit. We've got to build it from the ground up and that's a challenge - How does it affect your installation - We started in the Spring then restarted it in TC. I'm a big stickler for fundamentals, and to me the important piece is establishing a good solid floor, and then go from there. If we try to walk before w can crawl, you don't get that second chance to have TC. That true for establishing our toughness in training camp, our identity of our football team, the attitude of our football team, the fundamentals. Let's make sure we crawl before we walk - Impressions of Ed Oliver, DTs - With respect to Ed he has a lot of work to do, he's a rookie - he's experiencing everything that comes with rookie training camp. With other guys we've got the pieces, now it's how it all fits together. If you look at last year we were able to affect the QB, we just felt as a staff we didn't finish enough on the QB. You've got to be able to do that - particularly in this division. You've got to be able to get there with your front 4 - Frank Gore - It's interesting to be around him. It's a different perspective when he's on your side. He came in and we talked about some of the matchups when I was at Carolina and he was with the 49ers and what he thought of our dfense and I shared what I thought of his offense. Now the thing I appreciate most about Frank is that he's a professional. He just loves football. He's passionate about it, he thinks, talks sleeps eats - football 24 hrs a day. And that rubs off on our football team - that passion. I'm grateful not just to coach this football team but be around a player like that - I rubs off on the coaches - Absolutely it does - It's everybody. Everyone thinks oh he's mentoring the young guys - I don't care who you are - Frank's out there running like he's 2- rs old - The other day someone was telling a story about Frank and they said coach you should have heard him - he's going through some of our terminology on offense - some guys might just be doing their thing and not really focusing when we're going through things - and here's pro, going through the terms over and over again. I just love that. He'll facetime us a random times hey coach what do you think about this, what do you think about that. He just loves football - Thoughts on building toughness - Very important - we believe in building on LOS back - LOS out. You have to be able to run the football and stop the run. Have to be able to protect the QB and get to the QB. That starts up front on both sides of the ball. That's where the toughness of the unit really begins. The identity and toughness of the football team to me is built with the offensive line , defensive line, OL coach, DL coach and your coverage units on STs. We take a lot of pride in those units - Important to get offense more together - We have more continuity on defensive side. We have a challenge on offensive side. want to develop continuity as fast as we can - that being said we also have position battles going on. So from a personnel standpoint let's make sure we're moving pieces around before we say this is what we have. at some point you get the pieces set so we can get the continuity we need

Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller (from TC) Note: There is no link available to the interview - How do you like your new receivers - I like them. Cole and John have been good for us. Andre's come in as well has looked really good. The young guys are learning. Zay had a really good offseason. We're rolling with things right now putting new stuff in, trying to figure out what works and what doesn't work. One thing I can say about the whole entire group they come in every day ready to work, ready to get better so I appreciate that from them. - Know you have a lot of confidence in arm, but in year two of Daboll's offense you seem more in command more settled, more confident. How do you feel going into year two - One thing Coach Dabs has done a really good job with is throwing out things I don't like or don't necessarily do well, and just try to implement the things that I like and that I do well. Just being comfortable with the things being put in his a huge step for me - a huge factor. Dabs calls the play, I know what he's thinking. We've been working on situational football recently - understanding what situations we can try to push the ball downfield, what situations we'd like to keep the ball kind of in the underneath stuff. It's still a learning process, I'm still getting with it - but ultimately it's the right decision making process, me being on the same page with Daboll, and then in turn being on the same page with the offense [Editor's note: Stunning to think how many light years this is away from the situation in TC last year] - You're not intending to lead the team in rushing again are you - No - that wasn't the plan last year (laughs) I'd love to get the ball into our playmaker's hands. I'm not the shiftiest guy out there, I'm not the fastest - They show that highlight a lot - and you're pretty shifty there - Yeah, when it comes down to it I can make little things happen [Ed note: So humble! ? ] but with the O line we've got in right now, we're hungry. Coach Johnson has been really great in terms of teaching the guys how to do things, technique, and in turn has opened things up in the running game in practice. You know we're not going up against a shabby defense. They got some players over there we really respect what they do. We say it last year, they were fantastic last year. We don't expect anything less from them - they're going to be hungry again. they haven't gotten a huge amount of talk in the media and they note that, they're hungry to go out there. Every day has been a battle, it's been consistent tug and pull - so we're excited - Diff QB coach - Ken Dorsey. Lot of things new, OL, receivers, TE and now QB coach - Coach Dorsey has been fantastic. The insight he has on the game from playing it - it's been unbelievable. When we put in a concept, it's something that he's familiar with because he ran it - he knows what it looks like from behind the center. He understands defenses inside and out. For him to be in the room with us and drop that knowledge onto us has been fantastic. I feel a difference, I really do - just in terms of knowing what the concept means - and how to atttack a defense - and that's in a large part due to him - What about your center - what an oppty they go out and get you a great center - Yeah. I'm pumped for it. Mitch is usually the first one in the building one of the last one out. He's very talkative, very communicative. He's very smart - that's very apparent to everyone that watches him play. Technique wise, communication with the whole offense, just his leadership ability. He's been in KC they won a lot of games last year - he's bringing that experience and that knowledge here. I think it's something that's very crucial - esp the centerpiece of the line, a guy who's been in situations and knows how to handle it, stays calm, and he's a great guy as well - You've got all these new OLinemen - getting to know these guys - And we really won't know that until we get some live reps. Preseason and the first couple games it's still going to be a feeling out process. I will say I'm excited for what we got going on right now. We got a lot of guys hungry - lot of guys who want to learn. We're still working as a group. It's not going to be perfect right away - probably won't be perfect at all times but we'll get there - Talk about how you handle - 4 new starters on OL, 14 guys in camp there first or 2nd year with Bills, whole bunch of new guys. As QB how do you go about it - what's the approach - do you use every cadence variation, run every play play in the playbook - are you throwing it all at them now or are you building slowly - I think that's one of the things Brandon Beane did, when you look at the guys we wanted to add to our team, first he looked at the physical aspects - how tough they were on the field. Secondly he went after - can they learn the offense. I think we have a lot of smart guys in our locker room. I really believe that and I appreciate their ability to come in, learn a new concept, then go out on the field and go execute. We got a lot of real professional football players here - I'm not saying we didn't have that last year, it just feels different. I think as far as from top to bottom we've got guys who are hungry, are focused, it's just throughout the entire building and I think that's a key change - What's the approach - how much of the playbook - We're putting it all in right now. We're throwing it at people, trying to figure out if they can handle it or not. for the most part we've been able to handle it. That's why I said I appreciate these guys coming in every day to work - Where are you at mechanically - what did you work on - Keeping my base the same. Many times last year I'm here - then I get here in my stance then get wide again and that causes the whole sequence to kind of be off. It's about staying here, being able to jump on my toes here, and be able to react to anything that happens. If I see a guy open throw a guy open. Being comfortable in the pocket, trusting the guys around me, ultimately trusting the receivers to get the right depth, and putting it where it needs to be - Work ethic of Frank Gore - It's unbelievable. you know I grew up a Frank Gore fan - I was a 49'ers fan. I had multiple jerseys of his - the red one the white one the black one. For him to still be playing at the level he is is unbelievable. You meet the guy you see how hard he works, you see him in practice and the type of effort he gives on every play - it's a HOF work ethic and it's infectious to everyone in the building. For me - just talking to him he's studious - he's very professional and it's all about football when he's on the field. It's unbelievable to have him -

We used to call them "Polish Porches" - annual rite of summer was people pulling out their screens to put over their garage opening. My family didn't have one but I would say the majority of people on my street did

Fair enough - but still doesn't excuse the whole "slow" argument so many were complaining about based on a 40 time - less than one minute of watching his highlights you see he has speed, acceleration and quickness in spades where it actually counts for a RB

But But But he's slow... I feel the mea culpas for horrible post draft takes on Singletary this year might rival those for Josh the year before

There was an article this offseason where he said he got hurt at the beginning of the year last year and never really got up to full strength - said he is bigger/stronger this year

Beasley seems like he has a high motor mouth - not in a bad way, more a hyper little brother who won't stop talking way Maybe he's a dope dope

You could put your high motor in there

Where's his lunchpail?

Tim Anderson approves