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**Q:

Is the depth at wide receiver possibly more than you previously expected?*

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It's what we thought. We didn't go into the draft thinking we were going to draft a receiver and in the seventh round, Adrian (Arrington) was available, so we made a move to obtain him. I think that kind of competition is good for that position or any position. *

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**Q:

With so many players coming back from knee injuries, how delicate is it to ease them back in?*

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I think you need to have some patience in understanding the nature of the injury when you start talking about Deuce (McAllister) or Mike McKenzie or when you talk about (Jeremy) Shockey's (ankle) break. Some of these injuries have really kept these guys from playing football for half a year or longer. We just need to have a plan and stick to it. As a coach you want to get everybody in there and get him started, but you also have to be mindful of not having a setback. We're trying to do that in the case of these players.*

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**Q:

Do you need to have a special plan in integrating Jeremy Shockey into the offense due to his injury as well as the fact that he's new to the team?*

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More than the mental, it's based on the physical factor of trying to transition back into the game and we have a lot of time here before we get started. He's someone that we need to have some patience with starting off, just because of the lack of football activity he's had. It went back all the way to December since he's played a game. He hasn't been in pads. It's important to be smart with his transition and the transition of these other guys, such as McAllister and McKenzie, but in Jeremy's case, it's more the physical aspect of it than the mental. These guys will learn on the run and they'll make some mistakes, but it's more important that there aren't any setbacks. We want to be patient with the reps we give him.*

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**Q:

Is Shockey getting a lot of one on one work in the playbook from you and the coaching staff?*

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Terry's (Malone) having to spend some additional time with him which is understandable right now and that will go on for a while.*

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**Q:

Can you discuss throwing some balls today out at practice and taking some reps?*

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With this 80 man roster and three quarterbacks, we just have to be able to fill in. We have three intern coaches with us in Jay Bellamy, Robert Holcombe and Sam Garnes. We fired Holcombe as a quarterback.*

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**Q:

We asked Aaron Stecker if there was more pressure on him to catch a pass from you and that he said there was more pressure on you to show what kind of arm you have?*

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I'm pretty comfortable throwing it to the backs at least.*

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**Q:

Are you a potential emergency quarterback if it comes down to it?*

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I think we're in trouble then.*

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**Q:

Is Ed Orgeron more intense than you thought he was?*

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He has a spark to him, he's passionate about what he does. I think it's contagious with his players. He's coached a lot of real, real good defensive lines. He's been a part of a lot of winning teams. He's been a part of four national championship teams, two at USC and two at Miami and he takes a lot of pride in what he does. First of all he's a good teacher. He'll bring something to this defensive line. I think when you talk to his players, they'll say the same thing.*

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**Q:

Is he difficult to understand language wise with his Cajun accent?*

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Not if you've lived here long enough. I'm in my third year. It's kind of pretty simple. At first it's a little difficult. I think this is a good opportunity for him. It brings him close to family. It's a coaching environment which is conducive to allowing a position coach such as himself or the others to really work their trade with the players. I think he appreciates that.*

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**Q:

Is this is a second chance for him after his experience at Mississippi?*

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I think as a coach we all go through those times. It's a tough profession. Generally the good ones are tough minded. Ed's one of those guys that will have success and it's followed him throughout his career.*

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**Q:

Do the "Edge" shirts present a them for training camp?*

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This edge for us could mean anything. It could mean to work on the details after practice. It could mean additional meeting time. It's whatever you look at that gives you an edge in your trade as a player or as a coach. We've talked about having that edge. That's something that we harp on with our team. It can mean a lot of things. You're always looking for some type of way to have an edge in this league and if not, then you're not going to be successful.*

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**Q:

Can you discuss the middle linebacker competition with Mark Simoneau and Jonathan Vilma?*

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We're rotating those guys. There's competition right there at that position. We have similar competition battles happening in other areas, but with Mark and Jon, Joe's (Vitt) done a good job of moving those guys in and out with the ones and twos. They're both getting a lot of work. They're both getting adjusted to the earpiece system that the defenders are going to have now and getting signals from Joe Vitt throughout the course of practice.*

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**Q:

Can you discuss Skyler Green's prospects as a receiver and returner for this team?*

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I think it's going to start with the special teams for him. Can he make an impact as a returner? What else can he do? I think when you start to look at players like that, the preseason becomes awfully important where they can make an impression.*

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**Q:

Can you discuss the impact of Adrian Arrington?*

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He's picked things up pretty quick. He's intelligent and a big target. As a rookie, he's been able to handle the workload pretty quickly in regards to what we're asking him to do. That's plus.*

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**Q:

Is it fair or unfair to say that Reggie Bush had a little trouble dropping punts today?*

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He stayed afterwards. I'm sure he felt disappointed that he dropped a few. He's been pretty sure handed as a returner in regards to catching the ball. He stayed another ten minutes to work on that. He looked a little rusty though. I think that's fair to say.*

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**Q:

Based on the money you have invested in your defensive line, do you expect your sack totals to increase?*

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I think we expect our play to go up and not just at that position. I think Gary's (Gibbs) has made a point defensively as a whole that he's looking for improvement in a lot of areas just as we are looking for it on offense as well as in the kicking game. We talked about some of the areas that we felt we were behind in last year. We finished last in the league as a field goal team. We were in the bottom third of the league in all return statistics. Those are some specifics. Certainly as far as getting to the quarterback, we would like to improve in that area. I think that's something that we are paying attention to.*

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**Q:

Is it much more difficult to win when you struggle on special teams especially in the return game even with the high powered offense?*

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You pay attention to the turnover statistics from percentage points and you look at the teams last year that made the postseason, there's always two or three exceptions, but there are always eight or nine teams that point out to the fact that how important that statistic is. You're on borrowed time if you're winning and losing that battle. That's something we have to be better at.*

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**Q:

Did you find anything that maybe contributed to last year's slow start that you could attribute to training camp?*

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I think when you go on the road against a team like Indianapolis that just won the Super Bowl, it's a challenge, but certainly we have to pay attention to not getting off to that same start that we did a year ago and putting ourselves in a hole. We'll try to be judicious and smart. Training camp isn't as long here in Jackson this year just because of our schedule with the Texans, but I do think, having a chance to open up at home and that we're only playing four preseason games, the main goal is to be ready for the start of the season. When it comes to some of these injured players that we're talking about now, we have to be smart enough to avoid a setback. That's what we're trying to do. From a training camp standpoint, this has provided us with a pretty environment for us to train and study football. I think we're pleased with how we're coming to camp. We just have to be smart about how much work we do here.*

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**Q:

Can you discuss how Robert Meachem is handling camp as he seems a lot healthier?*

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He's further along with an understanding of what we're doing. He's made some plays here in the last day and a half. We have a lot of football left, which is going to be good for him and the rest of those receivers, because they'll have a lot of repetitions and chances to play in the preseason, whether it is in the scrimmage or in the preseason games. It's good to see him running around without the gait anymore and picking things up. It's a lot different for him now.*

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**Q:

Is it day and night for him from last year?*

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He was struggling on that knee.*

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