1026WATERAUD
Hear Gainesville High student Robert Whelchel talk about his work on a public service announcement about water conservation with fellow junior Michael Lynch.A: “It is a short week for us so we brought them in a little later today so they could get some rest. We came in about noon and had our meetings. We then came out here and had about a half of a practice and finished it up with a walk-thru. Mentally we did not miss any reps. We will come out here tomorrow and have a normal Thursday.”
Q: How are you on the injury front?A: “DT Rod Coleman and DT (Jonathan) Babineaux are a little sore from the game on Monday so they did not go today. TE Alge (Crumpler) is a little sore so we held him out today. One of our concerns is FB Cory McIntyre. He has done a great job for us on special teams and we will have to wait and see how he progresses tomorrow.”
Q: How is your quarterback situation shaping up?A: “We are going to go with Byron Leftwich this week. We decided to make the change, we are 1-5 and we just didn’t feel good about some of the things we did after turnovers.”
Q: Are you also hoping to get a spark from the move?A: “Yes, that is a big part of it. We hope to make a change and get something going.”
Q: How did QB Joey Harrington take it?A: “Joey took it well. He is a professional.”
Q: How much of the offense does Byron know?A: “He has come along over the last month. I wish he would have gotten all of those snaps he missed last week with the ankle injury. But the ankle feels good and that is a good thing.”
Q: Will you have to change anything with him out there?A: “We will try and do what he does best. We will try and tailor it to him.”
Q: Can he hit some tighter spots and make some tighter throws because of his arm strength?A: “He has a very strong arm and has the ability to throw the ball down the field. He needs to be able to see it and have the confidence to put it in there. I think he will do well.”
Q: Did you meet with the two guys separately?A: “Yes. I brought them both in early this morning and talked to them.”
Q: Did you make your mind up yesterday?A: “Yes. We met as a staff yesterday and made the decision. I met with Joey first this morning because I wanted to make sure Joey knew first. Then I brought Byron in and then QB Chris (Redman).”
Q: Are you going to make a change at right cornerback with CB Chris Houston?A: “Chris did take a lot of snaps in the second half Monday night. CB Lewis (Sanders) is a little banged up. He missed about half of the practice today so we will wait and see.”
Q: How did the tackles hold up against the Giants?A: “Those were two pretty good players that they went up against. The greatest thing is, they both battled and their technique was good. I thought they did a pretty good job considering some of the situations they were in. We will certainly look to see improvement this week, but the one thing I liked most about both of them is they battled and competed the whole game. Those two players they were going against are pretty good.”
Q: What kind of game do you expect in New Orleans?A: “They played very well against Seattle last week and their confidence is up. We have to be able to slow down RB Reggie (Bush). We have to try and disrupt QB (Drew) Brees and we really need to be able to move the ball and sustain drives. Last week, the time of possession was really a killer. When a team has the ball for 39 minutes that hurts, and both sides of the ball play into that, our offense and our defense.”
Q: When you make a quarterback move like this, is it permanent?A: “We are making it a permanent situation.”