PRESIDENT JOHN MARA
Q: Obviously Jason Pierre-Paul is not here, and I would imagine you're not too thrilled with the circumstances. Can you just give us your feelings on that?
A: I'm disappointed he's not here. I think this would be the best place for him to be for a number of different reasons. He would have the opportunity to learn the defense, but more importantly, we have the best training staff in the league here. We have access to some of the best doctors in the world, and I think it would be in his best interest to be here for those reasons. As I said the other day, it's unfortunate he's not here. I don't think he's receiving the best advice. That's sad as far as I am concerned.
Q: Do you know exactly what his condition is. Have you been allowed to examine him?
A: None of our people have been able to see him or examine him, so we have no idea what type of condition he is in. All we know is what some of his people have told us, but until we see him for ourselves, that doesn't give us any comfort.
Q: Have you been told that he has an amputated finger?
A: We have been told exactly what you have been told. We don't know anything more than you know.
Q: The people who you are talking about, is that the agent?
A: I assume that's the people he is listening to, but I am not sure.
Q: I mean the people that have been in communication with the organization.
A: Yes, that's correct.
Q: Has anybody spoken to him, or has the conversation all been exchanged via text message?
A: I believe Ronnie (Barnes) spoke with him on the phone. I have exchanged text messages with him. I know Robert Nunn has exchanged texts with him. I don't know if he has spoken to him personally or not. Tom [Coughlin] (sent) texts, Jerry [Reese], but it has predominantly been text messages.
Q: John, do you have any idea when he will show up here?
A: None.
Q: How unusual is this?
A: It is pretty unusual. I think, again, I have a lot confidence in our medical staff and our training staff here. I just don't know why you wouldn't take advantage of that.
Q: Could he or his camp play his way into you rescinding the tender? By play, I mean not communicating.
A: I don't think we are going to do anything until we actually see what type of condition he is in.
Q: What makes you believe that he could be worth 15 million dollars for this season considering the physical damage that has been done?
A: He has obviously played at a very high level in the past. He is a rare athlete. Again, until we see him, and see the damage, we are just not going to know that.
Q: John, have you ever been in this situation before. Does this feel different for even you?
A: I can't recall being in a similar situation.
Q: Do you think it would color your impressions of dealing with him going forward in negotiations?
A: I don't think so. Listen, he is a great kid, and we love having him around here. He fits in very well, he's very cooperative. I just don't know what is going on here. Again, I can only surmise that he is not receiving very good advice.
Q: How do go about planning with so much uncertainty? Do you just have to assume that he is not going to be a part of this team?
A: I think we have to plan on moving ahead without him at this point. Until we see him and make some sort of determination on the condition he is in, I don't see how we can count on him, certainly not for the opening of the season.
Q: I guess when we looked into how this could possibly play out, apparently at some point you can negotiate the terms of a franchise tag and agree not to put him on NFI [Non-Football Injury]. Has there been any approach by them. Have they said "can we talk" or anything?
A: No. We have no idea what their intention is at this point.
Q: Well, I assume you would be open to--
A: We would be open to discussing anything, but we first need to see him.
Q: Have you guys done any research on this kind of injury, and how do you prepare? You guys obviously have to do what you can to get ready when he comes.
A: You say 'this kind of injury.' we don't how extensive the damage is—that's the problem. I don't know how many fingers he has. We know what we have read and what we have been told, but until we actually see the extent of the damage, it is hard to make any type of prediction as to what type of condition he is going to be in.
Q: Have they told you why you can't get in there to see him?
A: Not as far as I know.
Q: It has got to be all financial, right? He doesn't have a contract. There has got to be some negotiations going on here. He is a guy without a contract right now.
A: I don't know, there have been no negotiations with us since this happened, so I don't know what their thinking is.
Q: Was there an offer on the table beforehand? Is that no longer available to him at this point?
A: We had made an offer to him some time ago, which we never really got a response to. Obviously, that is not on the table right now. Nothing is on the table until we see him.
Q: There is some suggestion that he would be worried about signing the tender and then being put on NFI and being docked pay. Would you be willing to say "show up, and we will pay you"?
A: All of that is negotiable, depending on what the condition of his hand is.
Q: Do you hope that they [Pierre-Paul's representatives] are hearing what you are saying here since you do not seem to have any other avenue of communication?
A: Yes. Those are the reasons that I am here, other than the fact that I have missed all you so much.
Q: How much does the timing of this hurt you? It was in July. The fact that free agency, there are not those guys out there. How much does it limit what your options are here?
A: It was 14.8 million dollars or whatever it is. It could have arguably been used elsewhere. But listen, our priority and our hope is still that he is going to be able to play, and we will spend that money on him. That is our first wish.
Q: Has it been exclusively Jerry Reese talking to the agent?
A: I believe so. Kevin Abrams may have spoken to him at some point, I'm not sure. It has been mostly Jerry.
Q: Would ownership ever get involved? Would you ever reach out?
A: Possibly, at some point, but I have not done that yet. Jerry has been carrying the message for us.
Q: Have you done that in the past yourself in any other contract situations?
A: Probably on a few occasions, yes.
Q: Have you had any personal contact with Jason?
A: I exchanged texts with him, I would say, within a few days after the accident. I just asked him how he was doing, is there anything we can do for you? He responded almost immediately and said that he is going to be fine. I think the term he used was that it is just a little bump in the road and I will be back as good as ever. He even put a smiley face on there.
Q: Have you expressed your disappointment to him that he hasn't been here?
A: I have not personally expressed that to him. Our first concern is for his well-being. Is he getting the right amount of medical care and proper therapy? I know he will get that here. I assume he is getting it down there, but I don't know that for sure.
Q: There has been a lot of talk about the commissioner's ruling on [Tom] Brady, and that it was upheld. What are your thoughts on the whole thing?
A: I am saddened that it has come to this. We went the two weeks going into the Super Bowl, all we talked about was Deflategate. Now coming into training camp, it is all we are talking about. The commissioner had a very difficult job to do here. At the end of the day, I think he made a decision based on the evidence and the facts that were put before him and without regard to the profile of the player or his personal relationship with the owner. That is what he is paid to do. He did his job here, and you can argue about whether it was fair or unfair, but he had to make a very tough decision under very difficult circumstances and he did it. That is what he is paid to do.
Q: Do you support the commissioner in this?
A: Yes. I have been around him enough to know that his intention is always to try and do the right thing. I don't always agree with the decisions that he makes, but I know that he tries to do the right thing. I know this was a very unpleasant situation for him here. You are dealing with the best player in the league, you are dealing with an owner who has been as good as any other owner in the league and somebody that he has a close personal relationship with. He had to make a tough decision.
Q: And the fact that this player is suing the league has got to be difficult for all the owners.
A: Well, it is. It is just going to drag this thing out into the fall, and that is not good for anybody.
Q: Were you as taken aback as the public was over that particular phrase "I was wrong to put my faith in the league"?
A: I have nothing but the utmost respect for Robert Kraft. I understand he is very emotional about this, and he feels very strongly about it. He is trying to protect his player, and I get that. As I said, I am saddened that it has come to this.
Q: Is it concerning that almost every decision the commissioner has made in the last year has been challenged in federal court?
A: It is. I don't recall it ever being that way in prior years, but it seems like we've come to that now, but so be it.
Q: Have the expectations for this team been altered with injuries to two starters?
A: We've lost two starters and we're not in training camp yet and I don't remember being in that situation before. I do think we have enough talent here to have a team that can be in the playoffs and we can contend for a championship. That's what I still believe and that's what my expectations are.
Q: Do you still believe this is a "win or else" season?
A: You can make that statement every year, this is the NFL. People have expectations, our fans have expectations, and I have expectations. We've been out of the playoffs three years in a row, and it's time to put stop to it.
Q: Has your level of optimism changed in regards to an extension for QB Eli Manning?
A: I think we'll get it done at some point in time. We're just going through the usual things that you go through. The agent asks for the moon, we make a reasonable offer, and at some point he'll come to his senses and we'll reach an agreement. There's nothing unusual about this.
Q: Is there any concern from your perspective about getting a Manning deal done before the season starts?
A: I think ideally we would like to have that done, but if it doesn't, I don't think that's going to affect our relationship with him or the fact that we will eventually get it done.
Q: Does it make a difference if the Manning deal doesn't get done before the season ends?
A: We'd like to have it done before the season is over, but if it doesn't happen, then I 'm still confident it'll get done at some point. We want him to be here and finish his career as a Giant. I'm sure he wants the same thing.
Q: Can you characterize your level of hope for WR Odell Beckham and WR Victor Cruz being healthy?
A: That obviously is an exciting prospect and something we haven't been able to witness really to a great degree. Victor looks good and I'm hoping that he adds something to this offense and Beckham, the sky's the limit for him.
Q: Several of your players live in south Florida. With them reporting today, have you been made aware of any having contact with Pierre-Paul?
A: Not to my knowledge.
Q: Do you have any worries about the maturity of Beckham?
A: I think he's going to be fine. In fact, I understand that he addressed all of our (training camp operations) interns today, so that was a very positive step on his part. He and Victor both did, and I think he's going to be fine. He's had a lot of success very early on, so sometimes that does give you cause for concern, but I think he's smart enough and mature enough to handle it.
Q: Did he address the interns?
A: That's what I understand. He talked with our (camp operations) interns.
Q: Is there a level of anticipation for you to see Cruz?
A: Sure, I mean you never know for sure until he gets out on the field, and he's running full speed, and there's a little bit of contact involved. So yeah, there's always going to be that but I know he's very confident in our medical team, he's very confident about them, so I think he's going to be back good as ever.
Q: How much have past injuries played a part into you looking at medical advancements and have you done any research?
A: I've certainly voiced my concern about the fact that we led the league in injuries the last two years. Nobody likes that around here and we've made some adjustments to the off-season program. We've got these GPS trackers now. We're trying to pay as much attention to that as possible, Tom has made certain adjustments to his schedule, and we've made some adjustments to the weight room and what they're doing in there. Hopefully all that will pay off, but we'll have to see.
Q: Does Coach Coughlin still embrace the old school way of coaching and not sports science?
A: I don't really think that's true. I think he'll be able to tell you more specifically than I can. We have made changes. Tom does see we need to do that. I think in a perfect world for him, we'd be back to two-a-days and all sorts of contact, and everything, but that was a different world back then. We're not in that world anymore. I believe he has embraced that and does see that we need to make changes going forward, because he's not happy about the fact that we had so many injuries the last two years.
Q: Do you view your recent changes with sports science as catching up to the competition because some teams may have gone to it earlier?
A: I don't know how much earlier, maybe a few teams may have done that. One thing about Tom is that he is more flexible than he's given credit for. When he see's something that's out there that's working, he wants to investigate it. Again, nobody is happy about the number of injuries that we've had, and we're trying to do something to stop it. I think some of it has been bad luck with the broken bones and things. I don't know what you do to prevent that, but sometimes injuries are going to happen in this sport. Some of the soft tissue injuries that I think that maybe are a little more avoidable, we've taken some steps to address that. We'll see if they work or not.
Q: If you could boil your message down to one thing to Jason Pierre-Paul, what would it be?
A: Come home. We miss you.
**
COACH TOM COUGHLIN**
Welcome to camp. Some of you don't look in as good of shape as you should be. We'll take care of that as we go along.
Q: No fines, I hope?
A: There will be. Shortly.
Q: Assume all your guys did alright in the conditioning test?
A: Their body weights were good and this test, which was simply to make sure that they had been doing what they were supposed to be doing. They looked fine.
Q: Was everybody here other than Jason Pierre-Paul?
A: Yes.
Q: Looks like you changed up the conditioning drill this year.
A: We did.
Q: Was that part of the studies that they did?
A: That and a little bit more teeth into the drill. Little more emphasis on the conditioning part of it coming back.
Q: John Mara stated that the message he wants to send to Jason Pierre-Paul is 'come home. We miss you.' Do you echo his statement?
A: That's been the message all along, really. It's hard to believe that he couldn't get here and take care of an awful lot of issues rather than what they're doing. But, again, I've not spoken with him and very few people here have.
Q: Have you texted JPP?
A: I did. Right away, I did.
Q: Have you texted JPP recently?
A: Right away, I did.
Q: Could you right away and recently, also?
A: But I didn't do it recently, I did it right away.
Q: Is there still no response?
A: No, there is no response.
Q: Has any of this—the injury or the aftermath—soured your relationship with JPP or will he be welcomed back if he ever does choose to return?
A: Well, I hope he chooses to return. Hey, we're all concerned about the young man, first and foremost, but it is difficult to extend this concern when we feel like he should be here. But as far as souring, that's not going to sour anything. I am concerned about him as a young man and anxious to know exactly what he's dealing with, and then we will know what we're dealing with.
Q: Other than Will Beatty, do you have anyone else going on PUP?
A: I think (Ben) Edwards, the young receiver, will have to go on.
Q: Victor Cruz does not?
A: No.
Q: What kind of green light does Cruz have tomorrow?
A: I'm sure we will have to limit and build him up, but he'll be out there.
Q: How about Odell Beckham Jr. in the same respect?
A: Same idea. Yep.
Q: What is your level of expectation for his team this year?
A: I expect them to work hard. I expect them to compete like heck. Hopefully, we will remain intact and be able to put on the field the team that we have assembled right now, and then if we can get everybody to buy into the team concept, and we can progress along those lines. I feel good about today, but we take it one day at a time.
Q: Will Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz be (limited) for all of training camp or do you need to see where they are and gauge before you have a plan?
A: I hope they can practice all the time. I'm sure there may be some time when they have to have some recognition in terms of number of snaps, but that's probably going to be the way it goes anyways. We'll monitor all the players under the existing system that we have and try to get a gauge on exactly where they should be for each style of practice that we present.
Q: Walter Thurmond commented that, 'Tom Coughlin may not be as into sport science.' What is your reaction to that?
A: I have no comment.
Q: Have you made any changes this year?
A: Sure, we have.
Q: Anything in particular?
A: You'll see.
Q: Is the recovery stretch still something that we will see or the intermissions?
A: Sure. Recovery stretch, you'll see.
Q: Were those changes hard to make given that you only have them on the field for a certain amount of minutes a day?
A: No. Again, coming from where I'm coming from, it's not a question anymore about what we used to do. It has to be what's best for the current times, and this seems the way to go.
Q: You brought in Jake Long recently for a second visit. What was your impression and where do you stand on that?
A: Well, he is obviously a player coming off of a very serious injury. He's made progress and that's where it stands
Q: Do you feel like you still need to make a move there?
A: We're going to check every player that is available that may, in any way, help our team. Will be evaluated and, if so, brought in and given a physical and worked out. For every player that comes along that we think can help us, that would be the case.
Q: Marshall Newhouse played right tackle in the spring. Do you expect to see that here and moving forward?
A: Well, sure. To start out, for sure. Then see how the progress goes on his part and the other linemen that we have assembled.
**
WR VICTOR CRUZ**
Q: When you got up this morning and said, "I am going to wear this shirt (Bulls Jordan No. 45 jersey) today to my first day reporting to camp," it was just a coincidence right?
A: Yeah, it was a coincidence. I kind of walked in the closet and it was just kind of glowing. I got up a little early and I don't know if it was just the sun from the window or just the overall glow of the red jersey, but I just grabbed it and put it on and felt like it was a little symbolism for today.
Q: Was "the return" on your mind?
A: The return was definitely on my mind. When Jordan came back wearing the four-five, he wasn't playing with people, so that is kind of the symbolism.
Q: Are you going to score 55 against the Knicks at some point?
A: The way the Knicks look right now, you and I can go out there and score 55. Get us together Phil, c'mon.
Q: Is this an important day for you or is tomorrow going to be a more important day?
A: This was an important day. A, because I just wanted to get here, get back in front of my teammates, get back in front of the coaching staff and talk to them and show them the work I have been putting in. Tomorrow is obviously another obstacle in getting out there on the field, doing some routes and being a part of the team again, so I am excited, man. I have been counting down this time ten months ago and I'm excited to get back out there.
Q: When the team period starts tomorrow, you expect to be out there?
A: I expect to be with the team at some point, probably getting some reps. I haven't talked to the training staff about how we are going about the periods. We talked about my workload and what they want me to do workload-wise but nothing as far as what periods I will be in and what periods I won't. Q: But you expect it to be a process, right?
A: Yeah, I expect it to be incremental, kind of start off slow and then build as my progression goes and build from there so we will see.* *Q: All spring you talked about being ahead. If you go back to last fall, would you have been surprised with where you are today?
A: I think so. That me was just trying to do it one day at a time, getting better one day at a time, crossing those small hurdles that I needed to cross in order to get to where I am today, but if you told me nine months from that time that I'd be playing and practicing and feeling really good about myself, I probably wouldn't [have] believed you but I knew the work that I was putting in, I knew I would get to a point where I would get to this point. I just didn't know when at that time.* *Q: What would you say about the help you have gotten from the Giants medical staff and the organization as far as the rehab and how they helped you with your treatment?
A: It has been top notch. I have been in communication with Byron (Hansen) and Ronnie Barnes day in and day out just to keep them [updated] on what I am doing. As far as my workouts are concerned, when I wasn't here in the facility, keeping them in tune with my personal training, making sure they are speaking and everyone is on the same page and on my progress and what I was doing. The organization has just been behind me 100 percent and that is what you want to see as a player. You want to feel like the staff wants you, like the training staff is really paying attention to you and your knee and that is what they did here.* *Q: Why do you think it is so important for you to coordinate that with them? Obviously JPP has decided to take a different path, but for you personally, why was it so important for you to go and travel that route?
A: I think it is just the way I am. I am a guy that if I am a part of something, part of an organization, I want them to keep their hands on me, keep an eye on me as well as when I am apart from them, I want them to still continue to keep somewhat of an eye on me, continue to keep the communication going with whoever has their hands on me, whatever trainer there is. I think that just speaks to my personality. I want to keep everybody involved so they know my progress and we can attack this together.* *Q: You are obviously a team leader. Have you reached out to Jason? Have you heard back from him?
A: I have. I reached out to him [but] I have not spoken to him just yet, but I sent him a text saying I want him to get back here, I want him to get back with the team. Obviously he has his own agenda but I want him to get back here and be a part of us so we can see him and know he is okay and move on from there.* *Q: Do you maybe understand with what he is going through because a couple years ago there were no fireworks involved but you weren't here for a little bit?
A: Yeah, I can definitely feel his mindset and the things he is going through. Obviously it is a little different scenario contractually where I was and where he is, but I can feel what he is going through. Obviously when you put your blood, sweat and tears into a team, you want to be rewarded as much as you think you are or you can, so I can definitely feel his pain.* *Q: Your body from your rehab, has there been any changes? You seem a little bigger?
A: You checking me out? Do I look good? He is blushing. You see him blushing? Yes. I have been working out. Obviously with a lower body injury, you do a lot of upper body, at least early on. I was definitely working out, making sure I stayed physically ready to go and physically was ready to face the battle of training camp and things like that. The lower body came afterwards, obviously, once the knee got fully healthy and when I was able to squat and able to do lunges and things like that, so the lower body came later, but yeah, man, I feel good.* *Q: Will you be wearing sleeves this summer?
A: No sleeves. I barely want to wear a shirt, but unfortunately the organization makes you wear one here, so I will be wearing a shirt but no sleeves.* *Q: I think Weatherford has you beat with the shirt.
A: He has got it. He works out in just compression shorts; I'm not doing that just yet.* *Q: You've joked about your percentage. You want to give us the truth of what you think your percentage is right about now?
A: I am at around 93 percent.* *Q: By September 13, you figure?
A: Hopefully, I am at 100 percent by then. That is the goal but I am at 93 right now. I feel good. The conditioning test went well. I am actually still sweating from the conditioning test but I feel good.* *Q: Do you have to sort of make sure to take it slow in a way? Are you okay with that and do you understand you have to take it slower or do you just plan on doing as much as possible?
A: I mean I do understand that I have to take it slow and the training staff understands that as well. Even if I went to them and was like, "I feel 100 percent and want to go out there and play and do every series." They understand that they want me to take it slow and again I am still not…there is a difference between being in shape and then football shape so I still have to kind of develop that a little bit so that takes a little bit of time, I week or two so we will see how it goes but I definitely understand that I want to take it one game at a time, one step at a time, one practice at a time.
Q: When you talk about football shape are you talking about the weight of having the pads and helmet on?
A: Exactly. You can run hundreds [and] you can run sprints all the time but when you have pads on, you are running routes, you are stopping, you are starting, you are sprinting and you're going, so that is a little bit different endurance that plays a part when you are out there on the field so I still have to develop that little by little and take it one day at a time.
Q: You haven't really done that? Any simulated drills?
A: I haven't. I have done kind of a movement route running drill to kind of build some endurance, but like I said when you have the helmet on and pads and you have defenders and stuff like that, it is a little different.
Q: What do you think of Prince's assessment? He said you may even look faster than you did before.
A: I think he is pretty spot on. I mean, what am I going to say? I was out in Phoenix a little bit training and was there warming up and all of a sudden, I look to my left and see Prince Amukamara grinning from ear to ear. The last person I thought I was going to see in that weight room, but yeah, we got to run some routes and he got to see me pretty much before anyone else has and he felt like I looked good and felt as though, in his words, "Better than I had looked in years prior." So I will take his word for it, but I felt good.
Q: Do you honestly feel you are just as fast as you were? Did you test yourself or have any numbers?
A: I didn't test myself, I didn't time anything. I think it was more of a feel thing. I think the biggest thing for me wasn't just speed, it was more so as fast I could get in and out of those cuts. The faster I can get in on those cuts and catch the ball and get up field, that felt really sharp and really crisp and the speed will come and if it is not there already, it will come. I am not going to pressure myself or time myself to be at a certain speed, but the biggest thing for me was those cuts and if I can get those cuts to where they are and I think they and I just have to keep building on that.
**
CB PRINCE AMUKAMARAQ: So Victor just gave you a Doctor's degree— he says your assessment is right on. **
A: Oh, really?
Q: Yeah, he says he's running as fast as ever.
A: Yeah, I trust my eye. We were just out there in Arizona at a performance spot and he came out there for a day and ran a couple routes with Kap and Tyrod Taylor, and I told him you look faster than before— it could be because I haven't seen him on the field in awhile, but he looked great.
Q: When you guys work in practice, you're going to be up against him sometimes — are there special instructions that you have or are you going to purposely try to give him a hard time on certain routes to push him and get him [Victor Cruz] back to where he needs to be?
A: Anytime someone is on the field, I definitely have to treat them as if they're 100 percent unless they have the same color jersey as Eli, which means you can't really touch him. Or if Victor says, "Hey Prince, chill out" and stuff like that— then yeah— but as long as the tempo is 100 percent, I'm going to give 100 percent.
Q: A lot of people look at this team and look at the offense and the wide receivers and say they're going to put up points— do you feel that the defense can hold up its end here for the season and get the team where it wants to be?
A: That's definitely our goal. I can't give a great assessment right now because we haven't played anybody and haven't even played a preseason game yet, but I would say in OTAs and minicamp, I felt as if we were headed that way.
Q: Last year, the big play was kind of a problem for you guys— did you go back and look at that and ask yourself if it was a communication issue? Was it too many people rotating in and out due to injuries? What do you think was the problem and have you guys addressed it?
A: I'd say that there can be many reasons for why the big play happens— a couple of times, I think it was a communication issue, and there were a couple of times where that guy gets paid, too, and that guy just made a play on someone on our defense. The only thing that we can control is our effort and getting on the right page. Every year it seems as if we've had a communication problem, so our goal is to limit that this season.
Q: Speaking of getting on the same page, there is a possibility that you might have two rookie safeties playing with you and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Does that change the level of responsibility that you have? Do you need to communicate more? What, if anything, changes?
A: It just all depends— if it is two rookies, I think it just depends on what they show us. If they show us that they can handle it and they don't need us to talk to them a lot, then we'll adjust. But I would say that Coach Spags knows the type of personnel he has to work with, and you do have two veteran cornerbacks who are pretty good, so he might try to lock me and DRC up so there's not a lot of pressure on those guys, but we don't really know yet.
Q: How do you overcome the injury to JPP?
A: How do I overcome it?
Q: How does the team or the defense overcome it?
A: It's tough— it just hit me— we're going into camp without our cornerstone guy. It's almost similar to going into camp without Eli. It's definitely tough, and especially when you look at it like that. But there's not much you can do besides support him and just wait for his homecoming.
Q: Is it harder that nobody really knows what's going on with him? This isn't just a contractual holdout— you don't know what's going on with him— does that make it more difficult?
A: Not really, because as long as I know that he's healthy— which I do know— and I mean healthy as in he's good and he's discharged from the hospital and that his health is not an issue… then I can't be too worried. Him coming back or anything like that, I can't really worry about because I can't really control that. That's the GM and the owner's job to worry about. Not mine.
Q: Do you know of any players that have talked to him? I know a lot of guys have reached out to him, but do you know anyone that has actually reached him? Have you?
A: Definitely have texted him. Definitely have reached out to him… and I don't know anybody else who has. And if I did, I don't think I would tell you that.
Q: Your owner says that he still thinks that whether the JPP thing works out or not that there is enough talent on this team to compete for a Super Bowl and win a Super Bowl. Do you share that feeling?
A: For sure. I think there's been many cases in the past, and especially here, where the next guy has to step up and we have Damontré, we have Selvie, we have Robert Ayers— and I think that all three of those guys are capable of getting the job done to the level of how JPP can do it. We're unsure and we're going to find out if that's the case, but I would agree with our owner that we definitely do have the talent.
