Head Coach John Harbaugh

JOHN HARBAUGH: Thanks for coming out. We appreciate you all being here. It was a really great day. We had a beautiful day. Two of the greatest linebackers ever in the history of the game (Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor) talking to the guys after practice. That was something. That was special.

They had some good wisdom for the guys, good football wisdom.

Hard work, good practice, getting better. Another one tomorrow. Can't wait to get started for that. But I was proud of the guys today. What questions do you have?

Q. Did you get any update from the training staff on Abdul Carter's status?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah. Looks like he twisted his ankle to some degree. Doesn't look serious.

Q. Any thoughts on how the receivers and defensive backs competed today?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I thought they competed. The biggest challenge for us as coaches on these kind of days is to keep them within the framework of what we're trying to do and not get too physical, right, because these are not live contact practices. So we try to talk to them all day, and I thought they did a good job, for the most part, of trying to avoid taking it too far. But they're competitors. They want to do well.

The wideouts made some catches. The DBs made some plays on the ball. It was good to see. Everybody was flying around.

Q. John, you've been in the league for a while and so has Brian Burns. What do you know about him as a coach of another team seeing him in the league before?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I mean, always when you played against Brian, he was one of those guys you would kind of classify as a game wrecker type of player. A game wrecker is the kind of guy that you have to account for every play because he can wreck the game in one play. So you account for him at all times.

Q. What's your sense of him as an insider, as a coach now as opposed to an outsider?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, what you don't really know is the kind of person, kind of worker they are, you know, how smart they are, attention to detail, leadership qualities. Those are things you don't really know, you might hear, but you don't know until you're with them. And he's all those things. He's A-plus in every one of those areas.

Q. He's never had a winning season. Can you sense that from a player when you're around him or not yet?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I think he's very determined. He wants to do well. And he's all in for everything that we're doing. He practices really hard. He's doing everything it takes to win.

Q. John, where do you look at your wide receiver position? Couple guys injured, Malik Nabers obviously one of them. You just signed a bunch of guys. How do you look at that position as a whole?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, I'm excited about the group, especially when we're healthy. If you get Malik out there, you got, I would say arguably -- I know his goal is to be the best in the league. That would be his goal. And he's capable of doing it. And after that we got some guys, man. I like the guys we brought in.

They're practicing well, as you see. All those guys are practicing well. The guys we brought in in free agency. We drafted a really good player (Malachai Fields). We'll get Darius (Slayton) back, another guy. When you step back and look at it, you got about five guys you feel really good about.

And from there you got some competition. I think we stocked the room with as much competition as we could. The guys that we brought back from previous, those are all good football players. All those guys, those young guys, they're good football players. You know, and who's just going to really show up when it counts, you know, in games and stuff and in practice I've been impressed with them. And then we brought the veteran guys in. So that adds another layer of competition in the mix. There are a lot of guys going for a spot or two there that we'll see what happens.

Q. Did you know Harry Carson LT?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I had never met them before. I was in awe, man. You know you get star struck. You see a guy, I was kind of star struck. I saw them at lunch, and I was like, should I go up and say hi? Think that would be okay? And to see them at practice, hear them talk to the team, just wanted to ask for an autograph, but I thought you guys would make fun of me if I did that or something. Got a picture with them. You saw that?

Q. That will be autographed.

JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, that will be autographed. You're right.

Q. How do you think Jaxson is adjusting to the offense?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I think he's adjusting really well. He looks good. I love his competitiveness. He wants to be perfect every play.

It's a work in progress all the time. It's still fairly early. But the clock is ticking. In team meeting we started the team meeting off with "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire. September is right around the corner. So that's what we're preparing for.

Q. I don't know who blows the plays dead. Are you making a conscious effort if it starts getting a little cross, to blow it dead?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah. That's T.J. Weist. You can blame T.J. for that, Coach Weist. I never want that responsibility. But he probably does blow a pretty quick whistle out there. That's part of it, for sure.

Q. Is that intended?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah. That's part of it, for sure.

Q. What's it like -- eight months ago Cam had a pretty gruesome looking injury, Skattebo. He was out here doing drills today. What does that say about where he's at physically and the fact that he has been able to get back out here? He mentioned that, maybe in the beginning, maybe March that he might be out here in the spring and we were like, wow, really. And to see him out there, what's that like?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I was happy. He was telling me today, and the trainer told me, too, that he was going to get some plays in group and plays in team, and I was like, that's where you want him to be. He's worked super hard, super hard. I did mention maybe no back flips out here today. We agreed.

Q. Are you still getting to know Kayvon Thibodeaux? What have you seen from him and how he has handled the outside noise about his future?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I give Kayvon a lot of credit because I think he's a premier player in the National Football League. I saw him make a play in a boot today. It was just like silky, smooth, fast, just change of direction. He's a great athlete.

I think he's handling it so well, with so much maturity. I don't know if you see every player handle it the way he has. Everybody's gotta admit he's handled this thing really the right way. He knows he needs to go out and have a great season, and it starts with what Harry Carson was talking about. You do it for the team. You do it to win as many games as you can and you let everything else fall in place the way it's supposed to and that's what he's planning on doing. Nobody knows what the future holds. But the future holds games that he's going to be playing a lot of plays in, and he's going to play really well.

Q. John, they're going to play a couple soccer games across the field there. They're going to be playing on grass, and by the time you guys come back, it'll be back to artificial turf. Do you have any thoughts on that?

JOHN HARBAUGH: Oh, you're going to try to draw me in to the turf versus grass. Rog (Roger Goodell) is going to call me off and he's going to get mad at me because I'm probably not going to say what he wants me to say.

That's all I'm going to say. That's all I'm going to say. It's a good surface out there. It's a good artificial surface, I'll say that.

Q. Coach, you had Sean McDermott here? What was that like?

JOHN HARBAUGH: It was great. He's going to be here tomorrow, too, and having Sean visit for a couple days, talk football with and all those things has been great. Sean and I go back a long way, go back to the Eagles. He was there when I was there together, and just it's great. I can't wait to hear his thoughts on practice and what he thought of the guys and the players and all those things, the schemes, things like that. Just get his two cents.

Q. Did you end up getting the Knicks ticket?

JOHN HARBAUGH: I haven't gotten any tickets yet. Tough ticket to get, man. There's a lot of celebrities, quote, unquote. Come on, really? In New York City? Let's rank it out. Right? Let's rank it out, man.

I'm not expecting a phone call. I will be watching on TV. I like that team. I just think they play as a team. I'm going to show the guys the video tomorrow or Wednesday about what the players are saying about why they're where they're at. You saw the video probably. It's just a great mindset. All set. Thanks.

Outside Linebacker Brian Burns

Q. Are you going to the Knicks game tonight?

BRIAN BURNS: No.

Q. What was that like to go?

BRIAN BURNS: That was fun. That was a lot of fun. That was my first time ever going to the Finals. That was big.

Q. What do you think about that team, the Knicks?

BRIAN BURNS: They look good. They look good. I think they're going to get it done. They show a lot of poise. I think (Jalen) Brunson is a dog. He knows how to close out a game.

Q. Can you take anything from -- it's obviously a different sport, but same city -- their success? You guys maybe saying that you want to emulate that or things you can see how they handle things here?

BRIAN BURNS: I mean, that's kind of hard. I don't really know how they handle things within like their own building. Of course, we want to emulate their success because they made it all the way to the big dance and they're doing well. But I can't really speak on like the details of what they do or they go through.

Q. Brian, you've been around here for a couple of years. You've seen Harry (Carson) and L.T. (Lawrence Taylo) before.

BRIAN BURNS: Yeah.

Q. You've met them both. When they speak to the team and you see like the other guys maybe don't know them as much, what does that mean to the young guys, maybe they don't know them? Does everyone know them because you're football players? How does that work?

BRIAN BURNS: I mean, yeah. There may be some young guys that don't know them, but you've got to think about it. They're far removed from it. But I would just implore them to look at the history, see what those guys were about, and you never know that can help you, give you some gems along the way.

Q. What did you take out of the message they delivered?

BRIAN BURNS: He was really just giving us the Giants way of how they played back in the day and just trying to give us pointers on how it was back then and what he wants to see and what the city expects. So that's kind of the importance of what he was saying.

Q. Do you think they're a little curious to see what this team is? It's so much new here with (head coach) John (Harbaugh) coming in.

BRIAN BURNS: Definitely. I feel like everybody is. I feel like that's why they came out to practice. It's just an OTA practice right now. I'm pretty sure we'll see them more around training camp to really get into some real football, but yeah, I definitely think they're curious and they're excited for what's to come.

Q. In your career, at this stage, the mandatory mini camp, are you always optimistic and positive and thinking things are going to be great this season?

BRIAN BURNS: Every year. That's everybody. That's all 32 teams feeling the same way we're feeling right now. It's just about how you handle it during the season, how you handle the pressure and especially how you handle the adversity when it hits. That's the most important thing, but yeah, everybody (is) feeling good and optimistic about their season.

Q. Do you feel any different with this team this year knowing what you have, the coach, the quarterback? Do you feel different or is it always the same or do you allow yourself to think -- you know, you've had a hard time crashing through…

BRIAN BURNS: Man, I like to always say, like I said, everybody is excited right now. Every other team is excited. Everybody is 0-0. They're seeing the pieces they have, flying through OTAs. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel this is a little different, I was a little excited, and I expect highly of this team. I'd be lying if I didn't say that. But at the end of the day, like I say, you've gotta prove it. It's (not) just about being happy and optimistic. You've gotta get on the field and you've got to prove it against another team and impose your will on them.

Q. I don't think we've asked you or many players about it. You guys are spending a good chunk of training camp in West Virginia. What do you guys as players make of that? It's kind of like the old-school approach, like get away, be away, spend time together. How do you guys as players look at that?

BRIAN BURNS: I mean, I don't even know where we're going, for real. But it don't really matter, man. Put us on the field, put us on the field, let us play, let us sharpen our irons, our knives, let's go. It don't really matter where we're at. At the end of the day, wherever we're at is just going to be where we're at (laughs).

Q. Is there a benefit, though, to being away, like there's no distractions, family?

BRIAN BURNS: For me personally?

Q. Just for the team, for bonding purposes.

BRIAN BURNS: I mean, everybody is different. I don't want to speak for everybody. I feel like it would be great for bonding with the team and being able to be around each other 24/7.

Man – you just made me think about that (laughter). But like I said, I don't want to speak for everybody, because some people feel good to get away, go see their family and whatnot, that may be their reset, but hey, man, 24 hours a day with Abdul (Carter) (laughter).

But no – I think it's going to be great for us, man. It's really going to be good to be able to bond and to have that – this sounds weird – alone time with each other. We can get to know each other on a deeper level, man. That'll be great.

Q. Do you really not know exactly the details of where you're going?

BRIAN BURNS: I don't know. I (don't) ask (any) questions. Wherever they say report, that's where I'm going to be at.

Q. You know what state you're going to?

BRIAN BURNS: I know that. I just don't know where we're going to be or where we're playing. I don't care. Wherever we're at.

Q. Get on a bus, get on a plane and wherever it lands?

BRIAN BURNS: Wherever we're at, wherever we play, that's where we're at. You know what I mean?

Q. You've around Kayvon (Thibodeaux) now for three years. How do you think he's handled the outside noise he puts up with?

BRIAN BURNS: That's a great question, man. I'm so proud of Thibs, dog. And I don't want to sound all sentimental or whatever, but just the man he is and he's becoming, like the way he handles his business, is something that's really inspirational. He's doing everything right. He's leaving no stones unturned, and that's something that I really commend him on because he is put in tough situations at times, and he's handled it like a pro.

I definitely wish the best and expect the best out of him this year. He's been playing his best ball for the past two years, and I expect him to have a great year, honestly. Yeah, man, I'm really proud of Thibs, for sure.

Q. What's one part about his game that people don't really appreciate that he brings to the table?

BRIAN BURNS: One part of the game I think that people don't appreciate?

Q. Everybody focuses on, let's say, sack numbers. Are there other parts of his game that people are like, no, he's really good at this?

BRIAN BURNS: Man, I would say, honestly, one, his physicality is top notch. And I would say like, honestly, in each practices and the practices before, even last year, he's been the hardest worker on the defense. And I can say that humbly speaking. But I can say that like he's really -- he's outworked a lot of guys, day in and day out, including myself. And that's kind of what inspires me because he's pushing me as well, because it's a friendly battle in our room all the time.

Just him being able to work that hard, going through, like what you said, the trade speculations and all that stuff that's going on, it's just something that a man would do. I've got the utmost respect for that. I will say that.

Q. Last year you told us how you kind of changed some of your approach, the way you approach everything. Have you changed more or because you had such a good year you're kind of like I want to maintain that and just carry that into the season, or do you always like to evolve into something different?

BRIAN BURNS: I definitely want to maintain the things that I improved on. But I would say that I am still in constant search of more things that I can. Me and (run game coordinator/outside linebackers coach) Charlie (Bullen) speak daily on things that I can improve, and whether it's on the field, off the field, taking care of my body, whatever it is that I can do better than what I did last year, that's what we're trying to find right now. And I think it's the perfect time to find it.

Q. What have you thought about Arvell (Reese) and Tremaine (Edmunds) so far, just seeing them out here?

BRIAN BURNS: Man, they look like – I don't know. I (have) never seen a linebacker duo like that, just off first glance, but Arvell has been amazing. I always speak to what he said, I guess the first, what is that rookie (minicamp) or whatever that was. I always speak to when he said like he wants to be seen, not heard. And he's embodying that every day. He don't speak out too much, don't talk back or nothing like that. He just does what he's told, works hard, and it's showing up on the film, and he's earning the respect of the older guys for sure. I really appreciate him coming in like that. And him and Tremaine look scary as hell. If I was Dart – yeah, I'd be nervous.

Q. You've gotta stand straight around those guys, right? I mean, to look them in the eye, you gotta -- you usually can look down on linebackers physically.

BRIAN BURNS: Nah. They look like us (laughter). They look just like us.

Tight End Isaiah Likely

Q. Do you feel totally acclimated now or partially acclimated or not quite acclimated? It's a lot of newness going on around here.

ISAIAH LIKELY: For sure. I mean, at the end of the day it's football. I try to keep the main thing the main thing and just be where my feet are, make plays.

Q. For you it must be less than the guys that are here because you know the coaches. Is the program here the same as it was in Baltimore so far?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I'd say bits and pieces wise. I mean, obviously there's new teammates, new coaches. Obviously I still got Coach Harbs (head coach John Harbaugh), but position coach is new. Offensive coordinator Coach (Matt) Nagy is new, new players. So really just keeping the main thing the main thing, obviously, with Coach Harbs, which is the culture piece instilled, but it's a new team, new players. Really seems like everybody fits in.

Q. Are your new teammates asking you a little bit about him or a lot about him? Like, man, we were out here a long time. Does he always works us this hard? Are they curious to know like is this the way it's going to be, what's training camp going to be like, things like that?

ISAIAH LIKELY: Absolutely. And I tell everybody, I joke with everybody in the locker room, saying like I'm institutionalized. This is all I know. (Laughter).

So I tell everybody, like, I mean, with Coach Harbs, this is all I ever know. Like whatever he's doing at practice, I've been doing it for the last four years in a row. So, whatever you all see out there is what you're going to get every time.

Q. Not to compare the old room to this one, but what are some of the things that you see from this one that got you excited?

ISAIAH LIKELY: Tight end room? I mean everybody that's in there. Obviously, I kept (fullback) Pat (Ricard), which is a great Swiss Army knife that I had in Baltimore with me, familiar face. (Chris) Manhertz is a great tight end, end line, does a lot of things. And I feel like (Thomas) Fidone, great tight end. Tanner (Conner) is a great tight end. And Theo (Johnson), I mean, you guys have seen it. Theo is, I feel like, an electric player, ball in his hands, running routes. He's probably like 6'5. I didn't know he was that big until I stood next to him, and I said I got to get away from you when we take pictures and stuff. Theo, I feel like is a great tight end as well.

Me, I just fit in where I fit in, let everybody know, being the older guy now, which is crazy going into year five, really just telling them what I know, what I've been through and really just making plays.

Q. What's been your impression of the quarterback so far?

ISAIAH LIKELY: With (quarterback Jaxson) Dart I mean, you guys see it every day. He's swaggy. He always has a smile, and he's always being competitive. I mean, whether he makes a play or misses a play, he's going to give the next play everything he's got and try to score every time he has the ball. I mean, whether he's running the ball or throwing the ball or really telling everybody where to go, he's really what you look for in a starting quarterback.

Q. What's an offensive player get out of having Harry (Carson) and Lawrence Taylor here today?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I'd say really just being a younger guy, only watching them on film and then seeing them in person, I mean, right now, in your head, you're probably like, nah, I probably got him right now. But obviously I've seen the film and how great and instinctual player they were back then. I mean, they're Hall of Fame players for a reason.

Q. Tight ends didn't do very well.

ISAIAH LIKELY: I could tell. (Laughter).

Q. There were a couple of times where you looked for matchups and you want the inside linebacker to be on you where you can master and win that battle. With the two inside backers you have it seems like they're a little bit more competitive battles, especially with Arvell (Reese) as a rookie to be out there and covering. I'm just curious from your impressions as to what you've seen from those guys and kind of what they've brought to the table.

ISAIAH LIKELY: Yeah. I mean, you guys see. They're probably 6'5 apiece. They both run probably 4.5. Arvell runs 4.4. And they take up a big part of the middle field. So, knowing their strength and their genetics, they know it as football players and then really just battling every day. And I told Arvell probably like a week or two ago, I mean, watching his college tape, a lot of the plays that he was making was quote, unquote off the line of scrimmage. So seeing how well he drops into coverage, how well he's been in space and how instinctual he is in zone coverages, that was really something I raised my eyebrows to because that's something that wasn't really highlighted, I would say, before he got here, and I would tell him just keep playing ball the way he's playing.

Q. I think it was a couple weeks ago or whatever Coach Harbaugh said something about he thinks your tight end room could be the best in the league. Did you hear those comments?

ISAIAH LIKELY: Absolutely. I agree with him. I mean, that's really what you want at the end of the day, whatever room you're in, whatever position you play, is to be the best in the National Football League, and I feel like anytime, whatever room I'm in, to get the best out of my guys and be able to say we were the best in the NFL.

Q. First of all, to have your coach in Baltimore say that you're a big part of that room obviously says a lot about you. How does that make you feel, first of all?

ISAIAH LIKELY: Good. I mean, this is probably the first time where I'm quote, unquote being the vet in the room. So I'd say like taking everything I've learned from a younger guy, being a sponge where I was in Baltimore, to really just pouring out to the guys now in my room, telling them the do's and don'ts, what you should and should not do, what I have done great and what I have failed on in the past.

Q. The Knicks obviously being in the Finals is something that's really big around here. From the locker room perspective, how much is that talked about or seep into the locker room? Maybe some of the guys went to the game the other day in San Antonio. How much have you noticed that?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I mean, I've noticed the locker room talks about the Knicks a lot, especially the last couple of rounds they've been in, guys trying to get court-side seats, and obviously now there's not a lot of guys that's really going to be able to sit court side.

But definitely trying to make an outing, trying to get to a Knicks game to see them, probably with a group of us. But it's definitely a showing there.

Q. Is that like a competition to see who has that kind of pull?

ISAIAH LIKELY: Yeah. I'm betting on probably (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) or Dart having the most pull. Skatt (running back Cam Skattebo) is probably up there, but if you're not rooming with them, I don't know if you've got a good shot.

Q. Do you think when Coach said that about the room, could be the best tight end in the league. I'm sure around the league people are like, really? You know what I mean? Do you think there's a sense that you guys want to prove it, to prove that? Is that important to that group?

ISAIAH LIKELY: Absolutely. I feel like you want to prove it every day. I mean, the mantra in the meeting room and practice, it's one thing to say it. It's another thing to do it. So I feel like I love that coach has the confidence to be able to say that about the tight end room, but obviously we got to back Coach up and be able to put in on film every day. I mean every tight end personnel room in the NFL probably thinks they have the best room. So, it's really just us going out there and proving it.

Q. Coming to a new system, what is the toughest adjustment you have to make as a tight end?

ISAIAH LIKELY: I'd say really the language. I mean a lot of the coaches have the same route concepts, formationally. It's all schematically. Probably a little similar, but it's just really how they're taught and the language that they use behind it to be able to differentiate from different systems.

Q. You were with (wide receiver) Odell (Beckham Jr.) when he came to Baltimore. And that was probably a different stage, and now you see him coming here. I'm just curious what you've seen in the first week or so, how he's fit in with you guys.

ISAIAH LIKELY: Yeah. And I kind of cracked on Odell a little bit when he came here because in Baltimore seeing O was my first time, and I see him as mohawk Odell where it was like crazy colors. I think he had purple hair at the time, Odell, where it was like, you're tapping your friend, like, man, that's Odell.

And then when he signed here, I kind of texted him, gave him a little text, talking about, hey, you're on my team now, rook, just a little joke we had.

But I love Odell. That's a great vet, great big brother I had in Baltimore, and knowing that he's on this team now and can really tell the receivers what he's been through, what he does well and really just being able to show everybody that he's really still got juice in the tank.

LB Tremaine Edmunds

Q. What did you take out of what Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson had to say to the team?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: I think the biggest thing is just understanding the culture. Those guys have played football at a high level, Hall of Fame guys and just being able to get the knowledge that they experienced when they were here and just really pretty much telling us what it means to be a Giant, what it means to play for the City of New York, what it means to be in that stadium, getting that energy from the fans and producing at a high level, not really putting expectations on (us), but letting them know, like, yeah, we're watching you all, they're supporting 100 percent. It's the world to get those guys here. Anytime we can get knowledge from them, put that in our belt, add it to our arsenal, it's always good, so appreciate them guys for coming for sure.

Q. What do you like about this defense so far?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: I think honestly it put guys in position to make plays. It's not just robots, you know what I mean. You can move around, guys can get different looks, line up at different spots and still do what they do well. It gives a lot of players the ability to show their athleticism and ultimately just make plays.

Q. You're a unique player because you came in young, you played a long time and yet you're still young. How much do you feel like you still have room to grow your game?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: Football is an ever-growing thing. You know what I mean? Once you stop growing, I tell people that's when you need to hang the cleats up. Each year is going to be something new. Once you get this skill down pat, there's going to be something else that comes up because that's the game that we play. So, I'm constantly trying to learn. I'm learning from the younger guys. I'm young too, but I'm still learning from the younger guys, man, because they see things differently coming out of college. It's always evolving. You know what I'm saying?

What I did six years ago is a little different than what I'm doing now. Like, what I see out there is a little bit different, so it's really just picking up little nuggets here and there and at the same time taking my experience and helping somebody else out. If there's questions that I need to ask them, we're all out there together. You know what I'm saying? I'm not out there by myself; they're not out there by themselves. It's all 11 people coming together to get something accomplished.

Q. You're at the bridge where the game kind of transitions from what it was to where it is now. Have you felt that transition out there on the field?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: Yeah. I mean football is football. You know what I'm saying? At the end of the day, you're going to get stuff that you've seen before. You're going to get stuff you didn't see before, but we play the game that you got to be able to adjust on the fly. I mean, that's what we get paid to do, and that's what people expect us to do. It's just about building that callous up now, coming together as a team, building that team chemistry and that's what we've been doing these last couple of weeks.

Q. You've been in the league for a good bit of time, and so has (outside linebacker) Brian Burns. You've never been teammates. Now that you're a teammate of his, what do you know about him now that maybe you didn't know before?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: I think we all knew he was a good player. I knew that. But just seeing him work, you know what I mean, seeing how smart he is, you know what I'm saying, how he helps his teammates out around him. That's something that you don't see unless you're in the building with him. So, I take my hat off to him.

He's not a selfish player. Probably one of the most unselfish guys that I see on the team, but if there's any questions, the young guys come to him, I see like he's helping them out without even wanting anything in return. So, you got to appreciate guys like that. He's seen a lot of ball, played at a high level.

So just being able to help a young guy out, that's your role. You know what I'm saying? When you're put in a position, you got to help out the next player to kind of come up to your level. So, like I said, he's unselfish, man, and I'm excited to get out there with him this year.

Q. You guys knew when you got together, you and (linebacker) Arvell (Reese), that you were going to be in the middle of the defense. I'm curious now that you're coming at the end of the spring, is there anything that you guys were able to do over the last couple weeks that from when you first got together till now you kind of look at each other and kind of unspoken, whereas, maybe in the beginning you were a little bit more deliberate in what you had to do together as a team?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: Yeah. It's still early for both of us. He just got here a couple weeks ago. I just got here. A lot of it is just learning the playbook. I'm not going to lie. So, a lot of it is just us learning it, and then as we learn it, we can start playing off one another. That's what football is.

It's both of our first time in the system. Like I said, it's not like I've been with him for a year, but at the same time we're still picking up off one another. So, if something comes up, like he's a fast learner; I'm a fast learner. We get it right, so we won't mess up again.

He's extremely hard-working. I'm going to take my hat off to him for that. You can tell he comes from a good system as far as what he was doing in college, so he picks up on information fast.

For me it's easy playing with somebody like that. You know what I'm saying. Just his athleticism, it's a lot of things that we can help each other out with out there. So as we continue to learn the playbook a little bit more and as we continue to get a little bit more confidence, that stuff will start showing up a lot more.

Q. Are there any tricks from training that you can give to Arvell now?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: Tricks? Not so much tricks. Not so much tricks. But I think what he's doing as well, he's the type of player, I mean, he's going to kind of play the back, I like to say. He's going to see what's going on, make sure he's doing stuff as a rookie, but at the same time when it's time to speak up, he'll speak up.

It's really no tricks, man. You come in as a young guy, you got to develop that trust. You know what I'm saying? I tell people that all the time. You got to develop that trust, and how you develop that is coming out on this practice field working and making sure you're taking care of yourself inside the building. He's doing all that. You know what I mean. He'll be good, for sure.

Q. Do you appreciate the fact that he came in here and he said I want to earn the right to speak, basically I want to be seen, not heard? Do you appreciate that?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: 100 percent. 100 percent. I say it all the time, that's really the only way – that's how I was. I was 20 when I came into the league. So, I know I handled it as well. So, I know he's going to be good. If he's thinking like that, he's going to be good, because one thing about the league will humble you regardless and being that he's already coming in humble like that, I mean, the sky's going to be the limit for him. You know what I'm saying. He's a guy that just wants to learn at the end of the day. No matter how high he got drafted, I can see like he cares about ball and he really loves ball. So, he's going to be good. And I'm going to help him. It's not like he's by himself, not just me but we got 10 other guys out there with him. We're all out there working together so (it's) no need to feel like you're by yourself. We're working together to get this job accomplished.

Q. You're a veteran in this league. You've been around a bunch of different coaches. Is there anything about John Harbaugh that has been significantly different or stands out, whether it's been the amount of numbers and measurements they use, whether it's the number of reps in practice? Anything to you sort of been different than anything you've done in the past?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: No. I mean, I wouldn't say – everybody is going to be different, you know what I mean, how they handle a football team, how they conduct their squad is going to be a little different.

I think one thing that really stands out is just the messaging. Harbaugh is a guy, he's a quote type guy. Every day he's kind of giving us a little nugget here and there that we can put into our belt that we can take with us outside of football. Some stuff is just dedicated to football; some stuff is life skills, and I appreciate that, because you can relate to him just outside of the game.

And us players, it's going to make you want to play ten times harder for the coach, which is why he's had success in the past, which now we all can see why like, you know what? That makes sense.

But you can go to him, talk to him about whatever, and I think that's the number one thing that's sticking out right now.

Q. Brian Burns was asked about you and Arvell and he said, "They look like us."

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: (Laughter).

Q. I mean, you get that, right? You look the edge rushers. They look like us.

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: Yeah. We're linebackers. So, I'm going to let him do his thing. But, yeah, that's just the gifts that we (were) given, you know what I mean, by our parents and the Man above. So, we take it and we're going to use it to our advantage.

Q. How do you try to use your size for advantage? Told us that he sees you and Arvell as like rim protectors out there. How do you try and use your size on the field to impact the game?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: Yeah. It could be different things, man; run game, pass game, getting in throwing lanes, rushing, getting our hands up, just really causing havoc out there. I think that's the number one thing. Whatever they ask us to do, try to do it to the best of our ability and is use that size to our advantage and just get in those passing lanes, making things hard for the offense, for the quarterback, just with their vision and everything like that.

Q. Are you surprised to see (Sean) McDermott here?

TREMAINE EDMUNDS: Coach McDermott is my guy. I'm not surprised. I'm happy to see him. I'm happy to see him. Man, he's doing well. We got a chance to talk for little minute. But I'm going to chop it up with him. I know he said he's going to be here tomorrow, too, so definitely going to chop it up with him.