BB: Well, talked to Chip [Kelly] this morning and we talked about the weather situation and we decided to bump practice up a little bit. I thought yesterday was a real good day for us. We got a lot out of it. We got pretty much everything we expected – a lot of good situational work, a lot of good one-on-one work. Our team saw some things that we hadn't seen before that we had to adjust to, which was good. Had a good opportunity to go through the film and make some corrections and see what we're able to do today with some new situations. And we'll certainly repeat some things that came up yesterday, so we'll see how we do with them the second time around. It was a good day yesterday, real good.
Q: Is there anything in particular that stuck out from yesterday that you liked?
BB: No, I just thought that the overall practice was good. I thought our players worked hard, we worked together. We had good, competitive practices; we both got a lot out of it. We're a better team today than we were yesterday.
Q: You decided not to have music. Was that a mutual decision?
BB: We've done plenty of that and I know they have too. We probably felt like it would be better for practice to be able to communicate everything, make sure everybody understood the situations we're going through and all that, so... But, we've done it, they've done it. I don't think it's that big of a deal one way or the other.
Q: What do you learn about these young receivers in particular when you get them out in these competitive situations against other teams for the first time?
BB: It's good for everybody. It's good for every player – young players, old players, young coaches, old coaches, good for all of us. It's good experience and a good opportunity for us to get back into playing football and coaching football. We haven't been doing it since January and now we're out making coaching decisions [and] players are reacting to plays. They've been training, they've been running, they've been conditioning, but playing football is a skill you have to get acclimated to. It's a good opportunity for all of us.
Q: Is progress at the receiver position something you look for in particular every day?
BB: We should learn something every day we come on the field at every position. That includes the receivers, but it includes everybody.
Q: They showed some read option yesterday. Is this something that is a fad like the Wildcat?
BB: I don't know.
Q: Is it something you have to prepare for more now?
BB: Sure, yeah sure. I mean we got into the Wildcat. It was something we prepared for every week. Some teams did it, some teams didn't. Most every team that we played a couple years ago had at least shown it at some point during the year – maybe not necessarily against us but against another opponent, whoever their Wildcat-type player was. I think there're a lot of quarterbacks in the league that aren't going to run a read, riding the side or that option type of thing. Then, there are quarterbacks that are capable of running it, whether they do or don't, depending on their scheme, offensive coordinator and coach and all that. We definitely have to run it and be ready for it but I don't know. I don't know how it's going to go.
Q: You say you want to see players respond from stressful situations. Is today a day you want to see Aaron Dobson bounce back?
BB: Yeah, look I think again, this is a great opportunity for every one of us – every player, every coach to come out here, compete against a good football team that we're not that familiar with. So that's good for all of us.
Q: Is there anything you think he could have done differently in that situation or the removal from practice a circumstance of a prior agreement that you can't work out at the moment?
BB: Yeah, I think Coach Kelly covered it yesterday. I don't have anything to add.
Q: Were there any Eagles players that stood out for you in particular?
BB: Yeah, plenty of them. They have a lot of good football players. It was very competitive. I thought most every drill they had some advantages at times and we had some advantages at times. I thought it was very competitive all the way around. They made some good plays on offense, defense, special teams. I thought we made some good plays, but I thought it was a real competitive practice in each of the drills – the one-on-one drills, the team drills, special teams drills. I thought it was competitive all the way across the board. They have plenty of good players.
Q: Their defensive linemen are more experienced, so does that help you guys to have less of a drop off from the ones to the twos?
BB: Again, we're not familiar with the Eagles. We didn't play them last year. They have a new staff and a new system. So it's new for all of us, too, even the experienced guys. What they're doing, the way they run their offense, is a lot different than the way, obviously, Andy [Reid] ran it. We don't have that much experience with any of their players, so it's a good learning experience for all of is.
Q: How much of a difference will it make to have Devin McCourty back at safety pretty much from the start so he can kind of quarterback that group?
BB: Yeah, Devin has had a good spring. He's one of our best-prepared players, both physically and mentally. He has a very good understanding of the overall defense and has gotten more experience at the safety position. He's also worked some at corner. He's a great team player. He's been a captain since his second year in the league, so wherever we need him, I know he's prepared to play and do the best he can for the team. That's one of the things we all love about Devin: He's a great team player. He's a good player, does a lot of different things – in the kicking game, defense, safety, corner, nickel, whatever it happens to be. He's very dependable, he's very consistent, and he works hard, puts the team first. There's not much to not like about him; it's pretty much all good.
Q: Even though Adrian Wilson is a veteran in the league, he's new to your system, so do you see him leaning on Devin a bit to see how to do things here and where to be?
BB: You know, Adrian is a pretty experienced player. He's got good instincts. At times, there are different calls or situations that come up that Steve [Gregory] or Devin will talk to him about, but most everything he's doing, he's done before. It was just called differently or maybe structured a little bit differently. But Adrian is a pretty experience player and he's got a little bit different playing style than some of the other guys we have at that position. But he's doing well. I think it's coming together for him and for the entire group.
Q: Has it been a while since you've had a guy with Adrian's physical presence in your secondary? I know a lot of people point back to Rodney Harrison in terms of his size and physicality.
BB: He's bigger than Rodney, but I think each player is a little bit different. We'll see. We've only been working with him for less than two weeks in training camp. When we get into games and get into other situations, we'll see and get a better look at his style in our system. But he's certainly got a lot of skills; you can see why he's had a good career in this league. He does a lot of things well, he's smart, he works hard, and he's a tough kid, so we'll see how it all works out.
Q: You've said how good these practices are for the players, but for the coaches, are these practices helpful in roster evaluation?
BB: It's part of the picture, sure. It's part of the picture, no question. We've seen them against some of our matchups. We'll see them against some matchups against the Eagles. We'll seem them in some game situations. We'll see them in matchups against Tampa and Detroit. That's all part of it. It's a mosaic. There are a lot of components of it, and let's try to evaluate them all and do the best we can and make the best decisions that we can for our team.
Q: You've said one of the benefits of joint practices is that you don't know what you're going to get and you have to react to it. Is the schedule change and making adjustments in regards to that another example of that being a good experience for the team?
BB: Yeah, we talked about that this morning. We told them what the situation was. It's either practice now or risk practicing in lightning, and we're not going to do that, so let's make a change and get out there and get it done. Nobody said anything. They want to go to work and they want to compete. This is what they trained all offseason for: to play football. So now is our chance to do it and we're all excited for the opportunity.
Q: Does it make a lot of different to have a more experienced defense at this point as you're trying to fit in some of the offensive players?
BB: There are changes on your team every year. Every team in the league has them. Sometimes they're at one position. The next year they're at another position, but there are changes every year. There're always adjustments that you have to make. You'll always have new players; you'll always have players that were on your team that aren't on it anymore. Every team in the league has that every year; it's not anything new.
Q: Is adding tomorrow's practice due to all the positives you've already discussed?
BB: Tomorrow's practice?
Q: I wasn't sure if tomorrow's practice was an addition or if it was already scheduled.
BB: Yeah, Yeah. We're going to do some situation work tomorrow. Yup, today is going to be kind of like yesterday: a little bit different, but pretty much the same. Tomorrow is going to be a little more emphasis on situations, just to change the emphasis a little bit tomorrow and do some different things.
