PATRIOTS WIDE RECEIVER CHRIS HOGAN
Q: Nice to run in the rain after practice today?
CH: Yeah.
Q: What can you do when there's a new receiver who comes into the room to try to get him up to speed as quickly as possible?
CH: Well, I've been in that position before. You know, been in different offenses and then come to a new place and you know there's a lot of information that probably gets thrown at you at once so you just kind of have to dissect that. Whatever best ways that they do that or you know, for me it was just kind of segmenting it out. And just answering any questions that he has. So for a guy like Eric [Decker] that's been in the league for a while now, I'm sure he has a process of learning how he learns and he's going to go about doing that the way that he does it. Just kind of be a guy that he can come to for questions and you know, give him answers the best way I can.
Q: Will you seek him out to try to help him or will you wait for him to come to you?
CH: I mean I definitely - when you're out there on the field and a day like today when we're working kind of situationally and working on routes, stuff on the side, I think there's a - you know you can tell that maybe if he's not going to ask a question or he's a little unsure on how to do things, try to be that guy in that room that's going to - you know, this is how Tommy [Brady] wants it done or this is how we've been doing it in the past because for someone who's been on a couple different teams, they do it differently in different places so just kind of help him, show him the way of how we do it here.
Q: Did you know him at all prior to him coming here?
CH: No, I mean I played against him a bunch of times but that's about it.
Q: Is there anything from his game that you admire from watching him?
CH: I mean, he's a good player. He catches the ball well. I've always - when I was earlier on in my career, trying to watch different guys and how they run routes, I definitely used to watch him. He's a good route-runner so excited that he's here.
Q: Have you and Phillip Dorsett developed a good relationship?
CH: I think so. I've been really impressed with the way that Phillip has - since he's got here last year to the point where he's at now, you can tell that he's really been working hard at his craft and learning the offense and trying to do the right thing and going out there and really just - you know like we preach all the time, doing your job and he's shown up every single day. So you know, definitely very impressed with Phillip.
Q: How long does it take to get up to speed in this offense and how complicated is it to learn?
CH: I think it just varies by person. Whoever - some guys are going to pick it up real quick and some guys it takes longer. But I think the most important thing is to not try to absorb everything all at once and just kind of take it day by day and trust your own process. You just kind of have to stay on top of it and study.
Q: We see you working a lot in small groups off to the side with Tom Brady, Josh McDaniels and Chad O'Shea - how important are those tutorial sessions to polish your game?
CH: Those sessions are great. When we get a chance to work one-on-one really or with that group of guys with Tom and Josh and Chad, you know you really get to kind of work on stuff that you're maybe not going to get in practice or you're not going to get to rep at in the team or the live drills. Really try to take advantage of those couple of minutes, five, 10 minutes, whatever it is to work on stuff that you can build off of leading up to the season.
Q: Riley McCarron was also a guy who said that you were very helpful when he came to the team. Is that just you trying to pay it forward to younger players after other guys have helped you?
CH: Yeah. Definitely in a way. I mean, I've been in that position. I've been fighting my butt off to try to make a football team and I've been a guy that's come to a new team like I was a couple of years ago learning the offense. I know what it takes to really - I mean I think I know what it takes to try to make it in this league and I try to just kind of be a, you know, be a leader in that room that we have and we got a great group of guys and try to be someone that those guys feel comfortable coming to to ask questions. I would like to help them any way I can, whether it's with the offense or special teams, it doesn't really matter.
Q: Who were some guys who helped you in the past with learning the offense and adjusting to the NFL?
CH: I mean I've been around a lot of places and there's been a lot of guys that - every single team that I've ever been on, I really try to take advantage of the older veterans that are there, try to learn about their process, how they take care of their bodies, how they study, how they watch film. When I was in Buffalo, Fred Jackson was you know, I would say he was a big mentor of mine and when I was in Miami, I probably picked apart Brian Hartline, Davone Bess, those guys. Here, I mean it's - you know, I have the greatest quarterback - to pick his brain, I'll ask him questions all day long. I just try to emulate what those guys did for me early on in my career.
Q: Randy Moss is being inducted into the Hall of Fame today. Was he a guy you tried to emulate over the years?
CH: Yeah, I mean it's hard to really emulate what he does on the football field but yes, definitely if I could. You know, I don't ever - I don't really compare myself to receivers. I like to watch everybody's game and try to take different things from different guys and Randy is someone that you can really - you know we have tons of film of him in the years past here and watching him definitely can [make] you much better at receiver if you watch how he plays the game.
Q: Were there any moments in his career that stood out to you in particular?
CH: Yeah, I mean honestly we have so much film of practice and the games when he was here. Just his ability of catching the football and tracking the deep ball, he does it unlike anyone that has ever done it. And if you watch him closely and study him, you can definitely learn a lot about route running.
Q: The last few practices seemed a little lighter for the starters during 11-on-11. Has there been a different feel in this training camp for you guys?
CH: No, I think business is as business is. We're really trying to work hard and string together good practices. It kind of gets past that week in training camp and it's starting to - you just kind of grind through these days and guys are trying to get on the field and work - if they're hurt or guys are working really hard to get back out there so I think we're trying to keep it as competitive as we can by being smart.
Q: Are those light days good to give you a break from the grind of 12 straight practices?
CH: Yeah I mean obviously you got to take advantage of the days that you're not going to be grinding. But training camp is really about trying - the mental part of it too and learning the playbook and studying the situations. Coach [Bill] Belichick obviously does a great job of preparing us for that so if it's not going to be a huge physical day, then it's going to be a big mental day for us and we have to take advantage of that.
Q: When you guys run the hills, do you take that as a race?
CH: Yeah, I mean I'm competing always. I'm always competing.
Transcripts are provided by the Patriots media relations department as a courtesy to the media and are edited for readability. All press conferences are posted and archived in their entirety at patriots.com.
