Bob Sutton
On the increased number of penalties in the preseason: "We've told the players: 'We've got to adjust as this is going to continue.' That just means you're going to have to be very diligent with your technique, you're going to have to respect the five-yard rule which has always been a rule anyway and just know that it's like any game even before the enforcement of this rule was upped a little bit. Any time you're in a game, whether they're calling holding, whatever it is, you have to understand the officials you're dealing with and you got to adjust. You can complain all you'd like but they got the flag and if they're going to call them that way, you have to adjust in the game."
On whether last year felt like there was more give-and-take with penalties: "There's no question. They've put more of a premium on it in which they've told everybody they're going to go by the rule, period. So if that's exactly what it is, you have to learn how to do it. There's no other way to deal with it but to learn how to play the game within the rules as they're being enforced and go like that."
On where LB Dee Ford is at when it comes to stopping the run: "He's like any young player, especially a guy that's a good rusher. He's got to learn how to play the run and some of those are on downs that might be passing downs or passing sets. And you have to learn how to read the set of the offensive lineman across from you or the backfield set or the depth [and] all the little things that go into it. As he gets more experience [and] more plays in there, he's going to see that. One of the objectives is you don't want it to slow you down. You don't want to take away from something that he has and that's a talent to rush the quarterback. But, as a player, he's got to understand how he's going to be attacked."
On play at the cornerback play far: "Each of them have had some really good plays and probably some they could do better but I think the competition has been good and I think it has helped all of them."
On what CB Chris Owens brings to the field: "I think Chris has been a really great addition. He's got a good energy about him. He likes to practice. He likes to play. He's got a feel for the game which is good and he's been very competitive out there."
Dave Toub
On whether he plans to use RB De'Anthony Thomas in the return game on Saturday night: "Yeah. He practiced today [and] looked good, ran around a lot, which is obviously what we wanted to see. We'll have a meeting after this and we'll talk about it."
On his comfort level with using WR Frankie Hammond if he has to use him in a game: "Comfortable. I felt good about him last year and that's why we kept him on the practice squad. We always knew he was there for us if we needed a guy and he's a real good catcher and continued to be a good catcher throughout training camp so we feel comfortable with him."
On whether RB Knile Davis' role as backup running back will affect his returning role against Minnesota: "It's a preseason game so we'll still start Knile and then we'll go from there just like we did last week. We started him in there and he got the first one and we have so many other guys, we just started rotating guys. We'll keep this game the same way."
On ways Davis has improved since last season: "He's a lot better [of a] catcher. He hasn't put any balls on the ground in practice and last year during practice, if he caught 10 balls, three of them were going to be on the ground. So, he has come a long way there."
On how important RB Cyrus Gray is to the special teams unit: "Critical. He's the captain of our special teams unit right now and he's played all the key spots for us and he's playing at high level."
