Head Coach Andy Reid
OPENING STATEMENT:"Really the guys that didn't practice today, the injuries are Mitch Morse, De'Anthony Thomas and Spencer Ware. They're all coming off surgeries and they're doing well, but right now they're not going to practice during this period. It's great to get the guys back out. We've had good work. We had good work through Phase 2. We've had good work through this period here, this is Phase 3, where we can actually work with one another and go against offense and defense. The attitude has been phenomenal. They're challenging each other which is great. We're trying to do a lot of stuff and it's all good and we just keep working."
Q: Do you have a general address with the team before they all went into their groups?
REID: "I'm not sure what you mean by that."
Q: Have you outlined the league's plan for the anthem policy that was announced yesterday?
REID: "No, we didn't do that, no."
Q: Have you talked to Clark (Hunt) at all about the discussion that was had before the policy was put in place?
REID: "He let me know of the policy, but we're not going to get into all that right here."
Q: Why not? Why don't you feel like you are going to get into all of that? Do you feel that it's not an important issue?
REID: "I don't really have anything to say on it right now."
Q: Are you clear on what the policy is?
REID: "Absolutely. Yeah."
Q: Eric Berry, just to have him back on the field with the guys, what does it mean to the guys on the defense to have a guy like that back on the field?
REID: "It's great to have him out here. He's one of our leaders. It's great to have him healthy, is what it is. He's flying around doing a great job."
Q: What are your impressions of Patrick Mahomes so far?
REID: "I think he's done a nice job. Working hard. Throwing a lot of stuff at him and he's loving every minute of it. He's got plenty of room to grow and he's going to keep working."
Q: I know it's just one day, but there were a couple of interceptions. Does that stick out to you?
REID: "No, and I've mentioned this to you guys before when Alex (Smith) was here and so on, these are camps where you want to test. We throw in a lot of new stuff so you want to test what you can get away with in these camps, so you're going to have interceptions. That doesn't bother me. If you repeat it, now that's a problem but you want to test it and see what you can get away with. That's all a part of the way this thing works."
Q: What have you seen as far as the command of trying to gather and understand everything and then commanding everybody else?
REID: "He's phenomenal. He's got great leadership. He loves playing. He's absorbing everything and now he's just gotta do it. He's got to just go practice and work through it and massage each play and see how it works against these different coverages and he's so willing. That's the part you appreciate."
Q: What nuances do you see in his development when he comes out here compared to last year?
REID: "He's way ahead of what he was last year at this time. He worked hard last year and was in a great room."
Q: When you say you're throwing a lot of stuff at him there was a little smile on your face. Are you trying to give him too much?
REID: "No, I want him to be exposed to things and that's what you do. Then you work with it and put your personality on these different things. Try to find the things that he's best at, work the offense around him like we did with Alex. We worked the offense around Alex and built it around him and now it's this kid's turn and you have to kind of feel that part out. He's gonna keep firing and that's all we want, and learning, it's a great time for that. That's what this is all about right here."
Q: Does that rejuvenate you too?
REID: "I've mentioned this before too. I love every day I have a chance to do this. I get older, they get younger or they stay the same, it's a crazy deal. I love every minute of it and feel very honored and privileged to have a chance to do it. Not many times in your life that you're 1 out of 32 people in the world that have a chance to do something. You guys are in that same thing. You're at the top of your deal being able to cover the National Football League, that's quite an honor."
Q: Was that an intentional Dazed and Confused reference?
REID: "No."
Q: What are your early impressions of Breeland Speaks?
REID: "Love his effort and he's got some natural ability. He has a good feel for things. Then he's coming out and works hard. He's learning. All the young kids are learning. That's what's great about this camp, you have a chance to do that."
Q: For Cam Erving to get in there and get some reps, what kind of opportunity is this for him?
REID: "We've got him at center and Cam's a guy that can play everywhere. He played center his last year in college and had a nice feel for it, so we put him in there with Mitch being down and we're getting him some snaps. I think he's done a heck of a job. That's a tough position. He's got a lot of responsibility as a transmitter between the right and the left side and making sure the protections are right and so on. He's done a good job with that."
Q: This time last year there were conversations about Eric Berry, Justin Houston and Marcus Peters not being here. Do you have any feelings now that Houston and Berry are here? Are you happy that they're here?
REID: "This is a voluntary camp. That they're here brings great energy when they're here and they understand their leadership role. This isn't mandatory, so I understand and work with everything. Like the questions before, you work within rules and regulations and that's how we roll. I don't have much to say on any of that, so you do what the rules are."
Q: Just to clarify, do you expect between now and the start of the season to have any conversations with Clark about where the team might go in terms of the policy with the anthem?
REID:"I don't want this to be slighted, but we never discuss those things. I don't mean to be rude with that, but we just keep that in-house and we communicate when the communication needs to be taken care of. We've always been good with that. It's not to be rude to anybody. We understand the rule so you go with it and there will be a time when we address it and talk about it, but that will be within the team and nobody else needs to really know. It deals with all of us in that room. That's not anything to slight anybody or any situation or anything, please don't take it that way."
Q: Defensively, with the new faces that you're working in and some of the young guys that you've got now, what stands out to you?
REID: "The draft picks for the most part, and we even drafted a defensive guy for the offensive side. They've all done well. I can't pick one of them out and go 'this guy is slacking behind,' that hasn't been the case. They seem to be picking it up well and we've been happy with the progress. Now we're early in this phase, this is our third day. So we've got a lot of time ahead and we'll just see. In these camps, like training camp, you're not repeating the same play over and over. Each day you're adding another load so they can build their resume of plays and that's how we go about it."
