On using other players who haven’t played yet this season to fill in on defense: “We will. We’ve practiced those guys and we’re ready, if need be, for those guys to play.”
On if Cundiff kicked today and if he will play Sunday: “He did. He kicked. He seems to have no problems with that. We’ll see tomorrow how he feels. We have a plan and we’ll stick to that plan going forward.”
On if the plan is to bring in another kicker: “We have possibilities with (P) Spencer (Lanning), as well as other guys that are out there.”
On injuries on defense affecting the pass rush: “We feel like we have some other guys that can rush the passer as well. Again, those guys have gotten reps the last few weeks and this week, as well. Injuries are a part of what you’re dealing with during the course of the season so it’s time for guys to step up, and I expect no less from the guys that play.”
On rookie LB
On Mingo developing in run defense: “He has. A lot of that is just learning the defense and learning the techniques and getting better. He plays with real good leverage. That shows in his strength. He has some natural strength that he plays with that type of leverage. He’s really improved. All parts of his game have really improved.”
On attempting more than 50 passes in each of the first two games and if it is a result of situations or based on the run game: “A lot of it is situation and how things go through the course of the game. We’ll just see. I think every game is different. We approach it that whatever we need to do to, whether that’s run or pass, we’ll try to do it.”
On if Weeden threw this week: “He did. He’s throwing. He’s going to throw again tomorrow, but he’s progressing.”
On when Weeden first threw: “Today was the first day with a football.”
On RB
On talking to QB
On Hoyer being able to block out emotions: “Just based on the game and last game, he’s shown the ability to do that.”
On how WR
On the possibility of playing Little in at running back: “No, we’re working on receiver first.”
On OL
On if he has to have a conversation with Hoyer about the extra emotions playing in his hometown: “He’s a pro, and he understands that. Once the ball is kicked off, it’s football. He’s playing the game that he’s played his whole life. He knows what expectations are, and he’ll get into the course of the game and we won’t be thinking a thing about that.”
On the third-down offense’s progress: “We need to continue to improve offensively. I think that comes with more time on task. One of the things that we want to continue to improve on is protection. We’re working on that. I think the guys are playing better and getting better. I think they’re understanding what we want to do, and from a role standpoint, you’re seeing some guys develop and evolve into roles that we have them in.”
On more clarity on Sheard’s injury: “We’ll see how he’s doing. The good thing to me is that as you looked at Jabaal last week, he got hurt and he was able to come back after he was hurt and play some more. So that’s the encouraging thing.”
On if Sheard did more harm than good playing after getting hurt: “It didn’t seem that that was the case.”
On risking a negative play like a sack for a big play: “You never want to concede that, but that’s part of football. No matter what you do, there’s things that can happen that may be negative or not exactly what you want and how you draw it up. You just have to be able to react to it and understand things aren’t always going to come up how you draw them up and work. It’s a matter of coming back and continuing to attack, in our case, and be aggressive.”
On a sack not being devastating: “Yeah, so you come back in and you’re not fazed by it. Obviously, you don’t want it to be a pattern, but like I said, they’re not always going to come up the way you draw them up.”
On Lauvao in practice and if he can start: “We’ll wait and see how he feels, and we’ll evaluate this practice and take a look at it on tape. He’s been working in and getting a good feel back into it. He’s moving around pretty well. That’s why we listed him as questionable.”