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Mike Pettine Press Conference - August 2

On DL Billy Winn's status:
"Billy's X-rays were OK yesterday, but this morning, he was going for further testing. I haven't gotten that information yet. I apologize, but we will know more later today."

On the status of RBs Duke Johnson, Jr. and Terrance West:
"Duke could be a little bit. We are confident we can get Terrance back, especially just kind of butted up against the day off. We feel coming back out on our next day out here on Tuesday that Terrance will have a shot then."

On if the team will consider adding a RB with three currently not practicing:
"Yeah, I am going to get together with (General Manager) Ray (Farmer) after this. Always when we have these breaks, we evaluate where we are from an injury standpoint and timetables of who is coming back and if we need to, add that certainly is the position that will probably be the first one discussed."

On RB Glenn Winston's status:
"Winston showed up with a little bit of a ding. We're hopeful. I think he is close to getting back, though. That is another guy we are hopeful we can [get back]. If we can get Terrance back Tuesday or within the next couple days after that and Glenn, then we'll obviously be in a little better shape."

On OL Vinston Painter's and RB Luke Lundy's status after they left practice today:
"No, I know they were going in to be evaluated. We will have more on that next time."

On what DB Pierre Desir is doing well to merit the reps he is getting:
"Pierre is very passionate about football and he wants to get better. He knows he had a lot of ground to cover. He is very coachable. He's got an NFL skillset, but he just had a lot of ground to make up, given his background. He is a guy that comes out and works to get better every day."

On how the players recovered from the first day of practice in pads:
"I thought they did a good job. That's the one thing we really emphasize. I think our training staff and weight staff do a good job with maximizing the recovery, whether it is the recovery trailer, which is out front where they can get off their feet for a little bit. Giving them, from a schedule standpoint, just understanding when we can get them off their feet and giving them a little extra time at night. There might be a few examples of the opposite, but overall, our guys handled it pretty well."

On QB Duke Johnson Jr. looking comfortable in the shotgun and if that is something the offense would look to do more:
"I just think that is part of the install. There are times based on the defensive look – we were getting a lot of pressure looks, defensively – when you want to give the running back a little bit of space for his pick-up. If there is traffic in the A gap right near the center, a lot of times the quarterback has the option to get into the gun. Some of those instances came up and other ones were called plays. Obviously, he is very comfortable there."

On if the pistol formation is still part of the offense:
"I know that formation – the concept of the back behind the quarterback in the gun – is in the playbook. I just think as we go that it's more of a game plan thing. I certainly could see us in some of it as camp goes on."

On if the pistol formation has been used yet in practice:
"No, I think we are still very early. We went back to the beginning of our installation. Any play that you run with the quarterback under center and the back at home behind him you could run from the pistol so I think that is something we can do gradually do later on."

On how WR Terrelle Pryor has performed the last two days in pads:
"He doesn't look out of place. It's still very early, too early to tell, but he does not look out of place. He does some good things. He is just behind from the learning standpoint and the subtleties of playing receiver. If you had asked where he would be at this point, I would think we would all agree he is ahead of where we thought he would be."

On the camouflage jerseys the defense wore in practice:
"They were my idea. The original idea was to be more of the military green camo, but when we contacted the league about it, they would prefer that we stayed within our team colors so that's how that became orange and brown camo. I've seen how some of you in this group dress (laughter) so I don't know if I'm going to be very open to fashion advice (laughter). You know who you are, too."

On if the offense won the jersey competition today:
"They did. It came down to the last play, which was great. That's what that period is for. I told them afterwards, our season will hinge on those plays – third-and-5 at the end of the game, you get a first down, you can run out the clock; if you get a stop on defense, you get a chance to win it or you can win it right there. Those are the things that we want to simulate in practice, and I was glad it came down to the last play."

On what Pryor did to earn first team reps today:
"I just think that's part of… (wide receivers coach) Joker (Phillips) has his rotation, especially with those skilled position groups, working guys through, or it might be a certain play that we wanted that he hadn't gotten yet that was called with the ones so we go ahead and insert him with that. At this point in camp, I wouldn't put much stock, especially in the skill groups, in who is going with what group."

On what he saw from WR Travis Benjamin last year that he did not know coming in:
"He surprised all of us last year. I think he was looked at as 'Hey, he's a returner, he's on the bubble because he's coming off a knee. How effective is he going to be?' He never got going as a returner, but he certainly showed his capability as a wide out. It was a surprise. It was a very pleasant one. What's encouraging this year is if you talk to him and ask him, 'Hey, how do you feel compared to a year ago?' it's night and day, and that's usually true with that type of injury that it takes to that next year to really feel back to being your old self."

On if it was a positive step for DL Phil Taylor to participate in the rush defense drills today:
"Yeah, working it. Leaving that up to him. How do you feel? Are you ready to take some reps? We'll be on his pace for a while until he gets to the point where he feels really comfortable."

On if the coaches have discussed using drones to film practice:
"Didn't that get outlawed by the FAA? I know some teams that talked about it, but then you start worrying about air space, that's one of the last things I want to have to worry about (laughter)."

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