Q&A with Herm Edwards - 12/19

Dec 19, 2007, 4:22:54 PM

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Q: Did RB Larry Johnson do more than usual?

EDWARDS: “A little more, but he was still limited. He got a little sore, so we’ll see where he’s at.”

Q: Is that more that he’s done since the injury?

EDWARDS: “A little bit more, yeah.”

Q: Has he done any of the full team offense sets?

EDWARDS: “A couple of reps here and there, and that’s what he kind of took today. He was very limited today though, very limited.”

Q: So it doesn’t sound like he’s going to play Sunday?

EDWARDS: “I’ve got to see where that’s at, but he’s just limited right now. I’d say that he’s questionable, probably.”

Q: Was that a setback today?

EDWARDS: “I don’t know if that was a setback, we’ll just find out tomorrow and the next day.”

Q: Did T Damion McIntosh not practice either?

EDWARDS: “McIntosh did not practice, WR Eddie Kennison did not practice, LB Donnie Edwards did not practice, T Kyle Turley did not practice, CB Tyron Brackenridge did not practice, S Jarrad Page was limited and S Greg Welsey was limited.”

Q: What do you think about DE Jared Allen making the Pro Bowl?

EDWARDS: “For both of our players it is obviously an honor to be voted in by the players, coaches and fans. For Jared it’s his first time and for TE Tony Gonzalez it’s his ninth time. It says a lot about Jared. You are talking about a guy who missed the first two games and really has worked his way to be a Pro Bowl player. I think that Jared was a little disappointed the first few years because he had gotten sacks and he thought that was what gets you in the Pro Bowl, but it’s really how you play as a complete player. I think he’s shown that this year and I think it just says a lot about him and where he has come from. He wasn’t a high-round pick; he was a guy picked in the later rounds and came here to prove his worth. It pays tribute for how hard he has worked. For Tony, he’s a consistent pro, a guy who has done it for nine years with five different quarterbacks. That says a lot about him, too.”

Q: What does that mean to you that Jared is the first defensive player on this team to go to the Pro Bowl since 2003?

EDWARDS: “I think it says a lot about him and what he’s accomplished, because when you are having a tough season that is difficult for everyone, the players see through that and notice what kind of season this player is having. He’s playing at that level and he’s achieved one of his goals as a player. That’s probably one of the goals he set this season, to be one of those guys. Tony obviously sets that goal every year and he obtains it. I think it says a lot about him, it really does. When you have a team like this that hasn’t won a lot of games, you don’t get a lot of Pro Bowl players. That just kind of goes along with the deal and the first time of him being a selection is probably even bigger than a guy who has been to a Pro Bowl year after year and his team goes through a losing year. You say that guy is still a Pro Bowl player. Defensively, I think that people are looking at our defense a little differently. It’s not where we would like it to be, but there are some signs when people play us that we are getting better on defense.”

Q: It seems like Jared took the problems that he had last year and used them as a motivating force. It kind of changed who he was.

EDWARDS: “Yeah, and that’s something that you like. People recognize that, too. Fans recognize that this guy went through all this, stood up and said that he made some mistakes. That’s what’s great about our society, when you stand up and say, ‘I made a mistake,’ and you stand up and take responsibility for that it’s okay. He has now gone on and done some things in this community off the field, which is very important and how he’s played on the field. I think it is a great tribute to him.”

Q: Is there anyone on the team that has more fun than he does?

EDWARDS: “There are a few guys that have a lot of fun. Now, he’s more outgoing than a lot of guys on our team, but he has a lot of fun playing football. He has passion for it and that’s where it all starts. You have to have passion to play the game.”

Q: Will RB Jackie Battle be in uniform assuming Larry doesn’t play?

EDWARDS: “Yeah, we’re going to dress him either way.”

Q: Is he the number two guy behind RB Kolby Smith at this point?

EDWARDS: “We’d like to get him the ball some. We generally dress three running backs, we haven’t determined how many we are going to dress this week, but we’d like to get him in the game and let him carry the ball. I think it’s kind of important to find out if he can run or not.”

Q: Is there a benefit to playing Larry at this point in the season?

EDWARDS: “I don’t know, I think you have to weigh that. It’s a hard decision you make either way you look at it, but you have to make the best decision for the player. That’s the first thing, what benefits the player? We haven’t had to make that decision yet, so that’s not one that we have to make at this time.”

Q: Does he make you a better team?

EDWARDS: “Oh yeah, good players always make you better. There is no doubt that good players make you a better team and better coaches. There is no doubt about that.”

Q: Do you imagine that you might have won at least one of these games you’ve lost since he’s been gone if he didn’t get injured?

EDWARDS: “I would assume you have a chance. The better players you have, the better chance you have to win. Is he a difference maker? Yeah, he’s a 1,800-yard runner. That’s what he ran for last year. Whether he would have done that this year because of some of the situations we’ve put ourselves in, I don’t know that. But he’s a quality back and he’s one of the better backs in the National Football League.”

Q: Is it coincidence that you guys haven’t won since he’s been out?

EDWARDS: “I think it is coincidence more than not. You don’t want to put it on one player because then you are discarding everyone else and you can’t do that. It’s a team thing. He helps you. The better players you have, the better chances you have to win, there is no doubt about that.”

Q: Are you going to take it down until the last day to determine whether he will play or not?

EDWARDS: “Yeah, I might know more tomorrow. I’ll see how he feels.”

Q: Was it a gamble keeping him off of the Injured Reserve?

EDWARDS: “When you think about it, no. This is how this thing works; you put a guy on Injured Reserve, then what happens? You go get another player. Well okay, then how do I get him dressed? You only dress 45 guys, so at the end we generally dress 20 guys on offense, 22 on defense and three specialists to get 45. People lose sight of that. How do you get to your 45-man deal? Even though you get a guy injured or two, you can go and get another guy, but what are you going to do with him? That doesn’t mean that he’s going to play and that’s what you have to realize. It’s kind of where we’ve been all year. Sometimes we dress eight offensive linemen and sometimes we only dress seven. Sometimes we dress eight defensive linemen, five linebackers and eight defensive backs rather than nine defensive backs. So you are constantly flipping. All of those numbers are the worst thing about being a head coach. Who do you dress? How do dress these guys? It depends on the type of team that you have to play.”

Q: So are you protesting to change the 45-man dress rule?

EDWARDS: “It’s amazing to me because you pay all 53, but when you go into to a game you only get to dress 45. It’s hard for a coach to tell eight guys that you’re not dressing this week. You can practice all week, but when the game starts you can’t dress. It’s a tough rule and everyone lives with it. That’s just the way that it is.”