MINI-CAMP

TODD HALEY: “We concluded our mandatory mini-camp today. I thought we made very good progress as a team. We were able to get a lot of installation in. We got to the Red (inside the 20-yard line) Zone today, as you saw. We worked some of the Red area in both our seven-on-seven and our team which is very good.

“It was clear to me that the effort was excellent, that each day we got a little bit better. That’s what we’re looking for. Now, we continue on immediately tomorrow with OTA’s. It won’t be a lot different.”

Q: Are you where you had hoped to be at this point so far as conditioning and getting things installed?

HALEY: “I’ve hit the conditioning a lot and I think we’ve made great progress there. Now that we’ve got some football under our belt and have gotten into the Red Zone and got to work some of that, then you start to really feel you’re in football mode. It almost had a training camp feel to me, these last two days, the two-a-day aspect of it, them having to take care of their bodies a little more than they’ve had to. We’ve been able to teach them a little bit more about that – using the cold tubs, and hydrating and doing the things necessary to keep them healthy and refreshed enough to come out and practice a second time.

“It was all with a purpose and I’d say I’m happy with where we’re at right now, although we have a long way to go.”

Q: Has there been anybody who’s stood out in these three days to where you’re surprised?

HALEY: “Not so much from that standpoint, but a guy that stood out to me is Branden Albert. He’s a guy who came in way out of shape that we were all pretty disappointed in. He kind of let himself go when the season ended and probably in-season a little bit. But the guy’s got his nose to the grindstone and he’s lost a lot of weight and is getting much stronger and practicing with technique. I’m pretty excited about what the possibilities are for Branden.

“Now there are a lot of young guys that I didn’t know a lot about specifically on that defensive side of the ball – some of the linebackers and those guys who are changing positions that I’m encouraged by.”

Q: What are your impressions of Jamaal Charles?

HALEY: “Jamaal was a player that I liked a lot coming out (of college) and as I’ve gotten to know him. He probably underperformed to the extent he wanted to last year. I think with Jamaal he’s gaining a little confidence. There’s no doubt he has ability but if he can get confidence in himself and raise his expectations up to where they should be I think Jamaal will be all right. But he’s done a great job in the off-season; he’s learning how to work. He’s getting bigger, stronger; he’s already fast. I think he’s starting to understand offensively what we’re trying to do running and in the pass game, specifically protection.”

Q: Do you get any sense who’s ahead: offense or defense?

HALEY: “There’s such a long way to go. We made strides on both sides of the ball, I really believe that. I was encouraged defensively, especially since it’s a brand new scheme and new positions for guys and that those guys definitely in these last couple of days made strides and made marked improvement.

“Now, there’s no pads. A lot can change but as far as without pads and playing techniques and doing the things that they’re supposed to do, I think they made strides and that got me a little excited.”

Q: What do you see from special teams especially the return game?

HALEY: “Special teams is going to be big around here. I’ve made that clear to everybody and everybody says it. But really, the easiest way onto the team is to be one of those guys. We’re definitely going to have two roster spots devoted to a special teams player – and I’m not talking about a snapper, but a true cover guy, an impact player in that phase of the game. So, I think there are a lot of possibilities and a lot of potential.

“We’ve got a big back in Jackie Battle who’s fast and big and time will tell when we get to the games and into the padded practices. But to me he’s a guy you look at and say, ‘he should be a heck of a special teamer.’ Or, one of our young free agents, Jovan Belcher is another guy – a run and hit guy who looks like when the pads go on and you start covering kicks he could make an impact. A couple of those guys are going to make the team because of their special teams ability. I just try to educate them all on that fact. That’s real life; I’m just not talking. If we can get a couple of impact guys in that area of the game that can change a game for us they will be on the team.”

Q: What about returners?

HALEY: “Well, we’ve got a lot of guys doing it right now. We’ve got some guys who have done it in the past, we’ve got some guys who can catch it real well who I’m looking for to see how they actually return it; and we’ve got some guys that probably are pretty good returners but are struggling catching it. We’ve got a lot of options and we’ll have to weed it out. We’ll start to figure that out as we get closer to training camp.”

Q: Is Rudy Niswanger a capable return guy (laughs)?

HALEY: “Oh, you saw the (mock punt catching) drill? (laughs) It was our little competition that saved them a (post-practice) gasser. I was impressed by Rudy; I was impressed by Mike Goff. He said he had never caught a punt in his life. Then the pressure was on Zach (Thomas) to keep the score tied and he made it. He double caught it and said if the pads were on that one would probably have bounced out.”

Q: What are your thoughts on Brad Cottam?

HALEY: “I think Brad has a year under his belt so he’s probably a lot more comfortable than he was last year. He seems to know what’s going on. Now, we’re all new but he’s doing all the things that we’ve asked him. He’s working hard. He hasn’t missed a workout. He’s obviously big and I think that gives you positives and negatives. He fell down a couple of times today. He’s a guy who’s got to work on technique all the time being as tall as he is: keeping your knees bent and using proper fundamentals to give yourself good leverage.

“But he’s a confident receiver and I think when the pads go on he’s got a chance to be a pretty good blocker. But I like our competition right now at tight end, I really do. We’ve got a couple of young guys in O’Connell and Crabtree who I don’t think it’s far off to say that they could be in the hunt somewhere along the line. Then there are a couple of guys I’m familiar with in Tony Curtis and Sean Ryan, who are different types of players. So, we went from being thin to having a nice competition at tight end which I think should play out favorably for us.”