Head coach Mike Smith
On what he hopes to get out of practicing with the Bengals:
"We're going to do our normal practice schedule that we normally do. Marvin's schedule is very similar to ours, not exactly like ours so they're accustomed to having that type of practice, but we want to give them an opportunity to work and practice against other guys that we don't line up and practice against every day. I think it will be good for both teams. It gives us an opportunity to do evaluations in a practice setting against different payers. We've been going since May of working against each other and I think we kind of know the nuances of the players were lining up against. It will give us an opportunity before we play the game to do it in a practice setting and evaluate the young guys especially."
On discussing how things will go with Marvin:
"We talk all the time. It went very well. We've got a plan, you'll see it. It looks just like a normal Falcons practice in terms of the pacing and what we'll do; we'll just be doing it on two fields. The offense will be on one field the defense will be on the other. It is going to be a practice pace. We aren't out here scrimmaging we'll be working against one another. Their practice pace is very similar to our practice pace. Well go through that tomorrow in pads and on Tuesday in shells. "
On coming up with an agreement with HBO being present:
"We've talked about how were going to practice and how we want to have the flow of it go. Obviously, we talked about the sanctity of certain things that are run and shown. We've had that conversation; I don't think there will be anything out there that wouldn't be shown any other week."
On putting microphones on players:
"We will not have any of our players mic'd. This show is about the Cincinnati Bengals. They are here this week to play us and to work against us."
On todays practice:
"I thought the guys came back form a day off and competed and worked hard. We didn't come out in full pads as you saw, it was a shells practice. We didn't do any 9 on 7s. They worked hard on Friday night and there was some contact and we got some guys not necessarily on the injury report, but they are bumped and bruised up. We wanted to ease back into it because tomorrow will be a padded practice that will go upwards of 2 hours and 20 minutes."
On what he is looking for when scrimmaging another team:
"It's not really a scrimmage. It's a practice. We're going to be practicing against one another. We want the tempo of the practice to be the way that we do it and the way that they do it. That's one of the things that Marvin and I have talked about is the tempo. Not only the way were going to practice but the tempo. Guys naturally are going to be anxious because there going against someone new. I'm sure they will be very competitive, fun practices. It will be a great evaluation process for the coaching staff and the scouting staff. Not only to look at our players but to look at other players and compare them to other guys in the league."
On how it will help that he knows Marvin:
"Oh yes. I've worked with Marvin for 4 years there in Baltimore. Marvins a mentor to me. We speak regularly during the season, unless were playing one another in the regular season and we communicate through the offseason. Marvins one of my closest friends in this business. Well come out, were going to compete against each other, have fun and play smart. That is what we want to get accomplished."
On Tommy Gallarda:
"Yes, Tommy Gallarda injured his shoulder and we are going to have to make a change. We brought in tight end Ken Biere is his name. He was able to practice today. Unfortunately, Tommy had a shoulder injury, a very close injury that he had in November last year that caused him to go on IR. Tough break for Tommy, he's a guy that's worked very hard for us. "
On one side of the ball outshining the other:
"I think we have more experience on the offensive side. I think that we all have our moments throughout the practice where we do some good things and we do some things that are uncharacteristic or things we don't want to see in the regular season. To the experience on the offensive side, it shows at times, especially when we're throwing the football."
On his biggest concerns:
"Trying to stay healthy in these first games of the season. The 4 preseason games, that's always a concern. Injuries are going to happen; we just have to make sure we do everything in our power to keep our guys healthy in practice situations."
On Kroy's role changing:
"Kroy is a guy in our sub package that gives us a lot of flexibility. He did last year. We're going to increase his role this year. He did a lot last year in terms of moving around. Him and Mike in year 2 are going to have more wrinkles. Kroy will be part of the different looks and flexibility we're going to have on the defensive side."
On the rookie corners:
"I thought both Desmond and Robert have had a very good start out of their professional career. I thought that Desmond had a very strong showing in the scrimmage Friday Night Lights that we had in Gainesville. Robert is coming along very well in terms of learning our scheme. Both those guys, we said we wanted to get them up to speed as soon as we can. They've got the best two tutors in Roddy White and Julio Jones, going against them every day. It's just going to make them better and get them prepared to where we need them to be at the beginning of the season"
On what he wants the players focusing on:
"We will not game play one minute for the Bengals. We're going to work against them for two days and then go out and play against them. We really won't start game planning until week 3. Our game plan week will be against the Tennessee titans. In fact, we'll practice the day before our game on Thursday. Much like we'll do if it's a regular camp day. We're not just going to have a walk-thru. We have work that we have to get done. We'll obviously lighten the load because it's the day before a game, but it won't be like the regular season the day before a game.
