Bell Wonβt Play In Preseason; O Line & Injury Updates

Adam Gase spoke to the media and there is a lot of good information in this transcript. They are trying to play Kalil in preseason week 3, Bell wonβt play at all and there are some thoughts on Chris Herndonβs work load with a suspension looming.
Opening statementβ¦
Couple of updates, you guys know, Avery (Williamson), heβs going to be done for the season, Jamey Mosley, he didnβt practice today. Weβre kind of going to take that day-to-day right now. He had a knee, they evaluated it, itβs not anything that we think itβs going to be really prolonged, just see how that goes. As far as Marcus (Maye), he will be back this week heβll be full go starting today, kind of see how this week goes and weβll make a decision on a game, right now it looks like itβs trending to heβll play this weekend. Harvey (Langi) will be back this week so thatβll be nice to get him out at practice. We really held him out today just kind of being on the turf, and then the last thing is going to be, LeβVeon (Bell) will not play this week, he wonβt play in the fourth game so we will be holding him until the season. On why Bell wonβt be playing in the preseasonβ¦ I was about 99% sure heading into the preseason. It was all based off of how he practiced, conditioning, all those type of things, we talked about it before we started. I told him we wanted to increase the reps last week, weβre going to do the same thing this week, where we just get him as game ready as possible because heβs not really going to know until we get into a real game but I feel like heβs in great shape. Heβs been contacting about as good as anybody out on the practice field so I feel confident that heβll be ready to go Week One. On if Ryan Kalil will play in Saturdayβs preseason gameβ¦ Weβre hoping to be able to. Weβd love to get him in there for a series. Weβll kind of see how this week goes but thatβs kind of the direction weβre heading. On if he regrets playing Williamson into the second quarterβ¦ Yes, I do. We had him in a new position compared to what he played in the past, him and Neville (Hewitt) were together, you know, the thought process was getting Nevilleβs feet wet, as far as playing MIKE linebacker, heβs playing a different position, wanted Avery to be in there because Neville would be with a guy thatβs a starter and just looking back on it, hindsight is 20/20. I wish I would have gotten him out of there a series earlier but Iβve talked with him and itβs on me. Iβm the one that has to make that call and get him out of there but we didnβt and thatβs a shame because he was having a good camp. On what the conversation with Williamson was likeβ¦ Heβs as positive as you can get right now. I know itβs going to be some ups and downs but I told him weβre going to need him to help these young guys and weβre going to need him around the building, weβre going to need him around everybody and we talked about plan once he gets on his feet as far as what we want to do with him, with meetings and trying to help him keep learning as a football player. On if he shared a similar message with Williamsonβ¦ Yeah, I did. On if Hewitt will fill in for Williamson positionβ¦ Yeah, I mean weβre just going to be working all those guys in there. On if Williamsonβs injury had an impact on his decision not to play Bell in the preseasonβ¦ Like I said, I was about 99.9% sure what we were going to do, that probably made it 100%. On if has concerns that Bell will not play until the start of the regular seasonβ¦ I will say this, he is in a good place right now. The way heβs working in practice, the way heβs running the ball in practice, I feel really good about him going into the regular season. On Kalil being prepared for the regular seasonβ¦ Well, heβs a quick learner and today was the first day that we actually had him in there with all the guys. We were doing some stuff, it was all call-it periods, it wasnβt like he could snag a script and study what was coming, it was just whatever he heard from Sam (Darnold) so, I think this week will be really good, weβll put a gameplan together so he can have a chance to learn that and weβll just see how it goes. On the thought process of holding Kalil out of practice until todayβ¦ We were just taking it slow. My biggest thing, I just wanted to make sure that he felt good mentally. I didnβt want him thinking too much and not being able to really play football. I think we got him to the point where, itβs probably less thinking and he can just play ball. On if there is any chance of Kelechi Osemele and Brian Winters coming back this week to playβ¦ It doesnβt look like it. I think KO (Osemele) looks like heβs going to start bugging me about going out to practice this week. But, as of right now, I donβt really have plans for those guys playing. I really like how the two guys (Tom Compton and Alex Lewis) that filled in for them played this last game. I think Alex needs more reps. He was kind of on a pitch count because he really hasnβt had a ton of practice and both of those guys did a great job in the game. On Brandon Shellβ¦ Everything looks to be okay. It was probably more of a scare than anything, but he was trying to go in the game. Heβs like, βIβll go play.β We had the conversation on the sideline, βWe donβt know what it is. This could be, really, not a smart thing for us to do.β So, we held him out, everything came back to where heβs in good shape. Weβve just got to kind of take it slow and just make sure that heβs good to go. On the rhythm of the offensive lineβ¦ I think weβll be all right. I think when you have guys that, especially our two guards (Osemele and Winters) that have played as long as they have, these guys do a great job of just being on it mentally. At the end of the day, those two guys are our enforcers. Iβll call stuff that will get them downhill and go scare some people. On Trumaine Johnsonβ¦ Yeah, weβre targeting that Week One. He had a legit injury. Thatβs one of those deals, at his position, where youβre running all the time and you get a hamstring (injury). Weβve just got to make sure that heβs good to go. Itβs still week-to-week, day-to-day, however you want to look at it, we just need him to just keep getting stronger. On Arthur Maulet and Kyron Brownβ¦ Arthur has been trying to fight through. He just tries to stay out there. Itβs going to be the same thing β theyβre going to be week-to-week and Arthur is probably more day-to-day. On if he would consider not having Darnold play due to the rotation of the offensive lineβ¦ No, I feel really good about those guys that are filling in. Those two guys playing guard, I feel confident. On if they will stay with Taylor Bertolet or bring in another kickerβ¦ Right now, thatβs what weβre doing. Heβs going to be our kicker. On his confidence in the offensive line after seeing them play last weekβ¦ I feel a lot better. On the scouts working to improve the depth at cornerbackβ¦ Those guys are always looking for guys they can get their hands on and bring in and tryout or sign somebody or trade for. Thatβs what they do. Theyβre doing it all the time. You only see the final result. All the little steps, nobody gets to see. Weβll just kind of see how it goes. We still have three weeks left before the start of the season. If they end up bringing anybody in, then they do. If they donβt, then weβll coach those guys up and put a gameplan together that suits the group we have. On his expectations on Bertolet being the kicker for Week Oneβ¦ I know he is today. One day at a time. On if there are any other healthy starters that wonβt play in the game on Saturdayβ¦ Not that I can think of. On if heβll cut back on Chris Herndonβs repsβ¦ No, we feel good about where weβre at right now with the other guys. Kind of have an idea how weβre going to handle this going forward. He wants to be in there. We need him in there. I want him to keep doing what heβs doing. I want him to focus on this week. I donβt want him to worry about the first four weeks of the season. |
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