09-06 Sean McDermott

WGR-AM / WGR 550 SportsRadio

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott addresses the media ahead of Friday's practice before the team's season opener on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals at Highmark Stadium. (Courtesy of the Buffalo Bills)

Transcript

00:00Good morning, so I'll say good morning.

00:04Alright, so injury update so for today's practice,

00:07Javon Solomon will not practice and then Dewan Smoot will not practice.

00:13He's got a toe.

00:14So we'll see where that leads us for the game here.

00:18With Dewan, is that just something that popped up in practice?

00:21Yeah.

00:22And then if you look at, you know, your depth chart there,

00:26how much faith do you have in a guy like Casey Tuhill

00:28that might have been, you know, fighting for a roster spot all summer

00:31makes the team and now potentially an opportunity?

00:34Yeah, I feel really excited for him, right?

00:37He's worked hard.

00:38He dealt with the injury early in camp there,

00:41but he's worked himself back.

00:43Our medical team's done a really good job with him and he plays hard

00:47and, you know, a good pickup for us from Washington there.

00:52So he's been a good addition to our team.

00:55And Sean, legal formation was a topic last night.

00:58How much was that emphasized by the officials when they visited

01:00training camp for you guys?

01:04Not as much then.

01:05I would say since then, it's definitely been emphasized.

01:08So it was interesting, you know, to your point to watch it unfold

01:13last night and, you know, something we can learn from as well.

01:17What's it like getting ready for Kyler Murray?

01:19Just getting the defense prepared for all he can do?

01:21Yeah, he's a tough, you know, he's a tough player to defend

01:25because he's two-dimensional every time the ball's in his hands, right?

01:28He can throw it.

01:29He certainly can run it, design runs wise, but also scrambles.

01:33And so it'll be a big challenge for us.

01:36How do you feel like Mitch Trubisky is trending at quarterback?

01:40You know, he looked like he's, you know, improving every day

01:45and looked yesterday that way as well.

01:46And, you know, we'll see how he does today

01:50and we'll see what it is for game time there.

01:53Coach, you've had Codrington under your eyeballs for about a week.

01:57Just your thoughts on, you know, getting to look at him on a daily basis here

02:01for the past week, getting ready for Sunday?

02:02Yeah, no, he's been a good addition.

02:07You know, nice young man to talk to and looks you in the eye

02:11and certainly professional at a young age.

02:15You know, he's a rookie, right?

02:16So some of what we saw on tape has been verified in terms of just,

02:22you know, he seems very conscientious about his job

02:24and he's worked hard since he's gotten here, which is impressive, right?

02:29So coming into a new team, new situation as a rookie in particular

02:33in the NFL, let alone being on his second team now.

02:36So we're thankful to have him and excited to see him play this weekend.

02:40You talked about making a point to get an extra time in there.

02:43Yeah, no, he has.

02:44Yeah, OK.

02:44No, yeah, that's what I think's been probably impressive about him.

02:48One of the things is that he's taken it upon himself to set up the equipment guys

02:56to say, hey, I need some extra work in that stadium because of the wind

02:59and the way it blows and getting a better feel for that.

03:02So, you know, that's been nice to see.

03:06Coach, as a coach in the NFL and someone who's a former athlete

03:10and around the best of the best every day,

03:12how do you watch someone like Jesse Pagula last night

03:15and analyze it from your perspective?

03:18Oh, man, we could be here for an hour, right, Maddie?

03:23I would just say on a personal level, first of all, congratulations.

03:26That's just so great to see, right?

03:30And knowing the journey that she's been on

03:33and what her family has gone through in supporting her

03:37and then separately what they've gone through recently

03:39and just so impressed from an athletic standpoint of her poise

03:46and her just grit and ability to stick to it.

03:51I mean, the two games I had a chance to watch, the recent two,

03:55I wasn't able to watch all of it,

03:57but when you're going against number one in the world

04:00and, you know, she went up, I think, 1-0 after the first set

04:04and then that second set, it starts to do this a little bit

04:07and she didn't flinch.

04:09And then last night, again, got off to maybe not the start that she wanted,

04:14but again, her ability to keep her poise and composure

04:17and show her resilient nature.

04:19And that's, listen, we're going to need that as a team, right?

04:23And we're going to face adversity

04:25and that's part of what you need,

04:27some of that fabric and those ingredients.

04:30So I'm just super impressed by her.

04:33What have you seen from Christian Benford this offseason?

04:36How has he improved heading into year three?

04:39Yeah, an increased level of consistency.

04:44Increased level of focus.

04:45Increased level of, you know, his habits

04:49and not that they were by any means or any measure bad before,

04:53but just continual growth, evolution, maturity,

04:59understanding of what it takes to be really good at this level

05:02and the NFL and what it means to be

05:06and what it takes to be a great corner.

05:09He's always been wired that way,

05:11but just very impressed by his preparation this year.

05:15Are you able to take anything away from the kickoffs last night

05:18and then the ones tonight?

05:19If you guys look at that and see what's happening,

05:21how do you kind of, what do you take away from that?

05:22Yeah, also interesting to watch that unfold, right?

05:29It's always toughest, probably the biggest challenge

05:31to be the first ones out there, right?

05:33First ones to jump in the water.

05:35And, you know, I think you saw probably what I saw

05:38and not a lot of opportunities given.

05:42So we'll see what and where

05:45and what direction that leads us this weekend,

05:48but wasn't surprised overall by their choices

05:51and their decisions.

05:52Let me shut up two practices for Kulbisha.

05:55Does he look like he's kept up mentally from when he's out?

05:59Yeah, I mean, the most important thing

06:01is he's getting healthier, right?

06:03So that's important, number one.

06:06And then I think they're really the biggest thing for him

06:09is to, and they run kind of parallel,

06:12is getting him out there and practice as much as we can

06:15and then getting his, him up to speed

06:19because he's missed so much time on what we do.

06:22So that's probably the biggest challenge right now,

06:25but we're excited for him and what the future holds.

06:29If you could think back to the end of last season,

06:31the season that he had in year three,

06:34the conversations you had with him

06:35going into the off season,

06:36what have you seen from that moment

06:38till when he's, what I've heard,

06:40been around a lot of the off season

06:42and now getting ready to start

06:43a really important year for him?

06:45What have you seen from him?

06:46Greg Russo? Yeah.

06:47Yeah, again, impressed.

06:51You know, when you talk about being conscientious,

06:55being a pro, Greg is always,

06:57he's always been about that, right?

06:58And then watching it, you know,

07:03carry over to the practice field

07:05and then taking it now from the practice field

07:07to the game field.

07:08That's really where we're at right now.

07:10And I'm excited for him.

07:11I think he's had a great off season and a great camp

07:14and he's primed to put his best foot forward this year.

07:18How has Conor McGovern grown into his role at Sacramento?

07:21Yeah, leadership different this year than it was last year.

07:23I would say first and foremost,

07:26you know, Mitch being here a year ago

07:27and then now Conor being in that position, yes,

07:31but also in more of a leadership role

07:33and a guy that we count on for that,

07:36for that direction daily, really.

07:39And excited for him and he's worked extremely hard.

07:43He carries a lot of influence and the guys look to him

07:46and then he also, he looks to them as well.

07:49He's a great teammate and, you know,

07:51a big part of our offense.

07:53All right, thanks Coach.

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