Norv: I Hope We Have Balance All The Way Across
On Mike Wallace Norv is asked if he is worried about the number of touches Mike Wallace has had thus far during preseason.
"We have an advantage in that we get to see him every day in practice. He's going against a really good secondary. Guys who get to see him over and over, it makes it harder to get open, it is like going and playing in your division the third year against teams that you play twice a year. Out here, you know, they see us, and know us, if we show a certain split, they have a pretty good idea of the route, if they hear a call, they have a pretty good idea of whats coming. He has still made a lot of plays out here. He is a guy where if he was a rookie, and hadn't made plays in games, you might say, well we got to see him do it in games, he is not in that category. He has played a lot better over the past two years than a lot of people give him credit for. If we get him to catch 65 balls with 10 touchdowns or 9 touchdowns I think he will make a great contribution and help our entire team.
On Taylor Heinicke.
"He's just getting the feeling for playing, understanding the speed, He's gotten a lot better with his feet, he's getting the ball out quicker. In the second half coverage is not as good, the defenses are not as sophisticated, but he, we can't control that, he has made plays that show he could develop into a guy that could be on a roster."
On Mike Harris.
"He played good for us last year. It doesn't surprise me. He has things he has to get better at, and every game you get on film, people are looking at ya, looking for things they can do to beat ya, so because he's so new to the position, he has a lot of work to do, but we have a whole lot of work that needs to be done with the offensive line before the opener, so he just has to come out here like Coach Zimmer said, and we have got to get better every practice, and we have to get something out of every practice we have."
On TJ Clemmings.
"Well the communication and all that is really good. I think they are two young players, in terms of Mike being new at the position, and TJ being a young player, but Jeff (Davidson) does a good job with them, breaking things down and teaching them what they need to get done. Theres challenges ahead for us, because again, people start attacking you in terms of your scheme and they start attacking personnel, and I don't think we have seen that yet.
He had gotten better in terms of his initial sets and technique, I think he is getting better every day, but like I just said, he has a long ways to go, and we have a long ways to as an offensive football team, as an offensive line, as a team. As Coach Zimmer says we have to get something out of every opportunity we have, whether it's a walk through or practice, pre-season game, because we're trying to catch up in some areas.
I like his athleticism, I like his toughness, his ability to compete, he's got long arms, he's not fazed right now, by the big picture, the game, you know it gets going pretty fast out there, he's not seemed to be a guy who's gotten rattled."
Asked about the running game.
"I think it is really difficult to make an assessment of the running game in preseason. It has not been something that we have gone into any of these preseason games and said, we're going to go run the football, we're going to run the ball 25 times in the first half and you know, get this done. We've tried to do enough things in all areas to evaluate our players, and give them a chance to function in a lot of different areas.
We're going to be a good running football team, we developed into a pretty good running team last year. I like Matt and I like Jerrick, and obviously we're anxious to get Adrian back, we had him for one game last year and we ran the ball pretty good in that game."
Norv thinks the left side of the offensive line has played very well. He mentions Berger being a player they can rely on at a lot of different spots if/when needed. That Davidson teaches the offensive line multiple positions and does a great job at that.
On Kyle Rudolph.
I think Kyle has had a good camp. There's always things that we're working on to get better. He understands what those things are. For minutes played and the opportunities that he's had I think he's done a good job in the passing game, he's working hard in the running game, when you play against some of the big defensive ends, you get some tough match ups, and we haven't really game planned to help avoid those match ups. Kyle has gotten himself ready to have a really outstanding year, and everyone gets caught up with numbers, I hope we don't have a guy who gets a lot of numbers more than the other. I hope we're balanced all the way across, we have a lot of guys who make plays, and I hope they all have a chance to contribute. That will make us a better offense."
Asked about depth on offense.
"Obviously without Adrian last year, that changed the whole running back outlook, we have a lot more depth with our runners, we have depth at tight end, right now we have four guys that we feel can play, we have depth at wide receiver, the area where we are extremely thin is at offensive line. I think we have a lot of positives, we just need to have a little luck up front.
Asked about David Yankey and Austin Shepherd.
"We're working on that right now. This game will be another opportunity for those guys to show themselves playing. I think both of them have had highlights and bright spots and both have had struggles, so we are just continuing to coach them and help them get better, and then continue to evaluate them."
"We're looking for consistency. If they can play well for two or three games in a row, then six or seven, then maybe play well for nine or ten games in a row. That's common, That's what you have to work on with young guys up front. Particularly as I said, those guys have a lot of challenges, with multiple looks, a lot defenses are doing a lot of different things to make it hard for an offensive line.
j/k
:X They got beat everywhere..
