more from Garrett's presser:
I think the biggest thing with young players is getting the opportunity to play. Claiborne has had to deal with some injuries over the course of his career, and for him to get in a rhythm of playing down in and down out, week in and week out, I think that does a lot for your confidence. The experience, particularly at that position, because you'll have success out there, but the QBs and WRs in this league are really, really good.
And they're going to have success, too. It's probably not unlike a baseball player. You can be a really good hitter in MLB, you know the Hall of Famers, they fail 7 out of 10 times, that whole expression.
When you play CB in the NFL, the QBs are good, the WRs are good, they play at a very high level and you're going to have some issues where you don't have success and you have to keep battling back. I think for a young player, a big part of that is being able to stay in the line up and play, and keep playing.
And you fight your way through it and you recognize that. So his biggest issue is he's been off the field with injuries in the early part of his career,a nd hopefully, he's healthy now and will get a chance to learn from those experiences he's had up until this point.
(McFadden) Yeah, I thought he did a good job yesterday. Had a little something going on with his shoulder or neck and kind of worked his way through it. Didn't practice full yesterday, but got some good work in and we anticipate more today.
You are where you are (knowing what the roles of the running backs will be) and what we try to do throughout the team is focus on the day. And focus on the opportunities we have and getting better. I think each of those guys has done that, each has been of a different timetable. We ask them to work hard to be their best and we'll fit them in when we can.
Darren did get some work in the game. Jo was dealing with something last week, he was able to play in the ball game. Got some snaps carrying the football, also was a protector,a nd we got some shots for the young guys as well.
So, we'll keep doing that, keep evaluating them individually, and make our best decisions here over the next few weeks.
(Did Randle show anything playing with oblique injury?) The expectation is for guys to play and Jo showed us that he was able to play.
(How has he made strides in the passing game?) I think that's the biggest thing for backs coming out of college right now, oftentimes they haven't been exposed to the things they will be asked to do in the NFL while in their college offenses.
A lot of that has to do with the passing game, whether it's running routes out of the backfield or protecting, just understanding defenses and how different defenses are going to try to pressure you. I think, all those things, typically, running backs don't get exposed to the same level in college as they do in the NFL.
That's where the learning curve is.
We try to give them experience, they have to work extra at it. Jo's definitely evolved and grown in that area.
(Is it tough for players to keep focused with the return home coming)? That's really the message we have every day.
Focus on us and focus on today, that's what we'll continue to do and I think players understand that. We had a really good practice yesterday, guys worked hard and I think we got better as a team. That's what we have to do today. We'll have a spirited practice and hopefully get better.
(How big a factor are divisional opponents on opening day 53 man roster?) I think the biggest this is, you focus on yourself. Obviously, your first goal is to win the division, but I think you have to be careful about getting caught up in beating teams within our division.
We're trying to build a football team.
We started a few years ago, tying to build a program, and now we're trying to build this team, this year.
It has everything to do with us and has very little to do with anybody else. We're trying to be our best as players and coaches and throughout our organization.
Orlando Scandrick going back to Dallas today, we anticipate surgery tomorrow or the next day.
/end
