Q. What do you think of the passing game so far?
NICK SIRIANNI: I think that it looks pretty good right now, that we're going the right place with the football. We have guys what are making contested catches.
Would you want to eliminate a couple of the turnovers? Absolutely. There are couple too many in there. That's where my biggest concern is.
But spacing has been good. I've said it a couple times in the meeting room, this is exactly how this play is suppose to look, this is exactly how this play is supposed to work. Nd I think about that, and much further ahead we are than we were last year at this time.
But, with that being said, you're always working to get better at this time. You know, right now I'm pleased just because, again, like I said, the timing of the quarterbacks, the contested catches by the receivers.
And you know what? The defense is making us work to get everything that we can get because they look good right now as well.
Q. (No microphone.)
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, hamstring. As you guys know, I'll never put a timetable on how long I think they'll be out. We will probably play him conservative as far as his recovery just so we don't have a setback there.
Like to say he was having a good camp and making some plays. He's got pretty good instincts, so really look forward to getting him back.
Q. (No microphone.)
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, we'll see when he's back. Again, I don't know how long that will be. He's sore. Was sore the day after it happened. You know, yesterday's day off should have been good for him.
Q. When you look to the matchup between AJ Brown and Darius Slay in practice, how intense is that? Do you get the sense that those guys really like going at each other?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, and I think that's the same combination and Devonte and Slay. I think that's the same combination of AJ and Bradberry. Same thing with Devonte and Bradberry.
So that is something that when you have that combination, that really makes guys improve their game. I've always told the story of when I thought Keenan Allen really made his jump in the NFL was, one, Keenan is a great player and all those different things, but he made a huge jump. I've talked to Keenan about this a lot when we drafted Jason Verrett Jason Verrett was a first round draft pick, and it made Keenan really work all the things in practice to get open.
It wasn't easy for him to get open in practice. He had to work, think, use his mind, his technique, all those things.
Same thing here, right, with Devonte working to get open and AJ working to get up, and vice versa with Slay and James working to cover them.
So that's a true thing. Iron sharpens iron, right, so that's what we're working on at every position. I've seen it firsthand at that position, and I actually thought I saw it a lot last year with Devonte and Slay.
Q. You got on the boys a little bit for coming up short on a deep ball from Jalen Hurts. Is that something you talk with them about after practice?
NICK SIRIANNI: I get on guys at practice. If it's not the way we want it to be done, I get on them. If it's the way we want it to be done, we praise them. That to me is how you coach. You got to let them know what you think about each play or the correction is not going to go on.
We are doing that with every single play. Sometimes my delivery is harsh and sometimes my delivery is with the arm around them. Just whatever I'm thinking at that time.
Q. Turnovers, when there have been a few too many turnover, what's the balance between wanting Jalen to try things now in this setting maybe versus like maybe that's not the right read?
NICK SIRIANNI: You know, he has three interceptions right now, and I can take you through all three of those. He missed the low to Marcus. Missed it a little inside. His hip was a little bit locked. It wasn't opened up the way he needed on the left side. He missed that throw.
He made a bad decision on the scramble when he threw it late back across his body. We wanted him to take Miles -- no, I'm sorry, it was Kenny. We wanted him to take Kenny there and say -- it was a third down play. You don't have to get all back here. Go for it on fourth and one.
Then the third one was a great individual play by Avonte on the pick, but we would like him to check that down.
Two of them were bad decisions. One was a bad decision in the pocket. One was a bad decision on the move. The other one was -- he just missed the throw and Marcus actually made an unbelievable play.
So, you know, you want to eliminate -- you're going to miss some throws, right, but you want to eliminate the ones that you get mad -- not mad about, but the ones you're really correcting hard are the ones that are the poor decisions.
In the pocket sometimes the decisions will get you. The one we all want back myself, him, Brian, Shane, is the one where he threw it back across the middle and Andre made a good play and picked it off.
Q. What kind of shape did Jordan Davis come to camp in, and what did you see from him personally?
NICK SIRIANNI: You know, I think that he came to camp ready to go. Our guys in the training staff and the strength staff and sports science staff have just done a great job knowing what our guys are supposed to play at.
That's something I'm always obsessed about, is are you playing to the correct weight. I've had experiences throughout my career of guys being heavy and their play suffering. I've had experience through my career of them losing weight of what they were the year before and having phenomenal seasons.
So that will always stick in my mind. I know that's in Ted's mind and in our staff's mind as well, of playing at the right weight. So we are going to be on him about that.
I think he came back with where he needed -- I know he came back where he needed to be, but that's going to be something that we're focused on. That's not just Jordan, that's everybody.
I think he's been running around well. Like I said, his weight was where we wanted it to be and his body fat was where we wanted it to be.
Q. Nick, what's the plan for padded practices?
NICK SIRIANNI: We're in shoulder pads today. So as you know, like in the season when we have a day, that's usually what it is. It's shoulder pads, and then tomorrow we're full pads, and then we have the walk-through after that. That's where I am right now.
They're scheduled out. I just don't have the information right now. I can't remember off the top of my head.
Q. (Regarding live contact.)
NICK SIRIANNI: Live contact meaning to the ground? No.
Q. Zach Pascal treated at the hospital yesterday. How is he doing? Is he still in there? Is he feeling better? When do you anticipate getting him back?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, no, he's feeling better. He went through some things with his stomach not feeling really good. It's lingered a little bit more than we would like and obviously than Zach would like, so looking forward to getting him back.
Again, I don't have a timetable for you, but I know he's on the up.
Q. The multiple defense you're facing, how much does can they disguise looks here in camp, and if they are, is that beneficial?
NICK SIRIANNI: Oh, yeah. Heck yeah. When you know the coverage going into the play or you know exactly what the blitz is going into the play you can set your offense accordingly, right?
So you set the protection accordingly when you know the pressure. When you know the coverage, the quarterbacks eyes are going to -- he is going to be able to turn things down a little bit quicker than he would than when he has to learn it post-snap.
So they're doing a good job disguising, and really it is everybody. It's not just the defensive backs. It's everybody. It's the linebackers, and they're really doing a good job being in sync, all the guys.
I know that is something the defensive staff has stressed. After the season every year we go through a project of -- the last game of the year, the following week after that we game plan our defense and the defense game plans us.
It's a good way to -- and that's not something you ever want to do is go through another grueling week, but it's very beneficial. So you go through it and you're able to tell the defense, here is what we're seeing. And the defense, vive versa.
That is one thing we talked about a lot. Hey, we know what this might be here because of what you showed here. So that's a lot of the off-season evaluations that we just get better from, and the defense has done a great job putting it into actions, and the players have done a great job of that.
Q. We've seen free agents kind of rise up. (Indiscernible.) How big a challenge is it for guys like Nakobe and Allen and Blackwell, some of the other guys to step up?
NICK SIRIANNI: Yeah, I don't think they're -- I don't think any of the guys that are undrafted free agents are thinking about anything other than how do I get a little bit better each day? Yeah, maybe in the back of their mind they're thinking, how do I make this team, but you can't do that unless you get better every day.
I don't know exactly what they're thinking. I know what I tell them as far as there is so many videos of guys. Like I tell you, I watch documentaries all the time. Terrell Davis' documentary on A Football Life shows him being a free agent, making a plays on special teams, boom, going there.
John Randle we show all the time, once a year to these guys. He was a free agent; now he's in the Hall of Fame.
There is an awesome commercial that came out in the NBA draft maybe like five years ago of John Stark, of them talking about how he was bagging groceries, and turns into having one of the most iconic dunk posters. We show them that.
We don't really care how they got here, because our job is to pick the best players to help us win. That's all that matters. It's the winning and losing business, and with the best guys we'll make it, and we make it very clear to them that.
We also make it very clear to them that we've had some phenomenal free agents make it. Just like the guys on this team and the guys on the teams we have coached in the past.
Q. What's it been like with how guys react entering a contract year, and how does Miles fit into that?
NICK SIRIANNI: Everyone is motivated through different things, right? The best players in my mind are motivated because they love the game. That's how I see Miles. He loves the game and wants to do everything he can to be successful with it.
Maybe I'm naive but I never see -- and I love our players and I loved the guys I've coached in the past, so I see them working, and we press these to work every single day, so I don't see a difference with how they work. I don't necessarily see a difference if they press. You know, I just don't see it that way.
I haven't seen our guys handle it that way in the experiences I've been in. He's aware of it, I'm sure. You know, and I know. Whether that affects him or not, I can't answer that question.
Q. Vic Fangio here last week; Mike McCord last year. When you have guys, you bring guys in to visit, how important is that for you? Does it help you? What do you sort of do to pick their minds?
NICK SIRIANNI: You know, we like to bring in guys -- I make it very clear to the staff that we bring guys in that were -- that we got to trust them and that we're close to.
So Vic has some relationships on the staff, and it's great to have him here.
And then you also use it, right, they come, they eat, they watch practice, and you try to -- you make them work for that a little bit, right? You pick their brain.
So he's here because he's got relationships with guys. Of course we would be foolish not to use him.
And throughout the week, we'll have different coaches here. I know the guy, Jim Smith from Indiana University of Pennsylvania who's a defensive coordinator there, he worked with me; that's why he was here last week.
So there is always going to be a relationship aspect of why a guy is here. My brother will be coming. He's allowed to come into the practice, and I'll pick his mind when he's here as well.
Q. Nick, you don't have music in practice?
NICK SIRIANNI: There is music.
Q. Seems quieter.
NICK SIRIANNI: I'll have to get on Scott. Maybe Tyler just had it a little bit louder. There is music. It's loud like right there, and I always notice how when the speaker a faced away it doesn't play as loud.
But there is also an element of we want to coach during that time, but it's playing out there. What, you got any requests?
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports