Indianapolis-21, Chicago-17
SHANE STEICHEN: I thought there was some good back and forth out there tonight. Obviously we came out with a victory, which was exciting for our guys. I liked the way they finished there at the end offensively and defensively. With that, we're open for questions.
Q. What went into the decision to not play Anthony tonight?
SHANE STEICHEN: I think we had those two joint practices against the Bears back-to-back days. To me I look at those as legit games. He got all those reps, and a lot of starters didn't play on both sides of the ball, and that was the decision that was played.
Q. Will he play next weekend?
SHANE STEICHEN: I haven't made that decision yet. We have a joint practice against Philly, and then we'll go from there.
Q. John Taylor, is he back with the team?
SHANE STEICHEN: He'll be back tomorrow with the team, yep.
Q. Is he going to practice?
SHANE STEICHEN: I do not know that. Once he is cleared to play, like I said, he'll be back.
Q. Shaq missed practice the other day and wasn't there tonight. What's going on?
SHANE STEICHEN: He's in the protocol. He got dinged end of practice, but he should be back soon.
Q. What did Gardner Minshew show? I know you've seen him play obviously before today, but just going out there today?
SHANE STEICHEN: Shoot, he played with great poise. He has played in this league for a while. A good leader for us. Had a huge conversion there on the third down on the scramble, but just operating the offense and being efficient in doing it.
I know he has had over (indiscernible) and just operated at a high level, and it was good to see.
Q. I know those joint practices are game-like, as coaches always say. Is there any different consideration with Anthony just given his inexperience and being a rookie?
SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, like I said, those deals you do get a ton of reps. You know what I mean? A lot of starters didn't play on both sides of the ball for us, so it was just one of those things that I felt I wanted to hold him out there, and we'll go from there next week.
Q. If he doesn't play next week, you're comfortable with what you've seen so far with him going into the regular season?
SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, like I said, we'll make that decision. Is it leaning towards possibly those guys playing in Philly? Absolutely, but haven't made that decision.
Q. (Indiscernible).
SHANE STEICHEN: It was good. Shoot, he did a nice job. He caught some balls inside the slot there and made some big plays. It was good to see that.
Good to see his growth. He is continuing to improve every day, and excited where he is at.
Q. Where do you think your offensive line, your depth there? What have you learned about that, and just how comfortable are you with it?
SHANE STEICHEN: Obviously we always look at that. We're always looking. Guys are competing their tails off with the twos and three spots back there. Always looking to see too what's out there as well.
We're trying to compete every day and find the best guys for this football team every day.
Q. Creating two turnovers tonight, I think that's been a big emphasis for the defense and Gus Bradley. How good is it to see your defense come up with those?
SHANE STEICHEN: That's great. You practice how you play, and our guys on defense come after the football all the time. When you do it in practice, it pays off in the games.
Two get those two turnovers and not having an offense, when you win the turnover battle, you have a good chance of winning football games, and that's what happened tonight.
Q. How have you seen Nick Cross go about training camp?
SHANE STEICHEN: Shoot, he has been awesome. He has around the ball, flying around the ball. He gets tips and in practice made some big-time plays against Chicago.
But, again, he is around the ball. He is making plays. He is playing good football, and we have to continue that.
Q. How do you guys help level out these young corners? It seems in practice and games Darius Rush can get a pick-six and then allow a big play the next. How do you try and level out those guys and just --
SHANE STEICHEN: I think that's with any young player, right? It ain't going to be perfect every time. You know there are going to be ups and downs. You have to stay consistent. You have to learn from your mistakes like any position.
I like where all those guys are at: JuJu, Rush, and Jones. They're all playing good football right now, and they're learning the system, and we have to keep coaching them and go from there.
Q. I know most teams you have enjoyed practices as game-like, like you said earlier. Is holding starters out or Anthony out, is that about minimizing risk when the guy can be taken to the ground?
SHANE STEICHEN: It's part of it. It's a controlled environment, but you get tons of reps. It is. It's a game atmosphere. The energy level is there. As a coach, I enjoy it. I know the players enjoy it, and we go from there.
Q. You guys brought in James Washington a couple of days ago. You see him make a 42-yard reception, sets a touchdown. How good is that to see?
SHANE STEICHEN: We signed him 24 hours ago, and he goes in and catches the go ball down the sidelines, but he is playing this leg.
He had some good years in Pittsburgh, and to get him in here and to have him make that play was awesome to see. It really sparked our offense.
Q. With Ashton's injury, is that an opening for a receiver to --
SHANE STEICHEN: I think with anything, when guys go down, everyone is competing. You bring bodies in. You're constantly evaluating and see who those guys are going to be in the final cuts.
Q. Just to clarify, J.T. has not been medically cleared?
SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, he hasn't.
Q. When you were at the Chargers in 2020 and you get no reps in the preseason for a rookie quarterback, is there anything from that situation to kind of inform how you handle Anthony now?
SHANE STEICHEN: Yeah, I think with anything, everyone is different, though. Herbert is different. Jalen is different. Anthony is different.
That was a unique year. We had to roll, and first time we saw those guys was in training camp, and we went from there.
So everything is unique in some way, and that's how we're rolling right now.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports