Just in case you forgot....

[DolFan619]

     Even with all the fanfare with the Heat being in the Finals.  I'm surprised nobody has mentioned anything about the Dolphins mini-camp being this weekend.  Anyways, here's Coach Saban's first mini-camp press conference.

Nick Saban Mini-Camp Post-Practice Press Conference Transcript
June 9, 2006


(Opening Remarks) – “We obviously did some good things out there today. There are obviously some things that we need to work on. I’m pleased with the progress that we’ve been able to make as a team. I think this is about the 12th practice that we’ve had, including 11 O.T.A. days, which are very similar in nature to what we do out there today. There are some subtle differences. We got a lot of stuff in. We have a lot of new players, but I’ve been pleased with the progress that they’ve been able to make.

“From a quarterback standpoint, Daunte (Culpepper) has picked up the system extremely well. It’s a very similar system to what he has been involved in. He’s doing very well physically. You’re going to ask me if I’m surprised by what he’s doing. I’m not surprised. You might be surprised, but I’m not surprised because I see him every day. Does he still have work to do? Absolutely. Are we ready to make any predictions about his future? Not really, because that’s all day-to-day and week-to-week and hopefully he’ll continue to make the kind of progress that he’s made. If he does that, we can be optimistic about what his chances are early in the season. Joey (Harrington) also is a very bright guy and has been able to learn the system and execute fairly well. He’s pretty decisive in what he’s doing and that’s been a real asset. But I think the leadership on offense is better. The maturity level is better. We have been executing extremely well, especially throwing the football. Maybe we were not as quite as sharp today. Maybe the defense was a little bit more intense today. That might have had something to do with it. We don’t have pads on. It’s hard to control. But I’m pleased with the progress that we made.

“Defensively, we have a lot of new guys in the secondary. The front seven is pretty much similar to what it was a year ago. For about half the practices that we had we were really going through some mental gymnastics trying to learn all the stuff, but it looks like we’re starting to develop some chemistry and consistency in our communication. So that’s been a real positive for us as well and hopefully we’ll be able to continue to do that.

“Injured guys – Zach (Thomas) has a red shirt on because of his shoulder. He really does everything. We just don’t put him in the direct runs. His rehab is going well. I don’t think we see any significant problems. This is more of a precautionary type of thing than it is anything else. Basically, all he missed is the 9-on-7 stuff, sometimes a little bit of team. But he’s able to do everything. He knows everything. He’s more confident this year. So we feel good about what he’s done. The other guys have very minor injuries. Travis (Daniels) tweaked his hamstring a little bit. No big deal. He still practiced. He wasn’t 100 percent. (Fred) Beasley, he’s very minor. I was actually surprised he was in a red shirt. We’ve got to put some guys in red shirts so that we have somebody to joke around and kid with. I was miked up today so I couldn’t get them like I usually do.”

(On Jason Allen’s condition) – “He was sick today. One time I was coaching at Syracuse and met this real promising freshman and Frank Maloney was the kind of coach that wouldn’t let anybody leave the field once you came to practice. So we locked all the gates. We had the screens up. The building was locked. Nobody could go inside. The guy was sick and he was a really good player. About halfway through practice you see the guy scaling the wall trying to get out because he has to go to the bathroom, and gets embarrassed and quits the team because he had to go to the bathroom. We have an open door policy that they can go to the bathroom if they need to during practice if that gives you any kind of indication of what his sickness might have been.”

(On if he has changed the way he is teaching defensive backs this season) – “We aren’t teaching them any different. I think the secondary coaches that we have do an outstanding job with them. I’m just the highest paid G.A. in ball. G.A. means graduate assistant or I guess you call that an intern at this level. So I’m their intern. I just do what they tell me to do. That’s what I enjoy doing. It’s fun for me. I like it. All the players seem to accept it, but I do enjoy not being with that group all the time and getting away from it so I can develop relationships with other guys on the team, have an understanding of a lot of what we’re trying to get done and emphasizing the points and things that are important today. Like coming out, that little drill we did at the end where we put the ball on the 2-yard line. That’s points for the defense if you don’t make a first down because it’s like a turnover. You’re going to get the ball on the plus-50 if you stop them. The defense is trying to stop them. The offense is trying to get a first down. We try to end every session in mini-camp with some situation like that where the players have a chance to learn and grow. So you still want to be able to emphasize those kind of things.”

(On Dominic Furio not being there) – “He should have been there. If he wasn’t there, I didn’t know it. He might not have got in much.”

(On Chris Davis) – “He’s hurt. He’s still in Birmingham IR or the European League Injured Reserve.”

(On monitoring Ricky Williams in Canada) – “I’m not going to be specific, but we do communicate. We communicate. Like I told you guys before, what we talk about and what our relationship is, is family business.”

(On if it was worth giving up a draft pick to get Joey Harrington earlier than June 1) – “We thought the practice time was important, but we also thought that there was no guarantee that if they cut the guy that we’d get him. So we secure the future and we also get the guy here to practice for what’s going to amount to 19 practices, which I’m sure you could look historically at situations where guys got here when camp started and maybe it affected how they played later in the year. I think it certainly enhances the developmental process, especially in our situation where there is some question as to who will be the quarterback, whether it’s because of physical injuries and things like that. So I just think rather than taking such a risk on how it might affect the season by not having a veteran experienced quarterback to be our backup quarterback, it was worth what we had to give up.”

(On when Kelly Campbell was first on his radar screen) – “We talked about him some last year. We played against him when he was at Georgia Tech and I’ve always liked his speed and he has some big-play ability. He’s done a nice job so far in these camps of making plays and you can see his quickness and speed and how it could complement some of the other guys.”

(On if he talked to Culpepper about Campbell) – “Well we actually signed Kelly before we got Daunte, I think, if I remember right. But Scott (Linehan), Charlie (Baggett) and all those people – Charlie coached the guy so we had quite a bit of history on the guy.”

(On what the doctors have said about Culpepper) – “The doctors have told us that what he needs to do right now is things that he needs to do at his position. That he has the strength and stability to do everything that he needs to do at his position and the best part, the next step of his rehab, would be to do things that he does at his position and play his position. Even if he may not be 100 percent in terms of his mobility or movement, it’s still the best rehab for him right now as well as the rest of what he does in his rehab to continue to develop.”