Wade: Courtney Brown had to leave practice with an arm problem, we held Bobby Carpenter out of practice, Newman practiced with the nickel (lost communication for the rest of his opening).
Ellis?
He’s done some rehab stuff, no big setbacks, just staying even. He seems to be better now and more confident. We’re going to see what he can do tomorrow, we asked him to do a little more today and he did. We’ll see how he feels after this practice and see tomorrow. He went harder today in the individual drills, took on blockers, did the whole period. I don’t know, there’s an outside shot for Sunday.
Keith Davis didn’t practice?
I think it’s going to be difficult for him to get back this week. He’s our special teams captain, he’s the one who said let’s kick it to him (Hester), I wasn’t for it (laughter). He, Pat Watkins and Bobby Carpenter made a lot of plays covering kicks.
Is getting eight INT’s a reflection of your defensive philosophy?
First we want to stop the run, not over looking that, then force them to throw the ball. Stop the run, get pressure then you can get INT’s and turnovers. That’s the benefit of being ahead and how well you play. This group has a knack for getting the football, they can catch it well, our DB’s. They make game-changing plays. Some teams make them punt on 3 and out, this team’s identity is to make plays. Play the kind of defense that can win with the personality of the team. It’s different every game. Some QB’s throw quick, there are different scenarios. The Rams are a tough team, great timing-passing team, 2 WR’s and a Pro-bowl QB.
Has losing Terry Glenn’s speed compromised the offense in any way, and how do you overcome it?
We got two Pro-bowl receivers in Witten and Terrell, that overcomes a lot. We have a strong running game and the other guys aren’t slow, we utilize them for what they do well. Hurd went 51-yards for a TD in the first game and 25-yards in this game. Patrick is usually reliable and will be consistent again. The backs catch the ball well, too.
Oliver Hoyte?
Practiced like he did last week, limited. We’ll see tomorrow.
Deon Anderson?
He did all right, like a rookie. When he locates the guy to block he goes after him, I like that.
If Brown and Davis can’t go, will that hurt special teams?
We’ll have to see on both of them as far as injury. I thought Brown might play special teams this week, we’ll see.
Dante Hall?
Big-time returner, especially on punts. We didn’t have to punt much last week, 2 returns for 1 yard. We are fully aware of Hall, he’s capable of bringing it back.
Will they miss Steven Jackson?
They will miss Jackson, we miss Glenn and Ferguson. They did draft a guy in the 2nd round they like, he can catch ball out of the backfield. They have to do what they have to do, utilize the guys they have.
Why has Anthony Henry’s play picked up?
He’s taking advantage of opportunities. We played him off more, he can anticipate, sees routes. My fault we put him up on Plaxico and tried to bump him, he should have had help on the play but that was my fault. (Did you consider moving him to safety?) I never thought about moving him inside, he can intercept the ball at corner, I like his ability to hawk the ball. Todd Bowles has a lot to do with it. He knows him from Cleveland. Sure he had an influence on him.
Is DeMarcus Ware getting more comfortable in your defense?
I think DeMarcus is, he's trying to do more and more things. Some things are reads, schemes, where if the tackle blocks out he goes inside, stuff like that, he’s pretty comfortable when we just tell him to rush. (Sacks?) Depends on the QB. When I played against KC and Denver, you wouldn’t get sacks against them. In our division Eli doesn’t get sacked a lot and Washington was the least sacked last year.
Romo remind you of any QB you’ve had? (Please, someone stop the madness with these questions. Luckily, Wade answered this week.)
He’s a combination of a lot of different things. He has a quick release and field presence. Ken Stabler was a guy who could see everything, if the CB falls down he throws the ball to that receiver, Tony reminds me of that. Quick release, different from other QB’s and a good leader.
Has the team taken on his personality?
Your QB is always the center of the personality of a team. He’s the focal point, to score you have to throw the ball and it centers around the QB. He made plays last week that weren’t there. There are plays that breakdown and he made a play. The head coach and the QB are going to get the losses and get the blame. He’s a leader, voted a captain, he’s got that pizzazz, that moxie, the intangibles. When he says lets get it done in the huddle, the players believe him and I do too.
Can a defense game plan for a QB that moves like that?
Marino didn’t move around a lot but you couldn’t get to him because he just moves a bit, Romo is similar in that he buys time to get a guy open. If you don’t rush he doesn’t get rushed in the pocket, he settles back, if he’s rushed he gets way from it, or he’ll punish the blitz. The Bears came after us more than they did the weeks before, they wanted to blitz him and get hits on him and it didn’t work. The o-line is a big part of it, some throws he doesn’t have to rush because he has time. Some of it is the passing game, we throw the ball on time to the receivers. St. Louis can do that too.