Opening statement:"Good to see everybody – appreciate you guys being out. We're just trying to adhere to the process, do the best we can, having a good rep, a good day and a good week. [We're] getting ready to play on Sunday."
Happy birthday … What are you, 57? [Coach Harbaugh turned 54 today.]* (Jerry Coleman)"Thank you, thank you very much. Whatever, whatever it takes. I feel young. They say we feel young inside even though every time we look in the mirror we get proved wrong. It's about how you feel. I couldn't be more blessed. I couldn't be more happy to be around the guys. I took a lot of heat in the meeting this morning from the fellas. *(laughter) I can't divulge any of that, but it was a rough meeting. (laughter) We have a lot of fun around here. When it's your birthday, we always celebrate everybody's birthday, so I couldn't escape that today as much as I wanted to."
You're actually 54, right? (Jerry Coleman) "Yes, for the record."
The days are long, but the years are short.* (Joe Platania) "And they get shorter, have you noticed? *(laughter) Time flies. Albert Einstein – theory of relativity, I think we all experienced that. You young guys, you kind of shake your head like, 'Yeah…'"
My mother's birthday is today, and she's 92. (Rich Sayers)"That's awesome! Tell her happy birthday – 92! What's the secret? Good genes."
Do you think you'll still be coaching in your 70s? (Jerry Coleman) "Why not? I hope so. I go back and forth with my friends who are up in years a little bit more like, 'Let's get as many of these as we can.' Keep them coming."
John, I think you guys have blocked nine kicks since 2014. What has been the key to that success? (Edward Lee)"I think our guys care. That's the No. 1 thing. It matters to them. You have to give a lot of effort on a lot of different plays that you don't block kicks. There was a play or two – and there have been plays all year – that we have been a fingernail away from blocking a punt. Kamar [Aiken] was a fingernail away from blocking a punt and just did it perfectly well, and the punt got off. You have to be willing to make a lot of sales calls before you make a sale. Our guys have done a good job of that. Jerry [Rosburg] does a good job of coaching it, without question. We have some talented players."
We always hear about how tough the learning curve is for rookie corners. CB Tavon Young has played quite a bit in the slot. How impressed have you been with how he's played? (Luke Jones)"Tavon is a good football player. He proved that – all you guys have seen it – from Day One. First practice, he came out here and he wasn't overwhelmed at all. He's smart, picks things up and does things the right way. You saw the tackling in the two-minute drill, which is critically important to keep those guys in bounds. Just like him and Michael [Pierce], I tell those guys, 'Don't read your press clippings or internet clippings' or whatever it is nowadays, because that's all very fleeting, and it can go away very fast. Just as soon as you think you've done something, that's when it comes up and gets you. Stay humble, work hard and keep getting better, because there's a lot they can do to improve."
What did you guys like about Jaguars rookies LB Myles Jack and CB Jalen Ramsey? (Edward Lee) "We thought they were really good football players. Certainly, you can go through each guy you mentioned – you mentioned Jalen Ramsey and Myles Jack – you go through their draft class. They drafted a lot of players that we liked and had rated very highly on our board. We know what kind of talent they have. It's not just this year either. Go back to Dante Fowler [Jr.], who is healthy now, and others. Free agents that they've brought in, all of those guys are really good players."
John, has the crazy way last year's game with Jacksonville ended come up at all? (Bo Smolka) "Really not. We all remember it, but there's nothing really to talk about it. The biggest thing – the way we approach it – is we know what happened on the last play, and we understand that it wasn't reviewable. There's nothing you can do about that. The only thing you can do about it as a player or a coach is make sure it doesn't come down to that. That's our job, to make sure that you don't put it in the officials' hands and give them a chance to mess up a call. They're human. They'll mess up calls. That's been proven. Let's not make the mistake that puts us in that situation throughout the whole game. You play well enough over the course of the game, and it's not going to come down to the last play. That's our responsibility."
There's some remark that people couldn't remember a time when you've had the same inactives from one week to the next. How difficult have these decisions been on gameday? (Jeff Zrebiec)"They've been difficult, because it's not so much about who deserves it all the time as much as what's the best number fit for us. And what do we need from different guys in different situations? [Javorius] Buck Allen and I have a little thing going right now. I told him, 'You should be staring holes through me every single time.' I'd say the same thing about Will [Davis] and all of those guys: 'You should be looking at me every time,' like (stares at media). (laughter) Like that song, 'Put me in, coach, I'm ready to play.' *(laughter) *That's what you expect from those guys. I expect them to practice really well and prove it every single day in practice as well. Their chance will come. There's no doubt about that."
Would it help with expanded rosters? (Jamison Hensley) "I'm on the expanded roster bandwagon. I'm not talking about two or three guys either. Let's change this whole thing."
C Jeremy Zuttah was on the injury report this week for something personal and then today he wasn't at practice. Is he out? (Jerry Coleman) "That would be a good question for Jeremy, but there's no injury there, as you saw on the injury report. Jeremy is fine."
I'm not going to ask you if he's going to play Sunday, but how did OLB Elvis Dumervil look getting back into practice (Luke Jones)"I thought he looked good. He's worked really hard. He's put a lot of time in. It's just a matter of if you get to that point and decide whether it's going to give you the best chance to win or not based on where he's at physically. We know what kind of player he is and what he's capable of. That's the decision that will just have to be made."
Is he [Dumervil] sore right now? (Jerry Coleman)"Good question for him. I'm not sure what his soreness level is. I didn't ask him that. My soreness level is up. (laughter) I worked out the last couple of days. At 54, you get sore walking out to practice. I can comment on my level of soreness." (laughter)
G/T Alex Lewis enjoys wood working. From a football perspective, does that help him at all? (Edward Lee)"Wood working? I did not know that Alex enjoys wood working. I'm happy to hear that. (laughter) I'll be looking for – what does he do? Does he do lamps, or what? I don't know. I have not received any wood working from Alex. (laughter) Now I'm a little disappointed."* (laughter) *
