Sir Purr
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
- 1,969
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On adding free agent Pharoh Cooper at returner:
"I think he's proven. He's shown himself. Obviously, he's a talented returner and receiver. We have him back there; we have other guys that can do. DJ Moore can still return; Christian McCaffrey. We've got guys. We've got guys around. We've got young guys that can return. That's another exciting part is all these returners that have the capabilities and talent to do it."
On initial impressions of offensive coordinator Joe Brady:
"We were together a little bit before we got shut down, as well as at the Senior Bowl and Combine. We talked a lot of football at both places. He's just a football mind. He's always working. He's constantly improving. He's always looking for things. To me, (his) age and all that kind of stuff is relative. It's about how many hours you put in, the detail in your preparation and your ability to communicate with others and get the most out of other people. I think he checks every box. I think everyone in the building is excited we have him here."
On Blackburn's experience as a player during the 2011 lockout compared to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic:
"There's definitely some similarities. I actually spoke with some of the players about it in another meeting. They're ahead of where we were during the lockout year. ... During that lockout period, we were not allowed to be around. As soon as the draft happened, all those draft picks were done. There were no rookie free agents. They didn't know what team they were on at that point because the free agency period for rookies didn't happen until after the lockout ended. So all those (rookies) are way ahead of the curve cause they have all of the information and they've been able to sit in the extra meetings and everything else, even if it's virtual. They've been able to really dive in and learn the mental part of the game instead of just worrying about some of the physical stuff."
On how head coach Matt Rhule has stressed the importance of special teams:
"He has shown through his words and his time commitment and his process and even his team meetings talking about special teams, showing clips and how things correlate to special teams – offense and defense. That doesn't always happen. Just the meetings he's had with me – the interview process was a multiple-tiered interview. You could tell he knew what he was doing. You could tell he knew what the verbiage was and that he was into it. And bringing (assistant special teams coach) Ed Foley along as well – another coach who's been around and coached it and has had success. There's just so much knowledge in that group, and they're going to give the devoted attention, time in practice, preparation and he's going to demand that we be great. (Special teams) is not a transition, it's a big-time play that can change ballgames."