ERIC BIENIEMY
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Q:** Does Jamaal Charles focus on breaking the record?
BIENIEMY:"He doesn't. And one thing about Jamaal, he obviously is not a guy that focuses on himself. He's all about team goals, but in my opinion, I know this is a special deal for him. And maybe I'm talking out of turn, but to say that he will become the leading rusher for this historical organization says a lot about him, says a lot about all the hard work and self-sacrifice that he's put into his profession. And that goes a long way. I am very, very proud of him, but also too, I am blessed and fortunate to have an opportunity just to be here."
Q: Is it a hollow thing if Jamaal Charles sets the franchise rushing record in a loss?
BIENIEMY:"First and foremost, we always focus on winning so we're going to focus on that. But I will say this: regardless of the outcome, it's going to be a great achievement for Jamaal Charles. And obviously everybody on this team and on this coaching staff will be proud of that accomplishment because not every person or running back in this league can say, 'hey, I had an opportunity to become the leading rusher for that historical organization.' And so it's going to set a presence in that locker room and everybody is going to be proud and happy for Jamaal."
Q: Do you think in ten years Jamaal will appreciate the record more than now?
BIENIEMY:"When you're a player, you never really gain a full appreciation for anything while you're playing. Now, as you grow older and you get more mature, more than anything you get a joy out of your kids learning what you did. And I think more so than anything, he'll appreciate it more later on in life. His girls will appreciate it, and I'm sure his family, they obviously appreciate it right now. But Jamaal has bigger goals set. Obviously he wants to win the Super Bowl; he wants to accomplish other goals in life."
Q: How often do you hear Jamaal Charles talk about going to the Super Bowl?
BIENIEMY:"Well, one thing about Jamaal, he's driven and he's driven for the right reasons. Success means a lot, but success as an organization and as a team goes beyond anything that I can explain. He's so self-conscious about helping the guys in our room know what to do that he's helping them prepare to make sure that we go out and do the things that we need to do to help us to win. And so, he's so driven, that that's his motivating factor. He wants everybody to be great so everybody can set the stage so we can have the success that is needed to help us to accomplish that goal."
DAVID CULLEY
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Q:** How did A.J. Jenkins respond after Donnie Avery went down?
CULLEY:"A.J. knew that this could possibly happen and all the sudden it did happen and he has to step in. Last week he went in and did a good job for us. That is just part of it. You have to be ready in the National Football League when that guy in front of you goes down."
Q: Where did Junior Hemingway come from the other day? He was wide open.
CULLEY:"Well, sometimes in games those things just happen. He was right where he should be and things happened and he was able to get the ball. Junior is always in the right place at the right time. That is what he does and that is the consistency that he has and it makes him a very solid player on third down. You know he is going to be where he should be."
ANDY HECK
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Q:** Talk about the growth you've seen from Eric Fisher in the past two months?
HECK: "Well Eric's gotten better every week that he's been here. I think he's becoming more and more comfortable with our concepts and what his assignments are so he's cutting it loose and playing a little more confidently. When he does that, you can see his athleticism shine through."
Q: Talk about his athleticism, it's pretty impressive stuff, right?
HECK: "Yeah, he's got fantastic feet. He's got great bend. So you know, his body, at times, can get into really awkward positions but he's able to recover and still go make a play."
Q: Is it crazy to think that he still has five to eight more pounds of good weight that he could add to his frame?
HECK: "He's got a tremendous frame. He's so tall and lean and young. That will come with age. He's still got a ways to go to develop strength wise."
Q: What is the plan moving forward with Donald Stephenson? Is he just going to be a swing tackle, will he have an opportunity to win the starting job back?
HECK: "We had him available to us as a swing tackle last week. It's good to have Donald back in the mix. He's a good football player. He's part of our group. And the way we approach it in the O-Line is 'all hands on deck.' We're going to need everybody before it's all said and done. So right now Ryan (Harris) is doing a nice job in there and we have some good continuity going in there on the offensive line. Getting Donald back in the mix, we'll just see how it goes."
TOM MELVIN
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Q:** Is it good to see Anthony Fasano healthy and showing you what you wanted out of him last year?
MELVIN:"Oh absolutely. He got hurt early last year and really did a phenomenal job to be able to contribute even with that high ankle sprain, so he did a great job. It's good that he's healthy now and staying that way."
MATT NAGY
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Q:** Your leading target hasn't been a receiver in each of the first five games. As a quarterbacks coach is that a good thing or bad thing?
NAGY:"No, I think it's good. I think Al (Alex Smith) would tell you the same thing. What happens is, I think Coach Reid and Coach Doug (Pederson) do a great job at really putting guys in position to where a team can't really find tendencies with you on offense. So guys are able to be in different spots and still maybe run the same route or be in the same spot and run a different route, so I think it's a good thing."
Q: Do you say anything to Alex Smith in that regard?
NAGY:"No, we really don't. We don't talk about that. We stay true to the progression, whatever the progression has for us, we stick to it, whether it's 82, 88, 87, 25, whoever it is, we stick to the progression."
Q: So you as a quarterbacks coach you like to see that?
NAGY:"Yeah. I think that's a good thing because again, this game is so big with tendencies and coaches from all of these teams, they do such a good job of trying to figure out who you are going to go to, who are your targets. And I think that's one of our biggest strengths and one of Coach Reid's biggest strengths is to stay away from that."
Q: How does ball distribution work when you have guys that you really want to get the ball to like Jamaal Charles and Travis Kelce?
NAGY:"Sure, and that's the challenge for us as coaches is to try and make sure that we are in different personnel groupings and different formations, but yet we don't keep it too complicated for the players to where they don't know where to line up and they don't know what route to run and we don't know what progression to go to. So I think you see from Week 1 in Tennessee to where we are now, we are doing a lot more stuff. The guys are becoming more comfortable and they're understanding where we're putting them and then they're making plays."
DOUG PEDERSON
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Q:** Is Travis Kelce where you thought he would be?
PEDERSON:"Yeah, he's done a nice job. His expectation level is high, our expectation level for him is high. The ceiling is high, athletically and as a football player. But yeah, we just continue to monitor his progress and give him a handful of things each and every week and just allow him to go play."
Q: How much easier is it for you and the offense to be creative with a guy like Kelce?
PEDERSON:"Well, there is a fine line with creativity because with creativity becomes new, and it becomes something your offense is not. And it's something that we've logged a lot of hours through training camp and through the first five games on plays that guys are familiar with. And we want to continue to utilize those concepts, but just put different guys in those positions to run the same plays and he's a big part of that. The more we can move him around with schemes and concepts that the guys know, the more efficient we can become as an offense."
Q: How much do you look at getting favorable matchups in a game with a different player? Is that usually the case or is it more how things evolve during the game?
PEDERSON:"It's sort of a way things evolve, but at the same time, I think within the system, we look for those matchups, we look for tight ends on safeties or linebackers, if we can put a guy like De'Anthony (Thomas) on a linebacker or safety. Jamaal (Charles) – you look for those, every team looks for those and you also have to go into games with plays that are sort of good versus everything that the defense throws at you. So it's up to the quarterback to find the guy that's open so to speak and that's kind of been the mode I think here in the first five games."
Q: How much versatility does a guy like De'Anthony Thomas have?
PEDERSON:"He's got a lot. And that fact that he can run the ball from the backfield, run routes from the backfield, we can line him up as a receiver. He's much like a Jamaal Charles that way and someone that we've just got to keep bringing along in slow doses and keep feeding him two, three, four, five plays a game and keep him in the mix."
