Sean Mannion
Q. First game in the booth, how did it go and what are some of the differences you noticed from being on the sideline? (Eliot Shorr-Parks)
Sean Mannion: I was glad I was able to experience it. I thought the communication really both game one and game two being on the field or in the booth was smooth. Great communication with the coaches. There’s some differences, but I felt really comfortable with both of them. Still sorting through all that as a staff, but it was a good opportunity in the preseason get to use both options.
Q. What are you going to do on Friday? Have you made a decision? (Eliot Shorr-Parks)
Sean Mannion: No, still sorting through that.
Q. As far as backup quarterback, in the preseason, it’s difficult because sometimes you’re playing second team or third team. How does that affect the evaluation when the stats may look better for somebody than somebody else? (John McMullen)
Sean Mannion: With any position, quarterback or otherwise, it’s about the entire body of work. Obviously, the preseason games are a really useful tool for evaluation. Obviously, [it’s a] game setting, different situations kind of coming up unscripted. These guys have been hard at work starting back in April. We’ve got tons and tons of reps on the practice field as well. Both quarterbacks, really all of our quarterbacks have done a really nice job in the practice setting [and] in the game setting. It’s really about the entire body of the work. Certainly, the preseason’s part of that, but there is a ton of banked reps going all the way back to the spring as well.
Q. There’s got to be a point where you want to name that number two or decide on it so they can get as many reps as possible as the primary backup. Do you feel like you guys are at that point now? (Tim McManus)
Sean Mannion: No, we’ve still got time. We’ve still got a whole great week’s work here ahead of the Cincinnati game. Then you get some extra practices before week one as well. We’re going to use every chance we get to work with all of our guys, quarterback or otherwise, and then kind of make a full evaluation from every bit of practice that we have.
Q. This system was new for QB Tanner McKee. What did you see from him on Saturday and what was kind of in the playbook there to maybe get a look at what he can do? (Brooks Kubena)
Sean Mannion: He did a nice job operating. He got the ball out of his hand fast, found completions. It was nice. We were really able to lean on the run game early on in the game. He had a couple long drives with some third down conversions. He hit [TE] Stone [Smartt] on a threw out late. There was good stuff really from all the different units in the game. We leaned on the run game early and then later on got a little bit more pass attempts in there, but he operated well, got the ball out of his hands quickly and as did [QB] Andy [Dalton]. He led us on scoring drive and there was a lot of good stuff from all the guys in the game.
Q. With a player like QB Andy Dalton, who has all this experience in the league, how do you weigh that versus what you can evaluate from what you’ve seen this summer? (Dave Zangaro)
Sean Mannion: That’s something that Andy brings to the table. He’s a veteran in this league. He’s got well over a hundred starts. That’s unique. We get a chance to be around him, Tanner, [QB] Cole [Payton], [QB] Jalen [Hurts] every day. That’s part of what he brings to the room. Everyone’s bringing something to the table. Tanner, Cole, Jalen, obviously, they all bring their own experiences. It is something unique to Andy with having so much experience, but ultimately, it’s an evaluation on the field, both in the practice and the games. That’s the driving force.
Q. How did QB Jalen Hurts perform in the joint practices? (Jeff McLane)
Sean Mannion: He did a good job. The first day, we had a lot of big plays and just a couple turnovers we need to clean up. That’s always a focus for us, but you could really see the run game come to life, [and] you could see the play passes off of it. We hit a nice pylon route to [WR] Elijah [Moore], but you could see the explosives in the past game as well. A couple turnovers, those are obviously things we always want to address. We talk about the ball relentlessly, but he did a really nice job. For the guys who didn’t play in the game, they’ve got a ton of great work in those two practices against the Patriots. I was really happy with how Jalen played throughout.
Q. We’ve seen WR Makai Lemon look close to returning to a full participant. Do you expect that this week? And what’s the ramp up plan for him after missing so much time? (Ed Kracz)
Sean Mannion: He’s been working his tail off to get back out here. We’re hopeful he’ll be out on the practice field in some capacity here today. He’s been really, really engaged mentally. That’s the challenge. Any player that you’re injured, you lose those physical reps, but he’s done a really nice job. He’s been with A-MO [Wide Receivers Coach Aaron Moorehead] and Grizz [Offensive Passing Game Coordinator Josh Grizzard] constantly. He’s been locked in [during] all the walkthrough settings. Even when he can’t get the rep, he’s kind of shadowing his position on the field and staying super engaged. He’s been working his way back. He’s looked good and hopefully we’ll see him out here in a minute.
Q. What stood out to you about the run game in the pre-season game against the New England Patriots? (Cayden Steele)
Sean Mannion: It was execution and play style. I thought, obviously, the starting unit wasn’t in there, but that second unit [and] third unit, they really did a nice job. We controlled the line of scrimmage early in the game, kind of that first series. I thought the play style was on display. Those are the two things I told him. I want to execute — Really three — Execution, fundamentals, and play style. We were a little sloppy in terms of our fundamentals and execution at times in the preseason game. Number one, I thought it was much improved in game two, particularly with the offensive line group upfront.
Q. [Regarding WR Makai Lemon’s development and progress in practice in terms of how much catching up he has to do before Week 1]… (Martin Frank)
Sean Mannion: Mentally, he’s been super engaged. I don’t worry about that one bit with Makai. I know the work he’s been putting in. Injuries, unfortunately, they happen in football, but he’s been a total pro about his approach to rehab, his approach to the mental side of the game. Like I said, the unfortunate nature of football is sometimes you might miss some time, but he’s done everything in his power despite not having those physical reps to be ready for us to make an impact.
Q. In terms of the pre-set protection calls, does that fall on QB Jalen Hurts primarily? (Jeff McLane)
Sean Mannion: It’s on both the offensive line unit initially, and then the quarterback has a hand in that as well. It’s a little bit dependent on the play, on the protection scheme in terms of how much it is on the quarterback’s plate, but both quarterback and offensive line have a hand in that.
Q. There’s not a person who makes the final call? (Jeff McLane)
Sean Mannion: It would be dependent on the protection scheme. We have multiple different protection schemes. Some of them it would be the quarterback would have the final say. Some of them it’s communication within the offensive line unit. They’ve both done a nice job — both units I mean. There’s so much communication on the offensive line that, I think, goes unseen. Our centers have done a great job. Jalen’s done a great job with some of our pass protection schemes where he does need to make adjustments. He’s done a nice job of that as well.
Q. What’s the second offensive line group shown you since Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper started? (Reuben Frank)
Sean Mannion: Physicality. Just the effort strain every day. Those guys, you watch those early snaps in the preseason game, it really stood out on the tape, which is what we want to be about as an offense. The commitment to the fundamentals. Kuper’s done a great job with those guys.
The starting unit, but there’s a lot of young, talented players kind of in that second [and] third unit. They’ve gotten better every day. It’s a testament to their hard work, to the work that Kuper’s done with his position group. They continue to make strides. We’re really pleased with them.
Q. What stands out about the way Offensive Line Coach Chris Kuper handles some of those developmental offensive lines? (Dave Zangaro)
Sean Mannion: It’s detail. He’s a great teacher. It’s total focus on the fundamentals. He’s done an outstanding job for us. You can see him every day after practice with those young guys working on all the finer points of offensive line play. He brings a unique perspective having been a player himself. He’s able to lend a lot of context to, ‘Hey, this is where this adjustment to your fundamentals is super useful.’ Like I said, he’s done a great job with the whole room. Talking about those young guys that are just coming up, it’s really stood out in the preseason game with the work he’s put in with those guys.
Q. Where do you think through the entire process, like you were talking about before, TE Eli Stowers, where is he in that process? How much has he improved? (John McMullen)
Sean Mannion: He’s getting better each day. He’s a young player we’re really excited about. Tight end, we’ve spoken about in some of these press conferences, there’s a lot of different elements of the game that get thrown at you, especially for a rookie tight end. Some of the differences schematically that NFL offenses will ask of you than a college offense, but he’s taken to it really well. Some of the things may go unseen. They might not show up on the stat sheet, but he’s working super hard. He’s an exciting young talent. He’s getting better each day. At that position in particular, there’s so many different things that we’re working on. He’s doing a nice job and he’ll keep getting better.
Q. In terms of your scheme and having built in answers to the blitz and simulated pressures, how do you balance that with being explosive, being able to throw out that downfield? What is your philosophy? (Jeff McLane)
Sean Mannion: The first thing is being sound with your protection scheme and then having answers, kind of pressure relief, so to speak, where, hey ‘if they are bringing guys that we can’t account for in the protection scheme, one, have we trained the quarterback properly?’ Then two, schematically, are there answers within the play? It’s a little bit different week to week, opponent to opponent, in terms of how you handle different teams or different schematic adjustments.
It starts with making sure that we’re really sound on our end with our protection rules, our training of the quarterback to throw hot, if need be, or make an adjustment if need be. It’s a big area of focus for us as an offense, just to always make sure we’re prepared and ready because when you do protect, when you do operate well, there are opportunities for big plays when teams want to bring pressure.
Q. Some of the branches of what we expect this offense to look like feature the fullback quite a bit. We haven’t seen that yet. Is that something that you might have up your sleeve? (Bo Wulf)
Sean Mannion: I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I don’t want to reveal too much, but certainly position versatility, alignment, flexibility, those are things we place a premium on. I apologize for not answering the question, but I don’t want to reveal too much. Those are things that are very valuable to us as an offense and that we challenge our guys to do across all our position groups.
Q. If I can test your memory to camp in 2017, what was it like first learning this scheme? And did you know then this is the type of scheme you wanted to kind of, I guess, lean into? (Zach Berman)
Sean Mannion: Like you said, that 2017 off-season — Really when they hired [Los Angeles Rams Head Coach] Sean McVay and [Green Bay Packers Head Coach] Matt LaFleur and all those guys, I know it’s been well documented, but [Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach] Zac Taylor, [Former Los Angeles Rams Quarterbacks Coach] Greg Olson, a bunch of great coaches. I just felt like I was learning so, so much. It was such an exciting way to match the run and pass. They had such a way about teaching the game where we could feel ourselves challenging a defense, but it felt simple to us.
Those are the things that really stood out to me going through that experience that really resonated with me as a player and certainly resonate with me as a coach. That was a very exciting point in my football life, just the exposure to that type of teaching, that type of scheme. I know Matt, obviously a mentor of mine, getting to play for Sean. I learned so much from those people. It’s certainly a big part of molding me into the type of coach I am now.
Q. Can you envision a role for RB Carson Steele? (Tim McManus)
Sean Mannion: He’s done a great job. He got limited snaps in the first week. Obviously, it was unfortunate. JJ [RB Ja’Quinden Jackson] goes down on the opening kickoff. He carried a heavy workload late in that game, and he handled it really nicely. There’s so many guys across our roster that put the work in every day. Carson was a great example of getting an opportunity for expanded reps in the preseason and really did a nice job with it. Did a great job with the ball in his hand, run and pass. There could certainly be a role for him. I was excited to see him go out there and really thrive in the reps he got.