Kellen Moore

Q. How do you evaluate quarterbacks in a preseason game when you’re super vanilla and they are not running the same offense in the regular season? (Reuben Frank)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, I think it’s really in the process. Just evaluating. How is the operation? Is the operation running smoothly? And out of the huddle, the communication with everyone on the field. Is he making really good decisions? Sometimes not getting too caught up in the results. But really, is the process, right? Usually, the results will follow over time.

And so, it was good to get those guys out there. Obviously, first of a few opportunities that will be coming moving forward with these preseason games, so excited for those guys.

Q. What did you see out of G Tyler Steen in his return in playing Friday night? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: Just good to see him back out there. Get him going and so you know, he did a nice job. Obviously, it’s the first preseason game for everyone. We are going to keep letting this thing grow and so we’re excited with where all these guys are.

Q. What is your comfortability of the depth at receiver right now, and is there something you’d like to see out of the guys further down the roster? (Jeff Neiburg)

KELLEN MOORE: I think we are just really excited about these guys and the opportunities that they are being presented. So, guys are stepping up, making plays. We are continuing to let this whole process play itself out. I think the fun part this time of year is to play with different personnel mixes, putting different guys out on the field together.

So, kind of a mix-and-match game, trying to see how all this would play out under those circumstances, so it’s been fun.

Q. What did you learn about the offensive line depth, guys like G Trevor Keegan, other guys like that? (Ed Kracz)

KELLEN MOORE: Obviously really excited about those guys. It was awesome to see those guys. I think just the play style, the double teams and the run game, the physicality, the finish; all the things that we’ve been preaching all off-season with [Head Coach] Nick [Sirianni] and [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line coach Jeff] Stout [Stoutland]. So, when you see it come up, you’re really excited about these guys.

Q. What led you to playing G/T Darian Kennard the whole time at right tackle as opposed to subbing in there? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: There’s just different rotations, different opportunities. We’re really excited to let him play that thing at right tackle. Play a lot of snaps, and I thought his play style really came out. His physicality where he finished on blocks, so a lot of positives.

Q. With RB Will Shipley, where do you feel he is in terms of pass protection? (Andrew DiCecco)

KELLEN MOORE: Will has done a nice job. He’s transitioned. Anyone who is coming from the college game to the NFL game, protection is a little bit more of a beast both mentally and physically. There’s just more variables. He’s done a nice job with it, and we’re excited with where he’s going.

Q. Did you learn anything about G/T Mekhi Becton at right guard in a game setting? (Dave Zangaro)

KELLEN MOORE: Again, I thought he did a nice job for an opportunity to get in there, play in the game at right guard. Just the more opportunities we have there, it will be better and better for him, but he did a nice job.

Q. You want a clean operation on offense, but without fielding your motions and some of the things you would like to do, first time also, where are you finding your spots so that Week 1, you have a clean operation? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: Obviously with the ones, we have a joint practice coming up. That will be huge, and the one thing Nick does a really good job of is giving us call-it situations in practice throughout this thing.

We are having to operate like it’s a game coming in and out of the huddle from the sideline with personnel. I’m having to call based off the situation that’s being presented.

So all those situations I think prepare us for when obviously when you’re in those situations where it’s not scripted and you don’t know if it’s first and second and third [down], you may have success; you may be behind the chains. All those things are really good for us and it’s a really good situation to continue to talk through.

You know, we’re going to like something, we are not going to like something, we’re going to be able to work through all those things.

Q. You mentioned simulating that in practice. So, you’re seeing different personnel defense during practices and calling based on that? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: I think some of practice is scripted, and I think sometimes we want to get into call-it situations where we just put the ball down and play and they are going to do the best judgment of whether it’s a tackle, first down, all those different things. But we are just playing out those situations and calling it like we have would be a game based off those circumstances, how we are going to substitute, what plays we’re going to call based off those situations. So that’s really good work for us.

Q. For defenses that are actually willing to blitz you in preseason games and get you live reps against pressure looks, how beneficial is that considering how much of an emphasis that’s been? (E.J. Smith)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, excellent. Any time you go through preseason and play [against] different styles, we’re excited about that. We are getting three different styles presented to us. So, a lot of good work and a lot of different looks that we have to see and the more we get exposed to prior to the season it’s just going to help us because throughout the season you’re going to have to use different tools, different looks, have different challenges week-in and week-out.

So, the more we are presenting these guys, the better we are going to be in the long term.

Q. Are there things you didn’t like on Friday night that you would like to see improved on Tuesday and Thursday this week and what are those areas? (Jeff Neiburg)

KELLEN MOORE: There’s always the element of trying to play cleaner football. Obviously, the penalties nagged us a little bit, stalling out on some drives around midfield, not being able to get into a position where we can at least get three [points] or obviously continue the drive for a touchdown.

And, so you know, great example of how those can kind of kill momentum and then we’ve got to chip away at it and find a way to overcome those situations if it’s first-and-15, first-and-20. How do we play that out so we can give ourselves an opportunity to keep moving?

Q. Do you want to see QB Tanner McKee more with the twos? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: Tanner? Tanner has done a nice job. [QB] Kenny [Pickett] and Tanner, we like both these guys and they are doing an excellent job. We are continuing to give those guys as many opportunities as we can within practice and preseason. Obviously, the lens gets magnified sometimes in preseason games, but these guys are getting lots of work. We love both these guys.

[QB] Will [Grier] is here, as well. He’s played a bunch of football in this league. He’s smart. So we feel fortunate to have the four guys that we have.

Q. WR Britain Covey, what do you think he does well? (Ed Kracz)

KELLEN MOORE: Covey is just a really smart player. Great spatial awareness. Obviously, he has an exceptional ability to play with the ball in his hands but even as a receiver, you can’t lose sight on that element. He runs really clean routes. He finds a way to be open. A lot of positives with him.

Q. The longest pass was 11 yards. The yards per attempt were low overall. Is that the approach in the preseason, or is it the short and intermediate game, is that something you want to emphasize this year? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: Obviously you’d love to get the ball down. Obviously, explosives are a big indicator of successful offenses. Obviously, that’s an element. But at the same time preseason games are structured a little bit different.

But obviously we have a few opportunities, hopefully we can hit on a couple of these. We took a couple shots down the sideline, and we weren’t able to hit a couple of them.

Q. What do you see when you have both RB Saquon Barkley and guys like RB Kenny Gainwell and RB Will Shipley together on the field together, what advantage does that give you as an offense? (Chris Franklin)

KELLEN MOORE: Obviously we feel really good about all three running backs. Any time you have three like that, hey; ‘is there a place to put two of them on the field?’ It’s something for us definitely to explore. Figure out that rotation as a running back, and hey, if by the game plan it fits into the mold that we can put two of these guys on the field, I think it’s an excellent opportunity. All three are very diverse players, they can play multiple positions, they can do multiple things. So, real positive.

Q. What communication do you have with Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio on a day-to-day basis as far as the looks you might want to see from the defense? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: We’re constantly in communication. Just different things that we can help each other out with, whether it be a look for them, a look for us. We get a lot variety from Vic which is really good, so we get exposed to a lot of different things. It’s been really good, a really good training camp.

Q. In the past, you used h-backs and fullbacks — do you still see in the future, in the current scheme of the NFL today, do you still see a use for them and if so, do you have any guys you think? (Chris Franklin)

KELLEN MOORE: You never know. Obviously, we utilize them in different places in the past. Love it. We’ll see if it fits. Long season. Sometimes you need different tools. But it’s always available. So, we’ll see how it progresses.

Q. Is there communication with the New England Patriots at all, like looks you want, or you don’t know what they are going to come out with? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: We are getting through that process starting this afternoon shifting our gears from this practice into New England. We’ll see how it plays out. It will be good.