Kellen Moore

Q. Where are you as far as the install of the offense? Is it in at this point? (John McMullen)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, you got a really good foundation at this point. Obviously transitioning into preseason football here very soon. It kind of shift gears into preseason focus. You got joint practices coming up.

We have a lot of the core in now, and now it’s just the adjustments within that. We’ve taken our first lap through it from training camp perspective, and now we make all the adjustments, whether it be scheme, personnel, all the fun stuff. We just keep building on it.

Q. How much do you want under center to be a part of this offense, and when you have a formation that you might not use a lot, how do you make sure it’s not predictable? (Dave Zangaro)

KELLEN MOORE: There’s an aspect to that. Obviously, we want to have diversity in our presentations. So that’s something that we’re evaluating and presenting ourselves, and we’ll see where it takes us as we continue to evolve and build this thing throughout training camp.

Where we are now is certainly not where we’re going to end up in the next few weeks. We have a number of weeks to continue to build and evolve, and that’s the exciting part of this.

Q. Looks like QB Tanner McKee is getting a decent amount of second reps lately. What’s behind that? (Tim McManus)

KELLEN MOORE: Tanner is doing an awesome job. [QB] Kenny [Pickett] is doing an awesome job. Really two independent things. It’s not necessarily that they’re associated with each other. I think both of those guys are having really good camps.

Sometimes when you are a younger guy, sometimes we like to put you in some different situations where you are with different guys on the field, whether it be with a second group or a first group, all those different things. We try and mix and match these things to give yourself a different perspective for these guys.

Kenny has handled it awesome. Tanner has handled it awesome. It’s been really good for these guys.

Q. You have made an addition of OL Nick Gates. How do you build up the depth on the interior, especially at center? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: Obviously you are always looking to keep the depth particularly interior because center is a very specific task. So obviously having a guy of his experience being able to play a bunch of football, a chance to bring him in I think is a huge asset for us to continue to provide the depth there.

Q. What have you learned about QB Jalen Hurts through the first couple of weeks of camp? (Bo Wulf)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, Jalen has been phenomenal. He’s done an awesome job. Just continuing to build and evolve with this thing as we go.

I think the communication has been critical. It’s been awesome. His with the players, you know, from player-to-player, but also just our collaboration as we continue to build this thing. Getting good feedback on things we like, things we want to adjust, and continue to keep building that. It’s been a really fun task.

Q. With QB Kenny Pickett and QB Tanner McKee, what would you like to see from them in the preseason game on Friday night? (Martin Frank)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, preseason games I think are all about operation, smooth operation, making clean decisions, just moving the football. Circumstances sometimes change within preseason games. Understand those things, but just a clean operation to make great decisions. What they’ve been doing out here is all we need come Friday.

Q. WR A.J. Brown and WR DeVonta Smith will get a lot of targets this season. Is that how you would normally — how many you would carry in receivers? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: As far as game operation?

Q. How many you carry on a game day. (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: There’s a lot of aspects associated with that. Obviously being an offensive guy, we would love to have ten receivers if we can, but obviously there are other positions. Special teams plays a big key part in this. Where can those depth guys provide other roles for this team, whether it be special teams or somewhere else.

We’ll certainly have those guys, and we’ll have to rotate. It will be a collective group behind those two, and we’ll utilize all those guys.

Q. WR Britain Covey said the other day that he has looked at a lot of [former Cowboys WR] Cole Beasley as he gets ready for the season. Do you see that at all? (Bob Brookover)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, certainly. Cole was an awesome player. Obviously in Dallas, I played with him. Then when I transitioned to coaching, he was still playing there.

Brit [Covey] has done an awesome job. He has done a phenomenal job. He’s taken advantage of opportunities, like a number of these receivers, we’re excited with the depth there.

These guys have done a nice job of hopping in there, taking advantage of situations, and it’s going to be a collective group. We’ll utilize all these guys. It’s a long season. You need them all.

Q. Where do you stand in regards to giving QB Jalen Hurts more or less in terms of freedom at the line to change plays? (Jeff McLane)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, I think obviously it’s a collective effort as we continue to build this thing and evolve. You want to utilize as many tools as you can while keeping them clean and clear for the entire offense.

Sometimes it’s not necessarily about Jalen, but it’s making sure that all 11 are on the same page. He’ll continue to have those tools. He’s done an excellent job through camp of just utilizing different adjustments when he needs to, protections, routes, run game. He’s doing a phenomenal job with this.

Q. Are you still in the evaluation process in terms of knowing what QB Jalen Hurts can and can’t handle, or do you think you have a pretty good handle on that? (Jeff McLane)

KELLEN MOORE: He’s doing an excellent job. He’s really doing an excellent job with this. Again, when you get into game plan football, it evolves each and every week. Some weeks you need a lot. Some weeks you don’t need as much and we can play ball. It really depends on who you are playing against.

Q. The lack of turnovers during training camp from QB Jalen Hurts in particular, what’s that a product of? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: Excellent decision, excellent preparation by Jalen. He’s doing a great job with the football. He’s still aggressive. He’s still trying to get the ball downfield. He’s trying to make plays. He’s making really, really good decisions. He’s doing a nice job.

Really the whole group as a unit, I think we’ve only had a couple. Two maybe, so far in camp. These guys are making really good decisions while still playing aggressive. They’re not passive. They’re not just taking checkdowns. They’re getting the ball downfield, which is exciting.

Q. For that collective at wide receiver, the group at wide receiver three, for lack of a better term, you might have WR Britain Covey in the slot, WR Johnny Wilson outside, maybe WR John Ross is speed. Do you have to guard against tendencies that is this guy is on the field, we’re going to do that? How do you handle that? (John McMullen)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, certainly once you get to game plan football and you get into the regular season, you have to be really conscious of who is on the field and what those tendencies dictate. Sometimes you want to create tendencies for your own ability to trump them at later points.

We’ll continue to evolve and utilize all those different points, whether it be who is on the field from tight ends, running backs, it’s every single unit. We have to really conscious of that to protect our tendencies.

Like I said, sometimes you want to have tendencies to break them in critical moments.

Q. When you were in Dallas when you were learning how to run an offense, how much were you taught by Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, and how much were you kind of left to your own in terms of figuring out how to do things? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: Like any coach, we’re continuing to evolve and grow. You learn from each and every experience. Whoever you coach with, whoever I’ve played for I’ve taken bits and pieces from all these different guys. I’ve been fortunate to be around some really phenomenal mentors, different styles of football.

You piece all those together and continue to evolve, and that’s what we’ll do out here as well as a group. We’re continuing to evolve right now. That’s the exciting part of this thing.

Q. You’ve had mobile quarterbacks before, but probably not to the extent of QB Jalen Hurts. As you build out the quarterback run game in the offense, what’s your process there? Who do you lean on? How does that work? (Bo Wulf)

KELLEN MOORE: Quarterback run game, obviously it’s a phenomenal piece. Very prominent in college football. Certainly, there are aspects of it still in the NFL. It certainly gives you the extra numbers in the run game, but there’s an awareness.

NFL is a long season, so we have to be smart about it as we go, but we want to continue to utilize it as much as we can.

Q. You mention being pleased with the collaborative approach between QB Jalen Hurts and C/G Cam Jurgens in terms of handling the pass protection at the line of scrimmage, what have you seen on that front throughout camp? (Andrew DiCecco)

KELLEN MOORE: Constant communication. I love all the different side conversations. After a drive, those guys teaming up and just talking through, ‘Hey, I made this decision, you know, what did you see?’ It continues into the film room.

These guys just continuing to talk, get on the same page. That’s what this time is for. It’s such a fun time to watch these guys continuing to build this thing.

Q. What has surprised you about this offense and the whole process in training camp? Anything? (Bob Brookover)

KELLEN MOORE: Surprises? I don’t know if anything jumps out. I think we have a really smart, tough group. I think they do an excellent job of preparing the right way. Our guys can handle enough volume, so we can be creative and utilize a number of different things.

It’s a veteran group. You can tell these guys understand ball. So, it’s been exciting. Really exciting.

Q. G/T Tyler Steen is a young player who has played right guard in the NFL for a brief stint. How much has the time that he has missed affecting his ability to be the guy by the start of the season? (Jeff McLane)

KELLEN MOORE: No one ever wants to be out this time of year, and those things are hard on every player. Obviously, everyone wants to do what they can to get back out there. We still have time. We still have time here.

Certainly, we’re excited about what the future will hold for him and give him more and more opportunities. We’ll just let this thing play out. Again, we’re in early August here, and we’ll continue to let this thing go.

Q. There’s a track record of success here with the blocking concepts and the run game concepts from Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland. How is that — I don’t know if it compares or contrasts to what you have done in the past, and how are you infusing that in your system? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: Stout [Jeff Stoutland] has been awesome. Obviously tons of great success for a long time here. Stuff that we want to build off of. We want to be very conscious of making sure we build on all the good things that are going on here, and there’s a ton of good and continuing to bring in different components and different adjustments.

That’s not necessarily just my past. It’s other coaches’ pasts and other things coming across the league. We’re constantly trying to evolve and find what’s the next thing that we can build on?

Q. T Lane Johnson said he would like to have some time to have a set offensive line, have some time to work together. Do you have a target date in mind that you would like to have as you get closer to the season? (Jeff Neiburg)

KELLEN MOORE: No target date right now. Obviously, any time you can get those guys working together, obviously like Lane said, that’s a critical aspect, just the communication. Those guys have to be aligned. We’ll let it play out and see when it hits us.

Q. Are you and Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio competitive about the results of practice? (Bo Wulf)

KELLEN MOORE: No, Vic [Fangio] is awesome. I think what’s really good is he challenges you each and every day. Especially when we get into these situations where we get to call it, it’s really good training for all of us. It’s really, really good.

The feedback is really good after practice when we can kind of talk about things that happened. It’s been a really good process.

Q. Friday is the first time that fans are going to get a chance to see your offense work. In your mind when it’s working right, what happens? (Rob Kuestner)

KELLEN MOORE: Just playing clean, efficient football. We have the ability to run and pass. We’ll continue to build this thing. We’ll see how we present this thing come Friday, and we’ll just kind of take it day-by-day.

I’m excited with where we’re at. I’m excited with where we’re going and continue to build this thing and evolve each and every week, each and every day. Our guys have done a great job so far.