Kellen Moore

Q. When building out protection calls for an offense, how different is it whenever you’re presenting that through the lens of the eyes of a center versus the eyes of a quarterback? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: I think there’s awareness of the different perspectives, just the viewpoints of obviously a center and a quarterback.

I think we’ve spent a ton of time this off-season really building a very collaborative, collective effort from a protection standpoint that really doesn’t hang on one person. It’s a collective thing. It’s really honing in on making sure everyone is on the same page because it doesn’t have to be the perfect calls, it has to be the right calls where everyone understands the rules and the issues and the strengths of each and every look.

Q. We were just talking to Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, a lot of similarities for Green Bay offensively for him, haven’t changed much. For you, it’s a lot different. They have a new coordinator, kind of switching up. How do you handle that uncertainty in Week 1? (John McMullen)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, a lot of people face this, in football in general and certainly in the NFL, where you’re facing an opponent that has a lot of unknown, whether personnel or scheme — ours is very focused on scheme. You draw awareness of the different dots that you can connect with whether it be coaches, players, all the different circumstances.

But you understand early in the season, everyone deals with unknown in the NFL. It can be a returning group that has been together for 10 years. They’re going to evolve in some capacity during the off-season.

You definitely have to emphasize that there’s going to be an element of new. You lean heavily on what you’ve invested a lot of time in, things that people feel confident with, understand what the tools are and what the adjustments need to be made throughout a game, and we understand that adjustment football will be a part of this.

Q. This is our first time speaking to you since the WR Jahan Dotson trade, how did that change things for you when you add a contributor at that point in the summer? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, I think everyone who went through the draft process saw the great talent that he was, and we were really excited about that opportunity. He’ll be a great piece to our offensive process. Excited to let him build that role as we go. Obviously, when you come in during the season, I think you let him just keep growing and keep growing and we’ll keep finding where that role presents itself, but he’ll be certainly a nice aspect of this thing, and he’ll be heavily involved.

Q. How much of an advantage is it for you going into this game on offense? The Packers haven’t really seen what you guys are going to do, and Head Coach Nick Sirianni talks about competitive advantage. You guys have kept things close to the vest. Do you feel like, for this first game, you guys have that? (Martin Frank)

KELLEN MOORE: It goes both ways. Both sides can see it from the same lens. There’s unknown on both sides of this thing. I’m sure we’ll run something that they didn’t practice, and they’ll run plenty of things that we did not practice. Again, it’s honing in on your process and trusting your rules.

They’ll be saying the same things, emphasizing the same things. I think it’s a matter of — there will be adjustments within this game and how quickly and concise can we get those within the coaching staff and the players and us just working through this, which I’m excited about.

Q. Right around whenever you first got here, QB Jalen Hurts said he was going into “sponge mode” with the offense. He’s a person who’s really sought out a lot of advice a lot of times and has talked about that. What did you notice immediately from him in terms of how much he was pursuing to learn more and the responsibilities that he’d have? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, I think what’s really cool when you go through these processes is there’s growth on all ends, growth on my end as well as his end. I think teaming up on this, and really you go through a long process through the off-season where it’s kind of X’s and O’s and schemes, and then you finally get on the field during OTAs, and you start going through that process, being able to have those conversations, and then it really gets deep in training camp.

You go through it each and every day: What are the adjustments; what are the things we like; what are the things we don’t like. And really we’re building that cohesive connection that everyone is on the same page heading into this thing.

[QB] Jalen [Hurts] has done a phenomenal job just embracing this. Like any quarterback, they always want growth each and every off-season. Jalen is going to keep growing each year. I think he’s taken some awesome steps this year. It’s been a really fun process to see.

Q. When you see a player like Packers DT Kenny Clark on tape, what’s the first thing that jumps out to you? (Shamus Clancy)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, obviously explosion. He’s a guy that could have a huge impact on this game. We have awareness that they’ve invested a lot on that defense. They’ve done a tremendous job building the talent around that thing. It’s going to be a challenge for us.

Q. You have a lot of playmakers, WR Jahan Dotson, as they mentioned, added to that, but you also have guys who are more role players, RB Kenneth Gainwell, for instance. How much do you think about those guys going into a game, or is it just sort of a feel? (John McMullen)

KELLEN MOORE: No, each and every guy has a role on this team, and it’s very important that everyone embraces those roles. We spend a lot of time talking about that.

When you look at it from a wider lens, it’s a long season. All these guys are going to be counted on in different capacities. Some weeks it may be a few plays; some weeks it may increase based off the game plan and the circumstances.

We feel really fortunate to have the guys that we have, the depth that we have at a number of positions that we’re going to be able to play this thing all the way to the end with a lot of talented players.

Q. These past six weeks, what did you learn about G/T Mekhi Becton as a guard? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: Obviously that he can do it, and he’s done a tremendous job of just embracing a new role, just teaming up with those guys, the veterans that he has around him, just embracing it. He’s done a phenomenal job. So many positives.

Q. With RB Saquon Barkley, snap counts, touches, will you monitor that stuff as you go, or do you just let him go and play it by ear? (Reuben Frank)

KELLEN MOORE: No, naturally I have awareness as it goes, but obviously we feel very confident he can go for it here. Seasons are seasons, you make adjustments as you go, but I think [RB] Saquon [Barkley] is obviously in a great position to just go for it here.

Q. I assume how you lay out an offense is dependent on who you have, leveraging the players you have. Had [former Eagles C Jason] Kelce still been here, would the way you approached pre-snap protections have changed or is that really a philosophical thing for you of how you split between those roles? (Brooks Kubena)

KELLEN MOORE: No, it’s hard to judge that just because I don’t know to the capacity of how it was fully structured with [former Eagles C] Jason [Kelce]. Obviously, he did a phenomenal job with this, and anytime you have a player who has experience, obviously you want to utilize that.

I think our investment has just been on making sure everyone is on the same page, and it’s a very collective effort. We feel really comfortable with where we’re at with this, and there was a lot of positives that we were able to lean on and grow from the past, and certainly little adjustments that will be made and can be made.

Q. What’s unique about the offense that you designed here as opposed to being in Dallas or with the Chargers? Is it more based on because of the players you have and everything that kind of lets you – (Martin Frank)

KELLEN MOORE: Yeah, I think it’s important that certainly you have core values and foundational things that you believe in, but as you go through an off-season with the staff, with the players, you’re going to build this thing around what we feel like is best suited for us, whether it be personnel or some of the schematic elements of it.

Some things may look like they’re from places in my past life, some may look like something familiar, and some may be something that hasn’t been touched before.

We’re exploring that, and we’ve gone through that process for a long time now.

Q. What are you most curious to learn in the first game about your offense? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: Just the operation. I think anytime you’re going through Week 1, we’ve talked about unknowns. It’s the operation, it’s the process, it’s us playing with pace in and out of the huddle, communicating, everyone is on the same page. You just want a clean operation.

Q. In general, as a former quarterback, do you want somebody who craves autonomy and craves that “trump card,” as you’ve called it, as QB Jalen Hurts has said he’s wanted to get? (John McMullen)

KELLEN MOORE: I think every quarterback, at least a lot of the ones I’m familiar with, you go through a process as you grow and mature and get exposed to a lot of football. Jalen is obviously on that path. He’s done such a tremendous job his first two years in this league, and we’re excited to continue to grow his role as we go.

Any quarterback, they have a great feel for what all 11 responsibilities are on the field, so they understand the adjustments that could be made and the tools that we can utilize. So we’re continuing to try and build that within the game plans that gives him the ability to make those adjustments when we see that they can help us, benefit us in any way.

Q. Going back to WR Jahan Dotson, you said a few moments ago that you’ll kind of see it as you go here, as he gets time. Is there a smaller package in for him at this point, or is it the full playbook for him? (Zach Berman)

KELLEN MOORE: He’s done a tremendous job. I can’t say enough positive things about him, [Wide Receivers Coach Aaron Morehead] A-Mo working with him throughout the last however many — whatever it’s been, a week, 10 days. He’s done a tremendous job of hopping in there and embracing this thing.

Even today and the next couple days have impact on that, just the capacity that guys can play within. He’s done a tremendous job. We feel very confident with him, very comfortable with him. He’s handled it really, really well.

Q. Do you have a sense of what QB Jalen Hurts prefers in terms of communication through the headset, more information, just the call, anything like that? (EJ Smith)

KELLEN MOORE: It’s been something we’ve definitely emphasized all off-season, just constant feedback of how we can best communicate. So yeah, we’re certainly in a place where I feel good about our process.