Hosts: Bruce Murray (BM), Rich Gannon (RG)
Guest: John Schneider (JS)
RG: We can't say congratulations enough, before we get into Tyrelle Pryor, we know you have to be excited to get the players back for the offseason.
JS: It was exciting to see the guys together again, the way they are attacking the offseason, it's always good to have the guys back in the building.
BM: I would love to know what the feel is like, 32 teams show up hoping to be super bowl champions, but you are now wearing that mantle. What is the feel like?
JS: It's a very young, confident and selfless football team. There are a lot of guys on this team that are very young that want to be great players, and that's an awesome thing. You have guys that have very high goals, are confident in their abilities and are hard workers.
RG: Isn't it easier when your key players are like that? Sherman and Wilson trying to get better all the time?
JS: There's no doubt about that, they look at the players next to them and see they have to compete every day. It's about the staff too, they set the tone and make everybody better.
BM: We learned yesterday you traded for Terrelle Pryor. Why?
JS: The easiest explanation is we can't expect our players to compete if we are not doing the same. There is no room for complacency in any department, whether that is video room or research. When we talk about acquisition we are pushing the envelope in any way we possibly can, we are trying to improve the competition at every position. He is a rare athlete, 6'5.5 and 4.36, not quite as good a tackler as Rich Gannon was but we are excited about his upside. If he was released we wouldn't have been to claim him.
RG: He is an intriguing athlete, he did some good things and you have to look at hte team around him that struggled. What about him in the pocket?
JS: You hit it on the head. When he is flushed he does some real nice things, he can take off and run and the read option speaks for himself. Our coaches look forward to working with him to be able to go through his progression and make him more polished as a pocket passer.
BM: Do you envision him to compete at backup QB or at another position? Was there any conversation about his position?
JS: No we haven't had those conversations. If there was ever an athlete that was able to play different roles it would be this kind of player but that may be fantasy football at this time of year. He is a QB and has been a QB, but no we haven't got into that discussion at all yet.
RG: I think you have the perfect QB for this team in Russell Wilson - attention to detail, playmaking, only 9 turnovers. What are areas of his games that will get better as he gets more reps under center?
JS: You will still see things slow down for him a little bit. He had pressure on him in the middle of the season as we had tackles that were out, at STL he was under a ton of pressure, I think you will see a guy who is honing his whole craft. He never stops doing that but the one thing that probably stands out is you will see him be a little more patient, but that is kind of nitpicking.
BM: If you can keep him the third highest QB on the roster for the next decade you will be the GM of the decade.
JS: Those are the rules and we have to play by the rules Bruce.
BM: Lets get to the stressful part, how closely are you working with Sherman and what is the timetable?
JS: We have no specific timetable - i'm glad Jason thinks its close because that is a good sign. I can't get into individual negotiations though.
RG: You have had some outstanding drafts. Do you feel like you were rushed because you played into February? Are you as prepared as last year?
JS: I didn't early on, right away it was exactly as you talked about. In the pre-combine meeting I was not feeling caught up, but I am glad it is two weeks out. Now it seems like it is miles away yet. We have our scouts coming in this weekend, we will start with them and review this spring, our coaches come in the following weekend and we will have a couple of days to sit and stare at it.
BM: How much time have you invested even looking at the QB prospects? You don't really need one but there could be 4 or 5 that go very high or they could wait around a long time.
JS: The group is really intriguing, it is the hardest position to fill. We would be silly not to consider it if something hits us over the head. It will be an interesting group to see how they fall because there are so many talented players at other positions - pass rushers, offensive linemen and some interesting receivers. It will be interesting to see what happens.
BM: If the draft broke a certain way and a guy fell to your position would you consider taking a QB?
JS: Sure, we would never close the door.
RG: It's too hard to fine one, you have to always look for depth and talent at that position. Tell us about pre-draft visits, you get a chance to bring in 30 of them. How important are they, how much do you find out about their personality, makeup once you get to spend quality time with them?
JS: It works out better this way. We focus on the individuals not invited to the combine that we have strong interest in, or the guys that we weren't able to see at the combine due to injury or other meetings, if we haven't had our specific questions get answered yet. It's huge because they are in our environment and they get a feel for our culture, it is interesting to watch different people react to the different coaches, how they treat our chefs or equipment guys. Quite frankly everybody is involved in the process once they are in our building, we are evaluating guys all the time. It's right here, it's your people, it's your world and you are able to spend quality, quality individual time with that guy instead of being at their school or a restaurant.
BM: When will your final draft board be done?
JS: I think we usually close it up at I'd say Wednesday night. Thursday afternoon I'll move a bunch of tags around so no information gets out.
RG: Not that you don't trust the people in your building but I'm sure you see all the stories about a friend of a friend says this or that. Where does it come from? Do you call the guy in and say who said what here?
JS: It is a big concern. We pride ourselves on giving all of our area guys as much input on the draft itself as possible and exposing them to all the information we can, but with that comes a certain level of confidence and trust. A couple years ago we had Bruce Irvin in the third round all the way but we had a talented scout that every day would bring up Irvin every single night for two weeks straight. I just kept saying that's a good point, he's a good player, and when we opened it up at 4 o'clock our time Bruce was sitting up in the first round. It was two weeks of him gnashing his teeth and I was trying to agree without giving it away.
BM: A good practical joke would be to re-arrange the board on them.
JS: They go to the board and start taking notes; "where's my guy? where's my guy?"
RG: Finally, how many times have you had a specific player in mind and something unforeseen happened right in front of you?
JS: The biggest one i was involved was with Ron Wolfe in green bay, John Dorsay had Ray Lewis on the phone and Baltimore was picking right in front of us. I just remember having him on the phone and he was excited, and then his phone beeps so he was like hey I gotta go.
BM: Good luck with the draft John, You'll do a great job and we'll be watching very closely.
JS: Thanks guys, have a good day.
Guest: John Schneider (JS)
RG: We can't say congratulations enough, before we get into Tyrelle Pryor, we know you have to be excited to get the players back for the offseason.
JS: It was exciting to see the guys together again, the way they are attacking the offseason, it's always good to have the guys back in the building.
BM: I would love to know what the feel is like, 32 teams show up hoping to be super bowl champions, but you are now wearing that mantle. What is the feel like?
JS: It's a very young, confident and selfless football team. There are a lot of guys on this team that are very young that want to be great players, and that's an awesome thing. You have guys that have very high goals, are confident in their abilities and are hard workers.
RG: Isn't it easier when your key players are like that? Sherman and Wilson trying to get better all the time?
JS: There's no doubt about that, they look at the players next to them and see they have to compete every day. It's about the staff too, they set the tone and make everybody better.
BM: We learned yesterday you traded for Terrelle Pryor. Why?
JS: The easiest explanation is we can't expect our players to compete if we are not doing the same. There is no room for complacency in any department, whether that is video room or research. When we talk about acquisition we are pushing the envelope in any way we possibly can, we are trying to improve the competition at every position. He is a rare athlete, 6'5.5 and 4.36, not quite as good a tackler as Rich Gannon was but we are excited about his upside. If he was released we wouldn't have been to claim him.
RG: He is an intriguing athlete, he did some good things and you have to look at hte team around him that struggled. What about him in the pocket?
JS: You hit it on the head. When he is flushed he does some real nice things, he can take off and run and the read option speaks for himself. Our coaches look forward to working with him to be able to go through his progression and make him more polished as a pocket passer.
BM: Do you envision him to compete at backup QB or at another position? Was there any conversation about his position?
JS: No we haven't had those conversations. If there was ever an athlete that was able to play different roles it would be this kind of player but that may be fantasy football at this time of year. He is a QB and has been a QB, but no we haven't got into that discussion at all yet.
RG: I think you have the perfect QB for this team in Russell Wilson - attention to detail, playmaking, only 9 turnovers. What are areas of his games that will get better as he gets more reps under center?
JS: You will still see things slow down for him a little bit. He had pressure on him in the middle of the season as we had tackles that were out, at STL he was under a ton of pressure, I think you will see a guy who is honing his whole craft. He never stops doing that but the one thing that probably stands out is you will see him be a little more patient, but that is kind of nitpicking.
BM: If you can keep him the third highest QB on the roster for the next decade you will be the GM of the decade.
JS: Those are the rules and we have to play by the rules Bruce.
BM: Lets get to the stressful part, how closely are you working with Sherman and what is the timetable?
JS: We have no specific timetable - i'm glad Jason thinks its close because that is a good sign. I can't get into individual negotiations though.
RG: You have had some outstanding drafts. Do you feel like you were rushed because you played into February? Are you as prepared as last year?
JS: I didn't early on, right away it was exactly as you talked about. In the pre-combine meeting I was not feeling caught up, but I am glad it is two weeks out. Now it seems like it is miles away yet. We have our scouts coming in this weekend, we will start with them and review this spring, our coaches come in the following weekend and we will have a couple of days to sit and stare at it.
BM: How much time have you invested even looking at the QB prospects? You don't really need one but there could be 4 or 5 that go very high or they could wait around a long time.
JS: The group is really intriguing, it is the hardest position to fill. We would be silly not to consider it if something hits us over the head. It will be an interesting group to see how they fall because there are so many talented players at other positions - pass rushers, offensive linemen and some interesting receivers. It will be interesting to see what happens.
BM: If the draft broke a certain way and a guy fell to your position would you consider taking a QB?
JS: Sure, we would never close the door.
RG: It's too hard to fine one, you have to always look for depth and talent at that position. Tell us about pre-draft visits, you get a chance to bring in 30 of them. How important are they, how much do you find out about their personality, makeup once you get to spend quality time with them?
JS: It works out better this way. We focus on the individuals not invited to the combine that we have strong interest in, or the guys that we weren't able to see at the combine due to injury or other meetings, if we haven't had our specific questions get answered yet. It's huge because they are in our environment and they get a feel for our culture, it is interesting to watch different people react to the different coaches, how they treat our chefs or equipment guys. Quite frankly everybody is involved in the process once they are in our building, we are evaluating guys all the time. It's right here, it's your people, it's your world and you are able to spend quality, quality individual time with that guy instead of being at their school or a restaurant.
BM: When will your final draft board be done?
JS: I think we usually close it up at I'd say Wednesday night. Thursday afternoon I'll move a bunch of tags around so no information gets out.
RG: Not that you don't trust the people in your building but I'm sure you see all the stories about a friend of a friend says this or that. Where does it come from? Do you call the guy in and say who said what here?
JS: It is a big concern. We pride ourselves on giving all of our area guys as much input on the draft itself as possible and exposing them to all the information we can, but with that comes a certain level of confidence and trust. A couple years ago we had Bruce Irvin in the third round all the way but we had a talented scout that every day would bring up Irvin every single night for two weeks straight. I just kept saying that's a good point, he's a good player, and when we opened it up at 4 o'clock our time Bruce was sitting up in the first round. It was two weeks of him gnashing his teeth and I was trying to agree without giving it away.
BM: A good practical joke would be to re-arrange the board on them.
JS: They go to the board and start taking notes; "where's my guy? where's my guy?"
RG: Finally, how many times have you had a specific player in mind and something unforeseen happened right in front of you?
JS: The biggest one i was involved was with Ron Wolfe in green bay, John Dorsay had Ray Lewis on the phone and Baltimore was picking right in front of us. I just remember having him on the phone and he was excited, and then his phone beeps so he was like hey I gotta go.
BM: Good luck with the draft John, You'll do a great job and we'll be watching very closely.
JS: Thanks guys, have a good day.
