Justin Coleman – August 12, 2021
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Thursday, August 12, 2021
CB Justin Coleman
(How would you say your first camp with the Dolphins is progressing?) – “Everything is going well. We got everybody out here competing. I like to see everybody enjoying practice. I’m just looking forward to this next practice, getting on top of things and making sure that we are correcting all the errors and mistakes that we made and getting on top of everything.”
(For a guy that has been in the league for a bit, do you still look forward to that first preseason game?) – “Of course. That’s like the kickoff of the season just to see how everybody is going to react to game situations. Also to see how the younger guys are ready to get in the game and make some plays. I’m looking forward to that.”
(How do you feel camp competition has gone for you?) – “It’s going well. Those guys are out there giving us that work and we are competing with them. We’re making plays, they’re making plays. It’s healthy competition. They aren’t doing anything but making us better and we are just going to go from that.”
(How similar is the defensive structure and/or verbiage from last year when you were with the Lions?) – “Coach (Josh) Boyer has his own style. I’m just going to go with that. He’s going to make his play calls and he has a way he plays the game. I just go by what Coach Boyer goes by.”
(How happy are you to be in the slot, which seems to be the position for which you are best suited?) – “Man, I’m happy to be on the field. (laughter) Most definitely in the slot. It’s tough in the slot but once you learn the ins and outs, you can get the hang of it. You know your abilities, you know the plays, you know how to do everything and you can get the hang of it.”
(Is it weird that you move to Miami and the first opponent you see is an NFC North team?) – “Nah, it ain’t weird. (laughter) It’s football, it happens. I always look forward to playing a team that I already played before.”
(Relative to the slot position, what part of your strengths do you think fits that well?) – “Really my mentality. I’m very aggressive. As long as I get my hands on guys, I can dominate.”
(With the NFC North experience, is there any familiarity level with the Bears? Anything that maybe you tell the guys on this team?) – “Yeah, we played them quite a few times. With that, you kind of adapt to how they play and you know how some of the receivers play and how the coaching style is with the coaches. I can kind of help the guys on our team understand how they are going to attack the game and how we can respond. That’ll help us.”
Eric Rowe – August 12, 2021
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Thursday, August 12, 2021
S Eric Rowe
(Very chippy practice and we’re going to blame you for it because you got the first – not really the first; the offensive and defensive line, the tight ends – what led to all this chippy nature?) – “It’s just the sport. Just out there competing hard and sometimes things just get chippy; but then just like ‘Coach’ (Brian Flores) said, ‘You’ve just got to put in the back; you just go to the next play.’ Can’t let it affect you the rest of the game.”
(The play – you see him make the catch on the fly and then you’re just playing football – what happened?) – “No, I just saw him catch the ball and I just gave him a little shoulder tap and he fell and pushed me in the back; and then after that, it just – swarm. I wasn’t even mad about it. I was just laughing.”
(How do you feel the defense performed overall in the two practices with Bears?) – “Defensive-wise from yesterday to today, we made progress. Especially in the back end, our communication. Yesterday we missed a couple checks. That’s why we have these practices against someone than our own color. It’s good for us to see what we need to work on. So from yesterday to today, I even saw progress even within myself.”
(When S Jevon Holland is back there do you even feel like he’s a rookie? Do you even sense any of that when he’s there?) – “Honestly, I’m locked in on my job, (laughter) but he’s still growing. He’s growing pretty fast, too, within the defense. He’s getting the checks out. I keep telling him he’s got to be louder with the calls. He’s working on that. Nothing with his physical ability – he already has that. It’s just all mental now.”
(What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about S Jevon Holland since the time you first met him?) – “He’s a smart kid. He picked up the defense like that. I think he’s played in it in college. I’m not sure, but he’s picked it up fast. He’s already had the physical ability. I’ve seen the range. He’s already made a few picks even yesterday and then even in training camp in Miami, so the biggest thing with him – yeah, he’s progressing fast.”
(S Jevon Holland said that when he was on the field yesterday he was looking around. He’s like, “Man, that’s Andy Dalton. That’s this guy.” There’s still some of that, you know what I mean? Is raising his voice a little more, getting more comfortable?) – “He hasn’t told me that, but when I was a rookie, I was like that, too. I think I went against Calvin Johnson. In my head, I was like, ‘Oh my God, there’s Calvin Johnson right here on me.’ I figured he’d probably do the same thing.”
(Did you shut him down? Calvin Johnson?) – “No. (laughter) No. Can’t even lie about it. No, did not do that.”
(There’s probably rookie receivers saying, “Oh my God. That’s Eric Rowe right there.”) – “I don’t know about that. (laughter)”
(What’s this process like for you guys in terms of tightening up what you need to do to get back to where you guys were last year?) – “It’s still a long way to go. No one’s in obviously midseason form. That takes time. Things I know that we’ve got to do just to tighten up is just our communication and really just getting lined up, because we’ve seen it when we play our assignments and we execute that we’re stopping the run, we’re stopping the pass; but right now it’s just little things that I’m sure every team has that work through training camp with just some alignment issues or we missed a check on a call or we blow a coverage. Once we just get those things tightened up, we can back to where we were.”
(Do you feel like you guys are where you need to be at this point as a defensive backfield at least?) – “Yeah, defensive backfield – we’re making progress. From Day 1 until now, it’s exponential. So that type of growth, it’s good to see where we’re at because if we were still making the same mistakes from the first couple days of training camp, I’d be pretty worried.”
Adam Shaheen – August 12, 2021
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Thursday, August 12, 2021
TE Adam Shaheen
(Was it good to renew acquaintances with the Bears? It seems like you got particularly re-acquainted with LB Khalil Mack early on in that one-on-one drill. Can you describe the atmosphere of the practice and how it got a little bit chippy there?) – “Yeah, it was a good, competitive day. I think you’re going to have that. That’s why we do the joint practices. They got us, we got them, and it was just a good practice I thought all around.”
(Can you share anything that LB Khalil Mack was telling you after you guys broke up and he seemed to be still yapping quite a bit?) – “That’s just guys talking. It’s going to happen. It wasn’t just me, it wasn’t just him. It was back and forth. It’s going to happen now and it’s going to happen in the game. It was nothing crazy.”
(You keep making a lot of catches in practice. How excited are you about the prospects for what your role could be in the offense this season?) – “Yeah, I mean I’ve still got a lot of work to do as far as there are a lot of nuances to put in a lot of stuff. I’m really learning and grinding down on this; but that’s what we’re here for in training camp to do is to keep preparing and learning this stuff so that when it comes to Game 1, we’re ready to roll.”
(After you caught a touchdown, it looked like you considered dunking the ball on the post but then changed your mind. Why not dunk?) – “Well, I don’t know if it was a little downslide or something but my feet got tangled up and I thought, ‘you know what, I might as well just run with this one back.’ (laughter)”
(It would have been bad if you tried to dunk it and couldn’t get to the rim.) – “Exactly. That’s why I didn’t even jump. I didn’t want to even jump. (laughter) There was a little pocket on the Earth, that’s all it was. (laughter)”
(Leave that to WR Mack Hollins.) – “Yeah, we’ll leave that to Mack. That’s his thing. (laughter)”
(What’s it been like since TE Mike Gesicki came back to the tight end group?) – “It’s good. I mean we love Mike personality-wise and then also what he brings to the game. It’s been awesome having him back.”
(Last year you were traded the week training camp began and didn’t have any preseason. What’s it like to have a whole year in a similar offense – not exactly the same – and now to build on that?) – “I think it’s huge. Also being with kind of that group for the whole year last year and then starting off right now, I think it’s building those relationships and that trust is something you can’t do when you get traded and you’re playing right next to the guy for the first time last year. I think it’s been good for me and hopefully good for everybody else as well.”
(Last year, you and TE Mike Gesicki and TE Durham Smythe caught a lot of balls and caught a lot of touchdowns, and that was interesting because they said the Chan Gailey offense didn’t suit tight ends and it did. I’m curious what do you think of the Godsey/Studesville offense and how it fits tight ends?) – “Like I mentioned last time, I think right now as we’re earning those reps and earning those targets and stuff and earning those opportunities, I think if we keep showing and keep doing what we’ve been doing, there’s no reason we can’t be even better than we were last year, which I think we were one of the top five tight end groups in the league as far as production goes. And we have an influx of new guys as well that are awesome as well. So who knows, but the sky is the limit for our group.”
Brian Flores – August 12, 2021
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Thursday, August 12, 2021
Head Coach Brian Flores
(On the advantage of having a base four guys in the secondary working together throughout training camp.) – “Well it’s good to have all of those guys working, working together, working on the communication, fundamentals, techniques. I think we feel good about that group. But we feel good, really, about everyone on the defense, on the offense, etc. We’re excited to get another good day here against a good team and just keep building.”
(What are your thoughts on LB Benardrick McKinney since you’ve had him in camp?) – “Tough, physical, downhill player. Smart, good communicator. He’s done some good things. He’s gotten better over the course of training camp and hopefully he continues to get better.”
(Reviewing yesterday, what are some of your thoughts about how the defensive linemen performed as a group?) – “I thought they did some good things. I think in this type of environment, it always comes down to fundamentals and techniques. In some instances they were good; in some instances they weren’t good. The results normally play out as you think they would when they’re good and conversely when they’re not good. We made a lot of corrections yesterday. Hopefully we’ll have another good day today. Again, it’s good to see a different opponent, different schemes, different skillsets from the receivers, from the linemen, from the tight ends. It’s good for us. We need that and that’s what it is in this league. It’s different every week.”
(We saw T Liam Eichenberg pulled at the end of team portions of practice. Was it performance based or did he get hurt a little bit? What happened?) – “Yeah, Liam got banged up a little bit so we pulled him. He’ll be out today. But I think it’s day-to-day. He’s already working to get back as soon as he can. I think he’s done a good job for us so far to kind of get over this and hopefully we’ll get him back as soon as we can.”
(Did anybody who did not practice yesterday who will be back today?) – “I don’t have the full list in front of me but Will Fuller will be out, DeVante (Parker) will be out, Albert (Wilson) will be out, Hunter Long will be out.”
(S Brandon Jones?) – “Brandon Jones will be out. Again, if you’ve got a name, I will let you know.”
(Regarding S Jevon Holland, he seems to be around the ball quite a bit. The ball seems to find him. How much of that is just natural instincts?) – “I think he’s doing a lot of good things from a communication standpoint, from a fundamentals and technique standpoint. He’s a hard-working kid. It’s showing up a little bit on the practice field. Look, I don’t evaluate and judge people off of three or four plays. There are – he’s had 500 plays over training camp. I’m not going to judge him on four of them, either way, good or bad. We’ve had this conversation and I’m not going to go through it again.”
(With the physicality that the Bears bring on the defensive line, is that good for this offensive line to see that kind of play and practice against for a couple of days?) – “Yeah, absolutely. That’s what you see on a weekly basis in this league. I would say this is a good front too. It’s great for us to see it. It’s great for us to feel that. It’s great for us to – as coaches – talk about things we would do against a front like this, which I would say we practiced some of them yesterday. When we did it correctly, when we had good fundamentals and technique, we were ok. And when we didn’t – it’s a good front, so that’s how it goes in this league. It’s good for our offensive line to see. We talked about that. That’s the speed, that’s the power you see on a weekly basis. It’s good work for us.”
(QB Tua Tagovailoa kind of mentioned yesterday or when we spoke to him that when you were engaging with him after a series of reps, that maybe you were focusing with him on how you would like him to approach certain situations. That’s kind of vague. Is there anything that you can kind of share with us about when you engage him in practice and the kind of things that you might try to impart?) – “I mean look, I normally keep my conversations with players with the player. But there’s coaching points I give every player – fundamentals, techniques, communication – and it’s normally in that ballpark. And I know that may be kind of vague for you but I try to keep those conversations between me and the player.”
(There was plenty of change yesterday going outside, back inside and back outside. How did you feel the team handled the change and the disrupted schedule you dealt with yesterday?) – “I thought it was great for us. We get lightning in a game, we’ve got to go in and we’ve got to wait until it passes and then we come back out. It was another rep at that. For us as a team, as coaches, how we would handle that, we came in here and we huddled up, we’re going to do this when we go back out, another delay, we’re going to wait a little bit, we’ve got to stretch them this long, we’ve got to stretch them a little longer, we’ve got to do some individuals. Then I thought we went out and had good energy, good juice and finished practice out. I think it’s a good rep for us. You guys all know in South Florida there’s sometimes delays and we’ve got to be ready to adjust, be flexible and still perform.”
(There was almost a little bit of a scuffle at one point yesterday. WR Allen Hurns took a hit. I think you were able to get in there kind of before it got into anything deeper than that. Is that just kind of two teams seeing someone else for the first time?) – “Yeah, I was the bouncer on that play. (laughter) Look, it gets chippy. It’s football. For me, it was a 2-minute situation and it was hopefully a learning tool for our team. You get in there and I’ve got to call timeout, so we wasted a timeout in that situation when we could just go back, forget about the play, move on and kind of keep our poise in that instance. I know (you guys) are probably writing that I said I was the bouncer. You can put that out there. (laughter) I’m just trying to keep practice going and not have any issues. I thought the tempo yesterday was good – really good. I thought we got good work from the Bears and they got good work from us. Everybody stayed up. We’re trying to keep guys healthy and that’s kind of been the conversation I’ve had with Coach (Matt) Nagy and our coaching staff. I’ve had conversations with their players and I know Coach Nagy’s had conversations with our players. We’re all just trying to get better and compete. There’s really no place for that in my opinion, so hopefully we have another good day from that standpoint.”
(Is LB Jaelan Phillips on a modified practice or is he full-go at this point?) – “When a guy is coming off – it’s like if I just threw you in there and said go for 70 plays, it would be hard. (laughter) When a guy is coming off of something, we try to ramp him back up. That’s normally how we do it. I think for a lot of reasons, for conditioning purposes and then he’s just not ready yet – he hasn’t had enough snaps. I think that’s generally how teams do it. We’re no different. But Jaelan had some good snaps yesterday. Hopefully he gets a few more today and then we’ll hopefully build off of yesterday and ramp him up over the course of days, weeks, etc.
Jevon Holland – August 11, 2021
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Wednesday, August 11, 2021
S Jevon Holland
(You’ve been finding the ball a lot lately. Is it just your understanding of the defense or just reading things different?) – “Yeah. When you work your technique and do the things that the coaches are asking, in and out of the play, reading your keys, the plays find you. You don’t necessarily have to go to the ball. That’s just a product of doing the TNTs (takes no talent).”
(I didn’t actually see everything that happened on the interception on Bears QB Andy Dalton. I think it was in the middle of the field. Can you take us through what happened on that play?) – “Yeah, so I was just going through my keys on that play, basically reading the quarterback in the middle of the field. Then as I was breaking to the post, I read his eyes and he let the ball go and I happened to be there, right where we planned on me being there. It worked in my favor, that play.”
(I know it’s only a practice but as a rookie trying to earn a starting job, how significant was it to get a pick when you’re practicing against another team?) – “I think it’s important. It just shows production and things like that but like I said, plays in practice and in the game, they’re going to come when you do your technique and you work the fundamentals that we practice every day. That’s just a product of that, and I’m going to harp on that and I’m going to stay focused on the fundamentals. If you make a good play, just like if you made a bad play, you kind of go to the next play. It’s in the past and you can’t really control it. I’ll just keep moving forward, doing the little things.”
(I know you’ve got one more practice to get through, but what do you think it will be like to kind of suit up in an NFL locker room and in an NFL stadium, to play a different NFL team on Saturday?) – “I think it’s going to be dope, man. I think it’s going to be freaking amazing, honestly. I’m having a blast right now. We’re practicing against Andy Dalton, Nick Foles, Jimmy Graham. I was watching these people play. Andy Dalton was on Cincinnati on the Bengals, and Jimmy Graham was going crazy on the Saints. These are some of the people that I grew up watching as a kid, so to be able to practice against them and sweat, grind; it’s kind of surreal for me. I put a smile on my face going out there and playing the game I love.”
(You mentioned reading the quarterback’s eyes and going to the football. How much do you and QB Tua Tagovailoa and the quarterbacks kind of communicate as far as what you see defensively and what they see offensively?) – “I actually do go and pick their brain a little bit, especially Jacoby (Brissett). He’s a vet and has been in the league. I try to ask him what he’s looking for when we’re trying to show disguise and things like that. Same with Tua. Tua gives me great insight. He’s a great dude. All of them are great – Reid (Sinnett) too. They give me insight on what they’re looking for and their keys so I can try to play to my advantage and try to confuse them before the play.”
(We spoke to Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander the other day and he told us that you know what’s going on but he always reminds you that you have to make sure that you let everybody else know what’s going on and you do it vocally, loudly. Tell me about how that’s going?) – “It’s just a plus-one communication. That comes with learning the defense, being more comfortable with that. It’s coming along. I’m trying to get little things out of my head and into the field of play, making sure everybody is on the same page. But that plus-one communication is how a secondary, a defense, takes the next step. That’s something I’m really working on along with continuing to focus on the plays and the techniques and the things like that. It’s coming together but every day I try to push and be better than I was the day before.”
(After sitting out last year, what kind of apprehension, if any, did you have heading into training camp about how long it might take you to get back to where you were in 2019?) – “I’ve been training, working out and grinding for the past year; so I wasn’t just sitting on the couch during that break. I didn’t really feel like I had lost a step. Putting the pads on and putting the helmet on is different, but just getting my feet underneath me and really making contact and things like that – other than that, it doesn’t feel any different. I feel better than I have before and I’m excited to be out there repping that orange and aqua.”
Jaylen Waddle – August 11, 2021
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Wednesday, August 11, 2021
WR Jaylen Waddle
(How do you feel the offense performed overall today?) – “I think it was smooth, honestly. We got our flow going. It was good just to compete, really. It was good to compete against someone else other than our guys. I think it was a good day. Obviously it can get better. We’ll try to get better. It was pretty good, though.”
(What does it feel like, the ball coming from QB Tua Tagovailoa? Does your connection continue to grow this preseason?) – “It’s coming along well. I think we’re all just getting better as a team. We’re getting in, day-by-day, every practice – I feel like we’re making progress. It’s going good.”
(What did you notice was the biggest difference practicing against another team as opposed to practicing against your teammates?) – “It was just different just how pre-practice goes. It’s kind of similar; you’re just going against someone else so it was kind of like a game kind of, but not really. It was kind of weird. It was my first day, so the next day I’ll probably be a little more comfortable.”
(Did you enjoy it?) – “Yes, sir. Definitely.”
(Was there more juices flowing? And also, that’s a pretty good defense.) – “Definitely. Yeah, definitely the juices were flowing, just competing against someone other than our team. Definitely.”
(How much are you looking forward to suiting up in a professional football uniform and playing in a real game. I know it’s not a regular season game but playing a game in a place like Soldier Field?) – “It’s exciting, for sure. My first game. I haven’t really thought about it just yet but I’m pretty sure I’ll get more excited the closer the game gets.”
(A lot of the other receivers, guys that are battling for roster spots. Right now there are a lot of receivers that are out … what have you seen from them and their approach…) – “I think everyone is working hard day in and day out. A lot goes into it just off the field and on the field. I think everybody is just working hard and just trying to make a name. I think everyone is doing well.”
(Along those lines, when you’ve got three guys who are basically veteran guys who just aren’t practicing, what kind of an opportunity is that for guys like yourself and the other guys?) – “It’s always good just to get in and try to make plays and try to make a name for yourself. I think that just goes on with the game and just filling in, really. I think it’s going good. We’re waiting for those guys to come back.”
Mike Gesicki – August 11, 2021
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Wednesday, August 11, 2021
TE Mike Gesicki
(On returning to practice) – “It feels good. I’m happy to be back. Just being back around the guys, getting out there and competing, (it was) a good day. I’m just happy to go out and play some football.”
(Do you feel any lingering effects?) – “Nah. Honestly, I felt good. I kind of surprised myself how I felt. I’m ready to roll. I went out there, got the cobwebs off, made a few plays and all of that kind of stuff. It was good. A good day.”
(What did you see out of QB Tua Tagovailoa in this joint practice?) – “I thought Tua had a great day. I thought collectively as an offense, we had a good day. (We were) making plays, using the snap count to our benefit. Up front, I think they had a good day creating holes in the running game and giving Tua some time to get back and make some plays. The receivers, tight ends and backs made some plays downfield so it was good.”
(No easing back into practice for you. It’s straight into joint practices. Did you like that?) – “Yeah, absolutely. It was fun. It beats the heat down in Miami, especially after not doing anything for 10 days. It was good to just get back out there, get sweating and go make some plays, like I said. It was fun.”
(How did you stay in shape?) – “Well, there’s not much that you can do, honestly. You can’t really go out or anything like that. I was up in my apartment. I got an AssaultBike on my balcony. I rode that a little bit. I had some dumbbells in the living room. It was really just making it work for 10 days. It is what it is. You’ve got to follow the protocols and do what you’re supposed to do.”
(You didn’t look very rusty.) – “I felt good, honestly. I felt good. I had to go out there and catch a couple of balls before practice. Normally I catch a ton throughout the day on my own, so that was tough going 10 days without that. I was throwing it up and down to myself in my apartment.”
Tua Tagovailoa – August 11, 2021
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Wednesday, August 11, 2021
QB Tua Tagovailoa
(What did you think of TE Mike Gesicki after a bunch of days being out? He came right in like he didn’t miss a beat.) – “It was good to be able to have Mike back out here. I think he adds another dimension for us on offense. It didn’t work out the way we want it to with as many targets as he got today, but he did get open. We tried feeding him the ball every time we could.”
(Did seeing a different pass rush kind of help you get the element of a simulated pass rush … seeing another team out there?) – “Yeah. I think this defense is really good up front. When you’re hitting your back foot on your throws, they’re right there and kind of in your face area. But that forces us, as quarterbacks, to kind of move the way we need to; and it simulates game-like pocket presence for us. I thought it was really good today. We’ll take a look at the film. We’ll try to correct a lot of the things that we didn’t do well today and we’ll come out tomorrow and hopefully it’s a better one.”
(You seemed to have a good connection with WR Jaylen Waddle again today. How do you feel that … progresses as camp goes on?) – “I think today felt like a first day type of practice. It’s a new environment, new guys, new faces. It was just good to be able to go out there with all of the guys and work out the timing with them against how these DBs play, and then where to find the areas in their zone that we can kind of get going.”
(I noticed at one point that Head Coach Brian Flores was kind of animated in his conversation with you. Can you share anything about what he was encouraging you to do?) – “On the field?”
(Yeah.) – “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘Coach Flo’ (Brian Flores) was encouraging me to really do anything. It was more so coaching points, like ‘hey, if we’re in this situation, this is kind of what I’m looking at. This is what we’re looking for as a team.’ So it was just situational kind of deals today.”
(When did you get introduced to the RPO offense? At what level? And where did you grow most in it?) – “I would say probably in college. I did some in high school but not to the knowledge that I kind of know the RPO offense now. I’m very comfortable running it and reading whoever our conflict player is, and just trying to execute it.”
(How much are you looking forward to being able to participate in a preseason game?) – “Well, it’s a first. This is my first joint practice. This is a lot of – the rookie class last year, this is a lot of our first joint practices. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s cool. Last year was a little weird for everyone but competing with your guys and not being introduced to what a game-like scenario would feel like, and just kind of being into a game, that first year – although I didn’t play – was kind of different.”
(Did you get to talk to Bears QB Justin Fields at all today? Do you know him at all? What did you talk about?) – “I don’t know him very well. I just got to meet him today. I introduced myself, he introduced himself. I’ve watched him play in college. I watched when he came in as a freshman to Georgia then when he transferred to Ohio State. He’s very athletic. He’s very talented. I wish him the best.”
(How do you feel today compared to the same time last year?) – “Big picture question. (laughter) I think it’s hard to look at the big picture when you’re just dialed in on what we’ve got to do to accomplish what we want right now. So for me, it’s really just going back to the film room, going back to the drawing board and kind of sitting down with our coaches, sitting down with the offense and the team and kind of talking through what we saw today and kind of get better from there so tomorrow is a lot smoother and we’re dialed in a lot more tomorrow.”
