1. Defensive tackle Justin Jones on the start of camp:
"The first couple of days were pretty good. I thought the practices, especially the walk-throughs in the afternoon, pay dividends when it comes to learning exactly what to do. When it comes to the playbook and a lot of the assignments, I feel like our defense is really coming together as a team, as we saw yesterday with the first day in pads. I was flying around, guys were ready to hit, guys were ready to play. I've been here a couple years and the first time in practice felt like a mid-training, end-of-training-camp type of practice. It felt good. It's exciting to see. You see guys flying around everywhere on all parts of the field; offense and defense."
2. Special teams coordinator Derius Swinton on learning to practice at the appropriate tempo:
"We tell them all of the time, a great coach back in the day told me that you have to get the horse to the derby. We have to get them to preseason games. But, we have to get them ready. You don't just jog the horse, you have to run it and you have to stride it. That's where we're at right now. We're trotting a little bit. Now, we're jogging. Sunday, we'll get to the scrimmage, and now we're getting a nice little gallop. Then, you get to the Rams, and now you get to the derby. That's where we're trying to get these guys. Get the horses to the derby and just get them ready over and over and over."
3. Center Corey Linsley on quarterback Justin Herbert:
"He's obviously a really great player and has a great command of the huddle. In terms of the operation —the communication, making calls and stuff — we've had time to talk about it now where we've done live reps against the defense. We go into the walk-through and take a little time to say, 'Do you feel like this is beneficial or do you feel like that's beneficial?' It's been good. I feel like those have all been productive. That's a credit to him, a credit to our coaches and everybody along the offensive line as well to be able to work through and talk through everything without getting grounded into just one thing."
4. Swinton on if anyone has stood out on special teams:
"It's a great question. With one day in pads, it's really hard. We play football in pads. Yesterday, we had our pads and we went kickoff. Everybody is working their techniques. To say that anyone is standing out after one day in pads is kind of hard. That's like if I said you wrote one article, did you stand out? You would hope, but what do we have to compare it on. Because we play in pads, we try to hold those exciting things for the padded practices and the preseason games where these guys really, really, really are going to showcase what they can do."
5. Jones on the complexities of the defense:
"It's really refreshing. It'll be really confusing for a lot of [opposing] guys. I'm excited about that because it's going to be hard to figure us out — figure out what we're doing, what we're bringing. It's going to change game by game, so nobody's going to have a beat on what we're doing. That's really exciting."
6. Swinton on safety Nasir Adderley as a returner:
"He's one of those guys that you have to tell to slow down. It's a good thing. You saw him last year. Nas is fully loaded. He and [CB] Tevaughn Campbell, I walk around and call them Teslas. Teslas, you don't hear them coming, they just go fast by you. For those guys, it looks easy. With the ball in his hands, you see it on kickoff return. He just hits that corner. Sometimes, he beats the off returner. We're telling him that there's a way to set it up. He's an option."
7. Linsley on practicing against the defense:
"It's a pain in the butt, man. You have to be on your stuff. He brings a ton of looks. They look like the same looks, but they're not the same looks. [Head Coach Brandon Staley] brings a ton of blitz and twists, so you have to keep your head up. The biggest thing is playing with great fundamentals. His defense makes you think, No. 1. I know for the offensive line, the quarterback, it makes all of us think. You have to be on your stuff. Then, for the offensive line, it's playing with great fundamentals because you know they can bring a ton of different stuff out of the same looks and a ton of different looks for the same stuff. It's very complex. It was the No. 1 defense in the NFL last year. They're a great group."
8. Jones on the coaching staff:
"I'm excited to see what's to come. What we're doing on defense and offense is going to be scary for a lot of other guys in the league. They haven't seen anything like this. They haven't seen the speed we have in our defense. They're allowing the guys to be themselves and allowing guys to show their defensive personalities through the scheme. Being able to make certain plays and being able to showcase their abilities, it's going to be exciting to see. It's going to be really scary for a lot of teams."
9. Linsley on rookie offensive tackle Rashawn Slater
"He's been great. It's early, but just like I said, I've been harping on it over and over. The biggest thing is communication. He's been asking questions. I know he has been talking to [T] Bryan [Bulaga] a bunch about playing tackle. It's a different game out there, you know? There is only so much communication that the interior guys can help with. He's received all of that. He's a great dude and works hard. I really have nothing negative to say about the guy. He's a great player."
10. Swinton on feeling 'any added pressure' to execute on special teams:
"No. Everything in the NFL is just doing your job. Coach talks about being a team of teams. We're just doing our part. There's no pressure. You just try to do your part every day. Try to hold the guys accountable, and they hold you accountable. We're just trying to do what we can do. We don't worry about yesterday. We don't worry about tomorrow. What did we do today to get better and help this team? That's all we're about. It's not about added pressure or anything like that; it's what can I do to help you get better and what can you do to help the team get better. That's really what it is."
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