Black and Blue Review
You told Tampa Bay reporters that Derek is going to start?
“Yes, and I know Derek reported that to you guys as well, that Derek will start. I talked with him last night about it, and the situation and circumstances going forward. Derek took the majority of the first-time reps today in preparation for Tampa Bay.”
Will Cam not suit up this weekend?
“We’ll see. It’s going to be a week-by-week thing. We’ll see how he is. He was released today. He went home to rest up and we expect to see him tomorrow. I know Ryan Vermillion and our doctors are in constant contact with him, and we’ll get a little bit more information tomorrow as we go forward.”
Have you spoken with him?
“I actually got a chance to see him yesterday and I had a chance to speak with him today. I know he was with the doctors this morning. He went home to rest and we were out on the practice field by the time he was released. But I did speak with him yesterday. More than anything else, in true Cam fashion, he was disappointed for his teammates. He feels like he is letting everybody down. The thing is, just thank goodness it wasn’t serious. Thank goodness it wasn’t serious for either he or the other driver. And we’ll worry about him getting healthy. We’re very fortunate and he’s very fortunate.”
What was his mood like?
“He was down. He played very well for us, obviously, in the New Orleans game. And he was looking forward to the rest of the season. He really is. We’ll see how he is as he gets healthier and stronger and hopefully he’ll be back on the football field soon.”
How much research have you done on the transverse fracture process?
“All that stuff I leave to the medical team. They explain it to me. I understand it as best as a layman could. Based on the explanation they gave me, I kind of reflect as to what they said as it’s very similar to what Tony Romo went through. So I imagine we’re going to treat it like that. I’m not going to say that for sure because Ryan Vermilion and our medical staff are putting together a plan as far as his rehab for going forward.”
Is it a matter of when he’s ok with the pain, he can be back on the field?
“When the doctors are satisfied he’s ready to go on the field as far as what he tells them. We’re back to square one like we were this summer with the rib injury. It’s going to be about what he tells the doctors. It’s going to be about what we observe, how closely we observe him, keeping an eye on him. He’s a very tough-minded, tough-willed young man. And he wants to get back out there and help this football team as best as he can.”
Is him practicing this week a realistic possibility?
“We’ll see. Probably not. Again, I’m not the doctor and I’m not him. I can’t tell you how he feels. Like I said, you know how tough-minded he is. If there’s a way, he’ll find it.”
How did you find out yesterday?
“We had just finished game-planning, and I was settling in to have lunch. Somebody came in and said something, and my first thought was that hoax thing that had come up before. And I asked right away if Lance Emory knew anything, and they told me he was headed out to the site. So right away I knew something was up. And we started getting calls from his teammates and other people and it was confirmed.
When you see photos of the truck, was there a sense of relief that he wasn’t more seriously injured?
“When you do see the pictures, there is a sense of relief. Thank goodness he was the only occupant, too, because the passenger side took a pretty good wallop. But again, he’s very fortunate, we’re very fortunate, and the other driver’s very fortunate. Thank goodness this was not more serious. And we’re very relieved.”
Did you address the team this morning?
“I addressed the team briefly, but Ryan Vermillion came in and gave the guys the rest of the direction as far as the extent. And just the explanation, it’s one of those things that as he goes along and as he gets healthier and the pain becomes less and less, it’ll be as tolerated. And that’s why I opened this up by saying according to the medical people, they’ve told me it’s as tolerated by him. This is a week-by-week thing. This week, we’ll see how he is tomorrow, but it doesn’t look good and I’m not going to try and sugarcoat that. Derek’s going to start and Joe Webb will be our backup. As we go forward, we’ll see how he is next week. But again, we’re going to treat this week-by-week very seriously, just like we did with the rib injury. We do not want to expose him in any fashion to any further harm. We know we’re in an interesting situation again as far as going forward as a football team, but at the same time, a young man’s health is at stake and we’re going to take that very seriously.”
How unfortunate is it he had another setback when it looked like he turned a corner?
“I think it’s very unfortunate, and I think that’s one of the things that got him down, why he’s really kind of bummed out. He knew that everything seemed to come together, especially against New Orleans, a good football team. An explosive offense, an aggressive-style defense, and he played well. He brought energy to the team and we saw it. And for this to happen, I know he’s really disappointed. And like I said, the feeling I got and the sense I got from listening to him is he feels like he’s letting us all down. As far as I’m concerned, the best thing he can do is get healthy and that’s what we’re really concerned with.”
Does this seem like a continuation where every week there seems to be something to deal with?
“This has been a different year, a tough year. It’s been very interesting for us as a football team and as an organization. But it’s one of those things that we’ll get stronger from. A lot of things came up that we’ve never known how to deal with. Now we know how to deal with. It’s brought to light some social issues that we, not just as a football team or organization, but as a society, we need to deal with. That’s what this year is all about. So it’s been a great, tremendous learning experience, and we’ll get stronger from it and we’ll better from it.”
How much of a benefit is it that Anderson’s already seen Tampa Bay?
“We’re truly benefited by that just because he’s a veteran quarterback. He’s been through this before, he understands, he’s had success as a quarterback in this league. He got a sense as to who Tampa Bay is by playing against them in Week 1. They’ve changed, they’re learning their system, their style of play. But I think we are very fortunate to have a guy like Derek. And we’re also very fortunate to have a guy like Joe Webb as the backup. People say, ‘Why are you carrying three quarterbacks?’ Well, you never know. This was one of those situations. And Joe will get opportunities as well, and he’ll get practice time, and we’re very fortunate to have these two backups.”
Does Cam’s style of play make his recovery process longer than Romo’s, a guy who pretty much just stays in the pocket?
“We’ll see. Again, it’s all about being able to tolerate the injury and we’ll see how it is. Like I said, if I have to do like I did against Tampa the first time, I won’t expose him. I don’t want to put him in a bad position.”
How much pain was he in yesterday?
“It’s hard to tell with him. I kind of thought he was in pain, but with him it’s so hard to tell. And he has that way of flashing that smile that lets you know everything’s ok, and when he did smile and flash it, I knew he was going to be ok.”
Can you talk about your own range of emotions?
“When I first heard it, again, I thought it was the hoax. I saw Jonathan’s report, and then concern, and when they told me Lance was digging into it, then I was really concerned. Hearing that he was going to the hospital, but knowing that Dr. Heyer was already there on-call that day, so he was able to go down that day. Ryan Vermillion went right into action. They contacted him, he contacted me, and we got a chain of communication going. So we knew at all times where he was, what the situation was. Once Dr. Heyer got a chance to see him when he first came in, all indications were he was going to be fine. They did the tests to make sure everything else was fine. Apparently it was a very extensive set of tests that they did. They really put him in the room for his own safety, just to get the rest. So far, so good.”
Have you had any experience like this in your past?
“I had a very unfortunate situation when I was a player in Chicago where a player actually passed in a car accident. Fred Washington from TCU. I think that was back in ’89, and that was a very unfortunate set of circumstances.”
Is this an opportunity to rally around this, almost like a ‘win one for Cam?’
“It is most certainly a situation where you can feed off that, and I think the players understand that. It was amazing, as his teammates started to hear about it, was the number of text messages and phone calls that I was getting from his teammates. Heard right away that Kelvin and Philly and Joe heard it right away and they headed straight to the hospital. And Greg Olsen, and Kalil, and Tolbert, and Thomas Davis, just the list of the guys that sent the messages, ‘Hey, how’s he doing? What’s going on?’ Guys that were downstairs that heard it that went in to ask R.V. about it. It’s one of those things that as a coach it’s great to see the team rally around the players, around each other, and it’s important.”
What will the gameplan be? They’re obviously two different types of quarterbacks?
“They are different styles, and there are still some things that we want to incorporate that fits both of them. We’ve got to look at what Derek does and does well. We’ll take a good look at what he did against them the first time, what Mike called. We’ll look at some of the other games that Derek played, the fourth quarter, but still, an extended role in the fourth quarters. For the most part we’ll try to keep the gameplan as close to what we’ve done in the past to what we’re doing right now.”
Was having Ryan address the team just a matter of assurance?
“Yes. That way, if there was any medical question, Ryan can answer the medical question. That’s why I haven’t really said anything medically, cause quite honestly, I’d probably mess it up.”
Did anyone have any follow-up questions?
“No. Everybody was just glad to hear that as Ryan put it right off the bat, “Hey, this was serious, but it wasn’t serious enough that something bad came out of it.’ It was one of those things that he’s going to be fine, and he did a great job explaining it to the players.”
Is there some sort of optimism given how quickly Romo came back?
“Yes. There’s always optimism about that. The way it was explained is it’s as pain tolerated. Time and pain management. But like I said, the biggest thing for myself, for the medical staff, for the coaches, is to watch him closely as he starts to progress and only allow him when we believe he can protect himself. You don’t want to put him out there when he can’t. So we’ll be very aware of that.”
Do you think he’ll debate with you like he did in Tampa Bay to let him play this week?
“Knowing him, yes. I’m being serious. That’s just who he is. He wants to, he’s going to do everything he can, but again, in all honesty, we’ve got to be realistic about this week, and go forward and just tell him, ‘Hey, if anything let’s started getting prepared one week ahead for you.”
So have you told him he’s not starting this week?
“No, I haven’t told him. This is going to be a surprise to him, so we’ve ruined this. But he’ll be here tomorrow, and we’ll get an opportunity to visit with him.”
How much of it is it’s not just an injury, but the whole experience of yesterday and today?
“It’s a tough experience. I’ve never had to deal with it, so it would be unfair for me to say. But just knowing how much he wants to do things the right way and compete and be on the football field. It’s going to be tough on him. He’s a competitor. He loves playing the game, he really does.”
Was he headed to the facility yesterday?
“Yes. He was headed over here. Basically he goes down Church St., turns right on Morehead, and enters in the Morehead gate. That’s the easiest way from where he’s living. It’s just one of those unfortunate things that happened.”
Is that his normal route?
“I assume so. That’s the only thing I heard, is that’s one of the way he goes to get here.”
Does he come in every Tuesday?
“Yes he does. He typically comes in. He’ll get a little workout in. He’ll spend some time in the whirlpool, hot and cold. Then he’ll watch some tape. Then he’ll come upstairs and visit with Mike and Kenny as they start putting in the gameplan. He’ll give them some feedback. Typically what he does is on Tuesdays, he and Derek and Joe will sit in there and they’ll watch tape together. They’ll talk about things, and like I said, he comes up and sits and visits with the coaches.”
What will he do at the stadium tomorrow?
“I’m not sure. Probably get treatment. Probably be with R.V. I can’t speak to the plan that R.V. and the doctors will have for him in terms of his rehab.”
Have you ever experienced a season with as much going on as this one?
“No. In all honesty, no. It’s been a very trying time, but as I said, I really think it’s something that we’re going to learn and grow from. I know it’s helped me. I’ve learned a lot about a lot of things that have gone on. And not just about football, but socially. It’s been a tumultuous time, but hopefully things will settle in. We’ve got a football game to play on Sunday.”
What’s the rapport like between Andersen and Olsen?
“The nice thing about Derek’s situation is last offseason in the OTAs and the minicamps, he got an opportunity to work with all those guys. And then training camp, he worked with all those guys. He’s got a feel for Kelvin, he’s got a really good feel for Greg Olsen and Philly. He’s got a nice rapport. I watch him with Cotch, and there’s that confidence knowing that Cotch is going to be where he needs him to be. And then the backs. So just the fact that he had the OTAs and minicamps that he did, it’s been a real benefit to him and it’ll be real good for us as we go into this game.”
Is there anything to be concerned about Jonathan Stewart’s hip?
“No. He took a shot there. It’s just sore and we just wanted to go ahead and be smart about it.”
And A.J. Klein’s knee?
“A.J. actually went out and did a little bit more than we expected him to do. He seemed to turn the page yesterday. He came in, did a workout, they felt really good about it. He came in this morning and felt really good about it. So we said, ‘let’s put him on the field.’ We put him on the field, he did some things. We got him off and he’s getting his treatment right now. But he did a lot more than I had anticipated.”
DeAngelo Williams is still day-to-day?
“He will be day-to-day. He hasn’t really tried to catch the ball. And that will be the real big test is when they start throwing the ball at him, see how he handles that.”
Is De’Andre Presley your emergency quarterback this week?
“Probably. De’Andre will probably have to get some stuff, Philly will probably have to get some stuff as well. But we’ll work them both and get some stuff out of them.”
Will Cam’s injury open up another spot on the Sunday roster?
“For Sunday, yes it will. We’ll just have to make a decision in terms of who’s going to be up in terms of the 46th player.”