Q&A with MICHAEL BENNETT - 7/27
Jul 27, 2007, 7:43:30 PM


Q: Can you talk about the first day?

BENNETT: “I was joking with Coach Edwards saying that we started off with a little Buddy Ryan this morning with the conditioning test. It was all in good fun though and all the guys came out and got through it. The first practice today we think went pretty well. It’s warm out here and we don’t have the pads on yet, but we’ll start that tomorrow and keep on moving.”

Q: Do you think Coach did the conditioning test to make sure everyone had been working out in the off-season?

BENNETT: “Definitely, and I can tell from the results that everyone has been working.”

Q: How did you do in the conditioning drills?

BENNETT: “I think I did pretty well. I didn’t get winded until the last three. That shows me that running the Arrowhead Stadium steps in the upper deck did me some justice.”

Q: With Larry Johnson missing, can you talk about getting most of the reps with the first team?

BENNETT: “There is a difference since Larry isn’t out here. His presence is definitely missed, but again we have to pick up where he is not. Right now it’s on my shoulders, Kolby Smith’s shoulders, actually it’s on the whole team. Our thing is just to go out and prepare like we’re preparing for a game. The guys that we don’t have we can’t do anything about and we just have to move forward.”

Q: Did you prepare differently for this season knowing that you might have an increased role?

BENNETT: “This year I prepared as if Larry was going to be here. I got a chance to start fresh. Being here in the off-season program and OTAs, I got a chance to learn the playbook and get the strength and conditioning down. I took that into the three weeks that we had off and I think that will help me throughout this year.”

Q: Can you comment on Priest Holmes arriving tomorrow?

BENNETT: “I will have my jersey ready so as soon as he gets here he can sign it and we can go from there. Priest Holmes is a great running back and definitely one of the guys I looked up to when I was playing. I have a newspaper clipping with both of us on it and I’m going to see if he’ll sign that too. I’m just going to be an autograph groupie for awhile, so hopefully he’ll understand that. We’ll welcome him with open arms.”