Ryan Mallett Returns To Practice; Bill O'Brien Will Not Talk About Ryan Mallett

Yesterday, reports surfaced that Ryan Mallett showed up late to practice, was dismissed, and then later returned for team meetings.  John McClain reported that Mallett's failure to show up for practice yesterday was due to him oversleeping. Mallett did return to practice this morning.

In opening today's press conference, Bill O'Brien was clearly frustrated with the whole Mallett topic.  He set an early boundary that he wouldn't talk about the absence event, and that it needed to remain within the team.  He clarified that while he appreciates the work the media has to do in reporting news, some things are off limits.

Here are some quotes I was able to transcribe from the video and audio available on the Mothership.

NOTE: The comments in [brackets] within O'Brien's answers are my observations as I listened to the dialogue.

(On if Mallett is still in the QB rotation for reps and playing time)

O'Brien: [Shakes head slowly left and right in disbelief as the question is being asked, and then with a furrowed brow] "He's still on the team."

(On how Mallett did in practice today, did he shake it off and get back to work?)

O'Brien: "Well I thought BRIAN HOYER [strongly emphasized vocally] had a good practice today.  He did some really good things in practice today.  I think Tom [Savage] did some decent things, and Ryan [Mallett], when he got in there, was, ah, able to do some things.  I would say today that BRIAN HOYER [emphasized vocally, again] had one of his better practices situationally and all the different things we threw at him.  I thought he had a good solid practice today."

(On if Mallett is still number two on the depth chart)

O'Brien: "Yes."

I urge you to watch the video for yourself to see the mannerisms from O'Brien as he answered questions.  I think O'Brien did a good job of defining the situation and setting boundaries for questions about Mallett.  More to the point, O'Brien was clearly trying to shift the media's attention away from Mallett and to have them focus on Hoyer.  Hopefully this whole thing blows over, and both O'Brien and Mallett can move along in their preparing for the season.

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