Redskins Misc News & Info

[Krusheasy]

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On how many quarterbacks could make the throw Carson Wentz made to Mack Hollins last night:

“Yeah, that’s part of it, you know? And I’ll tell you what, that was a heck of a throw. He launched it and normally D.J. [Swearinger] makes that play, but I think you’re right, I think he might have just taken that play for granted because he was so far down the field. He didn’t think the ball would get thrown, but it did get thrown. He has a cannon of an arm and made a great throw. That was one big play and there was a couple of other big plays that the kid made that you’ve got to tip your hat to him. But when it’s all said and done, you look at the tape, there’s four or five plays in that game that he made that we didn’t make that were the difference, defensively anyway. Offensively, we had our own issues, but he’s just a great player with a great arm.”



On if C Spencer Long could be available on Sunday:

“I think there’s…I don’t know. It’s really hard for me to say on any of these guys. You know, I think Spencer, McClure, Preston, Trent, Fabian, Brandon… Morgan probably has the best chance to play, but we’ll have to wait and see, you know? I’m hoping… usually the day after a game people are really, really sore and less optimistic than they are two and three days after the game. So we gave them another day off, just a walkthrough and meetings tomorrow. I gave them a little extra day to try to recover, and then Thursday I think will be a telling tale as far as optimism is concerned with a lot of these guys. So hopefully time will heal all wounds, but if they don’t, we’ll have to get some other guys ready. T.J. will have to get ready to go, obviously Chase will have to get ready to go and Catalina might have to get ready to go, so we just have got to continue to coach the guys who are not playing right now and prepare them to get ready to play.”



On how he can help the team prepare for a short week:

“Yeah, I think that the one thing that I’m pretty decent at is trying to get a gauge for how our team is feeling, physically, number one, and that’s my job to make sure that… The majority of these guys will run through a brick wall for the Washington Redskins, that’s for sure, that’s why I love this group. But I also have to be smart and make sure I understand that this is a long year and I’ve got to make sure that these guys are healthy. And there are some things we can do as far as more walkthroughs are concerned, more meeting time, and less pounding and running and physical contact, which, really about Week 6 or 7 it isn’t the end of the world. But we do need it for some of these younger guys who haven’t played. I’ll try to get those guys the work but the guys who are a little bit banged up obviously I’ll taper off of them.”



On if he is hesitating to have Pryor and Doctson on the field at the same time:

“No, it’s just the way we do it. We have had Terrelle Pryor, since he walked in the door, he’s been playing one position. When you have a receiver that hasn’t been playing receiver a whole lot in his career, you don’t want him bouncing around playing three positons. And Josh, very similar. He didn’t practice a whole lot last year, he’s only in his second year here so we wanted him to really learn one position and they happen to both be at X. [Jamison] Crowder, [Ryan] Grant we felt good about at Z, [Brian] Quick can play some Z and then obviously Crowder plays inside. Maybe in the future, maybe we can move Josh over to Z and I’m sure Josh could play some Z if need be, but we like Crowder out there, we like Grant out there and we like where we’re at there.”



On QB Kirk Cousins’ interception:

“We had Jamison Crowder on the high cross right behind that player. Chris Thompson couldn’t quite get out as fast as he was supposed to. He was supposed to track that player who got the pick, but Chris kind of helped with the offensive linemen a little bit longer than we would have liked, but still, I would like it better safe than sorry. So, Chris, I’m not faulting Chris at all. He did was he was supposed to do. If he feels like there’s pressure, he’s going to help with the offensive line and make sure there’s no pressure. But the player that was covering Chris was just standing there. Kirk was I think trying to drop it over that player’s head to get it to Jamison and I think his arm got hit and it went right to the player.”



On the team’s performance on third-and-short:

“We have not been faring well. We’ve tried to smash it up the gut a couple times and got rejected. We tried a couple bootlegs that have been successful. Last night, we had like one and a half. It was my first one. Third-and-one-and-a-half, closer to two. They were packed in there pretty good. They do a really good job with their safety play. Malcolm Jenkins does a good job setting the edge along with the defensive ends. They force everything and they pinch the defensive ends and the three-technique is a hell of a player – [Fletcher] Cox – so it’s hard to just say, ‘OK, let’s run it up the middle.’ It’s easier said than done. So we thought we had a nice little pick play to Jordan. Unfortunately, didn’t quite get the depth we were looking for and the pick we were looking for. Didn’t work out. The second one, had a chance to maybe run it, had another play we had a busted route on it and lost a part of the pick play and failed to convert. You’ve got your runs, you’ve got your play passes, you’ve got your boots, you’ve got your pick plays for man-to-man and we went with the pick plays and we felt strongly we were going to get man-to-man and neither one of them we got the picks necessary to make the play work.”



On the function of a lighter Wednesday:

“Normally Wednesday is one of our heavier days, but since we played on a Monday, physical game like it was with as many injuries as we have, I made Wednesday like a Tuesday. So we’ll have a walkthrough and meeting and introduce the Cowboys. We’ll put this tape to bed. We’ll get our corrections made on Philadelphia, we’ll introduce the Cowboys, have a walkthrough. Then Thursday we’ll have probably more of a walkthrough and try to get out there and practice a little bit, give them the looks necessary and then Friday we’ll get some red zone and some more third downs and try to get some more looks and Saturday might have to do a little bit more on Saturday to make up for losing Wednesday. But we’ll get our work in. I think right now it’s most important to let them know who we’re playing, obviously, let them know what they’re doing defensively, what our plan of attack is on both sides of the ball and then trying to get the reps the best way we can with the amount of bodies we have available.”



On WR Jamison Crowder’s fumble on a punt return:

“Well, he didn’t drop it; he just fumbled it. I promised he wouldn’t drop another punt. I think the ball just got hit. It was just one of those things, we’ve just got to make sure we just take care of the ball. Jamison is a sure-handed guy. It’s just very uncharacteristic of him having three balls put on the ground as a punt returner. We’ll have to keep studying the tape, where he’s holding the ball, how he’s holding the ball, and Randy [Jordan] will work with him and hopefully we’ll get it fixed because we need to take care of the dang ball, that’s for sure.”



On if he still has faith in Crowder at punt returner:

“We don’t have any other returners right now, so he is our returner. It’s not like we have punt returners coming out of the woodwork. We have him and Kendall Fuller, who really didn’t even do it in college. That’s kind of where we are right now with the punt returner position. He’s our guy, and I have faith that he’ll get it right.”



On if T Ty Nsekhe’s injury has taken longer than expected:

“We were told three to six weeks. So we took the optimistic approach with him because he is such an important key player as far as our depth of our offensive line. We were hoping it would be closer to three [weeks]. But we didn’t know – it could be closer to six. It depends. He’s such a big guy that it’s just taking a little bit longer. It’s not anything he is doing wrong, it’s just a tough injury for him. He will, I’m sure, do the best he can do get ready as fast as he can. He’s that type of guy. It’s just taking a little bit longer than we anticipated.”



On Nsekhe’s workload this week:

“We’re going to try increase his workload a little bit, try to get him a little bit of work in individual and we’ll see where he is. But it will probably be a long shot for him to play this week.”



On special teams:

“You would like to have some momentum-changing-type plays on special teams. I think Tress has had a good year. We’ve had some good punt coverage except for the return last week. For the most part, I feel pretty good about our punt coverage. And again, when Fabian [Moreau] goes down with his hamstring and Dunny [Quinton Dunbar] is thrust into the starting lineup, you lose two key, integral parts of your punt coverage team. You know, we’ve had to mix and match there. And some other key players get knocked out a little bit and obviously Mason Foster with his injury, he’s been taking off some of the special teams. It’s been tough. We have been trying to get some people out there to play. They’ve been doing a pretty good job. Kickoff return – we only had one opportunity and didn’t get much done there. For the most part, it’s been a wash, I think. I don’t think we’re giving up any momentum-type-changing plays but we’re not getting any. So, that’s something we have to figure out how to do.”

 

[Krusheasy]

thursday presser

October 26, 2017


Head Coach Jay Gruden


On injuries:

“Did not participate – Spencer Long, knees; Ty Nsekhe, core muscle; Brandon Scherff, knee/back; Trent Williams, knee; Morgan Moses, ankles. Limited were – Preston Smith, groin; [Tyler] Catalina, concussion; [Deshazor] Everett, hamstring; [Mason] Foster, shoulder; [Stefan] McClure, hamstring/knee; [Fabian] Moreau, hamstring; [Josh] Norman, ribs. Full was Zach Brown with his back.”



On his frustration with the injuries:

“It’s frustrating, but it’s pro football and it’s something we have to deal with. We just have got to do a good job of taking care of these guys and they’ve got to do a good job of taking care of their bodies when they’re not on the practice field or on game day, and for the most part they do. It’s just unfortunate. They happen in this league and we have to adjust.”



On the challenge of preparing a game plan given the uncertainty along the offensive line:

“Yeah, it has its challenges, that’s for sure. You know, you walk out of the tunnel with [Spencer] Long, [Ty] Nsekhe, [Brandon] Scherff, [Trent] Williams and [Morgan] Moses and those guys aren’t practicing, it’s a little bit different when you go in the huddle. Guys have to step up. We signed Tony [Bergstrom] yesterday to help alleviate the need at center. Chase [Roullier] is ready to go at center. We’ve got Tyler Catalina who has been here. Shawn Lauvao’s still healthy. We have some guys in here that are ready to roll if need be.”



On all of the alternate possibilities along the offensive line:

“Yeah, I don’t know about all that. We’ll see. Hopefully we’ll get one or two or maybe three of these guys back. We’ll wait and see.”



On the complications when players can’t practice but may be ready for Sunday:

“Yeah, it definitely complicates things. It’s not easy, especially when you’re trying to get the reps on the practice field and then flip it over for scout team and then those guys are getting a lot of reps out there. It’s hard, but I think the guys who didn’t practice today – they’re getting their mental reps, they’re getting their treatment and they’re doing everything they can in their power to get themselves ready to play. Whether they play or not, we’ll see what happens later in the week.”



On the challenge of piecing together an offensive line after typically playing a unit that has been together for a long time:

“Well, the good thing is these guys have been together for some time now. It’s been a couple years now that [Spencer] Long and [Brandon] Scherff and [Trent] Williams and [Morgan] Moses and [Shawn] Lauvao have been playing together, so a week here or there isn’t the end of the world. You’d love for them to all be healthy and working in unison day after day after day but you don’t always have that luxury, and this is just one of those times. We just have to deal with it and get the other guys ready. The good thing is, we’re getting a lot of good reps for [Tyler] Catalina and obviously Chase [Roullier] so it’s been good in that regard.”




On the difficulty of working younger players like G Tyler Catalina and C Chase Roullier into the starting unit:

“Yeah, it’s difficult but it’s something that these guys have to be ready to do. It’s just offensive lineman – it’s defensive lineman, it’s linebackers, safeties, everybody. If you’re on the practice squad, you’re here working. Eventually your number is going to be called and you have to prepare that way. I think our coaches have done a pretty good job of preparing everybody to play on Sunday, whether they know they are or aren’t. So, it’s a matter of when your number is called, be ready to produce.”



On CB Josh Norman:

”He hasn’t been cleared totally. He just was on a limited basis today. [He] did some things, did some good things, is feeling a little bit better so hopefully we’ll get good news.”


On when Norman is expected to get final clearance:

“Final clearance?... Hopefully, today he’ll go in and get the final clearance, tomorrow at the latest. It’ll be nice to know.”



On how LB Preston Smith is feeling:

“You know, I think he’s feeling a lot better than we expected but we’ll see. Playing that position with a groin [injury] and the change of direction and the leverage that you have to play with, I think you can feel OK but until you really feel the weight of people like Tyron Smith and Zack Martin and Jason Witten on you and having to adjust, that’s a different story. Hopefully we’ll try to get him some more work tomorrow, see how he’s doing and see if he can play with it.”



On if he might have to take a precautionary approach to Smith’s injury:

“Yeah, you’re exactly right. That’s the whole problem with these strains and pulls is that they might say they’re OK and can play and then if they do more damage to it, it could be longer-term and we don’t want that to happen. I think if Preston does play, it could be on a limited role and there’s some things that he can do, but we’ll gauge that tomorrow and Saturday.”



On if C Spencer Long’s injury is the biggest concern on the offensive line:

“Yeah, I’d say probably that’s accurate. They’re all a concern but I’d say Long is probably the biggest concern. I don’t know how long Long will be out.”



On the similarities between Eagles QB Carson Wentz and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott:

“They’re actually almost identical really, if you really break them down. They’re both big, strong, physical guys that can throw on the move extremely well. They both have great pocket presence, a great grasp of their offense despite only being in the league a couple years and they can make all the throws, really. They both have done extremely well in their short careers and they’re only getting better. I don’t really see any weaknesses in Dak’s game. Coming out of college, you weren’t sure how he would adapt to the pro-style game. He did some things in college like that, but he’s adapted extremely well – effortlessly, quite frankly – so he’s one of the top-tier guys, I think.”

On S D.J Swearinger’s demeanor this week following last week’s game:

“He’s fine. I think every defensive back has to have a short-term memory. They have to learn from their mistakes and then move forward. He’s still a great leader for us and people look up to him and he’s going to bounce back in a big way. We have no doubt that a couple of those plays that he typically makes, he’ll make this week.”





On if the team practiced as hard as they would have liked today:

“Did we go as hard as we would like? Probably yesterday we would have practiced in pads. Today we were just in shells so we didn’t go as hard as we normally would have this time of week during the year, but with all the injuries, I thought it was important for us to try to get as many reps as we could but taper off a little bit from the physical contact. We got a lot of good work in. Saturday, we might have to do a little bit more than a walkthrough. It may have to be more of a jog-through – maybe get some actual reps in and make up for some of the reps we missed on Wednesday.”



On if there will be any padded practices this week:

“No.”



On the “rivalry” between CB Josh Norman and Cowboys WR Dez Bryant:

“It’s the same rivalry. I don’t think there is any doubt. When you have any Cowboy player against any Redskin player, it is a great rivalry. I don’t care who it is – whether it’s Kendall Fuller against Cole Beasley or whoever, [Bashaud] Breeland against [Terrance] Williams. It doesn’t matter. It’s a great rivalry. I think those are two very competitive guys and their personalities are probably similar. I don’t know Dez, but they seem like they are very similar, very fiery type guys. [They] want to win, want to produce, want to be in the limelight and make plays and they both have done that in their careers and it’s a great matchup always.”


On if he has noticed any drop-off in Bryant’s game:

“There is no drop-off to me. I think a lot of people may look at his numbers and say there is some drop-off but the object of the game is to get in the end zone and he is still one of the best end zone targets there is in football, without a doubt. However they get to the end zone, it really doesn’t matter if they hand it to Zeke [Ezekiel Elliot], throw it to Witt [Jason Witten] or whatever. I just think at the end of the day you’ve got to get the ball in the end zone and he is still the biggest threat on their team as far as red zone targets.”


On the injuries to Long’s knees:

“He’s got both quads a little bit. So he’s been dealing with a little bit, I think they just really flared up and really bothered him during the game and you could see it throughout the game. He did an unbelievable job of finishing the game for us because we didn’t have anybody else to turn to, but I think right now he is in some pain.”

 

[Krusheasy]

QB Kirk Cousins

On the challenges of practicing without four starters on the offensive line:
“I think the focus is on getting the new guys ready and making sure they understand the nuances of the position and the nuances of our offense, trying to make sure that as a unit – as 11 guys – we are working as one. When you have new people, that can be harder to do, but that is why the practice time is so valuable. So we focus more on the guys who are in there and making sure that it’s moving smoothly with whoever the 11 are that are in the huddle.”

On working with C Chase Roullier:
“Fortunately we got a lot of experience in the preseason. Chase started a game against the Bengals and felt like he got a lot of reps about halfway through the preseason and that helps to lean on right now. Chase did a good job against the Eagles, going against some really good players inside against them. [He] held up well and has shown that he can pass protect well. I mean, he has shown that all the way through OTAs and training camp. So we feel really good about Chase. He’s got a good demeanor about himself. He can anchor well and he is only going to get better as a player. Now as a rookie, is it a challenge? Sure, but we feel good about his potential and we just have got to work through growing pains. I think those of us that are veterans have got to be that much better on game day and really help lead and set a good example and make plays.”

On if they will have to limit the offensive scheme because of the injuries:
“I don’t think so. I think in the pros we expect people to be pros. We are going to challenge you. We are going to ask you to do some things. This is the NFL and I don’t think that you can expect to win if you start to dummy stuff down and simplify it. So we are going to say ‘Hey, we expect big things out of you. There are only 53 guys that we chose to be on this team and if you have one of these spots, we are going to ask a lot out of you and ask you to deliver.’”

On what kind of coaching he does with the receivers:
“Well, I just do my job. I let the receiver coach do his job, the head coach do his job, and when I am out on the field just make sure guys understand the play call, know where they have got to line up, their split, the snap count, the steps, the depth in the route, how they fit in the concept, where they are in the progression, and make sure the exit angle that they take and all those details are where they need to be. But they’re on the details. They are well-coached and the details matter to them and they pay attention to it. Fortunately we don’t have to have a lot of coaching in between each play.”

On throwing deep balls to WR Josh Doctson and everything that goes into it:
“I think it comes down to a variety of factors – play calls, reads, protection. To be able to throw that ball, sometimes you need to be able to see things and stand in there and have time, and other times when you feel rushed, you go look for your check down and just dump it off to avoid a sack. A lot of different things play into why that would happen or wouldn’t happen.”

On how they have been effective in multiple-tight-end sets:
“Well, when you have multiple tight ends in the game, you give a greater threat of run and you give a greater threat of the ability to be a little more physical at the point of attack. So, defenses have to match that typically with an additional linebacker or less defensive backs on the field. When you start to put less defensive backs on the field, we feel like that certainly puts us in an advantageous position to have our athletes at the tight end position maybe have an advantage on a linebacker or a safety at that point. At every position on the field, you’re trying to look for favorable matchups and mismatches and sometimes we find that that happens with our three-tight-end or two-tight-end personnel groupings. When you can have your whole offense available to you because of the talent we have at tight end, but stay in those three-tight-end sets, I think it can give defenses a lot of challenges as to, ‘Do we put a bunch of athletes on the field? Do we put a bunch of guys who can stop the run? How do we defend that?’ Week to week, teams are going to have a different approach.”

On how much freedom he has at the line of scrimmage based on the defense’s personnel:
“Well, I don’t handle personnel. The coaches are going to handle personnel and who subs in. From there, once the play is called along with the personnel, then at the line of scrimmage certainly Coach gives me freedom to make sure we are running optimum plays. We just don’t want to waste plays. So if we feel like a play is – a run play or a pass play – we are not going to be able to protect it well or the running back is going to run into an unblocked defender then certainly we want to get out of that play and not waste it. But for the most part, if it’s on paper designed to work and it should have a chance, we are not trying to get in the game of just constantly checking plays. When you huddle up and you’re not at the line of scrimmage in a hurry, you also don’t have a lot of time on the play clock to be able to make all these audibles and checks. You would have to be a team that doesn’t huddle, goes to the line of scrimmage with 30-35 seconds and that gives you a lot of time to be able to assess and make those checks and take your time. In our offense it’s more we have answers built in and let’s go through the progressions and find the right answers.”

On what he takes away from two games against the Cowboys last year:
“I just take from the last two games just a lot of respect for the Cowboys. I think they’re a good football team. They have really good players, well-coached and they have now built a culture and a success that you kind of have an identity now and a system in place that works for them. I think it starts with their defensive coordinator when I am looking at it from an offense and defense perspective. Coach Marinelli, I think he just gets his players playing hard. There is just great effort from the first snap to the last, all the way through the whistle. All 11 guys play hard and it really stands out on tape as you watch. I still have a lot of respect for Sean Lee. I just feel like when he is healthy that he is as a good of a player that there is that we play all season long. He always challenges us. Then they have DeMarcus Lawrence, who is leading the NFL in sacks. You see a lot of talent and it just seems like every week that’s what we see when we turn on the tape. Every week it’s like ‘Man, they’re such a talented team and what a great challenge and we can’t afford to make mistakes because they will make us pay.’”

On the biggest difference in Doctson this season other than his health:
“Well, when you can’t practice and you’ve never played in a game, there is going to be a lot of differences once you’ve practiced and played in games. I think there is just a ‘been there, done that’ approach now that I think helps, as it helps with any player. I think he is only still in the early stages of what he could be as a player and where we want him to be. You also try to find what players do well. What are they successful at doing and let’s let them do that as opposed to asking them to do everything. I think you have to put a guy out there and run him through different situations to learn what it is that he does well and what he can help us with.”

On the upcoming stretch of games:
“I think the best mindset in this league – otherwise you’re going to overwhelm yourself and want to take a nap – is to just go 1-0 each week and really 1-0 each day. I feel like I can spin my wheels sometimes looking at all the challenges we have up ahead and there is such small room for error. But if we just focus on, ‘We have to beat the Cowboys on Sunday, let’s just look no further than that,’ and we can’t play the Cowboys until Sunday. So let’s just focus on having a great Thursday practice. I think if we can do that – take it one day at a time – I think that is our best mindset or our best approach to be successful by the end of the season. But, yes, the next several games are going to be a challenge, but not only that, I feel like the first nine games have been a challenge when you look at the whole thing. When you look at the Eagles twice, the Chiefs on the road, the Raiders are a good football team, the Rams have proven to be a good football team – it just keeps going. That’s the NFL. I guess that’s the beauty of it. That’s what makes it so fun for fans, but it certainly makes it a great challenge for us as players.”

On if he believes the offense is making progress in the red zone:
“I don't know; I think every week is its own entity. I think it's a critical factor in winning and losing football games. I think last year had we been better at it, we probably would have gone down as one of the better offenses in the last decade because of how much of a difference it makes when you come away with four more points down there. But I do think that we just have to have great play calls, we have to execute them well and we can't waste plays. When you go down there and you handicap yourself with a run that doesn't get any yards, now you're really working with only two plays down there instead of three. So we’ve just got to be productive when we get the chance and execute well. Ultimately, it is a confined space and the defense is going to win some now and then, but if nothing else, we've got to come away with three and play for the next series.”

 

[Krusheasy]

friday presser

October 27, 2017


Head Coach Jay Gruden


On injuries:

“Out will be Spencer Long, knee; Ty Nsekhe, core muscle; Mason Foster, shoulder. We’re having a planned surgery for Mason. Questionable will be Brandon Scherff, knee; Preston Smith, groin; Trent Williams, knee; [Tyler] Catalina, concussion; [Deshazor] Everett, hamstring; [Stefan] McClure, knee/hamstring; Fabian Moreau, hamstring; Morgan Moses, ankle; [Josh] Norman, ribs; and Bashaud Breeland, knee.”



On LB Mason Foster’s injury:

“Well, he’s got a torn labrum – he’s been dealing with the issue for some time now and I think the pain has become an issue. He wants to get it fixed now.”



On if Foster will be placed on IR:

“Yeah, likely. Yes.”



On how Foster’s injury impacts the team:

“Well, it impacts. He’s a starter. Now [Will Compton] and obviously [Martrell] Spaight and Josh Harvey-Clemons. We’re OK but we’ll miss Mason, without a doubt.”



On if LB Will Compton will start in place of Foster:

“Compton and Spaight will handle the missing Mason Foster, yes.”



On the situation at center:

“Chase [Roullier] will be the starting center. And we brought in Tony [Bergstrom] to be the backup center. So we have two. Then obviously, Shawn Lauvao has played center in the past, hopefully it doesn’t come down to that.”



On CB Josh Norman’s status:

“He’s been cleared but we still have to make sure that he’s OK after practice today and make sure there’s no repercussions tomorrow. But it looks like he’s going to be fine.”



On the plan if G Brandon Scherff can’t play:

“The plan would be Catalina at guard, if he can go. We have T.J. [Clemmings], he’ll be playing tackle if Trent [Williams] can’t go, but if Trent can go, we could also play him at guard. So we’ve been putting guys all over the joint here, as of late. We’ll find somebody in there.”



On if LB Preston Smith will be available to play in a limited role on Sunday:

“Yeah, I think so. I think so. He’s feeling pretty good. I think Preston will probably be one of those guys we’ll get a good workout in pregame warmup and see how he’s feeling and if he feels like he can go, we’ll get him in there in some kind of role – some kind of capacity. That’s the case with a lot of these guys, quite frankly.”



On if LB Junior Galette and LB Ryan Anderson will play more if Smith can’t go:

“Oh, yeah, yeah. And Chris Carter.”


On how the weather affects his game planning for Sunday:

“Yeah, that’s a good point. I think we’ll have to wait and see. That’s something that we can’t control. We’ll wait and see on game day if it’s an issue. The good thing is, Kirk [Cousins] really throws a good wet ball and throws the ball really good in the wind. We learned that at Green Bay – against Green Bay – last year when he threw for all those yards in 30 mph winds. He can handle the wind and rain. He’s very good but it can have an effect. But to what effect, we’ll find out on Sunday.”



On Foster’s injury:

“He’s been trying to play with it, and hats off to him for fighting through the injury, you know what I mean? There’s certain, I guess, categories of what he has right now and his is pretty painful. He can’t sleep at night. He wants to get it fixed and I don’t blame him. He fought through a couple games for us and I think just the pain has been unbearable for him. His range of motion isn’t there and he wants to get it fixed.”



On S DeAngelo Hall:
“I think we want to get him in practice – let him move around a little bit and get him back to making calls and run around on scout team a little bit. He is making great progress and I think he’s a guy that can be useful for us when we need him. And it could be next week.”



On how well TE Jordan Reed and TE Vernon Davis work together:

“Well, they are both great players. They both bring something a little bit different to the team. Jordan is a really good option route runner and he can get down the field and all that stuff. Vernon is a straight-up speed guy that can really blaze down the field. Vernon is also really good in the core as far as blocking and Jordan is getting a lot better at blocking. So those two together really are a great combination. They complement each other really well and they help the outside guys also. When those two guys are right – and even Niles Paul for that matter – we have three-tight-ends sets that are pretty effective too. You get them in base defense and we are working on linebackers and safeties, those guys are pretty good, all effective.”



On if he imagined that the running backs and tight ends would be the focus of the passing game:

“Oh, yeah.”



On Cover 0 blitzes and the challenges they present the offense:

“I think, one, we have to be in-tune with the protection. Where is our free player coming from? Obviously if you can get an audible and get into your max protection you would love to do that, but sometimes if you’re on the road and you’ve already started the process of the tap and the snap count, they come late. Arizona got us a couple times last year and Philly got us this past weekend where we had already started the process of the silent count and it was too late to get an audible. So then you have to adjust and find your quick element and we haven’t been very effective at that. We had a couple others where we picked it up and he was able to find his quick element and make some completions. But it’s all about timing. It’s all about getting your protection right and then if you do have a free player, know where he is, drift away from it and make a good throw. Hopefully the play has some quick elements to it.”



On if Foster has been put on IR:

“Not yet. We just found out this morning that that’s what he wanted to do… We will probably put him on IR here in about three hours, two hours before the waiver wire. He will probably show up on there today.”



On if the team will probably sign somebody when Foster goes to IR:

“Likely, yes.”

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Krusheasy]

roster moves ... mack brown let go. thats a head scratcher

For Immediate Release

October 28, 2017



REDSKINS MAKE ROSTER MOVES



LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – The Washington Redskins announced today that they have made the following roster moves:


The Redskins signed the following free agent:

OL Orlando Franklin


The Redskins signed the following player to their active roster from Baltimore’s practice squad:

G Arie Kouandjio


The Redskins placed the following player on their Reserve/Injured list:

LB Mason Foster


The Redskins waived the following player:

RB Mack Brown

 

[Sharkinva]

roster moves ... mack brown let go. thats a head scratcher

Our running game has been awesome, Brown would never see the field. I mean we needed to maintain a roster spot for Brian Quick after all.

 

[skinsdad62]

Brown can to PS

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Krusheasy]

monday presser

October 30, 2017


Head Coach Jay Gruden


On injuries:

“Matt Ioannidis is going to have surgery on Wednesday. There’s a possibility he could return. He has a fracture of his fourth metacarpal. Niles Paul is in the concussion protocol, possibility he could miss some time. [Stefan] McClure has a hamstring strain, could miss some time. Jordan Reed – hamstring strain – same. Shawn Lauvao – stinger – decreased strength in arm. He could miss some time. T.J. Clemmings has an ankle sprain, he’ll be day-to-day. [Bashaud] Breeland has a knee [injury] and also developed some groin soreness, he’s day-to-day. [Jamison] Crowder has a hamstring and lower-leg contusion, he’ll be day-to-day. [Montae] Nicholson has a stinger and AC joint aggravation. And then updates, [Spencer] Long will be week-to-week. Trent Williams – knee – he’s going to see how he feels during the week. Ty Nsekhe is going to increase his workload and see if he can practice. And then [Brandon] Scherff will be the same; hopefully we can increase his work and see if he can go or not.”


On if DL Matt Ioannidis’ injury is season-ending or if he will be able to return:

“We’re hoping he can come back, cast it up and play, but we have to get it fixed.”


On when Ioannidis might be available again:

“Not this week, but maybe next week or the week after.”



On if there’s anyone he knows he can rule out for Sunday:

“Know for sure? I would probably guess Reed, Ioannidis. Other than that, we’ll have to wait and see. The issue is we have got 13 guys that are questionable and we only have seven guys that we can put inactive. That’s the major issue that we have right now. We have to try to get six of those guys up – at least – somehow.”



On if he can remember an injury situation like this:

“No, I really can’t. You try to prepare for that with your depth in training camp and obviously your practice squad guys, you try to get them ready. But, when you get overwhelmed on the offensive line and now at tight end and safety now with [Stefan] McClure and obviously [Montae] Nicholson banged up, tight ends, like I said, it becomes a challenge. But we’re going to keep fighting on and put some guys out there and get them ready to play. That’s all we can do.”



On how the injuries are affecting depth:

“Yeah, it obviously hurts, not only on your offense and defense but on your special teams also. You can see that effect trickle down a little bit with our special teams play yesterday unfortunately. It’s our job as a staff to get these guys up to speed and get them ready to play. That’s the only thing we can do. We got it on our shirt – we’ve got, ‘By any means,’ so we’ve got to just get it done, have great effort, attitude and preparation, and hopefully we’ll figure out a way to get it done.”



On the details of CB Bashaud Breeland’s hamstring:

“Hamstring strain.”





On if Breeland’s MRI results showed anything:

“No. He’ll just be day-to-day, I guess. We’ll see.”



On if he felt like the team “could have stolen one” yesterday if not for the turnovers:

“Yeah, no question about it. When you have this many injuries, you need to play well and protect the football. That was a major emphasis going into the game – ball security. Obviously the blocked kick we were a little bit light on the left side and it was a low kick, but the fumble, the two fumbles were unfortunate. One was a pass protection breakdown and the other one was just helmet on the ball – unfortunate by Chris [Thompson]. When you’re playing a very good football team like that who’s really healthy, you’ve got to protect the football. And had we protected the football better, things could’ve been different.”



On the play of LBs Martrell Spaight and Will Compton:

“I think they played good, really. Obviously they rushed for 150 yards, so we had issues at certain other places. They have a great offensive line and obviously Zeke [Elliott] is a heck of a player and [they have] a good scheme over there, but I think our linebackers stepped in there and Compton and Spaight did a fine job.”



On if he’ll keep rotating Spaight and Compton:

“I think so. I think both of them are playing [with] a little bit of issues themselves, physically, so I think it’s good to get them some reps and get them some rest and keep them fresh, really. And Zach Brown’s playing pretty well, so I think it’s a good three-headed monster there – they just have to continue to sub in and keep each other fresh and play well.”



On if he has given consideration to the physicality of practice for this week:

“We’re going to have a meeting at 3:45 to go over the injury report with the staff and then talk about the practice schedule for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a walkthrough Tuesday. Then Wednesday, Thursday will be tough ones – we’ve got to figure it out.”



On if he would be OK with allowing his starters on the offensive line to play Sunday even if they are unable to practice during the week:

“Yeah, I’d jump for joy, to be honest with you, so yeah. We love to get them work, there’s no doubt about it, but the most important thing is to try and get them ready for the game. I don’t know, if we’d go out to practice tomorrow, I don’t know who my left tackle would be. I really don’t have one right now. If T.J. [Clemmings] can’t practice and obviously Trent [Williams] can’t practice and Ty Nsekhe can’t practice, we’ll probably have to put [Tyler] Catalina out there – he finished the game at left tackle. Kind of need him at guard. [Arie] Kouandjio finished the game at left guard and obviously Chase [Roullier] did a really good job at center – very bright spot there. And then Morgan [Moses] is still playing on his gimpy right and left ankles. So, got to get some guys in there, compete and play.”



On how TE Jordan Reed’s loss impacts the offensive scheme:

“It impacts it. You have to figure out what personnel packages you’re going to feature and go from there. Hopefully we will get good news on Niles and then we have [Jeremy] Sprinkle ready to go and obviously Vernon [Davis] is the ageless one who has done a nice job of staying healthy.”



On getting receivers more involved with the injuries to the tight ends:

“Yeah, without a doubt we are going to have to. Crowder had a good game. He had over 100 yards receiving but he is banged up a little bit. So without Crowder possibly and without Jordan, I think Chris Thompson will still have a major workload and obviously the receivers are going to have to step up. Ryan [Grant] had some clutch catches again. Obviously we have got to get [Josh] Doctson going and Terrelle [Pryor]. Maybe it is [Brian] Quick, whoever it is.”



On if strength and conditioning coaches could do more injury prevention if given more time with the players:

“We are looking into every possible scenario of what we can do to help these players get ready and take care of their bodies. There are so many different injuries on this list that I don’t know if they’re strength and conditioning related. Can’t put the blame on Chad [Englehart] or Larry [Hess] in this regard. I just think we are looking into some things that we can do to maybe prevent injuries after games on Monday to try and get them in here and do some more things. But they have a mandatory one day off and what they do with that day is up to them. I don’t know what to say about all of these injuries. I just A) I want these guys to get well,

we want to make sure we get them ready as fast as possible and then in the future figure out ways to prevent them and I don’t know what the answer is there.”



On if he thinks the irregularity of the team’s schedule has contributed to the injuries:

“I mean, it could. I mean, it is a physical game, without a doubt. You saw the way Niles got hurt and Jordan just had an unlucky pulled muscle. Lauvao, we tried a trap play and the ends spiked on him and met him in the hole. That was a fluke one. T.J. got his ankle rolled up. Breeland pulled his groin and hurt his knee on a fluke deal on a guy coming out to cut him a couple weeks ago. Nicholson, obviously, has been hurt in that shoulder for a couple weeks now. That’s hit-related. Long is the same thing and Williams has just been wear and tear over the course of time. There’s not a lot we can do with all these.”



On the offensive line’s performance yesterday:

“I think obviously Morgan stuck it out and played well. Tyler did a nice job at right guard for the most part early on. Then later on we gave up a couple stunts that were unfortunate that we didn’t pass off very well. Then obviously I mentioned Chase, he played well I think at center. Then left guard, Kouandjio had to come in there for Shawn and actually played pretty darn good for getting out of his car on Saturday afternoon, you know? Then left tackle, I think T.J., same thing, we missed a couple stunts. They do a good job with their movement, their T-E games and their pick games and all that stuff. We missed a couple of those but he competed and did some good things.”



On if he anticipates any moves prior to the trade deadline:

“Well, we don’t have a lot of spots right now, so I don’t know. We are going to have to figure out ways to… we obviously are short defensive linemen right now. So we have to add a defensive lineman somewhere somehow. We are short at safety possibly. Obviously offensive line, we are in limbo because we are waiting to see who can play and who can’t play. But we can’t really make a lot of roster moves because of all these injuries. You can’t put any of these guys on IR and you can’t cut any of these guys. They are all major parts of our football team. So we will have to figure it out and we will do it.”

 

[Sharkinva]

monday presser

Dude it would be easier to list who ISNT hurt at this point.

 

[Krusheasy]

roster moves

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – The Washington Redskins announced today that they have made the following roster moves:


The Redskins signed the following player to their practice squad:

OL Givens Price


The Redskins released the following player from their practice squad:

OL Andreas Knappe

For Immediate Release

November 1, 2017



REDSKINS MAKE ROSTER MOVES



LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – The Washington Redskins announced today that they have made the following roster moves:


The Redskins signed the following free agent:

DL Arthur Jones


The Redskins placed the following player on their Reserve/Injured list:

S Stefan McClure

 

[Krusheasy]

wednesday presser

November 1, 2017


Head Coach Jay Gruden


On injuries:

“Get your pens out. Did not participate: [Matt] Ioannidis, hand; Niles Paul, concussion; Jordan Reed, hamstring; Shawn Lauvao, stinger; Spencer Long, knees; Trent Williams, knee; Ty Nsekhe, core muscle; Zach Brown, back; Brandon Scherff, knee; Jamison Crowder, hamstring. Limited were Rob Kelley, ankle; [Bashaud] Breeland, groin, knee; [Montae] Nicholson, shoulders; and [Martrell] Spaight, shoulder. Everybody else was full.”



On the status of the offensive line:

“I think we have to go with the guys that are practicing right now. We have to prepare them to get ready to play. Anybody of these guys who did not participate, if they get ready, it’d be a bonus. But right now, we’re getting the guys that are here and able to practice ready – that’s all we can do.”



On the new offensive linemen:

“They’re learning. It’s new to them. They’re playing together for the first time, really. T.J. [Clemmings] is doing a good job, he’s getting better. Tyler [Catalina] is getting better. Obviously Chase [Roullier] is doing a good job at center. So it’s just about communication, playing together, trying to play in unison, which is hard to do at this stage of the season, but I think Coach [Bill] Callahan and Coach [Kevin] Carberry are getting them ready to go.”



On playing in Seattle:

“That’ll be a challenge. You work on the counts and all the stuff, and it’s always a great place to play, Seattle. Whether you have a 10-year veteran or a one-game player, it’s always going to be a challenge. We’ve just got to get them ready and Kirk [Cousins] has got to do a great job with communicating the snap count and we’ve got to handle the noise.”



On if T Trent Williams could play this week:

“That’s all on Trent and the doctors. I’ve given up trying to guess or predict.”



On how much offensive line injuries affect game planning:

“A little bit. We still have to be able to throw the ball and protect, whoever’s out there. So it’ll be a good challenge, obviously with Michael Bennett and Frank Clark and those guys that can rush the passer. And they just added Dwight Freeney also. But we’re going to have to do it. We’ll have to give them some help, maybe some quick game. But we’re still going to drop back and wing it, what the heck.”



On if DL Arthur Jones can play immediately:

“Yeah, Arthur, I think, can slide right in. He played in Indianapolis with Coach [Greg] Manusky, so he’s familiar with some of the terminology and all that stuff. He’s a fast learner, talking to him out there, he’s already got a good grasp of the game. Now it’s a matter of what kind of shape is he in and I think he’s down some pounds, so he looks pretty good. But over the course of five-, six-, eight-play drives, we’ll see how he does. We still have a five-man rotation so hopefully we’ll be able to keep him fresh.”



On if placing S Stefan McClure on IR opened a roster spot for S DeAngelo Hall:

“Well, that opened up the door for Arthur Jones first. If we want to get Hall up, we’ll have to make another move eventually.”



On if having only three safeties is an issue:

“We’re still, we have another good, full day tomorrow to practice and we’ll see where we are, health-wise, of the offensive line. If we can make a roster move, obviously we’d love to get D-Hall up. Might have to wait a week. I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see. But there are obviously not many spots with healthy bodies to make those moves. And none of these guys are really IR candidates. That’s the problem.”



On WR Josh Doctson’s targets:

“I think he’ll catch more of those than he’ll drop. The one against Kansas City, he had the ball, just the ground caused the incompletion. You’ve just got to learn to squeeze it and roll properly when he hits the ground. The other one, it was a wet ball and it was a little bit underthrown. He got both hands on it and you’d like to see him make that catch. Normally, he will. I think the days of teaching a wide receiver how to catch… if you had to teach him that now, I don’t think he’d be in the NFL right now. Josh knows how to catch, he’s got great hands, great, strong hands. Those are two exceptions to the rule, similar to [Jamison] Crowder on the two punts that he’s dropped.”



On how involved they were in trade deadline discussions:

“There were some discussions, but we obviously couldn’t get too involved with the status of our football team right now, with all the guys that are banged up. We’re happy with the team we have, and we’ve just got to coach the ones up that are healthy and get them ready to go.”



On when DL Matt Ioannidis can return:

“Yeah, I think the big thing is after surgery, we’ll see if we can cast that thing up and if he can play with a cast – how soon that’ll be. That’ll be up to the doctors and Matt, how comfortable he feels with that thing casted. But there’s been a lot of players that have played with a cast on their hand and been effective. But everybody’s different, we’ll see how it goes. Could be next week, could be the week after.”



On if he would expect Ioannidis this week:

“I wouldn’t… no, not this week.”



On losing talented players to create roster room to overcome injuries:

“Yeah, that’s the hard part. We didn’t want to do Mack Brown but we had to try to make room somewhere. We had probably the least amount of running backs in the NFL. We only have three – four was probably standard and most teams have one on the practice squad, five. We’ve been going with four and hated to lose him, but unfortunately we had to make a move. We intended on bringing him back on Monday but he got claimed. A similar move might have to be made here pretty soon if we have to get somebody else up, but hopefully we’ll get better news on these injuries and we won’t have to do anything like that.”



On preparing for Seattle’s atmosphere:

“Yeah, the good thing [is] we’ve been through it. Kansas City on Monday night was really loud and Philadelphia on Monday night was really loud, so we’ve practiced it a lot. The problem is we practiced it with our other guys, so now we have to re-practice it again with the new guys. We’ll do that tomorrow and Friday. We’ll go to the bubble on Friday, work the noise really well and the snap count.”



On if being underestimated provides a competitive advantage:

“I don’t know if we’re underestimated or not. I don’t know who’s underestimating us, but I feel like the guys that we have available, we have good players. We’re going to go out and compete and do the best we can. We’re not looking for excuses or looking for reasons why we won’t have success out there. We have every reason to believe that we’ll go out there and have success. That’s the only train of thought we can have and we’re excited about the challenge.”



On who can go on Sunday if TEs Niles Paul and Jordan Reed can’t play:

“Who can go? [Jeremy] Sprinkle and Vernon [Davis].”



On if Sprinkle and Davis can fill that same role:

“I hope so, yeah.”



On if he’s surprised by the success of QB Kirk Cousins and QB Russell Wilson as mid-round picks:

“I’d probably say you’ve got to be surprised a little bit because you don’t expect those type of draft picks to succeed. It happens. It has happened before with other guys, but the way Russell Wilson was in college, it’s really not that surprising. Anybody who watched him on tape – the athleticism that he displayed in college at Wisconsin and when he played at NC State – he was a great player, great athlete, very successful, always a team leader. If you had a chance to interview him, like at the combine, you could just see the leadership skills and the confidence just glowing from him. Kirk’s very similar. Captain, successful at Michigan State, great passer, great arm. It’s just a matter of getting in the right system and then when your opportunity comes, taking advantage of it and learning from your mistakes and getting better every day – and both of them have done that.”



On if the 2012 draft class at quarterback was one of the most talented at that position:

“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. I guess you could say that, I don’t know. I can’t compare it.”



On Seattle’s defensive play and how he game plans for that:

“Yeah, they’ve changed a little bit. They play their Cover 3’s – different versions of Cover 3. There’s a couple different versions they can play and then they have their man-to-mans that they’re very successful with. They have their five-man rushes. They have blitzed six a couple times and they have some two-deep Tampa 2 stuff that they play. They do mix up their coverages quite a bit. Just when you think they’re going to play man on third down, they bust out a Cover 3 or Tampa 2. They do a good job. The defensive coordinator there is very good. They know exactly where they’re supposed to be and how they play the coverages and then what plays hurt those coverages and they know how to guard against them. Very well coached football team and they have a lot of talent on defense – a lot of speed.”


On the team morale:

“I think everybody’s a little disappointed. The last couple of weeks we had a great opportunity against two division opponents, especially the home game against the Cowboys. Monday night against the Eagles, we didn’t get it done, so everybody’s a little disappointed. We understand it’s a 16-game season. It’s a long, long season and there’s a lot of games left. [There’s] a lot of good things we can still accomplish. Our goals are still in reach and I think we’re in a good place. We’re obviously concerned about the guys that are injured – we want our guys back and we want them healthy, but we also feel like we have enough good players to go out there and compete with anybody. I think morale is fine. It’s my job to keep them upbeat and keep them positive and I think they’re in a good place.”



On if does anything to help new players acclimate to being with the team:

“Yeah, we have to just put them in the room with coaches and get them ready. Coach [Bill] Callahan and Coach [Kevin] Carberry have done a great job of getting those linemen ready. Luckily Arie [Kouandjio] was here in training camp the last couple years so he had some familiarity. That’s why he was such an important sign for us. But for [Tony] Bergstrom and [Orlando] Franklin, they have been non-stop meeting with the coaches. They haven’t had a lot of time to really mingle with the other guys, but I think Coach [Jim] Tomsula met them for the first – ‘Hey, how you doing? I’m Jim Tomsula.’ That was on game day. It is what it is and we are not the only team going through this. There’s other teams that have had to go through this with injuries at certain positions and that’s just the way it is. We have got to adapt and overcome it.”

 

[Krusheasy]

QB Kirk Cousins


On how much he factors Seattle’s defensive talent into his decision making:

“I think you have to still play out your reads honestly and not necessarily just eliminate a side of the field because of any one player. But at the same time, understand that, trust your eyes, and if they’re covered well, you have to progress. I’ll try to trust my eyes and trust what I see and make quick decisions, and if that leads me into a great player, then so be it. Certainly, they’re great players and I’m sure that many times they’ll force me to progress and I’ll have to stay patient and take what they give me.”



On his evaluation of his performance against Dallas:

“I played well. I think the biggest thing that you learned from that game, in spite of all the miscues or challenges or unfortunate events, we’re still there – we’re still right there at the end. There’s a few third downs that if you convert, maybe you come away with a touchdown instead of a field goal. Or if you can get that field goal instead of having them block it, there’s just plays here and there, you say, ‘Man, we certainly made it tough on ourselves,’ and yet we were still right there. So you just have to keep playing. You learn that when you don’t have the critical errors, you tend to hang around in this league and you tend to stay in the game. And then in the fourth quarter, try to make some plays to win it. All in all, when you factor in, like you said, so many different things, I think there were a lot of positives. We just came up short.”



On if the noise in Kansas City helps his preparation for Seattle:

“I think we… I always talk about having experience, and I think again, you have experience with the noise by playing in Kansas City and by playing in a loud environment in Philly on Monday night. So we take that experience with us as we go to Seattle. I’ll be the first to say that I haven’t played there. I’m sure that Seattle may be even louder than anywhere else. We’ll be ready for it the best we can. We understand what we’re walking into from that standpoint, and we know we have to communicate very well, verbally and visually, and be ready to go, from the first snap to the last.”



On having a week to work with the new linemen:

“Yeah, we’ll do the best we can. You then don’t know what injuries may happen in the game, but I’m sure we’ll have more of a contingency plan, as a result of what happened last week, so that if we have to shuffle players around, they’re ready to do that or we’ve talked about that leading up to Sunday. It’s certainly not a preferred option, but we’ve learned that it can happen and if it does happen, we still have got to find a way to win a football game.”



On how much he has kept in touch with Seahawks QB Russell Wilson:

“Not a great deal. Maybe a text here or there or see him at a conference in the offseason and catch up briefly, but he’s a busy guy. He’s had a lot of success and done so many good things – he got a lot of opportunities – so it’s always been a good competition going back to college, and we trained together leading up to the draft. And I think that whether it was playing against him in the Big Ten, or training together for the draft, or just both being quarterbacks in the NFL, I think he’s always challenged me and the competition there has always brought the best out of me as a result of always trying to raise my level of play.”



On comparing himself and Wilson to quarterbacks selected earlier in the 2012 NFL Draft:

“Time will tell. I think we’re still pretty early in the process to say what became of that class. When I was drafted, I remember thinking, ‘Boy, it’d be fun if that class was able to have a lot of production in the NFL.’ We’ll see where we go from here, but I’m happy for him and all the success he’s had and the way he’s been able to earn all those accomplishments and wins and a Super Bowl championship. He’s done so many great things in this league and he’s got so many good years ahead of him and he’s certainly a bright spot in our league when you talk about just somebody to be excited about and fun to watch and that people can get behind. Hopefully we can contain him on Sunday, which very few teams are able to do.”



On if he can take anything from Houston’s offensive success against Seattle:

“It’s a variety of plays. It’s not any one thing like ‘Oh, he’s scrambling, that’s why he threw for as many yards and touchdowns as he did.’ One play was a phenomenal play down on the goal line, very athletic to avoid somebody and then quickly find someone open in the end zone. Another play is a 65-yard bomb in the air where he reads the safety and throws it over the safety’s head and the receiver goes and gets it for him. Another one was a simple five-yard screen pass that [DeAndre] Hopkins takes for whatever, 70 yards. It’s a combination of things and when you hit on screens and you hit on a deep play pass and you hit on a red zone play action then, yeah, you are going to end up having a great day. So you have to be successful in all those phases and we would have to be as well.”



On accounting for the crowd noise when communicating with the offensive line:

“How do we account for the crowd noise? We handle it the way we’ve handled every other away game. You have silent counts, you yell and scream, you make sure the huddle is tight, you prepare for it with noise at practice and you do the best you can and make sure you’re on the details. What are the challenges of having new offensive linemen? I mean, you name it. I mean, we have all kinds of code words and terms and snap counts and techniques. They have to face all kinds of different pressures and stunts and T-Es and blitzes. It’s a lot. We’ve got to be given a crash course in trying to learn as fast as we can.”



On his memories of the 2012 playoff game against the Seahawks:

“I remember a charged atmosphere at FedExField. I remember how fun it was in our run to get up to that game and how exciting that moment was at kickoff. I remember being up early, about 14-0. Then I just remember they gradually got back in the game and showed a lot of the things they’ve continued to show for several years now – playing good defense, sound defense, preventing big explosive plays and being able to run the football and make efficient plays through the air. It ended up pulling away from us at the end and it was a tough loss in the moment, but it was a fun run to get to that point because we won so many games in a row.”



On TE Jordan Reed being hurt and if that creates opportunity for the receivers:

“I think we will continue to just throw to the open guy. It certainly does, personnel groupings – you have to formulate around your personnel. If we don’t have enough tight ends, then we won’t be able to emphasize those groupings. We may go with multiple running backs; there are other options we have. We will just have to see as we go what works best, how we match up well and then throw to the open guy.”



On Seahawks S Earl Thomas:

“Earl is a tremendous talent, a great competitor, covers a lot of ground and sees the game so well. He has a great deal of experience playing that position and just about everything you can try he has seen. He is going to make plays. I think also while they have many, many great individual players, I think the sum of the 11 is also what makes them a very good defense where they all pick each other up. They all help each other out, where, yes, I have got to beat Earl Thomas to a spot on a throw, but I also have got to throw it over K.J. Wright and I also have got to throw it before Richard Sherman falls in on it. It is really a group effort to make each pass challenged and difficult and they want to force you into a tight-window throw where their athletes and their playmakers can go make you wrong.”



On his reaction to the 49ers trading for QB Jimmy Garoppolo:

“I think I have enough to worry about with the Seahawks. That’s where my focus is and when we talked through the offseason and got to the start of training camp it was really – fortunately in my situation I can just go play and I really can’t by the rules of the league do anything with my contract or my situation, which is really a blessing in disguise. It enables me to just focus on the task at hand and winning football games and being productive in helping lead this team. Then when we get to the other side, then we can start to have those conversations. I think it works out well that I can just focus on football and I’m not in a position to be traded or work out a deal. I can just try to win games and then see where we are when the season ends.”



On his Buffalo Nickel shirt:

“This is the Buffalo Nickel that was made back in the day. It says 1920. I thought it was cool. Our equipment managers pointed it out to me and it looks and awful lot like our Redskins logo. So, yeah, we put it on a shirt and we are selling them on my website, but, yeah, it is kind of fun… We definitely are going to give a portion to charity to IJM [International Justice Mission] and just kind of have fun with it and see where it goes.”

 

[Krusheasy]

thursday presser

November 2, 2017


Head Coach Jay Gruden


On injuries:

“Did not participate was [Jamison] Crowder, hamstring; [Matt] Ioannidis, hand; [Shawn] Lauvao, stinger; Long, knees; [Ty] Nsekhe, core muscle; Niles Paul, concussion; Jordan Reed, hamstring; Trent Williams, knee. Limited were Brandon Scherff, knee; Robert Kelley, ankle; [Bashaud] Breeland, knee/groin; [Montae] Nicholson, shoulder; [Martrell] Spaight, shoulder. Returned to full was Zach Brown.”



On if G Brandon Scherff participated beyond individual drills:

“No, just individual so we put him as limited. But things are looking up.”



On to what he attributes LB Preston Smith’s growth this year:

“Just Preston. I think Preston has had some help obviously. Ryan [Kerrigan] has got him a sack or two maybe, but they all work hand-in-hand. A good pass rush, you can’t do it by yourself. You have to a good push up the middle. When Jonathan [Allen] and Matt [Ioannidis] were going good, they were getting good push up the middle, which made the quarterback stay back in the pocket and couldn’t let him step up. So that helps out a lot but also Preston doing much better on his own with his pass rush moves and his effort and his finish.”



On LB Zach Brown’s injury:

“He’s had some spasms here and there... It just happened.”



On if he has any concern about WR Jamison Crowder’s availability for Sunday:

“I am concerned, yes, but we will see. We will have another day tomorrow and see if he makes any improvement, get into individual or anything like that. But missing two days for a hamstring for a wide receiver is concerning, yes.”



On if his play calling becomes limited if Crowder and TE Jordan Reed are out:

“It doesn’t become limited. I just think we have to move people around a little bit if Jamison can’t go. [It’s] a good thing we have a couple receivers that know all three spots, which is important, and we will just have to make do.”



On the impact of possibly having Scherff on Sunday:

“It’s a big deal. He is a very good offensive lineman. So anytime you get a chance to get a Pro Bowler back in your lineup, then it’s a big deal.”



On if G Tyler Catalina would move to the other side if Scherff plays:

“We could do that. We also have Arie Kouandjio who has stepped in and played left guard nicely last week for about 20-25 plays. So that’s the other option.”



On if S DeAngelo Hall will be promoted to the active roster this week:

“We are waiting for these injury reports to come through and if we can get him activated, it would probably be tomorrow. But still we have to wait to see who is going to be able to play. That will probably be tomorrow.”



On the plan with S D.J. Swearinger if Hall returns:

“I think both of them will play. I mean free/strong in our defense, I think it doesn’t matter. Swearinger would probably be more of a strong if D-Hall does play and we are still waiting on Nicholson to see if he can go or not.”



On if RB Robert Kelley’s ankle injury has been a little bit more serious than initially expected:

“Yeah, I think it has played a big part in it. He tried to come back a little sooner than he probably should have and he fought through it. Then every time he’s got tackled in the piles and had it twisted up on him a couple times, last week was another example of it. It’s just something that he’s dealing with right now and I think he will continue to deal with it for a little while. I think he is close to being ready. Hopefully a couple more days of rehab and treatment and some Advil, I think he will be ready to go.”



On how much he pushes QB Kirk Cousins to push the ball down the field:

“I always tell him, ultimately, he’s got the ball to make the decisions. We just call the plays and try to get him progression reads and man-to-man take your shots with the matchups that you like. But ultimately he is the one that is going to make the decisions of what he feels good about making throws. I think there is going to be a point in time where he is going to have to give some receivers some chances that maybe look a little covered, but give them a chance to uncover or give them a chance to make a play. That’s probably the one area that we can force the issue on a little bit to give these receivers chances down the field. Other than that, man, I think he is playing great and when the ball is complete, I never criticize. We just always talk about other options possible for the next time we call it. That’s all, but he is doing good.”



On Cousins keeping his eyes down the field:

“That’s a skill that you really can’t coach. You try to do individual drills throwing bags at their feet and have them jump over hurdles and all this crazy stuff. But really, at the end of the day, when it comes to game time when you have actual pressure – inside, outside, you step up, back around, whatever it is – obviously you want to have the quarterback once he flushes to keep his eyes down the field for the big plays, for the throwaways or what have you. Some quarterbacks looks at the ground until they get totally free. Some guys can do that as they’re scrambling and looking downfield. It’s just an art form for some of these cats and Kirk is getting better and better at it.”



On how the Seahawks’ acquisition of T Duane Brown affects what the Redskins will try to do:

“It doesn’t. They just acquired a good player – a really good player.”



On incorporating midseason acquisitions:

“I think some veteran players like that can handle it. He’s obviously a good player and I think it’s just a matter of getting used to the terminology, the quarterback, the snap count. There’s a lot more to it than just going and playing tackle, OK, but there’s a whole run terminology, pass terminology, line calls— switch at the last second. There’s a lot of things mentally that you have to get used to with your new team before you feel comfortable. Playing left tackle, I think that he’d probably step right in inside zone, outside zone, pretty easy. Protections are what he’d have to get used to and the snap count.”



On if S DeAngelo Hall would be activated if S Montae Nicholson can’t play:

“Well, I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see, now won’t we? That’s the whole beauty of this business. You have to wait until you get the list.”



On if Hall is ready to play right away if he returns:

“Yeah. He’s in good shape. He’s been working the last couple of weeks and we see enough of him that if need be, we can activate him soon. It’s just right now, with the numbers that we have, it’s difficult. We have to put somebody on IR or have to waive somebody, and there are not a lot of guys to be able to do that with. So that’s why we have to wait, if we put him up this week, for the final injury report – see who’s playing, who’s not and who’s available to us.”


On if the NFL should have two bye weeks:

“I don’t know about that. Shoot, one bye week seems like forever. You just hate to have your bye week so early in the year and then have 12 straight, but I don’t think so. I think one bye week’s enough. The season is pretty long as it is, you know? I mean, it’s long.”


Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky


On game planning for the Seahawks’ strength on third downs:
“Well, I think you look at the film. You’ve got to come up with a defense. He’s a great scrambling quarterback. He can get out of the pocket and make plays down the field, so we’re going to try to put our guys in the best situation to make plays and try to get after him at certain times. Other times, maybe play back and sit a little bit in the zone coverage, but vice versa.”



On DL Arthur Jones:

“He kind of knows the system a little bit. [He’s] been around it for a couple years when I was in Indy, so from that standpoint it’s good for him from a learning standpoint. Right now, he’s just trying to get into shape – get back into football shape. He’s looking pretty good right now and I’m excited to see what he can do.”



On the plan for containing Seahawks QB Russell Wilson:

“I think you’ve got to be cautious of your pass lanes and trying to make sure you’re in those pass lanes as a defensive lineman. And then, from a back end, you’ve got to plaster the receivers because he does a great job keeping his eyes up the field and letting the ball loose and he has a great arm to get the ball down the field. Overall, we’ve got to make sure we harass him in the pocket and make sure we cage him a little bit and then overall get plaster drills on the backside.”



On the plusses and minuses of using a spy:

“Well, sometimes from a spy’s perspective, sometimes it’s a three-man rush, sometimes it’s a four-man rush, so that spy player sometimes gets lost in the shuffle – sometimes when he’s thinking he’s going this way and he goes the opposite way. Overall, sometimes you do have to spy him and sometimes you don’t.”



On LB Preston Smith’s development:

“I think overall, I think each and every year that you grow as a player. From his standpoint, his first year he had a pretty good year. Last year, so-so, and now continuing and having a good year. I think he’s just building on his pass rush, his get off and feeling the weight of the tackle being leaning back farther or short-setting him a little bit.”



On how Smith handled last year:

“I think just from a personal standpoint, I think the best thing that he did was he’d keep on competing each and every game, you know what I’m saying? Sometimes he has opportunities, which he has this past year, which I’m excited that he gets those opportunities to get pass rush on a one-on-one situation.”



On Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin:
“He’s just got great route-running capabilities. He then does a great job of getting back up the field when Russell breaks the pocket and he spots him and he does a great job of looking for him.”




On how to approach a quarterback like Wilson that spreads the ball to different receivers:

“I think each and every game plan’s different based upon who the individuals are across the board. He does a great job, like I said, scrambling, making plays outside the pocket and inside the pocket. So we’ve just got to make sure our game plan is tight-knit and then going into it we have success on Sunday.”

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Heal up Mason

 

[Krusheasy]

monday presser
1/2

November 6, 2017


Head Coach Jay Gruden


** The following is a transcript of a conference call with local reporters this afternoon.**


On if the game was a “must win” and what momentum can be gained from a win like that:

“Well, you know, ‘must’ win? It was an important game for us obviously being that we lost the last couple key divisional games to Philadelphia and Dallas and already lost to Philadelphia twice. So it was important for us to keep pace. And hopefully it does have a positive effect on our team, you know, with the confidence level of some of the guys that are playing for the first time together and some of the veteran guys that know that they can perform at a high level on the road against a very good team… Which we have before. I mean, we played very well at Philadelphia and came up short. We played pretty good at Kansas City, came a catch short in the end zone. So the guys have been playing good. We just haven’t got the results we’re looking for. To get a victory on the road in a close game is good for their confidence.”



On if he thought about the difficulty of the season had the team fallen to 3-5:

“Yeah, I mean, you always try to lay out the results after or before the game, what could happen: 3-5, long trip home. You know, wouldn’t mean the end of our season, but it would make it a lot tougher. We’re still in a tough spot at 4-4. So we still have a long way to go but we have a whole second half of the season still to play and we’re in a position where we can at least control what we can control and get ourselves back in the race.”



On if his perspective of QB Kirk Cousins’ play yesterday changed after reviewing the film today:

“It didn’t really. I just think being on the sidelines with him and knowing what he’s going through getting hit and sacked a few times, the resilience that he showed to make those two big throws at the end of the game was a great tribute to him and how mentally tough that he is. So it was… Any time you go to Seattle and get a win, I don’t care how you do it, you know, what your stats look like, how many times you got hit or get sacked, to get a win over there and have a key two-minute drive, you know, to get it done is impressive. So we’re obviously proud of the fact we got it done and Kirk played very well.”



On Cousins’ play prior to the final drive:

“I think we weren’t very efficient on offense. You know, being the quarterback of an offense that wasn’t doing very well, we had some first down miserable plays. We had, I think, a safety on first down. We had two sacks on first down and we had a fumbled snap on a first down that really put us behind the 8-ball. That’s four drives right there that we couldn’t recover from because of our first down ineptness. So that’s not on Kirk, that’s just on the entire offense and the play calling both. So overall, I think offense in general wasn’t very good up to that point, but, you know, defense kept us in the game and offense played well when it counted and got the big touchdown.”



On CB Josh Norman:

“Well, Josh is a premier corner in the league, in my opinion. He’s the best. You know, not from his cover standpoint, not just from his coverage, but from his tackling. His tackle on third-down-and-one, when he tackled the guy by the arm, not that many corners are going to do that – step up there and make that big of a tackle in that type of situation. So I think as an all-around corner – coverage, tackling, leadership, effort, all that stuff – I think he’s up there with the best. It’s great to have him back on the field. The energy he brings, the passion he brings for the game is contagious.”


On how much of a difference-maker Norman is when he’s available:

“I mean he’s a Pro Bowl-level corner. Same impact, the difference that Trent Williams has and Brandon Scherff. These guys are hard to replace. Not saying anything negative toward the guys replacing them, they’re just not that caliber right now. [Quinton] Dunbar has done excellent, man. He’s got a chance to be an elite corner one day – he’s just not quite there yet but he’s working toward it. But Josh has already proven it and done it at Carolina and here. He’s been a consistent performer his whole career. It’s hard to replace a guy like that, but fortunately we do have some depth at the corner position with [Kendall] Fuller and Dunbar. [Joshua] Holsey is playing a little bit better. Fabian [Moreau] is learning and playing better. But still, to say they’re as good as Josh right now at this point in their career is hard to say. Hopefully they’ll get there, but not right now.”



On TE Vernon Davis’ hand injury:

“It’s a hand contusion. He should be OK from what I’m hearing.”



On other injuries from Sunday:

“Arthur Jones has a shoulder dislocation. We will daily evaluate him, see how he responds to treatment. He could miss some time. And then Brian Quick is in the concussion protocol. We will get an update later in the week for you.”

 

[Krusheasy]

2/2

On LB Will Compton and S DeAngelo Hall:

“I thought Will played great. He was all over the place. If he could jump a little bit higher, he might have had two more picks. You know, he’s got that 28-inch vertical. If it was a 30-inch vertical, he could have had two more. But he played really good. He was all over the place. He communicated well. He was the communicator of the defense for the first time all year. You could see it make an impact on everybody. [I’m] happy the way Will played. I know he’s happy to get back into the starting lineup and play [a] significant amount of time. He took advantage of it again like he always does. And D-Hall, I thought did some good things for his first time out. A little rusty from time-to-time but I thought he played well. You know, I think he anticipated some throws. He took good angles and tackled when he had to tackle and then obviously made the big play at the end of the game to break up the pass. For his first time out, I think he did good. He’s going to get better and better and better the more freely he gets back into the lineup.”



On starting offensive linemen potentially returning and if he thinks about the team’s potential if they do:

“I think we showed flashes there early. We’re hoping that some of them comeback. We’re not sure. They’re all day-to-day. I think [Shawn] Lauvao is improving. We are seeing improvement from him. He’s getting the range of motion back. Now, we’ve just got to get his strength back. Spencer Long, we’re going to open him up a little bit in individuals, see how he does. It will be exciting to get him back out there hopefully. And then Trent [Williams], he’ll be day-to-day. We’ll see how is doing with the pain tolerance. And then [Brandon] Scherff, I think he’ll definitely increase more and more. So, you know, those guys… and then obviously big fella Ty Nsekhe, he’s going do more in individuals this week, hopefully. So, it would be great to get at least one back, maybe two, maybe three would be outstanding. And I know when they are all back and healthy, we’re a little bit better offense than we are without them, that’s for sure.”



On if there was a silver lining that Cousins had to trust new receivers yesterday because of injuries to WR Jamison Crowder and TE Jordan Reed:

“Yeah, I think it just goes to show his… I don’t think he really discriminates against anybody on our football team. He’s going to try to throw it to the open guy. It’s just Jordan Reed is such a special guy as far as getting open, and so is Jamison, that those guys are usually open so he throws it to them. Not to say the other guys aren’t, but now that you are forced to look their way and to see them make some plays was exciting. It’s just going to improve their confidence level and Kirk’s confidence level in throwing to them. That’s not to say that when Jordan comes back – he’s still probably going to be our first option on a lot of throws and same with Jamison because they’re special people, but to have the ability to stretch the defense a little bit with some of these guys and give them some opportunities will be important down the stretch. That’s for sure.”



On why his teams have played well when expected by many to lose:

“I have no idea. Does everybody really expect us to lose all the time or what?... I have no idea. I think, I don’t know. I don’t know. I just think our guys – they play hard. They prepare well and we have some good leadership on this football team. Games that we lost, we thought we should win and I don’t know. I don’t have really an answer for you. We never really worry about what the outside thinks about our chances of winning a game. We feel confident in our ability to win every game that we step out on the field and play, so yeah.”



On if he talks to his team about “being up against the wall”:

“A little bit. Not so much being against the wall, I just want to make sure we… You know, my job is to instill confidence in these guys and make sure they understand that we can go out and compete against anybody – whoever is playing on our football team. We’ve got enough good quality players on our team. We can compete. We’re minus some good offensive players without a doubt but we still have some good offensive players. We still have Kirk and Vernon and Ryan Grant and Josh Doctson and Terrelle Pryor and Morgan Moses. So we still have some good players on offense. It’s not like we’re totally inept. And defensively, you know, with [Ryan] Kerrigan and Preston [Smith] playing the way they are, Ziggy Hood and the inside backers – [Zach] Brown and [Will] Compton – playing the way they played, and Josh [Norman], I mean, we have a good football team still. Our depth is challenged a little bit in special teams a little bit, but we go out there, we feel like we can go out there and compete with anybody with the talent we have still available.



On his evaluation of the running game and of RB Samaje Perine halfway through his rookie season:

“Well, we need to have more success running the ball. Yesterday was just… The last couple of games, actually, we have haven’t been able to run the ball very well at all. And in order to be a successful running team and get your backs ample carries to be successful, you’re going to have to have attempts at it and opportunities and we just don’t have that many. And when you’re only carrying the ball 12 … I think Rob Kelley had 12, Chris Thompson had five and Perine had a couple, so that’s not enough for any one of those guys to really get in the flow of the game as far as running the football. They have a great defense. They lined up Kam Chancellor down in the box a lot. We couldn’t account for every player. Stopped the run, so we had to throw it a little bit more than we wanted to. But for Perine, I think he’s got to keep plugging away and hopefully the touches will come later on down the season when the weather gets worse and worse and worse and we’ll get some of our guys back offensively. As far as run blocking, when guys are playing together and are used to each other in some of the run combos and getting up to the next level, I think you’ll see a difference there and hopefully Perine will benefit from that.”



On Reed and Crowder:

“Reed will be day-to-day. He’s improving, and so is Crowder.”