Game Thread: Week 13: Redskins @ Cardinals

[Krusheasy]

♫ H T T R ♫​

 

[skinsdad62]

the cards have a tough defense

 

[j_y19]

the cards have a tough defense

Yeah, but so do we. So far, the Cards haven't scored a point on us...so that must mean that the defense is winning the game for us, right?

 

[SoCalWizFan]

Wow - of the Cards 4 wins two are against the 49ers & one against the Jets. The only other one was against a Bucs team that was struggling at the time. Redskins need to come out strong in this one.

Time for Cousins to get revenge for that flawed performance a few years ago that included 3 picks & one pick six. That part of his game appears to be in the rear view mirror at this time.

 

[kbso83432]

Most important game of the year since the Giants & Browns games.

 

[Sharkinva]

Yeah, but so do we. So far, the Cards haven't scored a point on us...so that must mean that the defense is winning the game for us, right?

@j_y19 throwing shade.

 

[skinsdad62]

they have a good rb in johnson a pair of good wrs a decent qb and a strong defense

i wouldnt underestimate what they can do to us if we dont take them seriously

 

[kbso83432]

I think they run Fitz in the slot. Johnson is a beast. Their defense is legit and I can't remember the last time we won up there. I'll be pleasantly surprised if we win Sunday.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

I think they run Fitz in the slot. Johnson is a beast. Their defense is legit and I can't remember the last time we won up there. I'll be pleasantly surprised if we win Sunday.

Washington Redskins vs. Arizona Cardinals Results | The Football Database

?? The Redskins lost on the road to the Cards a few years ago. Prior to that time they have not traveled to the Phoenix area since 2005. Prior to that loss the Redskins beat the Cards 8 times in a row & you have to go back to 2000 to find the previous time where the Cards beat the Redskins. You probably don't remember the last time they won there since they rarely play there (& have only played in that actual stadium one previous time).

I sure hope that some of our SoCal Redskins fans will be attending the game - this is a great road trip. I used to love going to this game when I lived in SoCal & the Cards were in the NFC-E.

 

[kbso83432]

I stand corrected.

 

[skinsdad62]

look the cards can beat us , i am not saying we should walk on eggs or anything like that , but underestimate them at your own peril . they tied seatle , a team i dont think we can beat , so keep that in mind

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Be nice to see the D become opportunistic with some TOs this game.

 

[Krusheasy]

wednesday presser

gruden

1/2

November 30, 2016


Head Coach Jay Gruden



On the injury report:

“Alright, did not participate: Anthony Lanier, lower leg; Jordan Reed, shoulder. Limited: [Terence] Garvin, shoulder; Ricky Jean Francois, knee; Ty Nsekhe, ankle; Brandon Scherff, ankle. Full: [Will] Blackmon, thumb; DeSean [Jackson], shoulder; [Nick] Sundberg, back.”



On if the injuries are maintenance-related or a cause for concern:

“You know, I don’t know. I don’t try to predict injuries. I’ve just got to let them go to the training room and get their treatment and then come Thursday, Friday, we’ll see where they are. The good thing is we feel like we have good depth so if some of these guys can’t go, guys behind them are going to step up and play well. That’s the only way we can go about it.”



On how TE Jordan Reed is progressing:

“Slowly, he didn’t do a lot today. He’s in a lot of pain, but like I said, he’s got a few days here to really get in the training room and try to make it feel as comfortable as possible before game time and we’ll just have to make a decision come Friday or Saturday.”



On if Reed will require surgery:

“No, no surgery. No.”



On what makes the Cardinals’ defense so strong:

“Well, they have good athletes across the board. Obviously the addition of Chandler Jones helped them in the pass-rush department. They have good run-stoppers, and then they have quality corners. I think [Marcus] Cooper and Patrick Peterson are a great tandem back there. You throw in the fact the Honey Badger [Tyrann Mathieu] is an all-around good football player... They run to the ball, they pursue, and they do a nice job all across the board. They have a good blitz package also.”



On how he manages CB Josh Norman’s ‘fire’:

“Well, I think each player is different and each situation is different. You have to manage them in their own category for each player and individual when they do come up. As far as Josh is concerned, I don’t really think there’s been an issue as far as off the field that I’ve really had to manage a whole lot, to be honest with you. There’s a couple Twitter battles that I really don’t even read anyway. But as far as on the field is concerned, I love his competition. I love the way he plays [and] his passion for the game. He has got one penalty, and that was shooting a bow-and-arrow on our sideline, which shouldn’t have been a penalty, quite frankly, and he rolled the ball on the delay of game. So he’s got two penalties. But for the most part, he’s an accountable guy. He’s here, he works hard, and he plays extremely hard with a lot of passion. So I haven’t really had to do a whole lot for him.”



On what he will do to ‘fire up’ the team and make sure it matches the Cardinals’ sense of urgency:

“Well, we don’t have a choice. We have to stay fired up. This is the time of year… I mean, you get 16 cracks at it, so I think every game you have to be fired up to be a pro football player. That what makes the good teams great and the not-so-good teams not-so-good is the ability to come out week-in and week-out and play with great energy and great passion for the game with a sense of urgency. That’s what we have to do. This is a good football team that we’re playing, I don’t care what their record is, they are a very good football team. If you go 13-3 not too long ago, you have good players – Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, [David] Johnson – I mean it goes on-and-on the list of players that they have offensively and defensively. We have to get geared up. It’s at their place. It has always been a tough place to play. If we don’t get geared up, it’ll be a long day.”



On if the extra rest this week provided extra energy at practice today:

“I think it did, it helped a lot for the guys. I just saw the energy from play-to-play, the one-on-one battles. You could see the energy was there –fresh legs, so to speak. It was good to have those three days off. It was a grind, three games [in] 11 days was tough on these guys, but to give them three days off and a sharp practice on Monday, and then another day off – so four out of the last five days they’ve been off – it was good for everybody, including the coaches.”



On if he looks to get the running game back on track this week:

“Always, always. We always look to try to get it on track. It’s score dependent, obviously, play dependent, but we always want to get the running game going. Robert Kelley has done a great job with the reps that he’s gotten and we have to continue to get him going. We like the tempo our offense plays with when we have the running game going – it helps our play-actions obviously [and] our big plays. Our quick passing has been very, very good. Our third down-and-two-to-five conversion rate is probably through the roof. That’s because we can run the ball and keep the down-and-distance in manageable situations. That’s very important to us, we just didn’t do a great job of it against Dallas, but we’re not going to give up on it.”



On his level of confidence in K Dustin Hopkins:

“I’m not going to waver on my level of confidence. I have confidence if we have fourth down and we need to kick the field goal, we’ll kick the field goal. There might be a situation where I go for it – last week we went for it on fourth-and-two in field goal range because I thought we needed a touchdown there. I’m not going to say I’m not going to kick a field goal because I’m afraid he’s going to miss it. If we need the points, we’re going to kick it.”



On if he is confident in both Hopkins’ ability and his mental state:

“Yeah, I’m fine. He’s fine. Yeah, he’s fine.”



On improving the defense’s red zone efficiency:

“Well, I think it’s… Offensively, defensively when you’re talking about a situation where you’re not performing as well as you should, I think it’s a team thing and I think it’s an execution thing. I think sometimes it could be a schematic thing where we might have to change some things up. So, I think it’s going to be team-dependent whether you want to load up the box against this team or play more coverage against this team, so it’ll be team-dependent, depending on who we on play. But execution has got to be at a premium down there. Offensively, tight windows, you’re going to have to make some tight=window throws and some great catches and break a tackle because there are going to be some free hitters in the hole down in the red zone. So, number one, we’ve got to check out our execution, and number two, we’ve got to check out our scheme and just continue to keep working.”



On the play of CB Kendall Fuller:

“Well, I think as a young football player, he’s growing. And he’s not going to be perfect, nor is anyone on our football team, but I like the ways he plays. He plays with great effort. He’s a smart football player. He has just got to continue to work on his technique and I think that’ll come with time. Whether it’s outside leverage, inside leverage, off technique, whatever it is, zone technique, all that stuff is just repetition, repetition, repetition. The more he gets, the better he is going to be.”



On the challenges WR Larry Fitzgerald presents in the slot:

“A lot. He’s presented challenges for everybody in the NFL when he moves inside or outside. He’s a Hall of Fame receiver, so he’s a great player. He uses his size, he uses his physicality and nobody talks about what a blocker he is. He’s the best blocker in the NFL as a wide receiver and it’s not even close. So he’s just a great all-around football player. We’re just going to have to man up and body him up and try to get physical with him.”



On if Norman could potentially cover Fitzgerald in the slot:

“He could in certain situations, there’s no doubt about it, and we have the luxury of possibly matching him up, and [Bashuad] Breeland is a physical corner. That’s why we like the guys that we have and Kendall is actually a physical corner also, so we have physical corners. And of course [Quinton] Dunbar is a big, physical guy, so we have guys that can hopefully man up against him and make some plays but it’s going to start with the pass rush. If Carson [Palmer] has all day to throw and give Larry time to do double moves and stem you inside and vertical and then get back out or break it back across, I don’t care how big you are or how fast you are, it’s going to be hard.”

 

[Krusheasy]

gruden 2/2

On matching up with RB David Johnson:

“Big time challenge, big time challenge because when you think of a guy that can move outside and catch the ball, you think of a little scat-back type guy that doesn’t run between the tackles, but he runs between the tackles as good as he catches the ball. I mean, he is probably the best all-around back there is in the National Football League right now as far as being able to move outside, be a great route runner but also run between the tackles and run outside with his speed. So it’s going to be a matchup problem. He’s been a matchup problem for everybody this year. He’s got 950 yards rushing and he’s got nine touchdowns and a bunch of catches, so like I said, when you have great players like that, you study them, you study their scheme, you try to match up, mix up your intent – man, zone, all that stuff – and you do the best you can and try to get your pass rush home.”



On if he was surprised by Johnson’s performance as a third-round pick:

“I think a lot of backs, for whatever reason, with the exception of Zeke [Ezekiel Elliott] are going a little bit later. In Cincinnati, we got Gio [Giovani Bernard] in the second and Le’Veon Bell I think went in the second. So there’s been some great players to go in the second and third round. I don’t know if it’s based on because of the position or what. Plus, he came from a smaller school, Northern Iowa. I think he played in the Senior Bowl, did a great job. Had some great tape out there, but, you know, just didn’t go until the third. Hindsight, he probably would’ve gone [as a] top-five pick.”



On if the team can draw on its success from last December:

“That’s a great point. And I think we were 5-7 and ended up winning our last four. So, we understand the importance of the last four or five games around here, whether you’re in position to control your own destiny or not. And there’s a lot of teams that have the ability to make the playoffs this year in the NFC so right now we’re in a great position, but we have to finish it. And we finished strong last year and hopefully that will carry over to this year, but we still have to go out and do it. I like the fact that it feels like we’re ascending. I know we lost last week but I feel like we’re playing good football right now. There are some things we have to shore up… Everybody’s for the most part healthy. We have some injuries like a lot of teams do, but the nucleus of our football team is OK. So we feel good where we’re at. We just have to go out and execute and get the tough wins on the road.”



On if QB Kirk Cousins can specifically draw on that success:

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think he can draw on that. But I think he’s more of a game-by-game type guy, team-by-team, how to attack certain opponents and just continue to work on his craft. And great quarterbacks will continue to get better. The better they get in December are what makes great quarterbacks, quite frankly.”

 

[Krusheasy]

cousins

1/2

QB Kirk Cousins



On if he feels like games are slowing down for him:

“I think I’m improving as a quarterback, which is no surprise – you expect to get better the longer you work at your craft. I hesitate to use a blanket statement to just say the game’s slowing down. I think I’m just improving by nature of continuing to work and get better. Sean [McVay] is doing a great job calling plays. We’ve got a lot of players on the outside who are making plays for us. The O-line is protecting well. It all has to work together to create production, so I’m just going to continue working and hopefully continue improving.”



On if his experience has helped him handle situations he’s seen before:

“There’s certainly some experiences I have that I say having been here before and knowing what the right decision is or what the right outcome should be, I can make a better, more informed decision with the football this time around. And that’s where experience is a big asset now as a quarterback.”



On what impresses him about Arizona’s defense:

“Well, first of all, they’re just an experienced, mature football team. They’ve won a lot of playoff games, they’ve been to the playoffs a lot and it’s a tough place to play there in Arizona. Just good football players. And it’s not just one area. I mean, they have a good pass rush, good interior D-linemen, great linebackers and a great secondary that has playmakers. So they can get you in all different phases of the game. And it’ll be a big challenge for us, but the numbers speak for themselves with their defense with what they’re doing statistically and we’ll have a big challenge in front of us.”



On if his 2014 game at Arizona feels like ‘several lifetimes ago’:

“It was certainly a little while ago and there’s been a lot of football since then, but that’ll be a game that I’ll always remember as one that didn’t go our way – didn’t go my way – and one of those games where you learn from it and you say, ‘Tough times don’t last, tough people do. To be able to come back from this I’ve got to choose to be mentally and physically tough coming back from that game.’ I’m just glad that here we are with another opportunity to go back there a couple of seasons later.”



On what has surprised him the most about TE Vernon Davis:

“When a player plays for two different teams and then becomes a free agent, and we picked him up, you always wonder what’s left in the tank if two teams have allowed him to leave. But from the day he showed up, I think I’ve said this before, at a high school in April we were throwing and I realized right away this guy can still play. I’m still trying to figure out what the catch is or why two teams let him go. Not only can he still run – I don’t know what his 40 would be now, but elite, elite. I mean, the 40 of an elite wide receiver – he can block, he’s smart, he’s a great teammate, he’s a good mentor for a guy like Jordan [Reed]. I mean, the list goes on and on of these positives. It’s just been a joy to play with him and have him on the team. And with the injuries that Jordan’s sustained, he’s become even more valuable needing to step up and be a difference maker. So just thrilled that Scot [McCloughan] would have the foresight to bring him in and it proved to be a really smart move.”



On if there are things he can draw upon from facing the Cardinals two years ago:

“Yeah, things do change over two years, but because they’ve been a very stable organization with some really good players, there is some consistency. Some of those players are still there. We do take, I guess, having had that experience, we just take confidence from the fact we’ve been there and we’ve played in that environment. But with a new defensive coordinator – Coach [Todd] Bowles moved on to the Jets – it’s a little bit different. But, no, it’s still a very similar philosophy and scheme and players at the end of the day. Ultimately we’ve got to win our matchups.”



On if Arizona’s defense uses different fronts than most teams and how he can prepare for that:

“Yeah, they do a good job with their fronts and with their pressures. They have many different players who are all good athletes so they can rotate a lot of different people in and they don’t have much of a dropoff. So there’s good talent there, and they’re a top defense for a reason. Once again, we’ve got to have good practices this week, we’ve got to be focused in the film room and really communicating well to all be on the same page come Sunday afternoon.”



On repeating the success he and the team had last December:

“You know, we always talk about – whether it’s a lift or a practice or a game or a season – start fast and finish strong. And now we have an opportunity with five games to go to finish strong. I’ve always believed that people may forget how you start, but they always remember how you finish, and what a great opportunity for us. It’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be a challenge, but we’ve positioned ourselves now to have a great opportunity to finish strong and time will tell what ends up happening.”



On the cleats he will wear for the NFL’s ‘My Cause, My Cleats’ campaign:

“The NFL has got a Week 13 opportunity, you can wear whatever cleats you want. They take the reins off a little bit. So the charity I’ve always partnered with and tried to support as best I can is International Justice Mission. From the ‘You Like That’ game, we were able to give the money raised from the T-shirts to IJM and I’ve always wanted to get behind them. So I’ll be wearing cleats with the blue of the color of their organization and just the IJM logo on one cleat and ‘Until All Are Free,’ their slogan, which is on the hat as well, on the other cleat. It’s just a cool opportunity to support their work.”



On why he chose to support International Justice Mission:

“First of all, going back to high school… Gary Haugen, the founder of IJM, spoke at my church in high school and I walked out of the service that day saying to myself if I ever have the opportunity to support him and his work I will do that because of how powerful his testimony and the testimony of his organization was. So it goes back to when I was 17 years old. But they’re going into the darkest, most-depressed places in the world and freeing people from slavery, from human trafficking, from injustices. And they are a voice for people who don’t have a voice. And they’re creating justice and a legal system for places that don’t have one. It’s powerful stuff to hear the testimonies of the people who they’ve rescued. What’s also neat is Gary lives five minutes from Redskins Park. His organization was founded in 1997 with him and an intern in Crystal City. And they’re still there in Crystal City now with hundreds of employees worldwide. So the fact they’re based in D.C. I think is a natural fit and an organization I really want to get behind for as long as I’m playing this game and beyond.”

 

[Krusheasy]

cousins

2/2

On having the lowest three-and-out percentage in the league:

“I never noticed it prior to this season, but a few weeks into the season, I went over to Tress Way and said, ‘How many times have you punted? We’re not really using you on the field and you’re one of our better players, but we’re not really using you.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, Kirk, actually we’ve punted the fewest in the league.’ And I actually asked him, I said, ‘Traditionally, how many punts a season are there for good offenses? Who are the top offenses [and] is there a correlation between the top teams, the top passing games, and the fewest punts?’ And he said, ‘Typically there is a correlation.’ And so I said, ‘Well, let’s see at the end of the year where we are and I hope you have as few punts as possible.’ From what I understand, I check in with him every couple of weeks – our lockers are next to each other so it makes it easy – but he told me, as of a couple of weeks ago, we’re still right up there with Atlanta and Green Bay and New England and some of those teams with the fewest punts in the league. We’ve talked about it many times, and ultimately it’s all about points. It doesn’t really matter if you’re not coming away with points. That’s where the red zone and things like that are more important. But it’s an indication of doing some good things on offense and not having three-and-outs certainly keeps Tress Way on the sideline more often than not.”



On his plan to eat all of the barbeque sent for winning FedEx Air Player of the Week:

“So, FedEx sent that to Rob Kelley and myself. They ended up – smart of them – they said, ‘We’re going to send it to nine other guys who we felt contributed to both the air and ground contributions that day.’ So everybody from the offensive line, to Vernon [Davis] and Jordan [Reed], to the receivers… So there were, like, nine other guys there in that pile of boxes, but we all have a box marked perishable, and I think they put them in the freezer today, so we have got to pick them up on the way out and we’ll have plenty of barbeque the next few days to eat for each of us. But that was a cool bonus. Last year, we won the FedEx Air and Ground a couple times and I didn’t get anything. So it was cool to get something this time, thanks to FedEx.”



On being a fan of Hamilton:

“I don’t know all the words, but I’m a big Broadway fan. I love musical theater – my mom kind of raised me on that. When the Super Bowl was in New York City a couple of years ago, I went to a Broadway show and just was blown away. I went to the Chicago Theater a lot growing up. With Hamilton now being out, I talked to, I believe it was Vernon, who said he had been and I said I wanted to go see that. I had seen Rob Riggle’s spoof on it with Jimmy Garoppolo. So that’s the next one to go see, but I have a long list of offseason musicals to see. I don’t know if I’ll get up to New York City enough to see them. I would like to get down to the D.C. theater as well. Tony [Wyllie] has tried to hook me up with a couple of opportunities down there. When I find some free time, that’s something I like to do.”



On what other Broadway shows he would like to see:

“Oh, man, I saw Motown. I would love to see Lion King. I would love to see Book of Mormon. I would love to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat again – I saw that as a kid. Really, they’re all good. I saw Jersey Boys in college [and] Wicked. Singing and dancing, man, those guys are athletic. They’re talented. I kind of sit there and go, ‘Wow, this is pretty cool.’ So I feel like the fan in the stands when I go to a musical and it’s a cool experience for me.”



On if he maintains his ‘toughness and manhood’ when signing showtunes in the locker room:

“You know, I know in our culture they say that singing and dancing may not be the most masculine thing to do, but for whatever reason, when I was growing up, my mom and my dad they raised me to be secure in yourself and to just appreciate it. So I have a huge appreciation for singing and dancing. And, again, those guys are very athletic and they can do some impressive things. So I enjoy it for what it is and was raised to appreciate it. It’s not easy what they do. It takes the kind of practice and intensity and focus that we have to have on the football field too.”

 

[Krusheasy]

patrick peterson is questionable for this weekend ... would be huge

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Krusheasy]

thursday presser

gruden

December 1, 2016


Head Coach Jay Gruden



On how he keeps the team motivated:

“Well, I think that being that every game is so different, you’re dealing with a different opponent, with different circumstances, different players, different challenges every week. Different schemes, different game plans, it’s easy, really. You only have 16 cracks at it , like I said yesterday, and it’s a chance – every game is a chance for them show what they have, compete, play hard, have success personally and as a team. And it’s fun. You’ve got to make it fun.”



On keeping outside distractions away from practice:

“Yeah, that’s not hard. I think some of these guys individually they might have some when they get home as far as what they’re thinking for next year, but when these guys come to work, it’s all business, it really is. They study, they work hard, they practice hard, so I don’t really see that part of it, the distraction part of it that you’re talking about. We have a number of other guys that are playing on their final year of a deal too and they just understand what it is with the contract but they’ve still got to come out and perform, that’s the bottom line.”



On the play of the offensive line since losing T Trent Williams:

“Yeah, they have stepped up. Ty Nsekhe, especially. He can play right tackle, left tackle. He’s learned the system, he’s a big body, done a great job. But the core – Spencer Long, Morgan [Moses], Shawn [Lauvao] – they’ve done a great job – Brandon [Scherff] – they’re just solid. They’re good guys and Bill [Callahan] has done an excellent job with them with their technique and continuing to coach them. They’ve got a great style about them. They’re fundamentally sound, they’re big, they’re good athletes and they love football.”



On the status of WR Josh Doctson:

“He’s on IR.”



On how Doctson is doing:

“I don’t know. I think he’s coming along, I talked to him today at lunch, he had a nice slab of pizza on his plate but he seemed in good spirits, seems to be doing better, but as far as running and sprinting, he’s not doing that yet.”



On the injury report:

“Did not participate: [Anthony] Lanier, lower leg; [Jordan] Reed, shoulder. Limited: [Terence] Garvin, shoulder; Ricky [Jean Francois], knee; Ty Nsekhe, ankle; Scherff, ankle; [Bashaud] Breeland, ankle; Chris Thompson has an illness. And then full were [Trent] Murphy, [Will] Blackmon, [DeSean] Jackson and [Nick] Sundberg.”



On how QB Kirk Cousins has improved since the last time he played in Arizona:

“Yeah, I mean it’s a totally different quarterback, totally different person, player. The repetitions that he has been able to accumulate over this time means a whole world of difference. The time when he played against Arizona, he didn’t have any first-team reps, so to speak, for training camp, OTAs or any of that stuff and all of those reps mean a whole heck of a lot for a quarterback. He competed, made some great throws in that game. We couldn’t finish it off but the experience factor for a quarterback plays a huge part in the development and the skill and the success rate.”



On preparing for Arizona’s blitz schemes:

“We have to practice them and try and do the best we can to pick them up. Sometimes our back has to pick up and be a part of it and sometimes he doesn’t. The linemen have to handle the stunts and the movement and it’s going to be very, very crucial to our success throwing the football. Ideally you would like to be out of the third down and longs where they really do a great job of picking and they have good stunts and obviously good blitz packages like you say, but that’s going to be important for us to be able to pick those up. And then they can rush four. They have a good four-man rush, just a four-man rush and they play coverage with [Calais] Campbell and obviously the rest of the guys coming, [Markus] Golden does a nice job rushing and Chandler Jones obviously, so they can get home with four and that’s their most dangerous package, I think.”



On if his level of optimism is diminishing for TE Jordan Reed’s availability on Sunday:

“My level of optimism? I don’t have any; I’m even keel right now. I’m not expecting him to play or not to play, I don’t really know. I’ve just got to wait to see tomorrow how he’s doing and we’ll go from there.”



On if it would be remarkable if Reed is able to play given the pain he is in:

“Yeah, it would be, but we’ll have to wait and see. That’s all I can say.”



On the team’s ability to fill in for missing starters this season:

“The backups – the guys who have stepped up and filled in. That’s the answer. Vernon Davis, now we have [Derek] Carrier. He’s rolling. And obviously Ty Nsekhe. And then at receiver, you talk about Ryan Grant and Maurice Harris and Jamison Crowder – those guys have done an excellent job also.”



On if it is helpful to know in the game-planning process if a player like Reed will be unavilable:

“Sometimes it’s harder because you don’t know if he’s going to be up or not, so you don’t know if you should game plan with him in or with him out. We’re going to keep the standard concepts, the plays that we have that we like, but we expect Vernon or Derek to be able to do them. We might have less of a certain package – maybe the three-tight-end sets, or something like that – but we’ll still carry about everything that we have and just let Vernon or Derek do it and hope that Jordan can play.”



On if LBs Martrell Spaight and Terence Garvin could see more action on defense:

“I don’t know, we’ll see. I think right now obviously in base it’s Mason [Foster] and Will [Compton], it’s their job right now. When we go nickel, we bring in Su’a [Cravens] and he does a good job. If something were to happen to one of those guys, then we wouldn’t feel bad about playing Terence or Spaight. Spaight did a great job in the preseason. He’s had limited reps during the season, but right now they are backups and they’re core special teams players for us. They’re doing an excellent job on special teams, which is important for that position for those backups to play. We just feel very good about the guys that are playing right now and they’ll wait their turn and if called upon, they’ll do good.”



On if C Kory Lichtensteiger is close to being able to return:

“He is close, he’s doing good. He’s mastered the game of shuffleboard downstairs. He’s rehabbed his calf and done a nice job. He’s very close.”



On Doctson:

“We just answered that. Josh is coming along. He’s not really running yet. They’re doing more and more with him in the rehab room there. We’ll just have to wait and see.”



On how the offensive line looks after getting some rest:

“They’re looking better. They’re still banged up. Anytime you have such a big body and you’re carrying a lot of that weight, the rehab takes a little bit longer. But they’re all tough guys and they’ll play through it. You’d like them to be 100 percent, but this time of year, big offensive linemen, not many of them in the NFL are 100 percent – Week 11, 12, 13. But you need to have tough, physical guys and that’s why we drafted guys like Brandon [Scherff] and Morgan [Moses], and that’s why we like Ty [Nsekhe] so much – they play through it. Shawn Lauvao also, Spencer [Long]. They’re going to play through it. That’s the nature of the beast. They’re all big, tough, physical guys.”



On if players have intense battles every day during closed portions of practice:

“When you guys leave, we do more scripted sessions as far as Arizona’s offense vs. our defense, or Arizona’s defense vs. our offense. So it’s not quite as competitive. We’re more trying to get the looks and trying to study their blitz packages or coverages, what they like to do offensively. So it’s not quite as competitive as it would be if it were us vs. us, like it was when you guys were there.”



On if he attended WR DeSean Jackson’s birthday party:

“I did not. I was not invited, son of a gun.”

 

[Krusheasy]

Barry

Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry



On his assessment of CB Kendall Fuller’s season so far and improvements he’s made:

“You know, I think it’s a little typical of a rookie. I think he’s had some ups, some downs. I know one thing, I think Kendall Fuller is going to be a special player in this league for a long time. His maturity, his instincts, his awareness have been really, really impressive for a rookie. So I think he’s had some ups and downs like all of us, but I expect big football from him in the future, no doubt.”



On what Fuller needs to do to make more plays:

“Well, I think that’s typical at any position, but when you play in the back end anywhere, but especially when you play – especially with the way the NFL’s going. It seems like every team has that guy, meaning that guy in the slot. It’s a different world when you go inside and play inside. Every position has pitfalls, but there’s tough matchups in there and I think he’s kind of feeling his way through it, learning his way through it. And that’s the one thing with Kendall is he’s a kid that he learns from every experience. He’s a student of the game, he works at it, he understands routes, he understands leverage and the more he plays the better he’s going to get. And that’s the thing that’s exciting about him.”



On Arizona RB David Johnson presenting a ‘unique threat’:

“Yeah, I think they have—not only [No.] 31 [David Johnson], but [No.] 38 [Andre Ellington] as well. I think both those guys are weapons. They’re obviously weapons when they hand the ball off to them but equally they’re just as dangerous when they run routes out of the backfield. And what really makes both of those guys special, 31 specifically as you said, they can run the whole route tree. They get them out in empty formations, and especially 31 specifically with his wide receiver background, he can run every route in the route tree. So, yes, it’s going to be very, very important to get proper matchups on him because he’s not just a random running back out of the backfield. He’s really like a wide receiver lining up out of the backfield. He’s very talented in his, obviously catching the ball, but everything that he can do as far as running the entire route tree.”



On if CB Josh Norman could follow Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald into the slot:

“Yeah, anytime that we’re in a situation when you match a corner on a wideout – if you’re truly matching him no matter where he goes, he goes. Now, there’s parameters based on that when you’re in man, when you’re in zone, things like that. But yes, there will be times per call – if the call dictates that Josh matches No. 11 [Fitzgerald], he’s going to match him even if he’s lined up in the backfield.”



On the challenges of playing in the slot for a rookie cornerback such as Fuller:

“Well, the big thing, John, when you’re talking specifically about the nickel corner position… Let’s take it a step further. When you’re talking about the outside corner, when you’re playing a right corner or a left corner, you pretty much either have that man man-to-man or you have that outside zone based on what you’re talking about – whether it’s Cover 2, Cover 3, Cover 4, whatever. Well, when you play in the slot, now if it’s man-to-man, again relatively simple, I have the slot receiver man-to-man. But when you’re talking about zones in the slot position, now you talk about the run game, now you talk about run fits – you have to fit the run, you have to be ‘a la’ defensive back/corner, but also part linebacker also. There’s situations where blitzes – we bring the nickel corner as a blitzer. So you really have to… It’s all-encompassing when you play that nickel corner position. You have got to be able to play man, you have got to be able to play zone, you have got to be able to play run, you have got to be able to play pass, you have got to be a blitzer – so there’s a few more hats you have to wear when you play the nickel corner position. Again, with Kendall, that’s why I think that you can’t just throw any random corner in to play the nickel corner position. It has to be a guy that’s kind of cerebral, that understands, that has instincts, that has awareness – and those are the things that are exciting about Kendall because he possesses those things.”



On if those challenges can slow down a young cornerback:

“Oh, yeah. I think especially for a rookie. That’s why the best on-the-job training is playing, you know? And I think he’s… as I said, he’s had his pitfalls as we all have. He’s had his ups, he’s had his downs but he’s learning every single game, every single week really in practice the nuances of the position.”



On why teams have been successful attacking the defense in the flat:

“It’s all random, Mike. It’s been a few times I think we’ve been illegally picked. Other times we’ve busted a coverage, whether it be just simply busting a coverage or being in a coverage trying to check to another coverage. And ironically it’s just happened that… The easiest route for a quarterback to throw, I don’t care what the personnel group is, I don’t care what the down and distance is just simply someone going to the flat and throwing the ball. And really when you’re talking about defensive football when you’re installing things – defend the flat. Who has the first thing to the flat? I don’t care if it’s man, zone, pressure, whatever. We have gotten scarred a few times but it’s been a number of different things whether we’ve gotten picked, whether we’ve busted a coverage, whether we’ve had a check and busted the check. But that’s the simplest, easiest thing for a quarterback to do. ‘Oh, no one in the flat? [throwing motion] Boop.’ It has hurt us three or four times.”