Press Release: #Redskins Quotes-Gruden

[TK]

August 26, 2018

 

Head Coach Jay Gruden

 

 

 

 

On the status T Morgan Moses:

"No, he just hurt his thumb a little bit. He’ll be OK."

 

On if fans and media overestimate the playing time for starters in the preseason:

"Yeah, I think, maybe. I think you could make an argument either way. On talk radio, I could argue one side, or argue the other. It’s just a matter of what I feel is best for this football team and I feel like the most important thing for us right now is getting to Arizona healthy. Every time you take a snap in a pro football game there’s certain risks involved. I feel like the starters, especially on the offensive line, I know who the starters are. They’re getting a lot of work out here at practice, we are evaluating them every day, we are getting a lot of good work in. For me to get Morgan [Moses], Trent [Williams], Brandon [Scherff], Chase [Roullier] and Shawn Lauvao to the regular season is very, very important, and of course the quarterbacks. I think you can make arguments either way, but you know, teams are doing it different. Some teams aren’t even playing their starters at all, so different strokes for different folks."

 

On if last year's injuries affect this year's decision to play players during the preseason:

"Yeah that has a little bit to do with it, you know you might be a little paranoid, but we have got some quality work. We also had the [New York] Jets come in for practice, so we got three pretty good days there of evaluation. So, we feel like we’re on pace, or on track to get our team ready for Arizona."

 

On if there is a concern that the projected starting offense has not played together during the preseason:

"It is a little bit, just seeing what kind of shape they’re in. Some of the guys like Jordan [Reed] and Jamison [Crowder]; they missed quite a bit of time. Chris [Thompson] has been getting a lot of work running and all that and I don’t feel too worried about him. You are talking about your key weapons not getting a lot of playing time and that’s a little bit concerning, but since it is Jordan and Jamison, both are very quarterback friendly and I think Alex [Smith] will adapt fine."

 

On starting RB Adrian Peterson:

"Well, I wanted to see him run behind our offensive line. I wanted to see him get some quality looks and my goal was to get him 10-11 carries. I think he got 11 -- try to get him some back-to-back runs, see how he looked after the fifth carry, after the sixth carry on the same drive and I thought he looked good. We're still in the evaluation process, but it was very good to see him run the way he did."

 

On RB Rob Kelley:

"He’s one of the running backs in our group. We are still evaluating that group every day. Samaje [Perine] got some work in today a little bit, and Kapri [Bibbs] has done a nice job, Byron [Marshall] has been hurt a little bit, but we’ll get a good look at all these guys." 

 

On when he determined RB Adrian Peterson would start last week and if he will start moving forward:

"At what point? Probably after his workout. You know, I’m going to take these next few days, ‘What is today, Sunday?’ Sunday, Monday, Tuesday to go us against us and get a lot of good work. I’m not even going to put on any Baltimore Ravens film really, and then Wednesday, we might do some walkthrough stuff, just to try and alert them as to what Baltimore might do. But really, it’s about evaluating our people right now, not so much getting ready for another team, but right now I need to see our guys. It’s right around the corner now, so we have to try and get as many good looks as we can for these guys, so our decisions are accurate."

 

On CB Danny Johnson and CB Josh Norman:

"Danny [Johnson] has a little bit of a groin. He’ll be ok. Josh [Norman] has got something, a little tweak, and he’ll be OK though."

 

On the defense’s performance against the Denver Broncos:

"Yeah, it was, you know, not our best performance without a doubt. We had a couple mental mistakes there and I think the tackling was poor. You know, there are some other things that we addressed already in our meeting room, so we’ll get those corrected. You know, sometimes it takes a little swift kick in the rear end to get going and wake people up and let them realize, ‘Hey we gotta work harder than our opponent’. That wasn’t quite the case on Thursday night or Friday night whenever we played, so we’ll get it corrected. I have faith that the guys in the room are strong-willed individuals and will do better."

 

On if he noticed anything else on RB Adrian Peterson after watching on film:

"A little bit. I think what you saw on the field is what you get. He’s a big, physical runner, ran well in traffic too, which I was impressed with, and of course, ball security is a big thing for us and he did a nice job of holding onto the ball. [He] showed good vision, good patience and then showed acceleration in bursts. So, those are traits you have to have and then ball security without a doubt is a must. Now we’ve just got to look at him in some other forms, you know, maybe some play actions, get him out in the backfield just a little bit, just to try to branch off and get him some more areas that running backs have to do."

 

On the position battles:

"I think all of them really. I think inside linebacker is really interesting, outside linebacker is interesting, you know, our seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth linemen. However many we keep is coming down to the wire. Obviously, running back, corners, safeties, they’re all pretty fun to watch. I like to keep an open mind and then we’ll have lengthy discussions about it with everybody involved and get the opinions out there and then make a decision. "

 

On if it is difficult to evaluate players while they are injured before roster cuts:

"Yeah, it’s tough, you know, [Brian] Quick the same way. You know, Quick started out really strong in camp and then he had that thigh and Cam [Sims] had that big game and then hurt his thigh, so unfortunately neither one of them have been able to participate. That makes it very tough like you say, especially for a young kid like Cam who’s coming on and you see the progress but then it gets stopped. We just got to hope he gets ready soon so we can get a look at him before."

 

On the decision to keep WR Brian Quick over WR Cam Sims:

"I don’t know. I think I like them both. There’s a lot to like about both those guys and, you know, we could possibly keep them both. We’ll wait and see and hopefully one of them gets better or both of them get better so we can make the right decision."

 

On the possibility of QB Colt McCoy's injury keeping him out of the game at the Baltimore Ravens:

"Yes, probably yes. Yes. Possibly"

 

On QB Connor Jessop playing Thursday:

"He can play a little bit on Thursday. He will at least backup [Kevin] Hogan, you know, in case something happens to Hogan because I don’t want to bring in -- if Colt [McCoy] can’t go, I don’t want to bring in Alex [Smith]. Obviously if something happens to Hogan, we have to have a backup."

 

On the decision to keep a third quarterback:

"Yeah, that numbers really. [Kevin] Hogan did a great job, you know, especially when you’re standing on the sideline watching Colt [McCoy] get annihilated play after play after play. If I’m the third quarterback, I’m like ‘I ain’t going in there.’ Hogan jumped in there and stepped up in there and made some key throws, led two touchdown drives, a two-minute drive, so I was impressed with Hogan. He moved around and stood there in the face of some good pass rush."

 

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

3 hours ago, TK said:

On if fans and media overestimate the playing time for starters in the preseason:

"Yeah, I think, maybe. I think you could make an argument either way. On talk radio, I could argue one side, or argue the other. It’s just a matter of what I feel is best for this football team and I feel like the most important thing for us right now is getting to Arizona healthy. ... Some teams aren’t even playing their starters at all, so different strokes for different folks."

Jay, the reason people question what you are doing on talk radio is simply that you haven't won an opener yet and things don't look different.  Win the opener, nobody will care a damn about pre-season playing time.  Lose, and lots of questions will be asked.

 

3 hours ago, TK said:

On if there is a concern that the projected starting offense has not played together during the preseason:

"It is a little bit, just seeing what kind of shape they’re in. Some of the guys like Jordan [Reed] and Jamison [Crowder]; they missed quite a bit of time. Chris [Thompson] has been getting a lot of work running and all that and I don’t feel too worried about him. You are talking about your key weapons not getting a lot of playing time and that’s a little bit concerning, but since it is Jordan and Jamison, both are very quarterback friendly and I think Alex [Smith] will adapt fine."

There should damn well be concern, because they can't wait until week 4 or 5 to get to know each other.  Season could almost be over by then...

 

3 hours ago, TK said:

On starting RB Adrian Peterson:

"Well, I wanted to see him run behind our offensive line. I wanted to see him get some quality looks and my goal was to get him 10-11 carries. I think he got 11 -- try to get him some back-to-back runs, see how he looked after the fifth carry, after the sixth carry on the same drive and I thought he looked good. We're still in the evaluation process, but it was very good to see him run the way he did."

I know he can't come out and gush and declare AP the starter in Arizona.  But if the evaluation is anything but "yeah, we have one guy with vision and who can string cuts together, and 2 others (Perine and Kelley) who can't" then the entire coaching staff needs to go visit Pearl Vision Optometry to get their eyes checked. 

 

3 hours ago, TK said:

On RB Rob Kelley:

"He’s one of the running backs in our group. We are still evaluating that group every day. Samaje [Perine] got some work in today a little bit, and Kapri [Bibbs] has done a nice job, Byron [Marshall] has been hurt a little bit, but we’ll get a good look at all these guys." 

I could almost see Jay cry internally knowing his guy just isn't as good as the other guy, and is going to be relegated to backup duty.  

 

I really have to get that drop Galdi uses from Jay on Rob Kelley.  "oh, I love Rob Kelley."  

 

3 hours ago, TK said:

On the defense’s performance against the Denver Broncos:

"Yeah, it was, you know, not our best performance without a doubt. We had a couple mental mistakes there and I think the tackling was poor. You know, there are some other things that we addressed already in our meeting room, so we’ll get those corrected. You know, sometimes it takes a little swift kick in the rear end to get going and wake people up and let them realize, ‘Hey we gotta work harder than our opponent’. That wasn’t quite the case on Thursday night or Friday night whenever we played, so we’ll get it corrected. I have faith that the guys in the room are strong-willed individuals and will do better."

 

Of all the answers in the presser, this one bothered me the most.  Why in God's name should the defense need to come out and get their asses kicked to wake them up?

 

We gotta work harder than our opponent, and that wasn't the case?  No ****.  This is a trend.  Inconsistent preparation, and team coming out flat.  

 

I hope to God this isn't a trend as it has been the last 4 years. Some good, some flat games.  

 

3 hours ago, TK said:

On QB Connor Jessop playing Thursday:

"He can play a little bit on Thursday. He will at least backup [Kevin] Hogan, you know, in case something happens to Hogan because I don’t want to bring in -- if Colt [McCoy] can’t go, I don’t want to bring in Alex [Smith]. Obviously if something happens to Hogan, we have to have a backup."

I'm completely disappointed in Jay with this answer.  He had a perfect opportunity to drop a code red reference, and work in Jessop, and just failed miserably.  Use the word truth a few times, something.  

 

He's got a good sense of humor, and let a massive opportunity slip by him.