Quotes - Head Coach Jim Zorn and Secondary Coach Jerry Gray

[TK]

October 15, 2009

Redskins Park

Redskins Head Coach Jim Zorn

On today’s practice:

“Our guys worked hard even in the rain. We may face this on Sunday. We put together a pretty good practice. Cornelius Griffin had some limited time in there, so he is getting better. I think Phillip Daniels is going to go tomorrow. We had Albert [Haynesworth] go. He was limited but he went. We even worked Clinton [Portis] in on short yardage and goal line. It worked pretty well today.”

On whether the rain makes his job harder to get done what he wants to accomplish during practice:

“The full speed timing is the critical thing. We don’t get all of that but our guys made some adjustments. We kept our footing. We went down for footballs and we slid in the slop. We did what we needed to do.”

On how safety Chris Horton has responded to the lineup change:

“I think he has a great attitude. He knows he is a young guy. I think he appreciates what Reed Doughty is doing in front of him. He is not upset. It’s not something he’s been selfish about at all. He’s learning, he’s progressing to get better and I think he has a great attitude. He works hard when he is out there.”

On the progression of the offensive line:

“They have had a great attitude. They are very serious out there because there has been so much made about all of the changes. Chris Samuels is out there watching and he’s urging them on as well. They are taking everything seriously and they are not looking at what is happening to us. They are just playing the hand they are dealt, getting better and we are going to go out there and give it our best shot.”

On if there is a drop off in talent between the starters and reserves:

“They are filling the spot. Chris Samuels has been to the Pro Bowl many times and it is hard to fill his spot but they are going to give great effort and the other guys are in a couple different places. The thing we’ve got to do is be assignment smart and then when we get out there, battle. I don’t think everything is going to be perfect but it is going to be exciting and we’re going to do well enough to win this football game.”

On how concerning tackle Chris Samuel’s injury is:

“I think that it is concerning because we care about his health and because of the other doctors involved and trying to read this thing, it is the time it is taking to get any answers that is what is hard. We just have to wait it out. We’re going to think very positively about his situation and I think he is as well. He’s got an excellent attitude towards waiting. The frustrating part is waiting for the results.”

On how much tight end Chris Cooley will be involved with pass protection vs. the passing game on Sunday:

“He is going to be involved with the passing game. He has to be. I can’t pass protect him the whole day because we have linemen that can do it. I am not going to change too much up with just Chris Cooley. I got to get him the ball and he’s got to be a part of our offense.”

On what it means to him to have the players ask the organization to verbally support him:

“I can’t speak for those guys. They are grown men. I think we are all together. I don’t think that it has to be done for me to feel better about myself and what we are doing. I think Mr. Snyder has tried to help in every way he can to get this team the way it needs to be. Sometimes it is a process.

“It is awesome to have support. That’s really what has been going on all year. These guys are in. We talked about it this morning and you know what reflects, not just the talk, what reflects on the idea that they are all in and supportive is how they example that talk. They really work at it and they are really working hard. We are 2-3, we know our record, but they are out enjoying themselves and trying to get better and better each and everyday, listening to the coaches and trying to pay attention to all those things we have to do to improve. I am really proud of them.”

On how player leadership keeps a team together:

“There are a lot of things involved there. I think the main thing is the captains. They elected those captains to say ‘whatever you do, we are going to follow you,’ and sometimes leadership is serving your teammates. It is not standing up proud and saying ‘I am in charge,’ it is really just serving your teammates and I think that is what our captains do. They take tremendous pride in their leadership and it is all about taking care of their teammates and they do that. Consequently, I think our players are sticking together because they have strong captains.”

On meeting with the captains:

“I meet with them at times. We don’t have a weekly or daily sit down but if they have issues they come and see me, if I have issues I come and see them.”

Secondary Coach Jerry Gray

On if the team feels good about the defense’s performance:

“Yes we do. We feel good that our guys the last couple weeks played pretty good together. We understand what we have and what we are trying to get accomplished on the football field. The thing we have to do is keep putting those games together. Two is not good enough, if you want to be a really good defense.”

On what areas of the defense have improved:

“The first thing is you’re getting turnovers and you’re getting them deep into other people’s territory. You are getting sacks on a consistent basis and the coverage and pressure is going hand in hand. You are not saying, ‘Well we were almost there.’ Now we are actually getting there and we have good coverage. Those are things that you see when you are actually on the same page. You will see coverage and pressure there at the same time.”

On how comfortable he is with using linebacker/defensive end Brian Orakpo at two positions:

“I think we are a lot more comfortable with him and what he can do, because his job was a lot harder when he first came in. He was a defensive end, now he is standing up playing linebacker. We know he can pass rush. What you have to do is move him around. You can do a lot of things to create different pressure on their side. Now they have to figure out where he is and then is it going to be him coming or is it going to be one of our other guys. I think we have actually done a good job of doing that this past week.”

On what he looks for in a cornerback:

“In this day and age, you want to have a corner who can actually get turnovers. You look at the really good corners. Those guys are out there. I think Philadelphia has a really good one [Asante Samuel], Champ Bailey is still really good, [Terrance] Newman is really good, DeAngelo Hall. Look at them over the last couple years, you get two years behind them and they get 10 interceptions. You are going to average five or six a year. When you do that it means you are giving the offense the ball back a whole lot. You want to get the guy down, but I think right now turnovers are big.”

On how defensive end Philip Daniels injury will effect the left defensive end position:

“The thing we have to do is we’ve got to take a look at Phillip [Daniels]. He came out yesterday and he was kind of out today. But, the thing we have to do is see what he actually gives us. The good thing is Kansas City may actually give it to us better, because they give us the chance to play three wide receivers, where he is not really in anyway. I think that will help us out a lot.”

On Safety Chris Horton:

“If you watch that game last week - he played more than Reed [Doughty]. What you have to do, is kind of take a feel. The game was better for Chris [Horton] last week. They were actually doing more passes, not really running and pounding the ball up in there, but when Chris had a chance, he went in there and filled up the lead blocker and stuff like that. What we are trying to do is figure out what is best for our guys and put them in the position to win.”

On if Horton can benefit from watching the game from the sidelines:

“Yes, you can because sometimes you can get comfortable. You don’t want young guys to get too comfortable. You want them to understand that, ‘I was a rookie, I was fortunate enough to come in and play, and now if I want to be that solid starter I have to keep working for that job.’ That is the thing that actually happens. We are blessed to have two guys. Reed was the same way – he was a rookie, came in and played for us, got hurt last year, and now he is coming back. We have got some guys that can actually go out and play in that position.”

On Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe’s talent level:

“You could see that early in the year when they were playing against Oakland. He was really doing a great job. I think he kind of got nicked a little bit and now he is back. He played a lot against Dallas. You are talking about a guy who is about 6-3, about 225, big physical receiver. The thing you have got to do is keep him in front of you because he can jump over you, he can do the things to make the big play, and he will make the tough catch. Those are the things we have to watch out for where he is.”

On Chiefs running back Larry Johnson’s struggles this season:

“They have got a new offense there. Larry [Johnson] is kind of going through a new offensive scheme. He is trying to figure out where he fits. When you look, there is a lot more one-back sets than two-back sets for Larry. I don’t know if he is that type of runner, but he is out there doing his job to try and win. Then all of sudden he bust through a couple of times and then the old Larry comes back. You have got to make sure you understand where he is in the backfield.”

On how to prepare Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley’s trick plays:

“You have to go out there and do what you do well. You can’t get mesmerized by a lot of trick plays. You have to play your keys, do your read, and then at the end of the play you have got to make a play. You can’t sit there and wonder is it going to be a trick play this time, because if you are sitting there they are going to run the ball down your throat. That is one thing that we don’t want is our guys trying to figure out if it is going to be a trick play or not. Just go out and play football.”

On Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel’s strengths:

“Really it is his legs. I think he has really good legs to get out of trouble and he prolongs a play, almost like Ben [Roethlisberger] does in Pittsburgh. Then if there is a guy open, he can find him. He has a really good arm, he is really smart, and he can make plays. When you look on the film you see him making plays. He is always in the scramble mode and now he is not sitting back like he normally was when he was at New England.”

[Aston]

I'd like to see less of this "expecting to lose" talk:

They are just playing the hand they are dealt, getting better and we are going to go out there and give it our best shot.

And more of this "expecting to win" talk:

The thing we’ve got to do is be assignment smart and then when we get out there, battle. I don’t think everything is going to be perfect but it is going to be exciting and we’re going to do well enough to win this football game.

I know he has no reason to be confident, but if he's not a believer, how can we expect the 53 players to be?

[Koolblue13]

We even worked Clinton [Portis] in on short yardage and goal line. It worked pretty well today.”

So we are going to start using our best running back in the positions he is best suited to play in? That's a nice start Jim.

Maybe next we can start using tall receivers in the end zone as well.

[RenegadeTK]

i like the positivity.... as long as they arent just trying to blow smoke up our butts

[prufRock]

October 15, 2009

On what he looks for in a cornerback:

“In this day and age, you want to have a corner who can actually get turnovers. You look at the really good corners. Those guys are out there. I think Philadelphia has a really good one [Asante Samuel], Champ Bailey is still really good, [Terrance] Newman is really good, DeAngelo Hall. Look at them over the last couple years, you get two years behind them and they get 10 interceptions. You are going to average five or six a year. When you do that it means you are giving the offense the ball back a whole lot. You want to get the guy down, but I think right now turnovers are big.”

I think this gives us a glimpse into why DeAngelo Hall was paid megabucks and why Carlos Rogers is unsigned. I'm not sure every coach feels this way but it's interesting that they appear to value the turnover over the steady, complete, run-supporting, fundamentally sound corner play they get from Rogers.

Don't get me wrong, it absolutely infuriates me when Rogers drops sure interceptions but I've never heard a coach mention that in his assessment of what he's looking for in a cornerback before.

[darrelgreenie]

I know Greg Blache is the DC and Gray is dong the media stuff.

But, darn if it doesn't sound like Gray is running the show.

And i think according to the NFL a coordinator has to be available to media.

I wonder how they cleared letting an assistant handle the media stuff?

[SkinsNumberOne]

I think this gives us a glimpse into why DeAngelo Hall was paid megabucks and why Carlos Rogers is unsigned. I'm not sure every coach feels this way but it's interesting that they appear to value the turnover over the steady, complete, run-supporting, fundamentally sound corner play they get from Rogers.

Don't get me wrong, it absolutely infuriates me when Rogers drops sure interceptions but I've never heard a coach mention that in his assessment of what he's looking for in a cornerback before.

The right answer is you want BOTH, or at least a reasonable skill level at one (average at least) and a good/high skill level at the other.

We have a good/high interception guy in DHall, but a horrible tackler.

We have a good tackler in CRog, but a horrible interception guy.

It figures we need two players to combine to make a good corner. We're always missing on a key characteristic when you look at either of them.

*I am holding out hope that DHall will tackle better in upcoming games. I don't remember this problem from VATech and I am a Tech fan. Am I forgetting?