Redskins.com:Quotes From Redskin Park, Nov. 19

[TK]

http://www.redskins.com/story.asp?ContentID=12280

Quotes From Redskin Park, Nov. 19

11/19/2003

HEAD COACH STEVE SPURRIER

On Patrick Ramsey’s injury status:

”It's a bone in his foot that's either fractured a little bit or bruised or something. It gives him discomfort. He should be fine by the weekend. If not Tim Hasselbeck practiced today, and he knows what to do. At some point, he's probably going to play this year. Could be this week, but Patrick probably should be ready to play.”

On when he would decide on Ramsey’s availability for Sunday’s game:

“We don't have to make that decision until the weekend. Patrick we think should be able to practice a little bit tomorrow, the next day. We think, but we'll have to wait until then.”

On how the injury is affecting Ramsey’s throwing:

“Just planting on his right foot has been a problem. At times, he's been very good. At times it bothers him, so hopefully we'll get it fixed.”

On whether he ever had a similar injury:

“Just my right knee, not my right foot.”

On who might start at tailback:

“At halfback, John Simon was out there running around with Trung Canidate today. Rock Cartwright sprained his ankle but should be fine by the weekend. Chad Morton took the day off with his ankle, but he should be ready by the weekend also.”

On Ladell Betts’ injury status:

“His arm is not completely healed yet. He's doubtful.” On whether it’s possible that John Simon could start:

“No, I doubt it. I'd say Trung would probably start in all likelihood.”

On what Patrick Ramsey did during practice on Wednesday:

“He just watched mainly and threw a few standing still. He didn't move around on his foot at all."

On whether he is considering giving Patrick Ramsey a week off to recover:

“If that seems to be the thing to do, we would, but if Patrick's healthy, he's going to play. We're still believing something good is going to happen. We're still believing that we can start winning our close games and play better and coach better and all those things, so we got to go down there with that attitude and throw everything we got at the Miami Dolphins.”

On if Tim Hasselbeck plays Sunday and if his playing would change the game plan:

“If Tim’s in there? We’ll go play and see how he does. He knows what’s happening and he looked pretty good in practice today.”

On resuming play-calling duties:

“I just need to be more involved. I stepped back and watched it a little while. Hue did an excellent job, but I need to be talking to the quarterback and you can have a conversation with him in between [plays]. Hue will still be very involved in the play-calling. Together we’ll get it done. That’s the way a lot of coaching staffs do it. They’ll have a principle play-caller, but they have another guy who has suggestions. It doesn’t really matter too much how the play gets in there, as long as you get the play in during the course of the game. Hue will probably call a bunch of them through me.”

On whether Hue Jackson will return to the coaching booth:

“I think Hue will probably stay on the sidelines, to try and provide some energy and enthusiasm.”

On if the Redskins had beaten Carolina, would he have made the change:

“I don’t know. We had a four-point lead. I’m just trying to get back involved in coaching the quarterbacks. But Hue will probably call a bunch during the game.”

On whether his play-calling will be different from Jackson’s play-calling:

“We’re going to try and call our game plan like we’ve always tried to do that.”

On Miami’s defense:

“They have a very good defense. I think they were first in the AFC last year. This year, they’re third in the NFL against the run. They give up a few pass yards because no one can run on them very well. I think they sent seven defensive guys to the Pro Bowl last year. They have a lot of good players and they’re well-coached. Their coordinator Jim Bates worked for me at Florida in 1990.”

On Larry Moore:

“He’s doubtful. He hasn’t practiced at all.”

PATRICK RAMSEY (QB, #11)

On how his injured foot feels:

“I feel better today than I did yesterday. Still a little bit sore. I'm just trying let it rest and let it heal.”

On whether he thinks he’ll be able to play on Sunday:

“I hope so. I mean I've played, what, 10 games so far on it, so I hope that I will be able to. It's more sore than it's been thus far on a Wednesday, but I'm going to go out there and evaluate it, and hopefully I can play. I'm expecting to play as of this point.”

On when the injury occurred:

“I don't know. That's what everybody wants to know, and I don't know. I talked to the doctor, and he said I probably could have had it sore for a couple days, and then just little by little it's gotten worse. It was first really sore during preseason, during training camp when we were here. We X-rayed it, and basically they saw that it was broken or fractured, and then it's just gotten worse the past couple weeks than it has been throughout the season.”

On how much the foot injury affects him throwing the ball:

“It limits it. It limits my sliding in the pocket a little more. A little more last week than in the previous weeks, but I'm just going to see if I can go with it.”

On whether it was broken during the preseason:

“Well, I don't know if it was broken during the preseason. The thing is, when the doctors looked at it, they said it looked like an old fracture, and I bruised the bone where it was trying to heal, and then I've done that again now. It's just a little more sore at this point than it was before.”

On whether it’s broken or just bruised:

“I don't know. You're going to have to talk to the trainers. It's sore, I'll tell you that.”

On whether the injury has ever been as sore as it is this week:

“No.”

On whether he’s worried a defensive lineman might step on his foot:

It gets stepped on plenty, so it's not a case where somebody's going to intentionally do it, I don't think, but they might. It's something to expect.”

On what it would take for him to sit out a game, given his overall toughness:

“Until I won’t be able to play. It limits me a little bit, but I think I can still perform. Until I think I can't perform, I want to stay out there and play. This experience that I'm gaining, we still have a chance with this football team. I want to be a part of that.”

On whether he thinks he should give his foot a couple weeks of rest:

“Well, I don't want to do that until I have to. I don't want to do that until I can't go, and if that happens, then we'll take it from there.”

On whether the foot played any factor in his performance last Sunday:

“Maybe. I don’t know. I still have to make the throws regardless of whether my foot hurt or not.”

On whether he feels he has to play, given the lack of experience at backup:

“I think Tim is a good quarterback and he’s learning and doing well. But I don’t feel like I can’t [play]. I want to be a part of this. I want to go out and play as much as I can. I learn something week-in and week-out. I haven’t had a full season thus far in my career, so it’s something that I don’t want to sit it out.”

On whether doctors feel he should take a week off:

“This is something we’ve dealt with all year. This is just the worst of it so far. It’s better than it was yesterday. I don’t foresee anything different unless it stays the way it feels right now for the remainder of the week.”

On whether this is the worst injury he’s had this year:

“Oh, yeah. This is something you can’t just shrug off. I throw on the foot and I push off the foot. It’s important for it to not be that bad so that I can play effectively.”

On Steve Spurrier being the primary signal-caller again:

“It’s not going to be anything different for me. I’ll go out and run the plays that are called. It’s just him calling them like he was previously.”

On Miami’s defense:

“Their secondary is certainly good. They have two really good cornerbacks. They do a good job in the secondary and they mix it up well. That’s a possibility [that the offense may have to pass more this game]. We’re getting deeper into our game plan and what we’re trying to do. We always try to throw the ball around, so I don’t think that should surprise anyone.”

RENALDO WYNN (DE, #97)

On what the reason is for the defense’s drop in the rankings:

“I think we just have to cut out a lot of the mistakes. Third down is something we have to be more efficient in, so that we can get off the field, and for whatever reason we haven’t gotten it done. Even the fourth-down situations in the Carolina game, we had opportunities to get off the field, but mistakes cost us. It’s a team effort. It’s not one guy who’s making mistakes. It’s the combination of little things building up on you and they hurt the team in the end.”

On defensive coordinator George Edwards:

“I think George is doing an excellent job. He’s coaching and we’re playing. We believe in the system, we just have to execute as players.”

ROD GARDNER (WR, #87)

On Patrick Ramsey’s toughness:

“If Patrick’s not practicing, he’s banged up. Because through all the games he’s played, he always made it back to practice [the following week]. We have to give him a chance to recover a little bit, but I think he’ll be ready to go by Sunday.”

TIM HASSELBECK (QB, #8)

On practicing on Wednesday:

“It was good to get the offensive reps, because I haven’t had a lot [with the first team] since I’ve been here. It was also good for Patrick to rest his foot. It helped me and it’ll help me if I get into the game this weekend.”

On whether he feels comfortable in the offense:

“I felt a little bit better than I thought I would. I’m still learning, but I feel comfortable that if I get in there, I can do the things we need to do to move the offense.”

On whether the playbook needs to be toned down if he plays:

“I think we’re going to game plan as if Patrick is the starter. Everything’s going to be in and I’m going to be responsible for all of it. That’s not a problem for me at this point.”

On the difference between his throws and Patrick Ramsey’s throws:

“Patrick definitely throws harder than I do, but he throws harder than a lot of guys in this league. If it was the other way around, the guys might have to adjust to my throwing more, but I think they’ll be fine.”

TRUNG CANDIATE (RB, #30)

On the team's running game:

"When the opportunity is there, I'm going to try and take advantage of it. We've been doing this by committee and we were successful with it early on. It's not as successful right now. Hopefully we can get it going."

On whether it's hard to get into a rhythm with fewer carries in a game:

"It's rough on a running back. But my whole idea is that I don't like to complain about carries that I'm not getting. I like to focus on what I am getting and then just take it from there."

[bulldog]

On whether Hue Jackson will return to the coaching booth:

“I think Hue will probably stay on the sidelines, to try and provide some energy and enthusiasm.”

____________________________________________________

In other words, Jackson is going to stay on the sidelines because he can relate to and motivate the players to perform at a higher level than Spurrier can.

Maybe some of that has to do with the fact he has previous NFL experience and the guys know that.

[riggins44]

Wonder if he'll try to bring Bates in as DC in offseason. Heard rumors in local paper that Edwards maybe offseason casualty.

[bulldog]

well, from what we have been hearing Snyder and Cerrato are less than enthused with Edwards, that he was clearly Spurrier's choice to succeed Lewis, while the two-headed front office was in favor of hiring a more experienced DC.