Skins Quotes 11/2/17: Gruden, Manusky

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.”




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