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Skins Quotes 12/26/17: Jay Gruden

Boone

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December 26, 2017

Head Coach Jay Gruden

** The following is a transcript of a conference call with local reporters today.**

On DL Ziggy Hood's elbow injury:
“Yes, he'll be out, obviously. He fractured his elbow. It's non-surgical though, so he should be good to go soon but obviously not this week.”

On his level of concern for the defensive line without Hood, who has been “a stalwart” this season:
“Yeah, he has been. Fortunately, Terrell McClain got off the injury list and got some reps in last week and we'll still have our five up with Stacy [McGee], Matt [Ioannidis], A.J. [Francis], Anthony [Lanier II] and Terrell. Usually we dress five linemen anyway. Last week it was a luxury to dress six, but we'll go back to five this week.”

On what he has learned about this team over the past couple of weeks:
“They've stayed competitive and I've never really had any doubt about them. I think a lot of assumptions could have been made after our two-game losing streak against Dallas and the Chargers – we didn't play very well – but for the most part, I've felt pretty good about our group coming in every day and competing and staying the course and then preparing and getting themselves ready to play. Our guys have done that. I think it starts with the leaders that we have on offense and defense that I mentioned at the press conference after the game and it's carried over to the young guys, and we're getting some valuable work with a lot of guys and they're starting to produce and playing well.”

On how much momentum NFL teams can realistically carry over with so much change in the offseason:
“Well, I hope you carry over a lot, but mainly you're learning about the players that you have. Really, you want to make sure you keep the ones that are the guys in the locker room that you want to have around, the guys that are working hard on a consistent basis and performing at a high level consistently. We've had so many injuries – we've got a lot of looks at a lot of different types of players and guys you really don't know how they're going to perform until they go under the lights. So, it's been a valuable experience for a lot of guys and a valuable experience for the coaches in evaluating these players for next year, not only the free agents, but everybody else that we have – the younger players and even some of the veteran guys. We'll take a look at everybody, every player in depth, when the season's over and go from there. I'm very pleased with the way these guys have all come out and competed and taken advantage of their reps.”

On WR Josh Doctson and where he is mentally going into next year:
“I think he's in a good place, really. I think he's learning the game. He's learning what the NFL's all about from a preparation standpoint and from a different route tree standpoint. We all know that he can go vertical and outjump people and it's a matter of getting him more opportunities in that regard, but it's also about cleaning up his routes on every given split, every pattern that we have, every concept that we have. I've been impressed with Josh throughout the whole year. He's been durable. He's played the whole year and done some great things and I think there's more to Josh than what we've seen this year and I think we'll get more out of him next year – the more comfortable our quarterback gets with him and the more that we see that he can do. I've been impressed with Josh, not only in the route running, but he's been getting better in blocking also.”

On CB Bashaud Breeland's development since 2014:
“Well, he's played a lot of minutes. When we first got him, he was thrust in the lineup as our No. 1 corner basically and did some great things. He's grown as a player and as a person and we've had some ups and downs with him from time to time, but for the most part, I love the way he competes every Sunday. That's the one thing about Bree is that we know we're going to get a very competitive player. He's handled adversity from time to time very well and he's been a consistent performer for us for the four years that he's been here. He's another one of the key free agents that we have that we'd love to keep, but at the end of the day, I know he's got an agent like all of these other players and we'll have to evaluate what we're going to do with him when the season's over. But I've always liked Bree. I like his competitive nature and he can play zone, he can play man and he's long and tough.”

On young players that have surprised him or that he's looking forward to seeing take the next step:
“Well, Josh – you just mentioned Josh – I can't wait to see him again next season and just watch his development because he's got a special skill set, without a doubt. Obviously some of our defensive players – Preston [Smith] continues to get better and Matt [Ioannidis] and then obviously, Jonathan Allen, I'd like to see him in the full season. Another year in the weight room for him will be outstanding; he'll be ready to go. I'd love to watch him again. Deshazor Everett's done some good things at safety. He's gotten better and better as a young safety – moved from corner and he's getting better and better. We've got a lot of guys that are worth looking at. Chase Roullier at center, I mean, he's done a very good job with the minutes that he's played. And other than that, there's quite a few other ones that are probably in the same boat. Ryan Grant continues to get better, Maurice Harris, Robert Davis, kind of excited to see him in the full offseason. Yeah.”

On if he gave any consideration to sitting QB Kirk Cousins this week to keep him healthy:
“No, there's no thought to that at all. Kirk wants to finish out the season and [he's] got to get us back to 8-8 and I think finishing on a three-game win streak is important to a lot of people here. Finishing strong is what we've been preaching here the last two-three weeks and that'll be the case again this week against the Giants. He'll play.”

On if he anticipates anyone sitting or returning this week:
“No, I think we'll play the 46 healthy guys. I don't anticipate putting anybody else on IR. We've got one game left and I think I'll have 46 healthy guys. You know, like Ziggy Hood, I could put on IR but I'm not going to, probably, because I still have the five defensive linemen. You know, there's a chance we might swap out a practice squad guy to get a practice squad guy active to possibly get him a game check or something like that. But I think, for the most part, we'll have 46 guys ready to go and I don't foresee putting anybody on IR at this time.”

On what Doctson can do to draw penalties when dealing with contact:
“That's a great question. We talk about that all the time. You don't want a guy to be complaining to the referees every play, then it'll be like the boy who cried wolf, you know? Josh has got to do a good job of getting hands off of him somehow. He's got to be a little bit more physical when the ball is in the air or what have you. The one in the end zone, the guy was holding his arm, he couldn't get his arm out of there. There's not a lot he could do. I really don't like players begging and chirping to the referees all day. We've just got to try to continue to run our routes the way we're supposed to run them and be physical when the ball is in the air and get their hands off of us. I like the way Josh is playing, and eventually he'll start to get these calls.”

On how Doctson can improve at finishing plays while dealing with contact:
“I mean, it just continues with reps and getting in the weight room with Chad [Englehart] in the offseason program, make sure when he's out of this building he's going to continue to train and work, which I know he will. He works extremely hard when he's not playing football – keeping his body in shape. And I think being 100 percent healthy this offseason will be a tremendous asset for him moving forward. I think he'll be in great shape next year, continue to get stronger, a little bit faster, maybe a little quicker. Just having this whole experience of a full year under his belt lining up in different positions and running different routes and seeing the game for what it's all about is just going to be a huge, huge lift for him moving into next year.”

On the defense's performance in the last two weeks and the unit's frustrations with giving up a late touchdown in the win:
“Yeah, it says a lot, really. They take it personally, as well they should. We gave up too many big plays against the Chargers and even against Dallas. We eliminated those. Guys came out and they flew around the football. And I can't say enough about what Zach Vigil did last week – 12 tackles, two assisted I think. [Martrell] Spaight played great. He had the flu, still fought through it and had an excellent game at middle linebacker. The communication, really, has been the difference. And Zach is a main part of that. He's done a great job of communicating the calls to everybody. And when we're on the same page and we're being technically sound, we're a tough defense to go against, no matter who's out there. Coach [Greg] Manusky has got a good scheme and we're on top of what we're supposed to do. We're hitting the right gaps, it's hard to run on us. And then when teams go back to pass, we've got good edge-rushers and the interior rush with [Anthony] Lanier and [Matt] Ioannidis is getting better and better.”

On if the injuries will complicate the evaluation of running backs this offseason:
“Yes, 100 percent. We obviously feel really good about what Chris [Thompson] did, without a doubt. Rob Kelley, his second game of the year against the Rams he almost had 100 yards and that's when he hurt his ankle. He never really was quite the same, but when healthy Rob Kelley was very good. Unfortunately he played in about three or four games not healthy and he just kept returning that ankle and we had to put him on IR. Then Samaje [Perine] has had some ups and downs at running back. We looked at Byron Marshall, we loved the prospects of him coming in and being a third-down back when Chris went down but he didn't get as many reps. Now we have [Kapri] Bibbs in here and he's doing a pretty good job, but this next game will be important for him. But it is very hard to evaluate these guys. We will just have to do the best we can moving forward and figure out what our needs are come draft time and free agency and then go from there. There is something to like about all these guys, but from a consistent production standpoint other than Chris, we didn't get a lot of probably what we are looking for from any of those guys. Not to say they did poorly, but it's just hard to evaluate them and say, ‘Hey, we don't need a running back because we have A, B, C, D, E.' We still have Keith Marshall on IR. We still have Rob Kelley. We have Samaje. We've got [Byron] Marshall. We've got D.O. [Dare Ogunbowale] here still so we have a lot of backs running around here. We just have got to probably figure out which two or three we really like moving forward.”

On what he's liked about Doctson's progress:
“I think from a mental standpoint, just the route tree I think is big and how to run every route cut. We have a lot of different route cuts for the X in our offense at split-end. He's in tight splits. He is out wide and he is motioning to the slot. He's doing a lot of different things. Even the understanding of the offense in year two or three – he should be a lot more comfortable and he should be able to really have a lot of progress I think because he is running a lot of these for the first time on game day. Practice is one thing, but you get in a game and you see a rolled up coverage sometimes, sometimes you see off, sometimes you see press-man, sometimes it's press-bail, but to understand the different route concepts and the different depths and the stems and how you come out of breaks and the anticipation the quarterback has to have for you to come out of these different route cuts is critical. It's a learning experience for these young receivers and I think he is going to take a major step like I said. But he has made significant progress in all areas in my opinion.”

On RB Chris Thompson and when he might return:
“He is coming along. I don't know the exact date, but we will take it slow with Chris. Chris will start lifting weights again pretty soon for his upper body. He's lost about 10 pounds, but he will get himself back in shape. Hopefully at OTAs we will get him back there but I don't know the exact date.”

On what he has learned about himself this season:
“Myself? That's a tough question, Kimberley. Why do you always ask the tough ones? [Laughter]… I don't know. I haven't really learned a whole lot about myself. I think I'll try to take a step back when the season is over. This is such a grind and it's nonstop – the regular season. I think I try to be consistent in what I do and how I handle people. Even through the good times and the bad times, I try to be consistent with my approach to how we prepare for one game to the next. I'll reevaluate that and go from there, but I haven't learned a whole lot about myself.”

On how much LB Junior Galette's increased playing time will help when evaluating him this offseason:
“It's huge. He is also a free agent and I'm sure he is a little frustrated with some of his playing time, but you saw his production stick up last week. You got to see him rush the passer a little bit more and play more minutes. Those guys need those minutes to get in the flow of the game. It's hard for those guys, they're out on first down, they're in on third down, they are out on second down, subbing in and out. It's hard for them to get in the flow. To see Junior get some quality reps and some quality time this past week, you see what he can do and the production he can have. We just happen to have four other good outside linebackers. He's handled the playing time extremely well. I know he has been a bit disappointed, but you can see the production is still there in him if we get him the reps. But with [Ryan] Kerrigan and Preston [Smith] and Ryan Anderson, it's a little bit tougher sometimes. I like what I see of Junior. I like the progress that he made throughout the year.”




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
On what he has learned about this team over the past couple of weeks:
“They've stayed competitive and I've never really had any doubt about them. I think a lot of assumptions could have been made after our two-game losing streak against Dallas and the Chargers – we didn't play very well – but for the most part, I've felt pretty good about our group coming in every day and competing and staying the course and then preparing and getting themselves ready to play. Our guys have done that. I think it starts with the leaders that we have on offense and defense that I mentioned at the press conference after the game and it's carried over to the young guys, and we're getting some valuable work with a lot of guys and they're starting to produce and playing well.”

This all sounds fine and good. But when the head coach admittedly quits trying during a game because he's afraid someone might get a boo-boo, it falls on deaf ears.

I know he's not getting fired. I'll learn to live it. But he's Fredo Corleone to me. I have no respect for him as a coach. Sure, he can stumble into winning. But he's a loser, and a quitter at heart.

This team needs a Grudenectomy. Even with the temporary setback that might bring.
 
So you're basically waiting for Al Neri to take Jay out fishing while he says a Hail Mary... :glee:

Fredo Gruden said:
It ain't the way I wanted it!!! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says, like dumb. I'm smart and I want respect!
 

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