Skins Quotes 9/14/18: Jay Gruden

September 14, 2018

Head Coach Jay Gruden

On injuries:
"Injuries: [Troy] Apke; hamstring, is out. [Maurice] Harris; concussion, is questionable. Paul Richardson; shoulder, did not participate, he's questionable, and Morgan Moses; knee, was limited today and he's questionable."

On WR Paul Richardson Jr.:
"He's got a shoulder issue right now. We've got him as questionable, so we'll see. I'm not overly concerned about it for this week."

On if WR Maurice Harris is cleared for contact:
"Well, yeah, I think the protocol is ongoing right now. He has to practice on a limited basis and then he has to continue to talk to the doctors and the trainers and find out where he's at and that goes until next morning and afternoon, until he's officially, officially cleared, which he hasn't really been. He's been cleared to participate [in practice]."

On how Harris looks after missing a month:
"He looks good. He feels good. He feels a lot better. But, I leave that up to them – 'Mo', the trainers and obviously everyone else involved – the doctors."

On if Richardson will be limited if he plays:
"We'll see. I think usually if guys play they feel like they can do everything but we'll play it by ear."

On how Richardson suffered his injury:
"He's got an AC joint issue and then he landed on it last week in the game a little bit and aggravated it. So, it's kind of been bothering him for some time."

On changing the game plan to defend a pass oriented team:
"Yeah, we'll see. I think still the initial deal in pro football is stop the run, whoever is back there. We have to do a good job of that and try to force them to be one dimensional. However, that dimension is pretty good with Andrew Luck. So, when he does go back to pass, we're going to have to do a better job of staying in our lanes, because he can buy time as good as anybody and that's going to be an issue also. We'll hopefully mix it up on them, keep them off balance, three-man, four-man, five-man, six-man rushes, and hopefully he will have to get the ball out."

On how much continuity and cohesion has led to early season success:
"I think these guys have worked hard together to try and get that continuity and every week is a different challenge. There's going to be some new things that we add every week, so it's going to be important for us to get on the same page as far as that's concerned. But the type of guys that these guys are, they've worked extremely hard together and done an excellent job with being where they are supposed to be, being fundamentally sound, and making plays that are simple plays making them look very good. We saw Adrian [Peterson] do that a couple of times, make a couple of guys miss in the hole, break another tackle, get 12 yards instead of three. Alex [Smith], if a play is not there, spinning out of trouble, finding Jordan Reed for a gain of 20. So, those things they do athletically but overall I think their continuity is in pretty good shape."

On roster continuity:
"I think; comfort. I think the guys [that have been here] have a comfort level in the system. They can anticipate some of the calls. They know what we like. They're also able to branch off and do some new things because they are all fairly smart guys. But overall, I just think when you are here on the same team for three, four, five years, it means one; you are pretty smart and pretty good. You've worked pretty hard and good things will happen to those guys. I just think the continuity with the guys that have been here, the veteran guys, they're here for a reason, because they are good players, number one, good people and work extremely hard."

On defending Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck throwing the back shoulder fade:
"Well it's hard because the defensive back, it's hard to look back for the ball, especially on T.Y. [Hilton] because he's so fast. We've got to make sure you try and stay on top of him, and when you're on top of him, the receiver does a good job of not giving any indicator of where the ball is if he lay-hands on it. So, it's hard, and the defensive back has to play through the hands and a lot of times it's a PI [pass interference] or a completion. It's a really tough deal; not easy to throw, but Andrew is very, very good at it, so certain quarterbacks are better than others and it's a difficult deal."

On developing a defensive scheme against the shoulder fade:
"Some of them are planned, usually the shorter versions are planned, but the deeper versions, those are just, if the defensive back is on top, he'll throw it back shoulder. But it's just an adjustment the quarterback and receiver makes that have been together for a long time. That's where continuity comes in with him and T.Y. [Hilton]."

On making DL Caleb Brantley active for Sunday:
"Well we have five guys in front of him right now. We don't anticipate dressing six linemen. Unless we don't have anyone else to dress for special team purposes and anything else and right now he just got here, so he's the sixth guy. But, he's doing a good job. He's got some talent, athletic ability that we like and it's good to have him as our sixth if something happens, he'll jump right in there."

On OL Trent Williams and others engaging in ‘Business Friday':
"Business Friday, just what they said, you know it's the first I've ever heard of it. I'm glad they are taking it seriously. They look good. They played well today. They practiced hard. So, the business shirt was a nice touch."

On if the shirt and tie limited the offensive lineman:
"No."

On if he will wear a shirt and tie for Business Friday:
"No, [laughter]."