Post-Game Quotes Skins vs. Eagles 2018: Redskins Players

REDSKINS QUARTERBACK JOSH JOHNSON

On what wasn't clicking for the offense:
"We just never really got in a rhythm early. They had a good plan on defense and then we just never really got it going. They took advantage of the opportunities we gave them. So, it was just disappointing. I thought we would come out with a better performance, I'm just a little upset right now but it'll be alright."

On earning a spot for next season:
"I have no clue, honestly. I just was really trying to focus on the moment and really try and go out there and put my best foot forward on the field and give this team an opportunity to win. I'm just a little down right now, because I felt like we could have played better, but we didn't. Hats off to them, they went out and did what good teams do – they took care of business in the time that they needed to."

On the time of possession going drastically to Philadelphia:
"Yeah, but I mean we've got to capitalize on our drives when our opportunities present themselves. We didn't do a good job with that in the first half at all and even in the start of the second half, defense gave us the ball back and gave us opportunities. That's a good offense over there, they put up a lot of points, week in and week out, and we held them to 24. Our defense played good enough I believe to give us an opportunity to win, so we've got to do our part on offense."

REDSKINS RUNNING BACK CHRIS THOMPSON

On how he's feeling now that the season is done:
"Just terrible. I really enjoy this group of guys we've had here this year. I think we were really on to something good early on. Then injuries just started to really take its toll and to go out like that, it just sucks. For me, like year in, every single year, I just love this team more. I just love these fans more and it's just tough for me in the end to basically feel like I let a lot of people down. I know it's a team game, but I just look at myself. Coming back from the ankle injury, it was a journey for me. To just to be able to come back here and get all the love and respect that I did from my teammates, the coaches, the fans, like everybody, it really meant a lot to me and that's who I do it for. I do it for all those guys, every single person. Now I've got to wait again until August to be able to see and preform in front of everybody. It's not a good feeling – I hate losing. It just really hit me that it's over and I really couldn't control my emotions and just had to take as much time as I could out there to get myself together because I didn't need y'all to see me crying either. But I love this team, I love Coach [Jay] Gruden and I'd do anything for every single person on that field and this organization. It's almost like I'm giving a farewell speech, but this stuff, that's been on my heart for a long time and I'm just really grateful for everything."

On the time of possession affecting the game:
"It's hard. We've got to do better on offense to help our defense out. That first half of the season, there's no way a top five defense ends up getting in the bottom five over the second half of the season and that has a lot to do with us. We kept them on the field a lot. We had injuries or whatever, but there were still plays out there that we missed. There was one game specifically, I can't remember which one, but there were three or four games that should have been touchdowns, but we missed a block here or we missed the little details. It really makes Coach Gruden look bad. It makes Jay look bad as an offensive coach and that's something that we've got to find a way to not let it happen because our failures fall back on him. Then when we look at film, we realize a lot of times it's just small things that we do wrong."

REDSKINS RB ADRIAN PETERSON

On his thoughts leaving the field:
"It definitely wasn't the way we wanted to close it out. It was unfortunate. You just have to take your hat off to Philadelphia. They did a great job offensively, defensively. Controlling the ball offensively and outstanding defensively. They limited our snaps and offensively, we really couldn't get anything going. You just have to learn from this and focus on what we can do as individuals to be better the next time we step into the building to get to work."

On Head Coach Jay Gruden's comments about the team not needing to make many personnel changes to be good next year:
"I do agree. I agree, I agree. Yeah, of course, there are a couple pieces that you add when the draft comes around and players are reliable that they will do. But with the nucleus we have within the building, the heart is there, the desire, the talent is there. It's all about putting it all together. We'll have guys healthy going into next year, and it will definitely be a new feel and new look."

REDSKINS T MORGAN MOSES

On the season:
"Obviously, it's a lot of football left in the season for other teams. We had to figure out the situation in bringing people in. To be where we are and as many injuries as we've had – fourth quarterback and to still be in the playoff contention last week – is just a testament to the front office and the guys that they bring in that come in and pay attention to detail. Obviously, we have to get healthy. You start the season on the road six and three and you lose Alex [Smith] to an injury, it's heartbreaking. But it's the NFL. We got to do what we got to do to get things back on track. I think the biggest thing is that we have to get guys to realize that the stuff we do in the facility is not enough. You have to take care of your body outside of the facility too. I'm excited to see because we have a great group of guys. To see these guys come in here and fight every week and pay attention to detail. Obviously, nobody wants to leave the season like this. Obviously, we had great intentions to be better than we are right now. We got to roll into the off season like Adrian said, everybody pick something to work on in the off season and come back focused."

On RB Adrian Peterson speaking to the team post-game:
"He just said words of encouragement. You know getting better, figuring out and pin pointing things of 'what can I do to make this situation better, to make my team better?' We got to have that selfless attitude when we come back in here and encourage something special because we have the players here and we have the talent that shows. Being one game away from playing in the playoffs, that shows that we have the talent. We just have to find a way to put it together for all 16 weeks."

On the time of possession:
"It's rough. Obviously when you don't have the ball it changes the outcome of your game plan. You can't hand the ball off to Adrian [Peterson] 30 times. It becomes a passing game. When you have a defense like that, that can bring pressure and rush four across the board, it's tough. When they know exactly what you're doing, it's like 'alright they can't put the ball in 26's hand they have to drop back and throw it.' So, we just have to come together and find a way. We'll be in the building tomorrow to try to talk about some things and hopefully everybody absorbs it and goes into the off season with great intentions."


REDSKINS LB RYAN KERRIGAN

On the loss:
"Bad. It's a tough game. They just, they kicked our ass from the start to finish. It's disappointing. That 21-play drive they had in the second quarter, it was bad football by us. You have to credit them and give them some credit for taking it to us, but we just have to find a way to get off the field on third down. We didn't do that enough."

On the time of possession difference:
"It was tough but we kind of know it's a little bit of our own doing. We have to get off the field. We have to find a way to limit yards on first and second down. When they had so many third and one, third and two, it was easy. All they had to do was sneak the ball and fall forward for a yard and they got a new set of downs. So yeah, we have to find a way to get off the field because that was, like I said, a lot of our own doing."

REDSKINS CB JOSH NORMAN

On the game:
"Yeah, took a L, took a L. It sucks. It's tough. For myself in general, give up a touchdown, it's very uncharacteristic of myself. I put that one solely on me. Alshon [Jeffery] is a great player, battled him the whole game. It's just those plays that happen down there being physical, quarterback threw a great ball. He was open, made a great catch, sealed it in and I tried to get it out. It wasn't so it was kind of my day for that. I got him at home and he got me here. So, you kind of have to tip your hats off to that. But at the same time, we took an L today. We really did. Took it on the chin. Yeah, so I think that pretty much sums up the year."

REDSKINS S HA HA CLINTON-DIX

On the biggest takeaway from today:
"Just not getting off the field on third down. I felt like we came out and played with a lot of energy. Guys wanted to come out here and spoil the Philadelphia Eagles' playoff run and we didn't get the job done on defense. Not one time did a guy give up, not one time did a guy lay down. We came out here to win the ball game and we didn't do that today."



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Anyone else laughing like I am? Rinse, wash, repeat.

I feel bad in a way for Johnson. He came in and had the necessary heart and toughness, he simply lacked NFL skills as a passer.

Yesterday was brutal. At one point he was 3 for 11 for 31 yards and an interception.

Even with an Eagles secondary on injured reserve we couldn't seem to complete a pass.

Bulldog said:

I feel bad in a way for Johnson. He came in and had the necessary heart and toughness, he simply lacked NFL skills as a passer.

Yesterday was brutal. At one point he was 3 for 11 for 31 yards and an interception.

Even with an Eagles secondary on injured reserve we couldn't seem to complete a pass.

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Yet Kyle gets Nick Mullens to throw for over 2200 yards in just 8 games this season.

That's Kyle.

He can get a turnip to throw for 3,000 yards.

Look at what he did for Griffin in 2012.

He's got a big ego but he also has demonstrated ability.

Elephant said:

Yet Kyle gets Nick Mullens to throw for over 2200 yards in just 8 games this season.

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Mullens has been playing full-time football for the last 5 years. Johnson hadn't thrown a live ball during that time.

Think that might make a difference.

Boone said:

Mullens has been playing full-time football for the last 5 years. Johnson hadn't thrown a live ball during that time.

Think that might make a difference.

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Might. But with the game Gruden calls, I doubt it!

Once again, I called a 7-8 win season going in, before any injury because it was a given that some of the same guys who didn't finish the season last year, would not finish this year. Last year, I called the same, the year before I called the same.

You know why?

Because that's the standard for a coach like Jay Gruden. I don't care about IR, that is the best we get with Jay Gruden...mediocre. You can excuse him all you want, but Kyle Shanahan got blood from a turnip, Mullen goes most other places, he fails.

Gruden got turnip juice from his turnip. He does not get the most out of his players. I think it's time for you to accept his mediocrity and rue the day we move on from him.

Elephant said:

Might. But with the game Gruden calls, I doubt it!

Once again, I called a 7-8 win season going in, before any injury because it was a given that some of the same guys who didn't finish the season last year, would not finish this year. Last year, I called the same, the year before I called the same.

You know why?

Because that's the standard for a coach like Jay Gruden. I don't care about IR, that is the best we get with Jay Gruden...mediocre. You can excuse him all you want, but Kyle Shanahan got blood from a turnip, Mullen goes most other places, he fails.

Gruden got turnip juice from his turnip. He does not get the most out of his players. I think it's time for you to accept his mediocrity and rue the day we move on from him.

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Back to being a ray of sunshine I see...

If we had not had record-breaking injuries for the 2nd straight year, you'd be quiet as a church mouse, because you'd have been wrong and the Redskins almost certainly would've won the division and absolutely would've been a wildcard team at minimum. The only thing that made you look smart was losing both of our starting QBs. I know Nostradamus. Nostradamus was a friend of mine. You're no Nostradamus

You're touting Kyle Shanahan's greatness? The 49ers won 4 ****ing games this year. They won 6 games last year. And maybe that doesn't make him the worst coach in history - just like the last 2 seasons don't make Gruden one.

I keep hearing about Gruden's playcalling, or the 'lack of discipline' but there's zero acknowledgement that you can't open up a playbook when half your offense are backups or worse. Nor do I hear anyone acknowledging that setting a league high in false starts and holding penalties might have something to do with playing guys off the street and being on our 4th QB. Context matters. You don't want to hear about context because you're pissed and you have all the answers. But it does matter.

If you and others want to discount the impact of the record # of injuries the past 2 years, go ahead and do it. But you discount it because you want to discount it. I doubt any other reasonable NFL pundit would do so as quickly.

Boone said:

Back to being a ray of sunshine I see...

If we had not had record-breaking injuries for the 2nd straight year, you'd be quiet as a church mouse, because you'd have been wrong and the Redskins almost certainly would've won the division and absolutely would've been a wildcard team at minimum. The only thing that made you look smart was losing both of our starting QBs. I know Nostradamus. Nostradamus was a friend of mine. You're no Nostradamus

You're touting Kyle Shanahan's greatness? The 49ers won 4 ****ing games this year. They won 6 games last year. And maybe that doesn't make him the worst coach in history - just like the last 2 seasons don't make Gruden one.

I keep hearing about Gruden's playcalling, or the 'lack of discipline' but there's zero acknowledgement that you can't open up a playbook when half your offense are backups or worse. Nor do I hear anyone acknowledging that setting a league high in false starts and holding penalties might have something to do with playing guys off the street and being on our 4th QB. Context matters. You don't want to hear about context because you're pissed and you have all the answers. But it does matter.

If you and others want to discount the impact of the record # of injuries the past 2 years, go ahead and do it. But you discount it because you want to discount it. I doubt any other reasonable NFL pundit would do so as quickly.

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Redskins were not winning the division with Alex Smith at QB no matter how many times you say it. I thought we'd get better w/out him on the field, but then McCoy went down. Whose fault is it we didn't have a 3rd string QB?

I'm not touting Kyle's excellence, I'm pointing out even that guy can get blood from a turnip...Gruden cannot. It was an admonishment of Gruden.

I will maintain, Gruden is mediocre and will always be mediocre. I love you, but your incessant need to excuse this guy is frustrating. He should have been fired at the end of last season. Now? We look forward to another with him as the HC.

Have fun watching if that's the case. I won't watch a single game.

Boone-Elephant debates are legendary.

Smith's performance in 2017 was his career outlier and put him in top 5 territory in terms of stats.

But based on what he did for 13 seasons before the 2017 version was not going to be prologue and indeed it wasn't.

Smith was throwing for 175 yards and perhaps ONE touchdown a game in 2018.

That wasn't going to be enough when the team failed to get the lead but instead trailed by 10-14 points and needed a qb with stretch capability.

As the WP noted the Redskins style in getting to 6-3 wasn't sustainable long term.

Early losses to Indy and New Orleans showed the limitations when the team started facing upper echelon quarterbacks the defense could not simply shut down.

If Smith was brought in to hand the ball off and prevent turnovers we certainly overpaid with $70M in guarantees.

The other thing to remember is the NFL season is a marathon.

Teams that go out to quick starts but lack any quality depth often fail to sustain themselves.

We have seen this here before. The 1996 Redskins were 7-1 to start and missed the playoffs!

The 2008 Redskins under Zorn started 6-2 and ended up failing to secure even a wildcard.

Looking back on that 6-3 start we lost to 3 teams that made the playoffs (Colts, Saints, Texans) and beat a group of teams that except for Dallas fell apart or never had a winning formula for 2018.

Cardinals were terrible. Worst record in league.

Packers were under .500 and their coach was fired during the season.

Giants were a sub .500 team that only started to play better in the second half as the Redskins found out in the second meeting.

Carolina lost 7 of their last 8 and finished below .500.

Tampa was like Arizona a dumpster fire in 2018.

So much for that string of ‘signature' wins.

The Redskins didn't make any ‘mark' in 2018 that had a lasting feel about it.

Razor thin wins against questionable opponents had me watching with some trepidation what would happen when quality came a'calling and that was largely realized in that Monday night lopsided loss to the Saints.

Washington didn't make a game of it and looked like a Division I-A school trying to compete against an SEC team.

Smith to me looked like a bridge solution at qb, a guy to help things look somewhat respectable while you develop a starter with more upside.

Which is exactly how Jim Harbaugh and Andy Reid ended up using him.

That type of qb may be worth a #3 pick but is certainly not worth $70M in guarantees.

And THAT is where the Redskins got it wrong in the trade.

Smith had one year left on a deal paying him $17M and we should have let him play that deal out to see what we wanted to invest once we saw him here.

At the same time the Redskins failed themselves by not drafting a young qb in 2016 or 2017 anticipating the potential departure of Cousins.

Smart teams don't leave themselves exposed like that.