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Skins Quotes 9/11/19: Gruden, Keenum

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September 11, 2019

Head Coach Jay Gruden

Opening statement:
“Did not participate: [DL] Jonathan Allen, knee, he's getting evaluated. Same thing with [DL Caleb] Brantley's foot and [RB Derrius] Guice's knee. [Quarterback Colt] McCoy was out today and Montae Nicholson was out with a foot. Limited were [TE Jordan] Reed, concussion and [CB Fabian] Moreau, ankle, [CB Quinton] Dunbar, knee. Obviously, we put [CB Greg] Stroman down, he had surgery on a core muscle injury.”

On if Reed is still in the protocol:
“I've explained this 3,000 times, O.K. They're never really totally out of the protocol, they just continue to get more work in practice. He did a lot of work in team today, which is good. He's just gotta continue to get more reps and we'll continue to monitor how he's feeling afterwards.”

On Nicholson's foot injury:
“He just has a sprained foot a little bit, but we'll see how he's doing tomorrow.”

On if there is a timeline for McCoy's return:
“I do not, no. This is something that he's going to continue to get checked out, work and rehab and then when he feels like he's 100% and can push off that thing we'll get him back into team reps.”

On his message to the team after giving up a lead in Week 1:
“I think you learn from what happened in that game and learn from your mistakes, see what you did good and then move on. We have a great Dallas team coming in, won the division last year, beat the Giants pretty good last week so we have to move on. We can't dwell on what happened last week. We have to learn from it, but move on. Our guys are excited to play our first home game, especially against the Cowboys.”

On what the concern level for Reed is given his history with concussions:
“Whenever a player gets cleared from whatever injury it is, there is no concern because he's cleared and ready to go – that's the way we look at it. We would never put Jordan [Reed] at risk any time, any place if we thought there was going to be a future problem. Once he gets cleared and he feels good enough to go, he'll go.”

On how the Cowboys offense looked different with Kellen Moore leading the unit as the playcaller:
“Not too different, they're very efficient. I think he did a great job of calling plays for his first game, but very similar. Formationally, they like to run the ball, they do they play-action's off the strong running game that they have, good offensive line, good targets to throw to. [WR] Randall Cobb in the mix and obviously [WR] Amari Cooper and getting [TE Jason] Witten back in the running game helps them out. They're very talented. [RB Ezekiel Elliott] is running the ball very hard and like I said, the offensive line is very good. He mixes the run and pass up very well – bootlegs and zone reads, keeps you off balance.”

On Guice's injury update:
“There is none. He's just getting checked out.”

On if RB Adrian Peterson will start if Guice is out:
“Yeah.”

On if he needs to talk to Peterson after being inactive in Week 1:
“No. We've talked, he's in a good place. Nobody is happy if you're the backup or not dressing, but you are on the team and when your number is called, you roll. Adrian [Peterson] is a pro and I feel very good if his number is called this week he'll be ready to go and play very hard. He'll be Adrian Peterson.”

On what adding Reed to the passing game does:
“It does a lot. He's one of the better receiving tight ends in the league so we're able to move him around a lot and do some different things with him. It's just hard right now at this stage when you don't know if he's coming in or not because there are plays you design for Jordan [Reed] you wouldn't design for somebody else. No offense to that somebody else, but he's different. Hopefully we'll get a better indication tomorrow so we can kind of solidify our game plan, but we'll have to wait and see.”

On LB Jon Bostic's first performance:
“I think everybody can look at themselves, coaches included, and say there are somethings you can do better. I think he brought good energy to the defense. Overall, defensively wasn't good enough for anybody, really. Defensive line, not enough push, not good enough against the run. Linebackers, not good enough the run, not good against the pass. [Defensive backs] same thing. Coaching staff, maybe the plan wasn't good enough. We just all gotta look in the mirror and make sure we all understand we got another game this week and we gotta learn and get better.”

On what they're waiting to see on with Allen:
“No, we're waiting to see – he's got another opinion and we'll wait and see how long these other opinions think it'll be, if he can play this week or next week.”

On if that is the same situation for Guice:
“Yeah, for sure.”

On how injuries continue to happen:
“I don't know. It's a fluke. Derrius Guice busts his tail to get his knee back [to 100%] and he hurts his other knee. It just happens sometimes. Jonathan [Allen], quarterback sneak, got his leg tangled up. Jonathan's [injury] is not going to be serious at all. Jonathan should be back maybe this week or next week. They do pile up: Caleb Brantley, Jordan Reed, [Greg] Stroman. We've gotta adjust and Montae [Nicholson] now, but hopefully Montae will be O.K.. He's a tough guy, young. Those guys repair pretty quickly. The ones that are serious are the ones you worry about. Like Stroman, you're concerned about.”

On the team having a lot of holding penalties the last couple of seasons:
“We have to do a better job with hand placement. We had a point of that in the meeting today. If they're targeting you, you have a bullseye on your chest then you better be more careful with your hands. That's the way it is, that's the way it's going to be. Hopefully we do a better of disciplining ourselves with our hand usage, getting them outside the framework of the defenders body, latching on where they can't get off. We just gotta continue to preach it, coach it and make sure they understand the importance of it because they take you out of drives. Two of them took us out. We didn't have may drives in that game [in Week 1] and two of them were stalled by penalties and that kills you.”

On if they talk to league about the large number of holding calls:
“No.”

On if he had to relay the message of making Peterson inactive to the team:
“Yeah, for sure. I have relayed it and it is important for sure. The line loves blocking for Adrian Peterson. He's a big guy. The line likes to block for Derrius Guice, but we only have one ball. That's in the past. We'll worry about when they're both healthy again, if that decision ever has to come again. I thought our special teams unit did a really good covering kicks, if that makes any difference. [RB Wendell] Smallwood did a great job and [LB Tanner] Vallejo did an excellent job too. Those were the two guys it was between so those guys played a major role in special teams.”

On how they will address the depth of the defensive line if Allen and Brantley can't play in Week 2:
“We added [T.Y.] McGill here so we'll have five guys up. During the game, when two guys went down early, we were down to three and they had the two really long drives, which really kinda gassed them and we couldn't get off the field on third down. We'll have to maybe have a couple of different packages where maybe three defensives ends in the game with one defensive lineman. For the most part, we'll have five health bodies up come Sunday and they should be good.”

On LB Cole Holcomb making an impact in his first game:
“It says a lot. It's not easy. We had a couple rookies step up and play pretty well for their first game. [CB Jimmy] Moreland, [LB Montez] Sweat, [Cole] Holcomb, the receivers all did good – [WR] Terry [McLaurin] obviously. I was impressed with the rookies and they're going to get better and better. But Cole, to step in the game to play linebacker with all the things you have to do in the run game, pass game, the drops, the communication. He's an impressive guy. He can run, he can hit, he's smart, he's going to be a really good one I think when it's all said and done.”


QB Case Keenum

On evaluating his play and the play of the wide receivers after watching the film:
"I was encouraged. We had a lot of guys playing hard. [WR] Paul [Richardson Jr.] played hard. I thought [WR] Trey [Quinn] was in a lot of good spots. Obviously, [WR] Terry [McLaurin] did some really good things on the outside. Some of the young guys too, [WR Kelvin] Harmon getting in there, [WR Steven Sims Jr.] ‘Simsy' getting in there doing some good stuff. [TE] Vernon [Davis] was consistent as well. I was really happy with those guys. Upfront, they were incredible. I thought they blocked their tails off all day. [They] did a great job and I think it's something we can build on.

On what he saw from RB Derrius Guice:
"I thought he did a great job. You guys need to go look and I saw some stuff on his protection pickups. He was spot on in a lot of that stuff. Being out, and knowing where he needed to be out in some of the route down the field, I was able to check it down to him. Then instead of being second-and-10, we're second-and-two. Instead of being third-and-seven, we're first down. He's getting touch too that way, so I thought he did a great job of that. Did a good job on some runs where not a lots there and able to get back to the line of scrimmage and make one or two yards. Those are positive plays for us. I thought he did well. I'm looking forward to seeing him progress as well.

On what having TE Jordan Reed back can do for the offense:
“He was there all training camp. Some of the offseason stuff we were able to get together, but he's a special player. I haven't played with many players like him. I've never played with a player that can do what he does. I'm excited to get him back out there.”

On the process of developing timing with the wide receivers:
“It's time, experience. I think seeing those guys on film, seeing Paul running by guys, seeing Terry running by guys and they're exploiting coverage. Even some plays where they're trying to clear the top off the coverage, they're clearing the top more. So, being able to throw it on my end is a big part of that.”

On what he learned from an operations standpoint after watching the tape:
“Operationally wise, I thought handling ourselves in the noise – in an environment like that, one of the tougher places to play in the NFL. I thought we did a good job. I think there was one delay of game that was on me. A couple other little things but we're going to continue to clean that up. I thought that was really good. We moved the ball well for the most part. There was just some crucial times where we needed to step up, our defense needed us to step up and we didn't. Just like I said after the end of the game, we didn't play complementary football there in the third quarter when we needed to, but we're looking ahead. We've moved on and we're excited about another great test this week.”

On having a different approach on Sunday after blowing a lead in Week 1:
“I think for us, it's maintaining focus. It's keeping the same attack mindset, the same focus mindset, the same operation, everything. Every play we go out there it doesn't matter what the score is, when it is and then almost even heighten that on those crucial third downs, crucial red zones snaps, crucial times in the game – two-minute, starting the third quarter, so those are all big for us.”

On the excitement of the home opener:
"I'm really excited. I'm really excited to here in front of our home fans especially playing the Cowboys. I think traditionally, historically, this has got the makings or has got a strong argument to be one of the best rivalries in all of sports. I'm excited to be a part of that. It's pretty cool. I'm excited to go out there and sling it around a little bit."

On if some of the mistakes he made in the second half felt different because of how few plays the offense had:
"I mean that's the NFL. I go every game and I come back and there's a handful that I want back. And the times where we've not come out winning, those handfuls it's hard to say, but I think those can change the course of the game, so that's what eats me up. You just keep plugging. You keep going and treat every play like it's your last play because you never know which play might matter in the course of a game, in the course of a season. It's a long season, but still you have to take every play with everything you got."

On what Reed can do that makes him special:
“You guys can see it on film. You see how he gets open and creates space. The stuff that he's able to do on the elite cover guys in the league. That's a huge trust factor that I know he can get open and I'm excited to continue that on-field relationship and get him the ball.”

On if there is something the offense and Head Coach Jay Gruden and Offensive Coordinator Kevin O'Connell do that helps players get open:
“They're great game planners. I haven't been around many that do it as well as they do and it's been fun to work with. I'm still learning how to do that throughout the week and trying to wrap this press conference up so I can go get ready for practice. Every moment I feel like during the week is precious so I put everything I can into every day. They do a great job. It's been really fun to be around and I'm excited for this week for this game plan.”

On what makes play-action so effective:
“People have been running it for as long as, I think, the forward pass. Like, ‘Hey, let's fake like we're going to run it and then throw it.' It's been around a long time and it's personnel. When you have great running backs, they've got to respect that and when you have great pass catchers, they gotta respect that. Being able to do both is dangerous.”

On if he enjoys play-action:
“Yeah, I definitely do. I like that, I think it fits my game. Depending on the game plan, game week, whatever we're doing, there's ways to fit that stuff in.”

On if the offense will skip a beat with RB Adrian Peterson playing instead of Guice:
“I don't know as far as what the injuries go. I don't think we skip a beat with whoever is in there. Like I said, last week with Jordan Reed, we're not going to line up with 10 guys. We're going to put 11 guys out there and play. I have faith in every guy in that locker room that lines up and gets in the huddle with me.”

On what stands out about the Cowboys defense:
“First Cowboys question of the day. I'm excited to play these guys. I grew up in Texas, obviously Cowboy country. A lot of my friends and family back home, they got a big box of Redskins gear this year, but they have to hide it from all their friends. They're a great football team. Their front is obviously very dangerous. They've got Pro Bowl linebackers across the board there and their cover guys have been there, got some experience and some talent on the outside as well so we got our work cut out for us. They're very sound in their schemes and they can play zone, they can play man when they want to. So, they're going to line up and play what they want to play and we gotta take care of business.”

On what playing the Cowboys means to him:
“It's fun. I actually played a couple high school playoff games in the old Texas Stadium and then got to play in the new Cowboys stadium. Wherever you grow up, you're kind of a fan of that team. I've got some fond memories doing like punt-pass-kick [competitions] there and going to games as a kid so I'm excited to line up against them. That's going to be really special.”
 
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If the team has no timetable for McCoy's return to practice and there are this many injuries early in the season wouldn't it make sense to put him on IR and go with 2 quarterbacks for the time being?

If both Keenum and Haskins went down against Dallas McCoy would not be available in any event, so the depth there is simply on paper.

My guess is Gruden is keeping McCoy active in the hopes that if Keenum doesn't play all 16 games he can go back to Colt and prevent Haskins from seeing the field at all in 2019 regardless of the record.

Couldn't you imagine the team at 2-7 or 2-8 with Gruden inserting McCoy and saying 'the season isn't over' and continuing to stiff us on moving forward with Haskins?

After what happened with Peterson it seems obvious that Gruden has an agenda and it may not be one that is in the best interests of the team.
 
“...If the team has no timetable for McCoy's return to practice and there are this many injuries early in the season wouldn't it make sense to put him on IR and go with 2 quarterbacks for the time being?...”

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You mean it's what Doug Pederson and Sean McVay would do? :dance:
 

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