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Skins Quotes 9/10: Jay Gruden

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September 10, 2014
Redskins Park

Head Coach Jay Gruden

On tight end Jordan Reed:
“He’s got a moderate hamstring pull still. We’ve just got to take it on a week-to-week basis. He didn’t do anything today and it’s still pretty sore, so we’ll just have to continue to monitor him and see what he can do tomorrow and the next day and keep moving forward.”

On if there is no chance of Reed playing:
“I wouldn’t say there’s no chance. There’s always a chance. But I think the way he’s walking around right now, it’s pretty sore for him, and you can see him working out with the trainers. He’s trying to do some stuff out there individually, but anybody who has had a hamstring pull – moderate – it’s going to take some time. When you rush guys back there and they pull it worse, then they’re out for longer. The big thing is to make sure he’s 100 percent when he’s out there so we don’t have any recurrence of the same injury.”

On the injury report:
“[Kedric] Golston’s groin, he’s day-to-day still. Akeem Jordan’s knee, he’s still a little gimpy. And then [Tracy] Porter’s hamstring, he did not practice again today. [Brian] Orakpo’s ankle, he was limited today. Duke [Ihenacho] twisted his ankle just a little bit in individual. He was limited today. And Trent [Williams] had a little shoulder. He practiced but he was limited.”

On if Reed's injury could potentially open a spot for wide receiver Santana Moss to be active Sunday:
"Potentially, yeah. Wednesdays and Thursdays we're trying to look at all options, find out who our healthy bodies are and then our best case scenarios as far as who's dressing and special teams plays a big role in that. If you're going to dress six receivers, you’d like a couple of them to be special team demons. We just didn’t feel that way for the game against Houston so we only dressed five. We'll see moving forward with only the possibility of two tight ends up. It could be an extra lineman, could be an extra safety, could be an extra running back, we don’t know yet. We just have got to play it by ear and see what happens. Tomorrow after practice, we'll start making a decision."

On quarterback Robert Griffin III’s performance on Sunday:
"There are certain things you like. You know, when you play a game, you throw 39 balls or whatever it was, he completed 29, he had a high completion percentage. We didn’t drive the ball down the field, unfortunately, but we scored six points. We fumbled twice in the red zone. He took a couple sacks that he shouldn’t have taken. He did some great things, he did some things not so great. That's kind of the story of everybody in that game, play callers included. Everybody has a lot of improving to do. I like where he's at mentally. I think he's starting to gain momentum and confidence every day out at practice. We just have to carry it over on the field and decisions have to be consistent at the quarterback position, especially when games are tight. When the level of competition is so equal amongst the 32 teams, one mistake here can cost you and we had five or six catastrophic mistakes that really cost us and you can’t have those if you expect to win the NFL. Quarterback had a couple, our punt team had one, our defense had one or two. All those add up to major losses in NFL so we have to eliminate those, quarterback had a few. Overall, I think from a mental standpoint, I feel good about it now. It's just a matter of him getting comfortable and letting loose and playing. He's still a young kid, he's just got to go out there and play and let loose and let it rip."

On emphasizing Griffin III’s development as a pocket passer and managing his ability to run:
"There wasn’t a lot of running lanes for him. As a dropback passer, sometimes you'll get running lanes. Sometimes the pass rush up the field, you'll get a natural running lane, but Houston did a great job of really pushing the pocket and not giving a lot of running lanes for him to go. We didn't have any designed runs for him, but if you're going to be a professional football quarterback, you're going to have to learn to be a pocket passer at some point in your career and he's learning. He's not a finished product yet by any stretch of the imagination, but he will get there. I know one thing that if you keep telling Robert he can’t do something, he's going to do it and he's going to want to do it and he'll get there."

On safety Duke Ihenacho:
“Yeah, he just twisted his ankle just a hair in individual but I think he will be OK. He just got wrapped up and re-taped. He was limited, but he has picked it up. He had a good walkthrough. I think mentally he is starting to get a good feel for the defense and the calls, which is important. It is one thing to be a great physical specimen and be a great tackler but you’ve got to know where to go and how to get there and he is starting to learn that process now and Raheem [Morris] is going to get him ready. So if we need him he will be ready to roll – him and [Bacarri] Rambo and we will play them both hopefully.”

On the loss of nose tackle Barry Cofield:
“It’s a big loss. Anytime you lose a defensive lineman, you don’t have that many – not many big good football players in the NFL anymore, especially at defensive line. You lose one and you might have a replacement but it really hurts your depth, but luckily Chris Baker is a darn good nose guard. He will step in – he stepped in during Barry’s absence and did a great job against Houston. Now Frank Kearse has to step up and play in the backup role, [defensive end Clifton] Geathers might have to play a little bit more, [defensive end Jarvis] Jenkins might have to be on the field a little bit more and same with [defensive end Jason] Hatcher. Now instead of being six deep, seven deep, now we are down to five possibly, so those guys have got to make sure they are in great shape but we have bodies to do it, they just have got to do a little bit more.”

On if there was a specific moment he saw improved confidence in Griffin III last week:
“Not really, I think just talking to him on the sideline and watching him play, his demeanor, I think he played with a good amount of confidence and felt pretty comfortable. Them pushing the pocket I think had some issues with him as far as his footwork is concerned but overall he got the ball out in rhythm. We didn’t run a lot of passes down the field where he had to hold the ball too long and make a whole lot of different reads, but he did a fairly good job. He was accurate with the football, which was good. He was decisive with the football, which was good. But there were some other plays in there – a couple of the sacks he took weren’t very good. Some of his out of the pocket decisions weren’t very good and that’s where we need to thrive as an offense. If he gets out of the pocket with the dual threat that he has, A) the receiver has got to do a great job of getting open for him down the field and he has got to find them. We had the one in the first quarter, Andre Roberts is running free and he threw it out of bounds and he stepped out of bounds by a foot, that’s a 40-yard gain that you end up punting. Those are plays we need to take advantage of with an elusive athletic quarterback like that if we are going to really take that next step. Pocket passing is one thing but when he breaks contain, that is when there is a lot of damage done and you see the great ones do that – Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and [Colin] Kaepernick and all those guys that have the elusiveness when they break contain. It’s important for our receivers to do a great job of bailing him out.”

On if it is easier to run read option against 4-3 defenses instead of 3-4 defenses:
“In certain cases it is but you can do some things to be successful against the 3-4 teams. They did it against Baltimore a couple years ago and had some success. They have had success in the past with it, but it is a little more difficult because the edges are set a little bit more firm. We are playing a 4-3 team but we just did not have any called last week and we might not have any called this week. We will see how the game plan works right now. It is still part of our game that we will get to eventually. When and where? We are not sure yet.”

On bringing back safety Akeem Davis:
“He’s a great special teams player. He’s still learning the defense – very raw as far as secondary is concerned. He’s learning, but he really makes his mark on special teams and really helps in that regard. You hate to lose big guys that can run fast, and he’s one of those guys that can run fast and he’s somebody the other team has to really deal with on special teams. From a defensive standpoint, if he’s a fourth or fifth safety, hopefully he won’t be thrust into action anytime soon, but if he is, he’s slowly but surely coming along and can take some reps at safety, but really he will make his mark on special teams.”

On linebacker Brian Orakpo’s ankle and if it affected his performance last Sunday:
“I don’t think so. I think his ankle is fine. He’s just being very cautious with it. I think the biggest thing that had something to do with his quiet afternoon is Houston was never really in a position where they had to throw the ball. They were in third down and mediums a lot, third down and shorts where they didn’t really have to hold the ball too long. They had the lead so they were very conservative with their approach, so we didn’t really get a lot of good get-offs and get-after the quarterback type plays. Those will come once the offense gets going and we start to get a lead and the teams have to pass it – then you will see more Orakpo and [Ryan] Kerrigan – hold teams to third down and eight or third down and nine and we’ll get a chance for them to rush, but against Houston, there just weren’t many opportunities for him.”

On if Reed’s possible absence could open up opportunities for the receivers:
“It could be the case, but really I think whether Niles [Paul] is in there or Jordan is in there or Logan [Paulsen] at tight end, I think they’re still part of the progression. As a quarterback, you can’t predetermine where you’re going with the football because I can draw up a coverage to take away any pattern that you draw up, so it’s very important for you to see the field, see the coverage, see the safeties and be able to read and react quickly to your different progressions. If they want to take away our two outside receivers, then Andre [Roberts] or Logan or Jordan, our halfback has to do some damage. It might be that type of game, we’ll see how they play. Definitely Jacksonville has the ability to play some Cover 2, they play some Cover 3, they play some man-to-man, so it’s important for our quarterback to read and react to what they’re playing and our receivers to take advantage of the looks when they get them.”

On how important it is to make plays downfield:
“It’s very important. I said it the week before the Houston game –it is very difficult to go on the road and try to put together eight, 10, 12-play drives against a good defense with a good pass rush, and that’s kind of what happened. We kind of put together five, six, seven, eight plays and then eventually we shot ourselves with a sack, a throwaway or what have you or a fumble, two fumbles, so it’s important for us to get some chunks somewhere. We’ve got to figure out a way to get them and take the shots, and when we do take the shots – don’t take a 14-yard loss or throw an interception. We were very poor with our play-actions. I think we ran seven play-action passes with the bootlegs included and I think we completed four balls for eight yards and we took a big sack on one of them. You’d think the way we ran the ball that the play-actions would have been more successful, but Houston did a nice job covering. But, we can’t stop calling them, we’ve got to make sure that we have a good combination, a good mixture of runs and the play pass and take our shots when we can, and just make sure we eliminate the negative plays out of our repertoire.”

On eliminating the 'catastrophic’ plays:
“You just hope that everybody understands that each play is its own entity and very, very important in the course of a ball game. You never know when your number is going to be called or when that play is going to strike and become a huge one. You never know. Second-and-10 at the minus-30, playing defense in Cover 2, you never know. You’ve got to be in position to make a play. If you’re on punt, you’ve got to make sure that guy doesn’t go inside. If you’re the quarterback, you can’t take a sack on third-down-and-eight on the 34-yard line. You’re in field goal range. You never know. You’ve got to understand situational football. Coaches have got to understand, players have got to understand and we’ve got to do a better job of making sure that you’re not the guy, I’m not the guy, that makes that mistake and everybody is accountable to their job. And that’s a big focus this week – do your job and everything else will take care of itself.”

Quarterback Robert Griffin III

On avoiding an 0-2 start and if he can think about the big picture like that:
"No, our focus is on Jacksonville. We have got to get to 1-1. They're trying to get to 1-1, and it's a home game and we want to make sure we take care of our home games, win those bad boys not only for our season, but for our fans. We want to go out there and put on a show and we have got to do that by scoring points and winning the football game. That's the only way to do it."

On what he told Head Coach Jay Gruden about his preferences for running the ball:
"Jay runs the offense. Whatever he calls, him and Sean [McVay] and Coach [Chris] Foerster and those guys get together and they put together a great game plan and we're supposed to go out there and execute it. That's my job, my job is to master the game plan and go out there and run the offense. So, me running, when the opportunity presents itself, it happens and it happened in this last game, just didn’t get very many opportunities with that. But we're not going to sit here and talk about trying to find different ways for me to run."

On what he learned from film of the Houston game:
"It's not always as bad as you think. We went out there and we did execute well, we just hurt ourselves in the red zone with the turnovers and we can’t do that. Aside from that, we moved the ball extremely well, we did execute well at times. We just have got to be more consistent and put it all together."

On his decisions to run against Houston:
"I just don’t think that the opportunity presented itself for me to gash the defense in that way. It's always a threat, it’s always there. I'm not trying to stay in the pocket just to play quarterback. I'm trying to play the game at an efficient level, a high level and be what my team needs me to be to win. And, if that calls on Coach calling more run plays, then I'm all for it, and if it doesn't and we continue to run the offense that we have, then I'll do that too and we'll execute it to a T and go win football games. It's really just up to what Coach wants us to do and we'll go execute it. "

On how important it is to take shots downfield and what he sees from Jacksonville’s defense:
"When you have weapons like Pierre [Garçon] and DeSean [Jackson] and Andre [Roberts], these guys can really go deep down the field. You want to get them opportunities and we had a couple in the game, we just didn’t come down with them. Yeah, we have got to find ways to open those guys up more down the field. I don’t think that’s any secret. You want to be able to be efficient and hit the underneath stuff but you also have to get those home run shots in every now and then. We'll work on getting that. And then, as far as the Jags defense, they're a really good defense. They did get to [Nick] Foles early and often in that game. We're going to have to go out and it's the name of the game every single week, you have got to go out and execute your game plan and just dictate to the defense what they're going to do and they're going to try to dictate to us. It's all a play on words and word games, but, you know, we just want to go play. Just go play football. "

On Gruden saying the team should probably have run the ball more against Houston with Alfred Morris:
"Yeah, if that's how Coach feels, then dial him up. We can give it to Alfred 40-50 times a game. You know, none of us are really worried about numbers, we just want to win football games and that's what it takes, whatever it takes to win games, that's our mindset. We didn’t do what it took to win that game and like I said after the game, it starts with me, I'll be better. They go as I go, that's not just something that you say, it's something you believe and I believe it. As long as I play better and get us in better situations, we'll go out and win football games and it starts this week."

On if he has enough time to process threats in the pocket:
“Yeah, you do have time to process it. You want to be able to step up in the pocket, kick back in the pocket when there’s no room to step up. All those things come with managing the game. I thought with the pressure that they were applying, whether it was through blitzes or through J.J. Watt and some of those guys, we did a good job maneuvering in the pocket, but they made some plays on us that we can’t allow them to make.”

On not having wide receiver Santana Moss or tight end Jordan Reed available for most of the game:
“Yeah, it hurts you obviously. No one expects Jordan to go down as quick as he did, but the guys stepped in. Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen did a great job coming in, filling that void, running the plays and executing the game plan. Yeah, it’s going to hurt that Jordan’s not out there. We have to continue to try to go out there and continue to execute our offense, and I think those guys can do it.”

On if Jacksonville’s defense under Head Coach Gus Bradley is similar to Bradley’s defense in Seattle:
“Oh, without a doubt. They have got very similar techniques to what Seattle does. They throw in a little bit of different things. Seattle has the personnel and the players to whatever they want. Jacksonville has those players too. I’m sure we’ll see a little bit everything, but you can kind of look at Seattle’s defense and know what to expect from them, and I’m sure they’ll throw a wrinkle in here or there because that’s why you play football, that’s why you game plan.”

On what the team needs to do to escape defensive pressure and make plays downfield:
“Game plan and find ways to make it happen. At the end of the day, we run the plays that Coach calls, and we have to execute those plays. It’s not on him, it’s not on anybody else. It’s on us. So, if we get a chance to get one of those shots, we have got to come down with it. We’ll get those, we’ll get those for sure.”

On if it will be a point of emphasis this week to avoid sacks:
“Oh, it’s always a point of emphasis. The sack in the two-minute drill on the screen, trying to throw the ball away, you can’t take that sack. I think it was J.J. Watt that got me on that one. You can’t take that sack. I looked at the film. We all looked at the film, and that’s something you go to your offensive line and say, 'Hey, sorry about that one, guys. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.’ And earlier in the game, D.J. Swearinger sacked me on a keeper and that can’t happen either. So, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again but it’s not something that is never not an emphasis. It’s always an emphasis and I will continue to emphasize it.”

On NFL players’ response to news surrounding former Baltimore running back Ray Rice:
“I think for me personally and a lot of guys in that locker room, it’s not about us. I personally am praying for Ray Rice and his family, and I hope they can get through this. But, it’s not about us and 'the shield,’ and I know everyone wants to say it makes the NFL look bad, but it’s more about them right now. So I don’t want us to feel like we’re being selfish and making this about us. It’s about Ray Rice, his family and what they’re having to go through and having to deal with on TV every single day. Once again, praying for Ray Rice and his family.”

Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley

On safety Johnathan Cyprien:
“He’s still going through the concussion protocol.”

On when he expects to have a decision on Cyprien:
“We hope to know by Friday.”

On wide receiver Cecil Shorts III:
“We’re going to see how he progresses throughout the week.”

On bringing principles from Seattle’s defense to Jacksonville:
“Yeah, I think obviously coming from there and implementing it, our core philosophy is very similar to what we did when I was at Seattle.”

On which principles he brought:
“I think very similar as far as the fronts and coverage principles.”

On being able to sign defensive end Chris Clemons from Seattle:
“Well, I think it was great. He has been helpful for our team. I think he understands our system, understands what we ask out of that position, and so his learning curve when he came in was very short. He’s a really strong leader, and I think that allowed him to quickly become a member of our team where they respected him and his knowledge of the defense.”

On why more defensive coaches won’t tailor defenses around certain players’ skills:
“I don’t know. I think what you do is you go in with a definite defensive philosophy. Say, for example, our corners. If you look at our corners, we have a tendency to like corners that have more length and so we try to get players like that in our organization, and then once we get them, we try to utilize their strength. So I think the scheme and the personnel that we’re looking for at certain positions is important. It’s no different with the LEO position that we have with a guy like Chris Clemons. You know, we feel like we have a trait there – we have a need in our defense for a position like that – and then we just try to best utilize his skills.”

On what defensive end Red Bryant has brought to the defense:
“First, his size. He’s a big man, and I think that that’s one that we looked at. We felt like we needed to get bigger upfront, more physical upfront, and he brings that. Also, similar to Clemons, he has a really good understanding of what’s asked of him and Red, too, has come in and I think the players have really welcomed him and he has a sense of ownership within the scheme and the players feel that.”

On how much he’s preparing for the Redskins by looking at what Houston did last week:
“Well, I think Houston has got a really good defense, but our schemes are different. You look at them and you watch personnel, maybe how they attacked them, but we’re different too as far as personnel and our alignments and things that we ask of our players. It looked to me like Washington moved the ball, did a really good job moving the ball and just had some unfortunate things happen – whether it’s fumbles or blocked field goals, blocked punts, things like that. So that’s really what we took from the game was that they did a good job offensively, just maybe didn’t finish opportunities.”

On facing quarterback Robert Griffin III in 2012 and how he’s since developed:
“You’re right, when I was in Seattle we played him and they got after us in the run game right away and they did a good job. Now, watching that, we don’t expect anything different. We expect the same types of runs. I know that Chris Foerster has a lot to do with the run game, and so we can take that away from the game. As far as Robert, his accuracy, he’s 29-for-36, which shows good accuracy. We know that he has a strong arm and the ability to take shots. The movement looks like a little bit more settled, looks like he has got good poise as far as his setting up and his drop-back passes, maybe a little bit more of that off of one regular season game compared to what we saw when I was in Seattle.”

On the new rules affecting defensive backs:
“We were fortunate just like every team to have officials in during training camp. I think we were intrigued to see just how tight they were going to call it. We do believe that we never taught to grab or to hold or to play outside the boundaries of the rules, so when they came here and they watched us and our style of play, we felt good coming out of those three days. I know that we maybe had a couple calls, but it’s our belief that if we do our techniques and the way we teach it that it shouldn’t be an issue. I know it’s been called around the league, but our guys have been pretty good with it.”

On how experienced players adjust to new rules:
“During training camp especially, we watch hits that have taken place in the NFL – what’s called and what’s not called. Obviously the Heads Up program is spreading throughout based on the NFL, but that’s the same style that we teach here. We really take a lot of pride in it – one of the things that we have showed our guys is rugby tackling. Just look at how rugby players are handling it and how they’re tackling and the importance of it. It can be done, and you can do it with safety in mind. It has been a big emphasis – not this year. Tt’s always been an emphasis – the time in Seattle, the time in Jacksonville, showing clips and just really breaking it down the proper way to tackle. If you use the right techniques, I think our players have seen that it can be successful.”

On where he got the idea for rugby-style tackling:
“That was in Seattle. Pete [Carroll] brought it to our attention and we studied it because we did have some issues initially just with the new rules and things like that, taking the head out of the game and some aggressive-style tackling. I give a lot of credit to Pete on that.”

On having a good first half and poor second half against Philadelphia last week:
“You’re right, it was a tale of two halves. With six minutes left to go it was 17-17 and we got stung a couple times, but overall I think defensively we made really good progress. I think our players sense it – it did sting them, but I think that the biggest point that I made to our team is we’re after being our best, and we saw what being our best looks like in the first half, now it’s just got to be done for 60 minutes. I think, as we look at it, the challenge to play our best throughout the whole game is something that we have to learn. I do believe, and I said in the locker room afterwards, that we have the players to do it, now we’ve just got to do it.”

On Chad Henne beating Blake Bortles for the starting quarterback job:
“I think that to be successful in the NFL, and this is our view, that if you have a team that has really good experience and that plays fast – that’s the ultimate. I think success has shown that across the league. I think overall as a team, we have some inexperience – we’re a pretty young team – we have some good veteran leadership but overall you would probably categorize us as young. But, I believe we’re faster through the draft and some of the free agent acquisitions that we have, so we’re probably a little bit inexperienced but fast. We’re on that race to maturity to get our team to play experienced and fast. Now with a guy like Chad Henne, we believe that what we’ve seen in OTAs and training camp, we have a player that is experienced and playing fast. So for us, it was an easy decision. To look at that and say he’s got a better command of the offense, he’s got a really good feel for what we’re after, and if that’s what we’re after – experienced and fast – we have a guy. While we’re in this process, we’re just trying to keep adding to Blake’s body of work. It’s a unique situation in that he gets reps with our ones. We take him over to the field during practice time and work one-on-one with them. I’ve tried to challenge our coaches to have a developmental mindset, not just with Blake, but with all of our guys. Whether it’s a waiver-wire pickup or the fifth wide receiver, we try to develop them all, and I guess that philosophy doesn’t change with Blake. We try to take advantage of our time and work one-on-one with him – but we’re really pleased with his progress.”

On the hole that an 0-2 start could create and if he emphasizes that to his players:
“We don’t emphasize that to our players. To us, each opportunity is a championship opportunity and we handle each one separately. We have a great opportunity in Washington this week. We go up there and we’re just a team that’s trying to play at our best. If we can get all of our guys to be at their best, we just trust results will come. So that’s the challenge for us, and each week brings up new opportunities. Last week was tough but we learn from it. We grow and we move forward and we’re on to our next opportunity. That has really been our approach throughout and we can be consistent in that approach and I think our players appreciate it.”

Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive End Red Bryant

On if the system in Jacksonville is similar to what Head Coach Gus Bradley and current Seahawks Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn have run in Seattle:
"It's more aligned than when Coach Bradley ran his five years as a defensive coordinator in Seattle. We run a little bit more over front on the tight end. We still run a little bit of Frisco and Mesa… so it’s a culmination of a little bit of both of Gus – Coach Bradley – and a little bit of DQ."

On if having previously played quarterback Robert Griffin III helps in preparing this week:
"I know definitely, the defense, we're going to do is focused. We're trying to corral him as much as possible. We know he's extremely busy with his arm and his legs and with the running back in Alfred [Morris], they do a great job with their scheme of creating vertical seams and allowing him enough room to do what he does and he does a great job of getting north and south real fast. We've just been going over the schemes, looking at tape and we’ve got our work cut out for us this week."

On if it is different preparing for Griffin III now compared to two years ago:
“It does seem like he is trying to be more of a pocket passer, like he is trying to stay in the pocket more and he is actually letting the play develop a little bit more. So we’ve just got to do a great job of having the back end and front end working together and try to make it as difficult as possible.”

On bringing a culture from Seattle to Jacksonville:
“I feel like the culture of the defense in Seattle is all predicated on discipline, guys really knowing what it is that they are supposed to be doing and I think that is a good thing. I know I like to mention to a lot of the younger guys – because we have a lot of younger guys on this team – that you don’t really have to be spectacular, you have to be precise. You have to be detailed oriented and that is one of the big things with the Seattle defense is that everybody is accountable to each other, in terms of don’t nobody want to let the next guy down. When you ready to have that permeate through the team, in particular on defense, it makes you a stronger unit and it makes you more resilient to be able to respond to any adverse situations that might occur during the course of a game. It took time for that defense that is in Seattle. They have been running the same defense probably about five or six years now – I know five years since Coach Carroll got there – and so Gus is trying to develop that. Coach Bradley is trying to develop that here when he got a lot of first- and second-year guys on his defense and so it is just something you have to continue to work at. You have to work at it, you have to work at it and it don’t happen overnight, even if you have a guy here and a guy there, it’s got to be a focal point of the team. The team to buy into it and when you get the team to buy into it, then you can start seeing the results that Seattle has been fortunate enough to see these last few years.”

On how his leadership responsibilities have changed in Jacksonville:
“I feel like it’s a little bit of the same. In Seattle, I was a young player, trying to figure it out. Coach Carroll came my third year and that was my first year as a starter. I finally broke through. Just knowing as a young player becoming a veteran player how important it is to be prepared for your opportunity, so when you get it, it does not embarrass you. On the back end now being in my seventh year coming to a new team that has a lot of talent but a lot of young players as well, if I can help speed up the process of how important it is to be meticulous and what you do – whether it be your study, watching film, knowing your opponent, knowing their tendencies and things of that nature – all those are a natural progression if you are fortunate enough to have longevity in this sport. These are a lot of the things I learned from Brandon Mebane and why he, in my opinion, is one of the best nose tackles, if not the best nose tackle, in football. Just being accountable, being detail oriented and come to work every day to work hard, and if I can express that to the younger guys and I can get them to not only listen but to hear what I am saying, I think it will help speed up the process so that we can start being able finish games and be able to win tough games and all of that.”
 
or "that JJ Watt ain't no joke"
 
On if there was a specific moment he saw improved confidence in Griffin III last week:
“Not really, I think just talking to him on the sideline and watching him play, his demeanor, I think he played with a good amount of confidence and felt pretty comfortable. Them pushing the pocket I think had some issues with him as far as his footwork is concerned but overall he got the ball out in rhythm. We didn’t run a lot of passes down the field where he had to hold the ball too long and make a whole lot of different reads, but he did a fairly good job. He was accurate with the football, which was good. He was decisive with the football, which was good. But there were some other plays in there – a couple of the sacks he took weren’t very good. Some of his out of the pocket decisions weren’t very good and that’s where we need to thrive as an offense. If he gets out of the pocket with the dual threat that he has, A) the receiver has got to do a great job of getting open for him down the field and he has got to find them. We had the one in the first quarter, Andre Roberts is running free and he threw it out of bounds and he stepped out of bounds by a foot, that’s a 40-yard gain that you end up punting. Those are plays we need to take advantage of with an elusive athletic quarterback like that if we are going to really take that next step. Pocket passing is one thing but when he breaks contain, that is when there is a lot of damage done and you see the great ones do that – Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and [Colin] Kaepernick and all those guys that have the elusiveness when they break contain. It’s important for our receivers to do a great job of bailing him out.”

This was my biggest thing going into the season. To see if Robert can be elusive BEHIND the LOS, make Dlinemen and/or guys coming free miss, and find his receivers down the field. I couldn't care less about the Read Option, but this is how I always wanted Robert to use his athleticism. It's why I was absolutely devastated watching him play last Sunday because I saw him lack any semblance of elusiveness.

God willing, that changes. It will mean everything for our offense. Especially with the Oline we've got that simply can't anchor properly in pass pro.

I will say that I'm very pleased to see Gruden talking about it. I hope it really is as big a priority as he made it sound for them.
 
Post of the week. Thank you, thesubmittedone.
 
"We had the one in the first quarter, Andre Roberts is running free and he threw it out of bounds and he stepped out of bounds by a foot, that’s a 40-yard gain that you end up punting. Those are plays we need to take advantage of with an elusive athletic quarterback like that if we are going to really take that next step."

Wake up people. I'm behind him 100%, and he deserves a season to learn.

But receivers are open.

Drew Brees completes that pass 9 out of 10 times. Not only does he complete it, but he hits the receiver so hard between the numbers that it knocks him back a yard. You've seen it a hundred times.
 
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If Paul hangs onto that pass and doesn't fumble, everyone forgets the throw to Roberts.

If we win that game, everyone forgets the throw to Roberts.

Winning allows us to overlook a lot of bad plays.

We need to start winning.

But don't you win by making those type of plays, lol? Don't those type of plays help you overlook and overcome the bad plays like Niles' fumble?

We just need to make more plays, period. Everyone. But a QB with Robert's talent has the biggest capability of elevating the team and impacting the game, so we need him to do that more than we need anyone else.

Otherwise, you don't give up three potential studs (a 2nd rounder and two 1sts) for a QB if you don't believe that.

By the way, it's so nice to see you tr1, I really missed your anti-Cowboy antics in the ATN over at ES... always had me cracking up. :)
 
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I still think his foot was inbounds. even David Diehl thinks his foot was inbounds.

the refs were wrong.
 
Agree that the call should have been overturned--replay appeared pretty conclusive to my eyes.

Disagree that the pass was on target. Griffin was late either seeing Roberts or releasing the ball to him, and also threw too close to the sideline. If that ball is even a yard or two further in-bounds, Roberts has a chance for an easy catch w/o leaving his feet and nothing but green grass between him and the goal line.
 
Agree that the call should have been overturned--replay appeared pretty conclusive to my eyes.

Disagree that the pass was on target. Griffin was late either seeing Roberts or releasing the ball to him, and also threw too close to the sideline. If that ball is even a yard or two further in-bounds, Roberts has a chance for an easy catch w/o leaving his feet and nothing but green grass between him and the goal line.


I'm with you... Griffin SHOULD have hit him sooner. Something he's going to have to continue to get used to. He was rolling right and threw on the run. He put a little too much air under and I think his momentum carried the ball closer to the sideline then he was expecting. The good thing about it, was he had room in front of him and he continued to find the receiver down field. He found the correct receiver to throw to, just needs to tighten up the throw. Whether that be less trajectory, throwing it 1 step sooner, not rolling as far out and planting his feet before he throws.... all things can be tweaked. INCHES literally change the way we grade the offense in that game.
 
Yep.

The fumbled handoff to Alfred ... same thing. An inch sharper angle pulling away form center, an inch higher with the ball into Al's stomach ... Al keeping his eyes down on the ball instead up pulling up to the defense a split second longer, and it's second and goal.

Niles Paul turns his shoulder right shoulder in another inch, exerts 5% more pressure on the ball in the right arm, he not only doesn't fumble, he maybe drags the defender to the goal line.

Roy Helu keeps his weight on the left foot rather than the right and nudges the rusher just an inch or two off his rush line to the punter, and the punt is away instead of a gift TD against on a platter.

NFL games are decided by a small handful of plays. Those plays are more often than not decided by an inch or two this way or that.

When they go in your favor, it's easy to forget that.

When they do not, it's impossible.
 
I'm not good at posting pics or video snip its but could someone post a pic or video of the play. He threw it where only the receiver could catch it. The ball's trajectory was inbounds Roberts was well covered and made a nice catch. You may be right that the throw was late...I'm going off recollection from an old and tired brain.:chuncky:
 
Roberts was wide open... maybe were not talking about the play but there wasnt anyone within 10 yards of Roberts if i remember correctly....
 

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