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September 14, 2014
FedExField
Head Coach Jay Gruden
On the injuries during the game:
“First off, I will announce that [quarterback] Robert [Griffin III] has a dislocated ankle. He will undergo more tests tomorrow and we will know more about the injury tomorrow after his MRI. We don’t know the length of time he is going to miss as of today. We will know more tomorrow. [Wide receiver] DeSean Jackson has an AC joint sprain and he is going to be day-to-day. He landed on the shoulder and is a little sore right now, obviously, but we will see how he is next week. [Running back] Roy Helu [Jr.] had a quad strain and he is going to be day-to-day also. [Guard Shawn] Lauvao has knee inflammation but looks like he will be day-to-day. [Fullback Darrel Young] DY has a back sprain. He kind of got folded in half and hurt his chest and his back. It looks like he will be day-to-day.”
On if any injury update on wide receiver Andre Roberts:
“He’s OK. I don’t know what happened. He tried to cut off the backside from a block and got stuck in the turf but he is going to be OK. He finished the game.”
On the timetable for Griffin III’s return:
“I have no idea. We are going to get an MRI tomorrow like I said. These dislocations and fractures are all different. We will wait to see what the doctor says – the MRI says.”
On the play of quarterback Kirk Cousins:
“Kirk’s had a great training camp and a great season. We feel good about our two quarterbacks and that’s why we wanted to keep Kirk here. He’s a heck of a quarterback and good quarterbacks are hard to find. We are sick about Robert [and his injury]. He started the game hot and had some great energy. It is very unfortunate. He put a lot of effort, time and mental anguish to get ready for this year and have a bounce-back year. Things happen in pro football. Starters get hurt and backups have to come in. This is an extreme circumstance but Kirk is more than ready to take over.”
On how the game plan changes when Cousins is playing quarterback:
“It changes considerably. We have a group of plays, obviously, that are really good for Robert that aren’t so good for Kirk, as we all know. We started out running a couple of zone reads and then when Kirk comes in, we can still run them but they obviously aren’t as good.”
On the doctors giving a best case scenario for Griffin to return:
“No, they don’t want to get my hopes up or my hopes down. I’d rather wait. I don’t want to hear any scenarios until we have the final results on the X-ray and MRI.”
On what he knows about dislocated ankles:
“You are asking the wrong guy on that one. I got a communication degree.”
On Cousins’ strengths as a quarterback:
“We will cater to his strengths. He is a darn good quarterback and he can do a lot of good things. He is good on the run and throws in the pocket. We just have to give him the reps. The unfortunate thing about Kirk is Robert has taken most of the reps for the last three and a half weeks, so now he has to play fast, get back in the scheme and really do a great job. We will not make it any easier from here on out. We have Philadelphia and then the Giants after that. He has to get himself ready and I know he will.”
On how Griffin III is holding up mentally after the injury:
“He’s obviously very disappointed, he’s sick. You know, everybody knows what kind of competitor Robert is, and he wants to do great things, and he has his sights set on a great year, a magical year so to speak. When you get hurt and your season gets cut short, it’s devastating. People don’t understand how much time and work goes into being a starting quarterback in the National Football League. It’s not easy by any stretch. I know he’s sick about it, and I’m sick about it for him, but he will get well, and he will get well as soon as he can. He’ll probably beat all the odds and be back quicker than anybody in the history of dislocated ankles. We’re sick about it, but now we have to move forward, and that’s what you do in the NFL when people go down, you have to have good backup plans. That’s why Kirk [Cousins] is here. We feel very strongly about his role as a quarterback.”
On Cousins’ preparation and stepping in after Griffin III’s injury:
“That’s not easy to do when you don’t get the reps, but that’s what backup quarterbacks have to do. They have to pay attention in meetings. The reps that they don’t get, they have to get them on the mental side of it. They have to pay attention when we’re talking to Robert and you’ve got to act like you’re getting all the reps when you’re not out there. But Kirk is a true pro. He’s handled being a backup like a pro, he’s waited patiently, and now his time is going to come to really take this thing and run with it.”
On if running the zone read is a feature of the offense or just because of the matchup with Jacksonville:
“Both. We game planned. The zone read works better against some teams than others and we felt very strongly that this was a good team to run it on. Plus, it is good for Robert’s skill set. Obviously, he’s very fast. He does a nice job of reading those ends or backers or whoever he’s reading and does a nice job. When he went out and we had the lead with only one quarterback on the roster, I thought it was important not to put Kirk in harm’s way running a zone read. Our third quarterback was [wide receiver] Andre [Roberts] and he hasn’t taken many snaps at quarterback.”
On the defense’s performance:
“It was great. The defense was unbelievable – 10 sacks. [Linebacker] Ryan Kerrigan had four. We created a turnover. When we get a lead and I’ve said it before, I said it to our defense, when we get a lead we give our defense lineman the chance to rush the passer, and we’ve got some guys who can get after it. Kerrigan, [Brian] Orakpo… I felt his presence out there. Obviously, [Jason] Hatcher I felt a lot. Chris Baker I felt out there, even Frank Kearse had a couple pressures in there. Obviously, Perry Riley [Jr.] on those blitzes, and Ryan Clark had a blitz sack, so everybody is getting involved and they all feel the momentum and they all feel like we’ve got a great opportunity to do some great things from a defensive standpoint as long as we get teams in third down and long and get a lead, which we did today.”
On rallying the team after Griffin III’s injury and staying focused:
“It’s what you have to do, unfortunately. It sounds like it’s cold, but it’s not. You know, when a guy goes down, it’s a very tough, physical football game and that’s why we dress 46 guys. We have to almost anticipate certain guys getting down and you have to plan for their backups getting an opportunity. With ones like your starting quarterback, that’s something that you don’t expect to happen but once in a while it does and unfortunately for Robert, it happened and Kirk [Cousins], he’s been chomping at the bit to get an opportunity to play, and now he’s got it.”
On if there will be many roster changes:
“No, we have a great group. We’ve got [wide receiver] Santana [Moss], who didn’t even dress today. So, Santana steps right up. Ryan Grant [wide receiver] had some great plays today, he moves up to number three. Aldrick [Robinson], who I feel like, is a good receiver, is four, and Santana will come in there and compete also. We are covered at the wide receiver position, if DeSean [Jackson] can’t go.”
On if he can win any game with Cousins:
“Yeah, it is, of course. I feel like we can win any game with Kirk Cousins. And if DeSean goes out, I feel like we can win any game with Ryan Grant or Aldrick Robinson. That’s why we take training camp very seriously, and try to mix the reps up to try to give everybody the opportunity to play. But Kirk is a special guy. He started four games last year and didn’t have great success, but obviously has a skill set that I feel like is very much suited for what we do. He can handle it mentally, and obviously, physically. I feel that he can make every throw in the book and we are going to move forward with Kirk. And we have [quarterback] Colt [McCoy] now as a back-up. We feel that Colt had a good pre-season and he is a darn good back-up in my eyes, also.”
On how gratifying it was to bounce back in the game:
“Very, very. You know what, talk about starting fast and getting the home field involved. That’s what we did. The first drive in we threw the bomb to DeSean and I thought he caught it, I challenged it, but we lost the challenge, had to punt, and our defense got the ball right back for us. We went down and scored, went 7-0, got immediate pressure on [quarterback] Chad [Henne], and forced a sack and got the ball back. It’s 14-0. Really got the crowd involved, the energy was there. Obviously, [quarterback] Robert [Griffin III] got hurt, which sucked a little bit out of it, but Kirk coming off the bench and getting 14-0; 21-0, I thought was a great start, and great for the home [crowd].”
On Cousins:
“He was outstanding. Like I said, when you come off the bench, and you don’t get any reps, other than throwing the scout team football passes, it’s not easy. He came out there, and executed the offense very well. We only had one false start penalty and that was on [left tackle] Trent [Williams]. Other than that, I think he executed great. He was 22 for 33 with two touchdowns and no turnovers. That’s the thing that we preach all week, obviously everybody does, but no turnovers was outstanding for Kirk and the offense.”
On how it feels to have his first win at home:
“It’s great. Obviously, it’s exciting and I’m trying to make this very habitual for our football team and get used to the feeling. Winning at home is very important. We preach that it is a must win for us today. Coming out and playing in front of our home field and winning all our games at home is going to be important. It’s a special day for me, personally, a special day for this team, getting out to a great start with a home victory, unfortunately, a man out there hurt his ankle, but we just have to move on.”
FedExField
Head Coach Jay Gruden
On the injuries during the game:
“First off, I will announce that [quarterback] Robert [Griffin III] has a dislocated ankle. He will undergo more tests tomorrow and we will know more about the injury tomorrow after his MRI. We don’t know the length of time he is going to miss as of today. We will know more tomorrow. [Wide receiver] DeSean Jackson has an AC joint sprain and he is going to be day-to-day. He landed on the shoulder and is a little sore right now, obviously, but we will see how he is next week. [Running back] Roy Helu [Jr.] had a quad strain and he is going to be day-to-day also. [Guard Shawn] Lauvao has knee inflammation but looks like he will be day-to-day. [Fullback Darrel Young] DY has a back sprain. He kind of got folded in half and hurt his chest and his back. It looks like he will be day-to-day.”
On if any injury update on wide receiver Andre Roberts:
“He’s OK. I don’t know what happened. He tried to cut off the backside from a block and got stuck in the turf but he is going to be OK. He finished the game.”
On the timetable for Griffin III’s return:
“I have no idea. We are going to get an MRI tomorrow like I said. These dislocations and fractures are all different. We will wait to see what the doctor says – the MRI says.”
On the play of quarterback Kirk Cousins:
“Kirk’s had a great training camp and a great season. We feel good about our two quarterbacks and that’s why we wanted to keep Kirk here. He’s a heck of a quarterback and good quarterbacks are hard to find. We are sick about Robert [and his injury]. He started the game hot and had some great energy. It is very unfortunate. He put a lot of effort, time and mental anguish to get ready for this year and have a bounce-back year. Things happen in pro football. Starters get hurt and backups have to come in. This is an extreme circumstance but Kirk is more than ready to take over.”
On how the game plan changes when Cousins is playing quarterback:
“It changes considerably. We have a group of plays, obviously, that are really good for Robert that aren’t so good for Kirk, as we all know. We started out running a couple of zone reads and then when Kirk comes in, we can still run them but they obviously aren’t as good.”
On the doctors giving a best case scenario for Griffin to return:
“No, they don’t want to get my hopes up or my hopes down. I’d rather wait. I don’t want to hear any scenarios until we have the final results on the X-ray and MRI.”
On what he knows about dislocated ankles:
“You are asking the wrong guy on that one. I got a communication degree.”
On Cousins’ strengths as a quarterback:
“We will cater to his strengths. He is a darn good quarterback and he can do a lot of good things. He is good on the run and throws in the pocket. We just have to give him the reps. The unfortunate thing about Kirk is Robert has taken most of the reps for the last three and a half weeks, so now he has to play fast, get back in the scheme and really do a great job. We will not make it any easier from here on out. We have Philadelphia and then the Giants after that. He has to get himself ready and I know he will.”
On how Griffin III is holding up mentally after the injury:
“He’s obviously very disappointed, he’s sick. You know, everybody knows what kind of competitor Robert is, and he wants to do great things, and he has his sights set on a great year, a magical year so to speak. When you get hurt and your season gets cut short, it’s devastating. People don’t understand how much time and work goes into being a starting quarterback in the National Football League. It’s not easy by any stretch. I know he’s sick about it, and I’m sick about it for him, but he will get well, and he will get well as soon as he can. He’ll probably beat all the odds and be back quicker than anybody in the history of dislocated ankles. We’re sick about it, but now we have to move forward, and that’s what you do in the NFL when people go down, you have to have good backup plans. That’s why Kirk [Cousins] is here. We feel very strongly about his role as a quarterback.”
On Cousins’ preparation and stepping in after Griffin III’s injury:
“That’s not easy to do when you don’t get the reps, but that’s what backup quarterbacks have to do. They have to pay attention in meetings. The reps that they don’t get, they have to get them on the mental side of it. They have to pay attention when we’re talking to Robert and you’ve got to act like you’re getting all the reps when you’re not out there. But Kirk is a true pro. He’s handled being a backup like a pro, he’s waited patiently, and now his time is going to come to really take this thing and run with it.”
On if running the zone read is a feature of the offense or just because of the matchup with Jacksonville:
“Both. We game planned. The zone read works better against some teams than others and we felt very strongly that this was a good team to run it on. Plus, it is good for Robert’s skill set. Obviously, he’s very fast. He does a nice job of reading those ends or backers or whoever he’s reading and does a nice job. When he went out and we had the lead with only one quarterback on the roster, I thought it was important not to put Kirk in harm’s way running a zone read. Our third quarterback was [wide receiver] Andre [Roberts] and he hasn’t taken many snaps at quarterback.”
On the defense’s performance:
“It was great. The defense was unbelievable – 10 sacks. [Linebacker] Ryan Kerrigan had four. We created a turnover. When we get a lead and I’ve said it before, I said it to our defense, when we get a lead we give our defense lineman the chance to rush the passer, and we’ve got some guys who can get after it. Kerrigan, [Brian] Orakpo… I felt his presence out there. Obviously, [Jason] Hatcher I felt a lot. Chris Baker I felt out there, even Frank Kearse had a couple pressures in there. Obviously, Perry Riley [Jr.] on those blitzes, and Ryan Clark had a blitz sack, so everybody is getting involved and they all feel the momentum and they all feel like we’ve got a great opportunity to do some great things from a defensive standpoint as long as we get teams in third down and long and get a lead, which we did today.”
On rallying the team after Griffin III’s injury and staying focused:
“It’s what you have to do, unfortunately. It sounds like it’s cold, but it’s not. You know, when a guy goes down, it’s a very tough, physical football game and that’s why we dress 46 guys. We have to almost anticipate certain guys getting down and you have to plan for their backups getting an opportunity. With ones like your starting quarterback, that’s something that you don’t expect to happen but once in a while it does and unfortunately for Robert, it happened and Kirk [Cousins], he’s been chomping at the bit to get an opportunity to play, and now he’s got it.”
On if there will be many roster changes:
“No, we have a great group. We’ve got [wide receiver] Santana [Moss], who didn’t even dress today. So, Santana steps right up. Ryan Grant [wide receiver] had some great plays today, he moves up to number three. Aldrick [Robinson], who I feel like, is a good receiver, is four, and Santana will come in there and compete also. We are covered at the wide receiver position, if DeSean [Jackson] can’t go.”
On if he can win any game with Cousins:
“Yeah, it is, of course. I feel like we can win any game with Kirk Cousins. And if DeSean goes out, I feel like we can win any game with Ryan Grant or Aldrick Robinson. That’s why we take training camp very seriously, and try to mix the reps up to try to give everybody the opportunity to play. But Kirk is a special guy. He started four games last year and didn’t have great success, but obviously has a skill set that I feel like is very much suited for what we do. He can handle it mentally, and obviously, physically. I feel that he can make every throw in the book and we are going to move forward with Kirk. And we have [quarterback] Colt [McCoy] now as a back-up. We feel that Colt had a good pre-season and he is a darn good back-up in my eyes, also.”
On how gratifying it was to bounce back in the game:
“Very, very. You know what, talk about starting fast and getting the home field involved. That’s what we did. The first drive in we threw the bomb to DeSean and I thought he caught it, I challenged it, but we lost the challenge, had to punt, and our defense got the ball right back for us. We went down and scored, went 7-0, got immediate pressure on [quarterback] Chad [Henne], and forced a sack and got the ball back. It’s 14-0. Really got the crowd involved, the energy was there. Obviously, [quarterback] Robert [Griffin III] got hurt, which sucked a little bit out of it, but Kirk coming off the bench and getting 14-0; 21-0, I thought was a great start, and great for the home [crowd].”
On Cousins:
“He was outstanding. Like I said, when you come off the bench, and you don’t get any reps, other than throwing the scout team football passes, it’s not easy. He came out there, and executed the offense very well. We only had one false start penalty and that was on [left tackle] Trent [Williams]. Other than that, I think he executed great. He was 22 for 33 with two touchdowns and no turnovers. That’s the thing that we preach all week, obviously everybody does, but no turnovers was outstanding for Kirk and the offense.”
On how it feels to have his first win at home:
“It’s great. Obviously, it’s exciting and I’m trying to make this very habitual for our football team and get used to the feeling. Winning at home is very important. We preach that it is a must win for us today. Coming out and playing in front of our home field and winning all our games at home is going to be important. It’s a special day for me, personally, a special day for this team, getting out to a great start with a home victory, unfortunately, a man out there hurt his ankle, but we just have to move on.”