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August 15, 2013
Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett
On his impression of his rookie draft picks:
“I liked them all. I think they progressed and did a good job in training camp. Bacarri [Rambo] is getting better every day. I know you guys are killing him on that one play but it’s hard to tackle that guy in the open space. But I think Bacarri’s doing a great job. He’s getting better every day. Brandon Jenkins is helping us on third down. We’ve got a package for him so we can use him on third down. Obviously Phillip [Thomas] being hurt, that’s a setback, but I think in the long run he’s going to be a really good football player. And David [Amerson] has really done a nice job in all areas – coverage, the run game – and I think the kid, with his length and speed and everything, he could be something really special.”
On if the rookies have progressed faster than he expected:
“They’re all smart. I think they’re all kind of right on course. We’ll see how they go the next couple of weeks and then we’ll decide how we’re going to play them for the opener.”
On his plan if safety Brandon Meriweather is not ready for Week 1:
“We’ve always got Reed [Doughty]. He’s plan B, C. We’ve got some options. Guys played last year. Reed’s started in this league a long time. Bacarri has an opportunity to start. D.J. [DeJon] Gomes has started and Jordan Pugh has played for us. So we’ve got enough guys with experience and we feel good about them. We feel good about all of them and they’re all getting playing time. And we’re trying to get them ready to see who will emerge as the two players, the starters. Last year if you remember, the last seven games we alternated them by package and put guys in, so there are opportunities for all of these guys to help this football team.”
On where the defensive unit stands at this point in the preseason:
“Obviously, we did not do a good enough job in the run last week. I was disappointed in that because I thought that’s one of the areas – that’s our strength. We’ll clean that up. We’re going to be good in the run again. I thought the guys did a nice job pass rushing last week. The first play they threw the ball we got a sack, so I was encouraged by that. Rak’ [Brian Orakpo] being back obviously is a big plus for us. And I think if we can stay healthy and doing the things we’re doing, we’ll be all right.”
On linebacker Ryan Kerrigan being a down lineman in the first preseason game:
“Well, Kerrigan moved inside you mean, because he’s always a down lineman on third down. He actually moved in to play defensive tackle. That’s when Brandon Jenkins came in. Brandon played left end. Ryan will slide inside to one of the two tackle spots and then we’ll have one big tackle, whoever that is – Bowen, Stephen, Jarvis [Jenkins], whoever and then 'Rak will play the other side. We’re just trying to get our best pass rushers on the field.”
On cornerback David Amerson’s discipline in coverage:
“I think he’s has done a good job up to this point. All of our guys are into it. They’re working hard and I like what we’re doing in the back end and I think it will help. I think he’s done a good job in that area.”
On if any of his players have surprised him:
“I’m not sure if anybody has really surprised me. There’s guys that I feel good about, like I thought [cornerback] Chase Minnifield really has come on. He’s played well. I feel good about Chase, obviously for missing two years of football with two ACLs. Just the way he’s out there. You can tell his dad played football and he’s been around it his whole life. He’s just kind of a natural football player. So, I think all of those things, I kind of like him because the guy missed two years and came back and he’s going to get better and better every day.”
On the overall depth of defense:
“Like I said, we feel good about the safety spot because we’ve got a lot of guys that have played. I think [linebacker] Darryl Tapp coming in, playing outside linebacker, I think he’s done a good job for us. You know, obviously not having [defensive end] Jarvis [Jenkins] for the opener and [linebacker Rob] Jackson for the opener, obviously those are setbacks. That’s kind of [like] guys get hurt and missing four games, so you adjust. We went through it last year. I feel good about Kedric [Golston] playing. Chris Baker has moved to end, playing a lot of end, and you know he played nose for us last year. He’s done a nice job, he’s athletic. [Defensive end] Phillip Merling has done a nice job for us. So we feel that we’ve got enough depth that if something happens we’ll be in good shape.”
On what kind of player Meriweather can be if healthy:
“If you base it off the 45 snaps he played last year? He’s another guy that has missed a lot of time. He didn’t play a lot the year before, and he only played 45 snaps last year. In 45 snaps he had 8 tackles, an interception. You know, he’s done pretty good, so he’s one of the key guys we’ve got to get healthy, and we’d like to have him out there.”
On level of excitement in drafting linebacker Brandon Jenkins:
“The defensive staff really liked him. We brought him in for a visit and the guy had a lot of sacks. As a sophomore, he had 14.5, and 10.5 as a junior, then he got hurt and missed his senior year. We’re kind of going off of what we saw back in his young days. So, I think the guy is a natural pass rusher. He has a lot of moves, a lot of skills from that area. He’s in a learning program to play outside linebacker. That won’t be an emphasis this year with Darryl [Tapp] and Rob Jackson and everybody. We’re going to use him in nickel and sub situations, and if he can help us some in Okie we’ll get him ready for that, but more in the sub stuff."
On the depth at the inside linebacker position:
“I am a Bryan Kehl fan. That is why we picked up Bryan. We didn’t want to let him go last year but because of the numbers, we couldn’t keep everybody. I think Bryan has done a nice job. He has played both Mike and Jack for us. He can handle both situations. He is smart. He is really athletic, can run, so we feel good about that. There is a couple young guys out there that have really stepped up and done a nice job. The other reason is we brought Nick Barnett in also. He has played in this system, played in Green Bay in the same system. He understands that we’ve just got to get him healthy, get him on the field and get him some playing time.”
On linebacker Nick Barnett’s recognition of the defense thus far:
“He is a pretty sharp kid, works hard. He is intense. You like what you see in him. You could see why he was a first-round draft pick and played a lot of time.”
On keys to establishing and maintaining an elite team over multiple seasons:
“Well, number one, you’ve got to stay healthy. Number two, you’ve got to have some luck on your side because that plays in. But I think the big thing, we are doing the right things as a football team. We work hard, our guys practice hard, they study hard, they do everything, and it comes from Coach [Mike] Shanahan obviously. They do everything they are asked to do and they do it right. First of all, it is a good group of guys. There’s guys you can rely on, their reliability. They’re accountable, and that is the kind of guys you like to surround yourself with… I don’t think the whole league is like that, obviously. You’ve got to draft the right guys. You’ve got to sign the right guys, free agents. You’ve got to get the kind of guys you are looking for, and I think that is one thing we have done over the last three years. We have kind of pieced together the guys that fit that mode.”
On preparing for the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense in Week 1:
“We have looked at endless film on Oregon. [It’s] a little bit different because they do some things in college that they cannot do up here. But it’s basically the same, what we saw on film last week. I think [Eagles Coach] Chip [Kelly] will do a great job there because they’ve got great skill players on offense. They’ve got good quarterbacks, the running back is extremely scary, their wide receivers are good football players and they’ve got a heck of a line. So I think they will be successful in what they do and how they do it, but hopefully we’ll play well in that first game.”
On if he concerned about the Eagles wanting to run 80 snaps in a half:
“The best thing to do is get three-and-out and then you won’t have to worry about those types of things. We will have a plan for all of that. I think a lot of teams are going to that. We will get a look at that next when we play Buffalo because they do it. They are trying to rattle off 100 plays. I do not know if you can get 100 plays in this league, but they got 91 off against New England. They did a good job. They had a couple of drives last week of 16, 14 plays, and we’ve just got to be ready. The best thing to do is to a good job on first down, get them into situations we can get off the field.”
On Defensive Backs Coach Raheem Morris’ personality:
“He’s a 'rah-rah,’ yelling guy and the players like that. Everybody’s different. I like Raheem’s style. I think he’s into it. He likes the players. He works hard, he understands the scheme, and he gets the most out of those guys. And they work hard for him.”
On getting Barnett and newly signed linebacker Quan Sturdivant up to speed during camp:
“Obviously it’s not the easiest scheme because you’ve got two different linebackers. You’ve got a weak and a strong inside linebacker, and then in the 4-3, you’ve got one inside, so it takes a little while. But I’ll say Nick played in the system in Green Bay – same terminology, you know basically the same terminology. Don Capers coached in Pittsburgh, I coached in Pittsburgh, so it’s kind of the same stuff. And then the guy we just brought in [Sturdivant] played in Arizona, which is basically the same system, so it’ll help those guys when they get out there it’ll be a lot of carryover. It’s not exactly the same, there’s some different things. but it’ll be a lot of carryover.”
On what he needs to see from Barnett and Sturdivant for them to earn playing time:
“I’ve seen enough from Nick. I saw him on tape. I watched him at practice. He has great quickness, intensity, understands the game. He’s got a great nose for the ball. So we’re going to see Quan and we’ll watch him the next week and see what he’s got.”
On linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Darryl Tapp:
“First of all, when you look at the outside rushers, our guys, they’ve got to be pass rushers, number one, and then they’ve got to be physical in the run. I think both of them are excellent and do a great job with that. Darryl is getting better every day for a guy that’s played – I don’t know how many years it is now, 10 years and played in college with his hand down in the dirt his whole life? All of the sudden he’s standing up now, he’s dropping, he’s covering, he’s rushing, he’s doing a number of different things – It’s kind of amazing that he can pick things up this fast. He is a force in the run game. I feel sorry for tight ends when they practice against him because he just beats the heck out of tight ends – he’s awesome that way. And he’s getting better in coverage. Loves the game, studies, doesn’t like making mistakes, great to be around. I mean, I love the guy. If he makes a mistake, he gives you that look like he’s going to kill you [laughs]. I love being around the guy I think the guy’s going to be a heck of a player – already has been, but will be in this system.”
On if he feels he has answered any questions during camp:
“I feel good about what we’re doing and I feel good about the rookies. You know you kind of wonder how fast they can come along and a couple of the guys we’ve picked up, I’m happy with guys like [cornerback E.J.] Biggers. I think E.J. has done a great job for us. I think Crawf [cornerback Richard Crawford] has gotten better. You know, all the young guys that we’ve drafted over the last couple of years you can see… [Linebacker] Perry [Riley] to me has a chance to be a Pro Bowler, so between Perry and having 'Rak back – obviously 'Rak was a little rusty, not his rush game, just some of the stuff, but you can see he’s knocking that off every day. He’s getting better and better and looks like his old self to me. And I just think that all those guys are doing a heck of a job.”
On Amerson’s length:
“I like David because he’s a 6-2 corner. You don’t find those guys that long. He’s got good skills. He’s tough. He can press. He’s got long arms. He’s the kind of corner that can do a number of [things]. He can play off, which he did a lot in college. He can press. He’s a lot more physical than I remember him watching on tape in college. I think he’s going to be a heck of a player if he keeps working at it.”
On cornerback Richard Crawford:
“Richard has just improved. He has gotten better and better. You know, for a young guy to come in off the street and then we threw him in there and played some nickel and all that, that is hard to do. You can see at the end of the year he improved. He had that nice interception against Dallas, did some things like that and he’s kind of picked up from there.”
On if he can tell if this defense will be better than last year’s defense:
“Well, number one, I think we were fifth in the league in rushing and third in turnovers. We’ve got to keep those numbers up. Obviously we wanted to create turnovers, but we’ve got to do better in the pass game than we did last year. We gave up too many big plays and didn’t do as well as we would have liked. I think that area we will improve on and be much better and then we’ll have a better pass rush also.”
On linebacker London Fletcher:
“He’s amazing to me. I tell him all the time I’ve never been around a guy that – he’s like having a coach on the field. I love being around the guy. The guy hasn’t missed a beat. He looks the same to me as he always has. I don’t see any difference. I don’t see any difference in his speed, in his quickness, strength, intelligence. This is the fourth year and I don’t see any drop off. I don’t see it. He’s amazing. He’s truly amazing. We give him the leeway – we do some no-huddle against our offense, we do some different things against our offense, and the other day I just gave him leeway. He called the defenses, I called the first down, and he called the rest of them. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s awesome.”
On the impact of Orakpo’s return in the pass rush:
“Obviously offenses have to account for him, number one, and the more pass rushers you have, that frees other guys up –Kerrigan, Jenkins, Bowen, and [nose tackle] Barry [Cofield]. He’s got to know he’s going to get the double teams, but it also gives you the ability, you can move around a little bit more. You can move him around. Ryan did it a little bit last year. Brandon can do a little bit of it, so you can try to free him up or take him away from the chips, the double teams. I do think having him back will help those other guys.”
On the impact of linebacker Brian Orakpo on the pass rush:
“Offenses have to account for him, number one. The more pass rushers you have, that frees up other guys up in [linebacker Ryan] Kerrigan, [defensive end Jarvis] Jenkins, [defensive end Stephen] Bowen, [nose tackle] Barry [Cofield]. He’s got to know that he’s going to get some double teams. Also it gives him the ability to move around a little bit more. You can move him around. Ryan did a little bit last year, Brandon can do a little bit of it. So you can try and free him up or take away from the chips, the double teams. We think having him back will help these other guys.”
On if Barry Cofield is an ideal nose tackle in a passing league:
“I think he’s ideal whether it’s a running league, passing league. I think he’s a great nose from that standpoint. People said he never played that position, but we talked to his position coach that he left and he said he’d be a perfect player for your scheme. He was right. He really is. He’s athletic. He can run. He’s got power. He fits the scheme. I do think he’s probably one of the better ones, if not the best in the league, at that position.”
On how long it will take Jenkins to feel comfortable in coverage:
“It takes a while. I was around guys in Pittsburgh when we did it with guys. It takes two or three years. It took Joey Porter three years. It takes guys two or three years to learn, to be exactly what you’re looking for. But in the meantime, you get them ready to play in that position and he can help you in other areas. But it takes a little bit of time.”
On the slot cornerback position:
“There’s four guys that I think – Josh Wilson’s played in there, we played DeAngelo [Hall] in there, Biggers has done that the whole offseason, Minnifield, Crawford’s done it – so we really have five guys working in there. What are you looking for? The number one thing is you’ve got to protect the middle of the field depending on the coverage. You’ve got to have quickness because you’ve got to handle the receiver that most of the time runs all the choice routes. You’ve got to be able to blitz. You’ve got to be tough because you’re going to have to tackle, unlike the outside corners in nickel situation, they don’t get those crack plays and they don’t have to fit in the run that much. You’ve got do a little bit of everything in there. You’ve got to be a good football player to play nickel. Actually, I like all five of them. All five of them have done a good job. Biggs [Biggers] did a great job last week. Josh obviously has played there, Crawford and Minnifield played in the second half last week. I thought he was excellent.”
On if offensive coaches ask him about stopping the zone read:
“It’s more the other way. We pick their brains about things, how they block things, why they see it this way, why they do it that way. So it’s good that our offense runs it so when we play teams that are going to run it. we have an idea of how to stop it… It kind of works two ways. I think from a defensive standpoint, it’s nice that your offense runs some when you play somebody like that, you know how to defend it.”
Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan
On getting used to coaching with his father in Washington:
“I’m a lot more used to it. It is kind of awkward having your boss be your dad also. I try to avoid admitting that all the time on the field and stuff, but I’m kind of used to it… It was our first time working together, so we do see football a little bit different. Working with each other now, going on four years, he knows how I see it, I know how he sees it and I feel we both helped each other get better.
On the improvement of quarterback Robert Griffin III and his expectations for him moving forward:
“It’s just a process of getting back. Anybody who has an injury – I mean, Robert works as hard as you can work. You can’t work harder than that. He’s done his rehab the right way and that’s why he’s been able to come back so much earlier than expected. Now it’s just the grind of getting back, getting the rust off and getting him as many reps as possible without jeopardizing anything and he’s doing that. He’s gotten 7-on-7 reps, and always when you’re out for a while, you start off rusty. He’s gotten better each day. Yesterday was his first day of team reps, today was his second, and I thought today was a lot better than yesterday. He’s getting his health back, and now it’s just about getting the rust [off] and trying to get those reps.”
On what about Griffin III’s practice was better today than yesterday:
“I think it was a better practice all around, for everybody, first of all. It just seemed more crisper and I thought he did a better job. I’ll look at film when I get up, but it just seemed better.”
On how much Griffin III was setback by missing parts of the offseason:
“Anytime anybody is hurt, especially going into your second year, there’s a lot of things you really want to work on as a coach and as a player. When somebody is hurt, you can work on that stuff mentally. You can watch the film and study everything. The position is a lot about muscle memory – changing your body and how it moves and just going through reps and stuff, and you don’t get those reps when you’re hurt. Robert’s done as good of a job as you can of taking the mental reps and I think having a whole offseason to study film and watch, I think he sees the game better. Now it’s just about getting those reps so he physically can adjust to what I think his brain sees and seeing things a little bit better.”
On how running back Roy Helu, Jr. can help the offense this season:
“I was real excited about Roy. He’s looked healthy since he came back and he showed that to all you guys vs. Tennessee. He helped us a lot his rookie year and we didn’t get him last year because he wasn’t healthy. You could see he fought it all through training camp. Even when he was trying to play, he wasn’t the same guy and he looked like the guy that we know and that you guys have seen last week during that game. Roy is a legit back. He can help us a lot. He can do a little bit of everything. He’s a little different than Alf [running back Alfred Morris]. He’s definitely a faster running back than Alf. He’s good out of the backfield. He’s got good hands, and I think he can really complement Alf and help him out.”
On if Griffin III developed any bad habits to compensate for injury:
“No. We’ll see, but I think it can help him a little bit too. It’s got to slow him down. He just can’t come out there and just go as hard as he can. He is slowing everything down and really focused on his technique and focused on his mechanics. I think he worked at that his whole rehab session and he is trying to carry it over to the field now. I see it getting better and I think it will get better each week. Hopefully we will get him ready for that first week.”
On how he will simulate game conditions for Griffin III:
“I think that has been the goal. That is why we did not want to throw him in right away. That was really his first thing yesterday. Our practices are full-go. Nobody tackles the quarterback anywhere in the NFL; most colleges, they don’t either. You can’t simulate him actually getting tackled and taken to the ground, but our guys rush pretty hard. Guys get stepped on all the time in there even though guys aren’t hitting them. You saw what happened to [New England Patriots quarterback Tom] Brady yesterday. That happens a lot in football. You do have to move and react even when they are not hitting you. I think that is why the head coach was so hesitant to get him out there right away in those team drills. But you get him out here in practice, you can simulate a lot. No, we are not going to take him to the ground and tackle him, but you definitely have to move, you definitely have to react just to move in the pocket and make the reads.”
On his impressions of camp in Richmond:
“I’ve loved being here. I haven’t been away for training camp since my first two years in the league at Tampa Bay. At Houston we stayed home and then when I came here to Washington, we stayed home the last three years. I really enjoy it. I think it breaks up the monotony of camp a little bit. We’re going to break camp tomorrow and we actually get to go home, see our families and we get to work in a new place. It kind of makes the season go a little faster. With training camp in your own office and you work there every day and then you break camp, you still wake up the next day in the same place. You’re still in at the same time, still doing the exact same thing. It really makes camp seem almost like a year long when you don’t go away. I think it has been good for all of us… I have loved Richmond. This is my first time here. I haven’t seen too much of the town. We went out to dinner one night across the street from the hotel but that is about it. It has been great. The fans have been great. It’s been crowded out here. They seem like some real loyal fans and I have really enjoyed it.”
On if he has to help explain his father’s recovery plan to Griffin III :
“Not really, my goal is to try not to be the middleman. Middlemans mess things up. I would rather those two communicate to each other. I understood his frustrations. I am just as frustrated. The whole team, everybody wants him out there. Your starting quarterback, we all want him out there to play and it’s hard. Me being young and everything, I want him out there the very first day. I don’t have much experience in this. The main thing is we can’t risk him getting hurt. As hard as it is, as frustrating as it is for him, myself, the head coach, every player out here, it is what we have got to do. We have to keep him healthy that is the most important thing and make sure he is definitely ready to get out there and I think we have been smart about that.”
On if he has seen Griffin III have to make an off-schedule move in reaction to a pass rush:
“Not on dropback plays. He has been able to get the ball out and get rid of it. He hasn’t broken the pocket. I think we had two keepers with him today – or bootleg, whatever you guys want to call it – where he is faking the outside zone and running the other way. So he has had some design scrambles but he has been able to get rid of the ball before leaving the pocket in dropback plays.”
On other ways for Griffin III to grow as a passer beyond mental reps:
“We tried to work on the drills and stuff. We couldn’t do that as early as we wanted. We’ve been doing it more here in training camp since he got back. We’ve hit the drills hard when he was just doing 7-on-7 and those first couple of weeks when he wasn’t doing it. So, we’ve been drilling the same stuff. I think he works on it a ton with our trainers throughout his rehab, but all you can really do besides the mental stuff when a guy’s hurt is you do as much physical drills as you can, but we haven’t been able to do too much until now.”
On if he watched extra film with Griffin III while he was injured:
“It’s hard for me to say we watched 'extra’ film. I feel like we watch as much film with those guys as we can, so for us to say we did a lot more because he was injured isn’t totally true because you watch everything. I mean we watch it again and again. He can’t go out, himself, and watch himself through OTAs and practice reps, but he gets to learn watching other guys too who take those reps. You try to intercut stuff in the season to try to show how this play looked in practice, how it looked in the season, so he can evaluate and put himself in those situations so he knows when he gets back what he’s got to work at. “
On if tackle Trent Williams can be effective in his current condition:
“Obviously, we hope he doesn’t have to play with the club. Trent’s battled through it. He’s gotten better each day with the club. I’m hoping it heals enough to where he can eventually take that club off when we play, but it’s definitely an issue when you have got to play with a club. It doesn’t help, but Trent’s a guy, who, out of anybody, who could be capable of doing it.”
On if he has spoken to college coordinators about NFL defenses learning to defend the zone read:
“No, I haven’t talked to anybody about it. I’m looking forward to seeing how they do it, and I’m sure, I mean, there’s a lot of smart coaches out there, and guys can stop anything they want to stop. That’s what we know as a coaching staff, we know as an offense, our players and everything. The key is, what are they doing to do to stop it, and what in that defense when they do stop it do they make more vulnerable? Is that going to help our outside zone the other way, is that going to help our play pass, will it help our dropback? You can stop anything you want, and the key is making somebody stop something, making them cheat their defense to do it, and then having the other plays and the other talent at certain positions to counteract what they are doing, and it’s really kind of a wait-and-see approach.”
On receiver Pierre Garçon drawing laughs for saying this offense could be the best in NFL history:
“I mean, I laughed at that too. That’s very high expectations, and I like his confidence, but that’s a little pressure right there. I don’t know about in the history of the NFL, but I think we did a good job last year. You get better or worse, and we need to get better. If not, we will be worse. I don’t think we’ll be the exact same as we were last year, and it’s very important not to get complacent and just think we’re just going to out and line up where we did because we had some success. Last year was a grind. We were 3-6 at one time. Not everything was easy. We had to work through it, and when it was all said and done, we felt good about ourselves about it. I know this year will be a grind, too. I know there’s going to be tough weeks where we are struggling, and I just hope over the course of 16 weeks that when it’s all said and done, we’re better next year than we were this year.”
On if he asks Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett about how defenses might try to stop the zone read:
“We don’t sit down and talk about it too much but I see it at practice every day. They’ve got to make adjustments and stuff every time you’re in the Pistol and you see how the coverages change. They try different things every day and you start to see what’s good and what’s bad. So we get a few different looks. It’s not necessarily, 'How do they stop the zone read and how are we going to make the zone read work?’ It’s like, 'All right, this works good. It’s not great to run the zone read versus this look. What other play do we have that is awesome versus this look? Let’s get good at that because eventually we are going to see this look and when we see this look we don’t want to run it. Are we going to be able to execute this other play that they’ve just opened up?’ That’s really what we’ve been trying to get good at.”
On if he ever prevails in football discussions with his father:
“I like to think I do, but it’s very hard work. You have to be very persistent about it and you better have backup to show him on tape. You better be prepared to explain yourself. You can’t just say something. He’s an honest guy and we watch things together and when things work, he can see it and same with me. And even though some, I think constructive, arguments together, just like most people do, I definitely think it’s made me better and I think it has with him too.”
On the progress of offensive linemen Josh LeRibeus, Tom Compton and Adam Gettis :
“I think LeRibeus ended last year doing real well. He’s had a setback this year. He didn’t come into OTAs in the offseason in as good of shape as we would have liked him to, so he’s been trying to fight back and get into shape, so that set him back. Compton and Gettis have been much better this year than they were last year. I think both of them had probably their best preseason games vs. Tennessee than they did all of last year and I’m really excited about them.”
On if he sets numbers as goals for his offense and/or for individual players:
“Honestly, I don’t. I have never, really. Obviously, we want to be at the top of the league in every category. It definitely feels good when you do that – you feel like you’re doing something right. But I would have no idea that number you just said; there’s no absolutes in football, I feel like. There’s years that we’ve thrown the ball real well and we haven’t won games. There are years that I’ve ran the ball well and it just hasn’t been that effective as far as winning games, and I think I look at every game and every year as its own deal. It’s what do you have to do to win the game. What’s the defense doing? It’s not about getting yards. It’s definitely about points because you want to win, but you go about different ways of getting those points. Sometimes the defense plays into us, sometimes the special teams does, but there’s no absolutes in football. And I don’t really set goals like that with numbers but I definitely set goals and I want to be the best we possibly can be and never to sell yourself short of that.”
Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett
On his impression of his rookie draft picks:
“I liked them all. I think they progressed and did a good job in training camp. Bacarri [Rambo] is getting better every day. I know you guys are killing him on that one play but it’s hard to tackle that guy in the open space. But I think Bacarri’s doing a great job. He’s getting better every day. Brandon Jenkins is helping us on third down. We’ve got a package for him so we can use him on third down. Obviously Phillip [Thomas] being hurt, that’s a setback, but I think in the long run he’s going to be a really good football player. And David [Amerson] has really done a nice job in all areas – coverage, the run game – and I think the kid, with his length and speed and everything, he could be something really special.”
On if the rookies have progressed faster than he expected:
“They’re all smart. I think they’re all kind of right on course. We’ll see how they go the next couple of weeks and then we’ll decide how we’re going to play them for the opener.”
On his plan if safety Brandon Meriweather is not ready for Week 1:
“We’ve always got Reed [Doughty]. He’s plan B, C. We’ve got some options. Guys played last year. Reed’s started in this league a long time. Bacarri has an opportunity to start. D.J. [DeJon] Gomes has started and Jordan Pugh has played for us. So we’ve got enough guys with experience and we feel good about them. We feel good about all of them and they’re all getting playing time. And we’re trying to get them ready to see who will emerge as the two players, the starters. Last year if you remember, the last seven games we alternated them by package and put guys in, so there are opportunities for all of these guys to help this football team.”
On where the defensive unit stands at this point in the preseason:
“Obviously, we did not do a good enough job in the run last week. I was disappointed in that because I thought that’s one of the areas – that’s our strength. We’ll clean that up. We’re going to be good in the run again. I thought the guys did a nice job pass rushing last week. The first play they threw the ball we got a sack, so I was encouraged by that. Rak’ [Brian Orakpo] being back obviously is a big plus for us. And I think if we can stay healthy and doing the things we’re doing, we’ll be all right.”
On linebacker Ryan Kerrigan being a down lineman in the first preseason game:
“Well, Kerrigan moved inside you mean, because he’s always a down lineman on third down. He actually moved in to play defensive tackle. That’s when Brandon Jenkins came in. Brandon played left end. Ryan will slide inside to one of the two tackle spots and then we’ll have one big tackle, whoever that is – Bowen, Stephen, Jarvis [Jenkins], whoever and then 'Rak will play the other side. We’re just trying to get our best pass rushers on the field.”
On cornerback David Amerson’s discipline in coverage:
“I think he’s has done a good job up to this point. All of our guys are into it. They’re working hard and I like what we’re doing in the back end and I think it will help. I think he’s done a good job in that area.”
On if any of his players have surprised him:
“I’m not sure if anybody has really surprised me. There’s guys that I feel good about, like I thought [cornerback] Chase Minnifield really has come on. He’s played well. I feel good about Chase, obviously for missing two years of football with two ACLs. Just the way he’s out there. You can tell his dad played football and he’s been around it his whole life. He’s just kind of a natural football player. So, I think all of those things, I kind of like him because the guy missed two years and came back and he’s going to get better and better every day.”
On the overall depth of defense:
“Like I said, we feel good about the safety spot because we’ve got a lot of guys that have played. I think [linebacker] Darryl Tapp coming in, playing outside linebacker, I think he’s done a good job for us. You know, obviously not having [defensive end] Jarvis [Jenkins] for the opener and [linebacker Rob] Jackson for the opener, obviously those are setbacks. That’s kind of [like] guys get hurt and missing four games, so you adjust. We went through it last year. I feel good about Kedric [Golston] playing. Chris Baker has moved to end, playing a lot of end, and you know he played nose for us last year. He’s done a nice job, he’s athletic. [Defensive end] Phillip Merling has done a nice job for us. So we feel that we’ve got enough depth that if something happens we’ll be in good shape.”
On what kind of player Meriweather can be if healthy:
“If you base it off the 45 snaps he played last year? He’s another guy that has missed a lot of time. He didn’t play a lot the year before, and he only played 45 snaps last year. In 45 snaps he had 8 tackles, an interception. You know, he’s done pretty good, so he’s one of the key guys we’ve got to get healthy, and we’d like to have him out there.”
On level of excitement in drafting linebacker Brandon Jenkins:
“The defensive staff really liked him. We brought him in for a visit and the guy had a lot of sacks. As a sophomore, he had 14.5, and 10.5 as a junior, then he got hurt and missed his senior year. We’re kind of going off of what we saw back in his young days. So, I think the guy is a natural pass rusher. He has a lot of moves, a lot of skills from that area. He’s in a learning program to play outside linebacker. That won’t be an emphasis this year with Darryl [Tapp] and Rob Jackson and everybody. We’re going to use him in nickel and sub situations, and if he can help us some in Okie we’ll get him ready for that, but more in the sub stuff."
On the depth at the inside linebacker position:
“I am a Bryan Kehl fan. That is why we picked up Bryan. We didn’t want to let him go last year but because of the numbers, we couldn’t keep everybody. I think Bryan has done a nice job. He has played both Mike and Jack for us. He can handle both situations. He is smart. He is really athletic, can run, so we feel good about that. There is a couple young guys out there that have really stepped up and done a nice job. The other reason is we brought Nick Barnett in also. He has played in this system, played in Green Bay in the same system. He understands that we’ve just got to get him healthy, get him on the field and get him some playing time.”
On linebacker Nick Barnett’s recognition of the defense thus far:
“He is a pretty sharp kid, works hard. He is intense. You like what you see in him. You could see why he was a first-round draft pick and played a lot of time.”
On keys to establishing and maintaining an elite team over multiple seasons:
“Well, number one, you’ve got to stay healthy. Number two, you’ve got to have some luck on your side because that plays in. But I think the big thing, we are doing the right things as a football team. We work hard, our guys practice hard, they study hard, they do everything, and it comes from Coach [Mike] Shanahan obviously. They do everything they are asked to do and they do it right. First of all, it is a good group of guys. There’s guys you can rely on, their reliability. They’re accountable, and that is the kind of guys you like to surround yourself with… I don’t think the whole league is like that, obviously. You’ve got to draft the right guys. You’ve got to sign the right guys, free agents. You’ve got to get the kind of guys you are looking for, and I think that is one thing we have done over the last three years. We have kind of pieced together the guys that fit that mode.”
On preparing for the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense in Week 1:
“We have looked at endless film on Oregon. [It’s] a little bit different because they do some things in college that they cannot do up here. But it’s basically the same, what we saw on film last week. I think [Eagles Coach] Chip [Kelly] will do a great job there because they’ve got great skill players on offense. They’ve got good quarterbacks, the running back is extremely scary, their wide receivers are good football players and they’ve got a heck of a line. So I think they will be successful in what they do and how they do it, but hopefully we’ll play well in that first game.”
On if he concerned about the Eagles wanting to run 80 snaps in a half:
“The best thing to do is get three-and-out and then you won’t have to worry about those types of things. We will have a plan for all of that. I think a lot of teams are going to that. We will get a look at that next when we play Buffalo because they do it. They are trying to rattle off 100 plays. I do not know if you can get 100 plays in this league, but they got 91 off against New England. They did a good job. They had a couple of drives last week of 16, 14 plays, and we’ve just got to be ready. The best thing to do is to a good job on first down, get them into situations we can get off the field.”
On Defensive Backs Coach Raheem Morris’ personality:
“He’s a 'rah-rah,’ yelling guy and the players like that. Everybody’s different. I like Raheem’s style. I think he’s into it. He likes the players. He works hard, he understands the scheme, and he gets the most out of those guys. And they work hard for him.”
On getting Barnett and newly signed linebacker Quan Sturdivant up to speed during camp:
“Obviously it’s not the easiest scheme because you’ve got two different linebackers. You’ve got a weak and a strong inside linebacker, and then in the 4-3, you’ve got one inside, so it takes a little while. But I’ll say Nick played in the system in Green Bay – same terminology, you know basically the same terminology. Don Capers coached in Pittsburgh, I coached in Pittsburgh, so it’s kind of the same stuff. And then the guy we just brought in [Sturdivant] played in Arizona, which is basically the same system, so it’ll help those guys when they get out there it’ll be a lot of carryover. It’s not exactly the same, there’s some different things. but it’ll be a lot of carryover.”
On what he needs to see from Barnett and Sturdivant for them to earn playing time:
“I’ve seen enough from Nick. I saw him on tape. I watched him at practice. He has great quickness, intensity, understands the game. He’s got a great nose for the ball. So we’re going to see Quan and we’ll watch him the next week and see what he’s got.”
On linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Darryl Tapp:
“First of all, when you look at the outside rushers, our guys, they’ve got to be pass rushers, number one, and then they’ve got to be physical in the run. I think both of them are excellent and do a great job with that. Darryl is getting better every day for a guy that’s played – I don’t know how many years it is now, 10 years and played in college with his hand down in the dirt his whole life? All of the sudden he’s standing up now, he’s dropping, he’s covering, he’s rushing, he’s doing a number of different things – It’s kind of amazing that he can pick things up this fast. He is a force in the run game. I feel sorry for tight ends when they practice against him because he just beats the heck out of tight ends – he’s awesome that way. And he’s getting better in coverage. Loves the game, studies, doesn’t like making mistakes, great to be around. I mean, I love the guy. If he makes a mistake, he gives you that look like he’s going to kill you [laughs]. I love being around the guy I think the guy’s going to be a heck of a player – already has been, but will be in this system.”
On if he feels he has answered any questions during camp:
“I feel good about what we’re doing and I feel good about the rookies. You know you kind of wonder how fast they can come along and a couple of the guys we’ve picked up, I’m happy with guys like [cornerback E.J.] Biggers. I think E.J. has done a great job for us. I think Crawf [cornerback Richard Crawford] has gotten better. You know, all the young guys that we’ve drafted over the last couple of years you can see… [Linebacker] Perry [Riley] to me has a chance to be a Pro Bowler, so between Perry and having 'Rak back – obviously 'Rak was a little rusty, not his rush game, just some of the stuff, but you can see he’s knocking that off every day. He’s getting better and better and looks like his old self to me. And I just think that all those guys are doing a heck of a job.”
On Amerson’s length:
“I like David because he’s a 6-2 corner. You don’t find those guys that long. He’s got good skills. He’s tough. He can press. He’s got long arms. He’s the kind of corner that can do a number of [things]. He can play off, which he did a lot in college. He can press. He’s a lot more physical than I remember him watching on tape in college. I think he’s going to be a heck of a player if he keeps working at it.”
On cornerback Richard Crawford:
“Richard has just improved. He has gotten better and better. You know, for a young guy to come in off the street and then we threw him in there and played some nickel and all that, that is hard to do. You can see at the end of the year he improved. He had that nice interception against Dallas, did some things like that and he’s kind of picked up from there.”
On if he can tell if this defense will be better than last year’s defense:
“Well, number one, I think we were fifth in the league in rushing and third in turnovers. We’ve got to keep those numbers up. Obviously we wanted to create turnovers, but we’ve got to do better in the pass game than we did last year. We gave up too many big plays and didn’t do as well as we would have liked. I think that area we will improve on and be much better and then we’ll have a better pass rush also.”
On linebacker London Fletcher:
“He’s amazing to me. I tell him all the time I’ve never been around a guy that – he’s like having a coach on the field. I love being around the guy. The guy hasn’t missed a beat. He looks the same to me as he always has. I don’t see any difference. I don’t see any difference in his speed, in his quickness, strength, intelligence. This is the fourth year and I don’t see any drop off. I don’t see it. He’s amazing. He’s truly amazing. We give him the leeway – we do some no-huddle against our offense, we do some different things against our offense, and the other day I just gave him leeway. He called the defenses, I called the first down, and he called the rest of them. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s awesome.”
On the impact of Orakpo’s return in the pass rush:
“Obviously offenses have to account for him, number one, and the more pass rushers you have, that frees other guys up –Kerrigan, Jenkins, Bowen, and [nose tackle] Barry [Cofield]. He’s got to know he’s going to get the double teams, but it also gives you the ability, you can move around a little bit more. You can move him around. Ryan did it a little bit last year. Brandon can do a little bit of it, so you can try to free him up or take him away from the chips, the double teams. I do think having him back will help those other guys.”
On the impact of linebacker Brian Orakpo on the pass rush:
“Offenses have to account for him, number one. The more pass rushers you have, that frees up other guys up in [linebacker Ryan] Kerrigan, [defensive end Jarvis] Jenkins, [defensive end Stephen] Bowen, [nose tackle] Barry [Cofield]. He’s got to know that he’s going to get some double teams. Also it gives him the ability to move around a little bit more. You can move him around. Ryan did a little bit last year, Brandon can do a little bit of it. So you can try and free him up or take away from the chips, the double teams. We think having him back will help these other guys.”
On if Barry Cofield is an ideal nose tackle in a passing league:
“I think he’s ideal whether it’s a running league, passing league. I think he’s a great nose from that standpoint. People said he never played that position, but we talked to his position coach that he left and he said he’d be a perfect player for your scheme. He was right. He really is. He’s athletic. He can run. He’s got power. He fits the scheme. I do think he’s probably one of the better ones, if not the best in the league, at that position.”
On how long it will take Jenkins to feel comfortable in coverage:
“It takes a while. I was around guys in Pittsburgh when we did it with guys. It takes two or three years. It took Joey Porter three years. It takes guys two or three years to learn, to be exactly what you’re looking for. But in the meantime, you get them ready to play in that position and he can help you in other areas. But it takes a little bit of time.”
On the slot cornerback position:
“There’s four guys that I think – Josh Wilson’s played in there, we played DeAngelo [Hall] in there, Biggers has done that the whole offseason, Minnifield, Crawford’s done it – so we really have five guys working in there. What are you looking for? The number one thing is you’ve got to protect the middle of the field depending on the coverage. You’ve got to have quickness because you’ve got to handle the receiver that most of the time runs all the choice routes. You’ve got to be able to blitz. You’ve got to be tough because you’re going to have to tackle, unlike the outside corners in nickel situation, they don’t get those crack plays and they don’t have to fit in the run that much. You’ve got do a little bit of everything in there. You’ve got to be a good football player to play nickel. Actually, I like all five of them. All five of them have done a good job. Biggs [Biggers] did a great job last week. Josh obviously has played there, Crawford and Minnifield played in the second half last week. I thought he was excellent.”
On if offensive coaches ask him about stopping the zone read:
“It’s more the other way. We pick their brains about things, how they block things, why they see it this way, why they do it that way. So it’s good that our offense runs it so when we play teams that are going to run it. we have an idea of how to stop it… It kind of works two ways. I think from a defensive standpoint, it’s nice that your offense runs some when you play somebody like that, you know how to defend it.”
Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan
On getting used to coaching with his father in Washington:
“I’m a lot more used to it. It is kind of awkward having your boss be your dad also. I try to avoid admitting that all the time on the field and stuff, but I’m kind of used to it… It was our first time working together, so we do see football a little bit different. Working with each other now, going on four years, he knows how I see it, I know how he sees it and I feel we both helped each other get better.
On the improvement of quarterback Robert Griffin III and his expectations for him moving forward:
“It’s just a process of getting back. Anybody who has an injury – I mean, Robert works as hard as you can work. You can’t work harder than that. He’s done his rehab the right way and that’s why he’s been able to come back so much earlier than expected. Now it’s just the grind of getting back, getting the rust off and getting him as many reps as possible without jeopardizing anything and he’s doing that. He’s gotten 7-on-7 reps, and always when you’re out for a while, you start off rusty. He’s gotten better each day. Yesterday was his first day of team reps, today was his second, and I thought today was a lot better than yesterday. He’s getting his health back, and now it’s just about getting the rust [off] and trying to get those reps.”
On what about Griffin III’s practice was better today than yesterday:
“I think it was a better practice all around, for everybody, first of all. It just seemed more crisper and I thought he did a better job. I’ll look at film when I get up, but it just seemed better.”
On how much Griffin III was setback by missing parts of the offseason:
“Anytime anybody is hurt, especially going into your second year, there’s a lot of things you really want to work on as a coach and as a player. When somebody is hurt, you can work on that stuff mentally. You can watch the film and study everything. The position is a lot about muscle memory – changing your body and how it moves and just going through reps and stuff, and you don’t get those reps when you’re hurt. Robert’s done as good of a job as you can of taking the mental reps and I think having a whole offseason to study film and watch, I think he sees the game better. Now it’s just about getting those reps so he physically can adjust to what I think his brain sees and seeing things a little bit better.”
On how running back Roy Helu, Jr. can help the offense this season:
“I was real excited about Roy. He’s looked healthy since he came back and he showed that to all you guys vs. Tennessee. He helped us a lot his rookie year and we didn’t get him last year because he wasn’t healthy. You could see he fought it all through training camp. Even when he was trying to play, he wasn’t the same guy and he looked like the guy that we know and that you guys have seen last week during that game. Roy is a legit back. He can help us a lot. He can do a little bit of everything. He’s a little different than Alf [running back Alfred Morris]. He’s definitely a faster running back than Alf. He’s good out of the backfield. He’s got good hands, and I think he can really complement Alf and help him out.”
On if Griffin III developed any bad habits to compensate for injury:
“No. We’ll see, but I think it can help him a little bit too. It’s got to slow him down. He just can’t come out there and just go as hard as he can. He is slowing everything down and really focused on his technique and focused on his mechanics. I think he worked at that his whole rehab session and he is trying to carry it over to the field now. I see it getting better and I think it will get better each week. Hopefully we will get him ready for that first week.”
On how he will simulate game conditions for Griffin III:
“I think that has been the goal. That is why we did not want to throw him in right away. That was really his first thing yesterday. Our practices are full-go. Nobody tackles the quarterback anywhere in the NFL; most colleges, they don’t either. You can’t simulate him actually getting tackled and taken to the ground, but our guys rush pretty hard. Guys get stepped on all the time in there even though guys aren’t hitting them. You saw what happened to [New England Patriots quarterback Tom] Brady yesterday. That happens a lot in football. You do have to move and react even when they are not hitting you. I think that is why the head coach was so hesitant to get him out there right away in those team drills. But you get him out here in practice, you can simulate a lot. No, we are not going to take him to the ground and tackle him, but you definitely have to move, you definitely have to react just to move in the pocket and make the reads.”
On his impressions of camp in Richmond:
“I’ve loved being here. I haven’t been away for training camp since my first two years in the league at Tampa Bay. At Houston we stayed home and then when I came here to Washington, we stayed home the last three years. I really enjoy it. I think it breaks up the monotony of camp a little bit. We’re going to break camp tomorrow and we actually get to go home, see our families and we get to work in a new place. It kind of makes the season go a little faster. With training camp in your own office and you work there every day and then you break camp, you still wake up the next day in the same place. You’re still in at the same time, still doing the exact same thing. It really makes camp seem almost like a year long when you don’t go away. I think it has been good for all of us… I have loved Richmond. This is my first time here. I haven’t seen too much of the town. We went out to dinner one night across the street from the hotel but that is about it. It has been great. The fans have been great. It’s been crowded out here. They seem like some real loyal fans and I have really enjoyed it.”
On if he has to help explain his father’s recovery plan to Griffin III :
“Not really, my goal is to try not to be the middleman. Middlemans mess things up. I would rather those two communicate to each other. I understood his frustrations. I am just as frustrated. The whole team, everybody wants him out there. Your starting quarterback, we all want him out there to play and it’s hard. Me being young and everything, I want him out there the very first day. I don’t have much experience in this. The main thing is we can’t risk him getting hurt. As hard as it is, as frustrating as it is for him, myself, the head coach, every player out here, it is what we have got to do. We have to keep him healthy that is the most important thing and make sure he is definitely ready to get out there and I think we have been smart about that.”
On if he has seen Griffin III have to make an off-schedule move in reaction to a pass rush:
“Not on dropback plays. He has been able to get the ball out and get rid of it. He hasn’t broken the pocket. I think we had two keepers with him today – or bootleg, whatever you guys want to call it – where he is faking the outside zone and running the other way. So he has had some design scrambles but he has been able to get rid of the ball before leaving the pocket in dropback plays.”
On other ways for Griffin III to grow as a passer beyond mental reps:
“We tried to work on the drills and stuff. We couldn’t do that as early as we wanted. We’ve been doing it more here in training camp since he got back. We’ve hit the drills hard when he was just doing 7-on-7 and those first couple of weeks when he wasn’t doing it. So, we’ve been drilling the same stuff. I think he works on it a ton with our trainers throughout his rehab, but all you can really do besides the mental stuff when a guy’s hurt is you do as much physical drills as you can, but we haven’t been able to do too much until now.”
On if he watched extra film with Griffin III while he was injured:
“It’s hard for me to say we watched 'extra’ film. I feel like we watch as much film with those guys as we can, so for us to say we did a lot more because he was injured isn’t totally true because you watch everything. I mean we watch it again and again. He can’t go out, himself, and watch himself through OTAs and practice reps, but he gets to learn watching other guys too who take those reps. You try to intercut stuff in the season to try to show how this play looked in practice, how it looked in the season, so he can evaluate and put himself in those situations so he knows when he gets back what he’s got to work at. “
On if tackle Trent Williams can be effective in his current condition:
“Obviously, we hope he doesn’t have to play with the club. Trent’s battled through it. He’s gotten better each day with the club. I’m hoping it heals enough to where he can eventually take that club off when we play, but it’s definitely an issue when you have got to play with a club. It doesn’t help, but Trent’s a guy, who, out of anybody, who could be capable of doing it.”
On if he has spoken to college coordinators about NFL defenses learning to defend the zone read:
“No, I haven’t talked to anybody about it. I’m looking forward to seeing how they do it, and I’m sure, I mean, there’s a lot of smart coaches out there, and guys can stop anything they want to stop. That’s what we know as a coaching staff, we know as an offense, our players and everything. The key is, what are they doing to do to stop it, and what in that defense when they do stop it do they make more vulnerable? Is that going to help our outside zone the other way, is that going to help our play pass, will it help our dropback? You can stop anything you want, and the key is making somebody stop something, making them cheat their defense to do it, and then having the other plays and the other talent at certain positions to counteract what they are doing, and it’s really kind of a wait-and-see approach.”
On receiver Pierre Garçon drawing laughs for saying this offense could be the best in NFL history:
“I mean, I laughed at that too. That’s very high expectations, and I like his confidence, but that’s a little pressure right there. I don’t know about in the history of the NFL, but I think we did a good job last year. You get better or worse, and we need to get better. If not, we will be worse. I don’t think we’ll be the exact same as we were last year, and it’s very important not to get complacent and just think we’re just going to out and line up where we did because we had some success. Last year was a grind. We were 3-6 at one time. Not everything was easy. We had to work through it, and when it was all said and done, we felt good about ourselves about it. I know this year will be a grind, too. I know there’s going to be tough weeks where we are struggling, and I just hope over the course of 16 weeks that when it’s all said and done, we’re better next year than we were this year.”
On if he asks Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett about how defenses might try to stop the zone read:
“We don’t sit down and talk about it too much but I see it at practice every day. They’ve got to make adjustments and stuff every time you’re in the Pistol and you see how the coverages change. They try different things every day and you start to see what’s good and what’s bad. So we get a few different looks. It’s not necessarily, 'How do they stop the zone read and how are we going to make the zone read work?’ It’s like, 'All right, this works good. It’s not great to run the zone read versus this look. What other play do we have that is awesome versus this look? Let’s get good at that because eventually we are going to see this look and when we see this look we don’t want to run it. Are we going to be able to execute this other play that they’ve just opened up?’ That’s really what we’ve been trying to get good at.”
On if he ever prevails in football discussions with his father:
“I like to think I do, but it’s very hard work. You have to be very persistent about it and you better have backup to show him on tape. You better be prepared to explain yourself. You can’t just say something. He’s an honest guy and we watch things together and when things work, he can see it and same with me. And even though some, I think constructive, arguments together, just like most people do, I definitely think it’s made me better and I think it has with him too.”
On the progress of offensive linemen Josh LeRibeus, Tom Compton and Adam Gettis :
“I think LeRibeus ended last year doing real well. He’s had a setback this year. He didn’t come into OTAs in the offseason in as good of shape as we would have liked him to, so he’s been trying to fight back and get into shape, so that set him back. Compton and Gettis have been much better this year than they were last year. I think both of them had probably their best preseason games vs. Tennessee than they did all of last year and I’m really excited about them.”
On if he sets numbers as goals for his offense and/or for individual players:
“Honestly, I don’t. I have never, really. Obviously, we want to be at the top of the league in every category. It definitely feels good when you do that – you feel like you’re doing something right. But I would have no idea that number you just said; there’s no absolutes in football, I feel like. There’s years that we’ve thrown the ball real well and we haven’t won games. There are years that I’ve ran the ball well and it just hasn’t been that effective as far as winning games, and I think I look at every game and every year as its own deal. It’s what do you have to do to win the game. What’s the defense doing? It’s not about getting yards. It’s definitely about points because you want to win, but you go about different ways of getting those points. Sometimes the defense plays into us, sometimes the special teams does, but there’s no absolutes in football. And I don’t really set goals like that with numbers but I definitely set goals and I want to be the best we possibly can be and never to sell yourself short of that.”
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