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August 25, 2012
FedExField
Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan
On his impressions of quarterback Robert Griffin III in this game:
“I thought Robert did a good job. I think he keeps on getting better and better and more comfortable with the system, what we’re trying to do. That goes with the experience that most quarterbacks need to get better in the National Football League.”
On Griffin III’s progression from last game and what he saw that he liked tonight:
“Like I said, he looked a lot more comfortable. I think with every game he will feel more comfortable. I thought we had a chance for a couple big plays that we just missed, which is always disappointing. We were right there, just a hair away. I just like the effort of our overall football team. Any time that you’re able to run the football and average over seven yards a carry with your first unit, you’ve got a chance to do something special.”
On running back Alfred Morris’ chance to start in Week 1 based on today:
“I’ve said this from day one: we have a very competitive football team and we’re going to play the best players. He had a heck of a game today and played well, so we’ll wait and see. No. 1, we’re going to see who’s healthy. We have a few guys banged up. He may be the lonely soldier at the end. We might only have one with the way things have been going, but he did play well.”
On if Morris has made the choice of running backs easy:
“When you only have one guy that’s really healthy, it’s really hard to say a guy’s really taking advantage or taking control. We’ve got some guys pretty beat up and we haven’t had a chance to really get a lot of reps. Alfred has taken advantage of his reps and he looked good today.”
On his feeling about running back Tim Hightower’s five carries:
“I thought he did a great job. I was a little nervous. I saw him get better during the week and I felt there was a chance he could play, but I thought it might be a long shot. Then I saw him a couple days ago and he looked much better so I’m glad he was able to get some playing time in there. He looked good. That one route that we missed the blitz on, he did a great job. He would have been wide open and you could see him plant that knee. I felt very good about his situation, getting about 13 or 14 reps in there and feeling good after the game.”
On safety Tanard Jackson and linebacker Chris Wilson:
“They look fast. You could see the speed of their game was pretty impressive. They both stood out. Any time you have four sacks, you feel pretty good about your pressure on the quarterback. Hopefully, we can keep that up.”
On if quarterback Robert Griffin III will not play against Tampa Bay:
“Yes, Robert will not play against Tampa.”
On how the receivers played today:
“I felt good about the receivers. I think the more playing time they get, the better evaluation we can have. We’ve got some very good receivers right now so it’s going to be difficult. We’re going to have to make some tough decisions. We got another preseason game to evaluate these guys.”
On his impressions of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck:
“He did a great job as well. He stepped up in the pocket and made a hell of a lot of plays. We felt that we got a good feel for what they were trying to do. I was impressed with the way that he handled himself.”
On defensive tackle Chris Baker:
“He should be fine. He was a little sore but came back into the game, which is a good sign.”
On if there are any other injuries:
“Not that I’m aware of right now.”
On wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe’s performance:
“It was pretty impressive. He made a couple plays and he’s had a couple opportunities to take advantage of those opportunities. One ball was an underthrown ball and I thought he did a great job cutting back and making the play. And the other ball obviously he did as well. So you can only take advantage of those opportunities when they’re presented. And he did it in all situations.”
On if Briscoe will play on special teams:
“He might get a chance this week.”
On his expectations for the team after these three preseason games:
“You always got expectations pretty quickly all the time. If you don’t believe them, they don’t believe them. But you’ve got to go out there and do it. Time is cheap and you’ve just got to keep on getting better every day. And if we do that, then we’ve got a chance to do something.”
On why wide receiver Brandon Banks didn’t play in the first half:
“We just wanted to get a look at Santana [Moss] out there. You never know when a guy goes down. We know what Santana has done in the past. We watched it about 15 times. We’ve talked about the wide receiver position and wanted to give him a couple shots as a punt returner as well as [tight end] Niles Paul. Niles Paul was pretty successful in college as a punt and kickoff returner. I thought he did a good job with his one opportunity today. He hit that hole pretty good with that first kickoff return. That was part of the preseason evaluation process.”
On Griffin III trying new things:
“Well, he is going to take his shot. You’ve got to put your players through a number of scenarios. And if you don’t do anything, then you’re not ready to play. I think everybody you know is a little guarded in preseason. You want to evaluate your players. There’s not a game plan, at least a very complicated game plan involved. You just like to go out and execute as well as you can. And we’re here, and away in a few, but we had an opportunity to get a few good plays in there but it was nice trying to get a feel of the pocket.”
Quarterback Robert Griffin III
On if he feels good about what he did today:
“Yeah, I thought we all did a good job. Offensive line did a great job blocking. Alfred [Morris] did a good job of working with what he had and came up with a lot of big runs and so did [Tim] Hightower, so I thought it was a total team effort. Receivers made a lot of plays for us and we came out on top.”
On the areas he feels he has progressed in:
“Timing and just feeling more comfortable, and getting in the flow of the game, and being able to play a little bit. I got a bunch of plays today and I thought everyone just clicked extremely well. For me, last week I had some learning experiences, but I haven’t had any overall bad performances, for myself personally. It feels good to go out and play the Bears and now get the chance to come home and play the Colts.”
On if there was a difference today after halftime because he received more time to learn:
“Well, we got to play one series after halftime. That’s what coach wanted and that’s what you have to go with. I think it was good for us to come out after halftime, after sitting down, and going over the plays in the locker room to come back out for a couple of plays and have a drive. I thought that was good for us to keep us mentally ready for when the season comes around and we have to go out there and play two halves. But other than that, I thought our first half was really good.”
On if he was pumped up for his first home game and what he said to Andrew Luck after the game:
“I thought it was great to come home for our preseason home opener and get a chance to play in front of our fans. I thought everybody played up for that. Then after the game, me and Andrew saw each other, told each other to tell our parents that we said, 'Hey’ and to have good seasons. I thought he did a good job out there as well, and I don’t think we will get to play them during the year, but they blew this off as a head-to-head and we will see what’s next.”
On his rhythm with Pierre Garçon:
“It will come. Those types of things and situations you have to get used to a guy’s game speed. I talked to him while on the sideline and told him that those passes would come. Once we are in the season, and we get more reps at those deep routes, we will hit those like there’s no tomorrow and we will have a lot of touchdowns and a lot of people celebrating. So, it was good to come out and not necessarily try to miss them, but see that we did miss them and know what we have to fix on those particular routes. Get me on the same page as him and him on the same as me.”
On if he feels like he is ready to go for the New Orleans Saints game:
“You’re always prepared to make sure you are ready. I thought we had a good performance overall as an offense. If we are going to finish the preseason with this performance, I think that was a great way to finish it. The Tampa game we will have a lot of guys out there fighting for spots on the team. And I’ll be out there jumping around as always pumped up for the game. But he wants us to sit out and get ready for the Saints and that is what we are going to do.”
On his touchdown pass to Santana Moss:
“It was a basic play but Santana did a good job in getting open. It’s my job to hit him in stride and I hit him in stride and the rest is history. The offensive line did a great job of sealing off the edge along with the running back and you can’t have any penetration on a play like that. Everything was quick and we got a touchdown.”
On the timeout call made by him and Coach Shanahan:
“We were just trying to run the clock down a little bit. We had a feeling that we were going to go into the end zone, but you are supposed to feel that way in the red zone. So we wanted to take as much time off the clock as we could to keep them from getting the ball back with some time to go make plays down the field. So we just let the clock run down a little bit and then we scored.”
On unleashing the full offense:
“It would be extremely fun to do that. I always tell the coaches that I enjoy the game plan because you know what you are going to get and of course the defense will throw a wrinkle here and there but they send a new blitz or play a new front for a couple of plays. But at the end of the day, teams are going to play what they play. So it’ll be fun to get to utilize our whole offense and put in some plays that we haven’t run in the preseason for the season opener.”
On what it was like to play at home:
“It was fun. I have never had my own personal introduction ever, not in high school or college. It was extremely fun with the smoke and everything. You feel like you were in a movie. So to come out to that and have the team rallying behind you while you are coming out was pretty cool. To have the home fans, you can tell when you have a good play. I do a fake and you hear a loud scream, that means something good happened, usually a big run. So those guys did a good job and I thought our fans were really into the game, especially for a preseason game. They knew how important it was for us and we went out and got the win.”
On if he embraced the 'RGIII vs. Luck’ duel:
“Yes, it does come with the territory. It’s something that you can embrace. It’s not something that you can just push away or push aside. It’s going to be there your entire careers. I didn’t play too much into it. But we definitely wanted to come out and get a win. And the guys did a good job of going out there and supporting their guys and getting the win for Pierre [Garçon] and myself for various reasons.”
On rookie running back Alfred Morris:
“He makes my job easy. I told him that on the sidelines and his comeback to that was that I make his job easy as well. He is definitely a team player, a guy that hopefully can continue to run the rock like he is and continue to get big games. One hundred and seven yards in a preseason game is a pretty big deal.”
On the touchdown pass to Santana Moss:
“You don’t want to be late on that play. It was all based on timing. You do get a little anxious to get outside and make sure you can see everything clearly and make the throw. The offensive line did a good job of helping me stay calm the whole time and sealing off that edge even though we had blitz pressure on that play, we still sealed it off and got a clean throw. You have to be patient in those situations but you can’t be too patient.”
On Andrew Luck’s touchdown pass:
“I got to see it. Madieu Williams told me he wished that he never gave that up. But it was a good play and I think it was to T.Y. Hilton. It was a good pass, it was a good execution of their play and that is going to happen sometimes but Madieu told me that he doesn’t think that it will happen again.”
Running Back Alfred Morris
On scoring his first NFL touchdown:
“I feel phenomenal, thankful I finally got one. My auntie, she was joking, she told me that I was going to get my first touchdown today, and I definitely did, so it was exciting.”
On his overall performance and the opportunity to play more:
“It’s a great opportunity and I just went out there and I said that I was going to go out there and do the best and be the best with the opportunity that I have been given. definitely think I overall played a lot better than I played last game. I picked up all my blitzes. I actually missed a big one last game. I came out today and I ran hard and we won, so that’s what it’s all about.”
On if he thinks he made a case to be the starter this season:
“You can say that. I definitely had a lot of opportunities, especially early on. Me being a rookie, I never thought that I would be getting this many carries or this much action on offense so soon. But at the end of the day, it’s the coaches’ decision. I’m going to keep making it hard, making the decision hard on them who’s going to be the starter and keep going out there and playing hard. [I’ll keep] just being myself and keep having fun, most importantly.”
Wide Receiver Pierre Garçon
On the overall play of the offense:
“We did a lot of great things today. We ran the ball well, threw the ball well, and got some yards both in the air and on the ground. We still have some things to clean up, but we did a good job out there today.”
On the play of Robert Griffin III:
“He did a great job. We helped him out running the ball well and he threw the ball well. We’ve got to get that deep ball down and intact, but it’s coming along well. We’ve got a lot of things to work on, but it’s a good start and a good preseason and hopefully it gets better.”
On whether or not he has seen any growth from Griffin III from the first two preseason games:
“We try to keep it simple and hopefully that will make him grow when he can master the simple things. We were just out there calling the plays and running them and the offensive line did a great job – they rushed for over 100 yards-plus and the receivers helped out on our outside blocking on the edge.”
Safety Tanard Jackson
On his first game as a Redskin:
“It felt good. It felt good to be out there with the starters and contribute. As a defense we played well, from the first unit all the way down to the end. It was a good opportunity for myself to get out there with these guys and I just loved being a part of it. It was my first game playing here since I’ve been in the NFL. It was a great experience for me and I had my family up in the stands.”
On the play of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck:
“He looked good. I think he’s impressive. I think he’ll have a long and successful career in this league and he’ll only get better.”
On what impressed him the most about Luck:
“The way he gets rid of the ball and his accuracy. We didn’t see it much but he can run a little bit too. He can hurt you outside the pocket and he’s a very smart player.”
Wide Receiver Dezmon Briscoe
On how important it was for him to make two big catches and a touchdown:
“Very important. You know, it’s preseason, how the business goes, if you don’t produce, you usually have a tough time making the team. I just wanted to go out there and make sure that I put good stuff on film so just in case I don’t make this team, then someone else will come pick me up.”
On if he feels good about where his chances stand for making the team:
“Honestly I do [believe I’ll make the team], but that’s personally though. You never know what’s going on upstairs. So, I just go out there and just give it my all and let the man upstairs take care of the rest.”
On if he feels his ability to get into the end zone is something that works heavily in his favor during evaluations:
“I guess you can say that. Over my career, I’ve pretty much gotten in the end zone, a couple times. So that always takes a toll.”
Quarterback Rex Grossman
On how a wide receiver the size of Briscoe helps him as a quarterback:
“Well, he’s an agile, tall guy but he runs good routes and he’s got a good feel for the game. And obviously, he’s long, has long arms and just makes plays.”
On what he thought about Robert Griffin III’s play:
“I thought he played great. He did a great job on third down, and that’s what the NFL is all about.”
On how he felt about his play, completing all his passes and finishing the game strong:
“I felt good. You can basically write my quote – it’s simple and boring, but it’s true. We executed well. When this offense executes well and we’ve got good plays and good people running the right depths, it looks crisp. A lot of good matchups with the plays versus the coverages. Everything was good. Sometimes that’s how it is; sometimes it’s the other way.”
Wide Receiver Joshua Morgan
On if he feels his health is where it was before he was injured:
“Yeah, most definitely. Going into the fourth preseason game and getting ready for New Orleans, I definitely feel like this is where I left off last year. So, that’s definitely got me real excited.”
On if this is an offense that can win games:
“Yeah, most definitely, I think this offense has got a lot of firepower. There’s a lot of talent at every position; there’s a lot of competition at every position. That competition is bringing out the best in the people that they choose to be the starters, and just bringing out the best in everybody. And I think when you have all of us at our best, we’re going to be one of the best offenses in the league. We just got to keep putting it together every Sunday and every day at practice, and go out there and do it on Sundays.”
Linebacker London Fletcher
On his thoughts of the overall defense:
“We got a lot of talent on the defense, a lot of depth at every position. We got a lot of guys who can play football in the National Football League. Really we have the potential to be a top five defense, but we are going to have to keep working at it. Each week, go out and execute the game plan and try to get better.”
Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck
On what was said in his conversation with quarterback Robert Griffin III:
“Nothing earth shattering, just well wishes. We wished each other well in his New Orleans game and our season opener. Regular pleasantries, I guess.”
On how he felt about the starting offense’s play:
“We have a lot to improve on. I want to give credit to their defense. They forced us into some bad situations. The penalties and sacks really killed a couple of our drives but I’m glad we put points on the board when we did. I wish we would have got that two-minute drive into field goal range. I know I wish I would have run or thrown it out of bounds to try to get another completion to save some time and get some more yards. I’m glad it doesn’t count in the win-loss column. I’m glad it is a preseason game and we look forward to watching the film and being our harshest critics.”
On the touchdown pass to wide receiver T.Y. Hilton:
“That was a great route by T.Y. and a great route by everybody. He was using his double move on the out and getting up the sideline. I am thankful I didn’t miss him and he made a nice catch.”
On his playing time in next week’s preseason game:
“I feel like I will do whatever the coaches ask.”
On what today’s game taught him:
“I think they brought a lot of good pressure. Good blitzes, I thought. You know, obviously, it wasn’t smooth sailing in the pocket so it will be a great learning experience for me about how I can make sure the line is in the right place to get it done and for the line, as well, to sit down and talk about how to pick up these blitzes, whether it is the pass or the run game. That will be something I am looking forward to tonight or tomorrow morning.”
On how he felt about his performance:
“I’m not happy, but I also realize a preseason game is a chance to learn. I’m glad it’s just a chance to learn. I’m not completely disappointed.”
On handling the defensive pressure:
“You know, [I’m]always looking to get better just going out and having a good time and putting some points on the board. I’m not too pleased with the outing. We’ll go back and hopefully learn a lot from film.”
On how he would rank the team’s performance executing the game plan:
“Fair. You know, [we] got points, but I think we shot ourselves in the foot a couple times. You’ve got to give credit to their defense for making plays. But, fair.”
On how to improve the team’s success on third down:
“One, I think if you can get it into a third-and-manageable, I think your odds of moving the chains are much higher. If you’re stuck third-and-11 or third-and-15, it’s tough to convert, but I think guys buckling down and playing football and not worrying about anything else but their assignment.”
On his opinion of Robert Griffin III:
“I was very impressed by the things that he’s doing. He’s a very good quarterback. I didn’t really have a chance to sit down and critique it. I’ve got other things on my mind. But what I saw in the blips I saw, very impressive.”
FedExField
Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan
On his impressions of quarterback Robert Griffin III in this game:
“I thought Robert did a good job. I think he keeps on getting better and better and more comfortable with the system, what we’re trying to do. That goes with the experience that most quarterbacks need to get better in the National Football League.”
On Griffin III’s progression from last game and what he saw that he liked tonight:
“Like I said, he looked a lot more comfortable. I think with every game he will feel more comfortable. I thought we had a chance for a couple big plays that we just missed, which is always disappointing. We were right there, just a hair away. I just like the effort of our overall football team. Any time that you’re able to run the football and average over seven yards a carry with your first unit, you’ve got a chance to do something special.”
On running back Alfred Morris’ chance to start in Week 1 based on today:
“I’ve said this from day one: we have a very competitive football team and we’re going to play the best players. He had a heck of a game today and played well, so we’ll wait and see. No. 1, we’re going to see who’s healthy. We have a few guys banged up. He may be the lonely soldier at the end. We might only have one with the way things have been going, but he did play well.”
On if Morris has made the choice of running backs easy:
“When you only have one guy that’s really healthy, it’s really hard to say a guy’s really taking advantage or taking control. We’ve got some guys pretty beat up and we haven’t had a chance to really get a lot of reps. Alfred has taken advantage of his reps and he looked good today.”
On his feeling about running back Tim Hightower’s five carries:
“I thought he did a great job. I was a little nervous. I saw him get better during the week and I felt there was a chance he could play, but I thought it might be a long shot. Then I saw him a couple days ago and he looked much better so I’m glad he was able to get some playing time in there. He looked good. That one route that we missed the blitz on, he did a great job. He would have been wide open and you could see him plant that knee. I felt very good about his situation, getting about 13 or 14 reps in there and feeling good after the game.”
On safety Tanard Jackson and linebacker Chris Wilson:
“They look fast. You could see the speed of their game was pretty impressive. They both stood out. Any time you have four sacks, you feel pretty good about your pressure on the quarterback. Hopefully, we can keep that up.”
On if quarterback Robert Griffin III will not play against Tampa Bay:
“Yes, Robert will not play against Tampa.”
On how the receivers played today:
“I felt good about the receivers. I think the more playing time they get, the better evaluation we can have. We’ve got some very good receivers right now so it’s going to be difficult. We’re going to have to make some tough decisions. We got another preseason game to evaluate these guys.”
On his impressions of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck:
“He did a great job as well. He stepped up in the pocket and made a hell of a lot of plays. We felt that we got a good feel for what they were trying to do. I was impressed with the way that he handled himself.”
On defensive tackle Chris Baker:
“He should be fine. He was a little sore but came back into the game, which is a good sign.”
On if there are any other injuries:
“Not that I’m aware of right now.”
On wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe’s performance:
“It was pretty impressive. He made a couple plays and he’s had a couple opportunities to take advantage of those opportunities. One ball was an underthrown ball and I thought he did a great job cutting back and making the play. And the other ball obviously he did as well. So you can only take advantage of those opportunities when they’re presented. And he did it in all situations.”
On if Briscoe will play on special teams:
“He might get a chance this week.”
On his expectations for the team after these three preseason games:
“You always got expectations pretty quickly all the time. If you don’t believe them, they don’t believe them. But you’ve got to go out there and do it. Time is cheap and you’ve just got to keep on getting better every day. And if we do that, then we’ve got a chance to do something.”
On why wide receiver Brandon Banks didn’t play in the first half:
“We just wanted to get a look at Santana [Moss] out there. You never know when a guy goes down. We know what Santana has done in the past. We watched it about 15 times. We’ve talked about the wide receiver position and wanted to give him a couple shots as a punt returner as well as [tight end] Niles Paul. Niles Paul was pretty successful in college as a punt and kickoff returner. I thought he did a good job with his one opportunity today. He hit that hole pretty good with that first kickoff return. That was part of the preseason evaluation process.”
On Griffin III trying new things:
“Well, he is going to take his shot. You’ve got to put your players through a number of scenarios. And if you don’t do anything, then you’re not ready to play. I think everybody you know is a little guarded in preseason. You want to evaluate your players. There’s not a game plan, at least a very complicated game plan involved. You just like to go out and execute as well as you can. And we’re here, and away in a few, but we had an opportunity to get a few good plays in there but it was nice trying to get a feel of the pocket.”
Quarterback Robert Griffin III
On if he feels good about what he did today:
“Yeah, I thought we all did a good job. Offensive line did a great job blocking. Alfred [Morris] did a good job of working with what he had and came up with a lot of big runs and so did [Tim] Hightower, so I thought it was a total team effort. Receivers made a lot of plays for us and we came out on top.”
On the areas he feels he has progressed in:
“Timing and just feeling more comfortable, and getting in the flow of the game, and being able to play a little bit. I got a bunch of plays today and I thought everyone just clicked extremely well. For me, last week I had some learning experiences, but I haven’t had any overall bad performances, for myself personally. It feels good to go out and play the Bears and now get the chance to come home and play the Colts.”
On if there was a difference today after halftime because he received more time to learn:
“Well, we got to play one series after halftime. That’s what coach wanted and that’s what you have to go with. I think it was good for us to come out after halftime, after sitting down, and going over the plays in the locker room to come back out for a couple of plays and have a drive. I thought that was good for us to keep us mentally ready for when the season comes around and we have to go out there and play two halves. But other than that, I thought our first half was really good.”
On if he was pumped up for his first home game and what he said to Andrew Luck after the game:
“I thought it was great to come home for our preseason home opener and get a chance to play in front of our fans. I thought everybody played up for that. Then after the game, me and Andrew saw each other, told each other to tell our parents that we said, 'Hey’ and to have good seasons. I thought he did a good job out there as well, and I don’t think we will get to play them during the year, but they blew this off as a head-to-head and we will see what’s next.”
On his rhythm with Pierre Garçon:
“It will come. Those types of things and situations you have to get used to a guy’s game speed. I talked to him while on the sideline and told him that those passes would come. Once we are in the season, and we get more reps at those deep routes, we will hit those like there’s no tomorrow and we will have a lot of touchdowns and a lot of people celebrating. So, it was good to come out and not necessarily try to miss them, but see that we did miss them and know what we have to fix on those particular routes. Get me on the same page as him and him on the same as me.”
On if he feels like he is ready to go for the New Orleans Saints game:
“You’re always prepared to make sure you are ready. I thought we had a good performance overall as an offense. If we are going to finish the preseason with this performance, I think that was a great way to finish it. The Tampa game we will have a lot of guys out there fighting for spots on the team. And I’ll be out there jumping around as always pumped up for the game. But he wants us to sit out and get ready for the Saints and that is what we are going to do.”
On his touchdown pass to Santana Moss:
“It was a basic play but Santana did a good job in getting open. It’s my job to hit him in stride and I hit him in stride and the rest is history. The offensive line did a great job of sealing off the edge along with the running back and you can’t have any penetration on a play like that. Everything was quick and we got a touchdown.”
On the timeout call made by him and Coach Shanahan:
“We were just trying to run the clock down a little bit. We had a feeling that we were going to go into the end zone, but you are supposed to feel that way in the red zone. So we wanted to take as much time off the clock as we could to keep them from getting the ball back with some time to go make plays down the field. So we just let the clock run down a little bit and then we scored.”
On unleashing the full offense:
“It would be extremely fun to do that. I always tell the coaches that I enjoy the game plan because you know what you are going to get and of course the defense will throw a wrinkle here and there but they send a new blitz or play a new front for a couple of plays. But at the end of the day, teams are going to play what they play. So it’ll be fun to get to utilize our whole offense and put in some plays that we haven’t run in the preseason for the season opener.”
On what it was like to play at home:
“It was fun. I have never had my own personal introduction ever, not in high school or college. It was extremely fun with the smoke and everything. You feel like you were in a movie. So to come out to that and have the team rallying behind you while you are coming out was pretty cool. To have the home fans, you can tell when you have a good play. I do a fake and you hear a loud scream, that means something good happened, usually a big run. So those guys did a good job and I thought our fans were really into the game, especially for a preseason game. They knew how important it was for us and we went out and got the win.”
On if he embraced the 'RGIII vs. Luck’ duel:
“Yes, it does come with the territory. It’s something that you can embrace. It’s not something that you can just push away or push aside. It’s going to be there your entire careers. I didn’t play too much into it. But we definitely wanted to come out and get a win. And the guys did a good job of going out there and supporting their guys and getting the win for Pierre [Garçon] and myself for various reasons.”
On rookie running back Alfred Morris:
“He makes my job easy. I told him that on the sidelines and his comeback to that was that I make his job easy as well. He is definitely a team player, a guy that hopefully can continue to run the rock like he is and continue to get big games. One hundred and seven yards in a preseason game is a pretty big deal.”
On the touchdown pass to Santana Moss:
“You don’t want to be late on that play. It was all based on timing. You do get a little anxious to get outside and make sure you can see everything clearly and make the throw. The offensive line did a good job of helping me stay calm the whole time and sealing off that edge even though we had blitz pressure on that play, we still sealed it off and got a clean throw. You have to be patient in those situations but you can’t be too patient.”
On Andrew Luck’s touchdown pass:
“I got to see it. Madieu Williams told me he wished that he never gave that up. But it was a good play and I think it was to T.Y. Hilton. It was a good pass, it was a good execution of their play and that is going to happen sometimes but Madieu told me that he doesn’t think that it will happen again.”
Running Back Alfred Morris
On scoring his first NFL touchdown:
“I feel phenomenal, thankful I finally got one. My auntie, she was joking, she told me that I was going to get my first touchdown today, and I definitely did, so it was exciting.”
On his overall performance and the opportunity to play more:
“It’s a great opportunity and I just went out there and I said that I was going to go out there and do the best and be the best with the opportunity that I have been given. definitely think I overall played a lot better than I played last game. I picked up all my blitzes. I actually missed a big one last game. I came out today and I ran hard and we won, so that’s what it’s all about.”
On if he thinks he made a case to be the starter this season:
“You can say that. I definitely had a lot of opportunities, especially early on. Me being a rookie, I never thought that I would be getting this many carries or this much action on offense so soon. But at the end of the day, it’s the coaches’ decision. I’m going to keep making it hard, making the decision hard on them who’s going to be the starter and keep going out there and playing hard. [I’ll keep] just being myself and keep having fun, most importantly.”
Wide Receiver Pierre Garçon
On the overall play of the offense:
“We did a lot of great things today. We ran the ball well, threw the ball well, and got some yards both in the air and on the ground. We still have some things to clean up, but we did a good job out there today.”
On the play of Robert Griffin III:
“He did a great job. We helped him out running the ball well and he threw the ball well. We’ve got to get that deep ball down and intact, but it’s coming along well. We’ve got a lot of things to work on, but it’s a good start and a good preseason and hopefully it gets better.”
On whether or not he has seen any growth from Griffin III from the first two preseason games:
“We try to keep it simple and hopefully that will make him grow when he can master the simple things. We were just out there calling the plays and running them and the offensive line did a great job – they rushed for over 100 yards-plus and the receivers helped out on our outside blocking on the edge.”
Safety Tanard Jackson
On his first game as a Redskin:
“It felt good. It felt good to be out there with the starters and contribute. As a defense we played well, from the first unit all the way down to the end. It was a good opportunity for myself to get out there with these guys and I just loved being a part of it. It was my first game playing here since I’ve been in the NFL. It was a great experience for me and I had my family up in the stands.”
On the play of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck:
“He looked good. I think he’s impressive. I think he’ll have a long and successful career in this league and he’ll only get better.”
On what impressed him the most about Luck:
“The way he gets rid of the ball and his accuracy. We didn’t see it much but he can run a little bit too. He can hurt you outside the pocket and he’s a very smart player.”
Wide Receiver Dezmon Briscoe
On how important it was for him to make two big catches and a touchdown:
“Very important. You know, it’s preseason, how the business goes, if you don’t produce, you usually have a tough time making the team. I just wanted to go out there and make sure that I put good stuff on film so just in case I don’t make this team, then someone else will come pick me up.”
On if he feels good about where his chances stand for making the team:
“Honestly I do [believe I’ll make the team], but that’s personally though. You never know what’s going on upstairs. So, I just go out there and just give it my all and let the man upstairs take care of the rest.”
On if he feels his ability to get into the end zone is something that works heavily in his favor during evaluations:
“I guess you can say that. Over my career, I’ve pretty much gotten in the end zone, a couple times. So that always takes a toll.”
Quarterback Rex Grossman
On how a wide receiver the size of Briscoe helps him as a quarterback:
“Well, he’s an agile, tall guy but he runs good routes and he’s got a good feel for the game. And obviously, he’s long, has long arms and just makes plays.”
On what he thought about Robert Griffin III’s play:
“I thought he played great. He did a great job on third down, and that’s what the NFL is all about.”
On how he felt about his play, completing all his passes and finishing the game strong:
“I felt good. You can basically write my quote – it’s simple and boring, but it’s true. We executed well. When this offense executes well and we’ve got good plays and good people running the right depths, it looks crisp. A lot of good matchups with the plays versus the coverages. Everything was good. Sometimes that’s how it is; sometimes it’s the other way.”
Wide Receiver Joshua Morgan
On if he feels his health is where it was before he was injured:
“Yeah, most definitely. Going into the fourth preseason game and getting ready for New Orleans, I definitely feel like this is where I left off last year. So, that’s definitely got me real excited.”
On if this is an offense that can win games:
“Yeah, most definitely, I think this offense has got a lot of firepower. There’s a lot of talent at every position; there’s a lot of competition at every position. That competition is bringing out the best in the people that they choose to be the starters, and just bringing out the best in everybody. And I think when you have all of us at our best, we’re going to be one of the best offenses in the league. We just got to keep putting it together every Sunday and every day at practice, and go out there and do it on Sundays.”
Linebacker London Fletcher
On his thoughts of the overall defense:
“We got a lot of talent on the defense, a lot of depth at every position. We got a lot of guys who can play football in the National Football League. Really we have the potential to be a top five defense, but we are going to have to keep working at it. Each week, go out and execute the game plan and try to get better.”
Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck
On what was said in his conversation with quarterback Robert Griffin III:
“Nothing earth shattering, just well wishes. We wished each other well in his New Orleans game and our season opener. Regular pleasantries, I guess.”
On how he felt about the starting offense’s play:
“We have a lot to improve on. I want to give credit to their defense. They forced us into some bad situations. The penalties and sacks really killed a couple of our drives but I’m glad we put points on the board when we did. I wish we would have got that two-minute drive into field goal range. I know I wish I would have run or thrown it out of bounds to try to get another completion to save some time and get some more yards. I’m glad it doesn’t count in the win-loss column. I’m glad it is a preseason game and we look forward to watching the film and being our harshest critics.”
On the touchdown pass to wide receiver T.Y. Hilton:
“That was a great route by T.Y. and a great route by everybody. He was using his double move on the out and getting up the sideline. I am thankful I didn’t miss him and he made a nice catch.”
On his playing time in next week’s preseason game:
“I feel like I will do whatever the coaches ask.”
On what today’s game taught him:
“I think they brought a lot of good pressure. Good blitzes, I thought. You know, obviously, it wasn’t smooth sailing in the pocket so it will be a great learning experience for me about how I can make sure the line is in the right place to get it done and for the line, as well, to sit down and talk about how to pick up these blitzes, whether it is the pass or the run game. That will be something I am looking forward to tonight or tomorrow morning.”
On how he felt about his performance:
“I’m not happy, but I also realize a preseason game is a chance to learn. I’m glad it’s just a chance to learn. I’m not completely disappointed.”
On handling the defensive pressure:
“You know, [I’m]always looking to get better just going out and having a good time and putting some points on the board. I’m not too pleased with the outing. We’ll go back and hopefully learn a lot from film.”
On how he would rank the team’s performance executing the game plan:
“Fair. You know, [we] got points, but I think we shot ourselves in the foot a couple times. You’ve got to give credit to their defense for making plays. But, fair.”
On how to improve the team’s success on third down:
“One, I think if you can get it into a third-and-manageable, I think your odds of moving the chains are much higher. If you’re stuck third-and-11 or third-and-15, it’s tough to convert, but I think guys buckling down and playing football and not worrying about anything else but their assignment.”
On his opinion of Robert Griffin III:
“I was very impressed by the things that he’s doing. He’s a very good quarterback. I didn’t really have a chance to sit down and critique it. I’ve got other things on my mind. But what I saw in the blips I saw, very impressive.”