Redskins Notes & Quotes 11-14-2014
The Washington Redskins are coming off of their bye-week and are looking to finish the season strong after starting this season 3-6. Below are a few notes & quotes from this week.
– One of the things that has hurt the Redskins this season is average drive started by opposition. Opposing teams start 69.8 yards from the endzone on average, that’s 4th worst in the NFL. Even though the defense sits 12th in NFL at 5.33 yards per play allowed, only two teams allow more points per game (9.1), and only 3 teams are worse on third downs (45.5%) in the fourth quarter.
– The Redskins are sitting at a -9 in turnover differential, which is 4th worst in the NFL. That is unacceptable and ultimately is the major reason the Redskins are 3-6 and not 7-2 or 6-3.
Quotes:
Jay Gruden – On if he has figured out how he will use wide receiver Leonard Hankerson:
“Like I said before, we typically have dressed five receivers. It could be four, it could be six. Right now it’s up in the air as far as who we’re going to dress for this game. Aldrick [Robinson] hasn’t dressed the last couple, Santana [Moss] has because he’s been our No. 2 punt returner also and he backs up Andre [Roberts] in the slot. That could change this week. I don’t know yet. We haven’t decided. But Hank has looked very good since coming back to practice from his injury. Since we activated him, he’s running around good, making plays all over the place. So, it’s going to be a tough decision.”
Robert Griffin III – On DeSean Jackson’s comments:
“I mean, that’s what teammates do. That’s what a family is. I think we’re getting closer as family on this team and what DeSean said, like we said before, is just addressing the few but we don’t know who those guys are and it doesn’t matter. Everybody’s in line, everybody’s focused on one goal – winning football games, looking in the mirror saying, ‘What can I do to help this team win and what can I do better? What can I cut out of my game? What plays do I need to make?’ Everybody’s going to be that guy and that’s a good thing to have.”
Barry Cofield – On the young players on the defense:
“Honestly, I’ve seen a lot of growth. I’ve seen those guys make a lot of plays and really stand up in big moments and play like vets. Speaks well for the future. At some point, you’ve got to have guys that you feel that are going to be there two, three years down the road, leading the team by example, playing well and carrying the team on into the future. Those guys have definitely grown. When you get to a certain point in the season, I know when I was a rookie, they told me quick that you’re not a rookie anymore. The first time you get knocked on your butt, the first time the coach curses you out, the first time you make a big play, once you run the gamut and experience everything the NFL has to offer, you’re not a rookie anymore. You’ve seen it and you’re expected to prepare a certain way and you’re a pro and you have those type of expectations. Those guys are talented enough to do the job. If they weren’t, you’d have an understanding. So they’re talented enough to do the job. They’ve experienced everything now, so they’re no longer rookies. They may not be as old as me. I won’t call it a vet – I’m just old. They may not be as old, but they’ve experience enough that we count on them every week and I feel like they can meet the challenge.”
Jim Haslett – On why the team didn’t blitz more against the Vikings:
“We base if off what we see. Obviously in the first half, they had no points before the turnover and [100] yards of offense. What we were doing was working. We stuck with it, got out of kilter and we screwed up a few things and had a couple penalties that hurt us.”
