Redskins Press Conferences: Jay Gruden 12-4-2014
Redskins Coach Jay Gruden spoke to the media on Thursday. Below is a transcript of the press conference.
On the injury report:
“Kedric Golston did not participate, foot and back. [Jason] Hatcher was limited with his knee. DeSean Jackson did not participate. [Brandon] Meriweather did not participate, toe. Chase Minnifield, concussion, did not participate. [Chris] Baker was limited with his chest injury. E.J. Biggers did not participate with his concussion symptoms. Ryan Clark, stinger, was limited. Will Compton was full. Keenan Robinson with his knee did not participate. [Ryan] Kerrigan and Silas Redd [Jr.] were full. Then Tyler Polumbus did not participate.”
On if football IQ can be learned:
“You can learn to an extent, but a lot of that comes naturally. There’s a lot of football instincts that come naturally. That’s why they’re called instincts. But some of it you gradually learn with more years in the league and the more you practice and the more you hear the same thing terminology-wise. You can gain some smarts as a player is concerned, but a lot of that comes natural.”
On the Rams’ pass rush capabilities:
“Well, it stands out that they’re very good, and it’s not just one guy. Obviously Robert Quinn is as good a pass rusher as there is in the NFL… Then Aaron Donald is a rookie, he’s relentless, man. He has a very low center of gravity, he’s got a great move – he’s always working up toward the quarterback. Then they have got Chris Long back and they have other guys who can get home too. And, they have a great blitz package. They have got the whole kit and caboodle when it comes to rushing the passer. They can get home with three, get home with four. And obviously you throw in the linebackers and safeties. When they rush, they are good rushers also with [Mark] Barron and the other guys they bring. It’s going to be a great challenge for us offensively and all the more important reason to try and stay out of third down and long. That’ll be a grind as it is every week, but these guys are special when it comes to rushing the quarterback.”
On if there’s any structural damage to wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s leg:
“It’s just kind of painful. It’s nothing major – just painful, bruise-ish-type thing in the fibula. So, it’s just a wait and see if he can handle the pain or what have you come tomorrow,Saturday. We’ll see.”
On if linebacker Keenan Robinson had any setbacks:
“No, he just went out there today and he tried to tape it up a little bit, put a brace on there, and was not able to participate today. I’m going to have to peel him back a little bit, get him some more rest and see how he does tomorrow – more rehab and go from there. There wasn’t a setback, it’s just a painful injury for him right now.”
On if he is concerned about Robinson’s availability for Sunday:
“All these guys that have the ‘DNP’ by their name, other than [Tyler] Polumbus, I am very concerned. Yes.”
On if there is anything that can be done to help improve tempo in practice:
“I think you can try to pick it up a little bit in practice but sometimes in practice when you’re trying to show cards of what the other team is doing, it’s hard to have a great tempo in practice. But you’ve just got to continue to preach it and then we just have to do a good job as play-callers getting the play in sooner and then Colt [McCoy] has got to do a good job of getting them in there and line coach and the tight end coach and the receiver coach, we’ve got to do a good job – especially the receiver coaches – subbing. If we run a deep ball, we’ve got to get another receiver in there. A lot of the times we are waiting for guys to get back to the huddle. But we are going to work on our tempo a little bit, but there are times in the game where we want to slow it down a little bit – snap it with 10, nine, eight, seven, six, whatever it is depending on the situation – but we also want to try to speed it up a little bit early in the game.”
On not employing a quarterbacks coach:
“Yeah, we are going to revisit everything next year but that is a position we could revisit. I don’t regret it, no, because I work closely with the quarterbacks also and Sean[McVay] and I figured I didn’t want to have too many voices preaching. But I think next year if we have that spot on staff there is a possibility we could add another guy to that area. But I think we have enough people in house that are coaching the quarterbacks. That’s not an issue but if we have a spot next year then we can address it, like we will at every other position.”
On if he has seen what he has wanted to see from Colt McCoy this week in practice:
“Yeah, he has had a great week, man. He’s been really decisive with his throws and done a nice job. He has done a good job with the protection. There’s a lot of things we have to handle from a protection standpoint this week, obviously. So, he has got great command right now and I think he is playing with a lot of confidence so hopefully that will carry over.”
On tackle Tyler Polumbus’ absence:
“It was a personal family matter.”
On Polumbus:
“He will be back. I think he is flying back tonight or first thing in the morning. Hopefully he will be back for practice.”
