On Redskins CB, #27 Walt Harris's injury status:
"We have one more day to see. We're trying to take a conservative approach. He's played very well. He had a very good training camp. He's played outstanding in the first two ballgames. [Two weeks ago against Dallas], he got our game ball on defense. The week before, in the Bears game, he got one of our numerous awards. We have one more day to see [how he's feeling]. We'll be prepared [regardless of his status]."
On Redskins DB, #20 Pierson Prioleau's injury status:
"I don't know if he'll make it. He's a little bit more serious than [Walt Harris]. [But] I've seen guys bounce back faster. It's up to the individual. If [a player] doesn't play [in practice] tomorrow, it's hard for me to let [him] play [on Sunday]. You have to practice. This is a professional game, and you're playing every single [week] against guys at high speed. [Seattle] hasn't had any off-days or off-games as far as bye weeks. They're going to come in here humming. We need our guys at tip-top shape."
On the consequences of losing to injury DBs (#27) Walt Harris and (#20) Pierson Prioleau:
"We rotate all of our guys [in and] out. [When certain players can't play], we highlight certain packages [that don't feature those players]. We'll be ready to roll."
On Redskins rookie CB, #22 Carlos Rogers' progress:
"He's done very well in training camp and in the packages and roles we've asked him to play [through two games]. That's why he's here. He'll be in several packages this week. He's probably very fortunate that we took him [in the 2005 NFL draft]. If you look at my background--whether it's [with] [Ravens CB] Samari [Rolle], [Bills CB] Nate Clements, [Redskins S] Sean Taylor, [Titans LB] Keith Bulluck, [Eagles DE] Jevon Kearse we try to bring them in and get them acclimated to make sure they understand what pro football is all about. We try not to do anything that puts the team, which is more important, under stress. There's a learning curve for any young player. [Rogers] has probably been as fast as anyone I've ever coached. He has hardly been behind in any facet of what we've asked him to do. The fact that we have tried to make sure that we've kept his confidence up and put him in situations [in which] we've been able to be strong is a plus for him."
On whether he must fight the temptation to play young defensive players immediately:
"Not for me. [Redskins CB, #22 Carlos Rogers] hasn't done anything [in the NFL]. All he has done is play in the SEC. He hasn't done anything in pro football. It's very easy for me [to keep young players on the sideline]."
On the challenge the Seattle Seahawks pose:
"They are the best offensive football team that we play, to date. [Seattle head coach] Mike Holmgren has a system that is tried-and-true. As you look at the last several decades of football, [you see] that the West Coast system has been utilized by a lot of different coaches and staffs across the NFL. Mike is probably the most pure of any of them. It's fun to watch them play because they play with precision. They play at the speed and tempo at [which] Mike wants them to play. I've always had tremendous respect for the teams that he has coached. I've gone against them several times, and taken lumps, too."
On the Seahawks' recent success in the running game:
"[RB] Shaun [Alexander] is on fire. He is really playing well. Their offensive line is playing very confidently and very well. We have our work cut out for us. Defensively, our pride is that we have to come to every ballgame and play the way we do against most of our opponents. This team that we're getting ready to play has a lot of weapons. In [head coach] Mike [Holmgren]'s history, [his teams] have been more of pass-dominant teams than run-dominant teams. He may be switching all of a sudden when [he has] a running back that's scoring four touchdowns [in one game] and doing what they're doing on the ground. We have to be prepared for it."
On how the Redskins defense has developed a reputation for stopping the run:
"The players are tough. [Redskins defensive coordinator-defensive line] Greg Blache, [linebackers coach] Dale Lindsey, and the [defensive backs coaches] have been through a lot of rodeos. They've coached a lot of games and lot of [strong run defenses]. We commit numbers and techniques that say, We want to stop the run.' Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't. I've been doing this for a long time. There have been times when the best way we stopped the run was when the running back finally got tired and took himself out [of the game]. Since we've been [with the Redskins], it's been pretty solid."
On Seahawks LT, #71 Walter Jones:
"He's tremendously athletic. When you look at the times that they've pulled him [around to lead block on a running play, you see that] he has great speed for a big guy. He's very confident in his pass protection and individual technique. Each week, we play against some pretty good left tackles, and this guy may be one of the top ones in the league. We have our work cut [out for us] there, too."
On Seahawks WR, #82 Darrell Jackson:
"He is a very good receiver. He's a guy that [head coach] Mike Holmgren features [prominently in the offense]. When you look down through the years at all of the receivers that [Holmgren] has featured in that [West Coast] offense [such as former San Francisco 49ers receiver Jerry] Rice and [John] Taylor [Jackson] matches the type of person that Mike likes to have play that offensive position. He can take it downtown on you and he has been able to make the difficult catches for them, too."
On Redskins CB, #24 Shawn Springs' first game against his former team:
"A lot of times, [the first meeting against a former team] gets blown out of proportion a little bit. When you spend as long a time as he spent in once place, the first time you play them again, it means more than the multiple times it happens over the rest of your career. From that point of view, I've teased him about making sure that he calms down and just plays. He's a professional. Past the first play or two in the game, he'll just settle down and play football. I've been very pleased with how he has acclimated himself as a Redskin."
On the abundance of high draft picks at defensive back for the Redskins, including CB, #24 Shawn Springs:
"I liked [Shawn Springs] when he came out in the draft. He was the third pick in the [1997] draft. We weren't picking that high at the time. We had better seasons at the time when he first came out. When you take a look at [the Redskins defensive backs], we have third, fifth, ninth, and 17th [overall] picks. We have some pretty good defensive backs here. That's a large part of why we are able to play pretty solid on defense. We have guys in the [defensive backfield] that were picked high, and justifiably so. There are a lot of guys that are picked high and turn out to be busts. [But] these guys are football players. Shawn has done a very good job fitting into our style of play."
On LB, #56 LaVar Arrington's return from injury:
"He's doing very well. He's improving each week. Right now, he has a tremendous team attitude. As things work out, I think you will seem him more [often]."
