Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn addressed the media after practice on Nov. 8. Here is a full transcript of the press conference.
Opening Statement:
"Alright, alright. Get rolling. I'll hit you up. First on, let's talk about captains for the week and so offensively [WR] Terry [McLaurin] and what a real competitor man. That's what we talked about with the team today. And he's just kinda always down for the challenge. On defense, it'd be [LB] Bobby Wagner and special teams, [S] Percy [Butler], and we thought really cool moments with them this morning, getting ready for this game. So, the atmosphere should be awesome. Get the crowd rocking here at home. So, man, we're pumped and getting closer to go time. Still a little bit to do, but the guys [are] doing well."
On inactives for Sunday:
"We'll huddle up with [General Manager] Adam [Peters] and I just when we're done here, so we'll figure all that out. But I would say the only one [who] won't be [CB] Marshon [Lattimore]. So, without him practicing this week, we're not there yet."
On his expectations to get Lattimore involved on the field:
"Yeah, we have a plan for that to kind of first the off the field, like first, 'Hey, this is who we are as a group and as a team even before you get into scheme.' And what I loved about him is just kind of finding out more about him, his background coming up through Cleveland and his why, and then mixing it into the whole defense. Techniques he's played, what we have, so sometimes it's as easy as I called it that we call it this. And so that part of learning the system to get going is big. So, he's got like a schedule. This part was for rehab, this part was at practice. He was, we're using the iPads as he, some of the replays to call it. So, we're just trying to engage him as quickly as we can. So, when it does become go time that there's not a lag there."
On assessing Lattimore's hamstring injury:
"Yep. Yeah, he won't be able to play Sunday."
*On if they're considering a move at kicker and on K Austin Seibert: *"Yeah, Austin kicked today and, but yeah, we had this plan from earlier in the week at the end just to go through it and make sure, see where we're at. So, that's why I was running late today, so apologize for that. But yeah, we went that kinda had that in the plan to get rolling."
*On managing and thinking long term about RB Brian Robinson Jr.'s injury: *"Yeah, it's a fine balance for sure. And I think at the end you have to trust the player to find out where's confidence, not as much as a, 'Hey, how do you feel?', but alright, if it was five to one, five being perfect, one being this, where's your confidence at? Because that allows you to do your thing at full speed when you have confidence to go. So, you do have to push it at the practices to really assess where you're at. And then we trust our eyes, we trust him too and the feedback that he gets. But, yeah, it's a process to go through and each player dealing with an injury, we think of it in the same way, and where are you and what does it look like and where's your confidence level? And then when we hit all the markers and on the return to play side, that's a big deal. The team's done a good job of knowing when to go and when to not. And so we're always going to side on the health of the player first, and then once they have the confidence to do it, then we return to play format begins. And then once you nail that step, then you're in. So, his is a little different where it's not, being out for 'X' amount of weeks and return to play, but in we are mindful of how it goes."
*On if soft tissue injuries complicate recovery timeline: *"I don't know if it complicates. It's customized. Not every injury of a soft tissue is the same between a calf and a quad and a hamstring or a glute. All of those are the locomotive that make it go, but the degrees of it and where is it? Where are the signals? And at the end, you still have to treat the player, not the MRI or what that says, how is the person feeling, how are they responding? So that's to me the signal. So not all the same. So, both guys [Robinson Jr. and Lattimore] know themselves well. We have trust for them, so we'll definitely lean into that."
On if the Thursday night game makes it harder to incorporate Lattimore quickly:
"There's been some running, so like on the return to play side, he missed some there. How long can we get back? As we go through, we'll have a better probably assessment Monday. Ran today, and then what is the next time to run look like. So, I just haven't gone there yet."
*On any correlation between Robinson Jr.'s knee and hamstring injury: *"Same side. So that is, I don't know if it's correlation, but it definitely is a factor to it, but the knee's doing good and so not the same injury. So that's a good sign."
*On how RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. weighs into his decision for running backs: *"Yeah, we'll huddle up tonight and visit with medical side and Adam, myself and then kinda get an assessment about where we're at and then we can proceed if needed when we go to that. But that'll be kind of our next operation for this evening."
On how Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson's play style impacts his mindset going into the game:
"I think number one, you better be ready for it to come any part of the field. Sometimes when a quarterback may roll out to one side, you can cut that part of the field off where it'll just be only thrown to this side with him. And the arm strength that he has, he can be on one side and go across the field deep or vice versa all the way out to his left and going that way. So being on top of scramble plays and keepers and play passes, that's a big deal. But some guys just like to get deeper to have escape lanes that are outside others. Wanna be quick to go in the B gap. So Russ has more experience on the outside of things."
*On what Run Game Coordinator/Running Backs Coach Anthony Lynn brings to the staff: *"Well, they were talking Red Raider love, these two Texas Tech-ers. Man, what does Anthony bring? It's a long list of that. He's got one, incredibly high standards for the entire room. And so, it was no surprise to see somebody in those rooms stepping into spots for responsibility. Whether that was [RB] Jeremy [McNichols] when [RB] Austin [Ekeler] was down, whether it was Chris when Brian was down it, that doesn't happen by coincidence. And so, Anthony's background, his toughness, all of that kind of encompasses what he brings to the staff, to the team. And I would say just incredibly high standards for the position, for the techniques. And, when you're coached by somebody who's a real expert at something like legit details, have seen it all, done it, all done it himself, it does make a difference because they're ready to handle any scenario and their eyes can tell the story. This is what I saw, this is where he was, I didn't see that cut. So those are important things at the position, and he adds a lot to us."
*On plays the team has executed really well that did not make any highlight reels: *"You asked awesome questions. There was a last week in the two-minute, I was getting ready to see if we could get into position for a field goal. And so [WR] Dyami [Brown] breaking a tackle on maybe a 3rd & 19 or something. That was not what I was thinking. At the time I was getting into space, could we get ahead, call a timeout, move closer to get a field goal? So those are fun ones where, okay, it is about to change. You think one thing's going to happen and the next one goes. On the special team side, I love the energy that the kickoff team brings in to go generate some. So those are fun ones on the field that you feel this energy that comes from them on the kickoff, and it transfers into the defense a lot. So those would be some things that may be a regular play, but on the sideline, a hit a tackle by [S] Jeremy Reaves just kind of lights everybody up. And so those would be two that come to mind."
*On the challenge defending the run game and play action: *"I think the secret sauce on whether it's in the gun or not is to make those two things look feel alike. So, if it's a play pass and they're a good running team, do I have to get downhill and go hit my gap knowing that the handoffs about to happen and I gotta minimize this game? Then all of a sudden when that turns into a play pass and the linebackers or safety are going downhill for it and you're able to rip the ball behind them. And that's where a lot of the explosive plays come. Different teams have different ways. They do play passes. There's some that's outta the gun, a long ride to throw it. Some is keepers. Outside zone team where you can get on the edge to go and the [Former Washington Head Coach Mike] Shanahan days covering that here, wide zone keeper, some are downhill runs inside, runs to play passes that come off of it. So, whatever it is, the main thing is to make those two things look alike, feel alike, so the people who are in conflict feel in conflict."
*On his take of the conversation around reviewing missed penalties in games: *"Yeah, every play would not, we'd have the four-hour game, like had 50 challenges to throw it again [laugh]. So, I wouldn't want that. But I would say when in any time, in any way, if there's an obvious error and replay assist is getting closer to that where, 'Hey, this spot was wrong', he can take down to the microphone. So, I think we're getting closer to that due to replay assistance, not the challenge every time, but there are guys up in the box that are talking to the referee, 'That spot's wrong, that's not to here'. So, I like that. But I would say obvious mistakes. Not every play is allowed to be utilized for replay assist, but the ones, if we could open that up even more and there's an obvious error, even if you're on the wrong side of it, you can live with that to say, 'Okay, you don't like it, but the correction had to be made'. It was a spot. Those would be the ones for me."
*On rivalries between individual players he has enjoyed watching the most: *"Yeah, I'm sure there is. Yeah, probably one of the guys we just got and [Philadelphia Eagles WR] Julio Jones, that was a pretty good one. Yeah, but it does happen. I would say it's, I enjoy those matchups when you see them because it's usually two of the better of the best kind of going after it and battling for it. So, there's not one thing that comes to my head, but I'll think about that. I'll give you some feedback on it, but I do think that absolutely happens and all it takes is that one to make a difference in a game changing play. Usually the offense have tackles or had the hardest matchup of it. Maybe might block the guy 59 outta 59 times, but that one time a guy beat him off the edge and they make a sack or a strip and oh, he changed the game, and he does. So, I think that's the hardest part of it. When you see that from the receiver side of things, sometimes the best players get doubled or they try to take somebody away. And so when you see real guys battling for it, those are for sure fun things to see."
